Author: William Douthwaite

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

I just called to say, “Hi!”

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by yang miao on Unsplash

As a parish pastor, I made a lot of phone calls that must havemade people feel guilty. As soon as I said, “Hi!” they responded with answers they thought I wanted to hear.

  • “Don’t worry, Pastor, I’m still sending in my contribution.”
  • “Don’t worry. We still pray everyday.”
  • “Don’t worry. We’ve been traveling. We’ll be there this week.”
  • “Don’t worry. We watch the livestream each week.”

I called to see how they were doing. Just the sound of my voice brought out the self-justification heavy artillery. It was a gospel call. I just called to say, “Hi!” They heard the law.

A widow in Zarephath gets a bottomless bowl of flour and jar of oil from Elijah. But as soon as her son gets sick, she fast forwards to the worst case scenario. “You have come to me to bring my wrongdoing to remembrance, and to put my son to death!” (1 Kings 17:18)

She feels guilty about something. Who knows what. It doesn’t matter. Suddenly, her worldview shifts from grace to karma. Who’s the bad guy here, Elijah or God himself? Who knows.

If you picture God as the one looking over your shoulder, ready to catch a misstep, you need to get to know God better. He’s the one looking over his shoulder, saying, “Are you coming?” He’s the one who invites us to follow him to green pastures and quiet waters. He never comes to condemn. Only to rescue us.

To illustrate this point, Elijah brings her son back to life. To illustrate this point, he brings us back to life, too. If a prophet or a pastor calls to say, “Hi!” it’s okay. You’re not in big trouble. You’re hearing the voice of someone who cares.

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

The God of free refills

Posted on by William Douthwaite

A “through the bible” devotion from 1 Kings 17.

The amount of food my friends and I could eat in college was impressive. Since meals were only served during the week at the fraternity house, we had to fend for ourselves on Saturday and Sunday. One favorite spot was Roy Rogers, a burger and fried chicken restaurant which I’m surprised to learn is still in business in the PA-NJ-MD area. Our go-to order was the all you can eat chicken and fries plus a bottomless drink.

I don’t think they offer that deal any more, but there are other places where you can eat as much as you want (or can). Olive Garden offers a never-ending bowl of pasta from time to time. You can go back as often as you like at a Asian buffet. When Chick-fil-a opens a new restaurant, the first customers can get a free weekly meal for a year. In 1981, American Airlines sold a lifetime first class ticket for $250,000. Some who bought that flew over 10,000 times.

The original “free refill” story is from scripture, when a widow in Zarephath uses the last of her flour and oil to make bread for the prophet Elijah. During that time of severe famine, the Lord promised her, “The bowl of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil become empty, until the day that the Lord provides rain on the face of the earth” (1 Kings 17:14). And that’s exactly what happened.

If I give away what I have, I won’t have it anymore, right? Not necessarily. God’s promise of provision is described as “daily bread.” There’s more tomorrow. Just like there was yesterday. His mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:23). He’s the God of free refills.

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

Turn around

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Jim Wilson on Unsplash

I was talking with someone about faith. I asked him if they were sure they were saved. He said, “I don’t know. I don’t know what my life or my faith will be like in the future.”

I had no idea what to say. I just listened.

I think it’s fair to say that Solomon had it all. Scripture tells us that “King Solomon became greater than all the kings of the earth in wealth and wisdom” (10:23).

Suddenly, it all goes south. First, “King Solomon loved many foreign women” (1 Kings 11:1). Is that a problem? Not at first. “When Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart away to follow other gods” (11:4).

Now it’s a problem. “His heart was not wholly devoted to the Lord his God” (11:4). It only takes eleven verses of scripture for a king who has it all to be the one who threw it all away.

I don’t get it. How could Solomon’s world famous wisdom let him down in his personal life? How could his unequaled discernment and judgment not protect him from idolatry and unfaithfulness?

I’ve thought about this a lot and haven’t come to any conclusions. But the words of Jesus keep coming to mind: “Unless you repent” (Luke 13:3). Living in an information age, it doesn’t matter how much I know about God. It doesn’t matter how much I’ve been blessed. It doesn’t matter how long I’ve trusted God. It doesn’t matter how much wisdom I have.

It’s about turning to him. It’s all about repentance.

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

A box for God’s people

Posted on by William Douthwaite

A “through the Bible” devotion from 1 Kings 8.

“Will God indeed dwell on earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you, how much less this house which I have built” (1 Kings 8:27).

So why build a temple? Why build a church? Why make it look like your God lives in a box?

We naturally have places for things. Countries have capitals where the government is. Kitchens have cabinets where we stack the plates. Houses have shelves where we line up our books. Medicine cabinets hold all our pills.

So why wouldn’t you have a place for your God?

For many people, walking into church makes you feel closer to God. For some that’s a good feeling. For others, it’s ominous.

But some feel close to God walking down a trail through the woods. or looking up at a starry sky. Or holding an infant. Or reading a bible.

Bottom line: the box is for people, not God. The building is a place to gather and to be together. It’s a place to learn together, cry together, pray together, and celebrate together. If we could do it in our homes, we would, just like the early church. But when the Holy Spirit does his thing and the church grows, we just might need a bigger place to gather. It could be the beach. Or an amphitheater. Or a sanctuary.

No you can’t confine God to a box. But he’ll be there, wherever his people gather.

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

How much is all this going to cost?

Posted on by William Douthwaite

“So Solomon built the house [of God] and finished it.” (1 Kings‬ ‭6‬:‭14‬).

