Whatever Happened To Civility?

 

 

Good king…..bad king…..good king…..bad king. It’s the kind of pattern we see with  the rulers of Israel’s Southern Kingdom (Judah) as we go through the Book of 2 Chronicles.  It certainly was not an ideal way to be governed. Much like living on a yo-yo! The Northern Kingdom (Israel) did not have such a pattern; they were all bad kings!

 

Today, let’s talk about the good king Jotham’s successor, the bad king Ahaz. We pick up his story in 2Ch 28:1 Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem; and he did not do what was right in the sight of the LORD, as his father David had done. 2 For he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, and made molded images for the Baals.  3 He burned incense in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, and burned his children in the fire, according to the abominations of the nations whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel.  4 And he sacrificed and burned incense on the high places, on the hills, and under every green tree.  5 Therefore the LORD his God delivered him into the hand of the king of Syria. They defeated him, and carried away a great multitude of them as captives, and brought them to Damascus. Then he was also delivered into the hand of the king of Israel, who defeated him with a great slaughter.

 

This wicked king sacrificed (killed) his own children! Note what the Lord calls this! It is an abomination, (something utterly detestable) to the Lord. Something utterly detestable has been taking place with the consent of the governed in the United States since January 22,1973 when the Supreme Court of the land gave the green light to abortion on demand. Since that time over 62 million defenseless unborn children have been sacrificed on the altar of convenience.

 

We rightly decry the lack of civility in recent events in our nation’s capital, but no one wants to talk about the lack of civility that has taken place in the womb for these past 48 years!

This week’s events in Washington D.C. were yet another low point in our nation’s recent history, but we shouldn’t be surprised. The seeds of an uncivil nation were planted long ago and now we are seeing some of its fruit.

 

2Ch 28:19 tells us how the Lord dealt with the morally declining nation of Judah. “For the LORD brought Judah low because of Ahaz king of Israel, for he had encouraged moral decline in Judah and had been continually unfaithful to the LORD.”

 

“Brought low.”  How much lower do we have to be brought before we repent of our moral decline in this nation? For that matter, will we repent? Or will we be like Ahaz who in the time of his distress became “increasingly unfaithful.” (2 Chron 28:22) and provoked the anger of God! It’s a choice God ever places before us.

 

De 30:19 "I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live;  20 "that you may love the LORD your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them."

 

Let me add that there is no sin, no abomination, that Jesus didn’t pay for on the cross and if you are struggling with guilt over a past sin, know that God heals and forgives. Believe the promise found in 1Jo 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

He Prepared His Ways Before the Lord

 

 

I love reading about the Old Testament kings as found in the Book of 2 Chronicles. It’s a little bit like the Book of Judges in that there are rulers who sought to live according to God’s Word and others who opted for the ways of the world around them.

 

We can learn from both!

 

Today, let’s talk about Jotham. He was 25 years old when he became king and he reigned 16 years. “And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord,” (2 Chron 27:2) God honored his resolve and blessed his 16 year reign. And we are told in verse 6 that Jotham, “became mighty because he prepared his ways before the Lord his God!”  

 

Why did he become mighty?

 

What a wise course of action and one we would do well to emulate. Far too often we Christians are of the mindset, “Ready! Fire! Aim! Rather than letting God lead the way. Or we will get an idea in our head, and because it “feels right,” we plunge ahead without prayerfully seeking God’s will. As a result for example, far too many marriages are ended, or ungodly living arrangements are pursued to our ultimate harm.

And it’s not just in these arenas that we rush ahead of God. I know I have made some rash decisions myself in ministry, where I would plunge ahead with my plans and ask God to bless them, rather than waiting for God’s plan which is already blessed!

Pr 19:21says, “There are many plans in a man's heart, Nevertheless the LORD'S counsel-that will stand.”

King Jotham knew this principle.  He applied it in his life, waited on the Lord, and became mighty!

 

One thing I have learned in this life. I don’t need to push the envelope. If God has a plan for me, He will bring it to me, I don’t need to chase after my misty ideas.  In the meantime, I need to be prepared, and then I need to keep my eyes and ears open for what God brings my way.

