The Simple Life

Joash was seven years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Zibiah of Beersheba. And Joash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord all the days of Jehoiada the priest. 2 Chronicles 24:1-2 (ESV)   Young people are capable of doing right. Doing right is often much simpler than doing wrong, so doing right seems like the logical thing to do.   Unfortunately, many young people today live more in fantasy than in the real world. Relationships are portrayed more than lived, and fantasy is always available, giving everyone a "way out" of reality. Observers of fantasy are immersed in the pretend while ignoring the real, thereby destroying their relationships.   There are many roads to destruction and only one road to success. Those who live in reality have real discussions with real people while looking into real eyes.   We have begun the artificial intelligence movement by turning over our intellect to those who control ...

But it was ordained by God that the downfall of Ahaziah should come about through his going to visit Joram. For when he came there, he went out with Jehoram to meet Jehu the son of Nimshi, whom the Lord had anointed to destroy the house of Ahab. And when Jehu was executing judgment on the house of Ahab, he met the princes of Judah and the sons of Ahaziah's brothers, who attended Ahaziah, and he killed them…. 2 Chronicles 22:7-8 (ESV)   "God ordained it." This phrase should send a chill of fear down the spine of the Godless and a chill of delight down the spine of the Godly. Those who fight against the will of God will lose one hundred percent of the time. Satan will lose, those who ignore God will wish they had not, and those who challenge God will prove they are fools.   God has a place in this universe that is exclusively His. He is the definition of love, uses His power and authority for the good of others, and will eventually destroy all who have believed and lived Sa...

And after all this the Lord struck him in his bowels with an incurable disease. In the course of time, at the end of two years, his bowels came out because of the disease, and he died in great agony. His people made no fire in his honor, like the fires made for his fathers. He was thirty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. And he departed with no one's regret. They buried him in the city of David, but not in the tombs of the kings. 2 Chronicles  21:18-20  (ESV)   All people will answer to God for their lives and account for how they used the gifts God gave them to honor Him. Jehoram was an evil king who killed his brothers to protect his power and tried to make ignoring God normative. He, like anyone who is intoxicated by their power and authority will experience, came to a tragic end.   What is it about money and power that so quickly corrupts man? Could it be that those who have money and power begin to have a glimpse of w...

Moreover, he made high places in the hill country of Judah and led the inhabitants of Jerusalem into whoredom and made Judah go astray. And a letter came to him from Elijah the prophet, saying, "Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father, Because you have not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat your father, or in the ways of Asa king of Judah, but have walked in the way of the kings of Israel and have enticed Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem into whoredom, as the house of Ahab led Israel into whoredom, and also you have killed your brothers, of your father's house, who were better than you, behold, the Lord will bring a great plague on your people, your children, your wives, and all your possessions, and you yourself will have a severe sickness with a disease of your bowels, until your bowels come out because of the disease, day by day." 2 Chronicles  21:11-15  (ESV)   Money, power, and position cannot save one from God's wrath. Those who ignore God will reg...

Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done, for the daughter of Ahab was his wife. And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. Yet the Lord was not willing to destroy the house of David, because of the covenant that he had made with David, and since he had promised to give a lamp to him and to his sons forever. 2 Chronicles 21:5-7 (ESV)   What is it that makes us think that we can ignore God and His ways and be successful? Where in history will it confirm that the ignorance of God will equal success in any form? History is clear. Those who ignore God have chosen to live a miserable life. They may have moments of temporal pleasure yet face a miserable eternity. This makes no sense, yet it happens over and over again.   It must be similar to gambling at a well-established casino. Somehow, gamblers think that they will be the ones who beat the ...

And the fear of God came on all the kingdoms of the countries when they heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel. So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet, for his God gave him rest all around. 2 Chronicles 20:29-30 (ESV)   The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. The fear of being poor makes money your God. The fear of being sick makes health your God. The fear of being lonely makes friends your God. The fear of losing out makes being a part of the crowd your God.   Fear is often a barometer for what is happening in our lives. Fear connotes loss. We do not want to lose money, fame, fortune, and so on.   If we do not want to lose something, we work towards keeping it. Those who seek God find God, and those who fear losing God seek Him.   It is hard for rich people to fear anything but a loss in the temporal realm-a loss of health that renders their money useless or a loss of money that changes the dynamics of their "relationships." Fearing God bri...

And they rose early in the morning and went out into the wilderness of Tekoa. And when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, "Hear me, Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in the Lord your God, and you will be established; believe his prophets, and you will succeed." And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed those who were to sing to the Lord and praise him in holy attire, as they went before the army, and say, "Give thanks to the Lord, for his steadfast love endures forever." 2 Chronicles  20:20-21  (ESV)   Trust in God, and you will be positioned to win, no matter your challenges. Believe those who know God and speak His Word to you, and you will be successful.   We all listen to someone. Some only listen to themselves, some only listen to those who agree with them, and others seek out the voice of God. The voice of God is unique in that it contains no opinions, no perspectives, and nothing that can be up for debate. God is, always ha...

