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Today is Friday May 8, 2009 and we are continuing our studies on the book of II Kings. Please read chapters 16-17 in your Bible or you can Click Here to read them online.
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=II%20Kings%2016-17&version=9

Today's Message: Nation Under God
Evil nations rush to try to remove God and His Word from their thoughts, but to the faithful His promises are still true.

Pekah is now king of Israel, fearing the growing power of Assyria, he made an alliance with Rezin, king of Syria. Together, they attempted to force Ahaz, king of Judah, to join them. When Ahaz refused, King Rezin and King Pekah came up to wage war against Jerusalem. In retaliation, Ahaz made an alliance with Tiglath-pileser, the king of Assyria, to attack Syria and Israel. "In the seventeenth year of Pekah the son of Remaliah Ahaz the son of Jotham king of Judah began to reign...........Then Rezin king of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to war: and they besieged Ahaz, but could not overcome him. At that time Rezin king of Syria recovered Elath to Syria, and drave the Jews from Elath: and the Syrians came to Elath, and dwelt there unto this day. So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglathpileser king of Assyria, saying, I am thy servant and thy son: come up, and save me out of the hand of the king of Syria, and out of the hand of the king of Israel, which rise up against me. And Ahaz took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the LORD, and in the treasures of the king's house, and sent it for a present to the king of Assyria." (II Kings 16:1,5-8). Tiglath-pileser conquered the smaller kingdom of Syria, killed Rezin and later defeated the tribes of Reuben and Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh on the eastern side of the Jordan. He then took control of the northern part of the Jordan Valley, making Galilee and Gilead into Assyrian provinces. All that was left of the ten-tribe northern kingdom of Israel was the capital city of Samaria and the surrounding hill country of Ephraim, it too, eventually fell to Assyria. A little over 30 years after Jeroboam's death, the words of the prophets were fulfilled as the Northern Kingdom of Israel was destroyed, See II Kings 17:4-8.

The captivity and separation of the northern kingdom throughout Assyria took place because the Israelites ignored the One True God and followed other gods. "Unto this day they do after the former manners: they fear not the LORD, neither do they after their statutes, or after their ordinances, or after the law and commandment which the LORD commanded the children of Jacob, whom he named Israel; With whom the LORD had made a covenant, and charged them, saying, Ye shall not fear other gods, nor bow yourselves to them, nor serve them, nor sacrifice to them: But the LORD, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt with great power and a stretched out arm, him shall ye fear, and him shall ye worship, and to him shall ye do sacrifice. And the statutes, and the ordinances, and the law, and the commandment, which he wrote for you, ye shall observe to do for evermore; and ye shall not fear other gods." (17:34-37). Many nations under God are slowly becoming heathen nations and following other gods. That is why it is so important for us faithful Christian's to stand by God's Word. We may not be able to control the heathens, but we can take a stand for God and one by one show the lost who the One and Only True God is.

Sadly, the Lord's chosen people lived and continue to live as God does not exist. They trust their own judgment instead of God's Word. Therefore, they became incapable of carrying out His purpose. We see this same disloyalty in some who call themselves Christian's. They claim to be members of a church, only attend briefly on Sunday, and yet the rest of the week they live as if God does not exist. They seem to have no genuine heart's desire to please the Lord. They disregard the Word of God making a self god and whoever or whatever gets their attention and loyalty becomes their idol, whether it is a person, place, thing, or activity. That is when they too will face defeat. Jesus warned us about worldly Christian's, "This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. And he called the multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and understand: Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man." (Matthew 15:8-11). We will constantly face worldly Christian's and hear lots of things that can corrupt us, again, we must stand by God's Word. It's the only thing that will keep us from falling into a sinful, unfulfilling life.

Incidently, you may want to call yourself blessed because God has chosen you, regardless of what age you are, He has chosen you for a special purpose. He gave you the knowledge and understanding that you need to serve Him faithfully and tell others about Him in your own special way. "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you." (John 15:13-16).

Today's Psalm: 33:12
"Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance."

Today's Prayer:
Dear God,
We lift our eyes toward Your Throne, where You reign in righteousness. Your Word assures us that when Your people cry out in sincerity and humility, You will never turn a deaf ear to us. We call upon You now, seeking Your forgiveness and favor. Unite these Nations again in devotion to You, and blur every dividing line. Do not give us over to our sins. Give us, instead, over to passionate prayer that moves Your heart. May Your unfailing love rest upon us, Lord, even as we put our hope in You. In Jesus' Name.........Amen.

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

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