Come On In The Water's Fine


I was saddened to learn today that an enduring legend(it inspired my title today) has been found to be false! It seems that modern scholarship has proven that a frog, if put into a pan of water that is being gradually made hotter, WILL attempt to escape!! Thus, no more moralizing statements about creeping evil can be attributed to the " boiling frog" hypothesis. Oh well, I am keeping the title anyway. I saw a statement today that said we as people were" walking a knife edge between hope and fear." I read a verse this week that stuck in my mind. It seemed to me to speak to the prevailing attitudes in our country these days.


10 Who say to the seers, "You must not see visions"; And to the prophets, "You must not prophesy to us what is right, Speak to us pleasant words, Prophesy illusions.
Isaiah 30:10-11 (NASB)


You look around today and some strange things are a' brewin'. Billions, not millions but BILLIONS of bullets are being purchased by our government. Enough to fight the Iraq war for 25 that's twenty five YEARS! I heard that 2700 new armored personnel carriers had been ordered in a time supposedly of winding down our military commitments and cutting military spending. I read a report yesterday that hackers can now invade your cell phone through the camera and steal your personal pictures and videos.The premise of the article was that cell phones were nothing more than tracking devices that can now spy on you in your living room. Hold on.. I'm not done. Have you noticed lately the debt counter on some of the news networks? Ha Ha Ha! It's CRRRAAAZZZYY! Hundreds of thousands of dollars being racked up in the space of SECONDS! Not years or months or even days but SECONDS. I mean C'MON MAN!! All the while our leaders are posturing based on membership in a political party or outwardly supporting a political philosophy. I hear the words Republican,Democrat, Liberal, Conservative far more than justice, equity or even COMMON SENSE. All the while that scripture rings in my head.


"Speak to us pleasant words,Prophesy illusions."


It makes me wanna holler, way they do my life
It can get overwhelming and be a real test of your faith can't it? Jesus knew it would come to this.


8 I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?"
Luke 18:7-8 (NASB)


You know it was much the same way back in King Hezekiah's day. A little background please maestro.
Hezekiah lived in Isaiah's day. Isaiah had prophesied about the coming Assyrian invasion for some time(years); and now that invasion had taken place. Hezekiah had had a lapse of faith and had joined with the Egyptians against the Assyrians, disobeying Isaiah's prophecies. The Assyrians had conquered 46 cities in Judea already and now were assaulting Jerusalem itself. They had a tremendous army and literally called out Hezekiah telling him that he had no hope. There was some truth to that statement because Sennacherib(the king) knew that God was using him to carry out the prophecy against Israel.(Chap.36:10)

So here it is. A disobedient king up against an overwhelming force that is calling him out under God's command. Somehow, someway Hezekiah found his faith and took a letter from the Assyrians and laid it out before the Lord.


14 Then Hezekiah took the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it, and he went up to the house of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord. 15 Hezekiah prayed to the Lord saying,
Isaiah 37:14-15 (NASB)


You can read the prayer he prayed that isn't germaine to the point BUT GOD'S RESPONSE IS! Look what the Lord said.


21 Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent word to Hezekiah, saying, "Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, 'Because you have prayed to Me about Sennacherib king of Assyria, 22 this is the word that the Lord has spoken against him:
Isaiah 37:21-22 (NASB)


"..'Because you have prayed to ME.."(Caps mine)


Faced with insurmountable odds that were mocking him, Hezekiah prayed to the Lord. Because he had enough faith in his God, he humbled himself even in disobedience and prayed. THAT brothers and sisters was the game changer. Go get your Bible and see what God did. Because of one simple act. "YOU PRAYED TO ME"!! That one simple prayer saved Hezekiah from being enslaved, it saved Jerusalem from being conquered and effectively destroyed Assyrian control in Israel. One prayer.
Brothers and sisters what is it that is mocking and trying your faith these days? Is it an illness? An impossible financial situation? A wayward child? Maybe it's a godless world system that is standing in your face trying to overwhelm you and mocking your faith in God. You fill in the blank. Give it to God.Take it to the Lord in prayer.He wants to show Himself strong on YOUR behalf. He laughs at the kings of the earth and their plans. Let them say "Because YOU prayed!"


7 A thousand may fall at your side And ten thousand at your right hand, But it shall not approach you. 8 You will only look on with your eyes And see the recompense of the wicked. 9 For you have made the Lord, my refuge, Even the Most High, your dwelling place.
Psalms 91:7-9 (NASB)


God Bless