Debbie Janelle: Thoughts on Scripture

Josiah

Fri, 19 Jan 2007 20:25:13 GMT

Lately I've been reading in 2 Kings, which is a history of the kings of Judah and Isreal. Amid a lot of evil kings and a few good kings we come to Josiah. His grandfather, Manasseh, was the most evil king that Judah ever had. Manasseh did a lot of horrible things to worship other gods, including sacrificing his own son. Josiah's father Amon wasn't much better. And then along comes Josiah. He started to reign when he was eight years old. Then when he was twenty six the Book of the Law was found. As it was read to him Josiah realized that Judah and Isreal had done everything they could possibly do to make God angry so he started cleaning house. "Before him there was no king like him, who turned to the LORD with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might, according to all the Law of Moses, nor did any like him arise after him." (2 Kings 23:25)

You can read for yourself what all he did but what was really interesting to me is that it says that Josiah destroyed the high places that Solomon had built. Hundreds of years had passed since Solomon had reigned and built high places for his pagan wives to worship other gods. There had been several good kings in those years but the Bible often says something like "so and so did what was right in God's eyes but did not destroy the high places." These high places were stronghold's that had been in Judah from almost the beginning of the rule of kings right up to within years of the end of the era of the kings before they were exiled.

This is a convicting passage. Josiah was violent and complete in his treatment of sin. It wasn't enough just to clear out the temple, or just the really obvious sins. He went all the way. I'm not that harsh with sin. Just recently a specific area of sin and hypocrisy that has been a part of my life for about three years was laid bare and revealed for what it was. After ignoring and defending it for so long, I finally started to deal with it. It starts subtly and if not dealt with it grows to be a monster.

Josiah also wasn't willing to just get rid of what everyone else had gotten rid of in the past. A friend of mind had been doing a 60 day online purity program for a while now. When she first started I was a little surprised. Isn't that just for people who are addicted to pornography, or into adultery or sleeping around? What she was dealing with was just thoughts so why be so extreme? Because she wants to be violent and complete about getting rid of sin in her life, even sins that would be easy to justify and explain away.

One last thing. After Josiah did his cleansing campaign throughout the country he gathered all of the people to celebrate the passover. So many things could be taken from this but what I want to take from it is this: When we radically deal with sin we are able to enjoy the presence of God in a new and deeper way. This side of eternity we will not deal with sin completely of course but as long as we allow it to fester and grow unneccessarily our worship and relationship is hindered. God is looking for "broken and contrite" hearts that are ready to weed out sin.

Arrogant, Overfed and Unconcerned

Sun, 26 Feb 2006 03:25:39 GMT

Ezekiel 16 is a fascinating passage. It is a graphic allegory of GOD's relationship with the people of Israel. As GOD is speaking against the people for their sins, He says this: "Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen." (v.49, 50)

She was 'arrogant, overfed and unconcerned.'

This is her sin.

This is the Sodom as in Sodom and Gomorrah which GOD destroyed by fire.

That hits pretty hard. If arrogance is the opposite of humility, I'm definitely there. Overfed. I don't think we think about this one very often. I often comment in humour how every gathering or party must have food. In our North American culture, our social lives are to a large degree intertwined with snacks, dinners and coffee outings. Statistically, we are definitely in the overfed category rather than that of the starving.

Unconcerned. The next statement is "they did not help the poor and needy." A few months ago I read a blog that stated that in preaching the emphasis should be put on what the Word talks about a lot. What keeps coming up as I read is the matter of the poor. Often in the old testament GOD lists neglecting the widows and orphans as one of the major sins committed. In Matthew 25 Jesus talks about seperating the sheep from the goats. The difference highlighted is how they treated the poor and the oppressed. James says, "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." To name a few examples. It comes up again and again and again. This is clearly something very close to GOD's heart. The people of Israel did not do so well. How well are we doing?

I sponsor a child with Compassion Canada. Her name is Lydia. She's 16 years old and lives in Uganda. Every time I get a letter from her I am so blessed to see how she's growing and developing. I could pat myself on the back for this, but I don't think I can say I'm done my job. To have that $35 sent to her every month is relatively painless. But it's hard for me to be compassionate. I am not always moved by the statistics, the promo videos, the stories. But even worse, I'm often blinded to the poor in my very own neighbourhood. Here they don't look like bums living in a cardboard box or bloated children. Here they look like nice little old ladies who do puzzles, wierdo kids and many other things that are subtle disguises for the "poor."

I'm writing this entry because I'm feeling challenged by this. GOD makes it abundantly clear that it's a big deal to Him. So it should be a big deal to me.

Rich Toward

Fri, 17 Feb 2006 05:34:58 GMT

Reading in Luke I found an interesting phrase: rich toward GOD. This comes in the middle of a passage about money and how it should or should not be used. A question arose: how can we be rich toward God?

My thoughts continued from there: how can we be rich toward others?

Now, because this is in the context of money... it's not too difficult to think of some ways to be rich towards others with money, but then the last and final question: how can we be rich towards GOD, and especially others, if we have little or no money?

I await your responses.

Think About Such Things

Tue, 07 Feb 2006 19:55:29 GMT

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right,

whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable --

if anything is excellent or praiseworthy --

think about such things.

