Pray Cliche? No Way!

Dodger:  Hello again!  It sure is great to see you today!  Has life treated you well recently?

Lilly:  I hope it has.  I can't believe July is almost over.  It went by so fast!

Dodger:  You said it.

Lilly:  So...what are we talking about today?

Dodger:  To be honest, I don't know.  We have no messages in the inbox, and I can't think of anything I myself want to ask.

Lilly:  Hmmm... me neither.  Well, since neither of us can think of anything pressing, let's dive right in!

Dodger:  Beg pardon?

Lilly:  Well, usually we talk about the Bible.  Let's do that!

Dodger:  Okay.  Don't we need a starting point, though?  Something to discuss in the Bible or that the Bible can help with?

Lilly:  Sure.  Let's discuss David.

Dodger:  Huh?

Lilly:  You know, King David.

Dodger:  Oh.  We talked about him last week, right?

Lilly:  We did.

Dodger:  He was a man of many talents, right?

Lilly:  Indeed.  Not only was he a king, he'd also been a shepherd, a prophet, a songwriter, warrior, giant-killer, and even harp player for the previous king, that is, Saul.

Dodger:  He was a pretty impressive guy.

Lilly:  Exactly.  You know what's most interesting about him, though?

Dodger:  What?

Lilly:  He was close to God.  He knew how to talk to God and usually how to listen.  However, he wasn't the inventor of the perfect prayer.

Dodger:  The "perfect prayer"?  What do you mean?

Lilly:  Oh you know, the prayer that talks to God without actually telling Him anything about what's on our mind or if anything's bothering us or anything else we'd like Him to know.  It's that prayer we give when we want to sound good to God.

Dodger:  Oh.  So, something like this?

Now I lay me down to sleep.

I'm happy that I don't eat sheep.

I hope I'm happy when I wake.

And thank you God, for sirloin steak!

Lilly:  Um...well, not quite.  You sort of got the idea, though.

Dodger:  Okay.

Lilly:  David liked to pray what was on his heart and mind.  Some of these prayers are preserved in Psalms for us.  He didn't try to hide behind what he thought God wanted to hear.  If his prayers rhymed, they might sound more like this.

Lord, I know that You are great.

Yet I have problems that I hate.

I need Your help to get on through.

Please help me. Oh, God, where are you?

Okay, so maybe not quite like that.  You see the difference, though.

Dodger:  Sort of.  Let's look at one of his Psalms.  I'd like to see what it says.

Lilly:  Okay.  Can you read Psalm 13?

Dodger:  Here goes:

"How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever?
How long will You hide Your face from me?
How long shall I take counsel in my soul,
Having sorrow in my heart daily?
How long will my enemy be exalted over me?

Consider and hear me, O Lord my God;
Enlighten my eyes,
Lest I sleep the sleep of death;
Lest my enemy say,
“I have prevailed against him”;
Lest those who trouble me rejoice when I am moved.

But I have trusted in Your mercy;
My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.
I will sing to the Lord,
Because He has dealt bountifully with me. (Psalm 13, NKJV)

Lilly:  You don't hear many prayers like that.

Dodger:  I'll say!  It almost sounded like he was accusing God of ditching him!

Lilly:  No, not accusing.  Questioning.  You have to remember that David wrote these songs to speak to God and not to impress Him.  He's asking a question because he feels alone.  Even though it's not true, because God is always with us, we can sometimes feel like God is hiding from us.

Dodger:  Oh, I see now.  That makes more sense.  What's all that stuff about his enemies?

Lilly:  He didn't want them to win, so he asked God to help him overcome his difficulty and keep his enemies from harming him in his time of trouble.

Dodger:  Okay.  What about the last part?  He seems to change his mood at the end.  Did God save him before he finished writing the song?

Lilly:  Maybe, but I think it's more like this.  After he got through his frustration and requests, he took time to remember what God had done for him in the past and how good God is.  He let out his emotion which was caused by his current siuation, then praised God for helping with situations in the past.  You see, David knew that in the worst times, God is still good, and no matter how bad things got for him, he always relied on that fact.  He remembered to thank God for helping Him before and expectantly awaited his deliverance.  The Psalms are not David just whining.  They are him talking to God as everyone should- with sincerity and faith.

