The Fire Making Challenge

A Lenten series on Mountaintop Moments
– Elijah on Mount Carmel
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
1 Kings 18:16-46

[In this Lenten series, we will be looking at Mountaintop Moments. These mountains are more than just geographical features. They symbolize divine encounters and moments of revelation, faith and transformation. In other words, meeting God on the mountain top.]

  

At the end of the season of the TV show Survivor, there are four contestants remaining. However, only three will advance to the final. The bottom two compete in a fire making challenge to determine who that will be.

 

With a million dollars at stake, the competition is fierce, and the pressure is intense. But it pales in comparison to the competition and pressure that Elijah faced in his fire making challenge. His life was literally on the line.

 

Fifty-six years after the nation of Israel split into the northern kingdom (Israel) and southern kingdom (Judah), Ahab took power as the king of Israel. His reign was marked by significant idolatry and the promotion of Baal worship, largely influenced by his wife, Jezebel. Because of this, the Lord seethed with anger.

 

As a prophet of the Lord, Elijah confronted Ahab and Jezebel many times. On one such occasion, he directly challenged Baal, the Canaanite god of rain and fertility, when he told Ahab that “there will be no dew or rain… until I give the word!”

 

For the following three and a half years of the draught, Elijah hid from Ahab and Jezebel. Meanwhile in Israel, things had gotten much worse. Ahab blamed Elijah for the famine and had been looking for him everywhere to punish him. Not only was the famine very severe, but Jezebel had been killing the prophets of the Lord.

 

In one of the most dramatic scenes in the Bible, Elijah returned to Israel where he challenged four hundred fifty prophets of Baal to come to Mount Carmel for a fire making challenge. “All of Israel” gathered to watch.

 

²¹ Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.” But the people said nothing.        NIV

 

First, the prophets of Baal prepared their altar by placing the sacrificial bull on the wood, but did not light it. Then they called upon Baal for fire. From morning until noon they shouted, they danced, they cut themselves… but with no response.

 

Following their failure, Elijah prepared his altar. Besides the wood and the sacrificial bull, he also had large amounts of water poured over everything; not just one time, but three times!

 

Without performing the theatrics like the prophets of Baal, Elijah prayed a simple prayer. And when he finished, “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”.

 

Why did Elijah challenge the prophets of Baal? The answer is in his prayer.

 

^36b “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, prove today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant. Prove that I have done all this at your command. ³⁷ O Lord, answer me! Answer me so these people will know that you, O Lord, are God and that you have brought them back to yourself.”    NLT

 

This wasn’t just a challenge of the prophets of Baal, or even of Ahab and Jezebel. It was a challenge to the people of Israel. A challenge for them to recognize the power and sovereignty of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; to turn from Baal and follow the Lord only; to understand that “The Lord – he is God!”

 

How has the Lord challenged you? Probably not miraculously like he did with Elijah on Mount Carmel. But his Holy Spirit is at work in our lives every day to draw us closer to him.

 

Copyright 2025 Joseph B Williams

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www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

 

 

 

The Far Side of the Wilderness

A Lenten series on Mountaintop Moments
– Moses on Mount Sinai (or Horeb)
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Exodus 3:1-17 

[In this Lenten series, we will be looking at Mountaintop Moments. These mountains are more than just geographical features. They symbolize divine encounters and moments of revelation, faith and transformation. In other words, meeting God on the mountain top.]

  

In September 1974, when my wife and I were first married, we had season tickets for Michigan State football. There’s one game that still sticks in my memory. Ohio State was the perennial Big Ten champs and that year was no different. They were undefeated and ranked #1 in the country. We were average at best.

 

But that day, Levi Jackson ran for an 88-yard touchdown and the Spartans defeated the mighty Buckeyes! Later that night, as we watched the TV replay of Jackson’s winning run over and over again, we decided that we’d name our first son Levi.

 

You see, Debbie was born and raised in Lansing. And when growing up, her parents had season tickets for Spartan football for years. I also grew up in Michigan and graduated from Michigan State. I bleed green and white. Fast forward to 1985, we moved to Columbus, Ohio – home of the Buckeyes. Life is full of ironies.

 

Consider Moses. The very river that Pharoah had decreed to kill all Hebrew baby boys, saved Moses’ life. Discovered by Pharoah’s daughter, his biological mother was paid to nurse him. Raised as a prince in the household of Pharoah, despite Pharaoh’s decree. Spared by the grace of God, Moses showed no grace when he killed an Egyptian guard.

 

As a fugitive of the law, Moses fled to Midian, married the daughter of a Midianite priest, started a family and tended his father-in-law’s sheep. Until one day when he took the sheep to the “far side of the wilderness” at Mount Horeb, “the mountain of God”, also known as Mount Sinai. It was there that he met the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in a burning bush that didn’t burn.

