2 Kings 19:14 8/11/2026

“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.”

That’s how you handle a problem. 

King Hezekiah had just been given an ultimatum by the King of Assyria to surrender Jerusalem or be destroyed.... His response is a template for us to follow when we are threatened. No matter your position, no matter how powerful you think you are … the way you handle a problem is to go to God,  lay it in front of Him, and wait. 

I must confess, that is not always my response… I can picture myself receiving this threatening letter and firing off a terse email… or strategizing how best to fight. Or stomping around shouting “how dare they” …etc. But I love the clear, concise language in this verse. He took it from the servant…. read it…. took it to the temple…. spread it out before the Lord. 

Why do we so often respond differently? Is it because we have forgotten God’s power? Have we forgotten that God loves us more than we can comprehend? At no point in this process does Hezekiah appear to feel alone or desperate… Why do we? Why do we preach God’s deliverance until we are the ones threatened? 

“IF” I go to the Father, I usually come with my own plan, and instead of faith I come in fear. My prayer is usually instructive as though God needs my guidance in resolving the problem. When will I realize that any energy, spent outside of getting my issue before the Lord, is wasted energy? 

Since Hezekiah went directly to God and trusted Him, the Lord replies: ” … ‘Because you have prayed to Me about Sennacherib king of Assyria, I have heard you.” That verse is followed by about ten verses describing things God is going to do for Hezekiah… that Hezekiah cannot do for himself. And that is the point. That is how we find peace. 

So today if you get ambushed by an unexpected danger,  spread it out before the Lord and lean on Him. He is not surprised and if you’ll turn loose of the reins, and have a little faith, He will handle it. 

 “God’s plan is still working even when your plan is falling apart.” 
- Max Lucado

2 Timothy 4:11 8/4/2026

“…get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry.”

Mark was an understudy who abandoned Paul and Barnabas on a missionary journey. It led to one of the most well-known “Church Arguments” in history.  Barnabas wanted to bring Mark on the next trip and Paul said, “no way”… That disagreement split the team. Scripture says, Barnabas took Mark  ….But Paul chose Silas and departed”.  Then, Fifteen years later, Paul writes the sentence we’re studying this morning, and there’s a lot to learn from that sentence. 

First, we learn how to disagree without making it personal. This has become rare in our culture.  Paul didn’t spend the years since the argument, assassinating Mark’s reputation.  Neither was he worried about his own when he wrote this letter. He didn’t say “I was right years ago, and Mark has finally grown up”… He just said that Mark was important to the ministry, and he wanted to see him.  

The second lesson is Restoration… People get all wound up over “church discipline” because they don’t understand it.  Church discipline is about restoration.  Mark dropped the ball… he did the worst thing you can do as a teammate, and though I am sure it was uncomfortable, Paul called him out. We don’t know if Mark would have become the man he became without learning that quitting had ramifications. But this incident and Paul’s honest assessment no doubt magnified the importance of endurance and loyalty to Mark. 

The final lesson is forgiveness for others (and yourself)… Basically, don’t live in negativity. I used to tell my players when they were upset over a bad game, that they needed some “GOI therapy” (Get Over It). That’s what Paul is teaching with this sentence.  Sometimes, When we blow it… or people let us down, we just need to Get over it, or as my granddaughter sings “Let it go”.  Paul forgives and forgets. 

Paul pardons Mark for bailing on them; Mark forgave himself and came back better than before. I don’t care how badly you blew it. If you have confessed and repented, you can be “helpful in ministry”.   Stop worrying about the past …. Get up, forget the times you or your teammate failed, and always remember that the most important play is the next one.

“Who you’ve been, ain’t who you gotta be” - Tim McGraw