Dodger:  So what can we take from this?  Is David's prayer a formula for us?

Lilly:  By no means!  God doesn't want our prayers to be made from a formula.  Instead, we ought to pray based on what's really happening in our minds, in our lives, and in our hearts.  He listens and He cares, but He will never just barge in on us.  We have to invite Him to make a difference in our lives, and that means telling Him what we need, praising Him for His goodness, and relying on Him at all times.

Dodger:  In other words, David was open with God, and we should be, too.

Lilly:  Exactly!

Dodger:  Wow.  That means I can talk to Him about anything?

Lilly:  At all.

Dodger:  About my hobbies?

Lilly:  Sure!

Dodger:  My cats?

Lilly:  If you want to.

Dodger:  The fact that I can't stand mosquitoes?

Lilly:  Go for it.  If you'd share it with a friend, share it with God.  Check that.  If you wouldn't share it with a friend you should still share it with God.  Never think that God doesn't want to hear anything you have to say.  He spends loads of time thinking about You, and would love for you to invite Him into not just a corner, but the entire whole, of your life.

Dodger:  Maybe you've never invited God in at all.  If you'd like to, now's your chance.  If you want a relationship with God, eternal life with Him, and salvation from your sins, there's good news for you.  Each of us has messed up.  Not one of us can claim to have done the right thing every time.  Not me, not Lilly, not any regular person on earth. That may not sound good, but the good part is that God sent His Son, Jesus, Who was both man and God , to live a wrongdoing-free life and die on a wooden cross for our sins.  He raised Him on the third day, and now Jesus sits at His Father's right hand.  The choice is yours.  Will you take His offer?  He loves you enough to do all that and more for you.  If you'd like to accept Him as Lord and Savior, you could pray something like this:

            Dear God, I'm a sinner who has done wrong.  I don't deserve You or Your presence, and I've fallen short of Your glory.  However, I believe that You sent Your Son Jesus Christ to die on the cross for my sins, and that You raised Him on the third day.  I confess my faith in You, God, as Lord and Savior.  I ask that You would come into my heart, Lord Jesus.  Thank You very much.  I love You, God.  In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Lilly:  If you prayed that and meant it in your heart, congratulations and happy birthday!  You're now a new person in Christ Jesus!  Tell an adult you trust about your decision, and keep talking to God.  He's always listening.  Also, you should get a Bible.  If you don't have one yet, here's a free one you can access on the internet!

Dodger:  Thank you so much for coming by and talking to us today.  I love it when you visit.

Lilly:  Me too.

Dodger:  Well, looks like we have to go again.  I hope you have a wonderful week!  Remember, Jesus loves you, and that's not about to change!

Lilly:  Galu!

(NKJV Means New King James Version)
Lilly's signoff is elvish for "goodbye!", but you Lord of the Rings fans probably knew that.

Wait for It.

Dodger:  Ugh.

Lilly:  That doesn't sound very good.  Aren't you going to say "Hi" to our friend?

Dodger:  Oh, of course.  I'm so sorry.  I didn't mean to be rude; in fact, I didn't even see you there.

Lilly:  That's because you were staring at the floor mumbling about something.  I don't want to be the bearer of bad news, but most people think that you're crazy when you do that.

Dodger:  That's true as well.

Lilly:  So what's the matter?

Dodger:  I'm mediocre.

Lilly:  No you're not!

Dodger:  Well, I'm humdrum.

Lilly:  Not true either!

Dodger:  Run-of-the-mill, then.

Lilly:  No!  Who's telling you this junk?

Dodger:  No one in particular.

Lilly:  Then why are you telling it to yourself?

Dodger:  Well, because I can't prove myself wrong.

Lilly:  What do you mean?

