THE YOUNG ISRAELITE SLAVE GIRL
(2 Kings 5: 2-3)
This young girl did not think about her own personal difficult situation. She used her situation to point others to God.

When you are in a bad situation, you have a choice. You can be bitter, or you can be used by God. You can pout, or you can point people to the Lord. We do not have to be of great standing, highly educated, well read and well respected to be witnesses of God’s love, His grace, and His healing. We just have to be willing to speak up. That’s all it takes.

THE KING OF ISRAEL (2 Kings 5: 5-6)

The King of Israel was very upset when Naaman arrived. He thought the King of Aram was asking him to do something impossible. The King of Israel thought that this would lead to big problems, maybe even war. The leader of God’s people did not turn to God for help. He didn’t see this challenge as an opportunity for God to show His mighty power. The King depended on himself, and he knew he would fall short.

When you have a problem, what do you do first? Do you try to handle it on your own? Do you worry and get discouraged? Your first response should be to bring your problems to the Lord. He has the power that no one else has. Your challenges are opportunities for the Lord to show His mighty power (2 Corinthians 12:9).

NAAMAN (2 Kings 5: 9-10)

Naaman didn’t like what he heard. He was used to being treated like a king. He was insulted that Elisha did not come out to meet him face to face. Naaman thought that Elisha would make a big show of his healing. Naaman did not understand that the healing miracle would bring glory to God, not Naaman. Even though Naaman was covered in leprosy, with no hope of a cure, he stormed off in anger. Wisely, Naaman’s servants calmed down their master, and encouraged him to do what Elisha said. So Naaman went to the Jordan River and dipped into it seven times. After Naaman’s seventh dip, his skin was healed!

Naaman had to learn that God did not heal him because he was an important leader, or because he had valuable gifts to give. The Lord healed him because God is good, and God wants people to know Him.

When you come to God, you must do things His way. He ALWAYS knows best. He helps you because He is good, and He wants people to know Him. We try to fit God into a little box that we can understand, but we can never fully comprehend the workings of the Almighty God! We want to see signs of God working, so that we know He is doing something. But true faith is the certainty that He is at work in our lives, even when we do not see any signs of Him working.                                        (SOURCE UNKNOWN)

It is so easy to let things overcome us. Even our problems can become idols to us. We can get to the place where they take the place of our love for God.

Lois K. Blanchard pictures Christ as still walking the streets today. She asks these pointed questions:

“If Jesus came to your own home to spend a day or two — If He came unexpectedly, I wonder what you’d do? I know you’d give your nicest room to such an honored Guest, and all the food you’d serve to Him would be the very best.

And you would keep assuring Him you’re glad to have Him there – That serving Him in your own home is joy beyond compare; but when you saw Him standing there, could you go to the door, with arms outstretched to welcome Him, your Heavenly Visitor?

Or would you have to change some things before you let Him in? Or hide some magazines and put the Bible where they’d been?

Would family conversation be continued at its pace? And would you find it hard at each meal to say a table grace?

Would you be glad to have Him meet your very closest friends? Or would you hope they’d stay away until His visit ends?

Would you be glad to have Him stay forever, on and on? Or would you sigh with great relief when He at last was gone?

It might cause some embarrassment the things that you would do, if Jesus came to your own house to spend some time with you.”

Loving God redefines all priorities.

What time was yours, what energy was yours, what resources were yours, they are now given unselfishly to Him. You did that for your spouse when you first fell in love.

There is a huge difference between infatuation and commitment
If the only time you spend with God is on Sunday mornings – that’s religion, not love.

He is committed to you, are you committed to Him?           (KEITH EDWARDS)

Peter, the believer, hears from God. Cornelius, the non-believer, feels God is drawing him. God puts the two of them together, and lives are changed. Cornelius becomes the first Gentile convert to the faith, and brings with him his entourage of family and workers. Because Cornelius responded to God’s call, and Peter responded to God’s call, lives were changed. This is what a person would call a divine appointment.

Divine appointments are what we call specific times where it seems God brings together people for one to help the other in a step of faith. It’s not so much that we schedule them, but that God does. A person with a godly answer to a person who is needing that, right at that moment.

The Bible calls us to be ready, for whatever may come our way. Titus 3:1 tells us, among other things, to “be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good…” 1 Peter 3:15 says, “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” And 2 Timothy 4:2 says, “Be prepared in season and out of season.”

