by Suellen | Project 2013: Read The Bible
II Chronicles 15-16
Azariah, the son of Obed, meets Asa with a word from God. The prophet reminds the king that if he and his people turn away from God, as they have done in the past, God’s hand will not be there for them. However, if they remain faithful to their God and forsake their idols, He will remain faithful to them.
“But you, be strong and don’t lose courage, for there is reward for your work.”(15:7)
So Asa gets to work, making things “right” in the country. They have a ceremony, praising the Lord and all that He had done for them. Asa even removes his mother from the position of “Queen Mother” because she wants to maintain her idols. He then demolishes her idols.
As a result, there is no war in Judah for more than 30 years. God’s protection is strong.
In the 36th year of Asa’s reign, Baasha, king of Israel, comes up against Judah, and Asa makes a terrific mistake. He seeks help from the king of Aram, rather than from the Lord. With natural help, he turns back the foe, however, he is rebuked for the error.
Here we have one of my favorite verses in the Bible, and one which we should all take to heart.
“For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.”(16:9)
If you look around and listen to people talk, you will realize that very few people really trust in God with their whole heart. If we could just get this verse, how wonderful our lives would be. He is looking for those who really do believe Him.
I volunteer. I want to be one of those people. I love Him and I want his strong support!
John 12:27-50
Some choose light; others choose dark. Jesus reminds His followers that he didn’t come to judge the world. The world was judged already because of the sin of Adam. Jesus came to save the world from the judgment.
I think of it like this. It’s as if a boat has capsized and all are drowning. Jesus throws out a life raft for all to take who will. Some would rather stay in the water, but it’s their choice – not His.
The Word He has spoken has judged the people because they wouldn’t listen to it.
Today, there are people who want to know God, but on their own terms. They want to tell Him what the rules of the universe should be, rather than listening to His principles. They want to design their own plans and dreams – and then get Him to bless their pursuit of them.
Jesus is calling us all to a life of immense benefits and productivity. But He chooses the terms. The terms are that we love God with our whole heart – trusting in Him and living for Him. Then we love our neighbors as ourselves.
In our dreams and pursuits, we esteem others highly – and not just ourselves. We don’t lord it over others or take advantage of them
So God doesn’t bless our own dreams – unless they are from Him. The true blessing comes through knowing Him and walking with Him.
It’s a wonderful life! We just decide to walk in the light! His light.
by Suellen | Project 2013: Read The Bible
II Chronicles 13-14
There becomes a definite chasm between Israel and Judah during this next section of history.
Abijah tries to reason with Jeroboam, saying “Have you not driven out the priests of the Lord and made for yourselves priests like the peoples of other lands?…But as for us, the Lord is our God, and we have not forsaken Him.” This new king is trying to deflect the war which Jeroboam wants to pursue.
However, his attempts are useless, and Jeroboam goes after his brothers of Judah. In so doing, he comes after God Himself, and he gets routed. “And Jeroboam did not again recover strength in the days of Abijah.”(13:20) “But Abijah became powerful…”(13:21)
Asa took the reigns after Abijah, and he also was a good king. He removed the high places and incense altars so that God continued to honor his position.
As a result, more years of peace follow.
Speaking of high places, do you have some in your life? Of course not, you say, but don’t be so fast.
The modern day high places are things we honor along with our God – and sometimes in place of our God.
So what are some of these? Position in society, big houses, luxuries, even education can become a high place.
Now all of these things are blessings from God when we put Him first. But when they come before our allegiance to God, then they are idols.
If He calls you to worship in a small, unimpressive congregation instead of the big, showy one, what do you do? If He wants you to leave the comforts of your sophisticated community to minister to those who are less fortunate, do you do it?
So what if a doctrinal error becomes the rage and everyone seems to be “going that way,” what do you do? If you see something different in the Word, whom do you honor, God or man?
What’s more important to you? That’s the key. Is the way you look to man more important, or the way you look to God?
These can be hard questions sometimes, but they are necessary for the life of faith.
We have many opportunities to reject sound doctrine for the sake of our reputation. I pray that you and I won’t do that.
We will go with God, even when it isn’t popular.
John 12: 1-26
“The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.”(V.23) With this statement, Jesus introduces the concept that He is not only the Lamb of God. He is also the Seed of God.
