Ray Pritchard - Fire and rain : the wild-hearted faith of Elijah

FIRE and RAIN

THE WILD-HEARTED

FAITH OF ELIJAH

RAY PRITCHARD

Copyright 20 by RayPritchard

All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-0-8054-2696-0

Dewey Decimal Classification:248.84

Subject Heading: CHRISTIAN LIFE

Unless otherwise stated allScripture cit ations are from esv, The HolyBible, English Standard Version, copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, adivision of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved. Other versions include: niv, NewInternational Version, copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by Internation al Bible

Society; nasb, the NewAmerican Standard Bible, the Lockman Foundation, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968,1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977; used by permission; hcsb, HolmanChristian Standard Bible, copyright 2000 by Holman Bible Publishers, copyright 200 0 by Holman Bible Pubishers. Used by per mission; TheMessage, the New Testament in Contemporary English, 1993 by EugeneH. Peterson, published by NavPress, Colorado Springs, Colo.; and kjv, the KingJames Version.

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To Dave and Lynnette Hoy

True friends are a gift from God.

Th is bookwas written in the middle of a major life transi tion,and I have relied heavily on my family and my friends during this chapter of mypersonal journey. I am grateful to many people. I owea great debt of thanks to Ted and Lois Griffin. Without their initialencouragement, I doubt this book would ever have been written. My heartfeltthanks to Len Goss, Kim Overcash, Mary Beth Shaw, and the whole team at B&HPub lishing Group. My brother Alan offered the use ofhis cabin in Mississippi for as long as we needed it. I first shared Elijah'sstory with a receptive audience at Gull Lake Conference Center in Michigan.Colin Smith helped me out at a crucial moment when I needed clarity. I have learned much from the many lunches John Armstrong and Ihave shared together. Wilbur Ellsworth repeatedly shared his wisdom with me.Brian Bill and Phil Newton have always been there when I needed them. ErwinLutzer asked me on more than one occasion, "Whatbook are you working on now?" My wife Marlene constantly encouraged me asthe manuscript neared completion. Josh, Mark, and Nick keep me going and giveme hope for the future. And it is a special joy to welcome Leah and Vanessa to our family.

T he sceneis a prep school somewhere in New England. On a beautiful fall morning thebright y oung men have gathered in English literatureclass, fearing the worstlong, boring hours arguing about Beowulf or theintricacies of iambic pentameter. But lo, it is not to be. Their teacher isbrand-new, a graduate who has returned to teach at his alma ma ter. To him English literature is not about names andrhymes; it's about lifeliving, dying, loving, caring, feeling. He aims somehowto impart this vision to his young charges.

Suddenly he cries, "Follow me! " and leadsthe class out into the hallway, down to the glasscases that contain the pictures of former students from long ago."Look," he says. "Look closely; do you see them?" Thepictures are old, cracked, faded, but you can still see their youthful faces."Look at them carefully. They were once youn glike you are. They had hopes and dreams just like you do. They had grand ideastoo." Then the teacher lowers his voice and says, "Listen, can youhear what they are saying?" The young men press closer to the glass as ifto hear the voices of the past com e floating up fromthe cracked and faded pictures. "They're calling out to you. If youlisten, you can hear them. They're call ing out, 'Carpediem.'" These young men don't know Latin,so the phrase is a mystery to them. "Carpediem," they mumble to one an other. "Yes! " hecries out. "That's it. Carpe diem. They'resay ing, 'Carpediem.' Can you hear them?" Then he turns to the classegghead, the one with the glasses. "Mr. Stevenson, do you know what carpediem means?" The young man looks puzzled for a momen t. Then the meaning comes to him. "Seize the day Carpediem means, 'seize the day! ""That's right!" cries the teacher tri umphantly."Seize the day! They are calling out to you from the pastseize theday!"

If you have seen the movie DeadPoet's Society, thatscene is forever etched in your mind. The past calls to the present carpediem "Seize the day!" The future looks to the pastand says, "Carpe diem" "Seizethe day!" No message is timelier for Christians in the twenty-firstcentury. Either we rise up and seize the day for theglory of God, or we let the moment pass and live to look back with bitterregret over what might have been.

Before we go any further, let me ask a personal question:How much are you willing to risk to become all that God wants you to be? In thespiritual arena what you risk is what you get. Those who risk little, achievelittle. Those who risk the most, gain the most. The greatest heroes of theBible were also the greatest risk-takers for God. That should not surprise usbecaus e the life of faith is inherently a life ofrisk. Go back to the Bible and take a look at the men and women who did greatthings for God. They were all, without exception, risk-takers. They were peoplewho weren't afraid to lay it all on the line for God.

Most of us know about Noah, thepreacher who built an ark. We know about Abraham, who set out for regionsunknown because God had promised to show him a better land. We've all heardabout Moses, who at the age of eighty led thechildren of Israel out of Eg ypt. And we know Joshuaand the walls of Jericho, David and Goliath, and Daniel and the lions' den.This book is about a hero whose name you recognize but whose story you may notknow. His name is Elijah. He steps onto the stage of biblical history at a lo w ebb in the history of Israel. When the nation was almostcompletely given over to idol atry, God raised up amountain man to confront the evil men who controlled the government of thenation. Jeannette Clift George summarizes his impact this way: "He too k on the prophets of Baal and won the contest on MountCarmel. He, in the name of sovereign God, humbled the posture of a nation'sidol worship, brought fire from sodden wood, rain from dry-eyed heaven, andrecognition of Jehovah from pagan lips."

He was a little rough around theedges. Make that a lot rough around the edges.

He did things that most peoplewould find peculiar.

He apparently had no fear, exceptwhen he got discouraged, and then he ran away.

He could be gentle to a widow and tough as nails with the false prophets.

He was far from perfect.

Sometimes he got discouraged anddid foolish things.

Sometimes he gave in toself-pity.

But when he was on his game,which was most of the time, he was awesome.

I don't think Elija h was theeasiest man to be around. Feared by kings and false prophets, cheered andbeloved by the young men he trained, he was the talk of the nation. He wouldsuddenly appear, deliver a message from God, and then seemingly vanish intothin air for months at a time. He exploded onto thescene, grabbedcenter stage, came and went as he pleased, riled up the king and his evil wife,and called down fire from heaven. First he humiliated the false prophets, thenhe slaughtered them. And in the wake of his great estvictory, he ran away and prayed that God would take his life.

What a complicated man he was. Ilove Elijah because he's a real man. Say what you want, but no one ever calledhim a plaster saint. Nothing fake about him. At least with Elijah, you never h ad to wonder what he was thinking or feeling. He wore hisheart on his sleeve and captivated a nation. When God needed a man to"seize the day," he called on Elijah, and his mountain man answeredthe call.

He was a big risk taker for God.

He wasn't afraid to look foolish in the eyes of his countrymen.

His best moments are the stuff oflegend, especially the show down with the prophets ofBaal on Mount Carmel. One man versus 850 bad guys. And Elijah, with God's help,beat them all!