Philippians 4:8

I've been told I think too much. The fact is, we all think...a lot. The question is, what are we thinking about? I've known this verse for a long time but am a far cry from applying it fully. What we think is pretty important. It affects what we do. Jesus was pretty blunt about this in His Sermon on the Mount. He said if a man looks lustfully at a woman he's committed adultery with her (that applies to either gender). Where does lust start? In the mind. Where does any action start? In the mind. Our actions are determined by what we think about. Another way to say that is "out of the overflow of [the] heart [the] mouth speaks." We see this in the extreme when people murder others, commit adultery or steal. They don't just randomly say "Okay, I'm going to go kill someone today." There is a process leading up to that, starting with very 'insignificant' thoughts. As I once heard, you can't keep a bird from landing on your head, but you can keep it from building a nest there. If we let those thoughts linger, they get ugly.

I don't expect that I'm going to be killing anyone soon, so what are some of those 'insignificant' thoughts that start the process? Since I was young it's been an easy habit to fall into to create all kinds of scenarios and situations, of which I am the hero, that either could never happen or have nothing more than the minutest chance of happening. Thinking of what I would say, how would I say it, how everyone else would be so impressed with me! Letting my mind linger on those empty thought processes really makes me unproductive and distracts me from GOD. By being the hero of my daydreams, it makes it a lot harder to let Jesus be the King of my life. It takes my eyes off of how dependent I am on Him for everything and that I can do nothing on my own.

Another area where this comes into play is thinking about the future: what kind of guy will I marry, how will he propose and any other thoughts connected to that. Dwelling on those thoughts, imagining and fantasizing, makes me want what is not in GOD's timing. Thinking about it accomplishes nothing but stirring desire that doesn't need to be stirred. The result is not being content with where I'm at now and wanting more than GOD when GOD should be more than enough.

Something else that tends to be in my thoughts is my financial situation. Where is the next tank of gas going to come from? Will I be able to afford doing this or that? This again distracts me from GOD. I'm so busy thinking about how I will be provided for, that my eyes are not on the Provider of all things, nor am I thankful when He does provide because I'm so busy being relieved that I'm in the clear and wondering where the next cheque will come from.

Maybe you're noticing a trend here. I see a common thread. When I allow these thoughts to dominate my mind, my mind is not on the only One who fulfills all the criteria found in Philippians 4:8: GOD, as revealed in His Word. Reminds me of the story of Peter walking on the water. His eyes should have been focussed on the only One who is true and good...but he looked around, got overwhelmed, and started to sink. So too, when my eyes are not on GOD, that's when sin enters in and I become the queen of my life.

So, how can I keep this from happening? By letting my thoughts linger more on that which fills the criteria: the Word of GOD. Focussing on Truth when the untrue comes to mind. Thinking about the beauty and goodness of the LORD when I begin to be dissatisifed with where I'm at. Resting in the Prince of Peace, Provider GOD and Sovereign LORD when the gas tank, wallet and bank account are empty.

HE is true, HE is noble, HE is right, HE is pure, HE is lovely, HE is admirable, HE is excellent, HE is praiseworthy. Think about such things.

A Blippet

Mon, 30 Jan 2006 06:47:10 GMT

I closed my last post by saying I'm humbled before such a great GOD. He is indeed great. What I've been sharing with my youth group, or attempting to, is that the primary reason for Scripture is to reveal GOD. To reword that a little, the best place to go to discover who GOD is, is the Bible. It is withing these pages that He lets Himself be known.

As I've been reading through the History and Prophets (Old Testament) GOD has been opening my eyes wider and wider. I used to think that the Old Testament was all about a wrathful and judgemental GOD while the New was about a loving GOD. Not at all! Within these pages I am blown away at GOD's mercy! Just this weekend my reading found me in 2 Chronicles 33. Here we find the story of one of the most wicked kings that ever existed: Manasseh, king of Judah. He had a godly father (Hezekiah) but he did not take after his dad, even though Manasseh began to reign when he was only twelve. In 2 Kings 21: 16 it says "Moreover, Manaseeh also shed so much innocent blood that he filled Jerusalem from end to end..." He undid all the good his father had done, going so far as to sacrifice his sons in fire and get involved in witchcraft, sorcery and divination, among other things. He completely and blatently disobeyed all of GOD's commands. "The LORD spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they paid no attention." In short, this was one bad man.

You would think that GOD would just get rid of the guy. And it seemed like He would because he brought an army against Judah that "took Manasseh prisoner, put a hook in his nose, bound him with bronze shackles and took him to Babylon." (v. 11) Sounds like the end of the story.

But it's not.

Manasseh cried out to GOD. He was desperate. What did GOD do? He listened. He brought Manasseh back to his kingdom. Did Manasseh deserve it? Absolutely not! But what happened? "Then Manasseh knew that the LORD is God." (v. 13) He went on to tear down all the altars he made and from that point served only GOD.

It's really a powerful story, which the Word of GOD tells a lot better than I do. I find within this story some amazing truths. For one, GOD gives second chances, or even third or fourth. Praise GOD for that! Although I'd have a hard time putting myself on the level of Manasseh, without second chances, I'd have been done away with long ago. GOD is merciful (doesn't give us what we deserve, ultimately hell).

Secondly, GOD can use anyone. From the sounds of it, Manasseh and Hitler had a lot in common, but GOD used Manasseh in an incredible way after he humbled himself. If He could use Manasseh, murderer, child killer, star worshipper and GOD hater, who can He not use? His ability to use us is not based on our track record, but His power through us. Now that is a wonderful thought!

And thirdly, even though Manasseh once worshipped idols, stars and was involved in witchcraft and the powers of darkness, when he realized that the LORD is GOD, he got rid of all of these non-gods. He realized they had no power. It's not that GOD is the strongest, most powerful GOD. He's the only GOD.

This is just one blippet of a revelation of GOD. There is so much more. He's so much more. The wider He opens my eyes, the wider they get with awe.