“When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she proceeded to destroy the whole royal family.”
~ 2 Kings 11:1
Hi James and Ellen,
What do you think is God’s preprogrammed, choreographed plan for your lives? Do you believe that God is sovereign? Do you believe that God is in complete control of everything that and everyone who has anything to do with your lives? Your grandmaa and grandpaa have been home for about an hour after going to the Sunday morning service at a Christ-follower fellowship of guys, gals and kids. The pastor of the Mountain Springs Christ-follower fellowship of guys, gals and kids where your grandmaa and grandpaa go to on Sunday mornings is teaching through the Galatians Book. At one point this morning during his expository teaching, the pastor – Steve Holt, said that there are ‘fullness of time’ moments when a guy or gal will be able to use for the kingdom of God – especially when he or she has gotten older, his or her hardwired gifting, all the education and training that he or she has ever received, all the experiences that he or she has ever gone through, all the . . . your grandpaa believes at this time that he is in a pre-‘fullness of time’ moment. A good friend contacted your grandpaa about two months ago. Your grandmaa and grandpaa and Mandy became friends when they lived at the same time in Guatemala as field team missionaries on OC International missionary teams. Mandy is the C.E. (Christian Education) Director at Spanish River Church in Boca Raton, Florida. Mandy told your grandpaa that there was the possibility that the position of mission pastor in her church was going to be opening up and that if he was still thinking that his greatest influence in missions at this time could be from being in that kind of position, that he should send his résumé to her and that she would pass it on to who has responsibility of filling that position in her Christ-follower fellowship of guys, gals and kids. Mandy’s phone call to your grandpaa was the impetus for him to write a résumé. At the end of a recent morning service at the Mountain Springs Christ-follower fellowship of guys, gals and kids – during which time the Executive Pastor was who preached, Richard asked every guy, gal and kid in this service to first cup his or her hands together and then to move his or her cupped hands forward with what he or she knew was completely out of his or her hands – turning whatever it was over to God for Him to resolve whatever it was. Your grandpaa rarely does this kind of thing during a church service but this time he did; your grandpaa cupped his hands and . . . your grandmaa and grandpaa were asked two days later by OC International’s Vice President of Personnel to meet with him. When Ray met with your grandmaa and grandpaa, Ray told your grandpaa that there was no longer a place in OC International where your grandpaa would be able to use his gifting, education, training, experiences, etc. and that . . . while he was reflecting on this totally unexpected and stupefying decision that was made by OC International’s leadership, your grandpaa mentioned what he had done just a couple of days earlier at the end of the church service at the Mountain Springs Christ-follower fellowship of guys, gals and kids. Even though your grandmaa had noticed your grandpaa cupping his hands at the end of the church service and then moving his hands forward, she had not asked your grandpaa what he had left with God. Your grandmaa had done the same thing – cupping her hands together and then moving them forward leaving something with God. When your grandpaa told Ray that he had left with God two days earlier what he was doing in OC International’s headquarters, your grandmaa said that she had done the very same thing.
There is a total of 1189 chapters between the 66 books that are in the Bible. After your grandpaa sends one of these missives to your dad, he will have your grandmaa take a slip of paper out of a short Pringles can in which your grandpaa has the unpicked paper slips for the chapters that are in the Bible. A book in the Bible and the chapter of that book on the slip is the next book and chapter on which your grandpaa will write a ‘James and Ellen devotional’. Because the paper slips in the Pringles can become more and more separated each time that your grandpaa shakes the can, your grandpaa could say that it is coincidental that the next paper slip that your grandmaa took out of the Pringles can is another book and chapter that recounts the same incident that your grandpaa just wrote about – which is what happened last night when your grandmaa took 2 Kings 11 as the slip of paper out of the Pringles can, but . . .
Verse 1 says, “When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she proceeded to destroy the whole royal family.” Athaliah’s misguided, manipulative and maniacal decision six years earlier to murder her husband Jehoram’s kids backfired on her when one of Jehoram’s kids – Joash, was rescued by his aunt Jehosheba and hidden – along with his nurse, in the temple of God. Joash was just a baby when his stepma went on her killing rampage. Murdering was a regular happening in Joash’s family. Joash’s dad – Jehoram, when he became king over the guys and gals who lived in Judah’s land area, murdered his own bros. Jehu – when he became king over the guys and gals who lived in Israel’s land area, murdered forty-two guys and gals who were from the families of Omri and Ahab. Omri and Ahab were Athaliah’s grandpa and dad. Ahaziah’s bros – who were Athaliah’s kids, were murdered by marauding guys from the country of Arabia. Jehosheba’s dad was Jehoram. Jehosheba married a faithful temple priest whose name was Jehoiada. When Joash was seven years old, Jehoiada – using mercenary soldiers, publicly presented Joash to God’s specially chosen guys and gals who were living in the city of Jerusalem to be the next king to reign over the guys and gals who were living in Judah’s land area. Jehoiada had Athaliah murdered. A ‘fullness of time’ never just happens; a ‘fullness of time’ is when God circumstantially reveals to a guy or gal His perfect will.
2 Kings 11 (750)