Redemption and restoration is always possible with God. II Chronicles 28 we get a taste of how evil King Ahaz was. He is so evil he sacrifices some of his own children by fire among other things. His heart is stone cold hard against God. Israel and Judah pay a hefty price for this rebellion. However, we see a beautiful example in II Chronicles 29 that children do not have to follow the bad example of the parent.
Hezekiah, Ahaz’s son, reigned once he died. Hezekiah realized his father’s practices were wrong and speedily went in to correct them. In his first year of reigning he opens up the doors of the house of the Lord and starts making repairs (v. 3). He restores the dignity of the priests and the Levites and acknowledges the wrongs of his father. He knew the wrath of the Lord was upon them so He made a covenant with God asking for restoration. Love & Blessings!
What is the importance of knowing God’s word? I am convinced that if more Christians knew God’s word, the Bible, for themselves some of the things that may be happening contrary to what we think should happen would not be too alarming. If it happened in the Bible, know that it possibly can happen to you, too.
II Chronicles is chocked full of examples of what happened to Leadership when they obeyed God and when they did not. Some started out in the right direction for God and then went astray. The same can happen to us. We have seen this in leaders of ancient times and leaders of modern times. This is why it is so important for us to know the Word for ourselves. Pastors and ministers can cover but so much because the Bible has so many stories and meaning that I don’t think we can ever exhaust it all.
I discovered this little blurb in II Chronicles 24: 20- 21. The spirit of the God sent Zechariah to the people because once again, they went astray. He said, “Thus saith God, Why transgress ye the commandments of the Lord, that ye cannot prosper? Because ye have forsaken the Lord, he hath also forsaken you.” Now today, we would probably question this man and think who is he to talk to us that way. Yet, he was being obedient to God because God sent him!
Needless to say, the people got mad at him. The Bible says, “…they conspired against him and stoned him…” The people obeyed the king’s commandment of this stoning instead of God. I laughed when I read this because the same still happens today. We don’t stone people in the U.S., and it still maybe happening in other parts of the world, but we do cut people off, ignore them, aw shucks, they crucified Jesus, right!? LOL! Paul said in the New Testament, count it not strange when these persecutions happen to us. Again, the importance of knowing the world of God and allowing the Holy Spirit to lead you into all truth. Love & Blessings!
So we have talked about David’s descendants and how they started out with a passion for God. We also talked about the frailty and humanity of these kings. Although they loved God, they seemed to get off track which is a cautionary tale for us. Again, things are written in the Bible not for us to do the same. How unwise that would be. But they are there, if at all possible, to keep us away from the pitfalls. And yes, Jesus, paid it all, but there are still carnage and consequences of our sins.
II Chronicles 21 talks about the new king in town. Yes, another descendant from David named, Jehoram, Jehoshaphat’s son. The Bible describes him as evil (v. 6). It goes on to say God would not destroy the house of David because of the covenant He made with him. However, it does not mean that God will not send punishment and allow consequences for our sins. In this case God sends a great plague with great sickness and disease. So once again, we are seeing a plague among the people. It is one of the reasons I believe God sent COVID to the world to remind the people that He is still in control and we are still utterly dependent upon Him. This plague is described as making the people so sick that their bowels fell out and it happened day by day (v. 15).
Additionally, it describes how God stirred up the spirit of the Philistines and the Arabians and came into the land and stole their substance in the king’s house and his family and killed all of the sons except the youngest (v 17). The king eventually dies of the plague that overtook most of the people. The people dislike him so that he was not even buried with his forefathers.
Wow! There are many lessons to glean from here. What is evident is God will not destroy the complete legacy of the chosen one He has made a covenant with, but He will deal with them and cause their enemies to come against them as well. This gives us time to pause. If we turn from God, meaning our hearts turn from God, will he deal with us the same? That is something to ponder. Love & Blessings
Recently, I had the thrill of visiting the Creation Museum! Often, in school we hear about evolution or how man evolved from the ape. Not knowing any better as a child, I never questioned what was being taught in school. I never reconciled it from what I was being taught in church. As a child, in my mind, I kept it separate.
