Date:
Saturday,
May 09, 2015
Chapters: 2 Chronicles 12-14
Message Title: Chastened With Love
Hello My Friend,
Faithful Christians are not perfect, in fact, they mess up pretty good sometimes, but thank God that we have a perfect Saviour, willing and able to come to our need when we come to Him. “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” - Matthew 11:28-30.
There are billions of people saved, but very few are faithful to Christ beyond their salvation. 2 Chronicles is primarily focused on Judah, who God chose to be the tribe in which He put His name above all the other tribes of Israel. Judah, was not always perfect, after all they had a sin nature just like the rest, but what set them apart was that when judgment came, they returned to God. After Solomon died, Rehoboam reigned over Judah, he didn't have the best track record as king, in fact, God place judgment upon them for the way he caused the division of the nation of Israel. Rehoboam did do one thing right, he humbled himself before God and repented of the judgment, he did however, chasten them.
“Then came Shemaiah the prophet to Rehoboam, and to the princes of Judah, that were gathered together to Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said unto them, Thus saith the LORD, Ye have forsaken me, and therefore have I also left you in the hand of Shishak. Whereupon the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves; and they said, The LORD is righteous. And when the LORD saw that they humbled themselves, the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah, saying, They have humbled themselves; therefore I will not destroy them, but I will grant them some deliverance; and my wrath shall not be poured out upon Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak. Nevertheless they shall be his servants; that they may know my service, and the service of the kingdoms of the countries.” - 2 Chronicles 12:5-8.
When we sin against God, we can expect some chastisement, after all, we are His children, and any honorable parent would discipline their children when they do something bad. The second we ask Christ to save us from our sins, we become God's kids, and it's eternal, He will never destroy us, but we can expect some chastening. “Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.” - Hebrews 12:9-11.
Now, after Rehoboam died, his son Abijah reigned, and he was not pleased with Israel for turning their back on God, in fact, he went to war with them for causing Israel to sin. “And Abijah set the battle in array with an army of valiant men of war, even four hundred thousand chosen men: Jeroboam also set the battle in array against him with eight hundred thousand chosen men, being mighty men of valour. And Abijah stood up upon mount Zemaraim, which is in mount Ephraim, and said, Hear me, thou Jeroboam, and all Israel; Ought ye not to know that the LORD God of Israel gave the kingdom over Israel to David for ever, even to him and to his sons by a covenant of salt?Yet Jeroboam the son of Nebat, the servant of Solomon the son of David, is risen up, and hath rebelled against his lord. And, behold, God himself is with us for our captain, and his priests with sounding trumpets to cry alarm against you. O children of Israel, fight ye not against the LORD God of your fathers; for ye shall not prosper. And Abijah pursued after Jeroboam, and took cities from him, Bethel with the towns thereof, and Jeshanah with the towns thereof, and Ephrain with the towns thereof.” - 2 Chronicles 13:3-6,12,19.
It would be wise for faithful Christians to influence non faithful to repent and turn to Christ. It's not salvation that rewards us with heavenly treasures or even earthly, it's the things we do after we are saved that do that. We all must stand before Christ and give an account for all the things we did not do after we got saved. We won't lose our salvation, but we will lose out on the crowns and rewards that we will get in His Kingdom. Not to mention, life here on earth won't be so awesome either, talk about chastening, and a well deserved one as well. “Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.” - Revelation 3:17-19.
Now, after Abijah died, his son Asa reigned, God was so pleased with the way that Asa ran the kingdom that He gave him rest from war. It was during that time of rest that Asa cleaned up Jerusalem and built walls of protection to shield them from future attacks. “And Asa did that which was good and right in the eyes of the LORD his God: For he took away the altars of the strange gods, and the high places, and brake down the images, and cut down the groves: And commanded Judah to seek the LORD God of their fathers, and to do the law and the commandment. Also he took away out of all the cities of Judah the high places and the images: and the kingdom was quiet before him. And 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. Therefore he said unto Judah, Let us build these cities, and make about them walls, and towers, gates, and bars, while the land is yet before us; because we have sought the LORD our God, we have sought him, and he hath given us rest on every side. So they built and prospered.” - 2 Chronicles 14:2-7.
God gives us rest from everything, it is during that rest that we especially need to prepare ourselves for future attacks. You never know when life or anything else is going to sneak up on you, we must be prepared, and the best protection is being armed with God. “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” - Ephesians 6:11-13.
Today's Prayer: God, You love Your children so much that You settle for nothing less than our best. When our best gets fizzled and we fall into temptation, You do what every Father does, you ground us. Thank You for Your chastening, as painful as it is at the time, there is good reason for it, and always something positive coming out of it. Thank You for Your love, mercy, and endless grace, and for always being there for us, even when we mess up. You are an awesome God, and I'd rather be suffering with You than in the world with no one. In Jesus' name. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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Chapters: 2 Chronicles 12-14
Message Title: Chastened With Love
Hello My Friend,
Faithful Christians are not perfect, in fact, they mess up pretty good sometimes, but thank God that we have a perfect Saviour, willing and able to come to our need when we come to Him. “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” - Matthew 11:28-30.
