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31st January – Lord, I am ‘reporting for duty.’ Let me be used by you to speak about you.

For today’s Bible Notes please see No. 284.

30th January – Lord Jesus, please open doors this day for me to express my faith in words. I love you and I am not ashamed to tell the world. Thank you Lord for helping me.

For today’s Bible Notes please see No. 283.

29th January – Lord Jesus, you graced a wedding at Cana with your miraculous, transforming power. Please will you so be at the centre of every Christian marriage that the relationship will be continually changed into what you want it to be.

For today’s Bible Notes please see No. 282.

28th January – Lord, please give me the joy of pointing someone to you. Let me not die ‘childless’.

For today’s Bible Notes please see No. 281.

25th January – Praise Him for His grace and favour, to our fathers in distress. Praise Him still the same forever, slow to chide and swift to bless.

For today’s Bible Notes please see No. 280.

24th January – Lord, I pray my heart will be bursting with love for those who do not yet know Jesus. May my heart beat in time with yours.

For today’s Bible Notes please see No. 279.

23rd January – Thank you Father for the truth of the gospel message that it is not by works, but by your grace through faith that we are saved.

For today’s Bible Notes please see No. 278.

22nd January – Thank you Lord that I don’t have to be able to dot every theological ‘i’ or cross every ‘t’ to worship you. I thank you from my heart for the many things you do make clear. One day, by your grace and mercy, I will see you, and that will be the answer to every question.

For today’s Bible Notes please see No. 277.

21st January – Father God, help me to always walk carefully before you and men, that I may daily please you and ever glorify your Name. Let me continually walk as one who is conscious of living in your presence.

For today’s Bible Notes please see No. 276.

18th January – Thank you Lord that you know my name, my relationships and my abilities. I dedicate this one life to you to serve your purposes in the world.

For today’s Bible Notes please see No. 275.

17th January – How I marvel over your Word Lord God. I can read just a tiny part of it, like today, and yet find it is alive. It speaks to me and my present circumstances and condition. This is not just about someone else’s story a long time ago and many miles away. This has such startling relevance to me. How can I ever thank you enough for blessing me with your mighty truth?

For today’s Bible Notes please see No. 274.

16th January 2013 – Thank you Sovereign Lord for the beautiful mystery of my salvation. This I do understand: that you love me and gave your life for me to show me mercy and draw me to yourself. I am eternally grateful.

For today’s Bible Notes please see No. 273.

15th January 2013 – I recognise dear Lord that I am not a Christian because I have been born into a (supposedly) Christian country, but because you graciously chose me and gave me the faith to trust in Jesus. This is too much for me to fully comprehend. Nevertheless, I am truly grateful. Help me to always work worthily of my great calling from you.

For today’s Bible Notes please see No. 272.

14th January 2013 – Lord crucified, give us a heart like yours.

For today’s Bible Notes please see No. 271.

11th January 2013 – Help me this day, Heavenly Father, to turn away from everything I know to be wrong. May I not just say ‘sorry’ with my lips, but also with my entire life.

For today’s Bible Notes please see No. 270.

10th January 2013 – Lord, I know that many people want to remove your judgment from the Bible, but I don’t want to be infected by this spirit of the age. Help me to believe and preach everything your Word teaches. It is the only place of safety. You do not give us the right to pick and choose what we will believe.

For today’s Bible Notes please see No. 269.

9th January 2013 – Thank you Lord that I will always find all that I need in you. Cause my heart to cleave to you always and never look anywhere else.

For today’s Bible Notes please see No. 268.

8th January 2013 – Thank you Lord for Jesus’ cross and all it means. I am grateful that all my debt is paid and I receive full and free forgiveness as I trust in Him.

For today’s Bible Notes please see No. 267.

7th January 2013 – Lord I pray for (you supply the names). Although they have drifted away, please draw them back to you.

For today’s Bible Notes please see No. 266.

4th January 2013 – Lord, I am so grateful that your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. When my way becomes thorny and treacherous; when my route takes me through dark and dangerous territory, let me hold on tightly to my powerful ‘torch’ and put it to maximum use.

For today’s Bible Notes please see No. 265.

3 January 2013 – Thank you dear Lord that even when I may not feel your love I can be absolutely sure of it. Thank you that nothing in life can come between your love and me. Help me to never forget it.

For today’s Bible Notes please see No. 264.

