Professor and Father?

As most of you probably know, I’m a freshman at Southern Adventist University. My major is biology, and thought the bulk of my time is spent studying biology, I still have to take other classes. One of those classes is chemistry—and I’m taking it from my dad, who’s a chemistry professor at Southern! It’s an interesting experience having my father for my college professor, haha, actually it’s really cool. He teaches very well, and I appreciate being able to ask him chemistry questions outside of his office hours!

I was thinking about this unique situation, and two verses from Hebrews came to mind. I’ll share them with you in just a minute, but first let me share the preceding two, so you can get a bit of a background. Hebrews 4:12-13—

“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”

The important thing to get from this is how God knows everything. Onto v. 14-16:

“Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

These verses talk about our very unique relationship with Jesus. At one end of the spectrum, Jesus is God (which is very true)—EEK, He’s going to kill us for sinning and transgressing His law! (see Romans 3:23) But at the same time, YAY Jesus is our Savior. He came to this world, lived like us (“for we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses…”), and died for us so we can live forever with Him if we so choose.

I approach my dad’s office with confidence, with no fear or trepidation whatsoever. Why? He’s still my professor who’ll give me a grade in chemistry. But at the same time, he’s also my father who loves me. Just like Jesus, who is God who will judge us, but also is our Savior who has paid the price to forgive our sins.

“For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him” --Psalms 103:11-13

So don’t worry about approaching God. You’ve got a Father up there!

Lessons from the Feline Kind

Our family has two cats. One is named Pumpkin, and the other is named Wiggles.

Wiggles

They are both orange, but that’s pretty much where the similarities stop! Pumpkin is a slender, older cat that we got way back in 2001 (or was it 2002? I forget!). He used to have a lot of spunk in him (like, leaping door jams and getting on the table), but now he just lays around the house for most of the day. (Well, he still gets on the table! In years past that was a big no-no, but now Mom just looks the other way and pretends not to notice.) Pumpkin is Mom’s special cat.

Wiggles is my sister’s special cat, and is still considered the “new” cat even though we’ve had him for a year and a half now. When we went to the animal shelter to pick out a kitten, Mom said that she didn’t want a kitten for Alison (my sister) that would just sit around and sleep all day.  My sister is very active, and we needed an active kitty. So when we approached the room at the animal shelter which housed all the kittens, one kitten came leaping out of his bed and over to the door and said, “Pick me! Pick me!” Well, we all fell for this tiny ball of fur, and took him home. En route Alison had the privilege of naming him, and she chose the name of “Wiggles”, since he had been so wiggly in the hour or so that we had interacted with him.

Boy but Alison had no clue on how well she had named her kitten! He’s grown a lot, and now her “kitten” weighs almost fifteen pounds! He is so full of energy and fun, he is really a great match for her. We like to say that he is a very bad cat (he does all sorts of bad stuff, including getting on the table and tearing around the house climbing things that he shouldn’t!), but Alison is quick to remind us that he is “just troublesome!”. 

Wiggles’ name has evolved, too. Of course his official name is still “Wiggles”, but since then we have shortened it to “Wiggie”. Because he’s so big, his nickname has changed to “Biggie”. He is also referred to as “Biggie Boy” (Alison’s favorite nickname), or just simply “The Big Wig”. ;)

Pumpkin

Lately Pumpkin has been door-dashing. Normally we would expect that Wiggles would be door-dashing, and while I’m sure he would if his chance came, Pumpkin seems to be escaping right and left. We always scoop him up and bring him inside, both of our cats being indoors-only.

But Pumpkin escaping has started me thinking. Being inside-only, I’m sure in his little kitty brain it is just his dream to get outside and explore the great outdoors. But what he doesn’t realize is that his being kept in our house is the best for him. There are dangers, diseases, and enemies outside of which he knows not. By keeping Pumpkin inside, we keep him safe from all of that.

And that kinda reminds me of how we sometimes act with God. God’s set up a set of rules—the 10 Commandments—for our good. It’s not to confine us, or to limit our life or fun. That’s like us telling Pumpkin that he needs to stay inside. But we seem to want to escape outside, don’t we? Too many times we want to see what’s out there, to experiment, to do it our own way, and eventually come to the conclusion that God was right after all. Really, God’s rules are set up to keep us safe and happy.

