WEEK 40, Day 5, Friday, 4 November 2022

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Observations from today’s readings and today’s S-WOD, Friday, 4 November 2022:

1 Kings 15:3 – And he walked in all the sins that his father did before him.

The Bible continually reminds us of how important parenting is to the development of our future leaders. Leaders know the way, show the way, and go the way. Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Light. Only by following Jesus can parents lead their children well.

1 Kings 15:3 — His heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God.

God desires “wholehearted” disciples. You cannot follow God half-heartedly. By definition, this would dishonor Him as God and would cause you to stray from His perfect will. Jesus warned, you cannot serve two masters.

1 Kings 15:13 – He also removed Maacah his mother from being queen mother because she had made an abominable image for Asherah. And Asa cut down her image and burned it at the brook Kidron.

People aren’t helpless victims of their childhood upbringing and experiences. You can overcome the character flaws that were ingrained in you from childhood, and you can reject the sinful practices you were taught. Many people have had rough upbringings, but, through the power of the Holy Spirit, they can create a new legacy for future generations.

1 Kings 15:13 — He also removed Maacah his mother.

We should allow no other relationship compromise our fidelity to God.

1 Kings 15:14 — But the high places were not taken away.

We must be very careful to remove anything from our lives that might cause ourselves or others to sin. Even if we can handle a temptation, we don’t want to cause others to stumble. Do you still have ‘high places’ in your life?

1 Kings 15:18. 19 — Then Asa took all the silver and the gold that were left in the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king’s house and gave them into the hands of his servants. And King Asa sent them to Ben-hadad the son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, who lived in Damascus, saying, “Let there be a covenant between me and you [against the king of Israel]….”

Asa’s actions should have been unthinkable: Not only did he essentially sell out God’s people to Damascus, but he use the Temple Treasury to do it — Wow! At this point, however, the people of Israel and Judah had drifted so far away from God that the “good” leaders are nowhere near God’s standards. Asa may have seemed “great” compared to the rest, but he was still leading the people down the path of destruction. The statement made earlier about Abijah is probably the most important statement in our readings today: “His heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God.” This statement stands in stark contrast with what is said of Joshua and Caleb who “followed the LORD my God wholeheartedly.” Partial obedience is disobedience, and partial commitment and compromise leads to destruction and ruin. As a people move farther and farther away from God, the “smaller” God appears in their eyes and the more irrelevant sin becomes in their eyes — but God’s perspective remains unchanged. Rather than placing his trust in God, Asa placed his trust in armies, economies, treaties, alliances, and politics. He did what was “right” from his perspective rather than from God’s standard. Aram was building a kingdom upon a foundation of sand rather than the Rock. Our Kingdom is not of this world. Seek first the Kingdom of Heaven.

1 Kings 15:23 – Now the rest of [his] acts, all his might, and all that he did, and the cities that he built, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?

How do you measure life success? What will be your legacy? For what do you want to be remembered, and what contribution will you leave behind? Consider how the Bible records the legacies of the kings about which we read today:

• Abijam: “And he walked in all the sins that his father did before him, and his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father…. The rest of the acts of Abijam and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?” (1 Kings 15:3, 7)
• Asa: “And Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as David his father had done…. the heart of Asa was wholly true to the Lord all his days…. Now the rest of all the acts of Asa, all his might, and all that he did, and the cities that he built, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?” (1 Kings 15:11, 14, 23)
• Nadab: “He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and walked in the way of his father, and in his sin which he made Israel to sin…. Now the rest of the acts of Nadab and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?” (1 Kings 15:26, 31)
• Baasha: “He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and walked in the way of Jeroboam and in his sin which he made Israel to sin…. Now the rest of the acts of Baasha and what he did, and his might, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?” (1 Kings 15:34, 16:5)
• Elah: “When he was at Tirzah, drinking himself drunk… Zimri came in and struck him down and killed him… for all the sins of Baasha and the sins of Elah his son, which they sinned and which they made Israel to sin, provoking the Lord God of Israel to anger with their idols. Now the rest of the acts of Elah and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?” (1 Kings 16:9, 10, 13, 14)
• Zimri: “When Zimri saw that the city was taken, he went into the citadel of the king’s house and burned the king’s house over him with fire and died, because of his sins that he committed, doing evil in the sight of the Lord, walking in the way of Jeroboam, and for his sin which he committed, making Israel to sin. Now the rest of the acts of Zimri, and the conspiracy that he made, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?” (1 Kings 16:18-29)
• Omri: “Omri did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and did more evil than all who were before him…. Now the rest of the acts of Omri that he did, and the might that he showed, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?” (1 Kings 16:25, 27)
• Ahab: “Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord, more than all who were before him…. Ahab did more to provoke the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him.” (1 Kings 16:30, 33)