2 January 2013 – At the beginning of a new year, Lord, I thank you that my life is not haphazard. I am so grateful that the blueprint is in your hands, and so am I. Thank you that you will complete what you have started. I am grateful beyond any words.

For today’s Bible Notes please see No. 263.

1 January 2013 – Lord, as I step into this New Year, I am grateful that I do so with you. I pray that the glorious hope of all that is to come will sustain me through any difficult days that might lie ahead. I praise you for all that is past, and trust you for all that’s to come.

For today’s Bible Notes please see No. 262.

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31st December 2012 – Heavenly Father, on this last day of the year I want to thank you for all your tender care; for how you have watched over me and all my ways. When you call me, I want to run to you. Let me always show you my face and not my heels. Again I thank you for your great and undeserved love.

For Bible Notes – please see No: 261.

28th December 2012 – Lord, I find this ‘until’ business in prayer very difficult. I can’t calculate your ‘until’. I don’t know for how long I will have to pray. My nation, my church, my life is in desperate need of your showers, but my will is weak. Strengthen me to persevere in prayer.

For Bible Notes – please see No: 260.

27th December 2012 – Dear Lord, please let everything in my life bring glory to you, and not to me. If I see any genuine success in ministry, let me not boast or feel proud. I want to be quick to say, ‘all glory to you’ and mean it from the depths of my being. I understand that ‘man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever’. Let me do both. No idol could ever suffice or satisfy.

For Bible Notes – please see No: 259.

26th December 2012 – Lord, I truly believe that the only way to be wise is to keep your company continually. Help me exercise such self-control that my words are few, and my ears are always wide open to heaven.

For Bible Notes – please see No: 258.

25th December 2012 –My Lord, on this Christmas day I thank you for all that Jesus came into the world to do for me. Thank you that you have forgiven me and that you are setting me free from sin’s power right now. Thank you Father that I am your dearly loved child, and that one day I will bear the perfect likeness of Jesus, as I share His resurrection life. What a happy Christmas reality all of this is.

For Bible Notes – please see No: 257.

24th December 2012 -Thank you Lord that this son is equipped to be like your Son Jesus. Cause me to fully live in what I know, and live it out in a world moving against all that the Spirit desires.

For Bible Notes – please see No: 256.

21st December 2012 – Help me Lord to yield to your life in mine. I want to deny the dictates of my old nature and follow all the promptings of your Holy Spirit

For Bible Notes – please see No: 255.

20th December 2012 – Lord, I know it is not enough to start well. By your Spirit enable me to be a good finisher.

For Bible Notes – please see No: 254.

19th December 2012 – My desire, dear Lord, is to have a closer walk with you, and to know a deeper obedience to your Word.

For Bible Notes – please see No: 253.

18th December 2012 – Lord, it is such a privilege to possess your Word; may your Word possess me. Let it govern every part of my life. May I never be a stranger to it, or it become a stranger to me.

For Bible Notes – please see No: 252.

17th December 2012 – In the face of human suffering let me hold fast to you Lord. Let me never let go of the ‘wondrous’ cross. I acknowledge it shines a brilliant light on all our pain in this world.

For Bible Notes – please see No: 251.

14th December 2012 – Lord, when I look at myself I have cause to despair; when I look to Jesus I am filled with hope. Cause me to keep my eyes locked on Him all through this journey.

For Bible Notes – please see No: 250.

13th December 2012 – Lord God, Heavenly Bridegroom, it is very obvious that you want your people close to you in a relationship of loving intimacy. I ask that I may have the closest possible walk with you, and by your grace I will pursue this.

For Bible Notes – please see No: 249.

12th December 2012 – Lord, I ask that there will be nothing of half-heartedness in my trust in you.

For Bible Notes – please see No: 248.

11th December 2012 – Thank you Lord that you are far more eager for us to return to you than we are to return. Help us to come to you with more than words. May our lives turn round also and be pointing in your direction.

For Bible Notes – please see No: 247.

10th December 2012 – Whatever may come my way, Sovereign Lord, help me to be like the psalmist: convinced of your control, holding on to you in faith and praying without ceasing.

For Bible Notes – please see No: 246.

7th December 2012 – Thank you Lord Jesus that you do not call us to a rule-based, rule-driven life, but to a relationship with you that will issue in much fruit to the Father’s glory. I want to be as fruitful as possible. Lord glorify your Name in me. Thank you so much for this living relationship with a living Lord.

For Bible Notes – please see No: 245.

6th December 2012 – Lord, let me believe Romans 6 so much that it will change my life. By your grace I want to fully play my part in resisting sin and serving you.