I really don’t think that I need to elaborate on this more. Are you still trying to “escape outside”? Or are you happily living “in the house” of God’s protection?

“We all, like sheep [& cats?], have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way” --Isaiah 53:6

“Blessed are they whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the LORD…You have laid down precepts that are to be fully obeyed…I run in the path of your commands, for you have set my heart free.” --Psalms 119:1, 5, 32

Spelunking Through the Bible, Part 6

In this final part of Spelunking Through the Bible, we'll be taking a look at many stories relating to caves, instead of just one and we'll see what we can learn. Let's get started!

*     *     *

Let's first open our Bibles to Judges 6. Judges 6 chronicles the story of Gideon, and while I'd love to write about the whole story, for now I'll just concentrate on the first six verses:

The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, and for seven years he gave them into the hands of the Midianites. Because the power of Midian was so oppressive, the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in mountain clefts, caves and strongholds. Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern peoples invaded the country. They camped on the land and ruined the crops all the way to Gaza and did not spare a living thing for Israel, neither sheep nor cattle nor donkeys. They came up with their livestock and their tents like swarms of locusts. It was impossible to count them or their camels; they invaded the land to ravage it. Midian so impoverished the Israelites that they cried out to the Lord for help.

Those above verses are kind of a background to the whole Gideon story. They set the stage, and that is what I'd like to talk about. First of all: why were the Israelites hiding in mountain clefts, caves, strongholds, etc.? They were in their own land. Ahhhh yes, because of the Midianites. But is that the true reason? No. Look up top to the first sentence--"The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD". Ahhhh. So that's the true reason that the Israelites were hiding in caves--they had disobeyed God, God had sent someone to punish 'em, and now the Israelites were scared. The one good thing is the last line in verse six--"Midian so impoverished the Israrlites that they cried out to the LORD for help". That's good, they finally realized Who to call on after being punished so much. And that hopeful note starts out the story of Gideon. But still, overall, the Israelites were hiding in caves, and all due to their unfaithfulness to God.


The next story that I’d like to talk about is Lazarus. You remember him, don’t you? He was the guy who died, but whom Jesus raised to life after just four days of being dead. When I was doing my initial research for this series of devotionals on caves, I noticed something about the Lazarus story that I had never noticed before! Let’s check it out in John 11, v. 38:

“Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance.”

I had never known before that Lazarus was buried in a cave! Interesting…so what did Jesus do? Let’s read v. 43:

“Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!””

And v. 44—

“The dead man came out”

Do you think that Jesus wanted Lazarus to stay hiding, dead, in that cave? No! Do you think that God wanted the Israelites of old to hide in caves, scared of the Midianites? No! Hold that thought…

For our third story of today, I’d like to jump waaay back to Genesis 19. Genesis 19 chronicles the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah,  and God very kindly trying  to rescue Lot, Abraham’s nephew. Unfortunately, Lot wasn’t very cooperative. He and his family had spent too much time in Sodom, built up too much wealth, and couldn’t believe that such a calamity could happen the next day. (What was that saying of, “by beholding you are changed”? But ahhh…that’s another devotional for another day!)

Finally, the two angels who had been sent to rescue Lot had to physically drag him, his wife, and his two unmarried daughters out of the city. (Lot hadn’t been able to convince his married children to come with him.) Even after the angels had dragged him and his family out of the city, Lot still wasn’t co-operating. See v. 18—Lot had just been told to not look back:

“No, my lords, please! Your servant has found favor in your eyes, and you have shown great kindness to me in sparing my life. But I can’t flee to the mountains; this disaster will overtake me, and I’ll die. Look, here is a town near enough to run to, and it is small. Let me flee to it—it is very small, isn’t it? Then my life will be spared.”

OK. I don’t know about you, but immediately several lessons jump out at me. Will this disaster really overtake Lot as he flees to the mountains? Uh, no. God is bending over backwards to rescue Lot, who is extremely uncooperative. If God tells you to do something, will He not enable you to actually do it? Hmmm….

Then, I think it is interesting how Lot refers to this town (later in Genesis 19 it is identified as Zoar). Lot says, “It is small, can’t I run to it?”. I truly believe that God was going to destroy Zoar along with Sodom and Gomorrah. So basically Lot is saying, “A little sin isn’t as bad as a big sin, is it?” Yeah, right. In God’s eyes there isn’t a big sin or a little sin! It’s just all sin, the transgression of God’s law! That’s another interesting point that I draw out of this passage. 