Dodger:  I haven't accomplished anything.  I mean, I know I'm different from other people and I guess that makes me special, but, I haven't done anything unique or exciting.  Lilly, I've been a Christian for years, and I still haven't moved a mountain or founded a hospital or anything like that.

Lilly:  You're upset because you don't have doctors on your payroll?

Dodger:  No, I'm upset because my life doesn't seem...special.  I don't see myself having much of importance to show for it.

Lilly:  Well, do you think talking about and reading the Bible is important?

Dodger:  Yes.

Lilly:  How about telling people about Jesus, even if they may not want to hear it?

Dodger:  Absolutely.

Lilly:  Prayer?

Dodger:  Of course!

Lilly:  Well, do you do these things?

Dodger:  Yes, I do, but those don't make me different from other Christians.

Lilly:  I see.  So what you're saying without maybe realizing is that you long to be spectacular.  You want people to see your light for miles around.  You want names like Billy Graham, Charles Spurgeon, and Dodger to be talked about in the same conversation.  It's not that you want attention, but you want your candle that feels like this
                                                           
to become a raging flame like this:

                     

Dodger:  That pretty much is how I feel.  I'm sure God wants to do something through me, but I must be doing something wrong because it's taking forever!

Lilly:  Well, since we now know what's bugging you, I have good news.  It's in the Bible.

Dodger:  My problem?

Lilly:  Your solution.

Dodger:  Oh.

Lilly:  Hand me that Bible, will you please?  

Dodger:  Here you are.

Lilly:  Thank you.  What I'm about to read is from the book of 1 Samuel, chapter 16.  Here's a small backdrop for you to know what's going on.  Saul has failed as King of Israel.  Although he is still king, God has chosen a new leader for Israel, and He's ready to have him anointed.  So God speaks to Samuel, a very important man of God, and tells him to go to the house of Jesse, a Bethlehemite, to anoint a new king.  Samuel takes God's instructions and goes to the house.  We'll pick up the story from verse 4:

"So Samuel did what the Lord said, and went to Bethlehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, “Do you come peaceably?”  And he said, “Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.” Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons, and invited them to the sacrifice." (v. 4-5 NKJV)

Dodger:  So Samuel's about to anoint a new king?  I bet he makes the right choice without blinking an eye.

Lilly:  Nope.  In fact, he doesn't even come close.  Check it out:

"So it was, when they came, that he looked at Eliab and said, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before Him!”  But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” So Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.”  Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.”  Thus Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.”  And Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all the young men here?” Then he said, “There remains yet the youngest, and there he is, keeping the sheep.”  And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him. For we will not sit down till he comes here.”  (v. 6-11 NKJV)

Dodger:  So none of the older siblings were God's choice?

Lilly:  No.  It's not because they were older that God didn't choose them, though.  He had a certain person in mind because he knew that person's heart.  As a result, he waited until Samuel got it right.  Look what happens when the youngest son enters:

"So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with bright eyes, and good-looking. And the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him; for this is the one!”  Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel arose and went to Ramah."  (v. 12-13 NKJV)

Dodger:  Wow.  That would be an important day in anyone's life.  So what next?  Does David go up to Saul, say "I'm king now", and begin ruling Israel?

Lilly:  Nope.  In fact, life continues kind of as it was before, except that David begins working for Saul.

Dodger:  Wait, what?  I thought you said Saul was a failing king.

Lilly:  He was.

Dodger:  So why did Saul get to boss him around?  When does David start doing amazing things?

Lilly:  Well, first of all, David was at the palace to comfort Saul during his times of spiritual oppression.  The fact that God enabled him to do that was pretty amazing.  However, it took a while before he really made a splash, so to speak.

Dodger:  What happened?

Lilly:  Remember when we talked about David and Goliath, in 2012?

Dodger:  Yes...I remember.

Lilly:  It's a good story, and you can take a look at our last talk about it here in case you've forgotten.  The short of it is that even though he's just a young man, pretty much a kid, he miraculously kills a giant warrior who is mocking Israel and helping Philistia scare the army.  As far as we know, that was the first time David became famous.  Instead of congratulating him and thanking him for his help, however, Saul began to make life hard on him, eventually chasing him out of the palace and looking to kill him as often as he could.  He never succeeded, and David eventually became a king, but not until he was 30 years old.  Does this mean that he wasn't special?