But that doesn’t mean we wait around for some miraculous vision to arrive, telling us exactly what to do next. No. Both Cornelius and Peter were in prayer, talking to God, when their directions arrived. It’s not about standing around, watching the sky, waiting for an angel to reveal what’s next. It’s about doing what you should be doing, and allowing God to change the course a little.

The Gospels are full of these “divine appointment” type of interruptions in Jesus’ schedule. Do you remember Jesus’ visit to Zacchaeus’ house, the widow at Nain whose son was healed, and the man let down through the ceiling by his four friends who was both forgiven and healed? Each of these stories involved an “interruption” in Jesus’ plans, yet Jesus chose to listen to the people and look beyond the surface and reach out with God’s grace. Jesus could be interrupted; shouldn’t we be willing to be interrupted also? Do you allow Jesus to interrupt your schedule?

Would you be willing to let Jesus interrupt your day? Would you pray something like, “Lord, I’m willing to do whatever You want. I want to be part of what You want to do today. Holy Spirit, use me to glorify Jesus.” Cornelius listened. Peter listened. Will you listen? (PAT COOK)

In the Christian life, we are so often weighed down by our own selfish desires, petty ambitions, amusements or attractions which are temporal instead of eternal. We focus on the skin of the person next to us rather than the soul. We judge by the eyes instead of valuing the person. In short, we don’t reflect the image and glory of God.

How do we partake of this cleansing? You don’t “do” it as much as endure it. God is the One who oversees this process in your life.

He sends you into the fire and takes you out according to his pleasure. And He does it for His glory.

What does He use to accomplish this? Adversity. Trouble. Rejection. Failure. The afflictions that come our way. In short, anything bad that we encounter, God is able to use to free us from the crust, grime and dirt of this world and our own selfishness, and change us more into the likeness of Jesus.

Here’s a good story to go along with it:

Some time ago, a few ladies met in a certain city to read the Scriptures and make them the subject of conversion. While reading the third chapter of Malachi, they came upon a remarkable expression in the third verse: “And He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.”

One lady’s opinion was that it was intended to convey the view of the sanctifying influence of the grace of Christ. Then she proposed to visit a silversmith and report to them what he said on the subject. She went accordingly and without telling the object of her errand, begged to know the process of refining silver, which he fully described to her.

“But sir,” she said, “do you sit while the work of refining is going on?” “Oh yes, madam,” replied the silversmith, “I must sit with my eye steadily fixed on the furnace, for if the time necessary for refining be exceeded in the slightest degree, the silver will be injured.”

The lady saw at once the beauty, and comfort too, of the expression: “He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.”

Christ sees it needful to put His children into a furnace. His eye is steadily intent on the work of purifying, and His wisdom and love are both engaged in the best manner for them. Their trials do not come at random: “the very hairs of your head are all numbered.”

As the lady left the shop, the silversmith called her back, and said he had still further to mention, that he only knows when the process of purifying was complete, by seeing his own image reflected in the silver.

Beautiful example! When Christ shall see His own image in His people, His work of purifying will be accomplished. (AUTHOR UNKNOWN)

If you think about it, God’s call on Abraham’s life was a pretty scary thing. I mean, Abraham was no spring chicken when God spoke to him about leaving! He was 75 years old!

When was the last time you heard about a 75-year-old man packing up his family and moving away somewhere? Nevertheless, notice what Abraham’s response was! He went out … not knowing where he was headed. All he knew was that he was being obedient. This is what the Bible calls faith.

I have a friend who loves maps. And he loves to use maps to plan every mile of every trip his family ever takes. But you know, when God called Abraham, He didn’t give him a map with a carefully planned-out route. God just said, “Get going and I’ll lead you.” This is where a lot of Christians get hung up. Because heading out with only a directive — and not a destination — requires us to give up control. It requires us to be vulnerable. And these aren’t things many of us relish!

But look at Abraham. He obeyed God when God called him. And so should you and I!

Let me ask you today, is God calling you to do something… but you haven’t obeyed Him? Maybe it’s walking next door to your neighbors’ house to begin a friendship… with the goal being to share Christ with them. Maybe it’s helping out a ministry at your church. Or maybe God is calling you to move your family to another country to serve Him.

Whatever it is, when you know that God is calling you to do something, you need to start moving! Waiting on more direction or detail may prove to be an exercise in futility, as well as a lack of faith. There is no way to steer a parked car, yet many of God’s children seem to insist on staying parked until they know exactly where they are going and how long it will take to get there.

