Priorities and goals

Priorities are a common enough topic to be lectured/written/preached on. Certainly most of us could use some help keeping our priorities straight. Recently an opportunity arrived for me that threw into perspective my priorities.

Its a mud race. There are two actually. There is a 3 mile obstacle course/race in Sept. and then a 10 mile in Dec. People I know are planning on each, and it looks like fun. The first thing that comes to mind though is that I will have to train to prepare for them. Sure, I could make it through the 3 mile with little preparation (I think) but the 10 mile? I certainly need to devote time to getting myself in shape.

With the decision to do this race, I have shaped the next 6 months of my life. I have determined that this is a priority and in order to succeed at this race and cross the finish line I will have to prepare and work for it.

We create goals all the time. Sometimes opportunities present themselves and so we have a goal to complete it. Different things appeal to us differently. This race appeals to me and it may not to others. However, it was not long after considering this race that I realized the commitment I was looking at and wondering when I last committed so much to my spiritual growth, or to a spiritual goal.

Do we have spiritual goals? “Bodily exercise profiteth little, but godliness is profitable unto all things.” 1 Tim. 4:8 Yes, there is profit (a little) in exercise and we should take care of ourselves, but what is our goal? Where are my priorities? Do I have a priority of Godliness? Why not?

I start to tell myself that it is a harder thing to determine but it doesn’t have to be. Certainly it would be hard (impossible) to say I want to double my faith in 6 months. But I can easily say that I want to hand out 7 tracts each week, or that by the end of the year I want to read my Bible through twice, or any number of trackable goals that are spiritually minded. Maybe I should memorize the book of Hebrews, or write a 6 songs of praise. We can set goals that our spiritually minded. Why don’t we?

Are they not popular? I had a few different people with excitement in their voices inviting me and compelling me to join them on these races. Where is the excitement and energy about these other things? My friends would not have been dissuaded from the race if I had said “That doesn’t sound like any fun.” They already were going to do it no matter what I did, and so it should be with us as we set for ourselves goals that build us up in the faith. I should be excited about my goals. I should invite others to participate with me. But, if I’m alone, I should go on ahead because I know it will benefit me, and I know it will strengthen my faith and bring me closer to the Lord.

I want to set some goals. I’m not sure what they are yet, but I’m going to set some. I find that when I have a goal I strive to accomplish it. Who knows, many people who run short races end up running longer ones or a marathon. Some don’t. Some don’t like running and pick something else. Maybe you will memorize a short book and end up with the whole NT memorized. Maybe you will find another goal is better for you. Set spiritual goals for yourself. Pick something that is good and commendable and that will grow you. If you don’t know what to pick, ask your pastor. Ask someone close to you what your strengths and weaknesses are. What goal will you pick that will bring you closer to God?

A good blog post on priority in parenting

This is a well written concise post on some of the importance of training your children and protecting them. There is much discussion on sheltering kids and what is too much and what exposure they need but this is a good quick read on the extreme importance of training and protecting your kids.

http://eliciajade.blogspot.com/2012/05/train-first-send-second.html

Just do it!

At church Wednesday night our music pastor was finishing his series on Philemon. He got to the end and one of his points was “Just do it!” Too often we know the right thing and we struggle with “How can I do this? How can I forgive? How can I be kind? How can I treat them right? etc.” The answer is just do it; it was a good reminder, a convicting reminder.

It reminded me of a passage I had been studying for some time last semester. Luke 17:1-10

“Then said he unto the disciples, It is impossible but that offences will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come!² It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.³ Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him.⁴ And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.⁵ And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.⁶ And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.⁷ But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat?⁸ And will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink?⁹ Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I trow not.¹⁰ So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.”

What had me stumped and what I was studying was the last few verses beginning in verse 7 when Jesus presents this scenario to them about this servant. What did it mean? What was the point? I wanted to separate it from the context at first, but the more I studied it the more I realized it was not a separate story but immediately applicable to what had proceeded.

Jesus had just told the disciples to forgive people more than was normally required within their culture. The response is that they ask for more faith. Why did this response from the disciples trigger from Jesus this story? At first I didn’t think it did. I separated the two, but it is one story.

