August 19 – 2 Kings 24-25 & 2 Chronicles 36

Below are my thoughts from the daily Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Today’s reading comes from 2 Kings 24-25 & 2 Chronicles 36. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you read his word. Also above in the tabs is a link to the Bible reading plan.

Could you imagine being in a city when it came under siege? Could you imagine the famine and the sickness that would break out? Could you imagine having children not knowing the future of their safety and if they would have any quality of life? Could you imagine what the scenes would be like when the enemy finally came through those walls and began invading your home? These final days of Jerusalem were probably filled with every horrible thought that entered your mind plus many more.

It is all the result of God’s decision to no longer offer forgiveness to His chosen people. God chose not to forgive. Read these words again … “Surly these things happened to Judah according to the LORD’s command, in order to remove them from his presence because of the sins of Manasseh and all he had done, including the shedding of innocent blood. For he had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the LORD was not willing to forgive.” (2 Kings 24:3-4 NLT). Those final words hit me hard today… the Lord was not willing to forgive. All the horrible images that filled your mind when Babylon came in and conquered was because God’s mercy and grace were not being poured out like they had been so many times before.

Passages and stories like today make me even more grateful for the cross and what it represents. Jesus died on that cross. God determined through Jesus that once and for all He was going to provide the ultimate forgiveness for our sins. No longer does God have to determine if He is going to forgive another time … He has done it, Jesus is our mediator! For that we can rejoice!!!

August 5 – 2 Kings 22-23 and 2 Chronicles 34-35

Below are my thoughts from the daily Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Today’s reading comes from 2 Kings 22-23 and 2 Chronicles 34-35. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you read his word. Also above in the tabs is a link to the Bible reading plan.

Could you imagine becoming a king, or president, or even a responsible adult at the age of eight years old? I certainly could not imagine it. In our reading today that is exactly what we find, an eight year old boy who becomes king over God’s people. It is assumed that he had some sort of official ruling for him until he was old enough and wise enough to actually rule. Whoever that person was, they must have been a person in love with God. The previous examples that Josiah sees in his father Amon and grandfather Manasseh had no real love for God (Manasseh developed it late in life after his world crashed around him). This was very fortunate for the people of Judah.

Unlike his father Josiah had a deep love for God himself. During his reign he did many great things to bring Judah back into worshiping God. In his effort, not only did he focus their hearts on God, but he also cut out from Judah everything that pointed to the worship of false gods. This was an important part of the heart purification. 2 Kings 23 really highlights all that Josiah did.

What lesson can we learn from Josiah? The important one is this … to truly worship God your life has to be purged of everything that does not honor God. Start with the small things. Continue working each and every day, week, month, and year to become more and more like God. Understand that it may not happen over night, but it is a process you must go through. 

July 19 – 2 Kings 18, 2 Chronicles 29 – 31, & Psalms 48

Below are my thoughts from the daily Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Today’s reading comes from 2 Kings 18, 2 Chronicles 29 – 31, & Psalms 48. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you read his word. Also above in the tabs is a link to the Bible reading plan.

Examine your church, or even your own faith, do you have any sacred cows? A sacred cow in church vocabulary is something that is worshiped and held to a high level that isn’t God himself. Maybe for you and your church it might be the stained glass windows that were dedicated by a family years before in the churches history. Maybe for your church it is a program or event that has been done for years. Maybe it is a song that is sung at the beginning of service. Those types of things tend to be corporate sacred cows to churches. Maybe you have them in your own life as well.

Now sacred cows are not wrong (we wouldn’t call them sacred cows at that point, just worship aids) if held with the right perspective and the right attitude. There is nothing wrong with stained glass windows, traditional church programs, or even specific songs that are sung. However, when they are held at a level of worship that if they are damaged, done away with, or changed, and you or your church get all bent out shape, then you have a problem. You are letting an object, or a thing get in your way of worshiping God; they may have even taken the place of worshiping God. That is wrong!

We see this happen today in our reading. When the Israelites were in the wilderness after the Exodus because of sin God set snakes to strike and kill. To save his people God instructed Moses to erect a bronze snake that if they looked at it they would be saved. This was kept to remind them of this, to not fall into sin, and to follow God. But by the time Hezekiah rules in Judah, the people are now offering sacrifices to this bronze snake. What does Hezekiah order, he orders it destroyed.

