June 17 - 2 Chronicles 21:8-20 | 2 Kings 8:23-29 | 2 Chronicles 22:1-7 | 2 Kings 9:1-10:17 | 2 Chronicles 22:8-9 | 2 Kings 10:18-31

Good morning everyone,

Well, today we are going to see how God uses a non-believer to accomplish his goals. Proverbs 16:4 says, “The Lord has made all for Himself, Yes, even the wicked for the day of doom.” In chapter nine of Kings, Elisha sends one of his junior prophets to Ramoth Gilead in quest of Jehu with a message from the Lord anointing him king over Israel and that he is to destroy the house of Ahab in an effort to rid the the nation of the false god Baal. Upon receiving the information, Jehu wastes no time in first killing the reigning king, Joram, to secure the throne and then proceeds to do what he was told to, turning the nation into a blood bath. Seventy sons of Ahab were brutally murdered, their heads lopped off and delivered to Jehu. Then Jehu killed everyone in Jezreel who remained of the house of Ahab, as well as all his chief men, his close friends and his priests, leaving him no survivor. Then headed out toward Samaria where he killed all who were left in Ahab’s family. Brutal you say? Or consequence of choice. It all goes back to Deuteronomy where God flat out tells them, flat out tells us, that if we would just live how God calls us to live he would bless us abundantly. If we don’t, He will turn His back on us.

Regardless of what our beliefs are, every person in the world is a possible vessel for God, that’s what we’re here for, right? When we get to the book of Isaiah we will see that Nebuchadnezzar, though a babylonian pagan was a servant of God; Cyrus the Persian king, God called him his anointed one and said, “He is my shepherd and will accomplish all that I please.” God used Satan to accomplish his goals.  And let us not forget Judas, who fulfilled the Scriptures and the predictions of the prophets on that night he betrayed Jesus. So God can use anyone.

This certainly begs the question, how is God going to you? For good? Or for an example of what not to be like. No matter where you are in your life, believer or not, God can change you and use you to influence people for Christ.  Let’s take a look at the apostle Paul who as Saul was a very unlikely candidate for service to the Lord apart from wicked. He hunted Christians down, he was feared by all, doing everything in his power to destroy the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Then, one day, God met Saul on the road to Damascus. Changed his heart, changed his name and the rest, as they say, “is history.”

Can God use your life for good? Are you saved, that is to say, a born again Christian? John 3:7 says, “You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.” Are you fully surrendered to God, and if so, available for his use? Examine your heart, pray and ask God to reveal to you if there is any sin you need to confess. Anything holding you back from being used in a beautiful way to further God’s kingdom. After all, as Pastor Rick Warren has been quoted as saying, "It's not about you." Life is about God. God is the Creator of all, and all of creation, including me and you, exists to bring Him glory. Believing and living otherwise is a never-ending, empty uphill battle. 

Romans 12:1 says, “And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice -- the kind he will accept. When you think of what he has done for you, is this too much to ask?” And all God’s people said … Amen!

I pray you have an amazing day and to God be the Glory.

God bless you all …