Ezra 1:1-2 "Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The LORD God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah."
Limitless. There is nothing our God cannot do. His power extends beyond our wildest imaginations. Cyrus, kind of Persia, Judah's captor, the man who held the nation in captivity, was used by God. Who would have seen that coming?
Imagine being a Hebrew, taken captive, carried away from your home. All hope seems lost, you're probably doubting God's love and His promises. Then of the sudden, Cyrus, king of Persia, was stirred to action by the Lord. God is limitless in His power to work in the life of man.
What ways have I seen God act in my life or the lives of others that defies human understanding? In what ways would I like to see God do that in my life or the lives of others right now? Do I sincerely, truly believe that He can and will?
Wednesday, May 24, 2017
Tuesday, May 23, 2017
They Burnt The House of God
2 Chronicles 36:18-19 "And all the vessels of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king, and of his princes; all these he brought to Babylon. And they burnt the house of God, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem, and burnt all the palaces thereof with fire, and destroyed all the goodly vessels thereof."
God is many things, but one of His qualities that we have a hard time accepting and wrapping our heads around sometimes is that of jealousy. To us, it is a negative emotion that we try and subdue, as well we should. However, since another of God's qualities also includes perfection, we know that He has the ability (unlike us) to be 'perfectly jealous' just like He has the ability to be 'perfectly angry' in a righteous way. This is unattainable for us considering the fact that we are not perfect (in case you hadn't noticed).
So we know God is a jealous God and that His dwelling place (at that time in Jerusalem in the temple) was a holy place. Yet God allows this destruction of that holy place. He could've stopped it and still had Judah go into captivity. But He allowed it to happen, I believe, to demonstrate a very important point. Judah had already done wickedly and polluted the temple. In essence God was saying "This temple is not what I care about, it's you that I care about. I want that relationship with you."
Jeremiah was called the weeping prophet. In his book we read over and over again about how desperately God desires His people to turn back to Him. Just read Jeremiah 2, you can feel the emotion, the utter heartbreak of the Living God over His wayward people.
He is jealous, but not for physical things. He is jealous for His name and He is jealous for His children. Am I one of those children? Do I feel God's jealousy in my own life, pulling me back toward Him when I stray?
God is many things, but one of His qualities that we have a hard time accepting and wrapping our heads around sometimes is that of jealousy. To us, it is a negative emotion that we try and subdue, as well we should. However, since another of God's qualities also includes perfection, we know that He has the ability (unlike us) to be 'perfectly jealous' just like He has the ability to be 'perfectly angry' in a righteous way. This is unattainable for us considering the fact that we are not perfect (in case you hadn't noticed).
So we know God is a jealous God and that His dwelling place (at that time in Jerusalem in the temple) was a holy place. Yet God allows this destruction of that holy place. He could've stopped it and still had Judah go into captivity. But He allowed it to happen, I believe, to demonstrate a very important point. Judah had already done wickedly and polluted the temple. In essence God was saying "This temple is not what I care about, it's you that I care about. I want that relationship with you."
Jeremiah was called the weeping prophet. In his book we read over and over again about how desperately God desires His people to turn back to Him. Just read Jeremiah 2, you can feel the emotion, the utter heartbreak of the Living God over His wayward people.
He is jealous, but not for physical things. He is jealous for His name and He is jealous for His children. Am I one of those children? Do I feel God's jealousy in my own life, pulling me back toward Him when I stray?
Monday, May 22, 2017
Nevertheless Josiah....
2 Chronicles 35:22 "Nevertheless Josiah would not turn his face from him, but disguised himself, that he might fight with him, and hearkened not unto the words of Necho from the mouth of God, and came to fight in the valley of Megiddo."
God is not limited in the ways He can use people. Especially people that we would not expect Him to use. As far as we know, the people and kings of Egypt were pagan, and always were. Therefore, one can almost understand Josiah's reasoning - a pagan king can't be speaking the actual words of God, can he?