Jesus tells the disciples this story about the servant who does all he is commanded and the master does not give him space to eat until he has first eaten. Then afterward the servant does not get thanked, but instead says he is unprofitable because he did his duty. It was only his duty. He worked all day in the field; he came in and prepared supper and served it to his master; finally he got to eat and rest and he has no thanks. We would be upset. We would say we certainly deserved to be thanked and probably be given the next day off. We would expect the master to tell us we can eat first, and then we can serve him. No, the servant, the disciples, and we are to say that we are unprofitable; we have done that which was our duty. Why would Christ tell them they are unprofitable when they ask for more faith?

Certainly there is nothing wrong with asking Christ for faith, or for more faith. Jesus regularly upbraided them with their unbelief. Others asked for help with their unbelief. Faith is something that you can have a great amount of or a small amount of so to increase our faith is something we should be striving to do. So, how does this request for more faith result in Jesus reminding them that they are unprofitable servants because they have done that which was their duty to do?

Because the proper response to Jesus telling them to forgive was for them to do it, not to ask for faith to do it. The disciples didn’t need more faith, they needed to just do it. We are commanded many things of God. We are told to obey and fear. We are told to love our neighbor. God doesn’t say try to get up the feeling to love your neighbor. He doesn’t say ask me for the ability to love your neighbor. He says do it. Forgive, and if you need to forgive seven times in a day, forgive. “Lord, give us faith to forgive.” No, that isn’t the right response. The response is that we are unprofitable and it is our duty.

We do not need more faith to do what has been commanded of us. Just do it. Just forgive people. Just love your neighbor. Just be kind to one another. Just lay aside weights and sins that beset you. Just run the race. Just fight the fight of faith. Just do it. Don’t stop to say, “Oh Lord, I can’t do this! Please give me faith. Give me love. Give me forgiveness.” Just do it. It is our duty. He “hath given” unto us all things that pertain to life and godliness. Past tense. It is ours. Don’t keep asking for Him to enable you to do something that He has given you the ability to do, commanded you to do, and is your duty to do. Just do it.

Just love God. Just do your Bible reading. Just pray. Just obey. Just submit to authority. Just speak in love and meekness. Just do it. The list goes on an on.

We are God’s servants. He does not need to give us a break when we come in from the field. He does not ask us to eat and relax before we go on to the next aspect of service. There is no break from the Christian life. We are unprofitable servants. We like to get it in our heads that we have served all day at church and so we don’t need to go to that other extra function. We don’t need to serve at that thing because we did the other. God “owes” us a break. “God doesn’t want us to come in from the field and work to get dinner around without refreshing ourselves first. He wouldn’t want me to prepare dinner without taking a break.” Yes, He does want that. In fact, that is our duty. We are unprofitable servants. Can and does God give a respite? Certainly. He gives His beloved rest. But let us not dare think we deserve it or that He must. Our duty is to do whatsoever is commanded of us understanding we are unprofitable servants.

Just do it.

Scared to be a zealot

I have found that often in my life I have feared that God would grow me. I wanted to grow on the outside. I wanted to become more Christlike, but I had a great inner fear. I was afraid that if I tried to really seek the Lord and beg Him for revival that He would answer my prayer. I was afraid that if I asked God to make me more like Christ that He would and that in the process I would lose the things that mattered to me in my life. I had set up all types of things that were more important to me than living as I ought. I still went to church, and read my Bible and prayed. But I did not seek God’s face.

I did not want to be a zealous Christian, just a normal Christian. There is this atmosphere in churches around the country that Christianity is not a religion of zealousness. Zealots are people that go over-board. Zealots are people that don’t know where the sensible line is to stop and do everything they can possibly do to accomplish their goal. American Christianity does not like Zealots. We like to go to church in our nice clothes. We might even like to go to church a few times a week.
Someone who actually wants to talk about the Bible at church is accepted; they are at church. But outside of church? You still want to talk about the Bible? That is starting to get on the edge.

