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Today is June 1, 2009 and we are completing our studies on the book of II Chronicles. Please read chapters 32-36 in your Bible or Click Here to read them.
https://www.allonlinebible.com/2%20Chronicles/32,1-36,last/32.html

Today's Message: Long Suffering
We can rejoice that God is long suffering and patient with us, but it is a sin to assume we can take advantage of His graciousness by continued disobedience.

Josiah began to reign at the age of eight. He reigned on David's throne for thirty-one years. Josiah's religious leadership ranked him with David, Jehoshaphat, and Hezekiah as an outstanding godly ruler, for he took a firm stand against idol worship and other evils that had saturated his kingdom. "Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem one and thirty years. And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the ways of David his father, and declined neither to the right hand, nor to the left. For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet young, he began to seek after the God of David his father: and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem from the high places, and the groves, and the carved images, and the molten images." (II Chronicles 34:1-3). Josiah was the last king to restore Temple worship to the One True God before the destruction of the southern kingdom and Jerusalem. Josiah's leadership abruptly ended when he attempted to stop Pharaoh Necho's plans to attack the Assyrians. He was fatally wounded at Megiddo, but he fulfilled the will of God who spared him from the tragedies that were to soon come upon Jerusalem and the Temple.

The last four kings of Judah, Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah, were all evil, and led the nation in a descending course to its disastrous end morally, politically, and spiritually. During his reign of 11 years, Zedekiah, the youngest son of Josiah, rebelled against Babylon's domination because he thought he had the support of Egypt. "And when the year was expired, king Nebuchadnezzar sent, and brought him to Babylon, with the goodly vessels of the house of the LORD, and made Zedekiah his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem. Zedekiah was one and twenty years old when he began to reign, and reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD his God, and humbled not himself before Jeremiah the prophet speaking from the mouth of the LORD. And he also rebelled against king Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God: but he stiffened his neck, and hardened his heart from turning unto the LORD God of Israel." (II Chronicles 36:10-13). There are going to be numerous times in our lives when we try to reach the lost, only to get the door slammed in our faces, or even worse, but no matter what happens we can not stop. It's nothing personal, it's them, they are lost and do not know what they are doing, many are even living in sin and afraid to seek God for forgiveness. All we can do is pray, press forward, and move on just as Jermiah did.

Nebuchadnezzar's soldiers eventually broke through the north wall and mercilessly butchered both young and old. This time there was no room for repentance, the Lord left the Israelites to their ruin, some escaped, but most were carried off as slaves to become exiles in a foreign land. "And they burnt the house of God, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem, and burnt all the palaces thereof with fire, and destroyed all the goodly vessels thereof. And them that had escaped from the sword carried he away to Babylon; where they were servants to him and his sons until the reign of the kingdom of Persia: To fulfil the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths: for as long as she lay desolate she kept sabbath, to fulfil threescore and ten years." (36:19-21).

Long suffering means to have patience when enduring pain or sorrow. What this means to us is that God instills patience on those who are enduring pain or sorrow. "But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, In stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings; By pureness, by knowledge, by long suffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned, By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left," (II Corinthians 6:4-7).

God also is long suffering toward us as he waits patiently for us to seek Him for forgiveness and repentance of our sins. The long-suffering of God can be seen here in that He sent the Israelites messengers, prophets, and priests to teach and warn them to repent and turn from their wicked ways. God has compassion on all His people, but He will not be mocked. He will not allow a person to continue to live in sin knowing perfectly well that all he has to do is call on Him for forgiveness. It's as if a person says I am going to murder this person because God will forgive me for it. We can not say that we want to live for God and not do anything to change the way we live our lives. God will not stand for it. "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." (Galatians 6:7).

Long suffering also teaches us that God will not allow the devil to tempt us beyond what we can not handle or get out of. Many temptations face every one of us, but the Word of God provides guidance so that we might find a way out of it. "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." (I Corinthians 10:13).

Today's Psalm: 86:15
"But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, long suffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth."

Today's Prayer:
Dear God,
We’re so thankful that when our earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from You, an eternal house in heaven. May we be consoled in knowing the greater the suffering here on earth the greater the glory awaits us in heaven. We make it our life long goal to remain strangers in this world as we maintain friendship with You. We press forward that goal to win the prize for which You have called us heavenward in Christ Jesus. In Your appointed hour our bodies will be transformed so that they will be like Your glorious body. We eagerly await that transformation day when anticipation becomes reality for all of Your children. In Jesus' Name.......Amen.

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

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