2 Kings 4:38-6:23 ; Psalm 79 ; Acts 21:27-22:21 "Special Flowers" © by Terri L. Stricker - Original Acrylic on Panel In 2 Kings 4:38-6:23, we see Elisha’s ministry among the company of prophets. In verse 38, we read, “There was a famine.” In Scripture, a famine always represents God’s judgment on some spiritual deficiency. Here, we read that one of the prophets “went out into the fields to gather herbs, and he found a wild vine and gathered some gourds” that he cut up an

2 Kings 3:1-4:37 ; Psalm 78:56-72 ; Acts 21:1-26 "Self-Portrait, II" © by Terri L. Stricker - Original Pencil Sketch on Paper 2 King 3:1 says “Joram, son of Ahab, became king of Israel in Samaria in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah.” This is the second son of Ahab to sit on the throne, and he reigned twelve years – doing evil in the eyes of the LORD” (verse 2). In verses 4-7, we see that Mesha, the king of Moab, “rebelled against the king of Israel” (vers

2 Kings 1-2; Psalm 78:40-55; Acts 20 "An Austrian Meadow" © by Terri L. Stricker - Original Watercolor on Paper In the book of 1 Kings, we saw five miracles of Elijah – [1] the drought (1 Kings 17:1); [2] the jar of flour and the jug of oil (1 Kings 17:14); [3] the resurrection of the widow’s son (1 Kings 17:22); [4] fire of the LORD (1 Kings18:38); and [5] rain after the drought (1 Kings 18:41). Here in 2 Kings, we will see three more miracles of Elijah as the story of the

1 Kings 22; Proverbs 15:31-16:7; Acts 19:14-41 "Hands of Prayer" © by Terri L. Stricker - Original Pen & Ink on Paper Chapter 22 takes us to the end of 1 Kings. In this passage, we see that, as with many leaders who allow their positions to charm their egos, Ahab was caught in the grip of sin. He shamelessly exalted himself and totally disregarded all the counsel of God. Here, we observe that Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, paid a visit to Ahab, the king of Israel, and th

1 Kings 20-21 ; Psalm 78:32-39 ; Acts 18:9-19:13 "A Young Girl, II" © by Terri L. Stricker - Original Pencil Sketch on Paper Yesterday, at the end of 1 Kings 19, we read about the transfer of prophetic authority as Elijah appointed Elisha as his replacement (cf., 1 Kings 19:19-21). From that passage, we note Elisha’s level of total commitment to the Lord: “Elisha took his yoke of oxen, slaughtered them, burned the plowing equipment to cook the meat, and gave it to the peo

1 Kings 18:16-19:21 ; Psalm 78:17-31 ; Acts 17:22-18:8 "Our Forsythia" © by Terri L. Stricker - Original Watercolor on Paper Today’s readings show us how easily people twist reality into an absurdity that fits their paradigms. 1 Kings 18:16-19:21 begins with Ahab calling Elijah “the troubler of Israel” (verse 17), but actually, Ahab is the one who has made much trouble for Israel by “abandoning the LORD’s commands and following the Baals” (verse 18). Here, we learn about

1 Kings 16:8-18:15; Psalm 78:9-16; Acts 17:1-21 "Hearts, I" © by Terri L. Stricker - Original Ink & Styrofoam on Paper Coming today to 1 Kings 16:8-18:15, we now observe “Elah, the son of Baasha, who became king of Israel, and he reigned only two years in Tirza” (verse 8). We note that he was a drunkard, and one of his officials – Zimri – came in, struck him down, and killed him” (verse 10). Then Zimri took over the northern kingdom. Subsequently, he killed all of Baasha’