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Today is Wednesday May 6, 2009 and we are continuing our studies on the book of II Kings. Please read chapters 11-13 in your Bible or Click Here to read them online. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=II%20Kings%2011-13&version=9

Today's Message: Never Too Late
It's never to late to get right with God. His promises never diminish, regardless of the amount of time that has passed.

When Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, received word that her son, King Ahaziah, was dead, she seized the throne of Judah and proclaimed herself queen. To make sure she had no competition, she ruthlessly murdered her own grandsons. She thought she had killed all of David's descendants, but God intervened and saved one-year-old Joash. "And when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the seed royal. But Jehosheba, the daughter of king Joram, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him from among the king's sons which were slain; and they hid him, even him and his nurse, in the bedchamber from Athaliah, so that he was not slain. And he was with her hid in the house of the LORD six years. And Athaliah did reign over the land." (II Kings 11:1-3). Joash was the sole link that preserved the empire of David and the lineage through which Jesus Christ would come.

Joash remained in the protective care and influence of Jehoiada the high priest for six years. Then Jehoiada and the other rulers anointed Joash as king. "And the seventh year Jehoiada sent and fetched the rulers over hundreds, with the captains and the guard, and brought them to him into the house of the LORD, and made a covenant with them, and took an oath of them in the house of the LORD, and shewed them the king's son............And the guard stood, every man with his weapons in his hand, round about the king, from the right corner of the temple to the left corner of the temple, along by the altar and the temple.And he brought forth the king's son, and put the crown upon him, and gave him the testimony; and they made him king, and anointed him; and they clapped their hands, and said, God save the king." (11:4,11-12). The excited shouts caught the attention of Athaliah, who ran into the Temple court just in time to hear Jehoiada the high priest command the captains of the guard to execute her.

Then Jehoiada made a covenant between God, the king, and the people, which resulted in the destruction of the Baal temple and execution of its chief priest Mattan.
"And Jehoiada made a covenant between the LORD and the king and the people, that they should be the LORD's people; between the king also and the people. And all the people of the land went into the house of Baal, and brake it down; his altars and his images brake they in pieces thoroughly, and slew Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. And the priest appointed officers over the house of the LORD." (11:17-18). There will always be someone trying to corrupt Christian's, but thank God that He intervenes and protects us. God knows that we can all be deceived by false prophets and regardless of how much corruption we get ourselves into, He will pull us out and get us back on the right path.

Joash (Jehoash) did right by God, but he never took down the high places that were used for Baal worship. The faithless priests let the Temple fall into disrepair and allowed the people to offer sacrifices there. Soon after, Joash's own servants had him killed. "In the seventh year of Jehu Jehoash began to reign; and forty years reigned he in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Zibiah of Beersheba. And Jehoash did that which was right in the sight of the LORD all his days wherein Jehoiada the priest instructed him. But the high places were not taken away: the people still sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places...............And his servants arose, and made a conspiracy, and slew Joash in the house of Millo, which goeth down to Silla." (II KIngs 12:1-3,20).

The account of Joash illustrates that God's covenant people have the responsibility to live according to the demands of their relationship with God, to forsake the Word of God results in untold miseries. "But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed." (James 1:22-25).

It's never too late to get right with God and receive the blessings that He has in store for us, but we must do it wholeheartedly. "For I will set mine eyes upon them for good, and I will bring them again to this land: and I will build them, and not pull them down; and I will plant them, and not pluck them up. And I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the LORD: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart." (Jeremiah 24:6-7).

Today's Psalm: 119:2
"Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart."

Today's Prayer:
Dear God,
When I chose to follow You, You changed the direction of my life. I truly want to follow in Your steps because Your steps direct me in the paths of righteousness and blessing, rather than aimlessly wandering in the paths of wickedness and regret. Keep my heart faithful and my eyes fixed on the paths marked out for me on this earthly journey that will lead me to my heavenly home. In Jesus' Name.........Amen.

Have a wonderful and blessed day/night.
God Bless,
Christina

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