Bible Chapter: II Chronicles 15 & 16

Because the Bible is practical, here are some statements to get you thinking.

1.  Write one or two key thoughts that come from today’s reading.
    God made everything we see and he made people.  God loves us more than we can grasp.  God initiated the plan for people to come to a personal relationship with Him.  God has done so many awesome things.  But, there is something that people need to realize.  That is the fact that we must submit to and follow God, and do things HIS way.  Part of 15:2 says “If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.”  People can not just sit around doing anything they want and expect God to take care of them.
    The constant battle we see in these historic books was the fight to keep idolatry out of the land of Israel.  Asa removed many of the idols, etc from the land.  But, he didn’t completely abolish every vestige of idolatry.  He did many good things, but in the end he showed that he wasn’t fully trusting God.  When a prophet came to Asa to challenge his lack of trust in God, Asa got angry at the messenger and put him in prison.  He should have listened.

2.  What can I apply in my life from the reading?
    It seems that this theme is often repeated.  But, I need to mention it again.  It’s not just how we start out, it’s how we live in the long run and how we finish that matters.  Asa had a reign of thirty five years of peace.  Then the wars started.  When the fighting began, Asa failed to fully rely on God.  When the prophet told Asa that he had acted foolishly, he got angry.
    The application for life is to continue to do what God wants us to do.  Be faithful.  Never compromise eternal truth.  Stay close to the Lord.

3.  How can I help someone?
    If a photographer couldn’t get his camera to focus, he would have lousy pictures.  People need to keep their focus on what God has said and live it.