Choose to Remember

“Thus Joash the king remembered not the kindness which Jehoiada his father had done to him, but slew his son. And when he died, he said, The LORD look upon it, and require it.” (2Ch 24:22 AV)

It is important to remember important things of the past.  This seems to be a pattern.  The generation that followed Joshua chose not to remember all God did for them in the wilderness.  When Joseph died, the next generation of Egyptians chose not to remember what Joseph did to save Egypt.  Now, Joash chose to forget all that Jehoiada the priest did for him.  He saved Joash’s life.  He guided him as the king who brought a revival to Judah.  He kept Joash from making foolish decisions as king.  Not that Jehoiada is dead, Joash chose not to remember.  This is not mere, “out of sight, out of mind” forgetfulness.  This is a deliberate choice to forget that which Jehoiada did and who he was.  When we chose not to remember, it is deliberate.

Recently, my mother passed away.  As part of the healing process, a facebook account was set up for her children to learn and remind one another of how blessed of a mother we were privileged to enjoy.  With eleven children, one can only imagine how much material is posted!  It is interesting what each remembers of our mother.  For me, it was her character.  She was a wonderful mother when it came to cooking, cleaning, and the holidays.  But more so than that, her character shown through time and time again.  She was our moral compass.  Mom didn’t allow her boys to grow up as sissies.  No clogs or bell-bottomed pants for her boys.  Buzz cuts all through school age.  No long hair like a girl.  She wouldn’t allow her boys to watch programs like Love Boat, Fantasy Island, or the latter years of Hee Haw.  Too much sexualization for her boys!  No generational clothing that glorified rebellion or worldliness.  Church every Sunday unless we ran a fever.  She taught us respect for one another even when we disagreed.  She did so by her example towards our father.  She taught us to put only as much on our plate as we can eat while leaving some for others.  She taught us manners at the table.  The list can go on and on.

The important thing is memory.  Remembering and taking steps to not forget.  Writing these lessons down.  Looking at pictures that remind us of people and principles of life.  Musing on the experiences a gracious God sent our way for the purpose of shaping who we are.  If we choose to forget the past, then we will repeat the same mistakes of the past.  Remembering is a choice.  Remembering is necessary.  Remembering is a blessing.

God's Battle - God's Blessing

“And when Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away the spoil of them, they found among them in abundance both riches with the dead bodies, and precious jewels, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away: and they were three days in gathering of the spoil, it was so much.” (2Ch 20:25 AV)

When the LORD fights the battle, blessings cannot be managed!  Moab, Ammon, and the people of Seir came out against Judah.  These are the people God told Israel to leave in place and avoid them while traveling from Egypt to Canaan many years ago.  These were the left-over adversaries who eventually would become a formidable one.  When these three come against a splintered nation, Judah being the target, they had advantage in numbers.  The prayer which Judah offered was a precious one.  They surrendered to the complete control of God and were beside themselves as to what to do.  The battle plan God gave them was to assemble and march on their enemies with nothing more than a song on their lips.  It wasn’t the cavalry, infantry, or army that went before them to the battle.  It was the singers!  What a hoot!  God told them they would not have to fight and He would do it all.  So, all the armed forces were in the rear and those tasked with praising the LORD were in the forefront.  The result was a complete victory over their enemies without having to raise one sword.  They were three days is gathering all the spoil and even then, they could not take it all.

 It is best to let the LORD do it all.  Not that we sit idly by and think there is nothing for us to do.  Even Jehoshaphat gathered an armed force with singers to enter the battle field.  But winning spiritual victories is more about surrendering to the leading and empowering of the Holy Spirit than it is doing something in our own wisdom and strength.  This is where we fail.  We believe the battle belongs to us. But it does not.  As Paul said, there is no good thing in us.  Our nature is corrupted.  We have no moral strength.  This comes at the work of the Holy Spirit.

If we would learn how little we impact our walk with God compared to how much the Holy Spirit does, our blessings would be too much to handle.  Letting the LORD take control of our minds, hearts, and choices results in a blessed life which the mind cannot even comprehend.  Letting go and letting God is the only way to march on to victory!

Just Say The Word

“And when Asa heard these words, and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage, and put away the abominable idols out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the cities which he had taken from mount Ephraim, and renewed the altar of the LORD, that was before the porch of the LORD.” (2Ch 15:8 AV)

How refreshing it is to see when someone responds to the prophet of God after the first time he hears the word of God.  Asa didn’t wait for a second or third warning.  He didn’t wait for the LORD to begin the process of chastisement.  Asa didn’t wait for things to become so bad that he was forced to make a change.  The prophet came, explained to him what had happened to the north, then left it with him.  Asa immediately responded and reversed direction.  That is the way to live with the LORD!