Dodger:  Of course not.  It just means that he had to wait and see...what...God...would...do.  Ohhhh...

Lilly:  Sounds like you have it.  Just because we don't always see God working in, through, and for us doesn't mean He isn't.  Trust me, Dodger, you've done more than you think, and everything you've ever done or are going to do is from God and with His help.  So just because you haven't become a missionary yet or a pastor of a church with 2 million people in its congregation doesn't mean that you are run-of-the-mill.  We wait on God's timing.  Philippians 1:6 reminds us that God has started something in us that He will finish.  We can't see everything God's doing with us, but we can trust that He will do amazing things with a person who lets Him be in charge.  In the meantime, we live everyday like it's for God, and we trust Him to take care of the rest.  One never knows what He may do through the smallest thing.

Dodger:  Thanks Lilly.  I feel a lot better now.

Lilly:  Don't thank me.  It's God Who made you special and loves you.

Dodger:  Thank you, God.  You're amazing.

Lilly:  He sure is.  Well, I can't believe I'm saying this, but I have to go. 

Dodger:  Why?

Lilly:  I'm off to go build a snowman.

Dodger:  Huh?  It's July!

Lilly:  I have connections.  You can come too.

Dodger:  Okay.  Thanks-  By the way, thank you, friend, for coming and hanging out with us today.  It's always a pleasure to be with you.  Remember, Jesus loves you, and that's not about to change!

Lilly: Goodbye!







(NKJV Means New King James Version)
The animated candle and bonfire come from "thomas-stewart-baker.com/MEMFilesHIDDEN/gifs/animated_candle.gif" and http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m50l5eFOkP1qdkqi8o1_400.gif, respectively.  Neither of these pages are owned or operated by I-BulldogStudios.

Inflatable Envy.

Dodger:  Hello again!  How has life been for you this last week?  Have you been anywhere cool or done anything fun?  I hope you've been enjoying yourself.

Lilly:  I've been having a blast.  This week I'm just going to sort of take it easy.  There's not a lot on my plate, and I kind of like it that way.

Dodger:  I would too.  You know, I wish my schedule was simple.  I've got a bunch of stuff I need to take care of this week.

Lilly:  Oh, really?  I'm sorry.

Dodger:  Oh, it's not a big problem.  I hope it doesn't sound like I'm complaining, because it's all for a good cause.  I'm volunteering at the local food bank, then at the animal shelter, and then I'll be doing a song at Church on John the Baptist.  I need to prepare to get all those things done, so I have a lot on my plate.

Lilly: Well that makes sense.  By the way, did we get any mail today?

Dodger:  Um, let me check the inbox.  I don't see anything there...oh wait!

Lilly:  What is it?

Dodger:  It's a link to someone's blog.

Lilly:  Say what?

Dodger:  It looks like someone has a post and we're supposed to respond to it somehow.

Lilly:  Oh.  Well, what does it say?

Dodger:  See for yourself.*

Lilly:  Yikes.  This individual seems pretty unhappy.

Dodger:  No doubt.  Wait, I just saw a message at the end of the email.  It says: "Dear Dodger and Lilly, I am the frustrated blogger who wrote this post.  I'm a little embarrassed about it, but wanted you to see it because it helps explain how I feel.  I know I'm probably wrong, but am not sure why, and my frustration is still eating away at me.  Can you please explain what I need to do?  Thanks, Irk D."

Lilly:  I think Irk's problem can be diagnosed pretty quickly. 

Dodger:  I don't quite see it.  What is it?

Lilly:  In a word, it's envy, a discontented wish to have what others have.  Irk believes he is just as deserving as Judy of the opportunity to lead others in worshiping God, and because he isn't getting it, he's angry.

Dodger:  I suppose I'd be upset too if things never went as I thought they should.

