2/26/2011 8:53:46 AM
SPIRITUAL DIARY
My Worship Time Focus: Reformation and renewal
Bible Reading
& Meditation Reference: 1Ki. 15:12-15; 2Chron. 15:8-19
Message of the verses: “12 He
also put away the male cult prostitutes from the land and removed all the idols
which his fathers had made. 13 He also
removed Maacah his mother from being queen mother, because she had made a
horrid image as an Asherah; and Asa cut down her horrid image and burned it at
the brook Kidron. 14 But the high places
were not taken away; nevertheless the heart of Asa was wholly devoted to the
LORD all his days. 15 He brought into the
house of the LORD the dedicated things of his father and his own dedicated things:
silver and gold and utensils.”
“8
¶ Now when Asa heard these words and the
prophecy which Azariah the son of Oded the prophet spoke, he took courage and
removed the abominable idols from all the land of Judah and Benjamin and from
the cities which he had captured in the hill country of Ephraim. He then
restored the altar of the LORD which was in front of the porch of the LORD.
9 He gathered all Judah and Benjamin and
those from Ephraim, Manasseh and Simeon who resided with them, for many
defected to him from Israel when they saw that the LORD his God was with him.
10 So they assembled at Jerusalem in the
third month of the fifteenth year of Asa’s reign. 11 They sacrificed to the LORD that day 700 oxen
and 7,000 sheep from the spoil they had brought. 12 They entered into the covenant to seek the
LORD God of their fathers with all their heart and soul; 13 and whoever would not seek the LORD God of
Israel should be put to death, whether small or great, man or woman. 14 Moreover, they made an oath to the LORD with
a loud voice, with shouting, with trumpets and with horns. 15 All Judah rejoiced concerning the oath, for
they had sworn with their whole heart and had sought Him earnestly, and He let
them find Him. So the LORD gave them rest on every side. 16 He also removed Maacah, the mother of King
Asa, from the position of queen mother, because she had made a horrid image as
an Asherah, and Asa cut down her horrid image, crushed it and burned it at the
brook Kidron. 17 But the high places
were not removed from Israel; nevertheless Asa’s heart was blameless all his
days. 18 He brought into the house of
God the dedicated things of his father and his own dedicated things: silver and
gold and utensils. 19 And there was no
more war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa’s reign.”
Dr.
Wiersbe states at the beginning of this section that this is the second phase
of Asa’s reformation and it is certainly more severely dealt with by Asa that
the first part as he dealt with sin that was with the people.
This
section of verses tells about how Asa got rid of the male prostitutes and how
he actually threw out the queen mother, who was his grandmother, and he did
this because of the shrine she had.
The
feast that is describes here is probably the feast of Pentecost, for it was
given in the third month of their year.
Now
I want to focus in on a quote that Dr. Wiersbe gives here that is very
important to Asa’s times as well as the times that I live in now: “Spiritual revival or renewal doesn’t mean
asking God for something new but for the renewal of our devotion to that which
He has already given to us.” I would
suppose that there are times when people are looking for something new in their
worship and service of the Lord when all they really need is to be revived in
what they have already been given to them from the Lord, and that is what Asa
did, and this is not the first time this happened in the nation of Israel.
Spiritual meaning for my life today: I think that Spiritual revival is necessary
in my life as from time to time I forget the things that the Lord has already
given to me and seek something new and exciting when all I really need is to go
back and concentrate on what the Lord has already given to me.
My Steps of
Faith for Today:
1.
Remember what the Lord has given to me and pray that
the Lord will revive me through those things .
2.
Give myself to the Lord for worship and service.
3.
Remember that I am in a spiritual battle and in need
of the spiritual armor.
4.
Continue to learn contentment.
2/26/2011 9:19:12 AM
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