Most of us learn from our lessons from the school of hard knocks.  We ignore wisdom until circumstances foist upon us a necessary response in the right direction.  We wait until our circumstances are unbearable and then decide it is better to change than to continue on the road of further trouble.  The wisdom of truth is not the primary motivating factor.  It is the consequences of ignoring it.  With Asa and the leaders of Judah, all they needed to do is hear the word of the LORD once and see what happened to others who went through similar situations.

Dogs can teach us a lot. For instance, going to the bathroom can and should be an exciting experience.  Or, it is ok to eat the same thing every day and be ok with it.  Or, laying around with absolutely nothing to do is the way of life.  Or, one does not need a bath every day and rolling around the grass is a perfectly acceptable method of covering body odor.  One thing I noticed about the dog that I currently own is he listens intently.  He is leash trained.  My last dog was too, but we needed a choke collar to reinforce instructions.  My current dog, no so much.  On word and stops.  One word and comes.  One word and he goes in the direction I want him to go.  No matter how focused he might be on a rabbit or other critter, it is one word that will shock him back into compliance to my wishes.  It is better that way.  All around.  How I wish I were sometimes like my dog!

Preparation in Nine Tenths of Success

“And he did evil, because he prepared not his heart to seek the LORD.” (2Ch 12:14 AV)

The word ‘…prepared…’ here means to establish or fix.  It assumes a process of several steps that result in the heart being established to seek the LORD.  Think of baking a cake or setting concrete.  There are certain steps that need to be taken before the goal is reached.  Measuring the ingredients.  Attaining the correct temperate for the liquids.  Preparing the surface.  These steps are taken before a soft and malleable substance is poured into place and hardens to a set structure.  This is perhaps a key that is missing for consistent spiritual growth and holy living.

Most of our preaching falls on unprepared hearts.  Most of our devotional reading enters an unprepared heart.  There are steps that should be taken.  Objects or concerns of the heart that should be surrendered.  The heart needs to be prepared before it can seek and follow the will of God.  Things like prayer, confession of sin, yielding of the heart to whatever the Spirit might reveal, discipline of the emotions, etc.  Bringing the heart into subjection before the will of God is known is what the Spirit intends for us to understand.  Like pouring the cake mix into the pan or the concrete mix into a hole, our hearts that are undisciplined and self-willed need to be confined and controlled.  Our hearts need to be subjected to boundaries which will form it into that which please the LORD.

This can be a spiritual discipline which we exercise.  However, the LORD often uses circumstances in our lives to assist in this process.  A trial of life makes it easier to listen to the LORD.  Confusion over a decision often opens our ears to the Spirit’s guidance.  The chastening of the LORD humbles the heart that it might conform to the word of God.  Either way, unless the heart is prepared ahead of time to seek the LORD, the evil will always result.

Sacrifice, Not Sacrilidge

And the Lord appeared to Solomon by night, and said unto him, I have heard thy prayer, and have chosen this place to myself for an house of sacrifice. 2 Chronicles 7:12

What a novel idea!  The house of God is a house wherein those coming yield to the One whom they claim to worship.  The house of God was not built to please those who came to worship.  It has been and always will be a house wherein those who come to worship please the One who is worshiped.  And, the most significant thing we can do to worship the LORD is to surrender our hearts to His perfect will.

Several years back, I sat in a discussion with Christians of several different generations.  A question was asked regarding the condition of our respective ministries.  Most remarked how it was getting more difficult to keep younger people interested in the things of God and how membership of the younger generations we declining.   Almost all agreed the trend was common.  All except for a few.  They observed that their younger generation was growing.  The cause?  Generationally attractive music.  One comment was how loud and awesome the music was.  What are churches are doing today is feeding into the narcissistic entertainment driven generation by using the same methods.  My wife and I were coming back from our home state after a funeral and went through Akron and Canton, OH.  On the side of the interstate was a huge church building.  It had to be close to 260,000 square feet.  Absolutely massive.  My wife, as she loves to do, kicked in her internet sleuthing skills and we learned this so-called church is into fog machines, stage lighting, and solid rock ‘Christian’ music.  The house of God has become a house of entertainment.  Not a house of sacrifice.

