I'm Following Jesus – Page 3075 – Mark 8:34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

KJB Daily Devotion – Following Jesus Through Every Chapter
Date: Wednesday, July 05, 2017
Chapters: II Kings 12-13, II Chronicles 24
Message: Fear God And Nothing Else

Hello My Friend,

I listened to a man give a testimony on how he had to choose to pay his mortgage or the faith promise that he made to God. He chose to give the faith promise and discovered he not only received the money to pay the mortgage, it was much more than that. That got me thinking of how little trust I have that God will provide my every need. Oh, I say, and I know that He does, but three times this year I have skipped giving my offering, and even though I would give more the next week, I cannot help, but wonder how much I miss out on from God because of my lack of trust. I am not alone, we all do the same thing at one point, but what makes us go from trusting God completely one second and not the next? Fear. Fear keeps us from doing many things, even trusting God, but we have to heed the words of Jesus. “But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him. Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God? But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.” – Luke 12:5-7.

“Fear him,” Jesus is talking about the devil here, let me tell you, the devil cannot force you to do something no more than God can, but he has a lot of influence and if he can get you to live in fear he has already won. The devil has caused so many people to end up in hell out of fear than if they rejected God all together. Nations do not fall corrupt over night, it takes decades of Christians living in fear of preaching the truths about God. Do you think that all of Israel or Judah wanted to live under the devil himself with this Baal worship? No, not everyone bowed to Baal, and after Jehoiada the priest had Athaliah executed and Joash began to run the kingdom under his Godly influence Judah was returning to God. When Joash saw how Athaliah destroyed the temple he wanted it repaired so he instructed the priests to take the money received and use it for repairs. but nothing was done effectually till the twenty-third year of his reign.

“But Jehoiada the priest took a chest, and bored a hole in the lid of it, and set it beside the altar, on the right side as one cometh into the house of the LORD: and the priests that kept the door put therein all the money that was brought into the house of the LORD. And it was so, when they saw that there was much money in the chest, that the king’s scribe and the high priest came up, and they put up in bags, and told the money that was found in the house of the LORD. And they gave the money, being told, into the hands of them that did the work, that had the oversight of the house of the LORD: and they laid it out to the carpenters and builders, that wrought upon the house of the LORD, Moreover they reckoned not with the men, into whose hand they delivered the money to be bestowed on workmen: for they dealt faithfully. The trespass money and sin money was not brought into the house of the LORD: it was the priests’.” – II Kings 12:9-11,15-16.

“into the hands of them that did the work,” The object of this chest was to make a separation between the money to be raised for the building from the other moneys destined for the general use of the priests, in the hope that the people would be more liberal in their offerings when it was known that they would be devoted to the special purpose of making the necessary repair in the temple. The duty of attending to this work was no longer to be cast solely upon the priests, but on the king. Joash did very well as king because he was raised under the Godly influence of Jehoiada, but all that was about to change after Jehoiada died.

“Now after the death of Jehoiada came the princes of Judah, and made obeisance to the king. Then the king hearkened unto them. And they left the house of the LORD God of their fathers, and served groves and idols: and wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this their trespass. Yet he sent prophets to them, to bring them again unto the LORD; and they testified against them: but they would not give ear. And the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, which stood above the people, and said unto them, Thus saith God, Why transgress ye the commandments of the LORD, that ye cannot prosper? because ye have forsaken the LORD, he hath also forsaken you. And they conspired against him, and stoned him with stones at the commandment of the king in the court of the house of the LORD. Thus Joash the king remembered not the kindness which Jehoiada his father had done to him, but slew his son. And when he died, he said, The LORD look upon it, and require it.” – II Chronicles 24:17-22.

“because ye have forsaken the LORD,” God is only with us when we are with Him, oh, a person may be saved, and while God never leaves nor forsakes the saved soul, He will turn His back on the flesh if it turns their back on Him. Why? Would you want to be there for someone who lives a sinful and wicked life? They are not the most trusting and dependable people. Pride always accompanies the wicked, they know how to put their charm on us to reel us into following them. Pride knows when it does wrong, yet will never admit it is wrong, especially when confronted about it. Pride is what limits us from trusting God and from Him from doing what He really wants to do with us in our lives, but if we humble ourselves to Him, He is right there for us. “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.” – James 4:8-10.

“and he shall lift you up.” It is often the circumstances we face that keep us from trusting God in the first place, when the money is tight and the bills are in desperate need to be paid, when the marriage is broken and in desperate need of repair, when the heart is lonely and in desperate need of attention, these are all things that bring us to almost doing anything for help. However, no matter what we get ourselves into, God can help us if we come to Him, it does not matter if we sinned, turn to Him and He will lift you up. No matter how many times Israel turned their backs on God, He was still there to answer their cries when they acknowledged Him and asked for help. While all this was going on in Judah, Israel had their own set of problems, Baal worship might have stopped, but idol worship did not. We finally come to a king in Israel who acknowledged God and sought His help in getting relief from Syria, and God graciously answered his plea.

“And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, and followed the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which made Israel to sin; he departed not therefrom. And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he delivered them into the hand of Hazael king of Syria, and into the hand of Benhadad the son of Hazael, all their days. And Jehoahaz besought the LORD, and the LORD hearkened unto him: for he saw the oppression of Israel, because the king of Syria oppressed them. (And the LORD gave Israel a saviour, so that they went out from under the hand of the Syrians: and the children of Israel dwelt in their tents, as beforetime. Nevertheless they departed not from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, who made Israel sin, but walked therein: and there remained the grove also in Samaria.) And the LORD was gracious unto them, and had compassion on them, and had respect unto them, because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and would not destroy them, neither cast he them from his presence as yet.” – II Kings 13:2-6,23.

“And the LORD was gracious unto them,” Why was God gracious to them? Because of the contract He made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God did not help Jehoahaz because he sought God for help as he knew he would not turn to Him, nor did He save Israel from judgment because they were good. He did it because He made a promise long ago not to destroy the entire nation. No one is exempt from death and hell, think about the billions of souls that are in hell right now just because they never knew God, and even worse the billions who knew God existed, was merciful to them, yet they refused to humble themselves to Him. Today, God makes it simple, trust in My Son and you will escape death and hell. If we can trust Jesus with our souls, perhaps it is time to trust Him with our hearts, our relationships, our finances, whatever it is that we fear that is keeping us from taking that leap of trust. We need to fear nothing, but God and as long as we do that everything else will fall into place. “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:” – I Peter 3:15.

Jesus Christ Magnified: Today, Jesus is revealed in the savior that God sent to relieve Israel from judgment. Jesus is not only the Saviour to all those in Israel who believe in Him, He is the Saviour to all who believe. “For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe.” – I Timothy 4:10.

Today’s Prayer: God, I want to live by faith and not sight, trusting in You completely with all my affairs. I do not want to suffer anymore through things out of fear, because I cannot let go of my past or will not let go of things that are not good for me. Lord, show me the things I need to eliminate or add to my life that give You all of me just as You give me all of You. Help me to fear You by loving, honoring, obeying, and respecting You, and above all, give me Your power, mercy, and grace to trust You completely. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,

Christina

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