The story of King Ahab and Queen Jezebel is truly an important warning to us all. It is not just one isolated story, but a warning against a pattern of sinful behavior illustrated several times in the Bible. There are two elements involved in this pattern, and they work together to wreak havoc in the church, even today!

First, there is Ahab, an evil and weak king of Israel, who marries a pagan woman named Jezebel. Ahab is described as doing more to provoke the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, than any of the other kings to date! After he marries Jezebel, he forsakes God and is influenced by Jezebel to worship the pagan idol Baal. And Queen Jezebel brought this into Israel, thanks to her husband’s weak character. Jezebel was a master manipulator. She preyed on her husband’s weaknesses, and used his power for evil purposes. This is how Jezebel works. Alone, she has no power except sexual favors, so she finds a weak partner who has power, and offers those favors to begin to set her hook into her victim. Then she begins to manipulate the situations she encounters to bring about her desired result.

You see this same principle at work again in the story of Herodias and Herod in Mark 6:17-28: Herod had sent soldiers to arrest and imprison John the Baptist because he kept saying it was wrong for the king to marry Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife. Herodias wanted John killed in revenge, but without Herod’s approval she was powerless. Herodias’s chance finally came. It was Herod’s birthday and he gave a party for his palace aides, army officers, and the leading citizens of Galilee. Then Herodias’s daughter came in and danced before them and greatly pleased them all. “Ask me for anything you like,” the king vowed, “even half of my kingdom, and I will give it to you!” She went out and consulted her mother, who told her, “Ask for John the Baptist’s head!” So she hurried back to the king and told him, “I want the head of John the Baptist—right now—on a tray!”

Herodias uses her own daughter to get Herod worked up enough to promise her anything, up to half of his kingdom, and then she makes sure that her daughter asks for the head of John the Baptist. Herodias was operating in the “Jezebel spirit” and was manipulating everyone.

But one thing is brought to light here in both stories – the Jezebel spirit cannot work alone! She must find herself an Ahab so that she can “hi-jack” his power to get her desired deeds accomplished. Is this principle still at work in the church today? From my own observations, I say “Yes”! How many ministries have been lost from sexual scandal or wandering off of the path to Christ and misdirected towards the idols of the culture or the world? We all need to go before the Lord and ask Him to show us if there is any of Jezebel or Ahab in us! Let Him free you from any little bit of Jezebel or any touch of Ahab.                     (LELIA MCGREGOR)

What do we do when “the bubble bursts”? When a job we held for years disappears and a new job is hard to find, when a teenaged child turns his or her back on our parental guidance, when a family member or close friend passes away, when a longed-for pregnancy doesn’t happen, when a ministry we had put our hearts into fizzles and fades out—there are many reasons why believers today face the grief of disappointment, discouragement and disillusionment.

The Bible does not teach that believers will never face disappointment. In fact, the Bible is filled with examples of believers who experienced disappointment—the disappointment of opposition, the disappointment of need, the disappointment of rejection, the disappointment of loss and loneliness. When it happens, not if it will happen, is how the Bible handles the problem of disappointment. Although the Bible does not guarantee freedom from discouragement and disappointment for the believer, it does guarantee a cure for every possible form of disappointment.

The author of Psalm 42 experienced extreme disappointment, but it never resulted in despair because he turned to the Cure—the Lord Himself. We, too, can endure discouragement and disappointment when we cease trying to cope in our own strength and turn to the Lord.

Suffering and disappointment can cause us to despair and become bitter, or they can become opportunities for us to grow and mature. James 1 tells us that God uses all kinds of trials and difficulties to bring our faith to maturity. “Consider it pure joy… when you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking in anything” (James 1:2-4). Perseverance means to “hang in there” in spite of opposition, discouragement, loss, or any kind of oppression.

But where can distressed believers find the strength to persevere? By leaning on God! When we are at our weakest, His strength will provide support and keep us going. The psalmist was learning to lean on God. He had come to the realization that God alone was his hope for deliverance. God alone would be his Savior. He found courage and confidence for the future in the belief that God would indeed come through for him. “Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God.” Believers who lean on God when oppressed will not be disappointed. (RON REID)

Everyone knows that Jesus’ earthly father, Joseph, was a carpenter and that Matthew calls him “a righteous man,” but we seldom think about the wisdom he handed down to Jesus. As a carpenter, Jesus must have learned many tricks of the woodworking trade from Joseph.

While tools and techniques have changed a great deal over the past 2,000 years, three simple rules that Joseph lived by still hold true today.

1. Measure Twice, Cut Once: Wood was scarce in ancient Israel. Joseph and his apprentice Jesus couldn’t afford to make mistakes. They learned to proceed with caution, anticipating the consequences of everything they did. It’s a wise principle for our lives, too.