Notice that the measure of life success is fidelity to God, as viewed by God (“in the sight of the Lord”), rather than by worldly accomplishments, “the rest of the acts.” Legacy is measured by the example of faith and fidelity (or lack thereof) passed down to the succeeding generations – “Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as David his father had done.” When Proverbs 13:22 says, “A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, but the sinner’s wealth is laid up for the righteous,” it speaks to the imperishable riches of knowing God – “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal…. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:19, 20, 33)

• Psalm 61:5 — For you, O God, have heard my vows; you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.
• Psalm 145:4 — One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts.
• Psalm 102:18 — Let this be recorded for a generation to come, so that a people yet to be created may praise the Lord:
• Psalm 71:18 — So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come.
• Proverbs 4:10-27 — Hear, my son, and accept my words, that the years of your life may be many. I have taught you the way of wisdom; I have led you in the paths of uprightness. When you walk, your step will not be hampered, and if you run, you will not stumble. Keep hold of instruction; do not let go; guard her, for she is your life. Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of the evil.
• Proverbs 22:6 — Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.
• Deuteronomy 4:9 — “Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children’s children—
• 2 Timothy 1:5 — I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well.

Among the kings mentioned today, only Asa was accredited with doing what was right in the sight of the Lord (though he was far from perfect). An important point here is that, in order to step up and out in faith, Asa had to break the cycle of sin within his own family and challenge the traditional sins of his community – “He put away the male cult prostitutes out of the land and removed all the idols that his fathers had made. He also removed Maacah his mother from being queen mother because she had made an abominable image for Asherah. And Asa cut down her image and burned it at the brook Kidron.” (1 Kings 15:12, 13) It takes great courage and commitment to be a leader in faith and fidelity in order to bring glory God, and it may even cost you important relationships. True leaders live “Semper Fidelis Coram Deo” – “Always Faithful Before the Face of God,” regardless of what others might think, say, or do.

What will be your legacy?

1 Kings 15:30 – It was for the sins of Jeroboam that he sinned and that he made Israel to sin, and because of the anger to which he provoked the Lord, the God of Israel.

Your sins can have a terrible influence on many people and many generations. We take sin far too lightly.

1 John 3:1-3 — See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.

Children act like their parents. Your actions reveal whose child you really are. Proverbs 20 says it like this: “Even a child makes himself known by his acts, by whether his conduct is pure and upright.” (Proverbs 20:11) John stresses that we are God’s children NOW, and we should strive to act like it, though we still have much growing up to do and will not be fully matured until Christ comes again. Our effort to act like Him, to be ‘little Christs’, reflects how much hope we have in His promise. What does your behavior reveal about what you really believe?

1 John 3:4 – “Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness.”

“It is a dangerous thing to live your life without a spiritual ‘plumb line,’ or standard, by which you determine right from wrong. God’s Word is that plumb line, the only true plumb line. Many see God’s laws and commands as restrictive and limiting, but in truth living by God’s ethical laws and commands, much like living by His natural laws, allows people to experience true freedom and the fullness of life on earth for which they were created without needless pain and suffering. Living by God’s word is as essential as breathing (more so). To borrow an analogy from Tim Keller, consider a fish in the ocean: Fish were created by God to live in water; its life is in the water, where the fish is free to experience the life God intended for it. What if the fish felt the ocean was just too limiting, preventing the fish from experiencing the ‘wonders, excitement, and joy of the vast world outside of the water’? Would removing the fish from the ocean so that the fish could live the life on land it imagined mean freedom and joy for the fish or painful death? God created fish to abide in life-giving water, and God created us to abide in Him, the Living Water, the Life. We abide in Him when we obey His laws and commands with love being the foundational command – “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” (John 15:11)

God established absolute, unchanging ethical and spiritual laws that we are free to ignore, but we do so at our own peril. These laws are timeless. Cultural ‘morality’ does not supersede them. Circumstances do not abrogate them. God’s laws are eternal, and they bring life and freedom to those who follow them, a protection against needless pain and suffering. For example, when God said that you are not to commit adultery or have sex outside of the union of one man and one woman, He wanted to free you to experience the fullest pleasure of a marriage relationship and to free you from the pain of destructive relationships which is so pervasive in culture today. He knew the devastating heartache that would come to you, your spouse, your children, your relatives, your friends, and your church family if you broke this law. “How important the laws of God are for your life! Without them, you would be robbed of the delights God has in store for you. Sin is choosing a standard other than God’s law on which to base your life. If you are measuring your life by that of your neighbors, or society at large, then you are basing your life on lawlessness, and lawlessness is sin.” (Henry T. Blackaby)