Friends that is the right move. It might have been hard and sad to see such an important reminder destroyed, but it was necessary. When something becomes a hindrance in our worship to God, or even takes our worship to God, we have to eradicate it from our lives. Maybe this has been recognized by leaders in your church and they have done away with something. Examine your heart, find out why you are upset and then determine if you are in the wrong. Be honest with your selves, have you allowed something to become a sacred cow that should not be?

July 8 – 2 Kings 15 & 2 Chronicles 26

Below are my thoughts from the daily Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Today’s reading comes from 2 Kings 15 & 2 Chronicles 26. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you read his word. Also above in the tabs is a link to the Bible reading plan.

 

Photo Credit: Microsoft Office Clip Art

Chains are designed to be hard to break, depending on its design and how much weight you put on it. When you have a project in need of a chain you go to the hardware store and purchase the chain designed for your use and weight you need to put on it. Today in our reading we see a chain of kings in the northern kingdom of Israel who did not follow God. A chain of destruction had been created and it was very hard to break.

Look at your family chain. Maybe you come from a family where following God has not been part of it. Maybe you are the first in your family in generations to really live a life with a relationship with Jesus. Maybe you have stepped up and out and are working to break that chain. At times though you have noticed it is hard when you have family outings, or get togethers, or celebrations or simply conversations where they are trying to pull you back into the chain. Be the broken link in the chain and continue to lean on God and pull your strength from him. Maybe with your leaning on God you will establish a new chain for your family and the generations to come.

Maybe the chain for you is a family heritage that serves God. What a wonderful heritage for you? Work hard in your family to continue that chain and its strength as you pass on faith to the next generation. Do not be like the kings of Judah who seesawed in faith up and down with each new king who sat on the throne. Learn what it will take to raise kids who are devoted followers of Jesus.

July 6 – 2 Kings 14 & 2 Chronicles 25

Below are my thoughts from the daily Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Today’s reading comes from 2 Kings 9-11. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you read his word. Also above in the tabs is a link to the Bible reading plan.

What amazes me about people is we really have not changed much over the millineia. Look at today’s reading. Here is King Amaziah, he listen’s to God and does not carry the 100,000 Israelite troops into battle against the Edomites. He trust God in this instance, and God rewards him, he kills 20,000 Edomites, half by the sword and the other half by throwing them off the cliff … by the way, is not the Bible the best adventure book ever written ~ this is what Hollywood movies are made of. God gives him this amazing victory, but in the plunder stage he brings back the Edomite God’s to worship them.

How much are we like Amaziah? God gives us victories in life, but time and time again we are willing to prostitute ourselves out to other modern gods. Sure we are not diving into the Baals and Ashera of the day. But our sins are the same. Do you know what an Ashera poll was? It was carved image of a male penis. Ashera was a god of fertility. People would perform sex acts in order to evoke Ashera to send rain or open wombs. Now we do not worship Ashera, and turn to her for fertility, but how much do we turn to sex in our culture? All the time! Pornography, adultery, sexual promiscuity are just the obvious answers. But what really shows our cravings as a culture for sex is how much we use it to market our goods and wears. Sex sells does it not? So while we might not worship Ashera, the heart of her worship, sex, is still prevalent today. Sadly the church has not been able to abstain from this temptation either.

So how often do we see God bring us victory and then we turn right away from him? Sadly, all the time. Think about your own life and begin to strategize how you can avoid this trap yourself. 

July 4 – 2 Kings 9-11

Below are my thoughts from the daily Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Today’s reading comes from 2 Kings 9-11. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you read his word. Also above in the tabs is a link to the Bible reading plan.

Following God is not a halfhearted event. After becoming king Jehu purges the land of Ahab and all of his family. It is rather difficult event to read about; the killing of Ahab’s seventy sons, and how they were beheaded, and the heads piled into two piles. It is hard to read about that kind of death. It is easy then to turn to and watch the purification of the land. This is a noble thing. However, to purge the land, to follow God both were necessary. Unfortunately, Jehu did not go far enough. He did not completely remove all of the high places, especially the golden calves that Jeroboam erected in Bethel and Dan.

So let me ask you … have you purged your life completely? Are you in the process of doing so? What few things are you holding on to that you know you need to eradicate from your life that just continues to separate you from authentically and truly following God. 

July 3 – 2 Kings 5-8

Below are my thoughts from the daily Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Today’s reading comes from 2 Kings 5-8. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you read his word. Also above in the tabs is a link to the Bible reading plan.