When a seed is planted, it must go into the ground and die, then it brings forth fruit. So if Jesus is the seed, what is the fruit?
We are!
When Jesus died on the cross and went into hell for three days, He paid the price, rose again, and ascended to heaven. That’s how He was glorified. In so doing, He made the way for us to become sons of God.
Hebrews 2:11 says that He was not ashamed to call us brothers. Jesus was the first man to be born again – while in the depths of the earth.
He fell into the ground and died so that we might live for Him. He is the seed, and we are the fruit He bore in His death.
This is something to think about , isn’t it?
by Suellen | Project 2013: Read The Bible
II Chronicles 10-12
Rehoboam acts foolishly. During Solomon’s reign Jeroboam had shown signs of rebellion, and when he was thwarted, he fled to Egypt.
Jeroboam approaches Rehoboam in an effort to ease the load of his followers. “If you lighten our load, we will serve you.” Rehoboam ignores the advice of the wise elders and heeds the word of his foolish younger companions.
“Whereas my father loaded you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke; my father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.” (10:11)
Wrong answer. “So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David until this day.”(10:19)
The twelve tribes which had been the descendants of the twelve sons of Jacob are now broken up. Instead of one kingdom, there are two. Israel, with Jeroboam as its king, consists of 10 tribes, and Judah with Rehoboam consists of only two.
God had promised that he would bless the kingdom as long as they would follow Him and be faithful to Him. However, as we saw yesterday, even Solomon, who started off as a wise man, turned from God . Now his son is doing the same.
“And he did evil because he did not set his heart to seek the Lord.”(12:14)
Today, I want to “set my heart” to seek the Lord. I want to pray, spend time with Him, and listen to what He is telling me. Then I want to obey his Word and His voice.
It’s not an emotion; it’s something we do. We set our hearts toward Him.
John 11:45-57
“If we let Him go on like this, all men will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.” (V.48)
This last sign Jesus did, as He raised Lazarus from the dead, was just too much. From now on the Pharisees would openly seek to kill Jesus. Up until this time they persecuted Him verbally, but now the time has come for them to persecute Him openly.
So orders are sent out from the leaders that “if anyone knew where He was, he should report it, so that they might seize Him.”(57)
Jesus, on the other hand, goes away to the country near the wilderness and stays with His disciples. He can’t go out openly anymore because of these leaders. He will be killed for our sins, but in God’s time – at Passover time. He is the Passover lamb sent by God for us.
In the meantime, He is watchful of the leaders who want to kill Him before the time.
This is a perfect example of what “political correctness” can get you. There are times when what is right in men’s eyes is an abomination to God.
That’s what we have here. The Savior, who has come into the world to take away the sin of man, is sought by these arrogant, misguided men who esteem themselves so highly.
You can see the same things happening today. Sometimes the ones who are right and just are being intimidated and persecuted by those who aren’t.
Yet God was on the side of Jesus, and He will be on the side of the righteous today. I want to have the courage to stand for what is right – even though there is persecution that goes with it.
I want to be on God’s side!
by Suellen | Project 2013: Read The Bible
II Chronicles 7-9
Fire from heaven to burn the offering, and God’s glory so strong that people could not enter the temple. That’s the way we start these chapters. All the sons of Israel are so overwhelmed with God’s goodness that they bow down on the pavement with their faces to the ground.
Days and days of sacrifices and worship. It has taken twenty years to build this temple, and this glorious celebration is greater than any ever in the history of Israel.
So we proceed with Solomon’s spectacular reign – his wisdom and his wealth. Again we see the account of the queen of Sheba coming to see for herself and being star-struck when she meets Solomon in person.
Yet at the end of these chapters, we see Solomon dying in total failure as he is succeeded by son, Rehoboam.
This version of the history leaves out a few of the dirty little secrets, but we can read between the lines, because we have already read the I Kings account.
Solomon, because of his tremendous wealth and wisdom, got the big head, and added many foreign wives to his collection of “things.” And in doing so, he built altars to every kind of god imaginable, and even turned to them himself on occasion.
Solomon had been warned, but he didn’t heed the warnings. Instead, he seemed to turn a deaf ear to his younger, holier voice as he aged. This king eventually turned away from God.
I Kings 11:6 says,” and Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord …” Don’t you find that hard to imagine? I do!
