July 6 – 2 Kings 14 & 2 Chronicles 25

Below are my thoughts from the daily Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Today’s reading comes from 2 Kings 9-11. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you read his word. Also above in the tabs is a link to the Bible reading plan.

What amazes me about people is we really have not changed much over the millineia. Look at today’s reading. Here is King Amaziah, he listen’s to God and does not carry the 100,000 Israelite troops into battle against the Edomites. He trust God in this instance, and God rewards him, he kills 20,000 Edomites, half by the sword and the other half by throwing them off the cliff … by the way, is not the Bible the best adventure book ever written ~ this is what Hollywood movies are made of. God gives him this amazing victory, but in the plunder stage he brings back the Edomite God’s to worship them.

How much are we like Amaziah? God gives us victories in life, but time and time again we are willing to prostitute ourselves out to other modern gods. Sure we are not diving into the Baals and Ashera of the day. But our sins are the same. Do you know what an Ashera poll was? It was carved image of a male penis. Ashera was a god of fertility. People would perform sex acts in order to evoke Ashera to send rain or open wombs. Now we do not worship Ashera, and turn to her for fertility, but how much do we turn to sex in our culture? All the time! Pornography, adultery, sexual promiscuity are just the obvious answers. But what really shows our cravings as a culture for sex is how much we use it to market our goods and wears. Sex sells does it not? So while we might not worship Ashera, the heart of her worship, sex, is still prevalent today. Sadly the church has not been able to abstain from this temptation either.

So how often do we see God bring us victory and then we turn right away from him? Sadly, all the time. Think about your own life and begin to strategize how you can avoid this trap yourself. 

June 2 – Song of Solomon 1 - 8

Below are my thoughts from the daily Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Today’s reading comes from Song of Solomon 1 - 8. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you read his word. Also above in the tabs is a link to the Bible reading plan.

Photo Credit: Microsoft Clip Art

In the United States there are laws on many state and local books that seem to be outdated. Like … in Ohio it is illegal to fish for whales on Sunday … or in Ohio you must honk your horn whenever you pass another vehicle … or in Cripple Creek, Colorado it is illegal to bring your horse or pack mule above the ground floor of any building … or in Denver, Colorado it is unlawful to lend your vacuum cleaner to your next-door neighbor. These laws seem silly don’t they? Many were probably on the books when they made sense and in an era gone by.

Now those above are funny. But then there are a set of laws that many states have that deal in some way with sex. Like in Virginia there is a law on the books that it is illegal to have sex with the lights on and that only the missionary position is allowable. These laws date back to an era where sex was viewed as a dirty and secret deed. They date back to a time when discussion of sex was a taboo topic. When I think of the heart of these laws I realize that for a very long time we had missed the mark on God honoring sex.

God designed sex for multiple reason … procreation, recreation, and connection between a husband and a wife. The last part of that last sentence is the key though, God created sex for a husband and a wife. Sex should be a positive element in a marriage. Sex is important to a marriage. It is an activity that if done in a God honoring way only happens for those two people between those two people.

God created sex. He created it to be fun. He created it to be emotional. He created it to be messy. He created it to be hot. He created it to be pleasurable. He created it to be sensual. He created it to be venerable. He created it for connection. He created it to simply be for a husband and a wife to be drawn together in a one flesh way. God celebrates married sex. God spoke through Solomon to write an entire book of the Bible to be devoted to sex. God wants us to glorify him in our sex with our spouse. But he wants it to only be with our spouse.

There is a verse that pops up in our reading today over and over again. It first appears in chapter two verse seven in Song of Solomon … “Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you by the gazelles and by the does of the field: Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires.” (NLT) God created sex and gave it to us as a gift. However, it is a gift to be shared in a marriage relationship and no place else. We must be on guard to honor that gift. We must practice this ourselves if not married. We must share this with our kids, our grandkids, and those around us. God wants you to enjoy sex. He just wants you to wait, to awaken love in committed relationship. Let’s talk about sex, not in a prudish way, but in a way that brings glory to God’s creation.

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