Lilly:  I'm confident we all would.  Still, that doesn't necessarily make it a good thing.  What Irk needs to learn is a little humility.

Dodger:  Beg pardon?

Lilly:  You know, he needs to let go of pride.

Dodger:  Um...what?

Lilly:  Well, did you notice that he writes "I can sing just as well..."?  The idea he has is that his talent entitles him to lead others.  He probably can sing well, but unfortunately, that doesn't entitle him to have all the same privileges as Judy.  Plus, he's not alone.  We all need to learn some humility, and I  just thought of a story that might be helpful for Irk.  It's about Moses and his siblings, Miriam and Aaron.  Would you look up Numbers 12?

Dodger:  Sure.  Should I start just reading from the beginning?

Lilly:  Yes please.

Dodger:  Okay.  Let's see here.  "Then Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married; for he had married an Ethiopian woman.  So they said, “Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us also?” And the Lord heard it.  (Now the man Moses was very humble, more than all men who were on the face of the earth.)  Suddenly the Lord said to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, “Come out, you three, to the tabernacle of meeting!” So the three came out.  Then the Lord came down in the pillar of cloud and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam. And they both went forward. (v. 1-5 NKJV)

I have a feeling God isn't happy with these two people.

Lilly:  Well, you're right.  Did you notice, though, that Miriam and Aaron were both criticizing Moses and pretty much saying "God speaks through us too, you know!"?

Dodger:  I did notice those things.  They seem to think that they have the right to criticize Moses because God speaks through them too.

Lilly:  Right.  It's this mistaken attitude that leads God to say the following.  Picking up at verse 6:

Then He said,

“Hear now My words:
If there is a prophet among you,
I, the Lord, make Myself known to him in a vision;
I speak to him in a dream.
Not so with My servant Moses;
He is faithful in all My house.
I speak with him face to face,
Even plainly, and not in dark sayings;
And he sees the form of the Lord.
Why then were you not afraid
To speak against My servant Moses?”

So the anger of the Lord was aroused against them, and He departed. (v. 6-9 NKJV)

Dodger:  Yikes.  That would be both embarrassing and a little frightening.

Lilly:  Perhaps so.  Notice that God talks to them exactly about their justification for criticizing Moses, and essentially debunks it by telling them about how closely he speaks to Moses.  It's not wise for them to compare themselves because they aren't given the same gift.  The prideful statement that "Moses isn't any better than me" was the result of both of them mistakenly comparing themselves to Moses.  Even though Moses wasn't any better, it was because God made us all equal.  He gives us different gifts, not so we can compare them to the gifts that others have, but so that we can be bettered in them.

Dodger:  I see.  So what happened next?

Lilly:  This. "And when the cloud departed from above the tabernacle, suddenly Miriam became leprous, as white as snow. Then Aaron turned toward Miriam, and there she was, a leper.  So Aaron said to Moses, “Oh, my lord! Please do not lay this sin on us, in which we have done foolishly and in which we have sinned. (v. 10-11 NKJV)

Dodger:  Wait.  Miriam was a leper?

Lilly:  Unfortunately.  Leprosy is an awful skin disease which in those days usually killed those who had it.

Dodger:  You're not saying she died, are you?

Lilly:  No.  Moses prayed for her, and afterwards she was shut out of the camp for a week. God healed her, and the people moved on.

Dodger:  So it all worked out.

Lilly:  Yes.  Did you see, though, how pride can get us into trouble?  It made Miriam really sick, just as Irk is sick with envy.

Dodger:  Oh, now I'm beginning to see it.

Lilly:  God doesn't want us to be so confident in ourselves that we forget to focus on him.  When we start making ourselves a big deal instead of remembering Who God is, and that He loves us and takes care of us, we start making some bad choices and having worse attitudes.  What you need, Irk, to cure your envy of Judy is twofold.  First, ask God for forgiveness for your heart attitude, and then remember how specially He has gifted you.  Maybe you'll get to lead others in singing one day, or maybe not.  It won't change how valuable you are to Him.  He loves you the same, and wants you to be you and serve Him, not try to be "just as good as" other people and forget to glorify Him.

