The Lord Know All That is Going On...Be Mindful

2 Chronicles Chp 16

While Asa sought the Lord earlier in his reign, he soon loses faith as fear of Baasha the king of Israel leads Asa to seek an alliance with Syria.

¹ In the thirty-sixth year of Asa’s reign Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and fortified Ramah to prevent anyone from leaving or entering the territory of Asa king of Judah.

  

² Asa then took the silver and gold out of the treasuries of the LORD’s temple and of his own palace and sent it to Ben-Hadad king of Aram, who was ruling in Damascus. ³ “Let there be a treaty between me and you,” he said, “as there was between my father and your father. See, I am sending you silver and gold. Now break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel so he will withdraw from me.” 

While this provides initial protection for Asa and Judah, it is certainly not pleasing to the Lord as a seer in Judah soon rebukes Asa:

“Because you relied on the king of Aram and not on the LORD your God, the army of the king of Aram has escaped from your hand. ⁸ Were not the Cushites^[b] and Libyans a mighty army with great numbers of chariots and horsemen^[c]? Yet when you relied on the LORD, he delivered them into your hand. ⁹ For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. You have done a foolish thing, and from now on you will be at war.” 

The message I hear is that:

• I must live in fear of God as and understand that God can see all; I cannot sin and believe that it will be overlooked by God; at the very least I must repent and seek forgiveness
• On the same note, I must live with the end in mind and focus on serving Him with all of my heart and soul; in the end if I am not judgement day will bear this out
• God's protection is there for those "whose hearts are fully committed to [H]im"

My Prayer: Lord, you ARE everpresent and ALL seeing and this is a GOOD thing because your protection, love and care is real and I have experienced it many times in my own life.  Forgive me when I take my eyes and focus off of you and place my faith on anyone but you.  I know I do this and I seek repentence and your forgiveness.  Help me truly focus my heart on you and love, trust and follow you with all of my heart and soul.

Rest Is For Those Who Seek God Eagerly

2 Chronicles Chp 15

Here in Chronicles we find King Asa who has an encounter with the prophet Azariah.  God speaks to Azariah and says:

Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin. The LORD is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you. ³ For a long time Israel was without the true God, without a priest to teach and without the law. ⁴ But in their distress they turned to the LORD, the God of Israel, and sought him, and he was found by them. ⁵ In those days it was not safe to travel about, for all the inhabitants of the lands were in great turmoil. ⁶ One nation was being crushed by another and one city by another, because God was troubling them with every kind of distress. ⁷ But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded.” (verses 2-7)

With this, Asa removed all of the idols and other vestiges of worship to other Gods, and sought the Lord.  All of Judah then turned to the Lord.

All Judah rejoiced about the oath because they had sworn it wholeheartedly. They sought God eagerly, and he was found by them. So the LORD gave them rest on every side. (verse 15)

Rest is something I yearn for...many days I feel stress or fatigue and this I use as a means to justify many things, including sin.

If I seek God eagerly, I know I will be found by Him and I will get rest on every side.

My Prayer: You are so great, and your power and might is so great that I yearn to love and follow you eagerly.  Forgive me when I sin as I know many times this comes from the fact that I don't seek you out and my rest remains elusive.  Help me gain rest in and through you.

Humility Is Important No Matter What

2 Chronicles Chp 12

¹ After Rehoboam’s position as king was established and he had become strong, he and all Israel with him abandoned the law of the LORD. ² Because they had been unfaithful to the LORD, Shishak king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem in the fifth year of King Rehoboam. ³ With twelve hundred chariots and sixty thousand horsemen and the innumerable troops of Libyans, Sukkites and Cushites that came with him from Egypt, ⁴ he captured the fortified cities of Judah and came as far as Jerusalem. 

 ⁵ Then the prophet Shemaiah came to Rehoboam and to the leaders of Judah who had assembled in Jerusalem for fear of Shishak, and he said to them, “This is what the LORD says, ‘You have abandoned me; therefore, I now abandon you to Shishak.’”

 ⁶ The leaders of Israel and the king humbled themselves and said, “The LORD is just.” (verses 1-6)

What strikes me here is not that the Israelites abandoned the Lord or that they were attacked by Egypt and defeated because of this, it is that Israel responded that "The Lord is just".

This is not only an acknowledgement of sin but also that judgement is due from Him and Him alone.  If we are to make Him our God we must bow to his judgement and God alone can serve justice and we must say that He is just, whether we like His justice or not.  We do not have any right to refuse God's justice - it is what it is and we must accept it as His will for us to follow.

Our humility is important because it establishes our relationship with God - that He is supreme and that we are to serve His will. 