That is starting to get a little too pushy. We don’t want to push people. We want to befriend them, and show we are like them. We want to drop hints that we go somewhere on Sunday and leave it at that. We want to allow them to come to our church where they can hear the Gospel and the Bible in the proper accepted place without anyone feeling like some line of propriety has been crossed.

Wow, how did we get here?! Did the apostles do that? Certainly the chief priests would have been fine if the apostles had only spoken of Jesus death and resurrection in the upper room. They could have hinted that they met in the room and then if people showed up they could explain why they are meeting. Bah! Where is the boldness of the Gospel? Why are we ashamed of it? As little kids we memorize Romans 1:16 yet we lose all sense of the meaning of the verse before we are a teen.

Why are we scared to hand out a tract? Why are we scared to tell someone we are going to Heaven and that Jesus saved us from sin? Because it isn’t popular? Is the Gospel supposed to be popular? They killed our Savior and He said they will persecute us. Because we will feel weird? We will feel weird about telling the greatest thing that has ever happened to us. We will feel awkward about sharing the escape from sin and Hell we have experienced. We will feel odd about sharing the joyous family we have been adopted into and the love and peace there is in Christ. Really?!

We are uncomfortable because we have forgotten about the power of the Gospel. Because we have forgotten the glory we have in Christ. But often, it is because we have not pursued all the riches we could have. Certainly the escape from sin and Hell are motive enough, but how many Christians are like I was/am? How many are afraid to grow because they don’t want to lose something never understanding that what they lose is a heavy weight and what they gain is Christ?

I began to draw an analogy here but came across this quote that I feel fits nicely instead. “In the famous battle between David and Goliath there was Goliath, the enemy to God and his people; David, the young under-sized boy; and the cowardly Jewish army. Too often American evangelicals look like a cowering army instead of a zealous David. There is opposition to God and his Word. How can we just hang our heads and give up?!” Nebraska Coach Brown http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2012/04/29/is-this-evangelical-coach-out-of-bounds/

We get saved and then we act like the only thing that mattered was the escape from Hell. We don’t want to be rid of our sin. God saved us from our sin and we want to remain in it. We don’t want to grow because we are comfortable. I speak from experience. I liked my Christian life. I didn’t want to lose something that everyone around me was doing, but I wasn’t sure God would let me keep doing if I tried to grow.

God, forgive me of my sin! Oh, let me not be ashamed of the Gospel. Let me spread the good news, and be bold for my Savior. Let me not fear to grow and to change. Let me recall all you have purchased me from and detest it too much to remain in it. Set me free from the weights and the sin, and cause me to run with strength the race set before me.  Search me, oh God, and know my heart. Try me, and know my thoughts and see if there be any wicked way in me. Pass me through the fire that I might come forth purified. Let me not be lukewarm, but let my light burn bright and hot for you all of my days. In the name of Jesus my Savior, Amen.

All that matters

Q. 1. What is the chief end of man?
A. Man’s chief end is to glorify God,[1] and to enjoy him forever.[2]

So says the very first question of the Westminster Shorter Catechism. This statement of belief has long been held by virtually every conservative denomination since the reformation began. In the London Baptist Confession, the Baptists mirrored the Westminster Confession almost exactly to show that though they differed in some areas, the majority was in direct alignment and unity with the Reformed - We are to give God glory.

Revelation 4:11
“Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.”

God is worth to receive glory and in all we do we are to render it to Him.

1 Corinthians 10:31
“Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.”

All to God’s glory. Oh, what simple verse to say and to memorize, but do we think what it even means. Do we take a drink for the glory of God, or because we are thirsty? Do we eat because “breakfast is the most important meal of the day” or for the glory of God? It is in this simple motive that we discover there are no gray areas in life. Those supposed moments or middle ground decisions that cannot be judged to be either bad or good quickly become so when passed under the filter of God’s glory.

Proverbs 21:4
“An high look, and a proud heart, and the plowing of the wicked, is sin.”

Ah, the plowing of the wicked is sin. The simple task that is not even really one of those middle ground tasks, but rather what would be considered a positive good thing. The person is working to supply for himself. He is using the hands and strength God had given him to be a steward of what he has so that it does not go to waste, so that there is provision. He is doing a good thing, and yet it is sin. Why is this the case? Why is it that even when unsaved people appear moral they are not? Why is it when the lost appear to behave better than the saved that they are and will be found guilty before God?

