Sunday, July 12, 2015

DILIGENCE

Today’s Reading: 2 Chronicles 34

Click scripture link to read online or HERE to listen online (then click the symbol of the audio speaker above the scripture portion).

 

An actor from “Nazareth Village” in Nazareth holds a scroll in the synagogue as he depicts Jesus from Luke 4:14-20. Perhaps it was a scroll resembling this one from which young king Josiah read aloud in the hearing of his people, and which produced nation-changing results.

GOOGLE MAPS – To see where the photo was taken, click HERE.

 

Key Verses: 2 Chronicles 34:19, 31

Now it happened that when the king heard the words of the law, that he tore his clothes…Then the king stood in his place and made a covenant before the Lord, to follow the Lord, and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant that were written in this book.

 

Back in 2 Chronicles 24, we read of the boy king, Joash, who became king at seven years old. He did well as long as he had his teacher present, but then went astray. Now we have an eight-year-old, Josiah, made king. No doubt he also had strong guidance from godly people. Unlike Joash, Josiah stayed true to the God of Israel all his life. It seems reasonable to suggest that finding the lost manuscript of the Bible made all the difference. The turning points of Josiah’s life are as follows: At eight he became king. Josiah would’ve been six when his grandfather, Manasseh, died. Manasseh had turned from God and then returned in repentance. Perhaps Josiah’s grandpa had told him the stories of the tragedies that resulted from ungodly behaviour. At 16 Josiah began to seek the God of King David. At 20 he began to destroy the idols such as the Baals which the people had been worshipping. The northern tribes had been dispersed throughout the world in what is now known as ethnic cleansing, but the remnant who remained came under Josiah’s leadership. At 24 Josiah began to repair the ancient Temple of God built by Solomon. Then comes the words of our key verses.

We need to cherish the Book we are reading together. Many years before the workmen discovered the manuscript of the Bible (probably Deuteronomy), diligent people had spent countless hours copying, by hand, the Words. There were no print shops where copies could be run off. All the effort at copying was rewarded long after the writers had passed on. Do we wonder if we will ever see the fruit of our labours? Don’t loose heart! Rejoice in our sowing of good seed; we can trust God with the reaping of results in His timing.

PRAYER FOR TODAY:

Lord God, I pray for determination to serve You well today, leaving the results of my labours up to You and Your timing. Thank You, Father God, for the opportunity to sow seeds which will yield a good harvest. In Jesus’ Name In pray, Amen!!!

100 PERSONAL WORDS:

Twenty-four year old King Josiah tore his clothes to indicate his profound grief at the failure of Israel to keep true to the writings on the scroll which was found hidden in the Temple. The King, himself, read aloud from the Bible in the hearing of all the elders of Israel. I often read the Word of God out loud when it is called for. One of those times was in Regina, Saskatchewan. Dr. Shapiro, a Jewish medical doctor, had, like Josiah, torn his clothes to show extreme grief. I don’t have space to tell the story here. It’s on pages 113 -116 in my book, This Far by Faith. A great turn-around happened in the doctor’s life as a result. Here’s how my book can be sent to you (click here). I find it interesting that offerings are often the lead-up to blessings. Again and again in our readings, I find the connection between giving and receiving. That has certainly been my personal experience through the years. A New Testament reading on which I’ve just meditated is 2 Corinthians chapter 9 (click here to read with me).

Yours for finding our Bibles and for reading carefully its transformative message daily!

David

Jesus portrayed by an actor entering the synagogue in Nazareth. In this synagogue I take delight during our tours in reading from Isaiah, as Jesus did here in His hometown synagogue.

8 thoughts on “Sunday, July 12, 2015

  1. We are so grateful for the word of God and Holy Spirit to lead and guide us into all truth Help us Lord to keep your statutes and obey and hear what You are saying to us Help us not to be decieved in these last days and to look to Jesus the author and finisher of our faith God blessall the saints of The Lord Praise His name forever The God of Our Lord Jesus Christ that is The King of Kings and Lord of Lords Amen

  2. Where would we be without the bible???? A gift from God Himself!!!! How can everyday not be totally great, when we all have the bible to answer our every question? In Burlington this weekend from Ottawa for a ballhockey championship with my son. Feeling so happy just being so close to the “hub” of 100 Words! Blessings forward to all!!! Xoxo

  3. What a difference between the life of the two young kings…The choices we make in life are of great importance to where we end up…whether good or bad.

    Lord God Almighty…”Keep me near the Cross: Close to You, the Living Fountain!!

  4. I feel it is important to remember “hind sight” and “if only”
    I don’t believe Mother Theresa ever siad “if only you hadn’t done this or that” none of us know what we would have done “if only”
    I’ve make tons of mistakes but God has never discarded me
    He’s there right beside me and when I confess I have sinned or messed up He’s not judging but rather, loving, forgiving,
    I’ve found that 100 Huntley comes on in the early a.m. hours…it sure has changed, for my personal watching, I find it is to fast paced, you just get into a subject and then ZAP it’s gone and something else is available…however that seems to be the way so many programs are nowadays, trying to cram alot into one hour….
    please pray for the children and youth of our communities,
    one thing about the technology of today, it is also fast paced, and I believe that is a very sad thing, our brains need time to absorb information,
    I just met some young families who are going to mission fields up in Northern Canada and in Australia and New Zealand, they want to go where life is slower paced, these are young people who know all about our technology today BUT they said “u can`t build relationships using cell -phones and I Pads, it takes one on one, human being to human being to begin to know people“ I was very much in awe of them
    these people are husbands, wives, children and some extended family.
    I pray God will keep them safe and they will bring many people to the kowledge of Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour….

  5. Amen to your prayers for these people Sah! I met a woman today who frequents Australia. She said they have HUGE BUGS!! There’s a spider called the dinner plate spider because it’s THAT BIG!! People keep them in their homes to keep other HUGE BUGS at bay! GOD BLESS THEM!!!

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