Isn’t it funny how we so easily take on the beliefs of this world and culture. We don’t question it and assume it must be true because a person of authority said it like a teacher or a preacher, even a celebrity. However, here lies the rub of knowing Jesus Christ for yourself. Not because of what your mother, grandmother, Sunday school teacher of whomever told you, but because YOU had an encounter with Him for yourself.
The beauty of this is once you have had an encounter, you will never forget it. Satan will try to kill, steal and destroy that encounter, but just like the Saints in the Bible, you are forever changed. It is where our intimacy with HIM starts! Invariably, we must protect, cherish, and treasure that encounter. How, you might ask? Consistently, throughout the day by feeding our faith every day. When I visited The Creation Museum, I was doing just that! To see pictures of this fabulous museum click Photo Gallery>Creation Museum on this website… Enjoy!
Oftentimes when you hear the word fear, we think it is something we should be afraid of. In God’s word we see the word fear many times in scripture. In my belief, the loving God we serve does not wants us to be afraid of Him. However, I do believe God wants our respect of who He is… The God of the universe! The one and only living God! The Bible tells us in His word repetitively He is a jealous God (Exodus 20:5, 34:14, Deuteronomy 4:24, 5-9, 5:15 ). He clearly makes no bones about that. God wants no other person, place, or thing to come before Him!
So, there is a deep respect we should have for God. II Chronicles 17 describes Jehoshaphat’s reign. He walked with God and that pleased God. It is the same for us. If we walk with God, it will please Him, too. Jehoshaphat heart was lifted up in the ways of the Lord (v.6). He had his princes to go out and teach the people about God’s law. Verse 10 says the fear of the Lord fell upon all the kingdoms of the land and no one made war against Jehoshaphat! Jehoshaphat was held in high esteem, but he knew where his blessings came from.
This still applies today. We should have a deep reverence for the Lord. It should not be done in the fear that He is going to “get us” if we do not have reverence. Conversely, it should be done out of our deep love and appreciation of who He is and what He does for us. I don’t think we can ever thank God enough. I will be so ever grateful and thankful for the things He has done for me in my personal life. I felt the spirit of the Lord leading me and guiding me through situations. It was not always easy. In many instances it was contrary to how the world was doing things, but it was God’s way and that is what counted. Yes, here I am today with a fear of the Lord that respects and reverence Him with my whole heart. Love & Blessings
What’s it all about? Take a closer look at the image above. Look at all of the wonderful beautiful benefits and gifts we have as Christians! Emphatically, we have eternal life with our Father God and spared the fire and brimstone of the lake of fire with Satan.
We have the promises of God that will give abundant and victorious life right now on the Earth. Amazingly, that is the abundant blessings, big and small, we see and experience every day. Lovingly, God gives us His grace to get through some of the most difficult times with His peace that surpasses all understanding here on Earth. Hence, we have unspeakable joy that can not be explained. Thankfully, God’s mercies are ever new each and every day.
God has asked us to show compassion and love one to another. Indeed, that is usually shown by our forgiveness to others. Markedly, we are to live by the word of God which is our truth in life. Consistently, the word gives us courage and strength to walk in the ways Jesus, our wonderful Savior, who showed us the way here on the Earth. Moreover, it is faith in what He has done for us that will save our souls. We believe in this act and we spread the gospel, the good news, of Jesus is Lord!
To show our love and appreciation for the freedom He has given us, we live and walk in the Spirt. We willingly yield our lives over to God for Him to use us for His glory. We praise and magnify His name each and every day through devotion, prayer and the sharing of our faith to others. This is the hope in our salvation we have in all that Jesus has done for us on the cross above… Amen. Love & Blessings!
