The Seek God Challenge Day 18

January 18, 2012 by Jules Leave a Comment

THE WORD LEADS TO DEEP COMMITMENT

READ

“32 And he caused all that were present in Jerusalem and Benjamin to stand to it. And the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers.33 And Josiah took away all the abominations out of all the countries that pertained to the children of Israel, and made all that were present in Israel to serve, even to serve the Lord their God. And all his days they departed not from following the Lord, the God of their fathers.”

-2 Chronicles 34:32-33

THINK

We see Josiah take a kingdom from the worst condition possible, and through his seeking of God and the discovery of the word he leads them to this place of commitment. What is the difference between hearing the word and being committed to the word?

What lasting effect did the commitment of Josiah have on the people around him?

The disciplined pursuit of God that was introduced lasted “all his days”, what do you think was different than generations before?

Why do you think the people willingly pledged to serve the Lord under Josiah’s leadership? What lessons can we apply to our own lives in regards to our influence on those we encounter throughout the day?

PRAY

These thoughts and prayers are just a guide to get you started in your conversation with God. Think of them as conversation starters rather than a check list to quickly pray.

Pray that the message of the Lord will ignite our hearts to passionately commit to following God wherever He may send us.

Pray that our deep commitment to Christ will not be something that is quick lived and fleeting, but will be something that will not only transform us but those around us.

DO

Rank your commitment level in response to the following questions:

My walk with God is a priority….

1 2 3 4 5

Not Committed at all Very Committed

My Desire to follow God is…

1 2 3 4 5

Not Committed at all Very Committed

When I read the Bible I apply it to my life…

1 2 3 4 5

Not Committed at all Very Committed

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Filed Under: Seek God Challenge Tagged With: bible, Books of Chronicles, Challenge, Christ, God, Israel, Jerusalem, Josiah, Lord, matt rothacher, Seek God Challenge

The Seek God Challenge Day 17

January 17, 2012 by Jules Leave a Comment

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THE WORD LEADS TO DEEP CONVICTION

READ

“29 Then the king called together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem.30 He went up to the temple of the Lord with the people of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the priests and the Levites—all the people from the least to the greatest. He read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant, which had been found in the temple of the Lord.31 The king stood by his pillar and renewed the covenant in the presence of the Lord—to follow the Lord and keep his commands, statutes and decrees with all his heart and all his soul, and to obey the words of the covenant written in this book.” – 2 Chronicles 34:29-31

“1 On the twenty-fourth day of the same month, the Israelites gathered together, fasting and wearing sackcloth and putting dust on their heads.2 Those of Israelite descent had separated themselves from all foreigners. They stood in their places and confessed their sins and the sins of their ancestors.3 They stood where they were and read from the Book of the Law of the Lord their God for a quarter of the day, and spent another quarter in confession and in worshiping the Lord their God.” – Nehemiah 9:1-3

THINK

At this point Josiah had already purified the land of idols, and had begun work on the temple, but the hearts of the people have no reason to change apart from a King’s order, what reason do they have now? What’s the difference in motivation of obeying God, and obeying man?

We see both personal confession (by ourselves), and corporate confession (with other believers) in this passage. How difficult would it be to participate in public confession among your Christian friends at church? Why do you think that’s the case?

The word brings conviction because it is the standard which we are called to live by, do you read the Bible this way?

PRAY

These thoughts and prayers are just a guide to get you started in your conversation with God. Think of them as conversation starters rather than a check list to quickly pray.

Pray that the word of God will bring conviction to your life, and that the places that are not in line with God’s scripture will be clearly revealed so that we can correct them

Pray that we will welcome the discipline of God and not flee his word for fear of feeling ashamed of our sin

DO

Stop now and ask the Holy Spirit to show you the things you need to confess to the Lord today, as soon as they pop into your mind, confess them to God out loud.

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Filed Under: Seek God Challenge Tagged With: bible, Books of Chronicles, Challenge, God, Holy, Israelites, Jerusalem, Jesus, Josiah, Judah, Levite, Lord, matt rothacher, OT, Seek God Challenge

The Seek God Challenge Day 16

January 16, 2012 by Jules Leave a Comment

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WE ARE UNSTOPPABLE WITH THE

WORD OF GOD

READ

14 While they were bringing out the money that had been taken into the temple of the Lord, Hilkiah the priest found the Book of the Law of the Lord that had been given through Moses.15 Hilkiah said to Shaphan the secretary, "I have found the Book of the Law in the temple of the Lord." He gave it to Shaphan.