Because all must be done to the glory of God. Without this driving motive in our lives we will find our motive is an idol – anything that has taken God’s place. To take a drink apart from God’s glory says we are not mindful that we belong to Him, that we are not presenting our bodies a living sacrifice which is our reasonable service. To decide between the red cups over the blue cups for the glory of God, we have done good: a good act – one with moral righteousness. God deserves that. God is worthy to receive all glory, and honor, and praise. Romans 14 tells us that to eat or not eat the meat to God’s glory is right; it is he that doubts that is in trouble. To observe the day or not to observe the day, it is not the action that matters in these things but why the action is chosen. Is it chose for the glory of God? Do I act and speak and think for any other purpose? The plowing of the wicked is sin. There is no rightness in anything apart from God’s glory.

How easily we can forget this! How easily we neglect to think about God through our days. How often we sinfully relegate God to a time of “devotions” however long we may make it when God desires and is worth of our every moment. The elders and beasts do not sing that He desires or requires this, but that He is worthy of it. God does require this of us but the greater motivation should be that God is worthy of this. When we see God revealed for who He is, we recognize that He is worthy of our every thought, and motive. He is worthy.

Some things we see as things that are neither right or wrong, but perhaps we are running them through the wrong filter. Are we using the filter of specific commandments? Are we using the filter of Christian liberty? Are we using the filter of the weaker brother? Are we considering God’s glory in it? This last question will take care of the rest, and we might just find that some of the neutral things we are doing are not so neutral.
“Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.”

“Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.”

Psalm 104:24

Psalm 104:24 “O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches.”

The earth is full of the riches of God. We use it for our living and we consume resources and survive, but the earth is full of God’s riches. God gave us dominion over something that was full of His riches. Do we consider this?

It isn’t just the green grass and the blue sky. It is the stormy sea, and the thunderous volcano. It is the expanse of the earth, and the intricate details of the smallest insect. The buzz of the mosquito and the trumpet of the elephant. The beauty of a simple flower, and the rough terrain of the largest dessert. The earth is full of the riches of God.

Do you see it? Experts in many areas of life will tell us we need to slow down. We need to stop and just take some time to see and smell the roses. But do we see it as God’s.

We see grand mansions through different forms of media, or we read about them in a magazine or a history book. We tour places that we would never imagine being able to live in and we come back in awe. We marvel over the intricate detail and spectacular structures. We are overwhelmed with the beauty and glory of these places. Do we realize that the earth is God’s? All the riches of it are His? Do we marvel at His riches the way we would at an athlete’s house? Are we amazed at His possessions?

Too often we are not marveling because we treat them as our own. In someone’s beautiful house, we might remove our shoes and wipe our feet. We would be overly careful not to spill our drinks, or to break the china. We are careful because it is not our own. However, we think nothing of the world that we pass through each day.

God gave man dominion over the earth. We are to subdue it and work within it. But, let us not forget that it is God’s. It should not be wasted. God gave us it for the purpose of glorifying Him through what we accomplish using the earth. It isn’t for our pleasure, but for his glory. The earth is full of God’s riches.

Don’t misunderstand. The Earth is not alive. “Mother Earth” does not exist. We should not be more concerned with the treatment of trees and animals than the sins against God and man. But that does not mean we are foolish with God’s riches. We must use them wisely. We must use them carefully and in a way that will bring glory to Him.

We don’t need to visit the Grand Canyon to see the glory or riches of God. They are all around us. The earth is full of the riches of God. Let’s take some time this week to notice and praise Him for those riches. Thank Him that He has loaned them to us for our good and His glory. Thank Him that we have the opportunity to bring glory to Him through these things.

Asa, part 3 – his failure and end

Before we get into chapter 16, we should look at an overview of God working in a particular way that He mentions throughout the past two chapters.

