Listen to God and inquire of His word to you. In 2 Chronicles 35:20-27 Josiah did not. While the Scripture does not condemn Josiah’s conduct in opposing Pharaoh, Josiah seems to deserve blame for not inquiring of the Lord after he was warned. It is true that the people Josiah went out to meet in battle were a wicked people but some theologists suggest Josiah’s death might have been a rebuke for his rashness. As we progress through this Lenten Season and hopefully are working toward a closer relationship with Christ may we listen carefully to God’s word. We know that Christ was without sin and His life among us was one of faith, and obedience and heeding the word of the Father. Simple lesson here is, agree or disagree with Josiah’s conduct, it would be in our best interests to Listen to what God has to say.

Consider this…Isaiah 55:6-13

In this chapter of Isaiah, the prophet writes to remind us of God’s gracious offers of pardon and peace. During this time his word is calling out to us it would be wise to heed the call…Isaiah has a warning for us… God wants to be part of our life, we must not ignore His call, there will be a day when he can’t be found.There may come such a time in this life and it is certain that at death and judgment the door will be shut. Consider this…we must repent, more than just a simple change of our ways, it must be one of our heart and mind. It could well mean that we have to alter our judgements toward people and things. Some time in the past a President, Jimmy Carter to be exact, recounted that it was not enough to put aside evil but we must also put it out of our minds. There are verses that encourage us to think of only the good things of life, put aside those things that are not Godly. I was drawn to these scriptures verses from Isaiah 55…

6 Seek the Lord while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near.7 Let the  wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the Lord, And He will have mercy on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon. 8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts,Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. 9“For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts. 

We who have sinned and done much wrong can be assured that the God we serve can and will forgive all our sinful ways and behavior. We must heed the call to righteous living and not use His generous offer of mercy as an excuse to continue to sin. We are to be reminded that God’s thoughts concerning sin, Christ, and holiness, concerning this world, vastly differ from mans. The power of God’s forgiveness is that not only does he forgive our transgressions, He can and will forget them…we are unable to forget, a sign of our earthly personage. The power of God’s word lies in His protective love and grace for His people and is part of His very nature. The truth we find in the Word, the power of His Call produces a spiritual change in the minds of those who heed such. Will you heed the call? Will you listen to God?

Life is Good

jk