When I asked a Bible study class how much they thought should be spent on a church building, most replied, “Less than we do.” I thought that was an interesting answer. People like beautiful, well-maintained spaces for worship. But many underestimate the cost and commitment involved.

The temple Solomon built in Jerusalem was beautiful. Huge rocks from a quarry. Cedar-paneled walls overlaid with gold. Carved angels, engraved Palm tree and flowers, and olive wood doors. The furnishings and fabrics were exquisite.

How much did this all cost? Scholars disagree. At the very least it’s tens of millions of dollars in today’s currency. It probably cost far more than that. Too much? Appropriate for the Almighty God?

It’s true that the overhead of a building consumes a significant part of a congregation’s budget. But it’s also true that a church building is a visual that God is a part of a community. It provides a place for God’s people to gather and encourage one another to live out our faith. It is a place to go in the worst moments of life to find hope. It’s a place that reminds us we’re not alone in this. We rejoice, mourn, live, and die together as God’s people.

God didn’t need a temple. Neither did his people. They worshipped for a long time without one. They would still fall into sin with one.

When a woman anoints Jesus’s feet with costly perfume, he’s touched by the nice thing she did for him. Perhaps we should look at temples and church buildings in a similar way.

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

It’s getting crowded in here

Posted on by William Douthwaite

A “through the bible” devotion from 1 Kings 4.

You begin as two. You have a few kids. Before you know it, they’ve grown up. They get married. They begin to have children.

Suddenly, you hardly have room for everyone for a birthday or holiday get together. You don’t have enough chairs for everyone to sit at the dinner table. There isn’t enough room in the driveway for everyone’s cars.

What a wonderful problem to have!

As the writer of 1 Kings describes Solomon’s staff and wealth, he adds this amazing update:

“Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand that is on the seashore in abundance” (1 Kings 4:20).

This is exactly God promised Abram in Genesis 13:16. It takes a while (about 800 years) but God did it.

I guess that’s a good reminder that many good things don’t happen overnight. Or in the course of a year. Or maybe in a lifetime.

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

What should I ask for?

Posted on by William Douthwaite

A “through the Bible” devotion from 1 Kings 3.

What do you want for your birthday? What do you want for Christmas? What are your salary expectations? What do you want for supper?

God says to Solomon, “Ask what you want me to give you” (1 Kings 3:5). Later Jesus would say, “Ask…seek…knock” (Matthew 7:7).

A blank check from the omnipotent God. What do you ask for? What do you dare ask for?

It’s got to be big, right? You might not get another chance. But not too big. You don’t want to sound greedy or selfish. Do you ask for something that will last? Or for a moment you’ll never forget?

Solomon asks for “an understanding heart to judge and discern” (3:9). It’s a noble, humble, and insightful request. Probably better than anything I would have thought to ask for.

So God gives Solomon “a wise and discerning heart” (3:12) as well as riches and honor (3:13). Before long, all would know that “the wisdom of God was in him to administer justice” (3:28).

So exactly what is the wisdom of God? What does it look like? I think of it it’s the ability to discern what is going on, so you know what to do or not do in a situation.

  • Knowing the right thing to say. Or when to just be quiet.
  • Knowing when to act. Or when to wait.
  • Knowing how to listen and hear what someone is saying. Or know when they’re lying.
  • Knowing what to ask for when God says, “What do you want?”

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

A bloody transition of power

Posted on by William Douthwaite

A “through the bible” devotion from 1 Kings 1 and 2.

I’ve heard about a “peaceful transition of power” when new leaders are elected and begin their terms of office.

It certainly doesn’t happen like that in scripture.

Adonijah thinks he has a good chance of being king after David. But when David names Solomon as his successor, Adonijah knows he’s in big trouble. Solomon says, “You have nothing to worry about.”

However, when Adonijah makes a play for David’s nurse Abishag, it’s over. Solomon doesn’t give him an inch. He sends Benaiah to execute him. End of that discussion.

Joab was a pretty good general for David, but he was an Adonijah supporter. Solomon has him executed, too.

Then there is Shimei, who threw rocks at David when he was fleeing from Absalom. Solomon puts him under house arrest. But when Shimei goes out looking for some missing servants, Solomon orders his execution, too.

And that when “The kingdom was established in the hands of Solomon” (1 Kings 2:46). I’m amazed at how bloody the transition of power is in the first two chapters of 1 Kings.

It gets messy as God fulfills his promise to David, that his descendants will always be on the throne. Jesus’s life was threatened by King Herod before he’s two years old. He endured a bloody beating and crucifixion before he’s exalted and everyone knew bows and every tongue confesses him to be Lord.

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

A tough math lesson to learn

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by cottonbro studio on pexels.

A “through the bible” devotion from 2 Samuel 24.

The book of 2 Samuel ends on a sad note. Even though Joab advises against it, David takes a census of Israel.

Here we read that the Lord was angry with Israel and he incited David to call for a count of the people. In the parallel text of 1 Chronicles 21:1, it is Satan at work here. This is one of those times when God allowed a temptation, to teach and discipline David.

The results are impressive: his military forces number 1.3 million. But there is a price to pay. Seventy thousand die by plague because of David’s sin. When you are in leadership, your decisions affect a lot of people, and here, an entire nation.

Exodus 30:12 speaks to this. “When you take a census…” be prepared to make atonement for each one, a contribution, so that there won’t be a plague. These are God’s people, not yours.

What’s going on here? Is David simply curious? Or do the numbers bolster his confidence? Is he finding his strength in numbers rather than in God? David learns that God can take it all away.

I guess we all need that reminder. We need a math lesson. You and I have one God. That’s really as far as we need to count.