2 Chronicles 14:1c “In his days the land was quiet ten years. 6And he built fenced cities in Judah: for the land had rest, and he had no war in those years; because the LORD had given him rest.”

God gives him and Israel peace 10 years. He wants to do right, and God gives him time and the blessing of peace to fix up some of the cities and the land. After ten years God allows/sends the battle I started this series with. Asa trusts the Lord and tells the people that God can save by many or by few. They win a great victory.

2 Chronicles 15:19 “And there was no more war unto the five and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa.”

They come back and are met by the prophet and given the challenge and promise to follow the Lord and as they seek God God gives them peace for another 25 years. Asa has now been king for 35 years, and we get to chapter 16.

2 Chronicles16:1 “In the six and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa Baasha king of Israel came up against Judah, and built Ramah, to the intent that he might let none go out or come in to Asa king of Judah. 2Then Asa brought out silver and gold out of the treasures of the house of the LORD and of the king’s house, and sent to Benhadad king of Syria, that dwelt at Damascus, saying, There is a league between me and thee, as there was between my father and thy father: behold, I have sent thee silver and gold; go, break thy league with Baasha king of Israel, that he may depart from me.”

If you don’t break it up, and if you are just reading Asa’s life through these three short chapters, you cannot help but ask yourself, “WHY?” Why would he do this? He called on the people to trust the first time. Now he is to go to war again afte 25 more years of peace and he calls on Syria. Why, why, why?!

Asa came up with his own plan, and you know what? It worked. Syria chased them away, and he got what he wanted. Sometimes our plans do work, but oh, how they show our hearts. We can come up with plans for our hard situations and sometimes God will let them work and we get out of the mess, but we have failed God’s test.

^“7And at that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah, and said unto him, Because thou hast relied on the king of Syria, and not relied on the LORD thy God, therefore is the host of the king of Syria escaped out of thine hand. ⁸Were not the Ethiopians and the Lubims a huge host, with very many chariots and horsemen? yet, because thou didst rely on the LORD, he delivered them into thine hand. ⁹For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars.”

God sends the seer to tell him he has done foolishly, and that he will be punished for it. He did not trust God and so in the problem that he solved on his own, it will continue to come up in his life for the rest of his life. Wow. Can you think of something in your life that you have tried to solve on your own, and maybe did once or twice, but it just keeps coming back? Can you imagine the frustration with yourself if you realize that it keeps coming back because you didn’t trust the Lord with it. Maybe your car breaks down and you trust the Lord. And it breaks down again and you don’t, and God decides that because you didn’t trust Him but wanted to solve it yourself your car will continue to break down the rest of your life. Wow! How serious our sin is! We see that and it might be the response of the average Christian: “That is mean of God.” God forbid! How wicked are we to not trust Him!

What did Asa do? What should Asa do? He should repent! When Nathan came to David, David repented. Asa should repent. He should seek God’s face. Certainly there is emotion in this message. God’s man just condemned him. In self-righteousness Asa could have responded that he was protecting Israel and did what he thought was right. In humility Asa could have been angry with himself for his sin. Asa responds by being angry with the wrong person.

“¹⁰Then Asa was wroth with the seer, and put him in a prison house; for he was in a rage with him because of this thing. And Asa oppressed some of the people the same time. ¹¹And, behold, the acts of Asa, first and last, lo, they are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. ¹²And Asa in the thirty and ninth year of his reign was diseased in his feet, until his disease was exceeding great: yet in his disease he sought not to the LORD, but to the physicians.”

Asa gets angry at the seer as if somehow it is his fault. He can’t punish God, so he will punish God’s messenger. So often that is what happens today. Christians, who do right and speak the truth even when it is hard and the other person has power over them, suffer. The heart saddening fact is that it is from a man whose heart was perfect before the Lord in his early years of reign. This man of such a great spiritual stature fell to persecuting the man of God.

It gets worse. It always does. When we leave our Bible reading and prayer, it always gets worse. When we begin to rely on ourselves, everything starts to fall apart. He oppressed the people. We don’t know how, but God tells us that this sin was not just a one time thing. His life was characterized in his last years away from God and it was affecting everyone around him. So our sin will ruin our lives and those we care for.