And finally, in the last part of this verse Lot is reasoning that going to Zoar will save his life. Uh, no! Lot’s life is most obviously in God’s hands…going to a “small” immoral town won’t save you!  And those are just the lessons that I can see in v. 18—sometime, I need to do a devotional series focused on Lot’s  life!
Lot and his daughters—his wife had turned to a pillar of salt en route—did reach Zoar, and then  God rained burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah. Lot was too afraid to stay in Zoar, however, and in the end settled in the mountains—right where God had originally told him to go! Interesting. They lived in a cave (that’s where the cave part comes in), and there Lot’s daughters performed some very immoral sexual acts which I shall not talk about here!

So did Lot obey God? Yes, well, er, um, really…no. He was halfway. He was not for God, but he wasn’t not for God. He was in the middle. Lukewarm. Lot really reminds me of the Laodicean church of Revelation 3. God is giving messages to John to send out to different area churches.  For the Laodician church, God basically said, “You neither hate me or love me. You’re strattling the fence. I wish you were one or the other! Look out, because I’m going to spit you out of My mouth because you’re lukewarm!”

Lot also reminds me of a saying that the Santa Fe railroad had back in the day: “Santa Fe All the Way!” It was a catchy saying, and it really worked. The implication was that people shouldn’t just take Santa Fe for a short distance; they should ride the Santa Fe for the entire duration of their trip. I think that’s how it is with God, too. He doesn’t just want us to follow Him for a little bit. He wants us to follow Him “all the way”. He wants us to totally dedicate our lives to Him, and go with Him from now through eternity! Obviously, Lot didn’t go with God “all the way”. He followed God a little bit, but that’s all. He still had some of his interests to look out for. Don’t be like Lot! If you haven’t already, dedicate your life to God right now. Tell God that you’ll go “all the way” with Him.

For our last story on caves, I’d like to focus on caves in prophecy. Did you know that caves figured into Bible prophecy? Me either! And to begin our study, let’s read Isaiah chapter 2, verses 19-21:

“Men will flee to caves in the rocks and to holes in the ground from dread of the Lord and the splendor of his majesty, when he rises to shake the earth. In that day men will throw way to the rodents and bats their idols of silver and idols of god, which they made to worship. They will flee to caverns in the rocks and to the overhanging crags from dread of the Lord and the splendor of his majesty, when he rises to shake the earth.”

Sad, isn’t it? Let’s see what Revelation 6:12-17—

“I [John] watched as he [the Lamb, Jesus] opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as late figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind. The sky receded like a scroll, rolling up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.

“Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and every free man hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. They called out to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!  For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”"

God didn’t want the Israelites to be hiding in caves, and I’m sure it will break God’s heart when He comes back to this earth and some of the people that He longed to take to heaven and eternity with Him are hiding from Him. Jesus didn’t like people hiding in caves so much that He took Lazarus out of one!

God doesn’t want us to be hiding from Him. Instead, when He comes back, He wants to see us joyfully expecting Him, thrilled that our Redeemer and Savior has come to get us. God wants us to say the words of Isaiah 25:9—

“Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the LORD, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.” 

Are you still hiding?

Spelunking Through the Bible, Part 5

Happy Sabbath, everybody! Welcome back to my devotional series on caves, Spelunking Through the Bible. Each week (well, except for last week, but I digress!) I discuss a different story in the Bible that relates to caves. 

Two weeks ago I featured Obadiah, the person Ahab had put in charge of his palace. Obadiah, as you may recall, hid one hundred of God's prophets in caves, away from wicked Queen Jezebel who was on a mission to kill them.

Then last week we talked about Elijah. I'm sure that you were expecting me to tie in caves somehow, but I didn't. Instead I ended up focusing on Elijah's Mount Carmel experience, including some lessor-known aspects of the story. And in the closing part of last week's article, I promised you all that I would indeed talk about caves in this week's article. Well now I am delivering on my promise! This week we'll finish up our study on Elijah, and hopefully figure out how in the world he ended up in a cave!

*     *     *

I don't believe in co-incidences anymore. I believe in God-incidences! Let me explain...

