Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.
2 Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing.
3 Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
5 For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.
We are unique in many ways. Hence, we all have different methods of approaching difficult situations. Some of us turn to professionals, family, friends and neighbors when we do not know what to do with our problems. But often time these sources of help are inadequate. So, many of us throw our hands in the air and give up. Others who have read God’s Word and believed in His promises turn to Him for divine help.
In 2 Chronicles 20 Jehoshaphat, king of Judah was faced with a very difficult situation. He got the news from the people that the Moabites, Meunites and the Ammonites were mounting an attack against him. And even though he was fearful. He never took things in his hands, and he never surrendered. Instead, he turned to God for divine intervention. Here is what the Bible says:
“Jehoshaphat was terrified by the news and begged the LORD for guidance. He also ordered everyone in Judah to begin fasting. 4 So people from all the towns of Judah came to Jerusalem to seek the LORD’s help.
Jehoshaphat stood before the community of Judah, and Jerusalem, in front of the new courtyard at the Temple of the LORD. 6 He prayed, “O LORD, God of our ancestors. You alone are the God, who is in heaven. You are the ruler of all the kingdoms of the earth. You are powerful and mighty; no one can stand against you! 7 O our God, did you not drive out those who lived in this land when your people Israel arrived? And did you not give this land forever to the descendants of your friend Abraham? 8 Your people settled here and built this Temple to honor your name. 9 They said, ‘Whenever we face any calamity such as war, plague, or famine, we can come to stand in your presence before this Temple where we honor your name. We can cry out to you to save us, and you will hear us and rescue us” 2 Chronicles 20:3-9).
God did answer Jehoshaphat’s prayer. His soldiers did not have to lift a finger. The enemies started fighting against themselves. The Bible says; there were dead bodies lying on the ground as far as the eye could see. Not a single one of the enemy had escaped.
And here is the kicker according to verse 30: “So Jehoshaphat’s kingdom was at peace, for his God had given him rest on every side”.
“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).
The Pharisees in Jesus’ time were revered by the people, but Jesus had very harsh words for them.
These pompous, holier than thou men towered over the people like mighty guardians. They were members of a religious sect who often clashed with Jesus over His interpretation of the Law.
The name Pharisee means (separated one). Hence, the Pharisees separated themselves from society to study and teach the law, but they also separated themselves from the common people and labelled them religiously unclean.
Regardless, the Pharisees commanded respect from the masses because of their pious persona. Still, Jesus was not impressed. He saw them as empty shells and scolded the group for unnecessary punishments they placed on the poor.
In a scathing rebuke of the Pharisees found in Matthew 23 and Luke 11, Jesus called them hypocrites and exposed their sins. He compared the Pharisees to whitewashed tombs, which are beautiful on the outside but are filled with dead men’s bones and uncleanness on the inside.
“ Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. ” (Matthew 23:13).
“Woe to you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore the more important aspects of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things” (Matthew 23:23).
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs that indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. 28 Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness” (Matthew 23:27-28).
Jesus had just finished healing the sick and casting out demons. The crowd overwhelmed Him. He needed a break, so He instructed His disciples to crossed on the other side of the lake.
The Bible said, ” Jesus got into the boat and started across the lake with his disciples. Suddenly, a fierce storm struck the lake, with waves breaking into the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him up, shouting, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”
Jesus responded, “Why are you afraid? You are men with little faith!” Then He got up and rebuked the wind and waves, and suddenly there was a great calm.
The disciples were amazed. “Who is this man?” they asked. “Even the winds and waves obey him” (Matthew 8:23-27).
Apparently, the disciples, who had been with Jesus for a long time did not know Him. They had seen Him cast out demons and healed the sick, yet they did not trust Him. Do you?
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