Open the Bible UK Daily

Colin Smith
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3 minute daily Bible reflections from Open the Bible UK, authored by Colin Smith, read by Sue McLeish.

  1. 4h ago

    Here Is a Picture of What Sin Does in Our Lives

    Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master and in high favour; because by him the LORD had given victory to Syria. He was a mighty man of valour, but he was a leper.2 Kings 5:1The story of Naaman is another story from the life of Elisha. Naaman was known for his strength and courage in battle. With that reputation, he would have risen through the ranks until he became the “commander of the army.” Not many people reach these heights. Naaman was “in high favour” with the king. Notice why: “because by him the LORD had given victory to Syria” (5:1). God gave victories to the enemies of His people! This truth is clear in Scripture: When God’s people sinned against Him, He gave them into the hands of their enemies. Success comes from the hand of God whether a person knows Him or not. Naaman was blessed with success, but he also had a great affliction: “He was a leper” (5:1). This terrible reality outweighed everything else. He was facing a grim future. Leprosy in the Bible is a picture of what sin does in our lives. Sin makes us guilty, so we need to be forgiven. But sin also defiles us, so we need to be cleansed. Like leprosy, sin starts small, but it spreads. It is hidden at the beginning, but eventually it shows. It alienates us from God and from His people. And in Bible times, there was no known cure. As we follow Naaman’s story, we are going to see not only how he was healed, but also how a sinner can be cleansed and reconciled to God. How have you seen the effects of sin grow and spread in your life? Have you experienced God’s cleansing and forgiveness?

  2. 1d ago

    God Can Work Through You

    God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak… to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised… even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.1 Corinthians 1:27-29In the miracles of Elisha, we see two truths: God’s work continues despite our foolish mistakes, and God’s work advances despite our obvious inadequacies. These truths should have three effects in our lives. 1. They should humble usGod’s work does not continue or advance because of some greatness in us. It continues despite our obvious inadequacies and our foolish mistakes. These truths should keep us humble. 2. They should comfort usGod’s story is always a story of redemption. So don’t ever let your foolish mistakes and your obvious inadequacies crush you. Use your foolish mistakes to learn wisdom. And use your obvious inadequacies to grow in faith. The Christian life is not about what you can do for God. It is about what God can do through you when you place yourself into His hands. 3. They should encourage usIf God can work through a student who can’t tell a safe plant from a poisonous one, then God can work through you. If God can work through a poor farmer whose firstfruits amount to only 20 loaves, then God can work through you. God works through people who make foolish mistakes. He works through people who have obvious inadequacies. And that means that God can work through you. Are the truths from the stories of Elisha having any effect in your life? How are they humbling you? Comforting you? Encouraging you?

  3. 2d ago

    God’s Work Advances Despite Our Inadequacies

    A man came from Baal-shalishah, bringing the man of God bread of the firstfruits.2 Kings 4:42A farmer arrived with food for the sons of the prophets. These students are living through a famine, and this farmer says that he has brought “the firstfruits” of his harvest. The students hope he has a really big farm! But the cart is almost empty. There’s just one sack with only 20 loaves of bread and some grain. It must have been a massive disappointment. Elisha said to his servant Gehazi, “Give to the men, that they may eat.” And Gehazi said, “How can I set this before a hundred men?” Elisha gave the same command again, adding, “for thus says the LORD, ‘They shall eat and have some left’” (4:42-43). God multiplied the food, and “They ate and had some left, according to the word of the LORD” (4:44). Perhaps you want to be useful to God, but you don’t feel you have much to offer. Remember this farmer. Never underestimate what God can do through your faith and obedience! You can’t read this story without thinking about the greater miracle to which it points. A large crowd had gathered to listen to Jesus in a desert place. The disciples found a small boy with five loaves and two fish, “but what are they for so many?” (John 6:9). The loaves and fish were multiplied in the hands of Jesus, and a vast crowd was fed. There were 12 baskets of food left over. God’s work advances despite our obvious inadequacies. Are you facing an overwhelming task today? You can say with the apostle Paul, “Who is sufficient for these things?” (2 Cor 2:16). And you need to hear the answer: “Our sufficiency is from God” (3:5). Do you feel inadequate for some task that you know God is calling you to? Ask God to multiply your efforts!

  4. 3d ago

    Two Ways God Protects Us from Our Own Folly

    They cried out, “O man of God, there is death in the pot!” ... He said, “Then bring flour.” And he threw it into the pot… And there was no harm in the pot.2 Kings 4:40–41How can God’s work continue when His people make so many mistakes? God protects us from the worst effects of our own folly. How does He do this? Here are two ways. 1. Sometimes God protects us by His direct interventionFlour does not neutralise poison. What happened here is like when Moses put a log into the bitter waters of Marah and made them sweet (Ex. 15). It is like when Elisha put salt in the bad water at Jericho with a similar effect (2 Kings 2). The log, the salt, and the flour were visible signs of God’s invisible work. You see this when the soldiers came with an armed mob to arrest Jesus. Peter drew his sword and cut off the ear of the High Priest’s servant. “Jesus said, ‘No more of this!’ And he touched his ear and healed him” (Luke 22:51). God protects us by His direct intervention. His hidden hand saves us from untold disasters. 2. Sometimes God protects us through wisdom given to othersIf the young student had taken someone with him who knew the plants, he would not have picked poisonous ones. Can you tell the difference between what will nourish your spiritual life and what will diminish it? This is one reason God gives pastors to churches. They can help you to know what is healthy and guard you from what might make you sick. God protects us through wisdom given to others. Have you found wise Christian friends? Make a habit of asking them for their counsel.

