by Pastor Cecil | Nov 19, 2008 | 2 Chronicles
2 Chronicles 34:14, 21
“While they were bringing out the money that had been taken into the temple of the LORD, Hilkiah the priest found the Book of the Law of the LORD that had been given to Moses.” —(King Joash ordered) “Go and inquire of the LORD for me and for the remnant in Israel and Judah about what is written in this book that has been found.”
As a young boy of eight, Josiah became king. He began to do right and cleanse the land of detestable idols and practices. He raised money in order to restore the Temple, which had fallen into disrepair. In the process of bringing out the money which had been collected in the temple, the priest Hilkiah found the Word of God!
Most of the kings of Israel and Judah had been wicked in the sight of God. They failed to obey God’s laws and decrees which had been given to Moses on Mount Horeb. Across the centuries, God’s judgment had fallen on Israel and Judah because of their refusal to follow the commands of the Lord. Even the priests and Levites were far from God.
Stop and think about that for a few minutes. These were God’s chosen people. He had revealed Himself to them repeatedly, yet they had turned their back on Him. So complete was their spiritual neglect, they did not even know the Law existed in the temple.
The question arises as to where the priests had been. They must not have been in the practice of going into the temple or they would have known of the existence of the Law of the Lord.
Once the Law was found, Josiah summoned all the people, from the least to the greatest, and read the entire Book of the Covenant in their hearing. He then made a covenant to follow and obey all of the Lord’s commands, regulations and decrees with all of his heart and soul. (I love Josiah!)
It may be that you may have misplaced God’s Word in your own life. In fact, it is possible that you have never even been aware of its existence. Your life may be so clouded by the thinking and ways of the world that the things of God have little or no meaning in your life. How tragic!
God has repeatedly said in His Word that He will honor and bless those who honor Him and call on His name. It is impossible to do that without spending time in God’s Word. You may try to argue that you are not a reader, so reading the Bible does not apply to you. Sorry Charlie! That is not going to cut it! Psalm 119:11 says; “I have hidden Your Word in my heart that I might not sin against You.” Here is a news flash—you can’t hide God’s Word in your heart without reading His Word. It is an imperative.
Your life might be like Judah in today’s Scripture. Things are in a big mess. You may have chaos and ruin all around you. It is at this time that you need to slip back into the house of the Lord and discover His Word once again. That is the key—the living Word. If you attend a church where the Word is not proclaimed from beginning to end—keep searching!
There are some churches where a Scripture may be read, but then it is nothing more than theories or lessons that are based upon the ideas of men rather than from God’s Word.
Paul charged Timothy, his son in the faith, about how to preach. In Second Timothy 4:2 he says: “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.”
I pray that you will discover God’s Word and covenant to do what it tells you to do.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
— Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Nov 4, 2008 | 2 Chronicles
2 Chronicles 7:14
“If My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
Are you confused by the title of today’s E-Votional? It is a derivation of the word, “revive.” The definition of revive is: “To return to consciousness or life : become active or flourishing again.”
I once knew a lady who spent a great deal of effort in trying to get unbelievers to act like believers. The result of her efforts?—She was exhausted by her fruitless efforts and created such animosity among the unsaved that they became resistant to the Gospel.
In reading today’s Scripture, I immediately notice something in the first few words: “If My people, who are called by My name.” That identifies the people who are being addressed.
Why is this important? It is because we are the ones who need to be revived. The unsaved need to be—vived. I know there is no such word, but I hope you understand my meaning. They need to experience salvation.
When we pray for the Lord to heal our land, there must be a revival of the people of God. We believers need to fall in humility on our face and cry out to the Lord to forgive us for losing our first love—the love of Christ.
We must demonstrate our humility by confessing that we have strayed from God’s way and have gone our own willful way by loose living and indifference to the things of God. May God hear our prayers and bring life through faith in Jesus Christ to those who are spiritually dead.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
— Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Sep 10, 2008 | 2 Chronicles
2 Chronicles 26:16
“But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall. He was unfaithful to the LORD his God, and entered the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense.”
You may have noticed that many characters in the Bible started out as God’s heroes, but ended up as zeroes because of their pride. I think of Israel’s first king, Saul; her second king, David; Samson, as well as others. Unfortunately, Uzziah was also a part of that group.
Two wonderful examples of men whose heart stayed true to the Lord all the days of their lives are Joseph and Daniel. There are others, but these two are most notable for their total dependence on the Lord from beginning to end.
Our modern-day scene is littered by the wreckage of ministers who started out with humility and total commitment to the Lord, but came to destruction when they grew popular and failed to rely totally on the Lord.
As long as Uzziah sought the Lord, he was able to subdue his enemies and be God’s man in leading Judah to subdue her enemies. Somewhere along the line he began to think that it was his own ability that brought victory. That is always the beginning of the end for anyone.
Read today’s Scripture very carefully. He did not become full of pride until he had become powerful. His success caused him to take his eyes off of the Lord and on himself. Sadly, we will never know what Uzziah could have accomplished if he had remained dependent upon the Lord. He blew it!
So what was Uzziah’s sin? He presumed on God’s holiness. What does that mean? It means that he felt that he was above what God’s Word had said and that he was exempt from what is demanded.
I have no idea what was in Uzziah’s mind when he entered the temple to offer incense to the Lord. Perhaps he felt God would be pleased with what he had done. That is not the way it works.
Even though I do not know what Uzziah’s intention was—I do know the consequences of his action—leprosy! 2 Chronicles 26: 21; “King Uzziah had leprosy until the day he died. He lived in a separate house—leprous, and excluded from the temple of the LORD.”
Doing things his way, not God’s way, doomed him to a life of humiliation and separation. You have to feel sorry for this man who started with such great promise, but ended with such shame—FROM PRIDE TO PITY!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
— Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Sep 9, 2008 | 2 Chronicles
2 Chronicles 26:15
“In Jerusalem he made machines designed by skillful men for use on the towers and on the corner defenses to shoot arrows and hurl large stones. His fame spread far and wide, for he was greatly helped until he became powerful.”
I have a simple assignment for you. Think back to the time you were sixteen. For some of us that is a real strain of the memory cells! How about looking around you and observing sixteen year olds.
In yesterday’s Daily-E-Votional, we saw that Uzziah was only 16 when he became king of Judah. How many sixteen year olds would have the ability to serve his nation as their king? The only way Uzziah was able to do it was with the help of his God.
He called upon the Lord, sought Him and the Lord blessed his reign to such an extent that he became inventive. The Lord gave him wisdom and ability to create defenses to defend the city. The result was not simply the ability to defend Jerusalem, but his fame was spread far and wide.
When we allow the Lord to occupy the throne of our life, He gives us wisdom, understanding and blessing beyond our natural abilities. The determining factor is getting ourselves out of the way and inquiring of Him.
A study of the catastrophic defeats for the nation Israel will show that the leader or leaders failed to inquire of the Lord before they acted. It is the same with us. If we seek the will of the Lord before we act, it will save us a world of grief.
He is our source of victory!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
— Pastor Cecil
