There’s been simmering a scripture in my brain and ears for a while now: Don’t be friends with the world. Being friends with the world means being an enemy of God. This doesn’t mean you can’t be nice to people, actually you ARE to be salt and light. This is a warning from James, Jesus’s brother teaching his people and us: Don’t follow the crowd, be with the Lord. Know your Shephard. AND this is crucial advice for getting the devil to flee from us. Know that God is jealous for us. Know that God gives us GRACE to draw close to us.
Don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us? But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you.
This connects with Proverbs 34 from Solomon’s time: He mocks proud mockers but shows favor to the humble and oppressed.
I find this is TOTALLY relevant in these days, just as it was in the days of Elijah (hey, that’s a song: “These are the days of Elijah – Declaring the word of the Lord”.) GOD WANTS TO DRAW CLOSER TO US, that’s why He sent Jesus, ultimate servant to bear our sins and we have GRACE. Now God sees us unblemished. We can be HOME.
So, Elijah, the famous prophet (written in the book of Kings), was hearing firsthand first ears from God then declaring God’s Word to others, including God’s desires, warnings of jealousy and instructions. Well known was the rift between King Ahab of the split kingdoms and Elijah. Ahab was continuing to serve fake gods like Baal. God said it was time to send rain (literally in a drought) and the rain would be a reminder of Reign as well to the people. God used Elijah to send a CLEAR message. Obadiah who loved the Lord and was brave enough to hide 100 prophets in two caves, was still so afraid of King Ahab that he begged Elijah to not make himself known to the king. Obadiah (read below) was trying to be friends with the world at this moment.
We can’t be friends with the world and listen to God at the same time. We must have ONE God. Our gods, lowercase are the shrines and desires that we make our pursuits in life. Instead we need to listen to God and realize that we don’t belong in this corrupt world.
Elijah went where the Lord sent him, we should too. We don’t have to wait out droughts when we listen and read and drink of the Word. Living Water is better that fake gods. Fire the old gods…
Amen (and to be continued)
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1Kings 18:1-17
After a long time, in the third year, the word of the Lord came to Elijah: “Go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the land.” So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab.
Now the famine was severe in Samaria, and Ahab had summoned Obadiah, his palace administrator. (Obadiah was a devout believer in the Lord. While Jezebel was killing off the Lord’s prophets, Obadiah had taken a hundred prophets and hidden them in two caves, fifty in each, and had supplied them with food and water.) Ahab had said to Obadiah, “Go through the land to all the springs and valleys. Maybe we can find some grass to keep the horses and mules alive so we will not have to kill any of our animals.” So they divided the land they were to cover, Ahab going in one direction and Obadiah in another.
As Obadiah was walking along, Elijah met him. Obadiah recognized him, bowed down to the ground, and said, “Is it really you, my lord Elijah?”
“Yes,” he replied. “Go tell your master, ‘Elijah is here.’”
“What have I done wrong,” asked Obadiah, “that you are handing your servant over to Ahab to be put to death? As surely as the Lord your God lives, there is not a nation or kingdom where my master has not sent someone to look for you. And whenever a nation or kingdom claimed you were not there, he made them swear they could not find you. But now you tell me to go to my master and say, ‘Elijah is here.’ I don’t know where the Spirit of the Lord may carry you when I leave you. If I go and tell Ahab and he doesn’t find you, he will kill me. Yet I your servant have worshiped the Lord since my youth. Haven’t you heard, my lord, what I did while Jezebel was killing the prophets of the Lord? I hid a hundred of the Lord’s prophets in two caves, fifty in each, and supplied them with food and water. And now you tell me to go to my master and say, ‘Elijah is here.’ He will kill me!”
Elijah said, “As the Lord Almighty lives, whom I serve, I will surely present myself to Ahab today.”
So Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him, and Ahab went to meet Elijah. When he saw Elijah, he said to him, “Is that you, you troubler of Israel?”
Continues at:
Debbie Upper 