For Bible Notes – please see No: 244.

5th December 2012 – My help comes from the Lord… May I never look to anyone else or anything else to be to me what only you can.

For Bible Notes – please see No: 243.

4th December 2012 – Dear Lord, however dear my idols may have been to me, help me to mercilessly tear them from that throne which belongs to you alone, and give you your rightful place.

For Bible Notes – please see No: 242.

3rd December 2012 – Heavenly Father, we pray for all those called to spiritual leadership in your church. Keep them always true to you; ever faithful in proclaiming the truth of your Word.

For  Bible Notes –  please see No: 241.

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30th November 2012 – Lord Jesus, thank you that you are building your church across the earth, and that the gates of hell will never prevail against it. Thank you for including me in your register.

For today’s Bible Notes – see No: 240.

29th November 2012 –  Dear God, thank you for bringing me from death to life. I recognise I owe you my thanks not merely in words, but also with my very life. Help me to give everything to you.

For today’s Bible Notes – see No: 239.

28th November 2012 – O love that will not let me go, I rest my weary soul on you. I marvel at your persevering kindness towards such a wandering heart as mine. Thank you for offering another chance. Help me to take it.

For today’s Bible Notes – see No: 238.

27th November 2012 –  Lord, if you take me to the desert, let me come out singing your song.

For today’s Bible Notes – see No: 237.

26th For today’s Bible Notes –  Lord I owe everything to you. You have lavished me with innumerable blessings. I pray that I may never become forgetful and ungrateful. Bind my heart to you in thankful love.

For today’s Bible Notes – see No: 236.

23rd November 2012 – My specific calling may not be the same as Hosea’s, but help me loving God to embody the message I seek to bring with my lips. Let your message live in me.

For today’s Bible Notes – see No: 235.

22nd November 2012 – God only wise, I ask that I may increasingly receive the wisdom that is from above in large amounts, so that my everyday life in this world may point to you, be guided by you and reflect your glory.

For today’s Bible Notes – see No: 234.

21st November 2012 – Thank you Lord Jesus that you have brought an overwhelming amount of grace and life into the world. Thank you that it has flowed into me. May your grace and life flow everywhere like a mighty river.

For today’s Bible Notes – see No: 233.

20th November 2012 – We pray for the peace of Jerusalem, the massive growth of your church and the coming of your Kingdom Lord Jesus. May your will be done on earth even as in heaven.

For today’s Bible Notes – see No: 232.

19th November 2012 – Lord God, may my worship be thoroughly cleansed from any element that displeases you. Help me to always give you much more than a song.

For today’s Bible Notes – see No: 231.

16th November 2012 – Lord, I ask for sight for my eyes, strength for my days and focus for my soul, to live always for your glory.

For today’s Bible Notes – see No: 230.

15th November 2012 – Thank you Lord that you can never be said to short change any believer. You abundantly give us all we need to live the Christian life. Help me to count on this at all times, and remember it especially when life is tough.

For today’s Bible Notes – see No: 229.

14th November 2012 – Lord God, please assist me by your endless might to starve my doubts and feed my faith. Cause me to live like a believer, for your glory.

For today’s Bible Notes – see No: 228.

13th November 2012 – Give me backbone Sovereign Lord to stand up for you and your truth in a culture that wants to press the ‘off’ button when you speak. Enable me to swim against this strong current. Let me never forget that you are in total control.

For today’s Bible Notes – see No: 227.

12th November 2012 – Lord God, I want to state my strong desire that complacency will never find a place to lodge in my heart. I want my life to be a fireplace where your fire can burn continually, for the glory of your Name. Thank you Lord. Amen.

For today’s Bible Notes – see No: 226.

9th November 2012 – Dear God, help me in all things to keep my eyes on you, and may my eyes see you clearly. Please give to your church an unshakeable confidence in you.

For today’s Bible Notes – see No: 225.

8th November 2012 – Thank you Lord that you accept me on the basis of faith in your Son Jesus. I acknowledge that I could never earn heaven. I am not good enough, nor will I ever be. But I open my hands to receive your gracious gift, and I thank you from the depths of my heart for such costly and generous provision.

For today’s Bible Notes – see No: 224.

7th November 2012 –Lord, may we meet YOU in our worship and be changed by you.

For today’s Bible Notes – see No: 223.

6th November 2012 – Thank you Jesus for all that you did for me at the cross. It is simply amazing. Help me by your Spirit to walk before you always in fully attentive, worshipful obedience, and enjoy your peace.

