Wednesday, July 2.  The Contest.  Three years later, still in a drought, Elijah gets a message from God that it will soon rain. Elijah goes back to King Ahab and challenges him and all of the people to choose between God and Baal. In a contest between whose God is more powerful, the God of Israel answers Elijah’s prayer and wins. All the people fall and worship God, then they kill all of the Baal worshippers. Soon it begins to pour rain, and Elijah grows stronger. Read the story in 1 Kings 18. In what ways do you choose between God and other temptations each day? Notice that nobody asks God for rain, yet God initiates the end of the drought. How do you understand God’s sovereignty and grace in light of the actions of the people in this story?

Thursday, July 3. Jezebel.  Jezebel, Ahab’s foreign wife, threatens Elijah with death as revenge for the death of all her Baal prophets. Elijah runs away again and in his exhaustion, asks God to take his life. An angel wakes Elijah up and feeds him; then Elijah walks forty days and nights until he gets to the mountain top so he may meet God there. There are hurricane force winds, then an earthquake, then fire, but still no God. Then there is sheer silence and stillness and God instructs Elijah in a whisper what to do next. Read the story in 1 Kings 19. We long for that mountaintop moment in which God’ s voice is loud and clear, letting us know his will for us. Yet, we often receive God’s instruction within the quietness of our souls or through unspectacular events and ordinary people. Pay attention to God in the quiet and ordinary.

Friday, July 4. Naboth’s Vineyard.  King Ahab, already depressed after a battle, asks if he could buy Naboth’s vineyard, which bordered Ahab’s palace. When Naboth, declines, Ahab goes to Jezebel and sulks. Jezebel concocts a plot that leads to Naboth’s death by stoning, and Ahab takes the land. God, through Elijah, says that Jezebel will pay for these evil actions by her own gory death; however, Ahab will be spared because he is penitent; yet Ahab’s son will receive the punishment instead. Read the story in 1 Kings 21. The fate of Jezebel and Joram, her son by Ahab is recorded in 2 Kings 9. In the first story we see a picture of the abuse of power and social injustice. Business transactions between unequal partners are common today. Most of us, at some time, desire what someone else has. What do verses 27-29 tell us about the nature of God when we are remorseful? How does the violence in the second story mirror our world today? In the resurrection of Jesus, God brings hope and reconciliation out of an act of political violence. What are some present examples in which God has brought good out of our violence and destruction?

NOTE: One service on campus @ 10am this Sunday.  Our lake service is at 8:30am.