God responds to humility:

¹² Because Rehoboam humbled himself, the LORD’s anger turned from him, and he was not totally destroyed. Indeed, there was some good in Judah. (verse 12)

My Prayer: You alone reign supreme.  You are perfect, your work is perfect and your are pure and holy.  I know I am not and I need you.  Forgive me for how I fall short and help me lean on you to be refined, purified and transformed.  Help me remain humble and help me submit to your will, even in cases where you dole out justice that I do not like.  The Lord is just.

I Seek God's Wisdom Alone

2 Chronicles Chp 1

Although I have read this passage previously, it strikes me once again how Solomon seeks wisdom above all else.  This is pretty remarkable, particularly in light of all of the earthly distractions I personally face: worries over my job, $$, my own selfishness or greed, etc.  I wonder for myself whether if in Solomon's shoes I would ask as well for something similar.  I would hope so...

Two questions in my mind that hits me upon reading of this passage again (albeit in 2 Chronicles) is what kind of wisdom am I seeking?  And what do I most cherish and what do I want most?

On the first question, it is a mixed bag.  I am thankful that I am finally seeking the counsel of other men in my life and this is a good thing.  It is also good that I continue to seek the counsel of resources such as Men's Fraternity.  However, it is not good that I don't seek other sources, such as books that cover key topics, such as parenting, etc.

On the 2nd question, I can tell by what stresses me out what I cherish most.  I genuinely think I am a selfish person and I don't like it when things don't go my way.  This is flat out selfish.

My Prayer: Lord, your wisdom is perfect and your word is perfect. I am thankful for how you have transformed my life and you let me talk to you every day and you speak back to me every day (at least as often as I read my bible...)!.  Forgive me when I don't seek you out as I should, and forgive me for my laziness and my selfishness.  Lord, give me strength, and give me generosity.

Acknowledge Your Blessings As Those of God's Hand...And His Hand Alone

1 Chronicles Chp 29

I know I am blessed...with health, with family, with provision, with talents and abilities, yet I need to acknowledge how I am and how I am blessed is through God's hands alone and it is for His glory alone.

¹⁴ “But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand. ¹⁵ We are foreigners and strangers in your sight, as were all our ancestors. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope. ¹⁶ LORD our God, all this abundance that we have provided for building you a temple for your Holy Name comes from your hand, and all of it belongs to you. ¹⁷ I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity. All these things I have given willingly and with honest intent. (verses 14-17)

My Prayer: Lord, your love is great as is your mercy and compassion.  I am not worthy of your love, yet you love me anyway, and you love me no less. Forgive me for my sin in that I worry, I am greedy, and I am selfish, etc.  Help me understand that all that you provide for me is for your glory and I need to freely let these blessing flow through me to others to serve Him.

We Should Not Worry About Physical Things...It Is What Is In Our Heart

1 Chronicles Chp 17

I am struck by David's initial focus on a physical home for the ark where God's presence can be felt.

¹ After David was settled in his palace, he said to Nathan the prophet, “Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of the covenant of the LORD is under a tent.”  (verse 1)

And even more struck by God's response to Nathan on this subject.

⁴ “Go and tell my servant David, ‘This is what the LORD says: You are not the one to build me a house to dwell in. ⁵ I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought Israel up out of Egypt to this day. I have moved from one tent site to another, from one dwelling place to another. ⁶ Wherever I have moved with all the Israelites, did I ever say to any of their leaders whom I commanded to shepherd my people, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?”’ (verses 4-6)

First of all, why should we as humans think that we know what God needs?  Not to judge David (because we all do this from time to time), but how foolish!  Second, we should know that God is everywhere and most importantly he is in our hearts.  And finally, God does not want us to focus on earthly matters such as this.

We are most importantly to love Him and to love others.

My Prayer: Lord, your love is great...and it is so great that it cannot be contained!  Forgive me when I place walls around our faith and our love.  I should not compartmentalize and say that this place is not for God's love or this person is not for God's love - forgive me indeed!  Please Lord help me live life knowing that your love abounds and it cannot be contained and that I am to let my love of you flow freely and thoroughly from me both to you and to others with a purpose of glorifying you, serving you and bringing others to you.

Do I Wear My Love of Lord on My Sleeves?

1 Chronicles Chp 15

Although it was only 3 months ago that I read in 2 Samuel this same story, it is an important lesson and through a second reading I have gained addl insight. 

²⁹ As the ark of the covenant of the LORD was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David dancing and celebrating, she despised him in her heart.(verse 29)

If I am truly being a light, it is not just my worship that I must proclaim publicly, it is MY ENTIRE LIFE.  And now I recognize my sin because in my workplace I know I am not being a light and I am clearly not following God's will.

²³ Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters[.] Colossians 3:23

My Prayer: Lord, you are great and your wisdom and compassion is great.  I have sinned gravely for my horrible attitude at work.  Please forgive me and please help me remember that I am not working for human masters but for you and for your glory.  Help me do everything that I do with all of my heart so that people can clearly see my work as an instrument of God and have God shine through me.