What is eating you up?

 19 May 26

Today's devotional: taken from YouVersion, Devotions on F.I.R.E. Year One


Readings:

2 Kings 23

2 Kings 24

2 Kings 25

John 7:1-31


Now before him there was no king like him, who turned to the LORD with all his heart, with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the Law of Moses; nor after him did any arise like him (2 Kings 23:25). 


What is eating you up?


The unnamed man of God predicts the birth and zeal of Josiah. First Kings 13:2 unveils, “Behold, a child, Josiah by name, shall be born to the house of David; and on you he shall sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and men’s bones shall be burned on you.” Six centuries after the death of Josiah comes a King whose birth and zeal are also predicted. When Jesus cleanses the Temple, His disciples remember Psalm 69:9, which is quoted in John 2:17: “Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up.” Josiah’s and Jesus’ zeal are exemplary. 


Employment Point: Be consumed by zeal for the work of the Lord.

———————-

Reflections

“The king stood by the pillar and renewed the covenant in the presence of the Lord—to follow the Lord and keep his commands, statutes 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.”2 Kings‬ ‭23‬:‭3‬ ‭NIV‬‬

  • I am renewing the covenant to follow the Lord and keep his commands, statutes and decrees with all my heart and all my soul and I thank you Lord for showing us the truth. May Father You show us Your way and remove our ways and our thoughts, so that we will be leaning on You and no one else.


“Furthermore, Josiah got rid of the mediums and spiritists, the household gods, the idols and all the other detestable things seen in Judah and Jerusalem. This he did to fulfill the requirements of the law written in the book that Hilkiah the priest had discovered in the temple of the Lord. Neither before nor after Josiah was there a king like him who turned to the Lord as he did—with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, in accordance with all the Law of Moses.”2 Kings‬ ‭23‬:‭24‬-‭25‬ ‭NIV‬‬

  • Indeed after Josiah has renewed his covenant with the Lord to follow the Lord and keep his commands, statutes and decrees with all his heart and all his soul, he carried out all his promises to the Lord!
  • After reading 2 Kings and how the kings did evil, it is so refreshing to read about Josiah that truly does what he promised and what is good in the eyes of the Lord.


“As the Lord had declared, Nebuchadnezzar removed the treasures from the temple of the Lord and from the royal palace, and cut up the gold articles that Solomon king of Israel had made for the temple of the Lord. He carried all Jerusalem into exile: all the officers and fighting men, and all the skilled workers and artisans—a total of ten thousand. Only the poorest people of the land were left.”2 Kings‬ ‭24‬:‭13‬-‭14‬ ‭NIV‬‬

  • To think all the glory that King Solomon built was all destroyed by his descendants because they did evil and turned from the Lord. Whereas Solomon was the wisest man, the same cannot be said to the descendants so much so that people were sent to exile and the whole city was destroyed. Our actions can make or break us.


“The Babylonians broke up the bronze pillars, the movable stands and the bronze Sea that were at the temple of the Lord and they carried the bronze to Babylon. They also took away the pots, shovels, wick trimmers, dishes and all the bronze articles used in the temple service. The commander of the imperial guard took away the censers and sprinkling bowls—all that were made of pure gold or silver.”2 Kings‬ ‭25‬:‭13‬-‭15‬ ‭NIV‬‬

  • this happened by what was spoken by the prophet when the king showed the Babylonians all the treasures he has in his palace. Nothing was left


“Jesus said to them, “I did one miracle, and you are all amazed. Yet, because Moses gave you circumcision (though actually it did not come from Moses, but from the patriarchs), you circumcise a boy on the Sabbath. Now if a boy can be circumcised on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses may not be broken, why are you angry with me for healing a man’s whole body on the Sabbath? Stop judging by mere appearances, but instead judge correctly.””John‬ ‭7‬:‭21‬-‭24‬ ‭NIV‬‬

  • The act of circumcision was just part of the law that was required by the Jews. Where no works is supposed to be done on Sabbath and yet circumcision is allowed, it is still controversial. This act itself will not earn us our salvation. Only faith can grant us salvation. Thus if circumcision is allowed, healing should all the more be allowed on Sabbath day.

———————-

Out of the Wreck I Rise

BY OSWALD CHAMBERS

May 19


Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?— Romans 8:35


God doesn’t promise to make us immune to trouble; God promises to be with us in trouble. It doesn’t matter what kind of trouble; even the most extreme hardship can never separate us from God.


“In all these things we are more than conquerors”(Romans 8:37). The “things” Paul is talking about in this verse aren’t imaginary; they are desperately real. And yet, Paul says, in the middle of all our hardships, we are super-victors—not because of our intelligence or our courage, but because nothing can affect our relationship to God in Jesus Christ. Whether we like it or not, we are where we are, exactly in the condition we’re in. I am sorry for Christians who have nothing difficult in their circumstances.


“Shall trouble . . . ?” Trouble is never a noble thing, but neither is it all-powerful. No trouble, says Paul, “will be able to separate us from the love of God” (v. 39). Let trouble be what it is. Let it be exhausting and irritating. But never let it separate you from the reality that God loves you.


“Shall . . . hardship . . . ?” Can God’s love hold when everything around us seems to be saying that his love is a lie, and that there is no such thing as justice?


“Shall . . . famine . . . ?” Can we not only believe in God’s love but be more than conquerors even when we are being starved? Either Jesus Christ is a deceiver and Paul is deluded, or something extraordinary happens to the soul who holds on to God’s love when the facts are against God’s character.


“More than conquerors . . .” Logic is silenced in the face of Paul’s claim. Only one thing can account for what he says: the love of God in Christ Jesus. “Out of the wreck I rise,” every time.


1 Chronicles 7-9; John 6:22-44


WISDOM FROM OSWALD

The great thing about faith in God is that it keeps a man undisturbed in the midst of disturbance.

————————-

Reflections

Would there be anything that stop us from loving Christ? Is there anything that stand between us and our Lord? In fact if there is such a thing or even a person, we ought to choose the better, which is the Lord over everything else.


Remembering Job, all I can say that Job is a reminder that we should not let our life’s outcomes or situations define our relationships with the Lord. We may lose everything like Job does but he still praise God. He remembers that we have nothing to begin with and if He chose to take away, truly there’s nothing we can do. 


I think it is a inner revelation that the Lord reveals to us that our love for the Lord is built on relationship and not anything else. You cannot tell someone else you love him or her but get affected when they get poor or fell ill, etc. The marriage vow is built on relationship just like our love for Christ. 


The marriage vow: "I, _____, take you, _____, to be my wedded (husband/wife), to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part, according to God's holy ordinance, and this is my solemn vow”


So if someone wanted out of the marriage because times get tough, their partner fell sick, etc. they did not actually love their partner for who they are. They are only in love with the partner for their wealth, the health and an assuming easy life.


Similarly, if someone because of hardship, trouble, illness or etc say that God did not love them. They did not love God. It was purely transactional. Pure love would just be love and nothing can get in between us.


Let’s pray:


Father, let not anything come between us and You O Lord. May You grant us discernment and also wisdom to keep choosing You over others. Help us to recognise things or someone who distracts us from You O Lord, for only want to build this intimate relationship with You. Let nothing come between us and the love of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen 🙏🏻 

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