Being in the Very Presence of God

May 23’s reading – 2 Chronicles 6-7; Psalm 135; Romans 4

Scripture –
2 Chronicles 7:2 – And the priests could not enter the house of the Lord, because the glory of the Lord filled the Lord’s house.

Observation –
This verse comes on the heels of the temple being dedicated.  God was so intensely present that the priests couldn’t even enter the building.

Application –
We have to be careful how we interpret this verse.  It’s not saying that God was somehow present in a way that He would then begin to dwell in the temple exclusively.  Nothing, including a building, can contain God.  So, what is this verse getting at?  I believe that God was making His point that He was with His people in a very real way.  So, on this occasion He chose to make His glory and presence tangible.  God’s glory is beyond incredible.  We should take comfort in this verse.  There are times when we can almost reach out and touch the presence of God.  But, even when we can’t, we have to remember that God is always present with us.  If you are a follower of Jesus, then the Holy Spirit lives within your heart.  Just as God was present on that day, He is present with you.  What we need to see from this is that we should be striving to live in such a way that we are able to sense the presence of God.  After all, this is what God intends with us.

Prayer –
God, Thank You that You are always present with me.  Thank You for the Holy Spirit and His presence in my life.  Help me to feel Your presence.  Help me to live in such a way that I can almost reach out and touch You.  Thank You for the privilege and honor to be able to stand in Your presence.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

Never Too Late To Turn To God

Today’s reading comes from 2 Kings 21 and 2 Chronicles 33.  Here’s what I journaled –

Scripture –
2 Chronicles 33:12 – But while in deep distress, Manasseh sought the Lord his God and sincerely humbled himself before the God of his ancestors.

Observation –
Manasseh became King of Judah.  He ruled for 52 years.  His reign was a very interesting one.  He started off by doing evil in the Lord’s sight.  He rebuilt all the shrines, altars, and idols of the foreign gods that his father Hezekiah had destroyed.  He even built pagan altars inside the Temple of the Lord.  Because of his horrible sins, he led the people of Judah in the complete wrong direction.  In fact, Manasseh led the people of Judah to become even more evil than the pagan nations that God destroyed when the people of Israel entered the land.  As a result, he aroused God’s anger.  God sent some of the Assyrian army to come and take Manasseh prisoner and they led him away to Babylon.  But, according to our verse – Manasseh cried out to God in genuine repentance.  The chapter goes on to show how genuine this repentance was.  Manasseh tore down and removed all the foreign gods, idols, and shrines.  He restored the altar of God.  He encouraged the people to worship God as well.

Application –
It’s never too late to turn to God.  None of us are beyond redemption.  God will always forgive a person who cries out to Him in genuine humility.  Just like Manasseh, we can be forgiven for all our sin.  Just like Manasseh – our friends and family can be forgiven.  God is anxious to forgive people of their sins.  Am I looking for opportunities to point others to this hope that is found in Christ?

Prayer –
God, Thank You for Your grace and forgiveness.  Help me to trust in that.  But, don’t let me take that for granted.  Instead, help me to be grateful for Your forgiveness while also seeking to make necessary changes in my life.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

Seeking God Wholeheartedly

Today’s reading comes from 2 Kings 18:1-8; 2 Chronicles 29-31; and Psalm 48.  Here’s what I journaled –

Scripture –
2 Chronicles 31:21 – In all that he did in the service of the Temple of God and in his efforts to follow God’s laws and commands, Hezekiah sought his God wholeheartedly.  As a result, he was very successful.

Observation –
What a breath of fresh air.  Finally we see a good king!  Hezekiah wasn’t just a good king.  He was a great king.  Apparently he was second only to King David.  He immediately began a much needed religious reform.  Within a month of becoming king, Hezekiah reopened the temple for worship.  They immediately began to purify the temple and get it back to the standards that God had for it.  According to 2 Chronicles, it only took them 16 days to complete this task.  After that , the temple was rededicated for use by God.  Hezekiah led them to celebrate the Passover festival.  They removed all of the pagan pillars and shrines.  The last verse of today’s reading sums it all up nicely.  Hezekiah did all of this because he was seeking God wholeheartedly.  All of his efforts were successful as a result.

Application –
While we’re not leading out in a purification of the temple, all of us are called to do what Hezekiah did – seek God wholeheartedly.  It is my desire to live this kind of life.  I’ve got so much room to grow here.  I follow God and seek Him.  But, I don’t know that I can honestly say that it is wholeheartedly.  I have a desire to be there, but have more room to grow.  I need to be completely applying and living out the truth that I read in Scripture.  I need to give God every aspect of my life in order that I might be able to follow Him completely.  I need to take the time on a daily basis to give over aspects of my life to God.  It is my desire that I would leave a similar legacy as Hezekiah.