Today, I want to challenge you to follow in the footprints of Abraham’s obedient faith by stepping out and doing what God has called you to do. To be truly used of God, you need to learn to obey His leading… even if you don’t understand or can’t see the outcome!                      (BAYLESS CONLEY)

A popular message is influencing many Christians today. It’s often called the prosperity gospel, because it claims to give believers good news: If they just have enough faith, they can get the kind of lives they want from God, including good health and significant wealth.

Here’s how you can avoid the prosperity gospel’s dangerous message and follow Christ’s Gospel instead:

Seek God Himself rather than His blessings. Yes, God loves you and wants to bless you, but He’ll do so in His own ways, according to His will – not yours. Contrary to what the prosperity gospel claims, God hasn’t promised to bless all people with good health and plenty of wealth if they ask Him for it in faith. Instead, God has promised something better: His presence. You can count on the fact that God will be with you, no matter what. But trying to manipulate God into giving you want you want simply won’t work. When you focus on the blessings you want God to give you more than you focus on God Himself, the blessings you’re hoping for become idols in your life, drawing your attention away from God and toward your own desires. Never place your trust or sense of security in anything or anyone other than God Himself, because only God has the power to ultimately fulfil you.

Recognize the limits of your own power. In reality you don’t have the power to create whatever you want through mental and spiritual effort. The Bible and history are full of examples of people who had great faith, yet still endured sickness and poverty. God didn’t choose to spare those people from suffering, despite His love for them. If you think you can change your own circumstances simply by declaring in faith that you want different circumstances, you’re exalting yourself to a godlike level that is inaccurate and spiritually dangerous because it causes you to trust in yourself more than in God.

Understand the value of suffering. Since God accomplishes good purposes through suffering, it has value and you shouldn’t try to avoid it at all costs. Even Jesus chose to suffer during His life on Earth, so it’s reasonable to expect that the Christian life’s main goal – becoming more like Jesus – will involve some suffering. In fact, Jesus says that you should expect trouble in this world. But when you trust God as you go through suffering, you can also expect to learn valuable lessons and emerge from it as a better person.

Consider why you want to be saved. The prosperity gospel is simply a self-help philosophy designed to try to save you from undesirable circumstances. But the real Gospel declares that through a relationship with Jesus, you can be saved from sin and experience eternal life. Jesus died for your sins, not so that you can become prosperous, but so that you can die to selfish and destructive sin and live in a right relationship with God.                                                                                  (WHITNEY HOPLER)

Imagine the days when rainbows first appeared.  Picture Noah’s wife and family, as they gazed at the great expanse of the sky.  Did they feel as though they were looking into the face of God? How assuring it must have been for Noah’s family to know that God remembered them, cared enough to give them a second chance. When our joy is overshadowed by storms and clouds, it is time to look for rainbows.  God put incredible forethought into this glorious phenomenon, His gift to us.

Miracle of the Rainbow: A rainbow is made up of seven colors of light and appears only during or immediately after a rain shower. The number seven biblically symbolizes completeness and perfection.  His promises are complete, and perfect!  The light of the sun shines through the rain, causing the light to bend and reflect off the rain.  The light of the Son shines through the darkness in our lives, and others can see the Light in us.

Endless Love: Rainbows are circles and can only be viewed as such from above the earth, such as in an airplane.  A circle represents infinity or eternity.  God desires us to know that His love is forever.  We are actually cradled in the center of the rainbow–surrounded by His love!  It is a love that never ends.  The glorious rainbow on the horizon is our assurance of God’s all-encompassing, unconditional love.

After Our Storms: A rainbow is a glorious sight to the weary Christian. It is a sure sign that we are not alone, that God knows our hearts and our pain, and that new joy and promises to be fulfilled will come to pass.

A Symbol of Grace and Second Chances: The rainbow reminds us that God’s utmost plan for us is our salvation, not our destruction.  That beautiful rainbow in the sky promises us a relationship with God.  It is a promise of restoration, not separation.  God makes covenants with people because He chooses to be in a relationship with us.  He wants to be in a relationship with us!  He gives us opportunities to turn around.  He gives us second chances because He loves us.

The Pot Of Gold: In our hectic and often anxious lives, we forget God’s promises.  As we see the rainbow in the sky, do we really believe that God is with us through every circumstance?  Do we look at the rainbow as Noah did, and see the face of our Father?

God promises that He will be with us throughout eternity. He promises riches in heaven to all who believe and follow Him.  The “pot of gold” at the end of the rainbow, is His Word, which promises salvation if we put our lives in a relationship with Jesus Christ.  What’s at the end of your rainbow?  Hopefully, it’s heaven.                                          (S. A. COOKE)