August 26, 2022 -- II Chronicles 36:11-14 -- Clear-sighted, whole-hearted devotion to Jesus

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. 12 He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord his God. He did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke from the mouth of the Lord. 13 He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God. He stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against turning to the Lord, the God of Israel. 14 All the officers of the priests and the people likewise were exceedingly unfaithful, following all the abominations of the nations. And they polluted the house of the Lord that he had made holy in Jerusalem.
II Chronicles 36:11-14 ESV

It is so important to read the Bible as a whole book. Today’s reading informs the book of Daniel, giving important context about the situation in Jerusalem before the exile. At the time that Daniel and his three companions were taken into captivity, the people of the whole land of Jerusalem and beyond had become—notice the words used in today’s reading—”exceedingly unfaithful, following the abominations of the nations” (verse 14). It is all the more striking that Daniel and his three companions who were forced into service in the household of the King of Babylon were faithful to the LORD God, the God of their fathers.

Being a strong follower of Jesus Christ will make you an outsider in your secular workplace. That is pretty much expected. An obedient follower of Jesus Christ will also experience hardship in academic settings. What is hard for Christians to grasp is that following Jesus Christ in the context of the church and among fellow Christians, even in that setting you will find resistance. 

Jesus told His followers: “If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me” (Mathew 16:24 ESV). There are many people in the pews who like the promises of God, who want the benefits Jesus brings, but who are unwilling to deny themselves. Those who follow Jesus, as Daniel did and as the apostles did, are rare in the household of God. It is a high calling to set aside one’s lusts, one’s desires, one’s greed, one’s clinging sins and each day anew recommit himself to self-denying-obedience to the Living God. However, there is no other path of blessing except to turn away from the temptations of the devil, and deny the longings of the flesh and refuse the exceedingly wicked counsel of the world. Those who trust Him wholly, find Him wholly true.

Beautiful Savior, may Your Spirit work in us so that we see You as wholly glorious, worthy of all our life's service. Father in heaven, thank You for the treasure of Jesus Christ and His sacrifice which cleanses us, granting us the holiness without which no one can see You, the God of our fathers and mothers. Triune God of Splendor, renew in us this day a holy zeal to hate the things of the world and the longings of the old nature so that with cheerful heart and clear-sighted focus we may follow Jesus Christ. 

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