 

So how do we prepare? We prepare by getting into God’s Word and letting God’s Word get into us! Make this preparation a way of life as it says in Pr 6:21 Bind them (God’s commands) continually upon your heart; Tie them around your neck.  22 When you roam, they will lead you; When you sleep, they will keep you; And when you awake, they will speak with you.  23 For the commandment is a lamp, And the law a light; Reproofs of instruction are the way of life,

Nothing Like A Good Mentor

 

Imagine being 7 years old and being the king of a great nation! Israel had such a king and his name was Joash. Obviously he had advisors including his mother (Zibia of Beersheba) and a priest named Jehoiada. Under the watchful eye of Jehoiada, Joash “did what was right in the sight of the Lord all the days of Jehoiada” (2 Chron 24:2)

Under Joash’s reign and the guidance of Jehoiada the priest, the temple which had been neglected was fixed up and adorned with many articles of silver and gold used to enhance the beauty of the temple. Things were going good in Jerusalem and offerings were made to the Lord continually during this time.

But then, the Lord called Jehoiada home at the ripe old age of 130, and without his godly influence things fell apart in a hurry for Joash.

 

2Ch 24:15 But Jehoiada grew old and was full of days, and he died; he was one hundred and thirty years old when he died. 16 And they buried him in the City of David among the kings, because he had done good in Israel, both toward God and His house.

 

What a legacy! A king’s burial for this man of God!

 

 17 Now after the death of Jehoiada the leaders of Judah came and bowed down to the king. And the king listened to them.  18 Therefore they left the house of the LORD God of their fathers, and served wooden images and idols; and wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem because of their trespass.

 

Without the corrective influence of Jehoiada, Joash was persuaded to chase after other gods. God then sent prophets to turn his heart back to Him but Joash and his newfound advisors wouldn’t listen!

 

 19 Yet He sent prophets to them, to bring them back to the LORD; and they testified against them, but they would not listen.  20 Then the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, who stood above the people, and said to them, "Thus says God: 'Why do you transgress the commandments of the LORD, so that you cannot prosper? Because you have forsaken the LORD, He also has forsaken you.'"  21 So they conspired against him, and at the command of the king they stoned him with stones in the court of the house of the LORD.  22 Thus Joash the king did not remember the kindness which Jehoiada his father had done to him, but killed his son; and as he died, he said, "The LORD look on it, and repay!"

 

Say it isn’t so! Joash repays the kindness of his mentor (Jehoiada) by killing his son? His son’s dying words were a plea to God to repay this injustice….and God did, as Joash met an untimely end: .

2Ch 24:24 For the army of the Syrians came with a small company of men; but the LORD delivered a very great army into their hand, because they had forsaken the LORD God of their fathers. So they executed judgment against Joash. 25 And when they had withdrawn from him (for they left him severely wounded), his own servants conspired against him because of the blood of the sons of Jehoiada the priest, and killed him on his bed. So he died. And they buried him in the City of David, but they did not bury him in the tombs of the kings.

 

Jehoiada was given an honorable burial, Joash was not even included in the cemetery set aside for kings. Jehoiada finished the race strong, Joash ran the wrong way!

 

So how does this apply to you and I? First of all, I think it underlines the importance of young men having good spiritual mentors. First and foremost, that is the father’s responsibility, but pastors and mature Christian men of the congregation should come right alongside and reinforce what has been taught at home.

 

Then there’s the stark reminder that even with a good start, the child can become influenced by the world and leave the faith. This is a reality that unfortunately takes place far too often as young men head out into the world.

 

I don’t have a solution to this problem, just a suggestion. Jehoiada was in the grave and could no longer help Joash, you and I are not. Our best course of action then as mentors is to keep the lines of communication open with our young people. No need to preach, you’ve already done that as they were growing up. Every contact you make with them is another sermon, another reminder that there is a better way! Another touch from God that they may need at that very moment.

Is there someone who needs to hear from you today? Ask God and see what He says.

