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CRUNCH!!!   Oh, shoot!

Yes, that’s right. There was a car accident in the Radant household this past week. I might as well mention it, because people will see the crumpled back bumper of our car and you’ll ask anyway. On Monday, Diane and I were rear-ended coming off the highway. No serious injuries, thankfully. But it’s always a headache when this happens, in more ways than one!

Speaking with a friend just this morning, Diane summed things up very well. “It’s just a car. And it’s a reminder to hold loosely to the things the Lord gives us.” We are all blessed with so many good things—conveniences as well as necessities that help us to function. It’s easy to begin taking them for granted and investing more value in them than we really should. After all, they occupy a lot of our lives. (Think about how many hours a month most of us spend driving around in our cars, and how complicated life would be without cars of our own or taxis, buses, and Ubers to get us from place to place!)  But in the end, as much as we appreciate the resources and other blessings we receive, they’re all temporary. And they are entrusted to us as things to steward in pursuit of what is most important. It’s a good reminder that we can’t put too much value on them in their own right.

I’m a firm believer that God always has a purpose when He allows things to happen, whether good or bad. So, I suppose our little “crunch” was permitted, at least in part, as a reminder to keep our priorities firmly in place. Thank you, Lord, not only for safety, but also for the lessons You allow. Please help us to learn them well.

No doubt, He has other reasons as well, some of which we may never know. On that front, if you think of it, please pray for Amir, a new acquaintance we made through the incident. May God touch his life in significant ways through this event, too.

Well, that’s my main news this week. Hopefully, we won’t have to report on any more accidents for a very long time to come.

Closer to home, this coming Sunday, we’re going to continue our journey through stories about the Old Testament prophets from Samuel and Kings. This week, we’re into what will probably be the most challenging passage in the series. We’re looking at an incident involving 2 unnamed prophets, one from Judah and one from Israel, found in 1 Kings 13:1-32.

This is one of those passages where we’re tempted to scratch our heads and skip over the verses without lingering. It’s interesting, but also puzzling. I thought it would be good to explore, for my own benefit as well as everyone else’s. Then, when I got into it, I began to wonder whether it was really a good choice after all. It’s taken a lot of exploration, though in the end I’m glad for what I’ve learned. I trust the message will prove helpful to everyone else this Sunday, too. Easy or difficult, it’s an important passage. It comes right at the most significant turning point in the history of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, so it deserves to be included in our series.

If you’re wanting to read ahead, by all means, read through 1 Kings 13. You’ll quickly see what I mean! If you have more time and you want to set things in their larger context, it’s worth browsing through chapters 11 and 12 as well (ramping up after 11:41, though the whole of chapter 11 is relevant). It’s in these chapters that the kingdom, which was growing and thriving under David and Solomon takes a dramatic turn for the worse. Solomon dies, his son proves to be a foolish ruler, others compete for power, the kingdom splits in two, and the long downward spiral away from God begins in earnest in Israel, with Judah following soon after. To fully appreciate how significant this turning point is, you’d need to scan through the rest of 1 and 2 Kings to see just how bad things become. But we’ll dip in and out of that larger story over the next few weeks. For now, it’s enough to know that things start to go bad right at the point where we’ll be on Sunday. 

Hmm. Reflecting more on the dumpster fire that was Israel’s history in the books of 1 and 2 Kings, maybe a little car accident doesn’t look so bad after all.

Well, sorry if that all sounds just a little depressing. God is good all the time, and I’m enjoying His presence and blessing today. It’s a privilege to be part of the Church, living after Easter and Pentecost. There’s plenty to learn from 1 and 2 Kings, but I’m very glad I don’t live in that world.

I hope you’re having a blessed week, too! See you soon.

Pastor Ken