He got sick and he refused to seek God’s help. He was proud and stubborn. He had done so much good. He really had. He did great things for the Lord and yet in his last few years he shunned the Lord. He ignored Him. We don’t know if his heart was resting on what he had done. We don’t know if He forgot how it had come to pass and if his pride had overcome him. We know he fell from his place of greatness.

“¹³And Asa slept with his fathers, and died in the one and fortieth year of his reign.¹⁴And they buried him in his own sepulchres, which he had made for himself in the city of David, and laid him in the bed which was filled with sweet odours and divers kinds of spices prepared by the apothecaries’ art: and they made a very great burning for him.”

Asa died and he was remembered by the people for the good he had done. Thankfully there is some encouragement here. Asa’s memory is overall a good one. He did serve God for those 35 years. We don’t know when the sin started to creep in. It seems likely there was some complacency before he called on Syria, but we don’t know. But he served God most of his days.

I don’t want to do that. I want to serve God all of my days. There is no time in life, no victory so great, no amount of good works done, that can excuse our last days in sin. We must serve the Lord all of our days. When we begin to fall, we must in humility accept our punishment and return to the Lord. He is gracious and full of mercy, quick yo pardon and forgive sins. Don’t be like Asa in his last years. Don’t refuse to seek the Lord. Don’t get angry at God for His justice in your life. Accept it, thank Him for it, and finish your course.

Asa, part 2 — his warning, his promise, and his heart

When Asa returns from winning this war that the numbers said he should have lost, he meets Azariah. 2 Chronicles 15:1-2

“¹And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded: ²And he went out to meet Asa, and said unto him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The LORD is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you. ³Now for a long season Israel hath been without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law. ⁴But when they in their trouble did turn unto the LORD God of Israel, and sought him, he was found of them. ⁵And in those times there was no peace to him that went out, nor to him that came in, but great vexations were upon all the inhabitants of the countries. ⁶And nation was destroyed of nation, and city of city: for God did vex them with all adversity. ⁷Be ye strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak: for your work shall be rewarded.”

God warns them of the things that they have done as a nation that have lead to the hard times they are encountering. However, the majority of His speech towards the returning army is a positive one. God promises them that if they seek the Lord, He will be found and they will be blessed. What a promise!

^“8And when Asa heard these words, and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage,”

Asa takes courage. He took what God said at face value, and acted upon it. The remainder of the chapter speaks of what actions Asa took and how he brought Israel together to seek the Lord. He cast down idols, and built up the temple. He sacrificed and worshiped.

“⁹And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and the strangers with them out of Ephraim and Manasseh, and out of Simeon: for they fell to him out of Israel in abundance, when they saw that the LORD his God was with him. “

When Asa stepped up to do the right thing, and it was obvious God was with him, then others followed. He set an example. Through Asa God demonstrated His great power and goodness and people wanted that. People wanted to be a part.

Then God gives us another glowing praise of Asa.

^“17But the high places were not taken away out of Israel: nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect all his days.”

The high places weren’t taken away. Nevertheless. Even though everything wasn’t fixed in the nation, the heart of Asa was perfect. It was seeking the Lord. It was pursuing Him during these days.

Wow! Asa had a good start, but he continued strong. He was bold and courageous. We need to be like this. God has promised us great things, just as He did Asa. God has already given us the victory in Christ. We have promised He will never leave us. We have been promised that we will be used for His glory. We are the tools of the Creator! How blessed we are!

Secondly, if we will but follow God, He may use us to encourage others and provoke them to good works. This is a revival in Israel! Asa didn’t wait for others to be revived and he didn’t do it for others to be revived. He sought the Lord with his heart, but God sent revival because the people saw that God was with him. God used Asa. God can use me. God can use you.

May God say of us, that our hearts were perfect all of our days.

Asa, part 1 — his Victory

Asa is one of very few good kings in the four books that document Israel’s history. Yet, the end we read of in 2 Chronicles 16 grieves the heart. I’m going to take the next couple blogs to look at Asa as shown in 2 Chronicles.

