The People Still Had Not . . .

II Chronicles 20:33

The high places, however, were not removed, and the people still had not set their hearts on the God of their fathers.

Asa's son Jehoshaphat devoted his heart to the ways of the Lord, and he removed the high places and Asherah poles from Judah (17:6). He also sent his officials to teach in the towns if Judah, sending with them Levites and priests, taking the Book of the Law with them; they went to all the towns of Judah and taught the people (17:7-9). Then he appointed judges in each of the cities in Judah to administer the Law and to turn the people back to the Lord (19:4-11). And when Moab, Ammon and Mount Seir got together and made war on him, Jehoshaphat sought the Lord, and set men to sing praises to the Lord ahead of his army, and God set ambushes and destroyed them (20:1-30). And still the people did not set their hearts on the God of their fathers.

Even after the reigns of both King Asa and King Jehoshaphat, who both were "good kings" and tried to turn their nation Judah back to God, the people still were stubborn and willful and clung to their false idols, replacing the "high places" that had been demolished. 

O my Father, please send us your Asa, to show the way to America, and even a Jehoshaphat to reinforce Your ways among our people. Even if the people refuse Your ways, and are determined on rebuilding the false, weak idols, we need strong leaders to show us the right way; and no one will have any excuse when Jesus returns to claim His kingdom and rule for 1000 years and forever.

Even so, come Lord Jesus!

Send Us An Asa

II Chronicles 14:2-5

Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God. He removed the foreign altars and the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. He commanded Judah to seek the Lord, the God of their fathers, and to obey His laws and commands. He removed the high places and incense altars in every town in Judah, and the kingdom was at peace under him.

O Father, God of Asa and David, please send us an Asa in America! Return us as a nation to the God of our fathers, the Founders; back to following and obeying the letter and the spirit of our Constitution which decrees Your righteousness, Lord God of the Universe. Bring us back to Yourself before the end, as You did with Judah.

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

Grave Clothes

John 11:44

Jesus said to them, "Take off the grave clothes and let him go."

This is when Jesus called Lazarus forth out of the tomb cave. Apparently Lazarus was not able to remove the burial bindings himself, and needed help to get free of them.

O my Father, am I still bound with some of those strips of grave clothes that remain of my fleshly nature? Help me, Father, to recognize them for what they are, and the strength to discard them; or send to me someone who can remove them from me if I cannot do it myself, like Lazarus. Show me how to "put off the old man" and "put on the new man" that is of Your Spirit Who lives in me. Teach me Your ways, for they are not my ways; and Your thoughts, for they are not my thoughts; that I may speak only Your words, and do only the things You have planned before time for me to accomplish to further Your kingdom here and bring glory to Your Name.

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

Only Two Lifetime Requests

Proverbs 30:7-9

Two things I ask of You O Lord; do not refuse me before I die; --

There are only two things I ask of You, my Lord and Master of me as Your slave: please grant me these every day of my life until I die.

Keep falsehood and lies far from me; --

Do not allow any false or misleading words to proceed out of my mouth (or my fingers as I write or type), and do not ever allow me to be mislead by any other false or misleading words from others.

Give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. --

Any more than food and clothing is considered riches. I ask only my daily needs, no more.

Otherwise, I may have too much and disown You and say, "Who is the Lord?" --

If I find I have too much more than I actually need, I may start thinking that I have gotten all of it by my own power, abilities and wisdom, and think that I don't need the Lord any more.

Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the Name of my God. --

Or if I find I don't have enough, I could be tempted to stop trusting in You, and use unethical methods to get what I think I need, by taking advantage of others, and by my dishonesty I would bring shame on the One I claim to worship. 

O my Lord, how often do I worry that I may become poor, that my resources will not last my lifetime? I testify that "God takes good care of me every day," but am I really trusting You to do that into the future? Or am I really trusting in my own ingenuity to grow my nest egg? O my Lord God, my Abba, Daddy, teach me to trust You to meet all my needs, and to accept joyfully all that You provide now and into the future.

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

 

The Most Powerful Force In The Universe

Ephesians 3:14-19

And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

It appears here that the "fullness of God" that we may be filled with, is love! Love is the most powerful force there is. Love created the universe, and God's faithfulness in maintaining all the balances in the universe is based on His love for it. And when we love Him and one another, then we will fulfill all His laws, all the "Manufacturers Instructions" for life in this world.

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

Became Flesh

John 1:14

The Word became flesh . . .

The Word, that was with God and that was actually God Himself, the Creator and Lord of all Heaven and Earth and the whole Universe. This is Who came down, from His Glory in Heaven, and "became flesh." God is Spirit, always was and always will be. But this Word, this One Who proceeds from the Father, so is His Son, took upon Himself the actual flesh of humankind, and became a Man! The Creator became a part of His own creation! I cannot grasp the magnitude of this thing that God did--to leave the Home He deserves to dwell among filthy, evil little creatures is totally beyond my comprehension. But I know He did!

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

Worship

Exodus 23:33

...The worship of their gods will certainly be a snare to you.

The way they worship their gods; what they do that honors their gods. It will look so good, so beneficial, so right, that you will be snared, caught up in it. Today we don't bow down to statues in our society (except Catholics), but our culture encourages us to put our trust into our own abilities, to "lift us up by our own bootstraps." To trust in the money we earn, or the company we work for, or the government that encourages us to be dependent on it. But our trust is to be in the God who created all things and everyone, and His Son who paid our debt; we are to think His thoughts, not the world's.

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!