By September 22, 2020 Devotion

9/22/2020 2 Chronicles 15-16

每日诗歌: 你的話(  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pM4ydX5XN9U&ab_channel=StevenTan )  

每日读经:历代志下15-16 

( https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2chronicles+15&version=CUVS )

每日金句:

代下 15:2b 你们若顺从耶和华,耶和华必与你们同在。你们若寻求他,就必寻见。你们若离弃他,他必离弃你们。

每日问题:

1) 是什么话使亚撒的心得到刚强?

2) 亚撒听到这些话后,做了什么?

每日灵修:

十五章神给我们一个很美好的应许:我们若寻求他,就必寻见;但是如果我们离弃他,他必离弃我们。但是这个应许对我们今天应用的程度与当时有所不同,因为我们今天活在神给我们的新约之下。耶稣在约翰福音10章28节告诉我们,“我又赐给他们永生,他们永不灭亡,谁也不能从我手里把他们夺去”。如果我们靠着耶稣的恩赐得拯救并脱离神的震怒,我们就寻见神了。那当我们觉得与神不亲近的时候呢?我们不想祷告或者读圣经的时候呢?那是不是意味着我们没有寻见神或者他离弃我们了。绝不是这样的!我们已经寻见的东西怎么能再去寻呢?如果我们真的寻见了耶稣,我们就常在他的同在里。感谢赞美神赐给我们如此美好的应许!

在这两章圣经里,我们很清楚的看到亚撒寻见到神了。我们怎么知道一个人是不是真正的得救了?我们就要看他所结的果子。耶稣告诉我们,“常在我里面的,我也常在他里面,这人就多结果子”(约15:5-7)。 那亚撒听到神的话之后结了什么果子呢?从15章我们看到:他的心等到了刚强;他除去外邦假神;他重新修筑耶和华的祭坛;招聚众人献牛羊在耶和华的祭坛上来敬拜他;以色列人向耶和华发誓要尽心尽性的寻求耶和华他们列祖的神;他废除了他母亲太后的位因为她造了可憎的偶像亚舍拉;他将分别为圣的器具奉到神的殿里。

很显然,亚撒所做的许多事情表明他真的是寻见神了。如果我们想要和神有一个亲密的关系的话,其中有两件他做的事,我们每天都应该要做。这两件事就是:除去假神偶像;和将分别为圣的器具奉到神的殿里。

如果现在我们处在灵性的干旱期,我们应该要问自己是否除去了我们过去老我的罪行,习惯和价值观念。还要我我们自己有没有用心的把圣洁的行为,生活习惯和价值观念带进我们这个重生的生命中。神一直想要亲近我们,但是很多时候我们离弃他因为我们忘记了要离弃罪并且追求圣洁。求神帮助我们也能够向这一章的以色列人一样立下心志来尽心尽性的寻求耶和华,使我们能像亚撒一样经历到那真正的喜乐与满足。

祷告:

亲爱的天父,请你赦免我没有常常寻求你的面。很多时候我像这些以色列一样忘记自己所里下的心志,不再尽心寻求你。感谢神通过亚撒的生命来提醒我,你渴望让我的生命充满喜乐并且得到翻转。求你赦免我很多时候没有把老我的习惯从我的生命中铲除,也没有把圣洁的行为带进我的生命中。求你坚固我的心就像你坚固亚撒的心一样。我渴望我的生命也能像亚撒一样结出许多的果子。帮助我更加的爱你。就像你在诗篇127篇说的,若不是耶和华建造房屋,建造的人就枉然劳力。若不是耶和华看守城池,看守的人就枉然警醒。只有你可以帮助我建立一个圣洁的生活,唯有你可以更深的引导我走这条圣洁之路。求你赐给我力量!奉主耶稣基督的名祈求,阿门!

2 Chronicles 15-16

Memory Verse:

2 Chronicles 15:2b “The Lord is with you when you are with Him. If you look for Him, He will let you find Him. But if you leave Him, He will leave you.”  

Daily Questions:

Question 1: What words made Asa’s heart become strong?

Question 2: What are all the things Asa did after he heard those words?

Daily Devotion:

In chapter 15, we have a great reminder that if we see God we will find him, but if we abandon him, he will abandon us. However, this promise does not apply to us to the same extent because we are under a new covenant. Jesus tells us that he will give us eternal life, and we will never perish, and no one will snatch us out his hand (John 10:28). If we have been saved from God’s wrath against sin by Jesus’ gift then we have found God. What about the days we do not feel close to God and we do not read our Bible or pray? Have we once again failed to seek God and he has abandoned us? By NO means, how can we again seek something that we just have found? Once we truly find Jesus, we shall always be in his presence, Praise God for that reality.

It is clear that Asa has truly found God in these two chapters. How do we know, well how do you ever know if someone is truly saved?  We look at their fruit – Jesus tells us that If we abide in him, we will bear much fruit (John 15:5-7). Well then, what fruit did Asa produce when he heard the message to see the LORD? His heart became strong; He put away the sinful false gods ;He built again the altar of the Lord ;He gathered all the Israelites in Jerusalem and killed animals on the altar in worship to the Lord ;The Israelites agreed to follow the Lord God of their fathers with all their heart and soul;King Asa stopped his  mother from being queen mother because she had made a sinful object of the false goddess ;He brought into the house of God the holy things

Cleary, Asa did many things that proved he truly found the Lord. There are two things in particular that he did that we two need to do every day if we want to continue having a harmonious relationship with the LORD. The two this Asa did are as follows:   He put away the sinful false gods ;He brought into the house of God the holy things.

If we are in a spiritually dry place, we should ask ourselves if we are removing the old sinful habits, activities, or values of our old life, and are we intentionally bringing holy habits, values, and activities into our own new life today.  God is always seeking to be near us, but many times we forsake him because we forget to remove the bad and pursue the holy. If we want the joy that Asa had we also need to make the promises he made.  

Prayer:  

Heavenly Father, Please forgive me for not seeking you at all times as you desire. Too many times I abandon all efforts to seek you like the Israelites abandon their efforts to seek you.

Thank you for the reminder you have given me through Asa’s life that you are God that desires to give me joy and a transformed life. Please forgive me that so many times I fail to remove the evil habits from my life and fail to bring the holy things into my life. Please strengthen my heart like how you did for Asa. I want to have many changes to my life like Asa did. Help me to love you the way you desire. God your word says in Psalm 127, Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders work for nothing. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the men who watch over it stay awake for nothing. God, only you can build a holy life in me and only you can lead me further into holiness. Grant me your strength! I pray all of this in Jesus’ name. Amen.