Preach the Word

 I want to talk today about a prophet of God named Micaiah. He prophesied in the northern kingdom during the reign of the wicked king Ahab. The story picks up with Jehoshaphat, (the king of the southern kingdom) making an alliance with Ahab through marriage. This was a typical method of making alliances during this period.

One day Jehoshaphat was visiting Ahab and Ahab asked him to join him in battle against Ramoth Gilead.    Jehoshaphat said, “let’s find out what the Lord says about that?” So Ahab called on all his  “yes men” prophets to get the green light and they all said “Go up for the Lord will deliver it into the king’s hand.”

 

Ahab may have been convinced, but Jehoshaphat saw right through these yes men, and asked, “Is there not still a prophet of the Lord here that we may inquire of him? And Ahab said, yeah, there’s one left, but I hate him. He never prophecies good concerning me.” (Read that, “he rails against all my wicked ways, and keeps telling me to repent! ”) He is Micaiah the son of Imla.  

So Micaiah is summoned and the messenger who brought him before the king told him, “Hey why don’t you just be like the other guys and encourage the king.” Micaiah replied, “As the Lord lives, whatever my God says, that I will speak.”

So he is brought before the king and evidently he makes a remark that is dripping with sarcasm. This is another time in Scripture where you wish the written word could include voice inflection! He said, “Go and prosper and they shall be delivered into your hand.”

 

Ahab says to Jehoshaphat, “see, I told you he never speaks anything good about me!” Micaiah then spouted forth the words of the Lord and they spelled doom for Ahab. He said, “If you ever return in peace the Lord has not spoken  by me. Take heed all you people.”

Long story short, they went to battle in spite of Micaiah’s prophecy and Ahab died in the battle.

 

By the way, Micaiah’s reward for speaking the truth was a punch in the mouth and a trip to the hoosegow where he was fed bread and water.

 

Sometimes it costs to speak the truth of God’s Word…..speak it anyway! Sin  wreaks all kinds of havoc in our lives….speak against it. The Gospel is the only cure……. speak for it!

 

Be like Micaiah! Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. (2 Tim 4:2)

A Shout Out To God and Medical Professionals

 

I came across a verse this morning and I thought, “Wow! This could be dangerous for someone who takes it the wrong way!

I’m afraid some have. Some, to their own harm, and the harm of their children,  have ignored God’s gift of physicians that He may use  in the healing process.

 

The verse is found in 2Ch 16 and it concerns King Asa who was stricken with a severe foot malady. In verse 12 we read, “And in the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa became diseased in his feet, and his malady was severe; yet in his disease he did not seek the LORD, but the physicians.”

It’s not that physicians are bad, (I mean, c’mon Luke, the writer of the third Gospel was a doctor!) the problem with Asa was he totally left God out of the picture. He forgot that all healing passes through the hands of God! Ps 103:2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits:  3 Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases,

Physicians use their God-given skills and knowledge of our bodies which are “fearfully and wonderfully” made by God to assess our situation and then use what is available to help us heal.

I’m very thankful for the physicians that have helped me through times of malfunction in my body, but I know my ultimate healing comes through the hands of God, and so I pray! I seek Him first. I know God is a “must” part of my healing equation!

But to ignore the gift of physicians and others in the medical profession for healing is like the man stranded on the roof of his house during a flood and refusing the aid of rescue people in a boat and then a helicopter. He is swept away and perishes in the flood and finds himself before God and asks, “God why didn’t you rescue me?” God replies, “well I sent you a boat and a helicopter.”

 

With my recent month long stay in the Covid unit of an area hospital, I sure did appreciate the prayers of many of you who brought my situation before the Lord, and I also appreciated the care of the physicians who sought the best possible treatment available for my recovery.

So, this devotional is first a shout out to God in thankfulness for His healing power and also a shout out to those medical professionals who use their God-given knowledge of the human body as channels of healing.   

A Meltdown

 

I have been in an uphill battle against Covid which invaded my lungs in October and progress has been painstakingly slow for this impatient pilgrim. Then yesterday, it happened…..the meltdown.