I'm writing this on July 7. You see, Blogger has this nice little feature in which you can write an article, but not publish it until a certain specified time and date. I really like this feature, and use it quite a lot. Most all of the devotionals that I post on here I write at least a week or two ahead of time, maybe even more. I set one devotional to be published per week, and then it's a lot easier for me to write the devotionals when I have time and not necessarily every single Sabbath (although I do write devotionals most Sabbaths).

Anyway. I just wanted to get that little time-travel hang up out of the way, now I can tell you about the really cool thing that happened to me today (today being July 7, 2012.) For the past month or so, our pastor has been preaching a series of sermons entitled, "The Questions of God". In each sermon he talks about a different question that God asked humans and that is recorded in the Bible. For example, when God asked Adam and Eve (in the Garden of Eden) where they were. Or when Jesus asked His disciples, "Who do you say that I am?". I've really been blessed by this series of sermons, and look forward to them each week. However, I'm never quite sure what question of God our pastor (Fred Fuller) will be preaching on, as he just calls his sermons "The Questions of God--Part I, II, III", etc.

Today's sermon was entitled "The Questions of God--Part IV". For my quiettime every day this week I've been studying about caves, and then working on writing these devotionals. You see, although you have to wait the full month and a half to read this series, I'm writing them in only a week or two. Over the past few days I've been studying and writing about the life of Elijah, and in general getting prepared to write this week's devotional (which is also on Elijah, but I felt like I had to give some background first).

As I've studied on Elijah this week I've noticed that God asks Elijah a question. I thought that that was real interesting, and it reminded me of Pastor Fuller's sermon series. Today in church, I nudged my mother and pointed out to her the question that God asked Elijah (it's in 1 Kings 19). The point being, Pastor Fuller should preach one of his sermons on God's question to Elijah. Five minutes later, when Pastor Fuller gets up to speak, the first words out of his mouth are "And now please turn with me in your Bibles to 1 Kings 19..."!! Need I explain further?

So, with apologies to Fred Fuller, I now present the following devotional to you. It is a combination of my thoughts on the story as well as Pastor Fuller's very good insights as well. I pray that you will be blessed!

*     *     *

Remember where we left off last time? That's right, we left Elijah between 1 Kings chapters 18 and 19. So let's turn in our Bibles to 1 Kings 19, and pick up the story from there. A very quick recap--we are now in the aftermath of Mount Carmel. God has given Elijah marvelous strength, and through Elijah God has shown Israel in marvelous ways Who really is the true God. The people acknowledge the True God, and Elijah slaughters all of the false prophets. The people are dismissed, and Elijah prays for rain. Elijah's prayers are answered in the form of a terrenchal thunderstorm. In strength not his own Elijah runs in front of Ahab’s chariot all the way down Carmel and to Jezreel, Israel’s capital. Elijah collapses into a heap outside the gate, but Ahab goes into the palace and relates all the day's happenings to his wife. Well, I don't think I need to tell you what Jezebel thought of all this! Quickly she dispatched a message out to Elijah which basically said, "I'm gonna kill you by this time tomorrow!"

So what does Elijah do next? Stay put and stand up for God? Actually, sadly no. Let's check out the story in 1 Kings 19, v. 3-5:

" Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep."

Sadly, Elijah did not trust God. He felt scared (really, as any human would) and ran away. He even felt so bad about it all that he pleaded with God to let him die! One of my favorite books, Prophets and Kings, explores the possibility of what might have happened if Elijah had stayed at Jezreel:

"Elijah should not have fled from his post of duty. He should have met the threat of Jezebel with an appeal for protection to the One who had commissioned him to vindicate the honor of Jehovah. He should have told the messenger that the God in whom he trusted would protect him against the hatred of the queen. Only a few hours had passed since he had witnessed a wonderful manifestation of divine power, and this should have given him assurance that he would not now be forsaken. Had he remained where he was, had he made God his refuge and strength, standing steadfast for the truth, he would have been shielded from harm. The Lord would have given him another signal victory by sending His judgments on Jezebel; and the impression made on the king and the people would have wrought a great reformation." ~Prophets and Kings, p. 160

Did you ever think about that? What would have happened if Elijah had stayed and obeyed? But here's the good news: even though Elijah ran away, God was still able to use him. That's true of us, too. Even if we run away and disobey God, if we return to Him He always has something for us to do, to advance His kingdom. God has a way of turning bad things into good things.  Remember Romans 8:28?

