A thought from reading John 7:25-36 is to discover the meaning of what we read, see, or hear. It’s important to gather all the knowledge or information that can be collected. Then, ask questions, reflect, and listen for instructions during your prayer time. Prayer is your greatest power as you ask God for direction.
Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them. – Deuteronomy 4:9
The history of Judah as pointed out in “Stay the Course” is one that shows the inability to focus and stay the course. There would be one king that helped the people focus on God’s Way and then another king would destroy what had been started.
Before our present results in a horrible future, let us think of ideas to create religious, social, and cultural reforms today. In everything we do, let us think about being connected to the ways of God in our thoughts, ideas, and experiences. God then becomes the center of attention as we worship and give praise to the ONE true God with songs like, Stay by Jeremy Camp.
If we just stay …
Stay in the Light
And throw our burdens away,
It’s going to be okay.
I had a trig teacher that could never stay focused … He always went off on a tangent. [1]
It seems that throughout history, Judah had the same issue of going off on tangents. They couldn’t stay on course or on the subject at hand. For Judah, they would not stay the Way of God. They would keep the commands, statutes, and decrees of the Lord for a while but then go a different direction.
Reading today in 2 Kings 25, the history of Judah shows the result of continued refusal to acknowledge the ONE true God. They would fall once again into idol worship. This angered the Lord, so He allowed Nebuchadnezzar the King of Babylon to come a second time against Jerusalem.
Famine became so severe that there was no food for the people to eat (v. 3). The sons of King Zedekiah were killed, his eyes were put out, and he was bound in shackles and taken to Babylon (v. 7). The temple of the Lord, the royal palace, and every important building including all the houses of Jerusalem were set on fire (v. 8). The people were carried into exile (v. 11). All the things of value made of bronze, silver, and gold were taken from the temple.
Before our own present results in a horrible future for us in current times, let us think of ideas to create religious, social, and cultural reforms today. In everything we do, let us think about being connected to the ways of God in all our thoughts, ideas, and experiences. God then becomes the center of attention as we worship and pray to the ONE true God.
Lord … You have our total attention as we put aside some time each day to feed the Spirit and get in the rhythm of Your heart. We practice our faith by documenting what we read, hear, and feel. We step ahead this day towards the Way, the Truth, and the Light. May Your Way be written in our hearts for we put nothing before You Lord and we know that what You desire for us is beyond imaginable! In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.
Photo Source – “Bing.” Microsoft. N.p., n.d. Web. Images >.
[1] “UPJOKE – Jokes For Every Topic.” UPJOKE – Jokes For Every Topic, https://upjoke.com/.
A takeaway from “Truth Matters” is that wisdom begins with integrity and we take warning from the history of fallen nations of the past for ourselves and our country. Let us be truthful with ourselves and those around us. Let us ask God to search our heart to begin the process of eliminating iniquities. Let us desire to be right with God by building up the unseen qualities of our soul to become whole.
Take inspiration from Search Me, Lord by Gaither Vocal Band and the lyrics to the song below:
If You find anything that shouldn’t be Take it out and strengthen me. I want live right … I want to be saved, I want to be whole.
Like the graphic above says, don’t trust an atom because they make up everything. The things around us that are seen can’t always be trusted and do not matter as much as the things that are unseen that are in our heart and soul so today we seek to understand the unseen as we read 2 Kings 24 with memory of our previous study in mind.
In the previous chapter, Josiah had led the repair of the temple and during the restoration, the Book of the Law was found. This inspired Josiah to make a covenant to follow the Lord and keep his commands, statutes and decrees with all his heart and soul (v. 3). All items used for idol worship were burned and he did away with the idolatrous priests appointed by the kings of Judah. He destroyed altars and high places used for idol worship as he had a long reign in Jerusalem of thirty one years.
Reading today’s chapter, the four kings of Judah after Josiah did not keep the commands, statutes, and decrees of the Lord with all their heart and soul. This angered the Lord so He allowed for Judah’s political and military defeat. Each of the four kings after Josiah lacked integrity and had short reigns because of all the chaos. They didn’t follow the ONE true God and idol worship became prominent again.
Wisdom begins with integrity and we take warning from the history of Judah for ourselves and our country. Let us be truthful with ourselves and those around us. Let us ask God to search our heart to begin the process of eliminating iniquities. Let us desire to be right with God by building up the unseen qualities of our soul and becoming whole.
This day with You God, You have given the resources we need to be guided to Truth. We receive grace that takes away iniquities, the Holy Spirit that provides direction, and the power that pushes us higher. These are all unseen qualities that really matter. We build up qualities that really matter as we study Your Word, pray, and are pushed higher by traits of character like integrity as we follow Jesus in whose name we pray. Amen.
Photo Source – “Bing.” Microsoft. N.p., n.d. Web. Images >.
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