It took me by complete surprise. Are 73 year old grown spiritual mature followers of Christ, supposed to have “meltdowns?” And then, mercy me, are they supposed to tell anyone about them? Doesn’t sound very macho to me! But then, kind of a fitting end of 2021 if you ask me!

I had just finished my morning devo and made a stop in the bathroom on my way to the kitchen where my wife and I were going to sync our January calendars. She had given me a two year pocket calendar for Christmas with the names of Jesus written all over the case.

As I rose from the toilet, guess what tumbled out of my back pocket and into what used to be the contents of my bladder? Yes, that’s right. The gifted calendar with all the names of Jesus in the loo!

I don’t know why, but at that point, I lost it.

I started wailing “No! No! No! Joanie came rushing in to see if I was all right, and then the dam broke. I started sobbing and crying uncontrollably.  “God help me I cried, I can’t do this anymore.” Well after a minute or so I was able to gather myself together again, but I could almost sense my loving heavenly Father saying, “My dear son, I’ve been waiting for you to say that from the get go.”

Oh those precious moments when one is able to actually let go for a moment and really turn it over to God!

Maybe you’re in need of such a moment. Maybe things have been piling up, and you don’t see any hint of relief. PLEASE   do me, and yourself a  favor and take the time to listen to this Keith Green song, and let this word from God sink in: Ps 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart-These, O God, You will not despise.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIgVU_5FsqA

A Parent's Lament: My Children Have Left the Faith

 

My apologies to those of you who have followed my blog over the years. I was stricken with Covid back in October, spent 30 days in the hospital, and now I am home trying to get back to full strength. (Appreciate your prayers in that regard.)   

 

Pr 30:11 There is a generation that curses its father, And does not bless its mother. 12 There is a generation that is pure in its own eyes, Yet is not washed from its filthiness. 13 There is a generation-oh, how lofty are their eyes! And their eyelids are lifted up. 14 There is a generation whose teeth are like swords, And whose fangs are like knives, To devour the poor from off the earth, And the needy from among men.

I almost didn’t post this today because I know many parents who are experiencing this very thing from their children. I’m not going to throw out a bunch of statistics concerning the numerical growth of the so called “nones” (those with no religious affiliation) because the “nones” that matter most to you and I are the ones in our own families. To a loving parent, one none is too many!

 

I mean what happened? We all sought to “train up our children in the way they should go so that when they grow old they will not depart from the faith.” (Prov 22:6) For some, that training takes, for others it doesn’t.

 

Why have my two adult children embraced the faith and yet my prayer list is rife with the prodigal children of many of my acquaintances? These acquaintances did all the right things, but their children turned away from the faith and many with the vengeance that we sense in the above portion of Scripture. I mean, “cursing mother and father?” “Pure in their own eyes?” “Teeth like swords?” Many of these children have turned into God-haters, instead of God-lovers!

 

I don’t have the answer to that question, but here are some things I do know:

God has not stopped loving them!

Faith is a gift from God!

We all have to work out our salvation, we don’t get to heaven on the coattails of our parents.

It ain’t over till it’s over.

There is no one beyond the reach of God’s mercy.

 

That prodigal matters! Jesus left the 99 to find the one that was in deep trouble! He’s on the trail of your prodigal even as you read this.

I know this to be true because I too, was a “none” before they had such a name. I spurned the God of my youth and sought to live in the ways of the world. But one day I hit rock bottom. This worldly living wasn’t working out.  My “lofty eyes” weren’t so lofty after I was humbled by my second OWI.

Thanks to the prayers of my mother-in-law, my wife, and her church friends, and her incredible godly example, I heard the gospel anew, and the Holy Spirit re-awakened me to the faith of my childhood. All glory to God!

Many of you don’t know what I was like before the Lord got a hold of me the second time, but believe me when I say this: If God could save a wretch like me, He can save anybody, and He will seek to do that. In the meantime, let us continue to pray and live out the example of our loving Savior, trusting God for the results!