Sometimes we have to learn the hard way don’t we? Maybe it is repeating history. People tend to make the same mistakes each and every generation has. Maybe it is accomplishing a task. For some reason we just do not see the easy way of doing something, so we spend our time learning to do it the hard way. Maybe at times it’s our bullheadedness. Sure we could do it the easy way, but that would mean listening to someone else, or giving in, or acknowledging you just do not have all the answers.

Today we saw a man almost let his pride take him the hard way. Naaman had leprosy. His wife’s servant shared with him about the prophet Elisha and his ability to heal Naaman. So Naaman left his nation of Aram and went to Israel to seek Elisha. Elisha told Naaman to go to the Jordan River and dip himself to wash seven times. Well Naaman had seen the Jordan as he crossed over it and believed it was nowhere near as nice as the rivers back in his homeland. So he thought this advice was silly. Luckily for him, he had wise officers with him.

These officers reasoned with him sharing this idea … “Sir, if the prophet had told you to do something very difficult, would not you have done it? So you should certainly obey him when he says simply, ‘Go and wash and be cured.!” (2 Kings 5:13 NLT). So where do I need to say that to you? Why do you try the hard route when honoring God can contain the simple route? Why are you willing to do the hard things for God but completely ignore the simple things that build a solid foundation for spiritual growth?

July 2 – 2 Kings 1-4

Below are my thoughts from the daily Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Today’s reading comes from 2 Kings 1-4. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you read his word. Also above in the tabs is a link to the Bible reading plan.

Photo Credit: Microsoft Clip Art

Most days I try to have something spiritual to say about our daily Bible reading. Every day the Bible teaches us great lessons. Every day there is a devotional thought we can pull from the text. But you know sometimes reading the Bible is simply fun. It’s like playing in the water while trying to give a dog a bath. It’s like going down that first hill on a rollercoaster. It’s like sitting down to read a novel that will take you to a far away land. It is simply fun. Today was one of those days. It’s not overly confusing. It’s not hard to get mental images of the text in your minds. The Bible paints a graphic image of an amazing exchange of prophetical leadership between Elijah and Elisha.

In fact it is here my wife’s favorite Bible story appears in the text … look back at the story in 2 Kings 2:23-25. I listen to the Bible on my iPad from YouVersion each morning while I am getting ready and when she heard this she shouted with excitement … “This is my story!”  Elisha is returning the Bethel, he is mocked by some youths where he decides to call a curse on them. Two bears appear mauling forty-two of the youths. I do not know why this is Crystal’s favorite story in the Bible but it is.

So do you find the Bible fun to read? Do you have a favorite story? Share in the comments below. 

July 1 – Obadiah

Below are my thoughts from the daily Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Today’s reading comes from Obadiah. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you read his word. Also above in the tabs is a link to the Bible reading plan.

Today we turn a new tide in our reading program. Through the course of the history of Israel and Judah God will send messengers to correct the behavior of his people. These messengers are known as prophets. Some of the prophets simply preached and we will read about them and their actions through the course of the narrative in both Kings and Chronicles. Some of the prophets were writing prophets. The writing prophets accomplished a few things in their writings. Some of the writings were narratives, typically told in first person ... their reaction and observations of how details of the story play out. Some of the writings were in journal form … possibly their own personal struggles with God or their prayers to God. Other writings were written to the nations of Israel and Judah as a call to repentance and even a call to remain hopeful.

Today we encounter our first prophet in our chronological reading of the Bible. We encounter God’s prophet Obadiah. Obadiah writes of a vision he had about the nation of Edom. Edom means “red” and it was the name given to Esua, the brother of Jacob, the twin sons of Isaac and Rebekah. The nation of Edom at this point is the distant relatives of Israel and Judah. They have not treated Israel very well from the time they came out of Egypt to their possession of the land. For that, God brings wrath upon them, and he proclaims this through the messenger Obadiah.

There are arguments in the scholarly community of when Obadiah chronologically takes place in the narrative. Some argue its placement where we find it today. Others argue based upon the state that Jerusalem lies in verses 11-14, which would put it after the destruction in 586. B.C. Regardless this is a pronouncement from God on Edom that he looks out for his people, and delivers punishment when necessary.

Here’s a cool reminder … do not fight your own battles. Rely on God. Let God fight your battles. His discipline will be the correct discipline.