 

God told Moses that he had seen the cruel oppression of his people, heard their desperate cries for help and that he had come to deliver them! Instead, he sent Moses the murderer, who hadn’t lived with his people for forty years. How ironic.

 

Moses gave the Lord excuse after excuse as to why he couldn’t do it. But, in a verse that’s easily overlooked, the Lord made this promise to Moses.

 

¹² And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.”                NIV

 

Moses’ life was filled with irony. You begin to get the feeling that maybe that’s how God works – through irony. After all, he works in ways you don’t expect. He works through ordinary people who do extraordinary things. He works through unexpected circumstances that change your life. He works through people’s weaknesses to show his strength.

 

Moses went to the far side of the wilderness to tend sheep, not to meet God. But ironically, God was there. Paul was in the middle of persecuting Christians when Jesus struck him blind so that he could see. Peter was in a fishing boat when Jesus invited him to come fish for men. Matthew was filling his pockets with tax money when Jesus said, “come follow me”.

 

Where have you met God? How has he surprised you? What has he done unexpectedly in your life? “I will be with you”, God told Moses. He makes the same promise to you and me even when we go to the far side of the wilderness.

 

Copyright 2025 Joseph B Williams

Feel free to share this blog with others.

www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

 

 

A Living Temple

A Lenten series on Mountaintop Moments
– King Solomon on Mount Moriah
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
2 Chronicles 5:2-6:11 

[In this Lenten series, we will be looking at Mountaintop Moments. These mountains are more than just geographical features. They symbolize divine encounters and moments of revelation, faith and transformation. In other words, meeting God on the mountain top.]

 

The Lord promised Abraham that he would have as many descendants as there were stars in the sky. And yet, after waiting twenty-five years for Sara to have a child, the Lord told him, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and sacrifice him”.

 

Early the next morning, Abraham started his three-day journey to take Isaac to the mountain that the Lord would show him. Once there, he built an altar and bound Isaac. But when he raised his knife, the Lord provided a ram as a substitutionary sacrifice. The name of the mountain was Moriah.

 

Over 1000 years later, Solomon, the king of Israel, had a temple built for the Lord on Mount Moriah. He used the finest materials – cedar, gold, silver, bronze and precious stones. It was constructed by the most skilled craftsmen. The ornamentation was intricate. Gold overlay was everywhere. It was magnificent!

 

Once completed, Solomon planned a dedication that would be rivaled by none. He waited eleven months for just the right time - the Festival of Tabernacles. Then he summoned “the elders of Israel, all the heads of the tribes and the chiefs of Israelite families”.

 

The Levites, who were musicians, played cymbals, harps and lyres. They were accompanied by 120 priests sounding trumpets. All the people joined in singing and praising the Lord, “He is good! His faithful love endures forever!” To honor the Lord, so many sheep and cattle were sacrificed that they couldn’t keep count.

 

Finally, the priests took the Ark of the Covenant into the Most Holy Place. Then as they withdrew from there, the room filled with smoke. So much so that they couldn’t continue their service.

 

¹ Then Solomon prayed, “O Lord, you have said that you would live in a thick cloud of darkness. ² Now I have built a glorious Temple for you, a place where you can live forever!”        NLT

 

However, the story of Mount Moriah is much more than a substitutionary ram saving the life of Isaac. Or Solomon’s magnificent temple built for the God of Israel to reside forever. It’s the story of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, who changed everything.

 

Almost 1000 years after Solomon built his temple, Jesus taught and healed in Herod’s temple… also built on Mount Moriah. 

But his sacrifice will save not just one but all who have faith and follow him. And his home doesn’t depend on a physical building because now he lives in our hearts, a living temple. Paul put it like this.

 

^16b For we are the temple of the living God. As God said:

“I will live in them
    and walk among them.
I will be their God,
    and they will be my people.     NLT   2 Corinthians 6

 

Copyright 2025 Joseph B Williams

Feel free to share this blog with others.

www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

 

Now You’re Cooking with Gas!

A Lenten series on Mountaintop Moments
– Noah on the mountains of Ararat
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Genesis 8:20-9:17 

[In this Lenten series, we will be looking at Mountaintop Moments. These mountains are more than just geographical features. They symbolize divine encounters and moments of revelation, faith and transformation. In other words, meeting God on the mountain top.]

 

When doing homework during high school, there were times when I would get stuck, especially with math. But I didn’t worry about it because I’d ask my dad for help. The only thing is, he’d never just give me the answer.

 

Instead, he asked me questions that made me think through how to get the answer myself. And when I finally understood and the light would come on, my dad would always say, “Now you’re cooking with gas!” I had no idea what that meant, but I knew he was praising me, and I would beam with confidence and pride.