As Christian men, we need to be careful in our behavior. People are watching. Nonbelievers are judging Christianity by the way we act, and we can either attract them to the faith or drive them away.

Thinking ahead prevents a lot of trouble. We should measure our spending against our income and not exceed it. We should measure our physical health and take steps to protect it. And, we should measure our spiritual growth from time to time and work to increase it. Just like the timber in ancient Israel, our resources are limited, so we should do our best to use them wisely.

2. Use the Right Tool for the Job: Joseph wouldn’t have tried to pound with a chisel or drill a hole with an ax. Every carpenter has a special tool for each task.

So it is with us. Don’t use anger when understanding is called for. Don’t use indifference when encouragement is needed. We can build people up or tear them down, depending on which tools we use. Jesus gave people hope. He wasn’t embarrassed to show love and compassion. He was a master at using the right tools, and as his apprentices, we should do the same.

3. Take Care of Your Tools and They’ll Take Care of You: Joseph’s livelihood depended on his tools.

We Christian men have the tools of prayer, meditation, fasting, worship, and praise. Our most valuable tool, of course, is the Bible. If we sink its truths deep into our minds then live them out, God will take care of us, too.

In the body of Christ, every Christian man is a carpenter with a job to do. Like Joseph, we can mentor our apprentices–our sons, daughters, friends and relatives–teaching them the skills to pass the faith on to the generation after them. The more we learn about our faith, the better a teacher we’ll be.

God has given us all the tools and resources we need. Whether you’re at your place of business or at home or at leisure, you’re always on the job. Work for God with your head, your hands, and your heart and you can’t go wrong. (JACK ZAVADA)

Proverbs 9:10 says, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” Basically, this verse teaches that the fear of God is foundational to true wisdom; all other types of learning are worthless unless built upon a knowledge of the Lord Himself.

Fear of the Lord can be defined as “the continual awareness that our loving heavenly Father is watching and evaluating everything we think, say, and do. As Jesus told each of the seven churches in Revelation 1—2, “I know your works.” Nothing escapes His attention.

In order to develop the fear of the Lord, we must recognize God for who He is. We must glimpse with our spirits the power, might, beauty, and brilliance of the Lord God Almighty. Those who fear the Lord have a continual awareness of Him, a deep reverence for Him, and sincere commitment to obey Him.

The link between the fear of God and wisdom means we cannot possess wisdom if we recreate God in our own image. Too many people want to “tame” God into a non-threatening nobody. But, if we redefine the Lord as a god that makes us feel comfortable, a permissive “buddy” who exists simply to bless us and give us what we want, we will not fear Him in the way He deserves to be feared. The Lord God Almighty is far greater than that, and the fear of the Lord begins when we see Him in His majesty and power.

When the reality of God’s true nature has caused us to fall down in worship, we are then in the right position to gain wisdom. Wisdom is merely seeing life from God’s perspective and responding accordingly. Wisdom is a priority, and we are told to seek it above all else.

Until our hearts are in a right relationship with God, we are unable to have the wisdom that comes from heaven. Without the fear of the Lord, we may gain knowledge of earthly things and make some practical choices for this life, but we are missing the one ingredient that defines a wise person. In the parable of the Rich Fool, the rich man had a “wise” and practical plan for his profits, but God said to him, “You fool!” because the farmer’s plans were made with no thought of God and eternity (Luke 12:16–21).

Without the fear of the Lord, we make final decisions based on our faulty human understanding. When we incorporate the fear of the Lord into every moment of our lives, we make decisions based upon His approval. We live with the knowledge that the Creator of the universe is intimately involved in our every move. He sees, knows, and evaluates all our choices, and we will answer to Him.

Our respect for God’s majesty causes us to honor Him. Our gratitude for His mercy causes us to serve Him well. And the understanding that our God of love is also a God of wrath inspires enough fear to help us stay away from evil. Sin is foolish; righteousness is wise. When we live righteously, we are on the path to wisdom, and everyone in our lives benefits. (GOT QUESTIONS MINISTRIES)

If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you?   For even sinners love those who love them (Luke 6:32).

For many people, loving others is a nebulous concept. Fortunately, agape love is very clearly defined in the Scriptures. When love is used as a noun in Scripture, it is referring to character. For example: “God is love” (1 John 4:8); “Love is patient, love is kind,” etc. (1 Corinthians 13:4-8). Love is the highest of character attainments: “The goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith” (1 Timothy 1:5). Love is the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22), the means by which a true disciple of Christ is identified (John 13:35). The attention given to love in passages such as 1 Corinthians 13 and 1 John 4 reveals its importance to God in our interpersonal relationships of which the family is primary.

