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

Tested

"He was testing Philip, for he already knew what he was going to do." John 6:1-13 Test day. I remember all too well the feelings of discomfort connected to that expression from my school days. I was so thankful the last time I had to take one. Tests felt so much like a cruel game of, "Guess What I'm Thinking?" with the author of the test. During one particularly grueling test, I noticed one of my classmates cheating like there was no tomorrow. Predictably, he aced it and I let's just say, didn't. It occurred to me later that I was actually being tested in two different ways that day. By God's grace alone, I passed them both. Philip was in the hot seat that day. Jesus, out of the twelve disciples, decided to single him out for testing. From all appearances, there was a massive resource shortage. Five thousand men plus women and children all hungry up against whatever money Judas had in the money bag. Philip was apparently incredulous as he emphaticall
Read more

Nothing Left

"'What do you mean what's the matter?' Micah replied. 'You've taken away all the gods I have made, and my priest, and I have nothing left!" Judges 17, 18 Unaware of some purchases that my wife had made earlier in the day, I didn't even hesitate to use my debit card at the checkout line. However, our bank was fully aware of all those purchases as well as the one I was attempting to make at the present moment. Clearly, the math didn't add up. Something from nothing is something less than nothing and that, as it turns, is frowned upon by our aforementioned bank. In short, the bank told the merchant there was nothing left and the merchant told me, "Declined." Micah was one panicked individual. His personal little self-directed and self-centered religion was coming apart at the seams. He had idols. He had priests. He had a shrine and even a sacred ephod (a priestly garment). All this, he thought, secured the LORD's blessing. When the warri
Read more

Who is Jesus?

“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:15, 16 NIV) What are your thoughts about Jesus? Every major religion on earth has an opinion on who he was. Mostly they say that he was a good man, a powerful teacher, and a peacemaker. All of that is true. But what about him being the Son of God? Peter, after being with Jesus non-stop for 4 years was confident of his identity. He was assured that Jesus was God in the flesh, the Messiah that was to come. You essentially have three options when it comes to what you believe about Jesus: 1) He was a Liar 2) He was a Lunatic (out of his mind) 3) Or that He was Lord If he was, and is, Lord, then he deserves our worship and our entire lives. If Jesus is Lord, it is true that we have access to God by His sacrifice on the cross. Join us Friday night at 7, as we reflect on Jesus going to the cross for the sins of the entire world (Good Frida
Read more