Early in his reign as king he starts to get his house in order. He takes care of the men who assassinated his father and then he starts assembling his army. But as the count comes in he finds that he’s a little shy of the numbers he was hoping for (he only has about 300,000 fighting). So he does the “prudent thing” and hires another 100,000 men to boost his numbers…and spends a no small sum of 7,500 pounds of silver to make it happen (about $4.5 million in today’s value).

It’s a good business plan. It made sense then and it makes sense now. We very often do the sound, business thing even today. We look at this plan and there’s nothing wrong with it. Except…

A man of God comes to King Amaziah and tells him:

Your majesty, do not hire troops from Israel, for the Lord is not with Israel. He will not help those people of Ephraim! If you let them go with you into battle, you will be defeated by the enemy no matter how well you fight. God will overthrow you, for he has the power to help you or to trip you up. (2 Chronicles 25:7-8, NLT)

And here’s the first lesson in the story…ask God before you act! If King Amaziah had asked God what to before he acted, God would have saved him some cold, hard cash. But the king did what he thought was right and it ends up costing him. Speaking of the cash…it’s the first thing on the king’s mind as he hears this advice from the prophet…so he asks the question we would ask…

Amaziah asked the man of God, “But what about all the silver I paid to hire the army if Israel?” (2 Chronicles 25:9a, NLT)

That’s what I would have asked. It’s what any elder board would ask. Hey, I’ve already spent the money so what do we do about that? Should we waste it all or press on and hope God covers our mistake? Too often we press forward and expect God to follow our plan. King Amaziah certainly doesn’t want to just blow 7,500 pounds of silver…but here’s the answer…

The man of God replied, “The Lord is able to give you much more than this!” (2 Chronicles 25:8b, NLT)

And there’s the lesson for me…don’t worry about the cash. God has plenty of it and He doesn’t need me to tell Him how to manage it. I’m His steward. It’s my job to be obedient…even after I’ve been stupid. God will see us through…but only if we continue to follow His plan…not ours!

And King Amaziah does the smart thing. He walks away from the cash and the additional forces. And God comes through with flying colors…as He always does. Sometime the “prudent thing” isn’t a “God thing”. We need to ask God first and then follow the plan we get…no matter how insane it might seem to us. He’s God…we’re not…it works!

Dear brothers and sisters, the longing of my heart and my prayer to God is for the people of Israel to be saved. I know what enthusiasm they have for God, but it is misdirected zeal. For they don’t understand God’s way of making people right with himself. Refusing to accept God’s way, they cling to their own way of getting right with God by trying to keep the law. For Christ has already accomplished the purpose for which the law was given. As a result, all who believe in him are made right with God. (Romans 10:1-4, NLT)

I hate to admit it, but what Paul says here strikes a cord with me today. I may have the right level of enthusiasm for God, but am I directing it in the right direction? Am I refusing to do things God’s way because I want to do them my way? Am I clinging to my own way of doing things…including getting right with Him and walking with Him…or am I truly trying to do things God’s way?

Sometimes His way is the hard way. He doesn’t do things the way I want them done. He doesn’t do things when I want them done. Sometimes it’s not even about me–SHOCKING!!

At the same time, His way is so much easier. After all, Christ has already done the hard work…the part I couldn’t do myself. He has made me right with God. All I have to do is truly believe in Him. I’m going to work harder at letting go of “My Way” and embracing “God’s Way”…with His help of course! ;o)

What David says to Solomon rings as true and important for us as it did for his son…

“Learn to know the God of your ancestors intimately. Worship and serve Him with your whole heart and a willing mind. For the Lord sees every heart and knows every plan and thought. If you seek Him, you will find Him. But if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever. So take this seriously.” (1 Chronicles 28:9-10, NLT)

There is so much here for us to learn from:

• Learn to know God intimately (not just surface knowledge or head knowledge)
• Worship and serve Him with everything you’ve got (hold nothing back)
• God sees and knows everything so don’t try and hide from Him (we try anyway)
• Seek Him and you’ll find Him, run from Him and He’ll let you go (hard lesson to learn this free will thing)

But the most important thing I took away from David’s speech to His son? One little phrase…

Take this seriously!

Too often I take my relationship with God for granted. I do stupid things with no regard for eternity or how God feels about it. Too often I fail to take my relationship with God seriously. But it’s serious business. It’s the most important thing in the world…

I know it’s cliche and even a little lame. But it’s also got a seed of truth in there somewhere.