Gone are the days when the people of God would come to an old-fashioned altar, confess their sins, repent, and surrender their lives afresh to live in the word of God.  Gone are the days of surrender to the mission field.  Gone are the days when men surrendered to serve the LORD with their lives and instead, seek a career in sacred things.  There used to be a time when a line would form if the body of Christ needed something done.  Volunteers would be abundant.  Gone are the days of two-week revivals because it too inconvenient and interferes with our sports or binge watching.  Gone are the days when the Holy Spirit could stir the church to revival because we have taught the people of God that salvation and worship is all about them!  No wonder our teens leave our churches when they become adults.  While they were in their youth groups, they were entertained and it was all about them.  In adulthood, they are required to sacrifice.  If we want to see revival again, we must rethink church!  The house of God must be about sacrifice.  It must be about yielding.  It must be about the LORD and not about us!

Location, Location, Location

“Then Solomon began to build the house of the LORD at Jerusalem in mount Moriah, where the LORD appeared unto David his father, in the place that David had prepared in the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite.” (2Ch 3:1 AV)

As a reminder, the site upon which the temple was to be built was where the hand of God’s wrath stayed.  When David numbered the people contrary to the law of God, God judged the people with a pestilence.  When the wrath of God abated, the angle of death stood at this very spot.  It was here that David offered offerings to atone for the sin of numbering the people.  It was on this threshing floor that Solomon would build his temple.

When we think of building a house of worship, in our human way of thinking, we might choose a place that was associated with happy thoughts.  A pastoral scene with hills and running brooks.  A place of great military victory.  Perhaps a city which once stood an adversaries capital.  What we wouldn’t do is build a temple at the site that reminded us that tens of thousands died because of disobedience.  What we probably wouldn’t want is to be reminded of our failures before the LORD and the fact that He was forced to judge us for that disobedience.  But that is exactly what Solomon did because that is exactly what the LORD wanted.

We build churches today to attract customers.  What we do not do is construct houses of worship to convert the sinner.  When we come to church we want nothing but positive happy thoughts.  What we do not want is an atmosphere that reminds us of our wickedness and our desperate need of God’s mercy and grace.  When the altar was laid in the court of the temple, it was not laid because mankind had attained perfect blessedness and happiness.  It was laid to atone for the failures of mankind.  We sing Victory In Jesus, and rightly so.  In eternity, we have complete victory.  Our sins are paid for, forgive, and we will be glorified.  But until that time, there are still sinners to win, saints to sanctify, and a perfect God of which to testify.  Our happy thoughts are not found in atmosphere.  Our happy thoughts are found in the mercy and grace of God.  Solomon’s temple was a reminder of God’s judgment upon the sins of the people. But it also contained the method of atoning for those sins and gaining the miraculous mercy of God’s grace.

Presence Through the Project

“And David said to Solomon his son, Be strong and of good courage, and do it: fear not, nor be dismayed: for the LORD God, even my God, will be with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee, until thou hast finished all the work for the service of the house of the LORD.” (1Ch 28:20 AV)

If one is not careful, he might assume that once a project is done, God abandons the person whom He used.  Looking at the life of Solomon, it would be easy to conclude this understanding.  Once the temple was complete, shortly thereafter, Solomon married strange wives, began to worship their gods, and offered sacrifice unto the LORD in high places.  Once would assume that once the project is done, then the LORD is not near.  However, once must also understand that one’s call in life lasts a lifetime.  Solomon made the mistake of assuming building a building was the sole definition of the call of God on his life.  Once the building was erected and worship established, he went into semi-retirement mode.  The problem with that thinking is: building a building was only one aspect of God’s call on his life. There was continued maintenance of worship, vision for greater worship, and governing the kingdom into compliance to the word of God.

It is true.  The LORD will not forsake us in the middle of our calling.  No matter what we face, the LORD will be there.  If He has commissioned us to build a temple, instruct in the law, serve in the worship of the congregation, etc. the LORD will not abandon us in the midst of that service.  What we have to realize is that God will never abandon us as long as we walk with Him.

This promise is not a conditional promise as long as Solomon builds the temple.  What David is not saying is that once the temple is built, the presence of God will vacate.  What David is promising is the presence, wisdom, and encouragement of God will be with Solomon through the whole of the building project.  His presence is always there.  What we sometimes need is the promise that He will be there in a different way while we tackle the calling He has assigned to us!