Prayer –
God, Help me to be like Hezekiah.  Help me to seek You wholeheartedly.  May nothing get in my way.  It is my desire to follow You and You alone.  Help me to do that very thing.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

Avoid the Comparison Game

Today’s reading comes from 2 Kings 14-15 and 2 Chronicles 25-27.  Here’s what I journaled –

Scripture –
2 Chronicles 25:2 – Amaziah did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight, but not wholeheartedly.

Observation –
These chapters are full of very similar stories.  We continue to read about the various kings of Judah and Israel.  We read some about what they did (good and/or bad).  We find out how long they were king and where they were buried.  Typically they are described as either a good king or bad king.  Their goodness or badness is usually compared to previous kings.  More times than not, if a king is good, he is compared to David.  If a king is bad he is typically compared to Jeroboam.  In all of these passages – every single one of the kings of Israel is evil.  The kings of Judah are really quite a mixture of good and bad.  Then, we come to King Amaziah of Judah.  This verse says that he was a good king for the most part.  But, he wasn’t following God wholeheartedly.

Application –
When Amaziah compared himself to other kings – he was a pretty good king.  When he compared himself to the kings of Israel, he was an excellent king.  But, there’s just one problem – he didn’t follow God wholeheartedly.  God isn’t just looking for a so-so king.  He’s not just wanting pretty decent Christ followers.  God is calling us to be completely committed to Him.  He wants us to follow Him with our entire beings – in other words, wholeheartedly.  When I look at my life, I’m pretty decent.  I’m not nearly as bad as a lot of people.  But, at the same time, if I were asked if I was serving God wholeheartedly, I would have to be honest and say no.  But, I want so badly to change this.  I want to be completely sincere in my journey of following God.  If I reach that level, I will still sin (after all, I’m a sinner).  But, if I’m following God wholeheartedly, that means I’m continuing to grow to be more and more like Him.

Prayer –
God, Help me to follow You wholeheartedly.  I’m guilty of comparing myself at times – thinking that at least I’m doing a better job than someone else.  I know that’s not healthy. So, I ask You to help me break free from that.  Help me to simply follow You wholeheartedly.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

Follow God All Of Your Days

Today’s reading comes from 2 Kings 12-13 and 2 Chronicles 24.  Here’s what I blogged –

Scripture –
2 Chronicles 24:2 – Joash did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight throughout the lifetime of Jehoida the priest.

Observation –
Today’s reading tells the rest of Joash’s story.  Yesterday we found out that his father was King Ahaziah of Judah.  When Ahaziah died, his mother Athaliah began to kill the family so she could take power.  Thankfully, Jehoidah (the priest) and his wife Jehosheba rescued Joash (a young infant and Athaliah’s grandson) and hid him in the temple.  He lived there – under Jehoida’s care and instruction for 6 years while Athaliah was Queen of Judah.  At age 7 Joash became King of Judah.   No doubt, at such a young age, Joash needed to rely on advisers.  From this verse, we can infer that Jehoida served in that capacity.  Joash did some good things.  He repaired and restored the Temple of God.  He made some reforms in regards to worshiping God.  While our verse sounds good – Joash did what was pleasing in God’s sight – you can tell from the last of the verse that things changed when Jehoida died.  At that point, all of the reforms were done away with.  Joash began to take bad advice from other leaders – leaders who led Judah back away from serving God.  According the end of 2 Chronicles 24, Joash went as far as to murder Jehoida’s son.  Because of this, his own officials plotted to kill him.  After his assassination, Joash was buried in the City of David, but not in the royal cemetery.

Application –
Joash’s story began dramatically with a Hollywood type escape from his grandmother who was trying to kill him because of her desire to become Queen.  Then, he was raised in the temple by a great priest, learning to worship God.  Then, his life ends with him disregarding what he had learned from Jehoida.  Once he took the godly advice of Jehoida the priest.  Then, he took the advice of evil people.  All of this points out that we should follow and serve God faithfully through all of our lives.  We shouldn’t just have a burst of desire to follow God and then fizzle and turn into something else.  It is my goal to follow God all of my days.  My desire is that with each passing day I will be following God more consistently, rather than the opposite (like Joash).  Joash’s story should be an inspiration to us to stay focused on God and not get sidetracked by bad advice from others.

