“I called you so often, but you wouldn’t come. I reached out to you, but you paid no attention. You ignored my advice and rejected the correction I offered. So I will laugh when you are in trouble! I will mock you when disaster overtakes you—when calamity overtakes you like a storm, when disaster engulfs you like a cyclone, and anguish and distress overwhelm you. When they cry for help, I will not answer. Though they anxiously search for me, they will not find me. For they hated knowledge and chose not to fear the LORD. They rejected my advice and paid no attention when I corrected them. Therefore, they must eat the bitter fruit of living their own way, choking on their own schemes.” - Proverbs 1:24-31
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"God hears us when we call" - We sing about this. We hear it in sermons. We read it in the Bible. We know this even though sometimes in the heat of the moment we may have our doubts. However, when you read Proverbs 1, you may go "Whoa, wait a minute! THAT's in the Bible?" Yes. It is. The idea that God would laugh at someone in their time of trouble, that He deliberately would not answer when we call out for Him is shocking!

And yet it's not. Think this through - when a kid takes for granted that "Daddy will cover it - I can go ahead and do what I want" its a case of  counting on "premeditated forgiveness" as in:

• I know he won't like this
• I know it might cause problems and have costs
• But I'm counting on somebody fixing my mess for me after I do what I want.

It's the counting on the promise of the other being a "pushover". If you are a parent you understand how viscerally this offends us. It's wrong for someone to take love for granted, to deliberately do wrong while counting on another's goodwill to come to the rescue. Here's the thing: GOD IS NOBODY'S "PUSHOVER".

Read the passage again and notice a couple things:

• God is consistently trying to correct and direct you to what's best 
• We don't get to pick and choose when we want God's help
• If we scheme to do our thing and expect Him to clean up the mess, we discover the costs are still there waiting for us!

Actions have consequences.  God shows mercy - unless you are trying to use it as your get-out-of-jail-free card. If you do wrong counting on Him coming to rescue (the "schemes" mentioned in Proverbs 1), you may find He's not going to be there to clean up your mess. 

Today, think it through. Listen when He offers direction and correction. If you push Him away thinking you can call on Him later after you've "done your thing" then as the old saying goes - "You've got another thing coming".

​Spark. Ouch.

“In addition, the crews of Hiram and Solomon brought gold from Ophir, and they also brought red sandalwood and precious jewels. The king used the sandalwood to make steps for the Temple of the LORD and the royal palace, and to construct lyres and harps for the musicians. Never before had such beautiful things been seen in Judah.” - 2 Chronicles 9:10-11

So here's a thought to start your day: Just because something looks good now doesn't mean it will stay that way.  The story of Solomon looks great if you just glance at it:

• Son of a legendary king takes over and asks God for wisdom to lead well.
  
• Gets blessed with wisdom and riches as a result.
  
• Kingdom grows. Everyone one is in awe. Unparalleled prosperity is the result... at first.

See that last part is the rub - things looked great... for a bit. They had the very best stuff they ever had as a people (verse 11 says "Never before had such beautiful things been seen in Judah.") We like nice stuff, don't we? The problem is, their illustrious prosperity-generating-ruler was about to lead them down a dark path of idolatry and even government sanctioned worship that would involve child sacrifice (see Leviticus 20:1-5 and 1 Kings 11:1-11).

Today there's a simple two word reminder for this SPARK: WATCH OUT! Watch out that you don't value prosperity and nice things so much that you go down the wrong road without even noticing. Watch out for evaluating opportunities and people by the allure of the good things they can provide when God's things may end up getting left behind. Watch out for the way nice stuff feels very "now" and decline often happens so slowly we don't notice until the damage is done.

Solomon was wise - in fact in Ecclesiastes he makes a point of bragging about how wise he'd become, all while 1 Kings tells us he was rapidly losing his moral compass and leading the nation to ruin. Today, you need to aim for better eyesight than the "wise guy". Don't get blinded by short term "shiny-stuff" - Keep your eyes on God's bigger picture.

​SPARK... and let the rest burn.

