The Rock, The Road, and The Rabbi
Mary Frances Logue brought a book to me a few weeks ago before our vacation. She
only asked that I read it and consider it a gift. When we returned, I went into their
Sunday School class, head down, to let her know I had not read anything the entire
time I was on vacation. However, I started reading the book the next week and really
enjoyed the stories and information from Kathie Lee Gifford’s book The Rock, The
Road, and The Rabbi. Throughout the book, Kathie shares her experiences of going
to Israel and walking through the steps of Jesus and his disciples. Along with her is a
Rabbi named Jason Sobel who brings Biblical stories to life by sharing history or his
own perspectives that we may neglect in Biblical interpretation. I’ve found the book
to be a joy to read and thought I would share key thoughts with you over the next
couple of weeks that I hope encourage you in your faith.
Chapter 4
Kathie Lee shares about her witness of Mount Carmel. She shares of the account of
the prophets of Baal and Elijah where a mighty test took place to judge between
who’s God is the one true God. We know the end result, God brought down fire and
consumed Elijah’s offering and confirmed His supreme authority over man and their
invented gods. Kathie, though, makes an interesting observation of the events that
took place then and some of the challenges we face today in the modern American
version of Christianity. She writes:
“The mountaintop was packed with people who still worshiped Yahweh, still said
their prayers, and still sang their songs. But they had added the worship of Baal
alongside their worship of Yahweh, making the pagan Baal equal to the Lord of all
creation! This was the blasphemy that enraged the sovereign God. During the
showdown on Mount Carmel, God sent down fire from heaven and proved to all who
were present that He alone is God.
I believe it is this same kind of blasphemy today that breaks God’s heart when we add
false gods to our own worship. What have we allowed in our lives to be equally or
even more important to us than God?”
This question is a difficult one but can also be life changing. If we embrace the things
of God and remove the things that separate us from God, we open ourselves up to
the Holy Spirit in ways we may have never previously experienced. We allow God to
pour out on us in a way that is all consuming as he consumed the offering made by
Elijah. My prayer for you this week is that you allow and embrace God’s all-consuming presence. It will make all the difference.
Keep The Faith,
Pastor Tommy
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