Dodger:  That's good advice.  Wow, time sure does fly.  Thanks for coming by this week.  It was a pleasure to have you.  Remember, Jesus loves you, and that's not about to change!

Lilly:  Bye!

(NKJV Means New King James Version)

*The "blog post" by the frustrated blogger is actually written by this blog's author, and was not excerpted from another blog without the author's permission.  Just in case you were wondering :)

Right Way, Right Out.

Dodger:  Hi there!  I hope your week went well.  Mine was wonderful.  How about you, Lilly?

Lilly:  Well, I did enjoy myself.  I signed up for a soccer team!

Dodger:  That sounds cool!  Did your team win any games?

Lilly:  Yes.  In fact, we haven't lost one yet!

Dodger:  Wait.  How exactly do you play soccer?

Lilly:  The normal way...why do you ask?

Dodger:  Um...no reason.  Anyway, you said you guys are winning all the games?

Lilly:  Yes.  There's a reason for it too.  Our coach is amazing.  He knows exactly what needs to be done and shows us how to do it so well.  He's not bothered when some teammates try to give him a hard time because they want to do things their way.  Here's how he puts it:  "If you want to do okay, then you can do this whatever way you like.  However, if you want to be unstoppable, you need to do this the right way."

Dodger:  That's interesting.  It sounds to me like your coach should have met King Zedekiah.

Lilly:  King Zede-who?

Dodger:  Zedekiah.  He was the very last king of Judah before it fell completely to the Babylonians.

Lilly:  Oh.  Why would he have needed my coach's advice?

Dodger:  Here's a short summary to answer your question.  Judah was not in the best shape of its life.  It had already been pummeled by the nation of Babylon once before, under King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made Zedekiah king of Judah instead of Jehoiachin, the man who was king before him.  Judah was also not doing a great job following God's commands.  Between these two circumstances, the nation was in rough shape, and to top it all off, King Zedekiah was about to make probably the worst choice of his entire life.

Lilly:  What was he going to do?

Dodger:  Rebel.  Even though Nebuchadnezzar was the man who made him king in the first place, he was going to try and rebel against him and make Judah independent from Babylon.

Lilly:  That doesn't seem very wise.  Why would he do it?

Dodger:  I'm not sure.  One idea I have is that the more powerful nobles (sometimes called princes) in Judah couldn't stand being under Babylon and were pressuring him not to submit.  Whatever the reason, he was wavering between rebellion and obedience.  One day he had a secret conference with the prophet Jeremiah.  Would you please read it, Lilly?

Lilly:  Let's see...here we are.  It's in the book of Jeremiah, chapter 38.  "Then Zedekiah the king sent and had Jeremiah the prophet brought to him at the third entrance of the house of the Lord. And the king said to Jeremiah, “I will ask you something. Hide nothing from me.”  Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “If I declare it to you, will you not surely put me to death? And if I give you advice, you will not listen to me.”  So Zedekiah the king swore secretly to Jeremiah, saying, “As the Lord lives, who made our very souls, I will not put you to death, nor will I give you into the hand of these men who seek your life.”  Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “Thus says the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘If you surely surrender to the king of Babylon’s princes, then your soul shall live; this city shall not be burned with fire, and you and your house shall live.  But if you do not surrender to the king of Babylon’s princes, then this city shall be given into the hand of the Chaldeans; they shall burn it with fire, and you shall not escape from their hand.’”  And Zedekiah the king said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid of the Jews who have defected to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hand, and they abuse me.”  But Jeremiah said, “They shall not deliver you. Please, obey the voice of the Lord which I speak to you. So it shall be well with you, and your soul shall live." (v. 14-20 NKJV)

Dodger:  Judah had already undergone judgment for sin, but God extends an invitation to its leader to do the right thing here with a promise that he will be okay if he follows God's words.

Lilly:  I'm guessing that he doesn't take it, does he?