This morning I was reading in the second chapter of Romans. Heavy book…lots of deep theological teaching. Yesterday I finished the first chapter of Romans…a chapter far too many Christians use as a battering ram for some of the most controversial social topics in our day (you can read it for yourself to figure out which topic(s) I’m referring to).

The problem is that too many of these “well meaning” Christ-followers (myself included at times) don’t continue reading on into chapter two. Instead they start using Romans 1 as a sledgehammer on someone else. So what does Romans 2 say?

Just this…

You may think you can condemn such people, but you are just as bad, and you have no excuse! When you say they are wicked and should be punished, you are condemning yourself, for you who judge others do these very same things. (Romans 2:1, NLT)

Ouch…and oops! Consider me guilty as charged. I have no excuse. I’m in the same boat as everyone else…guilty of disobeying God and falling far short of His holiness. I mess up all the time. I think I’ve got life figured out and then I mess it all up. Thank goodness that Paul doesn’t stop with the lines above, but continues…

Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that this kindness is intended to turn you from your sin? (Romans 2:4, NLT)

Thank goodness for God’s patience, kindness, and tolerance with me. I certainly need it. Maybe I’ll put down the sledgehammer and turn to Him a little more often.

That is until the Ark starts to fall of the cart and Uzzah reached out his hand to stabilize the Ark and make sure it didn’t fall off the cart (that would be bad). But God is not happy that Uzzah has touched the Ark (he wasn’t supposed to for any reason)…and God strikes him dead on the spot! OUCH!

And King David is obviously disturbed by this course of events…so he leaves the Ark right were it is and steps back for awhile. He’s scared…and he should be. That is, until he realizes the mistake he made…

“We failed to ask God how to move [the Ark] properly.” (1 Chronicles 15:13, NLT)

Oh how often I make that same mistake! I simply fail to ask God for His direction, for His help, for His guidance, for His plan. I assume I know best. I’m often wrong. I pay the consequences (thankfully nothing so bad as Uzzah had to pay).

Why? Because I failed to do one simple thing…I forget to ask God. So simple…

Here’s what he said this morning that caught my attention:

Take control of what I say, O Lord, and guard my lips. Don’t let me drift toward evil or take part in acts of wickedness. (Psalm 141:3-4)

It’s that “drift toward evil” phrase that has me thinking this morning. We all have this tendency…to drift away from God and toward the very thing that separates us from Him. Often it’s not a fast movement, but a slow and steady drifting (the word works).

Too often I drift and need a course correction. So I echo David’s request…

O Lord, don’t let me drift toward evil today…let me run to You!

Even so, the words I read this morning are a good reminder. I’m in the portion of 1 Kings where the author is running through all of the kings that lead Judah and Israel after King Solomon’s death. It’s a long list…primarily because each one of them did “evil in the Lord’s sight”. As a result He wiped them off the planet (you’d have thought the later kings would have put two and two together).

What caused these men to go so far off the rails? Here’s the cause for almost every one of them (with King Asa being the main exception). This is just one example out of many that say the same thing in one form or another…

“[Nadab] did what was evil in the Lord’s sight and followed the example of his father…” (1 Kings 15:26, NLT)

What a reminder for all of use dads. Generations of Israelites had to put up with bad kings who led them down the wrong path all because these men did what came naturally to them…they followed their father’s example. Reminds me of the sappy Philips, Craig, and Dean song…only because it’s true…

We’re going through the book of Acts and we’re at the part of the story where Peter & John have healed a man who hasn’t been able to walk since he was born (over 40 years). When Peter heals him, this is what he says:

“In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!” (Acts 3:6, NLT)

This causes a big commotion and Peter preaches to a big crowd (with big results). This is what Peter tells that crowd:

“Through faith in the name of Jesus, this man was healed—and you know how crippled he was before. Faith in Jesus’ name has healed him before your very eyes.” (Acts 3:16, NLT)

Peter & John then get arrested by the religious leaders. They get to spend a night in jail before being grilled by the religious elite. What’s the first question they ask Peter & John?

“By what power, or in whose name, have you done this?” (Acts 4:7, NLT)

Peter’s answer…

“Let me clearly state to all of you and to all the people of Israel that he was healed by the powerful name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene,* the man you crucified but whom God raised from the dead.” (Acts 4:10, NLT)

The council doesn’t like this answer and they have a little sidebar to figure out what to do. They can punish them because the people saw the miracle and have started to believe in these men and in Jesus. They also can’t do nothing because they already arrested them…that would make them look stupid. So what do they do? Here’s the compromise they come up with:

“They called the apostles back in and commanded them never again to speak or teach in the name of Jesus.” (Acts 4:18, NLT)

Peter &John basically tell them “No can do” (my paraphrase) and the council ends up letting them go with a stern warning.

