Downfall


"But when he (King Uzziah) had become powerful, he also became proud, which led to his downfall. He sinned against the Lord his God by entering the sanctuary of the Lord's Temple and personally burning incense on the incense altar. ... They (the priests) confronted King Uzziah, '... Get out of the sanctuary for you have sinned. ... .' ... leprosy suddenly broke out on his forehead." II Chronicles 26:16-21

Over and over again the headlines buzz with fundamentally the same message ... "Another One Bites The Dust." Affairs. Abuse. Lies. Illicit Drugs. Embezzlement. Numerous men and women of social, religious or political standing have found themselves looking into the cameras for all the wrong reasons. When having it all leaves one assuming they deserve all and are above all, the proverbial wheels begin to loosen.

King Uzziah was God's man. He faithfully pursued the Lord for guidance. God said. Uzziah did. He obeyed his commands. He cried out to God when he faced resistance. God gave him victory and expanded his kingdom. After awhile, he looked around at all he had been given and determined himself to be an amazing guy. Oops. Nothing, not even the priest only access to the Temple's sanctuary should be denied him. Down he went.

Prosperity is a fierce and fiery trial. It has ruined the best of us. It lures us ever so subtly into the sinister trap of the devil. "You don't need God." "You got it all under control." "You really are the big deal." Once there, anything is possible. Most of us reading this today want for nothing. The desperate are those struggling people we help from time to time. It's time for us to fall on our knees daily and confess that Jesus is Lord, not us.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Wisdom

"God surely knows where it (wisdom) can be found, for he looks throughout the whole earth, under all the heavens. He made the winds blow and determined how much rain should fall. He made the laws of the rain and prepared a path for the lightning. Then, when he had done all this, he saw wisdom and measured it. He established it and examined it thoroughly. And this is what he says to all humanity: 'The fear of the Lord is true wisdom; to forsake evil is real understanding'"  Job 27:23-28 I had an "incident" with the one cup at a time coffee maker the other day. Apparently, the lid that screws on to the mini coffee filter holder is an important part of the process. Who knew? I thought I could make a stronger cup of coffee without it. All I ended up doing was making a real mess that I cleaned up with giggling coworkers nearby. I believe, however, I am now armed with a little more knowledge and wisdom.  Job was a righteous dude. He was wise and well-res...
Read more

Faith in Christ

" How foolish can you be? After starting your Christian lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort." Galatians 3   As my daughter's team laced up their soccer cleats for the championship game, it wasn't looking good. More than couple of the players, including my daughter, were trying to battle through their injuries. They played an aggressive attacking style that allowed them to make it this far. When the game went to halftime, they were shockingly leading by a goal. Inexplicably, the coach made a decision to stop their attack and fall back into a defensive formation. The result was completely predictable - a heart breaking loss.   The Galatian believers that Paul was writing this letter to were at a crossroads. Paul had shared the wonderful news that Jesus died on the cross for their sins, was buried and was raised to life on the third day. All who believe in him will be made right with God. They received it with great joy....
Read more

Made Right

"But now God has shown us a different way of being right in his sight--not by obeying the law but by the way promised in the scriptures long ago. We are made right in God's sight when we trust in Jesus Christ to take away our sins. And we all can be saved in this same way, no matter who we are or what we have done." Romans 3:21-22 "What do I need to do to make this right?" I cannot begin to tell you how many times that I've wished for a customer service representative to ask me this question. Accounting errors, incorrect fees, unannounced pricing changes, wrong orders and the like have resulted in much frustration over the years. How refreshing it would be in those moments to work with someone who wanted me to feel like the wrong was addressed in a satisfactory way. An equally frustrating experience occurs when I am in the wrong and am unable for whatever reason to make things right with someone. Regardless of what side of the coin we may be on, in...
Read more