 

There was a time in ancient history when things got really, really bad. The Lord saw how wicked people had become. In fact, the world was full of evil and violence to the point that the Lord regretted that he ever created mankind.

 

Because of this, the Lord said that he was going to “destroy every living thing — all the people, the animals and even the birds of the sky”. But not Noah, because Noah “walked faithfully with God”.

 

Therefore, even though there was no large body of water within miles, the Lord instructed Noah to build an ark. The reason that an ark would be needed was that the Lord was going to bring a flood upon the land.

 

It took Noah decades to construct it. You can imagine the abuse that he received from the wicked people for building such a large boat out in the middle of nowhere. And the cost must have been staggering. Yet, by faith, he continued.

 

Finally, when it was done, he boarded the boat along with his family and all the animals that the Lord had told him to take. When it stopped raining, the water slowly receded, the land dried and the ark settled on the mountains of Ararat.

 

Can you imagine what it was like for Noah when he got off the ark? They had lived there for thirteen months and when they came out, everything was dead… including all the people. It must have been shocking!

 

Yet, Noah’s first response was to build an altar to the Lord and make a sacrifice to him. The Lord was pleased with his sacrifice. And maybe sensing that Noah needed some reassurance, he blessed Noah and made a covenant with him to never destroy all life on earth again by a flood.

 

On the mountains of Ararat, Noah had a personal encounter with the Lord. And like my dad’s praise of “Now you’re cooking with gas!”, the Lord blessed and praised Noah for his faithfulness and righteousness.

 

From this story, we can learn a great deal about the character of God. We can see his redemptive nature. That even when mankind is rebellious, evil and violent, he always provides a means for redemption and restoration.

 

That’s what Jesus Christ did on the cross. Now, all we need to do is to get on the boat and listen for our Heavenly Father to say, “Now you’re cooking with gas!”.

 

Copyright 2025 Joseph B Williams

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www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

Endlessly Rolling Waves

Series on “I am Joe’s Favorite Verses”
James 1:2-4
 (Click on the link below to read the verses.)
James 1:1-18 

[Many years ago, there used to be articles in the Reader’s Digest titled “I am Joe’s ___” with the blank being filled with a body part or organ. Over the years, I’ve written down verses that are meaningful to me on 3x5 cards. In this series we’ll be looking at some of my favorite verses. In other words, “I am Joe’s Favorite Verses”.]

 

 

In 2016, my family met in Wrightsville Beach, NC to celebrate my oldest sister’s 50^th wedding anniversary. One morning, some of us got up early to go deep sea fishing. As we left the docking area the sun began to rise. It was a beautiful day; so calm and peaceful. But that would soon change.

 

The captain picked up speed as we headed into the open sea. He kept going and going until we couldn’t see any land. Then he maintained a high speed in the open sea even when we kept crashing into the endlessly rolling waves. After about thirty minutes of that, I lost my breakfast and anything else that was in my stomach.

 

Life can be like those endlessly rolling waves. You feel like things are out of control. You’re tossed from one wave to another. And with no land in sight, there’s nothing firm for you to hold onto. So, you just hang on for dear life.

 

Following the stoning of Stephen, “a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem”. People were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. No doubt, they may have felt like they were being tossed around by endlessly rolling waves.

Many years later, James wrote his letter to those Jewish Christians.

 

² Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, ³ for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. ⁴ And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.   ESV

 

In other words, instead of avoiding trials and testing of your faith, James said to embrace them. For him, it was a matter of perspective. That is, taking a vertical perspective on life, not a horizontal one. Try to look up to see what God is doing.

 

Paul, who originally was a primary cause of the persecution against the church in Jerusalem, after his conversion, put it like this in his letter to the church in Rome.

 

³ We can rejoice, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. ⁴ And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. ⁵ And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.    NLT

 

The ESV translates the last phrase of verse 5 as “God's love has been poured into our hearts”. I like the visual of that. The picture of God opening my heart to pour his love into it, is beyond my comprehension.

 

During those times when the Jewish Christians felt like they were being tossed about by the endlessly rolling waves, James advised them to simply pray. That they ask God, not just for knowledge, but for wisdom. Wisdom that would be proven “by living an honorable life, doing good works with humility”.

 

Faith works! It works when we’re tested. It works when we pray. It works when our lives reflect His hope, love and wisdom.

 

Copyright 2025 Joseph B Williams

Feel free to share this blog with others.

www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

 

Buyer’s Remorse

Series on “I am Joe’s Favorite Verses”
Hebrews 12:1-2
 (Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Hebrews 12:1-13 

[Many years ago, there used to be articles in the Reader’s Digest titled “I am Joe’s ___” with the blank being filled with a body part or organ. Over the years, I’ve written down verses that are meaningful to me on 3x5 cards. In this series we’ll be looking at some of my favorite verses. In other words, “I am Joe’s Favorite Verses”.]