Are you seeing the pattern? This whole thing focuses on the concept of healing, teaching, and preaching “in Jesus’ name”. Peter & John even return to the church and tell them everything that happened. The church prays for boldness and they ask God:

“Stretch out your hand with healing power; may miraculous signs and wonders be done through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” (Acts 4:30, NLT)

This is a concept we don’t fully get in our day and age. We’ve watered down the idea of “Jesus’ name” to the point where it’s not much more than the rote ending of our prayers: “In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen”. I’m guilty.

But it’s so much more than that. The Hebrew concept is that when you do anything in someone else’s name you are doing it on their authority…as if they where there doing it themselves. I miss that mark…not even sure I’m hitting the target.

And I was reading Richard Foster this morning and this is what he had to say on the subject…

“To pray in the name of Jesus means to pray in full assurance of the great work Christ accomplished—in his life, by his death, through his resurrection, and by means of his continuing reign at the right hand of God the Father…To pray in the name of Jesus means that we are praying in accord with the way and nature of Christ. It means that we are making the kinds of intercessions he would make if he were among us in the flesh.” (Richard Foster in Prayer).

So I’m re-thinking how I use Jesus’ name. I want it to be more than just the punctuation mark of my prayers. I want it to be the power in my spiritual life…as Jesus representative. His power not mine.

Right now I’m reading through 2 Samuel and the live of King David. Great stories. Great man. Great leadership lessons. I noticed something in my reading today…as a result of reading through this section in large chunks. It’s a phrase that has come up several times and is critical to leadership and life in general. This phrase is used seven times in 1 & 2 Samuel:

“David asked the Lord…”

Perhaps more important, every time David asked God what He should do He got the right answer! And David followed God’s direction and was always the better for having done so. Seems obvious doesn’t it? Certainly in hindsight. It’s so easy looking back to say how simple and obvious this is. Ask God. Get the answer. Do what He says.

So why don’t we more often?

I know I’m guilty of several things:

1. Not asking in the first place.
2. Not waiting long enough to get the answer.
3. Not doing what He says to do.

It’s all so simple until I have to it with no 20/20 hindsight vision. Not so easy when the point is to fully trust in what we can’t see is going to happen. That’s faith…and I seem to have so little of it. I shouldn’t worry about God’s best interest, but I do. And I need to stop it. Instead of worrying about what might happen I need to trust God’s heart and follow His plans and directions for my life. He said so…

You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it!  (John 14:13–14, NLT)

It’s that simple…just ask!

This morning I was reading about Joshua’s exploits as he and the Israelites make there way into the Promised Land. They start wiping out everyone and everything in their path because God is fighting for them (quite literally). And word has gotten out to the towns next on the hit list…and they freak out (as they should)!

The Gibeonites, however, device a cunning little plan. They send a bunch of guys to meet Joshua and pretend that they are from a distant country and have come to make peace. They look and play the part perfectly (including worn clothing, stale bread, and old wineskins). Joshua and his leaders grill them to be sure they aren’t from a nearby town, but they make one fatal mistake…

So the Israelites examined their food, but they did not consult the Lord. Then Joshua made a peace treaty with them and guaranteed their safety, and the leaders of the community ratified their agreement with a binding oath. Three days after making the treaty, they learned that these people actually lived nearby! (Joshua 9:14-16, NLT)

It was a simple, honest mistake, but one that ended up costing them. They make the treaty…in God’s name…and then they have to stand by their word. The Gibeonite’s plan works and they’re spared (even though the become the Israelite’s slaves for the rest of their lives…still better than death).

The lessons for us? I see at least two (share your own in the comments if you have more):

1. The obvious…we should consult God when we’re faced with big decisions. I make this mistake all too often. I need to consult Hi more (especially when it really matters). I shouldn’t depend on my own understand; I need to lean on Him.
2. God will let us live with our bad choices. Too often I think that God will simply step in and rescue me from my bad choices. No so. More often than not (in Scripture), God let’s His people make bad decisions, but He makes them live with the consequences. We should have asked in the first place…sometimes that’s what it takes to learn the lesson.

So, I’m off to do a little consulting of my own now…