2 CHRONICLES MOMENT – (12MAY19) God let Solomon know that He
had heard his prayers at the dedication of the temple. God made Solomon a
promise concerning the people called by His Name. Whenever He pronounced
judgment over them because of their disobedience by withholding rain, sending
locusts, and plagues – should they humble themselves, pray, seek His face, and
turn from their sins, He would forgive them and heal the land. God knew that
His people would be rebellious and follow after foreign gods, so there was
coming the day when He would have to pronounce judgments on them. These
judgments would be severe because of their rebellion. Yet, if they would turn
their hearts back to Him, He would be willing to forgive them and restore what
the locusts had eaten and heal whomever the plagues had afflicted.
God is always just and yet, merciful even in the midst of
His judgments. He does not often give us the punishments that we deserve, but
gives us the grace (divine favor) and mercy (withholding due punishment)
because of His abounding love. But God requires that we humble ourselves before
Him. This means that we are not to come to Him in pride and arrogance as if we
are of great importance, but we are to submit to Him as the Lord of our lives. We
must pray which involves communication with the Creator of the universe and
seek His face.
When you search for something, that means that you are
looking to locate it. We must have a desire to find God, not because He left
us, but because we left Him. God requires that we repent which means to turn
from our wicked ways. We cannot truly humble ourselves before God if we have no
desire to turn from our sins. Repentance is not just lip service, but it is putting
our words to action. Then God says that He will hear from Heaven, forgive and
heal our land. When we pray, He knows what we are going to say before we utter
the words out of our mouths, or the thoughts enter our brains. Yet, we do so
because He requires this act from us, and He has promised to listen to us and
forgive. He throws our sins to the bottom of the sea because Jesus died so that
we may be forgiven of all of our transgressions and not be held captive to the
bondage of sin. God will heal our land once we do this. Your land is not
necessarily the nation that you live, but your individual territory which can
be your family, health, spiritual state and/or some other place in your life
that needs His healing touch. God requires that we be obedient to Him and
although this does not mean that we will not face life’s challenges, He
promises to be there to help us get through them. Something to ponder.
QUESTION OF
THE DAY – (12MAY19) God told Solomon that if he failed to obey him, the temple
that he built would become a heap of rubble. God was letting Solomon know that
He did not merely want a building, but He desired a people with whom He could
live and that they would have hearts of faithfulness towards Him. Israel made
the mistake of thinking that the temple was their security as a nation rather
than the God who created the materials that the temple had been made from.
The Bible
says that our bodies are God’s temple – not a mere building nor a synagogue. Therefore,
we are to have our temples dedicated to the Lord for His praise, worship, and
acts of service. Are you taking great care to ensure that your spiritual temple
is not in a heap of rubble? Are you allowing God to fill your temple with His presence
daily? Does the Holy Spirit have a permanent residence in your temple?
Something to ponder…
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