Whoever says the Bible is boring should read 1 Kings!

Well, like a lot of people I know, I joined twitter. That's why I have been gone for so long. If you want to follow me there, my screen name is rachie_lynn. It feels a little like talking about an affair to put all this on my blog. Hopefully blogger will forgive me.

In other news, I have been reading 1 Kings lately and it has been great! That stuff is wild. Most of the time it's like reading some kind of magical adventure story. I believe it is all true, but it is as engaging as a novel. Today I came across a story that I have read before, but it really struck me this time. It's in chapter 18, and the story goes that Elijah calls all of Baal's prophets and all of the people of Israel (who have been worshiping Baal, by the way) to Mount Carmel and challenges them to a sacrifice-off: whichever god can make fire to burn up the offerings is the real God. Elijah even soaks the altar before praying that God would show himself so that the people would turn their hearts back to God. And of course, God delivers. The way the crowd responds is so powerful: v. 39 "When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, 'The Lord -- he is God! The Lord -- he is God!"

As I read this passage over lunch, I felt like God was present and speaking to me. First, I pictured him as a friend telling crazy and impressive stories. That didn't fit. Then, I pictured him laying out the story gently and quietly before me. He was reminding me that he is real and can work powerfully to call people back to him. He wasn't boasting because God doesn't need to boast. He spoke to me of his longing for his people. How incredible is it that God, who doesn't need anything from anyone, wants me to know him and believe that he loves me?