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

However, as you saw in the Prophets and Kings quote, the greatness of whatever God has us do is hampered by our bad decisions. God would've loved to have brought about a full reformation in Israel, but He wasn't able to do that right then because Elijah ran away. Still, the very good news is that if we return to God, He is still able to use us and even turn those bad things into good things! 

Prophets and Kings goes on to say how Elijah had hoped for a much more complete revival on Carmel. He had hoped that after Carmel Jezebel would have no more sway over Ahab, and a speedy revival would spread over Israel. Then he started to fear that even the little revival which had started on Carmel would get snuffed out, and so he because very afraid and depressed. This is where he allowed the devil to take control of him--because, as Pastor Fuller pointed out, the devil can only control us if we let him. 1 Corinthians 10:13 says that

"No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it."

There is danger after spiritual victories, spiritual highs, but that doesn't mean we have to succumb. Remember what 1 Corinthians 10:13 says? God always gives us the power to overcome, and He never lets a temptation be presented to us which we-with His help--conquer.

Even as Elijah ran away, God was still kind to him. As he slumped under the bush ready to die, physically exhausted, God sent an angel to him with food from heaven:

"All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.” He looked around, and there by his head was some bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again.
The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.” So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. There he went into a cave and spent the night."  (1 Kings 19, v. 5-9)

On the super-food that God strengthened Elijah with, the prophet was able to travel for forty days and nights straight, through the desert, to Mount Horeb.

And it was at that cave that God asked the million-dollar questions:

"What are you doing here, Elijah?" (v. 9)

What are you doing out here in this cave, Elijah? I remember sending you to many other places and people, but not this cave. I need you back in Jezreel, in Israel continuing your prophetic ministry. What in the world are you doing hiding in this cave?

Elijah's response?

 “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.” (v. 10)

Pastor Fuller made a very good point here. When we do it alone, by ourselves, without God, doing that gives us a "me" focus. Notice this fact in the above passage: "I have been very zealous...", "I am the only one left...", "they are trying to kill me too" (emphasis added)

Another very good point that Pastor Fuller brought out is the fact that God followed Elijah. Even when Elijah was running away, not doing what he was supposed to do, God still followed him, and worked with him to get him back where he should be. Praise God that He never gives up on us, and there is no place that we can hide that He can't find us!

Where can I go from your Spirit?

    Where can I flee from your presence?

⁸ 

If I go up to the heavens, you are there;

    if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

⁹ 

If I rise on the wings of the dawn,

    if I settle on the far side of the sea,

¹⁰ 

even there your hand will guide me, 

    your right hand will hold me fast.

¹¹ 

If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me

    and the light become night around me,”

¹² 

even the darkness will not be dark to you;

    the night will shine like the day,

    for darkness is as light to you.

Psalms 139:7-12

God's response to Elijah's cry of "I'm the only one left" was to state that the He was going to pass by, and would Elijah please come out of the cave to watch.

A mighty wind came and went, shattering and blowing the rocks to pieces. But God was not in the wind.
An earthquake came next, but God was not in the earthquake.
Next a fire, but God wasn't in that either.

Then came a still, small voice.

God was in that.

God once again repeated his question of "what are you doing here", and Elijah gave the same reply. God then assured Elijah that there were still 7,000 people in Israel who were faithful to God, and had not bowed to Baal. God also reassured Elijah that God still had work for Elijah to do, such as anointing kings and prophets.

And so Elijah left the cave at Mount Horeb, and once again went about God's business.

God was not found in the big, mighty, and powerful wind, earthquake, or fire. But He was in the still, small voice. When we have problems, questions, Who do we go to? Let us make it a practice to always go to God first, and then listen for His still, small voice to see what He wants us to do next. 

Spelunking Through the Bible, Part 4

Welcome back to Spelunking Through the Bible! Last week we talked about Obadiah, Ahab's palace administrator and how Obadiah hid and fed one hundred of God's prophets in caves! Last week we left Obadiah and Elijah right after Elijah had requested that Obadiah bring Ahab to him. Obadiah wasn't too keen on this, since Ahab had searched the four corners of the earth but still couldn't find Elijah! So what would happen if Obadiah went to Ahab and said, "Uh, hey king, Elijah's here and he wants to talk to you!", but then in the mean time Elijah disappeared? Well you get the idea!

*     *     *

So let's open our Bibles to 1 Kings 18:16-17:

"So Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him, and Ahab went to meet Elijah. When he saw Elijah, he said to him, “Is that you, you troubler of Israel?”"