  

Have you ever experienced buyer’s remorse? 

Maybe you bought a car or even a house on the spur of the moment, and now you regret it. Or maybe instead of some material thing, it was a relationship. Almost 50 percent of all marriages end in divorce. I’d call that buyer’s remorse.

 

No doubt, in the first century, a Jew becoming a Christian would come at a price. They might lose status in their community. Friends or family might reject them. They could lose income. Eventually, some converts began to wonder if they’d made a mistake… buyer’s remorse. Hebrews was written to those Jewish Christians.

 

Therefore, in the first ten chapters of Hebrews, the author made a systematic comparison of Christ to the staples of the Jewish religion including the prophets, angels, Moses, Joshua, Aaronic and Levitical priests, the tabernacle, the covenant and the sacrifices required by the Law. And his conclusion? Christ was superior!

 

Following this, he made a list of the heroes of the faith. These were men and women from the Old Testament who had lived “by faith”. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses and many others – all of them were pillars of the Jewish faith. Here’s what he wrote about them.

 

¹³ All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth.     NIV

 

When the word “therefore” is used, it means that what follows is a logical next step to take. In the following use of “therefore”, it not only refers to the heroes of the faith, but also to the systematic comparison with Christ.

 

¹ “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.         NIV 1985

 

The paraphrase from The Living Bible helps us to visualize this metaphor and understand how it applied to life, not only then, but now.

 

¹ Since we have such a huge crowd of men of faith watching us from the grandstands, let us strip off anything that slows us down or holds us back, and especially those sins that wrap themselves so tightly around our feet and trip us up; and let us run with patience the particular race that God has set before us.           TLB

 

You may not have experienced buyer’s remorse to the point of rejecting your faith. But you may have gone through times when it just felt too hard to keep hoping in a promise when you couldn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. An emotional valley when no matter what, hope doesn’t help.

 

When that happens, remember the words of Hebrews and ask for the Lord's help.

 

² Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”         NIV 1985

 

Copyright 2025 Joseph B Williams

Feel free to share this blog with others.

www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

 

 

No pain, No Gain

Series on “I am Joe’s Favorite Verses”
1 Peter 1:13
 (Click on the link below to read the verses.)
1 Peter 1:3-25 

[Many years ago, there used to be articles in the Reader’s Digest titled “I am Joe’s ___” with the blank being filled with a body part or organ. Over the years, I’ve written down verses that are meaningful to me on 3x5 cards. In this series we’ll be looking at some of my favorite verses. In other words, “I am Joe’s Favorite Verses”.]

  

Twice a week, for over a year now, I’ve been going to an exercise class at a gym. To reach our room you go down a hallway that has posters on the wall showing someone sweating profusely as they work out. The caption matter-of-factly reads, "No pain, no gain".

 

Peter wrote his letter to the believers who were living in exile scattered throughout the western portion of Asia Minor.  It was a circular letter to be read and distributed to multiple churches. Although Christians weren’t being systematically persecuted, they did face many trials.

 

According to Ray Vander Laan, a noted expert on Jewish culture and history, believers during this period could expect to be isolated. In a typical city in Asia Minor, religion was so much a part of everyday life, that if you refused to acknowledge their gods, you could easily lose household income, relationships, social standing and even such basic needs as fire and water.

 

In addition, we read in Acts that although many Jews and Greeks believed Paul’s message about Jesus, there were often other Jews who felt threatened. Sometimes they would drive Paul out of their city. On one occasion, he was even stoned and left for dead. Life was not easy for believers in Asia Minor.

 

Therefore, Peter wrote this letter to encourage them. First, he reminded them of the new birth, the living hope and the eternal inheritance that was theirs through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

 

Acknowledging the many trials they faced, he also pointed out that there was a bigger picture to consider. One that would eventually result in great joy.

 

⁷ These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So, when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.        NLT

 

Put another way, “No pain, no gain.”

 

Peter then reminded the believers that the reward for their endurance and faith in Christ will be “the salvation of your souls”. It is this salvation that the prophets wrote about, foretelling the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. Peter advised them - and us – about holy living in the face of adversity.

 

¹³ Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.            NIV 1985

 

Like the exercise mantra of “No pain, no gain”, Peter was telling the exiled believers that it was going to take some work on their part. They would need to “exercise” their minds for action. And that action would include being self-controlled and focusing their hope solely on the return of Jesus.

 

In closing, Peter quoted the comforting words of hope from Isaiah.

 

²⁴ For, “All people are like grass,
    and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;
the grass withers and the flowers fall,
²⁵     but the word of the Lord endures forever.”          NIV

 

In other words, your struggles will pass. But in the meantime, you can trust “the word of the Lord which endures forever”. Thanks be to God.

 

Copyright 2025 Joseph B Williams

Feel free to share this blog with others.

www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com