  5. 4d ago

    God’s Work Continues Despite Our Foolish Mistakes

    One of them… found a wild vine and gathered from it his lap full of wild gourds, and came and cut them up into the pot of stew, not knowing what they were.2 Kings 4:39The Bible is full of foolish mistakes: James and John wanting to call down fire on a Samaritan village. Peter drawing his sword in the Garden of Gethsemane. The disciples rebuking little children for coming to Jesus. The amazing thing is that God’s work continued despite these mistakes. And our lives have been filled with foolish mistakes as well. Who does not regret some foolish thing we said? “Once those words were spoken, I couldn’t take them back.” Or perhaps you regret something you didn’t say: “If I had spoken up sooner, we would not be in this position.” Maybe your mistake relates to money. You bought something and hardly use it. Now you need that money and wish you could have it back. Parents often regret decisions we made in bringing up our children. We didn’t realise it at the time, but we were too harsh. We should have cut our children more slack. For others, it’s the other way round. We gave our children more freedom than they could handle. Now there are behaviour patterns that will be hard to break. Then there are mistakes we have made in ministry. Ronald Wallace says, “For many of us the enthusiasm of our early days… was often marred by misdirected zeal and by a way of approaching other people more likely to do harm than good… We did not know any better at the time.” As with the student who put the poisonous plant in the stew, God’s work continues despite our foolish mistakes. Can you think of a foolish mistake you made, and how God’s work continued in spite of it? Thank God that His work does not depend on us getting everything right.

  6. 5d ago

    God’s Work Includes Saving Us from Foolish Mistakes

    As the sons of the prophets were sitting before [Elisha], he said to his servant, “Set on the large pot, and boil stew for the sons of the prophets.”2 Kings 4:38We are introduced here to a group of men known as “the sons of the prophets.” They lived in community and gave themselves to study and prayer. They brought the Word of God to the people. It’s likely that Elisha was there often, teaching, mentoring, exhorting them to walk with God. In this time of famine, Elisha wanted them to enjoy a good meal. So he said to his servant Gehazi, “Set on the large pot, and boil stew” (4:38). Then one of the students thinks, “We should add some flavour to the meat.” He found some wild gourds and put them into the pot “not knowing what they were” (4:39). When the sons of the prophets tasted the stew, they knew immediately that something was wrong. They shouted to Elisha, “O man of God, there is death in the pot!” (4:40). Elisha told them to put flour in the stew, and then “there was no harm in the pot” (4:41). God made the poisonous stew safe. This strange story points us to a wonderful truth: God’s work continues despite our foolish mistakes. The student who put the poison in the pot certainly didn’t intend to harm the others. He must have thought “How could I have been such a fool?” When, by a miracle of God’s grace, the stew was made safe, the student must have breathed a huge sigh of relief. “Thank You, Lord! My foolish mistake might have led to disaster, but You stepped in and saved us from the worst effects of my folly.” Do you need God to step in and save you from a foolish mistake?

  7. 6d ago

    God’s Servants Have a Glorious Future

    [Elisha] prayed to the LORD. Then he went up and lay on the child, putting his mouth on his mouth, his eyes on his eyes, and his hands on his hands. And as he stretched himself upon him, the flesh of the child became warm. Then he got up again and walked once back and forth… and went up and stretched himself upon him. The child… opened his eyes.2 Kings 4:33–35There is a marvellous picture here of how Christ gives new life to us. Elisha “lay on the child” and “stretched himself upon him” (4:34). In the Old Testament law, touching a dead body would make you unclean. By stretching himself out over the boy, Elisha was making himself unclean. When Jesus stretched Himself out for us on the cross, He was made unclean for us. “For our sake [God] made [Jesus] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor. 5:21). Then notice that Elisha lay on the child, “putting his mouth on his mouth” (2 Kings 4:34). Elisha breathed new life into the boy. And that is a wonderful picture of what Christ does for us. He breathes new life into us by His Holy Spirit, and by God’s grace, the eternal life that is in Him becomes ours. There is no greater miracle than the miracle of the resurrection. There are three stories of resurrection in the Old Testament, all of them from the time of Elijah and Elisha. These stories all point to the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the glorious triumph over death that is ours in Him. It is as if God couldn’t wait to give the good news that death will not be the end. God’s servants have a glorious future. They will enjoy a glorious resurrection. How does the hope of a glorious future comfort your heart?

  8. Sep 9

    God’s Servants Depend on Him

    Gehazi came to push her away. But the man of God said, “Leave her alone, for she is in bitter distress, and the LORD has hidden it from me and has not told me.”2 Kings 4:27Elisha was a great man of God. God worked through him in extraordinary ways. But the emphasis here is not on Elisha’s strength and power but on his limitations and weakness. Notice what Elisha doesn’t know: “She is in bitter distress, and the LORD has hidden it from me” (4:27). He is saying, “God often reveals things to me, but I don’t know what’s going on here.” However discerning you are, there will be things that the Lord hides from you. You will find yourself saying, “I’m walking with God, but I can’t see the way ahead. I am completely dependent on Him.” Elisha didn’t know what God was doing. And notice that Elisha’s initiative was unsuccessful. He sent Gehazi to the house at Shunem with the prophet’s staff. “Gehazi went on ahead and laid the staff on the face of the child, but there was no sound or sign of life” (4:31). How easy it is to live on our gifts, to feel that we have what it takes to do the work of God. God sometimes allows His servants to fail so that we will remember that we are utterly dependent on Him. If that was the experience of a man who walked so closely with God, we should not be surprised if it is our experience as well. Have you failed in something that you were confident about? How could you use this to help you grow in your dependence on God?

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About

3 minute daily Bible reflections from Open the Bible UK, authored by Colin Smith, read by Sue McLeish.

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  • Creator
    Colin Smith
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    1.2K
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Colin Smith
  • Show Website
    Open the Bible UK Daily

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