1 Kings 20-21

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Kings%2020-21&version=ESV

In 1 Kings chapter 20, we see that Israel is being attacked by Ben-hadad, the king of Syria.

Although King Ahab of Israel is an evil king, we see how gracious the Lord is in this chapter. The Lord enabled Ahab and Israel to defeat Ben-hadad, not once, but twice. And the way in which Israel defeated Syria, was from the Lord.

1 Kings 20:28 "And a man of God came near and said to the king of Israel, "Thus says the LORD, 'Because the Syrians have said, "The LORD is a god of the hills but he is not a god of the valleys," therefore I will give all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am the LORD.'"

Someone might say why would the Lord help out someone who is evil? I would say he still does that to day.

Romans 5:8-10 "but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life."

So all of us at some point in our lives were enemies of God. And if you have not placed your faith in Christ, you are still an enemy of His today.

In Ahab's case, he was a recipient of such grace, yet he did not finish the job. He let Ben-hadad live. This is reminiscent of the incident with Saul and Amalek in which Saul let him live (see 1 Sam. ch. 15), and because of this Saul's kingdom was eventually taken away from him. In this instance, because of Ahab's disobedience, his life would be taken away from him in the future.

For many of us today, we have been recipients of a much greater grace than that which Ahab received. We have been chosen by God, saved by His son, and sealed by the Holy Spirit as a down payment of the things to come.

Yet, we cling to things of this world. We still give in to habitual sins. I know that we are not perfect, but the disposition of our lives should be so much towards the Lord that we should seek Him out in all we do. If we did this, I believe we would live more obedient and Christ-like lives, and fall to these sins less and less.

There are certain areas in my life that I know that I am weak in. The Lord has enabled me to become stronger through His Holy Spirit indwelling in me in these areas. But it was not until I submitted all of myself to Him.

Each day I am so thankful for the gift of my salvation. By constantly living a life of thanksgiving, I want to live a life that is pleasing to Him. When you are thankful, and your heart is full with His joy, you are less apt to fall into areas of sin in which you stumble. However, I have done the hard things. I restrict myself from doing certain things. To some this may seem legalistic. But legalism is adding to the Word of God. Trying to live a holy life that is pleasing to the Lord entails separation from the world, in some senses. It takes a while to get used to living this way, but as you grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord, you see how much more fulfilling a life in the Lord is than a life in the world is.

Since I have been talking about the gift of salvation and thanksgiving. I would like to close with some of the greatest verses in the Bible. They describe our salvation as a gift and illustrate how we should live based on our new standing in Christ.

Reflect deeply on these verses today. Grow in God's grace, and as you do the tentacles of worldliness and sin that so easily entangle will loosen in your life. I'm praying for y'all in this and ask that you pray for me in this as well.

Ephesians 2:8-10: "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."

Soli Deo Gloria.

Today's post was submitted by Russ Shellhamer.