365 Reflections

Ignoring those who came before us has become common the habit of this generation. Today we demonize people from the past because they fail our present-day "enlightened" character measurement. On top of this, we see rising dishonor for the aged, an obsession with youth, and a growing aversion to fathers. Absalom is the archetype of a young, proud man who refuses to heed wisdom from those who are regarded as wise and understanding. He has the elders of Israel, 10 tribes and a vast army on his side during his rebellion but his refusal to listen to them will be his undoing. His advisor is Ahithophel. Here's what the text says about him: 2 Samuel 16:23 (ESV) Now in those days the counsel that Ahithophel gave was as if one consulted the word of God; so was all the counsel of Ahithophel esteemed, both by David and by Absalom. Ahithophel's advice for Absalom is that he himself will take a detachment of soldiers and snipe the king by catching him off-guard. Absalom n...

Paul was a master church planter... Here's what he did: And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed. (Acts 14:23 ESV) Prayer and fasting, elders and ... Commiting them to The Lord. That's the plan. Elders. Elders are essential. They must be a part of every church. Right away here we are introduced to the subject of submission. Every church needs someone or some group of people they must submit to. This is a lost art in America. If we don't like one church we'll scoot over here to the next church until we feel important and powerful. It's church on our terms and its disgraceful to the body of Christ. A Church needs Elders who keep watch and to whom others submit in humility. Prayer and fasting. Not programming, prayer and fasting. Not production, prayer and fasting. This is a church builder. Prayer must be the undercurrent beneath the program and produc...