2 Chronicles 14:1-6 “¹So Abijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David: and Asa his son reigned in his stead. In his days the land was quiet ten years. ²And Asa did that which was good and right in the eyes of the LORD his God: ³For he took away the altars of the strange gods, and the high places, and brake down the images, and cut down the groves: ⁴And commanded Judah to seek the LORD God of their fathers, and to do the law and the commandment. ⁵Also he took away out of all the cities of Judah the high places and the images: and the kingdom was quiet before him. ⁶And he built fenced cities in Judah: for the land had rest, and he had no war in those years; because the LORD had given him rest.”

Notice his introduction! He did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord. He took down the altars and commanded the people to do right too. Isn’t this what we want God to say about us in the course of history?

The text continues to tell of his great spiritual victory which resulted in a physical victory.

2 Chronicles 14:9-13 “⁹And there came out against them Zerah the Ethiopian with an host of a thousand thousand, and three hundred chariots; and came unto Mareshah. ¹⁰Then Asa went out against him, and they set the battle in array in the valley of Zephathah at Mareshah. ¹¹And Asa cried unto the LORD his God, and said, LORD, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power: help us, O LORD our God; for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O LORD, thou art our God; let no man prevail against thee. ¹²So the LORD smote the Ethiopians before Asa, and before Judah; and the Ethiopians fled. ¹³And Asa and the people that were with him pursued them unto Gerar: and the Ethiopians were overthrown, that they could not recover themselves; for they were destroyed before the LORD, and before his host; and they carried away very much spoil.”

He trusted in the Lord. He understood that it was in God’s hands. He understood that we walk by faith in Him rather than sight or the numbers. As a math teacher I might use the phrase “the numbers don’t lie.” The numbers might not lie but they don’t make the outcome. 580,000 to over 1,000,000. Those numbers would certainly seem to say that this can’t be handled. There are times and things in life where people say “That is impossible. This can’t happen before this date, so let’s pray it happens the soonest after that.” We limit our prayers to things that “can” happen, as opposed to recognizing that God is the Almighty who can do everything.

Nothing is impossible with God. God can work regardless of the stipulations man puts on things. Trust Him and pray. Sometimes we assume that our country is so wicked, “it is impossible to get a good person elected.” Rest on the Lord. It is nothing to God to do these things. Sometimes they are small things, sometimes they are big things. Sometimes it is a work situation. Sometimes a legal issue. God is in control and can do anything. Anything! That doesn’t mean anything within the already established bounds. He can do anything. Rest in the Lord. Asa trusted in God and God gave him a great victory. We can have victory too if we trust Him.

He hath not dealt with us after our sins

Psalm 103:

⁸The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.  ⁹He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever. ¹⁰He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. ¹¹For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. ¹²As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. ¹³Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him. ¹⁴For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust. ¹⁵As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth. ¹⁶For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more. ¹⁷But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children’s children; ¹⁸To such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them.

I think that we forget verse 10 so often. I forget this often. I am saved and striving to live for God. I want to love Him more, and I want to fear Him. I understand I was created for His pleasure and that is what I want from my life. But I forget that despite all of these things, I am still a wicked person. God’s mercy must still be as high as the Heaven is above the Earth towards me as a God fearing individual. That is the mercy I need each day. That is pity that I need each day.

¹³Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him. ¹⁴For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.

Oh that is convicting! I don’t know that I do this with Arielle, but with others I have been hasty to judge. I see and condemn, and have forgotten that we are dust. I have forgotten that our frame is a frame of sin and weakness. I forget that I sin as much or more. I forget that it is grace that makes us different, and not my righteousness or life choices. God remembers. God remembers that we are dust; He remembers our frame. Don’t forget that. Don’t forget who we are, and that we are all this way. We are all humans. We are all weak. We are all sinners. We are all dust. God is the Judge, and God remembers who we are.

And praise the Lord for His mercy! It is as high as the Heaven is above the Earth. This is the mercy we need. His mercy is from everlasting to everlasting. His mercy is evident daily towards us. Those that fear the Lord and obey Him find mercy. He is plenteous in mercy, and we need it daily.

“Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.”