Sunday, January 13, 2019

Sunday Thoughts


"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. 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.

Then he had everyone in Jerusalem and Benjamin pledge themselves to it; the people of Jerusalem did this in accordance with the covenant of God, the God of their ancestors." 
-2 Chronicles 34:30-32  

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When I read this Scripture, it struck me how the king RENEWED his covenant in the PRESENCE of the Lord. He promised to follow the Lord, keep his commandments, statutes and decrees in ALL his heart and his soul and to obey the words of the covenant. 

Because my word for the year is RENEW, I am trying to focus on Scriptures that guide me in my path to renewing and restoring in my life. This Scripture is a reminder that to renew anything, I must first renew my covenant with the Lord, each and every day. I don't mean I have to be saved over and over again. I mean I need to start each day by putting God first. That's what the king was doing here. He was telling God that he and, those in Jerusalem, were putting God first in their lives and in their land. They realized that things had not been going very well when they didn't do that. I know the same for my life. God must come first and be the center.

If I'm not filtering everything through my belief in God and living my life in a way that glorifies Him, nothing is going to be renewed nor is it going to go well, quite frankly. I know...I've done that. I've lived for myself only and what I wanted, not what God wanted, and let me tell you, that never ends well. The Israelite's learned this lesson (over and over it seems, just as we do) and this is why the king was pledging their lives to the Lord and renewing the covenant between them. Going our own way usually ends up in us being quite lost. We are going along quite merrily, and then we look up and realize we have no idea where we are or how we got there!

As I work on renewing and restoring, I can only do so much. In the end, it really is up to God to work it all out in a beautiful way. I have to trust Him even when I feel like things aren't going as well as I hoped. I have to put that situation in His hands and let it go. I need to do my part - live a life that glorifies God and work on living a life worthy of Him. I am able to do this because Jesus gives us the grace to do it, not by anything I can do on my own. (read more about this HERE).  I think the hardest part is is just being still and letting God work things out in His way. 

As we go about our days, let's renew our covenant with God daily by reading His Word, applying it to our lives, and praying for guidance in all things. His wisdom is so much greater than ours and we need to trust that and put our hope in Him. As this Scripture reminds us, we need to live this out in our lives by obeying His Word. It is by doing this that things are renewed, restored, and worked out in the best possible way.

Have a wonderful Sunday, my friends, and put the Lord before you in all ways today and in the coming week. 

(You can find all these Scriptures and read them online by going to BibleGateway)

Blessings - Julie

1 comment:

  1. So much truth here, sweet friend. Lord, help us to renewed in Him every, single day. You are so right, there is only so much we can do, and we so desperately need Him. Sending love and hugs your way, and will email you soon!

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