2 Chronicles 15-17

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There are several powerful truths to consider as we read these 3 chapters. Let me give you a few:

1) The Lord often responds according to our will! What's interesting about this statement is that so often we, as human beings, are often deeply interested in knowing God's will and how He feels about things. Here's the interesting part! God wants to know YOUR will as well. He wants to how you feel about Him too! And, He's interested in knowing whether you're interested in following Him and loving Him. Listen to what Azariah said to King Asa under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in chapter 15:2, "The Lord will stay with you as longs as you stay with him! Whenever you seek him, you will find him. But when you abandon him, he will abandon you."

In other words, God is sensitive to your relationship with Him. If you're not interested in having Him around, He'll back off. Now, please don't misunderstand! He NEVER leaves us. He will simply pull back His work in your life. If you decide to abandon God, He will leave His hands off and leave you to your own will and destruction. But, if you seek Him, you will find His presence and work in your life!

2) How deep is your commitment to God? Wow! Did you see the depth of the covenant King Asa and the rest of the tribe of Judah made with God in chapter 15:12-15? It's incredible! They so deeply committed themselves to the Lord that they unanimously agreed to kill anyone who didn't worship and follow God with all their heart. Now that's a covenant!

Have you made a deep commitment to the Lord? Can you say that you are earnestly seeking Him with ALL YOUR HEART?

As a result of their loyalty to God, God gave them rest from their enemies for many years!

3) Are YOU remaining strong in the Lord to the end? As committed as King Asa was to the Lord in the early part of his reign, he seemed to weaken in the latter part. Chapter 17 tells us in verse 3 about this sad commentary.

So many Christians seem "GUNG HO!" in the early years of their Christian walk, but end up phasing out in their latter years. How sad! May it NEVER be said that you did the same thing! May God give you the strength to stay FAITHFUL TO THE END! I hope my tombstone could say that about my relationship to my wife, my family, my friends, and especially to my Lord - "Faithful to the end!"

4) God blesses those who are committed to Him! Chapter 17 shares the blessings of a man who is deeply devoted to God. If fact, King Jehoshaphat is one of the most respected kings in all of Israel's history. Next to king David and king Solomon comes king Jehoshaphat. Not only did he build up Judah's army to the point that ALL the nations surrounding him were in fear of him, but he was effective in teaching all the people of Judah the Book of the Law (the Old Testament). No one (other than David and Solomon) did more to influence a powerful and spiritual kingdom of people than did Jehoshaphat!

As a Godly man, he saw his two most important acts as being:

- To strengthen the kingdom's army with military might!
- And, to strengthen God's people with instruction from the Book of the Law of Moses!

This allowed his nation to be both physically and spiritually prepared! Is not this good advice for those in leadership in our country?

God bless you and have a wonderful day! Let me no your comments...

2 Chronicles 12-14

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Yesterday, we saw the beginning of the downfall of Israel. When the Israelites decided to make Jeroboam their king and detach themselves from the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, it changed EVERYTHING!!! This was a pivotal point in Israel. This is the beginning of how the Jewish race became a laughing stock to the world. Jeroboam and the rest of the tribes of Israel forsook the Lord! And, if you remember in 11:14-16 it says, "The Levites abandoned their homes and property and moved to Judah and Jerusalem, because Jeroboam and his sons would not allow them to serve the Lord as priests...From all overy Israel, those who sincerely wanted to worship the Lord, the God of Israel, followed the Levites to Jerusalem, where they could offer sacrifices to the Lord...This strengthened the kingdom of Judah..."

Today, we begin to see the downfall of Judah and Benjamin! Here are a few lessons we can learn from today's teaching:

1) People generally NEVER rise above the integrity or spiritual standard of their leader! Both Jeroboam and Rehoboam had tremendous influence over the people of their kingdoms. As kings, the moment they began to forsake the Lord it created a chain of events that changed the heart and mentality of the people. Notice in 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." Then, when Rehoboam had a change of heart, notice what happened - "The king and the leaders of Israel humbled themselves...When the Lord saw their change of heart, he gave this message to Shemaiah: 'Since the people have humbled themselves, I will not completely destroy them and will soon give them some relief.' " Once Rehoboam had a change of heart, his leaders followed suit. Later, the people within the kingdom changed their heart.

Many times throughout the Bible you'll find examples of the tremendous influence leaders have on those who follow them! If you're in a place of leadership, you ought to keep this powerful point in mind! Don't expect your followers to rise above the level of your leadership example. Don't expect them to "do as you say and not as you do!" It just doesn't work that way!!!

2) Confidence in your self can be the ruin of you! Again notice verse 1. Once Rehoboam was "firmly established and strong, he abandoned the law of the Lord." The moment he was confident in his ability to rule, the strength of his kingdom, and the extent of his power, he neglected the Lord! Confidence in the Lord and His power is one thing, but confidence in yourself and your power will be the beginning of your downfall.

3) Humility changes things! On my grandmother's wall there used to hang a plaque that said that "Prayer changes things." No doubt it does! But, so does humility! In chapter 12, God determined to destroy the people of Judah because they had "abandoned the Lord." It says in verse 6, "The king and the leaders of Israel humbled themselves." Once they realized just how vulnerable they were, they humbled themselves before the Lord, prayed to Him, and revealed to the Lord their change of heart. This sign of humility before the eyes of God changed the Lord's mind about His intent to destroy them! The Bible teaches us that God, "gives grace to the humble." Humility before God is realizing that you are NOTHING without Him...period!!!

4) Half-hearted commitment to God is "evil" in God's sight! Unfortunately, chapter 12 ends with a sad commentary about Rehoboam! It describes him in verse 14 as "an evil king, for he did not seek the Lord with all his heart! Half-hearted commitment to Christ is disgusting to the Lord! In the book of Revelation 3:15-16, the Lord condemns the people of the church of Laodicea for having a half-hearted commitment to Christ. He says, "I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish you were one or the other! But since you are like lukewarm water, I will spit you out of my mouth!"

Here's one way to look at it... Either Jesus is the "LORD" of your life completely, or He's not "LORD" at all! Which is it for you?

5) Peace is the result of living for the glory of God! In chapter 14, God gives the tribe of Judah peace from war and their enemies because they're living for the glory of God! Notice verse 1, There was peace inthe land for ten years, for Asa did what was pleasing and good in the sight of the Lord his God."

6) Godly men are jealous for a holy community and live life with prudence! Notice what king Asa did:
- He cleared the land of pagan worshippers and their worship centers!
- He built up fortified cities during peace time knowing that war is inevitable!

Asa wasn't stupid! He knew God had given him a brief period of peace. And, he knew that war was inevitable. He cleaned the land of sinful ways and acted in prudence understanding that in a real world war happens!

That's all for now! Have a wonderful and Godly day!