The mistake we see here is that Josiah made a snap decision without first checking with God. If Josiah seriously questioned the words of Necho, then he could have very easily asked God to confirm it. This blot on Josiah's otherwise committed life came as a result of Josiah having a limited belief in what and who God could use for His purposes.
How am I limiting God in my mind today? If I'm honest, what are some things that I don't sincerely believe He could or would use to change the direction of my life? What will it take to change these mistaken perceptions in my mind?
God is not limited in the ways He can use people. Especially people that we would not expect Him to use. As far as we know, the people and kings of Egypt were pagan, and always were. Therefore, one can almost understand Josiah's reasoning - a pagan king can't be speaking the actual words of God, can he?
The mistake we see here is that Josiah made a snap decision without first checking with God. If Josiah seriously questioned the words of Necho, then he could have very easily asked God to confirm it. This blot on Josiah's otherwise committed life came as a result of Josiah having a limited belief in what and who God could use for His purposes.
How am I limiting God in my mind today? If I'm honest, what are some things that I don't sincerely believe He could or would use to change the direction of my life? What will it take to change these mistaken perceptions in my mind?
Friday, May 19, 2017
While He Was Yet Young
2 Chronicles 34:3 "For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet young, he began to seek after the God of David his father: and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem from the high places, and the groves, and the carved images, and the molten images."
What were some of the things on my mind when I was 8 years old? I certainly was in no position to rule a country. Yet would it have been said of me that 'while I was yet young, I began to seek after God'? The past is the past and cannot be changed. This is a challenge to me now, wherever I may be in my spiritual walk, to realize that complete commitment to seeking the Lord starts now.
It is also encouraging to see Josiah's progression in his relationship with God. He begins seeking God, then 4 years later that commitment to God spills over into purging Judah and Jerusalem from the high places, etc. Then 6 years later we see Josiah begin repairing God's house. Each milestone was a step along his spiritual journey. We should never expect to go from 0 to spiritual immediately. God knows our fallen state and our wicked hearts, yet He loves a heart that is dedicated to sincerely press on regardless of stumbles along the way.
No matter how old I am, or how far along I am in my spiritual journey, can I let the story of Josiah inspire me to seek God more? Can I let it inspire me to purge the sin from my own life? And finally, can I let it encourage me to build up the things of God within me?
What were some of the things on my mind when I was 8 years old? I certainly was in no position to rule a country. Yet would it have been said of me that 'while I was yet young, I began to seek after God'? The past is the past and cannot be changed. This is a challenge to me now, wherever I may be in my spiritual walk, to realize that complete commitment to seeking the Lord starts now.
It is also encouraging to see Josiah's progression in his relationship with God. He begins seeking God, then 4 years later that commitment to God spills over into purging Judah and Jerusalem from the high places, etc. Then 6 years later we see Josiah begin repairing God's house. Each milestone was a step along his spiritual journey. We should never expect to go from 0 to spiritual immediately. God knows our fallen state and our wicked hearts, yet He loves a heart that is dedicated to sincerely press on regardless of stumbles along the way.
No matter how old I am, or how far along I am in my spiritual journey, can I let the story of Josiah inspire me to seek God more? Can I let it inspire me to purge the sin from my own life? And finally, can I let it encourage me to build up the things of God within me?
Thursday, May 18, 2017
He Humbled Himself Greatly
2 Chronicles 33:12-13 "And when he was in affliction, he besought the LORD his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers, And prayed unto him: and he was intreated of him, and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD he was God."
The entire first part of the chapter is a litany of Manasseh's sins and evil, wicked deeds. And when things were going well for him, there was no end in sight of his wickedness. It took affliction and pain to jolt him awake, to see his sin for what it was.
The word 'humbled' here is the idea of being brought low and putting oneself into subjection under another. Every sin has a root of pride, where I act as if I know better than God, where I act as if I am the authority in my own life. Humility, willingly bringing myself into subjection under God, is the only cure for this.
Can I learn from the story of Manasseh today and humble myself before God now instead of waiting until the time of affliction? This life is so short, why waste time?
