Power - I Kings 18

Our story this week centered on Elijah on Mount Carmel when he puts the false god of Baal to the test.  We started out our class discussing things that are powerful to us.  There were a few examples that came with our lesson.  Can you think of things that are powerful in nature?  One child drew a lightening bolt.  Some of the examples were a volcano, a lion, the ocean and a hurricane.

Since I just finished reading a book on Elijah this story is stirring in my soul.  Elijah had been running for his life for three years from King Ahab.  God puts the false god of Baal to the test.  Both the prophets of Baal and Elijah build alters, both sacrifice an animal but Elijah has the them pour water over his sacrifice.  The children were shocked to hear that their were 450 prophets of Baal and only one Elijah.

I love Elijah's prayer! 

“LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. ³⁷ Answer me, LORD, answer me, so these people will know that you, LORD, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.” 

Then the fire of the LORD fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.

 ³⁹ When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, “The LORD—he is God! The LORD—he is God!” 

Praise the Lord!  This is such a great example of the humility and praise that God desires from us.

2 Corinthians says in Chapter 5: 16 - 21 (NIV)

So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:^[a] The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.  

We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.  God made him who had no sin to be sin^[b] for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Praise the Lord!  Jesus gave Himself for us so that we could be reconciled to God.

Have a blessed day!

Linda