“If they sin against you—and who has never sinned?—you might become angry with them and let their enemies conquer them and take them captive to a foreign land far away or near. But in that land of exile, they might turn to you in repentance and pray, ‘We have sinned, done evil, and acted wickedly.” - 2 Chronicles 6:36-37

We like encouragements but aren't so excited about warnings, nevertheless here is one for you today. Solomon prayed the words above at the dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem, and did you see what he prophetically said? Read it again, and you will notice that he describes EXACTLY what happened to Israel and Judah a couple hundred years later: they had turned away from God, and He allowed their enemies to conquer them and then take them away in exile. Solomon had a sense of something dangerous in their future... but didn't have sense enough to recognize how his own actions would set it all in motion. A few years after Solomon prayed this remarkable prayer asking God for mercy on future generations, Solomon turned sharply away from God through a series of poor choices which the Lord repeatedly warned him not to make. The wrongs Solomon embraced sowed the seeds of that captivity that would envelop their entire nation. He's asking God to show mercy for something he would actually cause.

Today, thank God for his mercy and great grace ABSOLUTELY. But with your thanks, how about adding a big dose of humility by asking Him to help you listen and obey His voice this week. Only fools believe in "Easier to ask for forgiveness than for permission." Forgiveness involves pain, damage, and the long slow task of rebuilding. It's far better to pay attention on the front and stay on track. If you get a glimpse of what might go wrong spiritually, morally, ethically - then ask God to help you go the right way. His forgiveness is already out there - what we need is for our obedience to be right here.

Father, thank You for being here when we fall - but help us remember that You'd prefer to help us stand in the first place!

Spark - ouch, that's hot.
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“There, before the Ark, King Solomon and the entire community of Israel sacrificed so many sheep, goats, and cattle that no one could keep count!”  - 1 Kings 8:5

So here's a lesson from history long ago: King Solomon was leading the nation of Israel as they were getting ready to dedicate their awesome new temple. It was an striking scene and so full of grand celebration that they people couldn't even keep track of it all! And in the middle of reading about the massive amounts of sacrifices they were making, my thoughts drift back to the words of the prophet who first mentored Israel's original king. Samuel was speaking to King Saul and told him these words:

““What is more pleasing to the LORD: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice? Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams.” - 1 Samuel 15.22

Solomon's big moment would be forgotten in the wrongs he would later do (check out 1 Kings 11:4-11) and in how much damage he would do to their nation. All this show ended up being meaningless as what he did in the long run overruled what he did in this moment.

I hope that today you will consider that: You are more than a moment - for better or worse. In a moment you can make big promises but its what you do day after day that determines if they come true. Conversely, in a moment you can also fail miserably and think all is lost but if you get up and walk on, there may be hope yet.

You are more than a moment.

​Spark.

I happen to own the best cat in the world.  I mean it, there are no other cats like him.  However, I grew up with several dogs, and while I don’t consider myself strictly a “dog person”, I truly love them as well.  One interesting thing about dogs is their awareness of their own stature, and the sense that they will accommodate their attitude to project a larger presence.  Big dogs? Awesome.  They know their size and are all good. Small dogs- Yippy dogs? Uggh. Totally ridden with Complex, they know they are too small to take down anything, but they sure will snip at your ankles until you are persuaded to give them what they want. It paints an interesting picture of the effectiveness of the devil.  He can’t really affect any eternal outcome; we are sealed in Christ and our salvation is secure.  But that certainly doesn’t mean he won’t yip and snip at us, trying to get us to bend to his intentions.
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Peter reminds us of just that (1Peter 5:8).  “Be sober-minded, be alert.  Your adversary the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour.”  
 
Paul emphasizes that we are not to “give the devil a foothold” (Eph. 4:27).  In theory, we could cast that aside and think, “well, that’s all he can get of us”, but be aware, be alert.  He may only be snatching at your feet, but it might make you jump.  Or maybe he’s got your heel, and you are turning in circles instead of heading forward on the straight path God intends for you.  My point is this: he can’t affect the outcome, but he sure can weigh down your effectiveness.  
 
So, with that said, as you are experiencing your day, know that the devil does yip and snip.  See it for what it is, and don’t let him get you at the ankle.  Remember who truely hasyou, the One who is holding you, and will never let you go.  God’s got us, and rest assured that no amount of snipping changes that.  
 
Psalm 46:7 says “The LORD of Armies is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold.”  Then, same chapter, verse 11 echoes it, “The LORD of Armies is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold.”  So important, he said it twice.