The Troubler


1 Chronicles 2:7

"And the sons of Carmi; Achar, the troubler of Israel, who transgressed in the thing accursed."

Achan will forever be known at the "troubler of Israel." What a terrible thing for which to be known. The sad part about this story is that, for the most part, Achan may have been a good man, but one action caused him to be known as the troubler. He may have been a good husband and father because we can see that his whole family was involved in this action with him, but because of one action we will never know. We will never know the good that Achan did because of the one action that troubled others.

Makings of an Unpleasant Home

Proverbs 21:9
"It is better to dwell in a corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman in a wide house."

Home should be one of the most pleasant places where you enjoy being. Home is supposed to be an oasis away from the struggles of the world. It is supposed to be a place of refuge where you can go and decompress from a day of struggle and battles.

Cleansing Agents

 

Psalm 119:9

"Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word."

 

Overcoming sin is a lifelong battle for every Christian. Fortunately, you don't have to fight this battle alone. God gives the Christian the wherewithal to overcome sin. Most of the time, it is our fault that we don't overcome sin. Our desire should be to cleanse ourselves from sin. When one is cleansed from sin, that means there is no trace of that sin on you. The Scriptures show us four things that cleanse the Christian from sin.

The Sound of Music

Psalm 66:1

"Make a joyful noise unto God, all ye lands:"

Music is one of those areas in Christianity that always seems to be a bit controversial. I don't believe it has to be that way because the Scriptures are very clear what music is right and wrong. You don't have to be a music expert to understand good music for God wrote the Scriptures in such a manner that anyone can understand to what type of music He wants His children to listen.

Waiting for God

2 Kings 19:37

"And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword: and they escaped into the land of Armenia. And Esarhaddon his son reigned in his stead."

It must have seemed like an eternity. Hezekiah had received a message from the king of Assyria that he would invade the land of Judah. Hezekiah did not falter in his trust in God. He told the people not to respond to the threats, and commanded them to call on God. The report of what the servants of the king of Assyria had said about other nations not being able to withstand them were true. Yet, Hezekiah knew that he served the Almighty and true God. He knew that he had done right in commanding the people not to listen to these words. Yet, he still faced this trial.

The Catalyst for Corporate Revival

Jonah 2:1

"Then Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish's belly,"

The Book of Jonah is truly about how to get right with God. There are two prevailing stories in this book. The first story is about the Prophet Jonah running from God's presence because he didn't want to preach a revival meeting to the people of Nineveh. The second story is about the city of Nineveh that had pushed God to the point where He would destroy the whole city.

Growing Beyond Your Capacity

2 Kings 6:1

"And the sons of the prophets said unto Elisha, Behold now, the place where we dwell with thee is too strait for us."

Every person's desire should be to grow beyond their capacity. It may seem like that would be impossible, but with God nothing is impossible. God is very capable of taking you beyond what you or anyone else could think you could do.

Important Spirits

Ecclesiastes 7:8

"Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit."

Proverbs 16:32 says, "He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city." Ruling your spirit is important to what kind of Christian you are going to be. You show me a person who has no control over their spirit, and I will show you a person who has no control over their life.

Success' Revelation

1 Kings 10:1

"And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to prove him with hard questions."

Success has a funny way of ruining good people. Good people have achieved success and it changed them. I guess it should be said that success has a way of revealing the true person. When a person achieves success, it truly reveals their heart.

The End of the Story

Proverbs 23:18

"For surely there is an end; and thine expectation shall not be cut off."

There are laws that cannot be broken no matter how hard you try to break them. For instance, what goes up must come down. Wherever there is sin there is death. One of the laws that many tend to overlook is that when there is a beginning there is always going to be an end. You may like the beginning, but you better be sure that the end is as good as the beginning.