Jesus, Our Defense

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KJB Daily DevotionFollowing Jesus Through Every Chapter
Date: Friday, August 03, 2018
Chapters: II Kings 20-21
Message: Jesus, Our Defense

Hello My Friend,

We have this scenario in our heads the second we accept the Lord, Jesus Christ as our Saviour that all of our problems will go away, and nothing else bad will ever happen to us again. Well, there is some truth to that as Jesus somehow manages to help us get through the problems we have, but they never go away. Why? As long as we have this flesh and sin is in the world there will always be problems, but that is what Jesus is for, to help us get through the problems, even if it is something that never goes away completely. So many people walk away from God when things get tough, often blaming Him when there seems to be no end in sight to their suffering. While God never promised there would never be any more suffering once we receive His Son, He did promise to always be there for us, and help us endure it. We must keep in mind that our decisions can often bring the suffering, but even then Jesus is always there to help pick up the pieces. “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” – Matthew 11:28-30.

and my burden is light.” Well, I have to admit that my intention was to just copy and paste from a previous message into today’s message, but since God is the one directing me on what He wants me to talk about, and I am actually awake now, this is the direction He wants me to go. Everyone has burdens, even Jesus did when He was here, but His burden truly light as He is the one who takes on them for us, and as we grow closer to Him we do find rest in Him through them. We do not realize it, but often God uses burdens to test our faith, are we going to trust Him or are we going to turn to something else? After Hezekiah’s victory, God allowed him to be struck with a disease, Isaiah visits him with the sad news that he was not going to recover from it.

In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live. Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the LORD, saying, I beseech thee, O LORD, remember now how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore. And it came to pass, afore Isaiah was gone out into the middle court, that the word of the LORD came to him, saying, Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the captain of my people, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee: on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the LORD. And I will add unto thy days fifteen years; and I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for mine own sake, and for my servant David’s sake.” – II Kings 20:1-6.

and for my servant David’s sake.” God not only healed and added fifteen years to Hezekiah’s life, he protected the city during that time because of the promise He made to David, as well as Himself. Can you see the pattern here? Let’s face it, Israel was and still is not the best example of their faith in God, but God continues to defend them today because of the promise He made. When we put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ it does not matter how many times we mess up, He is still there for us, and He continues to defend us. Why? Because our souls belong to Him. It is not our flesh that God protects, that will give out, that will die because of the curse of sin, it is our soul that He protects, if we trusted in Him as our Saviour. Yes, one day, when Jesus returns our bodies will reunite with our souls, in fact, we will get new, glorified bodies, meaning they will never feel anymore pain from sickness, sin, or death, but if we want that we must turn to Jesus. Praise Jesus! “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.” – I Corinthians 15:52-54.

Remember how I stated earlier that sometimes we are the ones who make decisions that bring suffering? Well, it is true. It does not matter how strong our faith, sometimes we make some unwise decisions that may not even lead to our own suffering, but our families later in life. However, even then Jesus can make that burden light. After God healed Hezekiah news got out, it was then that some people of Babylon came to visit with him and Hezekiah made a very unwise decision to show them all the treasures and weapons in the kingdom as well as the temple. God sent Isaiah to warn him of what was to come for doing that.

Then came Isaiah the prophet unto king Hezekiah, and said unto him, What said these men? and from whence came they unto thee? And Hezekiah said, They are come from a far country, even from Babylon. And he said, What have they seen in thine house? And Hezekiah answered, All the things that are in mine house have they seen: there is nothing among my treasures that I have not shewed them. And Isaiah said unto Hezekiah, Hear the word of the LORD. Behold, the days come, that all that is in thine house, and that which thy fathers have laid up in store unto this day, shall be carried into Babylon: nothing shall be left, saith the LORD. And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, shall they take away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon. Then said Hezekiah unto Isaiah, Good is the word of the LORD which thou hast spoken. And he said, Is it not good, if peace and truth be in my days?” – II Kings 20:14-19.

Good is the word of the LORD which thou hast spoken.Hezekiah could not argue with God or reject Him like so many other kings did because he knew what he did was wrong. One of the major issues that my nation falters on is that it wants to tell all the world our secrets. You know transparency is a good thing when it comes to being upfront and straight forward in how the government handles our finances, protecting our country, and our well being as a nation, but by exposing our strengths and weaknesses to the world all we are doing is giving ammunition for them to attack, and would not be able to defeat them because they would always be one step ahead of us. God has warned us that Jesus will return, and then judgment will come, we do not know the day nor the hour, but we know the plan, and it is up to us to be prepared. We cannot get angry at God, we cannot forsake Him because we do not like His plan, we have to either accept it and get on board or reject it and miss the flight, but one way or another it will happen. “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” – I Thessalonians 4:16-17.

You would think that with Hezekiah’s success as a Godly king that his son, Manasseh would have followed in his footsteps, but sadly, in a matter of the fifty-five years that he reigned, he managed to turn Godly Jerusalem into the worse state it had ever been in. He did more to provoke God than even the heathen nations that He drove from the nation did, and even worse than Ahab’s family.

And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, after the abominations of the heathen, whom the LORD cast out before the children of Israel. For he built up again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he reared up altars for Baal, and made a grove, as did Ahab king of Israel; and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them. And he built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD said, In Jerusalem will I put my name. And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD. And he made his son pass through the fire, and observed times, and used enchantments, and dealt with familiar spirits and wizards: he wrought much wickedness in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger. And he set a graven image of the grove that he had made in the house, of which the LORD said to David, and to Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all tribes of Israel, will I put my name for ever: Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Behold, I am bringing such evil upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whosoever heareth of it, both his ears shall tingle.” – II Kings 21:2-7,12.

I am bringing such evil upon Jerusalem and Judah,” This was the start of the judgment that God warned Hezekiah about, since Babylon knew all their secrets, it would be easy for them to come in and take over. We do not read about it here, Manasseh did repent, but that did not stop the judgment that was to come because his son went on to do the same thing. You see, this is why God gave us the freedom to worship whomever we want, the government should not be allowed to dictate what religion or god we choose to worship nor should we be forced to live by that religion. Gay pride, abortion, mass murder, same sex marriage, legal drug use, drunkenness, lewdness, these are all things provoking God to anger, the minor attacks we are getting are warnings of the judgment that is about to come because of these things, and it is only going to get worse. The only ones who will be saved from this judgment are those who know Christ as their Saviour. “He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.” – Revelation 21:7-8.

Jesus Christ Magnified: “Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the captain of my people, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee: on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the LORD.” – II Kings 20:5.

Today’s Prayer: God, I know that the Bible is not some ordinary book, it is Your Word, holy, pure, alive, and it gives life to all who want You in their lives. Reading Your Word, studying it, and following it will never return void as we allow the Holy Spirit to guide us to what truly is and is not acceptable to You. Lord, as our nations face judgment because they choose to live by the very things that are an abomination to You, give us Your power, strength, wisdom, and guidance to stand by Your Word, even if we get persecuted for it. Keep us under your wings as you bring it all to pass, protect us, and give us help through every burden we face, even if it is something we started ourselves. You are truly our comfort and our rest from all that we have to deal with in this life and our hope for an end to it all when Jesus returns for us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,

Christina

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