There are billions of people saved, but very few are faithful to Christ beyond their salvation. 2 Chronicles is primarily focused on Judah, who God chose to be the tribe in which He put His name above all the other tribes of Israel. Judah, was not always perfect, after all they had a sin nature just like the rest, but what set them apart was that when judgment came, they returned to God. After Solomon died, Rehoboam reigned over Judah, he didn't have the best track record as king, in fact, God place judgment upon them for the way he caused the division of the nation of Israel. Rehoboam did do one thing right, he humbled himself before God and repented of the judgment, he did however, chasten them.
“Then came Shemaiah the prophet to Rehoboam, and to the princes of Judah, that were gathered together to Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said unto them, Thus saith the LORD, Ye have forsaken me, and therefore have I also left you in the hand of Shishak. Whereupon the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves; and they said, The LORD is righteous. And when the LORD saw that they humbled themselves, the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah, saying, They have humbled themselves; therefore I will not destroy them, but I will grant them some deliverance; and my wrath shall not be poured out upon Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak. Nevertheless they shall be his servants; that they may know my service, and the service of the kingdoms of the countries.” - 2 Chronicles 12:5-8.
When we sin against God, we can expect some chastisement, after all, we are His children, and any honorable parent would discipline their children when they do something bad. The second we ask Christ to save us from our sins, we become God's kids, and it's eternal, He will never destroy us, but we can expect some chastening. “Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.” - Hebrews 12:9-11.
Now, after Rehoboam died, his son Abijah reigned, and he was not pleased with Israel for turning their back on God, in fact, he went to war with them for causing Israel to sin. “And Abijah set the battle in array with an army of valiant men of war, even four hundred thousand chosen men: Jeroboam also set the battle in array against him with eight hundred thousand chosen men, being mighty men of valour. And Abijah stood up upon mount Zemaraim, which is in mount Ephraim, and said, Hear me, thou Jeroboam, and all Israel; Ought ye not to know that the LORD God of Israel gave the kingdom over Israel to David for ever, even to him and to his sons by a covenant of salt?Yet Jeroboam the son of Nebat, the servant of Solomon the son of David, is risen up, and hath rebelled against his lord. And, behold, God himself is with us for our captain, and his priests with sounding trumpets to cry alarm against you. O children of Israel, fight ye not against the LORD God of your fathers; for ye shall not prosper. And Abijah pursued after Jeroboam, and took cities from him, Bethel with the towns thereof, and Jeshanah with the towns thereof, and Ephrain with the towns thereof.” - 2 Chronicles 13:3-6,12,19.
It would be wise for faithful Christians to influence non faithful to repent and turn to Christ. It's not salvation that rewards us with heavenly treasures or even earthly, it's the things we do after we are saved that do that. We all must stand before Christ and give an account for all the things we did not do after we got saved. We won't lose our salvation, but we will lose out on the crowns and rewards that we will get in His Kingdom. Not to mention, life here on earth won't be so awesome either, talk about chastening, and a well deserved one as well. “Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.” - Revelation 3:17-19.
Now, after Abijah died, his son Asa reigned, God was so pleased with the way that Asa ran the kingdom that He gave him rest from war. It was during that time of rest that Asa cleaned up Jerusalem and built walls of protection to shield them from future attacks. “And Asa did that which was good and right in the eyes of the LORD his God: For he took away the altars of the strange gods, and the high places, and brake down the images, and cut down the groves: And commanded Judah to seek the LORD God of their fathers, and to do the law and the commandment. Also he took away out of all the cities of Judah the high places and the images: and the kingdom was quiet before him. And 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. Therefore he said unto Judah, Let us build these cities, and make about them walls, and towers, gates, and bars, while the land is yet before us; because we have sought the LORD our God, we have sought him, and he hath given us rest on every side. So they built and prospered.” - 2 Chronicles 14:2-7.
God gives us rest from everything, it is during that rest that we especially need to prepare ourselves for future attacks. You never know when life or anything else is going to sneak up on you, we must be prepared, and the best protection is being armed with God. “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” - Ephesians 6:11-13.
Today's Prayer: God, You love Your children so much that You settle for nothing less than our best. When our best gets fizzled and we fall into temptation, You do what every Father does, you ground us. Thank You for Your chastening, as painful as it is at the time, there is good reason for it, and always something positive coming out of it. Thank You for Your love, mercy, and endless grace, and for always being there for us, even when we mess up. You are an awesome God, and I'd rather be suffering with You than in the world with no one. In Jesus' name. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
Subscribe: Daily Devotion
Ready To Follow Jesus?: God's Price
Visit Our Website: I'm Following Jesus
Like Us On Facebook: I'm Following Jesus
Copyright © 2015 I'm Following Jesus, All rights reserved.
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