The Power of Impending Invasion
Hezekiah was a king of Judah, the southern half of the nation of Israel after the post-Solomon civil war split the kingdom. Both 2 Kings 18 and 2 Chronicles 29 indicate that Hezekiah was a pretty good king.
The Assyrian army was in the midst of ransacking the northern Kingdom, Israel, and began invading Judah. So, Hezekiah began to prepare for a war against the Assyrian army. 2 Chronicles 32 indicates that significant improvements were made to Jerusalem’s defenses, many weapons and shields were made, and the army was reorganized.
But the battle never happened. Hezekiah, distraught by the threats made by the Assyrian king, plead with God for His help and God replied, “So this is what the Lord says about the king of Assyria:
“He will not enter this city,
nor will he shoot an arrow here.t
He will not attack it with his shield-carrying warriors,t
nor will he build siege works against it.
33 He will go back the way he came.
He will not enter this city,” says the Lord.”
2 Kings 19 goes on to say that the angel of the Lord destroyed 185,000 Assyrians that very night.
The slouch in me wonders, “Was all of that time wasted repairing city walls, and doubling the protection around Jerusalem? Was it really necessary to reorganize the army and make weapons and shields?”
The reality is that sometimes in order to make necessary changes all we need is the threat of an impending invasion on our way of life. Our health fails, we get a bad review at work, we get a speeding ticket, a freedom is threatened, or our spouse threatens to leave and all of the sudden we are motivated to get the work done.
The reality is, as a Christian, I am always under the threat of invasion. I just choose to live my life most of the time as if I’m not. I would get a lot more work done in reference to working out my salvation if I’d be continually aware of the threat.
Chick-fil-A – Why I ate there on August 1, 2012 and why I’ll be praying for them on August 3, 2012
Who would have ever been able to guess that a restaurant could polarize a nation? Not over their food, not over their service, not over their hours of operation, not over their customer base, but over the views of the leader of the business to support the definition of marriage as being only between a man and a woman.
We eat at Chick-fil-A because most of us LOVE it. We love the service and we love the food, especially that warm chocolate chip cookie.
I ate at Chick-fil-A on August 1, 2012 because attempting to destroy a business and its leader because the leader is FOR the traditional definition of marriage is wrong. Slandering the leader and labeling him as a homophobe is wrong. Standing beside a brother in Christ and proposing my support is right. In the end, I don’t believe homophobia is the impetus for believing in the definition of traditional marriage, but the lack of tolerance for this view is going to spin it that way every time.
Might a homosexual person be offended by my choice to do business with Chick-fil-A on August 1, or any other day I choose to eat there?
Maybe.
Was that or will that be my intention?
No.
Are there some who did business with Chick-fil-A today who had impure intentions?
Probably.
I am just as concerned that the HUGE amount of business that Chick-fil-A did on August 1, 2012 pushed those who promote homosexual marriage away from Jesus, but might my testimony about the transformational power of Jesus Christ have been compromised if I would have just stood idly by and watched one of my brothers be slandered and labelled a bigot without coming to his defense and offering my support?
I think it would.
On Friday, as the pro-homosexual marriage lobby tries to protest Chick-fil-A, with a Kiss Mor Chicks campaign, I’ll be praying that every Chick-fil-A employee is just as courteous and servant minded as they were today, and that those Chick-fil-A employees that are Christians will be given the opportunity to communicate the truth about sin and what God has done about it through Jesus with both actions and words so that anyone, gay or straight, through the hearing of the Word will be led to repentance and into our family of faith.
I’ll also pray that what protest is done is peaceful and without incident.
So, join me in “Pray 4 Mor Chicks” on Friday, August 3rd, 2012.