“’You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.' Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, and the Lord will be with you." 2 Chronicles 20:17 (ESV)   When we concentrate on our ability to fight, we limit our ability to fight. When God fights for us, no one can stand against us. Taking on battles that are ours, not His, and hoping He fights for us is incorrect. The battles that God fights are His battles, not ours. He is not "on call" waiting for us to give Him marching orders. He is the one at war, the one with the battle plan, the one giving the orders.   The battle is not ours; it is His. He will fight such a battle, and we, because we have yielded to Him, will win. This life is a war zone. We are at war whether we want to be or not. Only the dependent win so stay dependent. https://www.podbean.com/relate365

“O our God, will you not execute judgment on them? For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you." 2 Chronicles 20:12 (ESV)   The powerless can rest in that being powerless unleashes the powerful on our behalf. Knowing you cannot defeat the enemy is the first step in defeating the enemy.   God fights on behalf of those who cannot. He defends the defenseless, provides for the needy, and supplies power to the powerless.   Those who try to execute judgment without Him will fail. Those who rely on their own strength, understanding, power, position, and community will be disappointed.   No matter how we get there, we need to understand that we should trust in God alone. We need his strength, provision, and guidance, not ours.   When we begin to live as if we are God and can care for ourselves, we begin to fail, and will continue to fail until we realize that our total reliance should be on ...

But a certain man drew his bow at random and struck the king of Israel between the scale armor and the breastplate. Therefore, he said to the driver of his chariot, "Turn around and carry me out of the battle, for I am wounded." 2 Chronicles 18:33 (ESV)   God is not random. He makes no mistakes. He will allow those who do not even know Him to be a part of His plan. Those who are clueless but a part of His plan will never experience the joy of submitting to Him and the rewards that come to those who love and obey Him.   To the soldier that drew his bow, this was a random shot towards the enemy. To the host of Heaven, this was a planned, precise placement of God's authoritative hand against evil.   There is no such thing as luck in a universe guided and directed by God. There is no random. There are no surprises and no suspenseful moments in God's eyes. God's will will be accomplished by the willing or the unwilling, but only the willing will be rewarded.   For now,...

And the messenger who went to summon Micaiah said to him, "Behold, the words of the prophets with one accord are favorable to the king. Let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak favorably." But Micaiah said, "As the Lord lives, what my God says, that I will speak.” 2 Chronicles  18:12-13  (ESV)   We have choices regarding to whom we listen. We often choose the voices we understand and agree with, even if those voices disagree with God.   Submission starts first and foremost with God. When God speaks, He means something by His speech, which is usually much more straightforward than we make it out to be. He does not ask us to do anything we cannot do, and does not use us, but loves us.   On the other hand, we often manipulate and use one another to gain position, power, and prestige. God already has position, power, and prestige, and does not attempt to gain more. We can be skeptical of men's words, but God cannot lie, and ultimately, it is His word...

And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, "Inquire first for the word of the Lord." Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, four hundred men, and said to them, "Shall we go to battle against Ramoth-gilead, or shall I refrain?" And they said, "Go up, for God will give it into the hand of the king." But Jehoshaphat said, "Is there not here another prophet of the Lord of whom we may inquire?" And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the Lord, Micaiah the son of Imlah; but I hate him, for he never prophesies good concerning me, but always evil." And Jehoshaphat said, "Let not the king say so." 2 Chronicles 18:4-7 (ESV)   We often choose who to listen to based on who reinforces what we want to hear. The book of 2 Timothy, chapter 4, speaks to this issue, as does this passage in 2 Chronicles, and our general observation of life.   Choosing who you listen to is not ...

And they taught in Judah, having the Book of the Law of the Lord with them. They went about through all the cities of Judah and taught among the people. And the fear of the Lord fell upon all the kingdoms of the lands that were around Judah, and they made no war against Jehoshaphat. 2 Chronicles 17:9-10 (ESV)   They taught people from the Book of the Law. They had it with them. They knew it, valued it, and passed it on.   If you love God, you spend time with Him. If you love God, you "abide" with Him. If you love God, you talk about Him. It's a natural thing to do if you love Him.   When you begin to understand God's love, your natural response is to be overwhelmed. It is expected to have God's "fear" fall upon you and experience the overwhelming feeling that comes from His presence. Many today miss out on that beautiful "fear" of God because they have chosen to "abide" in all things but God. There will be many regrets for those who i...

His heart was courageous in the ways of the Lord. And furthermore, he took the high places and the Asherim out of Judah. 2 Chronicles 17:6 (ESV)   Who is it who is "courageous" in the Lord? It is not that we are courageous in our fight or trials and tribulations, but courageous in the Lord. Our hope and confidence must be in Him and His strength and ways.   If we have fallen into a dark, dirty, dungy pit for some reason, we need to realign our vision, for our courage is mustered by the hope that shines from that light. While in that pit, the only thing that matters is the dismantling of anything and everything that hinders our ability to see, and to respond to that light, for if and when that light goes away, we will have no hope.   Jehoshaphat's power and authority came from this light, not his position. The light of this world is Jesus. As an old song states, all other ground is sinking sand.   Courage comes from focus, not feelings. https://www.podbean.com/relate3...