Agape love is not dependent on the person being loved, but on the lover. You may like someone because of who he is; but you love him because of who you are. God loves us not because we are lovable but because God is love. If it was any other way, God’s love would be conditional. If you performed better would God love you more? Of course not. God’s love for us is not based on our performance but on His character.

Love is also used as a verb in Scripture. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son” (John 3:16). Used this way. Love is grace in action. It is giving unconditionally to meet the needs of another.

If you say you don’t love someone, you have said more about yourself than about that person. Specifically, you’re saying that you haven’t attained the maturity to love him unconditionally (Luke 6:32). The grace of God enables you to love others in a way that people without Christ cannot. God doesn’t command you to like your family, your neighbors, and your coworkers, because you can’t order your emotions to respond. But He does instruct you to love them. You can always choose to do the loving thing and trust that your feelings will follow in time.                         (from DAILY IN CHRIST by NEIL

I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have drawn you with loving kindness (Jeremiah 31:3)

One night I came home from work and my wife Joanne met me at the door. “You better go talk to Karl (my son).” She said solemnly. “I think Karl threw his hamster, Johnny, this afternoon.”

I went to Karl and asked him point-blank, “Did you throw Johnny this afternoon?” He denied it firmly. Unfortunately for poor Karl, there was an eyewitness that afternoon. Again I confronted Karl, this time with one of those oversized plastic whiffle bats which make a lot of noise on a child’s behind without inflicting too much damage. “Karl, tell me the truth. Did you throw Johnny?”

“No.” Whack! No matter how much I threatened, Karl wouldn’t confess. I was frustrated. Finally I gave up.

A couple of days later Joanne met me at the door again. ‘You better go talk to Karl. Johnny died.”

I found Karl in the backyard mourning over his little hamster. Karl and I talked about death and dying, then we buried Johnny. “Karl, I think you need to pray now,” I said.

“No, Dad. You pray.”

“Karl, Johnny was your hamster. I think you need to pray.”

Finally he agreed. This was his prayer: “Dear Jesus, help me not to throw my new hamster.” What I couldn’t coax out of him with a plastic bat, God worked out in his heart.

Why did Karl lie to me? He thought if he admitted to throwing his pet, I wouldn’t love him. He was willing to lie in order to hold onto my love and respect, which he feared he would lose if he admitted his misbehavior. I reached down and wrapped my arms around my little son. “Karl, I may not approve of everything you do, but I’m always going to love you.”

What I expressed to Karl that day is a small reflection of the love that God has for you. He says to you, “No matter what you do in life, I’m always going to love you. I may not approve of everything you do, but I’m always going to love you.” (from DAILY IN CHRIST by NEIL T. ANDERSON)

Do you want a blueprint for joy in your life? Do you want a formula for renewal, revival, and spiritual growth? Do you want to understand the secret of godly contentment and confidence?

Nehemiah reveals all of that and more to us in Nehemiah 7 and 8, giving us powerful life lessons as he leads his people to:

1. Assemble together with other believers. God didn’t design us to be Lone Ranger Christians. When believers assemble together and unite their hearts in prayer and worship, something miraculous takes place. Jesus said, “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I with them” (Matthew 18:20). When we gather together, we encourage one another, support one another, and challenge one another to a deeper faith experience.

2. Affirm the authority of God’s Word. In order for revival to take place in one life, or in the life of a church, or in the life of a nation, it must begin with a hunger and thirst for the Word of God. The Bible is not just a collection of old stories and inspirational quotations; it is the guidebook to victorious living in Christ — the key that unlocks the door to revival. Until churches boldly proclaim the Word of God and Christians obey it, there will never be revival and healing in our land.

3. Adore the God of grace. When the people stood in the square together at the completion of the walls and listened to the reading of the Book of the Law, they wept, rightly mourning their sin that had led to such shameful circumstances. But once they had repented, it was time to adore God, rejoice in His strength, and celebrate His goodness, mercy, and amazing grace. You cannot experience the authentic joy of the Lord until you have expressed sorrow over your sin.

4. Honor God by surrendering all to Him. When Ezra read from the Book of the Law, the people of Israel heard the Word of God, they honored the Word of God, they heeded the Word of God, and they put God’s Word into action. The people consecrated themselves to God, surrendering completely.

God’s goal for your life and mine is that we would enjoy our faith and experience the joy of a vital relationship with Him. When we surrender everything we are, we gain everything God is. If we truly grasp the practical power of these four principles, we will be renewed and reenergized to impact the world for God in the twenty-first century. (DR MICHAEL YOUSSEF)