Thought for November 1

History:

• 1210: King John begins jailing Jews in England
• 1604: Shakespeare's "Othello" first presented
• 1665: Robert Hooke's "Micrographia" is published--first to use drawings using a microscope and coined the word "cell"
• 1765: Stamp Act goes into effect in the colonies
• 1834: First published reference to poker
• 1859: Cape Lookout Lighthouse lit--NC
• 1861: George McClellan named chief of Union army
• 1894: Vaccine for diphtheria announced
• 1915: Parris Island named Marine Corps Recruit Depot
• 1922: Ottoman Empire ends when Ataturk take Constantinople and declares Republic of Turkey
• 1924: Boston Bruins are first US team to join the NHL
• 1931: Dupont introduces synthetic rubber
• 1938: Seabiscuit defeats War Admiral in match race
• 1945: First issue of Ebony Magazine published
• 1946: Charles Johnson becomes 1st Black president of Fisk
• 1967: "Cool Hand Luke" released
• 1991: Three faculty and one staff killed at University of Iowa by student
• 1997" "Titanic" released
• 1998: I watch as Jerry Rice and Steve Young complete their 80th TD pass--we lose to Green Bay at Lambeau but beat them in the playoffs
• 2021: Global Covid death toll exceeds 5 million
• Born: Crawford Long [first to use ether as anesthetic in surgery; Jan was born in Crawford Long Hospital, Atlanta], Stephen Crane [Red Badge of Courage], Grantland Rice [sportswriter who called the Notre Dame backfield the Four Horsemen], Betsy Palmer, Gary Player, Bill Anderson, Barry Sadler [Ballad of the Green Berets], Fernando Valenzuela, Tim Cook [Apple], Ann Donovan [Basketball HOF], Big Kenny [Big & Rich], 
• Died: Man O War, Dale Carnegie, Ezra Pound, Mamie Eisenhower, Phil Silvers, Walter Payton, Paul Tibbets [Enola Gay], Fred Thompson,  

Thought:

Continuing with my look at 2 Kings 17:1-18 this morning. The northern kingdom has fallen to Assyria and here God explains why that has happened. Yesterday we saw that it was their sin, their placing other gods before God, their walking in the customs of this world, their secret sins, and their altars and pillars to other things. Now God continues enumerating the reasons for their fall:

• They did evil things provoking the Lord [17:11]. What does it take to provoke you? What makes your anger build and you grit your teeth? Now think about what provokes the Lord to anger. My lack of humility. My lack of gratitude. My ignoring Him and His word. My treatment of others. What does the Lord ask--love mercy, do justice, walk humbly. 
• They served idols [17:12]. Well, I would never serve an idol. Really? Who are your idols? Who do you want to be like? Who do you dress like? Whose hairstyle do you copy? Whose lifestyle do you envy? Whose position do you want? Whose jersey do you wear? Whose television show can't you miss? I'm asking myself those questions this morning. 
• They refused to repent [17:13]. God sent prophets to warn them, yet they refused to repent. Every week we sit in church and hear the word. Then we conclude that we are doing pretty well, better than most. We think what we have done for the Lord makes us worthy. But do I truly examine myself, look hard at myself and then truly repent. I read a couple of weeks ago that we confuse repentance with remorse. Remorse is being sorry. Repentance is making a 180 degree turn. 
• They did not listen [17:14]. Parents--we have seen this. Coaches--we have experienced this. Larry, you have experienced this. You know the truth. You get reminded of the truth. You hear but do not listen. The result--we praise with our lips, but our hearts are far away. 
• They rejected the covenant [17:15]. When I was saved, I made a covenant with the Lord. He is Master, Lord, God. I will honor and obey. When I ignore His commandments or quench His Holy Spirit, I reject Him and breach the covenant I made. 
• They made their children pass through the fire [17:17]. Here the Lord is probably talking about following the practices of Molech, a Canaanite deity who required child sacrifice.But in this verse God is speaking to me about the example we give to our children. We tell them God is the most important thing, then spend the weekend on a traveling team away from church. We tell them put Christ first, then take them to a game and miss time in His word. We tell them how important the Bible is, but never read it with them. And then we wonder why some professor they just met at college destroys their faith.

The result--the Lord was very angry. Now, that scares me. The God of all creation. The God of the flood and God who destroyed Sodom is angry. Lord, forgive me, forgive us. Help us turn our hearts completely to You. Help us awe You more than anything--then accept lives committed totally to You as our reasonable service of worship.

Blessings

Larry