Solomon, Rehoboam, Abijah, Asa, and Jehoshaphat and others started out strong and with a whole heart for God. God tremendously blessed them, but they faltered and failed. It is a reminder to us to be oh so careful to keep our eyes focused on God less we fail. We are still in this flesh and that is not to say we will not make mistakes, but I believe when our HEARTS wander from God we start to wonder, we start to falter, and we start to fail. It is a cautionary tale from many aspects.
This gives us a deeper understanding why God sacrificed His son, Jesus, for our sins. When you read what God commands, and it is so repetitive throughout the Bible with the different characters we read about, we definitely needed a Savior. These are the deeper things of God. Not the surface stuff and head knowledge of what we know.
God is getting at something deeper. II Chronicles 16:9 says God’s eyes run to and fro on the earth looking for a perfect heart towards him. So, Jesus was our sacrifice, but it is not a pass to live as we please. There lies the rub. This is where God will do the sorting. Man does not do the sorting God does. Man cannot condemn us, but God, through the Holy Spirit, convicts us.
The themes and patterns we see in the Bible are warning signs to us over and over and over again. If we ignore them, there are ultimately consequences. Some may be detrimental to our eternal soul. Conversely, those themes and patterns also showcase God’s tremendous blessings which ushers us into the abundant, victorious life God has promised us here on the Earth! Love & Blessings!
In II Chronicles 15, we see the spirit of the Lord fell on Azariah to depart a message unto Asa. We love it when we receive good news. Azariah shared with Asa that God was with him because he was with God. Isn’t that good news? So, the same God who knew Asa was with Him is the same God who knows we are with Him today! And the good news for us is He is with us, too! That is something to be excited about!
Asa was encouraged to seek God and He will find Him. We have the same entitlement, too! Oh, but here is that warning again. This seems to be a theme in the Old Testament. I am convinced it is there so we would not forget either and to ensure we take this warning seriously… “…but if ye forsake Him, He will forsake you.” (V. 2).
Versus 3 through 6 describes how God treated Israel during those times they forsook God. Again, this was repeated over and over and over again with Israel. It is also a message for us that there is always hope for us. However, we still have to endure the consequences for our actions. He sent them no peace and sent great vexations upon the countries, nations, cities, with the adversities God sent. Yet, God still loved them, but He had to chastise them. Again, out of love because God hates what sin does to us. It destroys us. That is why He has asked our allegiance to Him.
So, because Asa loved God and honored him and took God seriously, he was very prosperous and entered into God’s rest. That was God’s reward to him (v.7). Asa cleaned up the city from all idols. He even dethroned his mother because she had made an idol in a grove (v.16). Asa’s heart was described as perfect all his days (v. 17) Asa lived in abundance. Verse 17 states, “…no more war…” This is what God can do for you and me when we turn our hearts towards him. Love & Blessings!
We have many battles to fight on this Christian journey we are on. However, the key is to make sure we are fighting the battles God wants us to fight and not the distracting battles Satan puts before us. He does this to keep us off track and away from our destiny.
Sometimes we get tired of the battles that God allows and sometimes sends in our lives. I remember a situation I had to spring up in my life. On the outside everything looked perfect! But the Holy Spirit let me know in advance before I became immersed in the situation I was going to have a season of torment. Needless to say, the flesh side of me did not want that. I wanted to run!
So, I tried to find a way of escape and get out of the situation. Unfortunately, certain things had happened that locked me into the situation and the only way I was going to get out of it was to act like a mad woman. I knew that was not what God wanted me to do. Obediently, I had to yield to the Holy Spirit and rely on Him to get me through it and ultimately out of the situation. Although the torment came, God gave me peace and rest in my soul.
In II Chronicles 14:2 we see another descendant from David, Asa. During his reign there was quiet in the land for ten years. He stripped the land of the strange gods and commanded the people to seek God and follow his commands. The Bible further goes on to say he had no wars because the Lord gave him rest (v. 6). The Lord will do the same for us, too. Prior to this the people had encountered many wars and battles. Most of this was because of their doing. Graciously, the Lord sent rest when he saw they were trying to follow Him. Be faithful before the Lord and in due season He will send you rest. Love & Blessings!