Uh, no, but Elijah refutes this and keeps on going:

"“I have not made trouble for Israel,” Elijah replied. “But you and your father’s family have. You have abandoned the Lord’s commands and have followed the Baals. Now summon the people from all over Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel. And bring the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”" (verses 18-19)

Funny thing, that the king of Israel is taking orders from a prophet whom he hates. I have the suspicion that Ahab has grudgingly realized who really is in charge here. And we all know what happened on Carmel, so I won't go into much detail on that. Elijah sets up a huge "who is God" contest, the winner being the god who answers by fire. The contenders are Baal, and the True God. The prophets of Baal take nearly all day, cut themselves up even, but no luck. Finally, in the evening, Elijah takes a turn for the True God. He rebuilds God's altar, and then asked for water to be dumped all over the altar. This was done in the form of four huge water jars, and repeated three times. Elijah wanted no one to think that he had started the fire himself.

After the altar is prepared, and Elijah starts to pray:

"At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: “Lord, the God of Abraham,Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. Answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will knowthat you, Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.”

"Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.

"When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, “The Lord—he is God! The Lord—he is God!”" (verses 36-39)

WOW. That must have been one amazing prayer for Elijah. He prays, and then God answers him IMMEDIATELY and in a big way. Not only is the sacrifice burned up by the fire, but also the wood, the stones, the soil, and even the water in the trench! And then the people declared, “The Lord—he is God! The Lord—he is God!”

Amazing.

Most people think that the story ends there. But does it? No! There is much more to be told of Elijah's life, and many more lessons to be learned. Immediately after the Israelites declare that the LORD is God, Elijah orders the slaughter of all of the prophets of Baal. After that, he dismisses everyone from Carmel, and the people all head home. Elijah tells Ahab to

"“Go, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain.”" (verse 41)

Was there rain? No. But Elijah had an incredible faith in God. Now that the people had acknowledged who was truly God, he was sure that God would send the rain. So he sends Ahab off, and then Elijah gets down on his knees. He puts his face between his knees! Six times he prays for rain. After each prayer has ended, Elijah tells his servant to go look toward the sea, to see if there was any cloud. Six times, nothing. The sky was as clear and rainless as it ever was. Elijah prays a seventh time, then tells his servant to once again look toward the sea. This time there's a change in the report! The servant says,

"“A cloud as small as a man’s hand is rising from the sea.”" (verse 44)

Wow! A change! Even though it is small, Elijah has no doubt that it is the answer to his prayers. He tells his servant to go tell Ahab (who evidently was still on the mountain) to,

"“Go and tell Ahab, ‘Hitch up your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.’”" (verse 44)

The storm struck suddenly. Black clouds, a ferocious wind, and a heavy rain all caught Ahab off guard as he prepared to descend from Mount Carmel. The last verse (46) of this chapter describes quite succulently the amazing feat of what happened next:

The power of the Lord came on Elijah and, tucking his cloak into his belt, he ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel.

Wow. Elijah ran all the way down Mount Carmel in front of Ahab? Yes. As the verse says, the power of the LORD came upon Elijah, but still. Just think how spent YOU would've been after a Mount Carmel experience! And then praying for rain, and now there is this monster thunderstorm that is underway. And then in the power of the Lord you run in front of your enemy all the way down a mountain and to Israel's capital? Yep, that's what Elijah did! As the verse says, God gave Elijah superhuman strength to do this, and to guide Ahab down Carmel. If Elijah hadn't done this, Ahab may have crashed on the way down.

*     *     *

...And that's where I'm going to stop for this week! I know, I know, we didn't get to caves this week. But I promise that next week we'll talk about them! This article has kind of been a connector between last week and next week. Now that you have the proper background, next week's story will be much more meaningful.

However, I still think we can learn several good lessons from Elijah. He was brave, and very obedient to God. God told him go present himself before Ahab--Elijah did. God told him to call all the people to Mount Carmel and start a revival--Elijah did. God told him to run ahead of Ahab--Elijah did. God may give us hard tasks, but we don't have to do it alone. I like to think about Philippians 4:13--

" I can do all this through him who gives me strength. "

God will always give us the needed strength to do what He wants us to do! Let us remember that as we proceed into the coming week, and with God's help rely on Him more and more as trials and tribulations come our way.