For today’s Bible Notes – see No: 222.

5th November 2012 – I’m lost in wonder, I’m lost in love, I’m lost in praise forevermore. Because of Jesus’ unfailing love, I am forgiven, I am restored.

For today’s Bible Notes – see No: 221.

2nd November 2012 – Lord we pray for our leaders and fellow-citizens; we pray also for ourselves. Help us to return to you.

For today’s Bible Notes – see No: 220.

1st November 2012 – How I thank you Lord God, Heavenly King, that you are the incorruptible One. No-one can bribe their way into your presence. We cannot buy you off with our religious good works or any other thing. But thank you that you give free ‘passes’ to all who trust in your Son Jesus.

For today’s Bible Notes – see No: 219. 

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31st October 2012 – I thank you Lord that I can count on your faithfulness. You will never let me down. I am so sorry that I am most unlike you, and let you down so often. I pray for your mercy and forgiveness which I know I do not deserve. Nevertheless, I am grateful that it is so freely available.

For today’s Bible Notes – See Stephen’s Bible Notes for October – 218.

30th October 2012 – Heavenly Father, I don’t want to be somebody who says one thing and does another. Please keep me from such two-faced hypocrisy. Please help me to live a life that brings honour to you and causes others to want to worship you.

For today’s Bible Notes – See Stephen’s Bible Notes for October – 217.

29th October 2012 – Lord thank you for all that you have given to me as a sacred trust. I acknowledge that it is your property and not mine. You have called me to manage your goods. Help me to do it in a way that pleases you, the true Owner.

For today’s Bible Notes – See Stephen’s Bible Notes for October – 216.

26th October 2012 – Lord, please have mercy on our land. We confess our many sins and ask for your undeserved mercy. Turn our hearts back to you we pray.

For today’s Bible Notes – See Stephen’s Bible Notes for October – 215.

25th October 2012 – Thank you Lord that you never call without equipping. You qualify the called. I may not be a prophet, but help me to do what you’ve put into my hand with all my heart.

For today’s Bible Notes – See Stephen’s Bible Notes for October – 214.

24th October 2012 – Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you? (Psalm 85:6)

For today’s Bible Notes – See Stephen’s Bible Notes for October – 213.

23rd October 2012 – Help me Lord to concentrate on removing the plank from my own eye before devoting my undivided attention to someone else’s splinter!

For today’s Bible Notes – See Stephen’s Bible Notes for October – 212.

22nd October 2012 – Lord Jesus, please give to your church such a burden for lost souls that we will both intercede and go. Keep us from being Jonah-like ‘spectators’.

For today’s Bible Notes – See Stephen’s Bible Notes for October – 211.

19th October 2012 – Lord, I ask again today for your Sovereign work in this land, bringing great numbers to turn from sin and back to you. Please send the revival we have long sought.

For today’s Bible Notes – See Stephen’s Bible Notes for October – 210.

18th October 2012 – Lord, I express to you my heartfelt desire to be a person of prayer at all times. Forgive us that it so often takes the arrival of some unwanted providence to get us on our knees. I want to seek you when seas are calm and not just when they are stormy. To you indeed be all the praise. You are my Rescuer and there is none like you.

For today’s Bible Notes – See Stephen’s Bible Notes for October – 209.

17th October 2012 – Lord help me to take off my running shoes that would take me from you, and put on my walking boots to keep in step with you.

For today’s Bible Notes – See Stephen’s Bible Notes for October – 208.

16th October 2012 – Lord, forgive us our failure to pray for our leaders as regularly and as fervently as we should. We have been their critics more than their intercesors.This is a sin of omission. We confess it to you, asking your forgiveness, and your help to be the people of prayer you are calling us to be.

For today’s Bible Notes – See Stephen’s Bible Notes for October – 207.

15th October 2012 – Have mercy on us, O God for our wilful abandonment of you, and for all that this has led to in our society. Help us to come to our senses and return to our Father.

For today’s Bible Notes – See Stephen’s Bible Notes for October – 206.

12th October 2012 – Thank you Lord for your amazing grace to me. I do not deserve your overwhelming kindness.

For today’s Bible Notes – See Stephen’s Bible Notes for October – 205.

11th October 2012 – Lord God, please impart to us a ‘never say die’ attitude in our prayers. When we are convinced that something needs to change; that it is your will that it should be different; give to us the strength, the courage, the resolution to lay siege to it on our knees. Cause us to employ every spiritual weapon in our armoury until the breakthrough comes.