16 Then Shaphan took the book to the king and reported to him: "Your officials are doing everything that has been committed to them.17 They have paid out the money that was in the temple of the Lord and have entrusted it to the supervisors and workers."18 Then Shaphan the secretary informed the king, "Hilkiah the priest has given me a book." And Shaphan read from it in the presence of the king.

19 When the king heard the words of the Law, he tore his robes.20 He gave these orders to Hilkiah, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Abdon son of Micah, Shaphan the secretary and Asaiah the king's attendant:21 "Go and inquire of the Lord for me and for the remnant in Israel and Judah about what is written in this book that has been found. Great is the Lord's anger that is poured out on us because those who have gone before us have not kept the word of the Lord; they have not acted in accordance with all that is written in this book."

-2 Chronicles 34:14-21

THINK

We see Josiah’s response to the reading of God’s word, why does he respond this way?

Different things in the Bible cause us to respond in different ways, what different things have you experienced as a result of the Word?

The Word should always require a response. Why do you think people either read the word and don’t respond or fail to even read the word? What about in your own life do you fall into one of those two categories(read & not respond or not even read)? Why or why not?

PRAY

These thoughts and prayers are just a guide to get you started in your conversation with God. Think of them as conversation starters rather than a check list to quickly pray.

Pray that we will be like Josiah in that we will treat the word of the Lord as importantly as we should.

Pray that when we devote ourselves to the word that we won’t stop at simply reading but we will be moved to action in response to the word.

DO

Look at these two passages of scripture and look for the appropriate response;

Philippians 4:4

1 Thessalonians 5:18

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Filed Under: Seek God Challenge Tagged With: Ahikam, bible, Books of Chronicles, Challenge, God, Hilkiah, Israel, Josiah, Lord, matt rothacher, Seek, Shaphan

The Seek God Challenge Day 9

January 9, 2012 by Jules Leave a Comment

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BECAUSE HOLINESS MATTERS TO GOD,

HOLINESS MATTERS TO ME

READ

“and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the Asherim, and the carved and the metal images.4 And they chopped down the altars of the Baals in his presence, and he cut down the incense altars that stood above them. And he broke in pieces the Asherim and the carved and the metal images, and he made dust of them and scattered it over the graves of those who had sacrificed to them.5 He also burned the bones of the priests on their altars and cleansed Judah and Jerusalem.6 And in the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, and as far as Naphtali, in their ruins all around,7 he broke down the altars and beat the Asherim and the images into powder and cut down all the incense altars throughout all the land of Israel. Then he returned to Jerusalem.”

-2 Chronicles 34:3-7

THINK

If Josiah would have followed in the footsteps of his ancestors, his job would most likely have been much easier. Why do you think that instead of just doing business as usual he instead took on the status quo and began to purge the land of idols and false gods?

Josiah was not compromising even to the point of “He also burned the bones of the priests on their altars and cleansed Judah and Jerusalem.” Why do you think that he went to that kind of extreme? Does holiness really require these kinds of sacrifices?

Verse 7 tells us that it wasn’t until he had “broke down the altars…throughout all the land of Israel. Then he returned to Jerusalem.” Why do you think he didn’t just make a decree and sit in the palace and wait for it to be accomplished? What does this tell us about holiness in our own lives, does God want us to just get rid of the surface things? Or does he want us to not rest until the sin is completely removed from our lives?

PRAY

These thoughts and prayers are just a guide to get you started in your conversation with God. Think of them as conversation starters rather than a check list to quickly pray.

Because holiness matters to God, holiness matters to me. This statement should most likely bring some conviction in our lives. Are there places in your life that aren’t holy?

Ask God to show you all those places in your life that contain sin, take a piece of paper and pen and write those down. Take your time and be still and listen, write down every thought that comes in your mind during this time.

Holiness requires sacrifice and intensity, and a thorough examination of all the land.

Take the list that you’ve made and as you read over it, ask God to give you a plan to begin to bring holiness into your life.

DO

Take your list and circle the area of your life that you are determined to bring holiness too immediately. What has to change, be cut out, or move?

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