Prayer –
God, It’s my desire to follow You all of my days. I know that I can’t do that on my own – I need Your help to do this.  So, I’m praying that You would help me.  I want my epitaph to read, “He did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight.”  I don’t want it to have an exception on the end.  Help me to always love and follow You.  Help me to always point people towards You.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

Straight From The Big Screen

Today’s reading comes from 2 Kings 9-11 and 2 Chronicles 22:10-23:21.  Here’s what I journaled –

Scripture –
2 Chronicles 22:12 – Joash remained hidden in the Temple of God for six years while Athaliah ruled over the land.

Observation –
This verse comes at the conclusion of some crazy verses.  Here’s what’s happening.  Ahaziah – King of Judah – had just died.  As soon as his mother, Athaliah heard this news she immediately “began to destroy the rest of Judah’s royal family.”  What we have to remember here is that this phrase could be changed to she “began to destroy the rest of HER family.”  Athalaiah becomes power hungry and wants to become Queen of Judah, so she began to kill all her family members so that she could take over.  Somehow she missed the youngest family member – Ahaziah’s infant son, Joash.  Jehosheba, Ahaziah’s, sister took Joash infant son and hid him so that he wouldn’t be killed.  Jehosheba was the wife of Jehoida the priest.  So, she took Joash to the Temple of God and Joash remained there for 6 years while Athaliah was in charge.  The verses go on from there and tell about a revolt against Athaliah in which she was killed.  So, at the age of 7 Joash became King of Judah.  Jehoida was a good priest and he brought about religious reforms and destroyed the temple to Baal.

Application –
You can’t read this set of verses without thinking of some Hollywood blockbuster.  The Bible is filled with excitement, deception, plotting, etc.  The thing we need to remember is the goodness of Jehosheba and Jehoida.  They did the right thing.  They rescued little Joash so that he wouldn’t be murdered.  Then, Jehoida saw the need for reform and change.  He led the people to destroy the temples to the false gods.  Jehoida had courage.  He had a desire to serve God.  He did what He could to lead the people in the right direction.  That’s what you and I need.  We need courage to follow God.  We need to show people how to worship and serve God.  We have to have boldness to do this.

Prayer –
Dear God, Thank you for the example of  Jehoida.  Help me to have similar courage and boldness.  Help me to stand up for You.  Help me to protect the defenseless.  Help me steer people to serve You instead of going against You.  Help me have boldness to stand up against sin and redirect people back to You.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

Saddest Funeral of All

Today’s reading comes from 2 Kings 8:16-29 and 2 Chronicles 21:1-22:9.  Here’s what I journaled –

Scripture –
2 Chronicles 21:20 – Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years.  No one was sorry when he died.  They buried him in the City of David, but not in the royal cemetery.

Observation –
King Asa of Judah was  pretty good king.  He made a few mistakes (who doesn’t), but for the most part – he was  a good king.  When he died, his son Jehoram became king of Judah.  This chapter tells us that Jehoram was a bad king.  He followed the example of the kings of Israel and was as wicked as King Ahab.  This is nowhere near a compliment.  The Bible tells us that ALL of Israel’s kings were evil.  The most evil, infamous of them all was King Ahab.  Then, along comes Jehoram, King of Judah,  and he is compared to Ahab – the most wicked king of all.  All of this explains the last verse of 2 Chronicles 21 – our verse for today.  It says, “No one was sorry when he died.”  Wow!  What a horrible thought.  It goes on to say that even though he was the king of Judah, they didn’t bury him in the royal cemetery.  This shows us how horrible of a king Jehoram really was.

Application –
This is a sad story about a man.  Jehoram was king of Judah, but his funeral was pitiful.  To think – not a single person (not even his mom – assuming she was alive, or a wife, or a friend, etc.) was sorry that he had died.  Not the kind of legacy we should leave.  He wasn’t even honored by being buried with the other kings.  Instead, they just buried him in the local cemetery.  I may be wrong, but I think I’ll always be a better person than Jehoram.  I think that what is said about him in this verse, won’t be said about me.  But, it does cause me to think.  Is my life making other people’s lives better?  Am I bringing honor to other people?  What do those that know me the best think of me?  What do my wife, kids, parents, sisters, friends, and church family think of me?  I’m not asking for selfish, prideful reasons.  I’m asking for legacy reasons.  I’m asking for God honoring reasons.  My life should be reflecting the characteristics of Christ.  I should be loving and serving other people.  If I do, then my funeral – although there will be mourners – will not be nearly as sad as Jehoram’s funeral.

Prayer –
God, Help me to live a life that follows You. Help me to live a life that points others to You.  Help me to live a life that leaves a godly legacy to those I love.  May You be honored with my life.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

Move Over Grandma!

Today’s reading comes from 1 Kings 15:1-24 and 2 Chronicles 13-16.  Here’s what I journaled –

Scripture –
2 Chronicles 15:16 – King Asa even deposed his grandmother Maaca from her position as queen mother because she had made an obscene Asherah pole.  He cut down her obscene pole, broke it up, and burned it in the Kidron Valley.