Dodger:  Sadly, no.  Did you notice though, that one of his reservations about doing what God says was fear of people?

Lilly:  You're right!  I didn't notice that until just now.

Dodger:  Zedekiah knew what he was supposed to do, but he was afraid of other people.  Instead of trusting God to take care of him, he tried to please people, and as a result, disobeyed God.  The consequences were really tragic.  Look at Ezekiel 17, would you please, Lilly?  In it another prophet describes the disaster Zedekiah is bringing upon himself.

Lilly:  Starting at verse 11:  "Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Say now to the rebellious house: ‘Do you not know what these things mean?’ Tell them, ‘Indeed the king of Babylon went to Jerusalem and took its king and princes, and led them with him to Babylon.  And he took the king’s offspring, made a covenant with him, and put him under oath. He also took away the mighty of the land,  that the kingdom might be brought low and not lift itself up, but that by keeping his covenant it might stand.  But he rebelled against him by sending his ambassadors to Egypt, that they might give him horses and many people. Will he prosper? Will he who does such things escape? Can he break a covenant and still be delivered?  ‘As I live,’ says the Lord God, ‘surely in the place where the king dwells who made him king, whose oath he despised and whose covenant he broke—with him in the midst of Babylon he shall die.  Nor will Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company do anything in the war, when they heap up a siege mound and build a wall to cut off many persons.  Since he despised the oath by breaking the covenant, and in fact gave his hand and still did all these things, he shall not escape.’”  Therefore thus says the Lord God: “As I live, surely My oath which he despised, and My covenant which he broke, I will recompense on his own head.  I will spread My net over him, and he shall be taken in My snare. I will bring him to Babylon and try him there for the treason which he committed against Me.  All his fugitives with all his troops shall fall by the sword, and those who remain shall be scattered to every wind; and you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken.”  (v. 11-21 NKJV, boldface added)

What a mess!  Did all this really happen?

Dodger:  Sadly, yes.  Zedekiah rebelled, and God executed judgment on him and on Judah.  The results were really sad.  Of course, this whole mess is not something to be chalked up completely to Zedekiah.  The people of Judah did plenty in their lifestyles to get into a mess, but it was Zedekiah's ignoring God and rebelling against Babylon that did him in, and the nation as well.

Lilly:  Yikes.

Dodger:  Yes.  It's really very sad.  However, it does remind us of something.

Lilly:  What's that?

Dodger:  If Zedekiah had chosen to do right, Judah would not have suffered as it ended up doing.  One man knew the right thing to do.  Even if no one else wanted to do it, he knew it was right.  Yet he was swayed by man's will, and chose to deny the will of God.  God wasn't looking for an opportunity to beat him up.  He made it very clear what would happen as a warning.  He was asking Zedekiah to do right and avoid pain.  But Zedekiah would not listen.

Lilly:  So where does that leave us?

Dodger:  Well, often the right thing to do isn't popular.  Sin is pretty much always more popular, and rebelling against what God says is often made to look good, fun, even.  But we need to realize that it's all a mess just waiting to happen.  God looks out for our best, which is why He defines right and wrong for us.  When you know what's right and don't do it, no one benefits.  Instead, people just get hurt.

Lilly:  Oh.  So instead of listening to what's popular, it's more important that we seek to honor God.

Dodger:  Exactly.  It might not always be easy, but we can avoid a lot of pain if we do things the way God wants instead of the way the world wants.

Lilly:  So if you want to be bowed, follow the crowd.  If you want to be great, do it God's way!

Dodger:  Yes.  God will always forgive us of our sins if we repent of them, but it's even better when we don't do them in the first place.

Lilly:  I see.  I'm glad God is rich in mercy.

Dodger:  Me too.  I only wish Zedekiah had taken it.

Lilly:  Well, let's learn from his lesson, listen to God, and follow His way!

Dodger:  Amen to that!  Well, looks like it's time to go again.  We're so glad you could make it!  Remember, Jesus loves you, and that's not about to change!

Lilly:  Until next time!








(NKJV Means New King James Version)

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God bless!