God’s beautiful land, which had seen His glory and literal presence so that the priests could not stand, was about to be divided.
There is a covenant which we have with our God – just as Solomon did. (Actually ours is better, because Jesus has already come). That covenant promises us blessings in abundance – protection, provision, and health for ourselves and our families. Yet it is conditional.
The conditional part is that we, as His covenant people, promise to be faithful to Him. We promise to love Him with our whole hearts, and to love others as ourselves.
If we do our part, He will always do His. Our God is faithful to His Word and will never let us down.
Oh, Lord, keep us close to You. We love you.
John 11:1-44
“Lazarus, come forth.” Jesus, with a loud voice shattered the wall between death and life, and the dead man arose. He had been dead for four days, and everyone considered this over, but our Savior showed them something different.
Everyone had seen Jesus heal the sick, so they believed that he could heal Lazarus if He would just hurry to the scene. However, Jesus tarried, staying two days longer after He had heard the report.
Mary and Martha were upset with Him “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” Each of them challenged the Lord upon His appearance.
However, Jesus was not moved at all. He knew God’s plan and His power – and He knew that Lazarus would rise up to the glory of God. In fact this was one more way of showing how great our God is.
Have you ever been praying for something which you knew was God’s will, but it just doesn’t seem to come about?
Don’t give up. If you know that it is God’s will; if it’s a promise that you have seen in His Word, don’t give up.
I have seen turn-arounds occur in the lives of certain people that almost shocked me. Sometimes they would be people that I would be praying for and it seemed that nothing ever changed. Then suddenly.
Oh, I love that Word when we are talking about our God. Suddenly.
He can suddenly cause things to click in a way that surpasses your imagination. He is God and He can do it.
Our part is to be true to Him, to pray and not faint, and to expect great things when we pray.
It’s an exciting life when we live it with Jesus.
by Suellen | Project 2013: Read The Bible
II Chronicles 4-6
The house of God is complete and all of the priests, praisers, and musicians in unison begin of loudly praise the Lord with “He indeed is good, for His lovingkindness is everlasting.” God’s glory fills the house like a cloud, so that the priests can not even stand.
This is one of the milestones in the history of Israel. After all of the centuries of God’s dealings with Abraham’s descendants, His house is finally built a and established as the place for his presence in His special land. What a glorious moment.
Then Solomon kneels before all of Israel and prays for God to continue to bless the land. He praises his God for all that He has done, and looks forward to the years of continuing to walk with this wonderful, mighty God.
Have you ever experienced the “glory of God” in a place? I have. I have been in meetings where His presence was so thick that I felt weak. I think of it as the atmosphere of heaven.
In that presence, there is not a care in the world. You can have issues facing you at home or at work, but in the presence of God – that thick cloud of His presence – you know that your Father is taking care of the problems for you. No worries.
Now I have never been in a place where no one could stand, so I can only imagine what that would be like. But I have been so that I couldn’t stand, and it’s a remarkable thing!
Peace, joy, and contentment accompany God’s presence.
John 10:24-42
I just love to see Jesus challenging the Pharisees and watching them squirm. He is really not against these men, but against the religious traditions which have taken God’s purposes out of the mix and allowed for these “leaders” to pompously dictate their own purposes to those under them. (Their main purpose being to procure for themselves wealth, honor, and control).
In substituting their own desires, these leaders don’t understand – or even try to understand – the Word of God.
So Jesus calls Himself the “Son of God,” which He is, of course. They go nuts! Then He eggs them on even more.
He reminds the Pharisees that the scripture says that ,”Ye are gods.”(Psalm 82:6).
Jesus is reminding these men that man was created in the image of God Himself. It was only after Adam’s sin that man lost that position, and Jesus has come to restore us back. All of this is in then scripture, but couldn’t be understood at the moment.
I feel quite sure that few could grasp what Jesus was saying at the time, but they were hanging on, because they believed he was the Son of God. They trusted Him – and just thought He was smarter than they were.
Now, however, we have God’s precious Holy Spirit living inside of us and guiding us. We realize what Jesus was saying.
He was planning to cleanse us through His blood at the cross, then send back His Spirit to live within us. Once again would we be true sons of God. We would be able to talk with Him and represent His desires in the earth.
What an opportunity we have to walk with Him as His children! As we continue to follow Jesus and His teachings we will fulfill His desires for us in the earth.