The entire first part of the chapter is a litany of Manasseh's sins and evil, wicked deeds. And when things were going well for him, there was no end in sight of his wickedness. It took affliction and pain to jolt him awake, to see his sin for what it was.
The word 'humbled' here is the idea of being brought low and putting oneself into subjection under another. Every sin has a root of pride, where I act as if I know better than God, where I act as if I am the authority in my own life. Humility, willingly bringing myself into subjection under God, is the only cure for this.
Can I learn from the story of Manasseh today and humble myself before God now instead of waiting until the time of affliction? This life is so short, why waste time?
Wednesday, May 17, 2017
Fighting Our Battles
2 Chronicles 32:7-8 "Be strong and courageous, be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him: for there be more with us than with him: With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the LORD our God to help us, and to fight our battles. And the people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah king of Judah."
Hezekiah is demonstrating here what it means to be a good leader. Even when it seemed ridiculous, he told the truth. Poor leaders shy away from the truth if they even know it in the first place. When circumstances appear to have altered what is true, a poor leader will alter their belief in what is truth. However, a good leader understands that truth does not change. A good leader understands that truth can be depended upon no matter the surrounding circumstances.
Hezekiah knew that God was all powerful. He also knew that this fact did not change just because he was surrounded by a huge adversarial army. He further knew that a people that sought the Lord could count on Him to fight their battles. Oh, that phrase is music to the ears of the weary. The All Powerful One will fight my battles. Praise Him.
The Truth is a resting place. A good leader will hold fast to the truth regardless of circumstances. What circumstances in my life have caused me to question the truth I know? How will I remind myself to hold fast to the truth regardless?
Hezekiah is demonstrating here what it means to be a good leader. Even when it seemed ridiculous, he told the truth. Poor leaders shy away from the truth if they even know it in the first place. When circumstances appear to have altered what is true, a poor leader will alter their belief in what is truth. However, a good leader understands that truth does not change. A good leader understands that truth can be depended upon no matter the surrounding circumstances.
Hezekiah knew that God was all powerful. He also knew that this fact did not change just because he was surrounded by a huge adversarial army. He further knew that a people that sought the Lord could count on Him to fight their battles. Oh, that phrase is music to the ears of the weary. The All Powerful One will fight my battles. Praise Him.
The Truth is a resting place. A good leader will hold fast to the truth regardless of circumstances. What circumstances in my life have caused me to question the truth I know? How will I remind myself to hold fast to the truth regardless?
Tuesday, May 16, 2017
Good and Right and Truth
2 Chronicles 31:20-21 "And thus did Hezekiah throughout all Judah, and wrought that which was good and right and truth before the LORD his God. And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered."
The book of 2 Chronicles is filled with stories. Throughout the book, stories of prosperity and success parallel stories of failure and desolation. Whether the story is one of success or failure hinges on one thing - that person's relationship with God.
In the stories of men and women who loved God and served Him wholeheartedly we see prosperity. However, in the stories of men and women who loved themselves and forsook God entirely, we see failure and ruin. God was serious when He said, "See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction." (Deuteronomy 30:15) Too often, we try and have it both ways. We try and dabble in the good while keeping a foot in the bad. But the choice is this clear, the options are that cut and dried. Life or death.
How am I trying to avoid the choice between life and death today? What deception of sin is holding me back from full surrender?
The book of 2 Chronicles is filled with stories. Throughout the book, stories of prosperity and success parallel stories of failure and desolation. Whether the story is one of success or failure hinges on one thing - that person's relationship with God.
In the stories of men and women who loved God and served Him wholeheartedly we see prosperity. However, in the stories of men and women who loved themselves and forsook God entirely, we see failure and ruin. God was serious when He said, "See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction." (Deuteronomy 30:15) Too often, we try and have it both ways. We try and dabble in the good while keeping a foot in the bad. But the choice is this clear, the options are that cut and dried. Life or death.
How am I trying to avoid the choice between life and death today? What deception of sin is holding me back from full surrender?
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