QT 28 Feb 11

Phil 1:1 (NIV) Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,

To all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons:

NOTE: The letter is addressed to the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi, and also the overseers and deacons.  Since the overseers and deacons are an add-on, the saints refer to the rest of the church.  This verse, as clearly as any verses, teaches us that everyone who is a believer in Jesus, is a saint.  One does not have to be some spiritual giant to carry the name of saint.  There are qualifications for overseer and deacon, but the only qualification for saint is faith in Jesus. 

For some reason, our cultures and cultures before us, have identified a saint as some holy and amazingly spiritual individual.  To a certain extent, that definition is true.  As believers in Jesus, we have positional holiness.  We are spiritual, because we are temples of the living God.  We are special because Jesus died for our sins and bought us our redemption.  But we do live in sin-stained bodies and a world that is opposed to God.  And sometimes, we don't look much different than the world.  In a sense, that is our fault.  We have no excuse when we turn our eyes off of Jesus and fix them on the garbage in the world.  And so the world identifies a saint as something different than a Christian, because Christians are such a poor example of their savior.  That should not be.  My God has saved me, I need to live in that reality.

QT 17 Feb 11

2 Kings 22:20-23:3 (NIV) Therefore I will gather you to your fathers, and you will be buried in peace. Your eyes will not see all the disaster I am going to bring on this place.'"

So they took her answer back to the king.

23:1 Then the king called together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. 2 He went up to the temple of the Lord with the men of Judah, the people of Jerusalem, the priests and the prophets — all the people from the least to the greatest. He read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant, which had been found in the temple of the Lord. 3 The king stood by the pillar and renewed the covenant in the presence of the Lord-to follow the Lord and keep his commands, regulations and decrees with all his heart and all his soul, thus confirming the words of the covenant written in this book. Then all the people pledged themselves to the covenant.

NOTE: The prophetess clears Josiah because of his response to the word of God.  He could have lived out his life with that assurance, but instead he takes action to obey God's word, and even more importantly to involve the people in renewing the covenant.  Actually, this is a mistake that I think Hezekiah made.  While Hezekiah took action, he may have failed to make the case to the people that they needed to take action.  Consequently, the people never were really on-board, all too quickly abandoned Hezekiah's reforms when Manasseh comes on the scene.  I think for teachers and leaders, this example impresses upon me the importance of application.  I must always explore application to anything I teach.  And when I lead spiritually, I must establish the foundation of my actions upon the word of God, and communicate that to those I am leading (at least in a spiritual sense).  I'm not sure of the degree I can do that in the secular setting, or at least I must be very careful.

QT 16 Feb 11

2 Kings 22:8, 11-13 (NIV) Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the secretary, "I have found the Book of the Law in the temple of the Lord." He gave it to Shaphan, who read it. … 11 When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his robes. 12 He gave these orders to Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Acbor son of Micaiah, Shaphan the secretary and Asaiah the king's attendant: 13 "Go and inquire of the Lord for me and for the people and for all Judah about what is written in this book that has been found. Great is the Lord's anger that burns against us because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book; they have not acted in accordance with all that is written there concerning us."

NOTE: The word of God is very powerful.  The first step in any endeavor needs to be reading the word of God, and then praying, talking back to God, about what the Lord has spoken through his word.  Josiah responds in repentance by tearing his clothes.  He immediately tries to seek guidance from the Lord.

How do we respond to God's word?  Do we take it for granted?  Has it become passé in our life?  How serious are we in getting the word of God into our life and allowing it to transform our life?  I need to renew my scripture memory habit.  It has been a good thing for many years, but I have allowed it to die a slow death.

QT 15 Feb 11

2 Kings 21:19-24 (NIV) Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem two years. His mother's name was Meshullemeth daughter of Haruz; she was from Jotbah. 20 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, as his father Manasseh had done. 21 He walked in all the ways of his father; he worshiped the idols his father had worshiped, and bowed down to them. 22 He forsook the Lord, the God of his fathers, and did not walk in the way of the Lord.

23 Amon's officials conspired against him and assassinated the king in his palace. 24 Then the people of the land killed all who had plotted against King Amon, and they made Josiah his son king in his place.

NOTE:  Manasseh serves 55 years and Amon serves 2 years.  Manasseh's reign is the final straw that results in God's prophesied judgment against Israel.  Their combined reign only fills one chapter in the book of Kings, although I believe the other prophets includes more.  One chapter and 57 years to make a difference, and the difference they make is appallingly sad.  Neither of them had the strength of character to stand up to the people and do what was right, like Hezekiah, their forefather did.  Possibly, Judah might have been saved from the Babylonians, but then again, sooner or later the dark hearts of the people would have forsaken their God and broken the covenant, thereby incurring the curses of God written in the covenant.

The difference today is twofold.  One, we do not have the curses of the law hanging over us, and two, we have the Holy Spirit within us to help us and to teach us.  Clearly, for men, that does not seem to be enough.  Why?  Ultimately, we must choose to feed our spiritual soul and seek God.  Even the HS within us will not do that for us.  If he did, then all believers would live sold-out lives for the savior.  I do have a responsibility to seek God in prayer and in the word.  As I do that, he will protect me from the sins of Manasseh and Amon, which sought to please people and bowed to peer pressure, versus standing up for what is right as Hezekiah did.

QT 14 Feb 11

2 Kings 21:1-9 (NIV) Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-five years. His mother's name was Hephzibah. 2 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, following the detestable practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites. 3 He rebuilt the high places his father Hezekiah had destroyed; he also erected altars to Baal and made an Asherah pole, as Ahab king of Israel had done. He bowed down to all the starry hosts and worshiped them. 4 He built altars in the temple of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, "In Jerusalem I will put my Name." 5 In both courts of the temple of the Lord, he built altars to all the starry hosts. 6 He sacrificed his own son in the fire, practiced sorcery and divination, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the eyes of the Lord, provoking him to anger.

7 He took the carved Asherah pole he had made and put it in the temple, of which the Lord had said to David and to his son Solomon, "In this temple and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my Name forever. 8 I will not again make the feet of the Israelites wander from the land I gave their forefathers, if only they will be careful to do everything I commanded them and will keep the whole Law that my servant Moses gave them." 9 But the people did not listen. Manasseh led them astray, so that they did more evil than the nations the Lord had destroyed before the Israelites.

NOTE: I'm not sure that Hezekiah was the one who failed in any of this. I think his decision to destroy all the idols, including the 700 year old bronze snake idol was not well received in the land. The phrase in verse 9 summarizes the real problem, "the people did not listen." They listened to Manasseh, but not to Hezekiah. They listened to Manasseh because he gave them what they wanted to hear. I think the people are the reason for the defeats at the hand of the Assyrian (46 towns taken) up to the point of Jerusalem, where God has mercy for Hezekiah's sake (185K soldiers killed). Yes, the leader is important, but the people also have a responsibility to pursue a walk with God. And at some point, God will hold the people responsible, not the leaders.