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So Ahab sent to all the Israelites, and assembled the prophets at Mount Carmel. Elijah then came near to all the people, and said, ‘How long will you go limping with two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.’ The people did not answer him a word. Then Elijah said to the people, ‘I, even I only, am left a prophet of the Lord; but Baal’s prophets number four hundred and fifty. Let two bulls be given to us; let them choose one bull for themselves, cut it in pieces, and lay it on the wood, but put no fire to it; I will prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood, but put no fire to it. Then you call on the name of your god and I will call on the name of the Lord; the god who answers by fire is indeed God.’ All the people answered, ‘Well spoken!’ Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, ‘Choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first, for you are many; then call on the name of your god, but put no fire to it.’ So they took the bull that was given them, prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon, crying, ‘O Baal, answer us!’ But there was no voice, and no answer. They limped about the altar that they had made. At noon Elijah mocked them, saying, ‘Cry aloud! Surely he is a god; either he is meditating, or he has wandered away, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.’ Then they cried aloud and, as was their custom, they cut themselves with swords and lances until the blood gushed out over them. As midday passed, they raved on until the time of the offering of the oblation, but there was no voice, no answer, and no response.Then Elijah said to all the people, ‘Come closer to me’; and all the people came closer to him. First he repaired the altar of the Lord that had been thrown down; Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord came, saying, ‘Israel shall be your name’; with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord. Then he made a trench around the altar, large enough to contain two measures of seed. Next he put the wood in order, cut the bull in pieces, and laid it on the wood. He said, ‘Fill four jars with water and pour it on the burnt-offering and on the wood.’ Then he said, ‘Do it a second time’; and they did it a second time. Again he said, ‘Do it a third time’; and they did it a third time, so that the water ran all round the altar, and filled the trench also with water. At the time of the offering of the oblation, the prophet Elijah came near and said, ‘O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your bidding. Answer me, O Lord, answer me, so that this people may know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.’ Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt-offering, the wood, the stones, and the dust, and even licked up the water that was in the trench. When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, ‘The Lord indeed is God; the Lord indeed is God.’ (1 Kings 18:20-39)
This is one of my favorite stories. I loved hearing it the first time I heard it as a child. In fact, I just shared the story with my grandson. (He's a second grader now by the way, and could read the title of today's devotional And I was on the phone when he came to see the picture above and he liked it) The lesson is simple; there can be no contest with God; God wins every time! The contest in today's reading was between God and the false god Baal. Baal had 450 prophets and they had done a pretty good job of convincing people that Baal was indeed a god. Elijah had had a rough ministry among them and was ready to give up when he put on this contest. Simple enough, get two bulls, you Baalists prepare your bull, I will prepare mine. Just don't set any fire to it, we'll let you go first and call on Baal and ask him to set fire to it. They waited almost all day, and not a spark from the sky. Elijah had fun mocking them even suggesting what the picture's caption shows. Then Elijah has water poured on his offering, enough water to drench the altar and the trench he dug around it and he then called on God to answer him, and boom, God did. No contest. God wins every time.
Whatever you may be facing, be it a temptation or a challenge, God will answer and God will win it for you. You may be drenched in whatever you are facing, but God will answer you and deliver you from your challenge or temptation. Yesterday's reading on a calendar we have that quotes from our homeboy, John Wesley has him quoting what a Moravian shared with him about temptations (paraphrasing): "You sometimes have to flee from your temptations and hide in the wounds of our Lord." Again, no contest. God. Win. Every. Time.
PRAYER: Loving God, in the midst of what we face, we are not alone; You are with us. Hold our hands, hold up our heads and hearts, and let us proclaim that there is no contest, challenge, trial, or temptation that You will not win. Every time. In Christ Jesus we pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
Prayer Request: Since coming back from Portland I had too much to attend to with the district, but last night we drove into Houston to visit my Dad in a bit. He is still hanging on, but sleeping mostly. Your prayers are deeply appreciated. God bless you and yours is my prayer.