Observation –
After Rehoboam died, his son Abijah became king of Judah.  Abijah was a bad king.  He was just like his father and led the people to sin.  Then, when Abijah died, his son Asa became king.  Asa was a good king.  He wasn’t perfect and had a problem near the end of his reign. But, for the most part Asa was a good king.  One of the big things he did was to seek to make needed religious reforms.  It was his desire to move the people back into worshiping the one true God.  As our verse says, he even went so far as to remove his grandmother from the position of queen mother because she had erected a shrine to Asherah – a false god.  Asa was taking his responsibility seriously.

Application –
There will be times when we have to confront people over their sin.  Sometimes we have to remove them from a leadership position or place of importance because of their sin.  Sometimes, as was the case with Asa, that person we have to confront is someone that is special to us, someone we love.  It is the responsibility of Christ followers to do their part to worship God and lead others to do the same.  When something or someone stands in the way of that happening, something must be done.  The question is – will we have the courage that Asa had?  Will we stand up to sin in an attempt to point people back to God?  Are we willing to do that – even when it’s tough to do so?  Let’s take Asa’s lead and do our part to ensure that God alone is worshiped.

Prayer –
God, Help me to have the boldness of Asa.  Help me to lead others to worship You.  May I have the courage to confront people (even those I love) about the sin in their lives.  Help me to do the right thing and worship You and You alone.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

As the Leader Goes, So Goes the People

Today’s reading comes from 1 Kings 13-14 and 2 Chronicles 11-12.  Here’s what I journaled –

Scripture –
2 Chronicles 12:1 – But when Rehoboam was firmly established and strong, he abandoned the Law of the Lord, and all Israel followed him in this sin.

Observation –
These chapters pick up on the first kings of the divided kingdom.  Jeroboam was the king of Israel in the north and Rehoboam was king of Judah in the south.  Both of them were failures as leaders.  Both of them are described as evil kings.  Both of them failed to seek God with all of their hearts.  Both of them failed to obey God.  As our verse points out, the biggest problem with all of this is the fact that they were leaders.  They were supposed to lead the people to follow God, but they did the opposite. They led the people into their sin.

Application –
If you’re a leader, be careful to lead in the correct way.  Lead people towards God and not away from Him.  You don’t want to be known as an evil leader.  As you play your role in electing leaders, vote for people who will lead us towards the paths of God and not away from them.  Not all of our political leaders will be Christ followers.  But, we can still vote for people who are morally upright.  This will help us to avoid going contrary to God’s wishes.  These verses really speak to me as a leader.  Am I leading the people God has given me the privilege of leading towards God or away from Him?  Am I really the kind of leader that God wants me to be?  What can I do to be a better leader?

Prayer –
God, Help me to be the leader in Your church that You desire me to be.  Help me to always lead people closer to You and not further from You.  I want to be the kind of leader You desire me to be.  Also, I pray for the elected officials in our country.  May they follow You.  May they not lead us in the opposite direction.  May they have good morals that will help them to be people of integrity.  May You guide the leaders that are currently in place.  We trust You God.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

If My People Who Are Called By My Name…

Today’s reading comes from 2 Chronicles 4-7; Psalm 134 and 136.  Here’s what I journaled –

Scripture –
2 Chronicles 7:14 – “Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.”

Observation –
These chapters from 2 Chronicles are a retelling of the chapters we read yesterday in 1 Kings.  There are details about the furnishings of the Temple.  Solomon praises God and dedicates the Temple upon its completion.  God comes to talk to Solomon.  He says there might be times when difficulties come Israel’s way.  They were to follow God at all times.  But, in those times that they failed and sinned they could turn back to God and seek His help.  As long as they were sincere and truly repentant, God would forgive their sins and heal their land.

Application –
Our nation has definitely turned from God.  We have sinned.  We have gone our own way.  We’re not following God like we should as a nation.  But, the amazing news is that the principles found in this verse are true to our nation.  It’s true that these words were given to Israel, God’s chosen people.  The United States is an important country that God has blessed, but we’re not His “chosen people.”  But, the concept of turning to God for help is still true.  God honors those who turn to Him.  For all the problems we’re having as a nation, we would be better off if we turned to God and admitted we need His help before we try to solve them on our own.  But, the question is – will America turn to God in time?

Prayer –
God, It is my desire that I turn to You in my time of need.  When I sin, I want to turn back to You in humility and repentance.  But, I also would love to see our country turn back to You.  God, would You guide us as a nation to put our faith back in You?  Help us to turn back to You so that You might heal our land.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.