1 John 3:5-10 — “You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.” (see also, John 8:39-47)

1 John 3 closely mirrors 1 John 2. John is reiterates the essentiality of obedience, holiness, and righteousness in the life of a Christian, and points to ‘love’ as the ultimate test of obedience – he digs in deep into the heart as if he has anticipated the reader who might be tempted to start counting off his ‘good deeds’ and ‘works of service’ in his head while denying the truth of his self-centeredness, anger, bitterness, envy, greed, lust, and pride. In both chapters, John challenges the ‘desires’ that drive the outward activities, and dares us to be honest with what is in our hearts. (1 John 2:16; 1 John 3:21) In both chapters, John reminds us that we cannot walk both in selfishness and with Christ – we must die of ourselves and be selfless. From the perspective of love (rather than pride or fear) he returns to the importance of making your faith tangible in this world – “Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.” (1 John 3:18)

Genuine love comes from “a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.” (1 Timothy 1:5) Those who desire a “pure heart” must “flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness” — two action verbs which involve running at max effort, not lightly or half-heartedly. (2 Timothy 2:22) Those who desire a good conscience must live in humility, repentance, and confession before the Lord, constantly living out 1 John 1:9 – “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Simultaneously they must flee from sin and pursue righteousness, imperfectly but with confidence in God’s grace, with all their might.

“You have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him.” (1 John 2:26) In Christ, you have become the ‘priest’ and the Holy Spirit within you reveals truth to you, convicts you, and teaches you. (1 Peter 2:9, Rev 5:10) While others might be used by God to convict you, the issues of your heart are between you and God and must be dealt with solely between the two of you. No one else knows your heart but God. “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God.” (Ephesians 4:30) What has the Holy Spirit revealed about the condition of your heart that must be confessed (as in 1 John 1:9) today?

“Let no one deceive you…. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God.” If you are living a lifestyle of careless sin, you are grieving, quenching, and getting out of step with the Holy Spirit rather than walking by the Spirit, regardless of how you might justify your sin. If you don’t hate sin the way God does, you are not in agreement with Him, not of the same mind, not in right fellowship with Him. No religious activity or good deed will nullify your disagreement with God concerning those things for which Christ paid the penalty with His blood. As John reiterates, Christians sin but reject the lifestyle of sin – they confess, repent, and make every effort to avoid repeating sin, maturing in Christ over time. If we are truly abiding in Him, we cannot keep sinning as we once did.

John 3:13 – No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.

Compare John 3:13 to Proverbs 30:4 – “Who has ascended to heaven and come down? Who has gathered the wind in his fists? Who has wrapped up the waters in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is his son’s name? Surely you know!”

John 3:14 – …who rejoice in doing evil and delight in the perverseness of evil….

The cross was always God’s plan.

John 3:17-18 — For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

God wants everyone to be saved and offers salvation freely, but people must take the free gift in order to possess it. Those who go to hell choose to.

Those who reject Jesus are condemned because they condemn themselves.

John 3:19 — And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.

It isn’t that people don’t have enough evidence to believe in Jesus, they just don’t want to believe. It isn’t a knowledge problem, it is a heart problem.

John 3:21 — But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.

You come to the light through obedience, and obedience demonstrates unity with God, being one in purpose with God, or being “in God.”

John 3:27 — John answered, “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven.”

You cannot save yourself, and no one else can save you. Your salvation can only come through Jesus.

God is the Creator and Source of everything. We cannot produce wisdom, love, or anything else; it must come from God. We will either use what God has created in a good way through obedience or pervert God’s good creation through sinfulness.

John 3:30 — He must increase, but I must decrease.

The saved Christian desires to become nothing that Jesus would become their whole life and that all that they are would be a testimony of Jesus to the world. Don’t let anyone look to you. Always point to Jesus.

John 3:31 — He who comes from above is above all.

Never forget that!

John 3:36 – Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

Again, eternal life comes only through Jesus. “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God…. unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God…. You must be born again…. whoever believes in him may have eternal life…. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life…. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.” (John 3:3, 5, 7, 15, 16, 18, 19)

• Matthew 18:14 — So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.
• 2 Peter 3:9 — The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

“Cross” Fit S-WOD (Spiritual Workout of the Day) – 4 November 2022: Today, write down a few lines, like we read about the kings today, describing how you would like to be remembered “in the sight of the Lord.” Write your epitaph, what you want said on your tombstone. Finally, imagine someone from all aspects of your life (family, friends, work, church, community, etc.) speaking at your funeral; what would you like them to be able to say honestly about you? Endeavor today to walk Semper Fidelis Coram Deo and be the person people will remember as a leader in faith and fidelity who led others to Jesus Christ. Remember, as stated previously, leaders know the way, show the way, and go the way, and Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life! Know Jesus; show Jesus; and go with Jesus. Make knowing Him and making Him known your legacy.

Today, pray that God will help you view sin the way He views it and give you the passion to remove it from your life that nothing winder your walk with Him and your joy in Him. “Let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,” (Hebrews 12:1)