Read: 2 Kings 23:31-25:30; Acts 22:17-23:10; Psalm 2:1-12; Proverbs 18:13
Today we read the slow demise of Judah. Josiah did radical reforms then his sons went back to the sins of their fathers. God started systematically tearing down Judah, taking what was left of the temple and its treasures and scattering the people in Babylon. Only the poor were left to farm the land. The temple, the king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem were burnt by the king of Babylon. The Chaldeans broke down the walls. Such a sad thing to see all because they rebelled against God. God had given them years to repent and turn and even when they were given a godly king, they couldn’t change in their hearts so they were soon returning to their own vomit. True repentance has to be of the heart, not just in word and deed.
In Acts, Paul had an audience and was boldly giving his testimony. He had them captivated till he mentioned that God told him to leave because He was sending him to the Gentiles. This went against all they had been taught about clean and unclean. They couldn’t make the transition into the new thing God was doing. Salvation was open to the Gentile as well as the Jew and this was always the plan. Paul was arrested but gained the opportunity to speak to the chief priests and their council. When he told them his conscience was clear it was like saying he was sinless. Paul understood that he was righteous before God because of the blood of Jesus, but they didn’t understand that concept so they thought he was proclaiming himself to be God. He got slapped on the mouth for that. Paul called the man who had him slapped a white washed wall until he found out he was the high priest, then he repented. I can’t help but laugh at Paul’s boldness. Paul saw that he had in his audience both Sadducees and Pharisees which had vastly different views on the resurrection so he brought it up to stir them to be divided against each other. That is a tactic Satan uses against us so I love that he turned it on them. Now, half of the crowd loved Paul and half of them hated him. Paul was not afraid of conflict. We need to be more like him. He didn’t care if he suffered pain or faced death. He was sold out for the sake of the gospel.
Today we read about the death of the nation Judah in the Old Testament but the life of a born again warrior of the kingdom in the New Testament.
Lord, help us to be more like Paul who lived to lift Jesus name. As we celebrate our independence day help us to remember to pray for our nation and our leaders that they be filled with wisdom, discernment, the spirit of God and protection. Thank you for this great nation of America that was founded on God's principles to be a light to other nations. Let our light shine brighter and brighter for Jesus.
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