For today’s Bible Notes – See Stephen’s Bible Notes for October – 204.

10th October 2012 – ‘When I survey the wondrous cross’ I am amazed at your mercy dear Lord. It is too much to take in when I think that you would go to such lengths to block my path and turn me around on my crazy dash to destruction. Thank you for your great and immeasurable love.

For today’s Bible Notes – See Stephen’s Bible Notes for October – 203.

9th October 2012 – Lord give us the ability to see the younger people in the church through your eyes. Help us to pray for them and support them on their journey towards becoming all that you want them to be.

For today’s Bible Notes – See Stephen’s Bible Notes for October – 202.

8th October 2012 – I ask for a yearning, fainting, crying out desire for God. I want to long for you with the utmost intensity Lord, and I know you will fully satisfy all my longings.

For today’s Bible Notes – See Stephen’s Bible Notes for October – 201.

5th October 2012 – O Lord open my lips that my mouth may speak forth your praise. Help me not to be blushing, but bold about your gospel. Help me, like Paul, to be gripped by this message, and eager and wholehearted in wanting to spread it. Visit your whole church with a new anointing I pray.

For today’s Bible Notes – See Stephen’s Bible Notes for October – 200.

4th October 2012 – Lord cause my eyes to be always open to be able to see the deceitfulness of sin, and to see through its lies. Help me to not fall for any of them. I am now your willing slave. Lord have YOUR way in me.

For today’s Bible Notes – See Stephen’s Bible Notes for October – 199.

3rd October 2012 – Lord, I cannot answer for those who came before me, and I cannot control those who will come after me; but help me to run my leg of the race well, and enable me to finish well I pray.

For today’s Bible Notes – See Stephen’s Bible Notes for October – 198.

2nd October 2012 – Lord help me to finish well. Don’t let me fall at the final hurdle.

For today’s Bible Notes – See Stephen’s Bible Notes for October – 197.

1st October 2012 –  Lord, please give us leaders who are only interested in your ‘vote’; who please you above all.

For today’s Bible Notes – See Stephen’s Bible Notes for October – 196.

Daily Bible thoughts 195: Friday 28^th September 2012: 2 Kings 22:1-20

Josiah was a holy leader (1/2): We have gone from a good King, Hezekiah, to a bad king (who eventually got to be a good king!) Manasseh. Then we had another bad king, Amon, but now we find ourselves back with a good and great king, Josiah. He was eight years old when he became king (1). God blesses and uses children, and His calling can come to some of them at a very young age: think Samuel. Let’s pray for our children in the churches (and, of course, our own biological children, if we have been blessed with them) that God will take them and use them greatly. This king Josiah was unswervingly committed to holiness (2). He went for a ‘walk’ and took the right path. He was wise in his choice of which father he would follow. He went back up the line a good way to the greatest king of Judah, David. David’s road map was a good one to make use of.

Josiah was a strong leader (3-7): I note the repetition of make in these verses. He insisted that the money collected for the repairing of the temple should be used, and the planned work done. It seems he had a bias towards decisiveness and action. That’s a good thing so long as you’re in God’s will. He was a leader who got things moving. During the long reign of Josiah’s granddad, Manasseh, the temple had fallen into disrepair. One of the first things, then, that Josiah did as king was to have it repaired. This shows his God-centredness; his desire to seek first God’s Kingdom.

As we have noted previously, it is vital for us as charities to follow correct accounting procedures. We cannot be seen to be above reproach if we don’t fulfil the necessary legal obligations demanded in our culture. But it’s a wonderful aspiration to be so patently honest that no-one would ever doubt your integrity regarding money (7).

Josiah was a man of the Book (8-20: see particularly the references in 8, 10, 11, 13, and 16): Josiah had a soft heart and a tender conscience. When he heard the words of the Book of the law (thought to be Deuteronomy, or part of it. Each king was supposed to have his own copy and follow it carefully: Dt.17:18-20) he was broken hearted before God, and humbled himself. He hated sin and wanted to have no part with it. He wanted to do life ‘by the Book’. God was delighted with his heart attitude and commended him for it in glowing terms (19/20). He was to be spared seeing the disaster in his day. Of course, that also meant that an entire generation was protected by one man’s repentance. Judgment was postponed. One person’s prayers can make such a difference. (Note: we do not see in him anything of the complacency we saw previously in Hezekiah, in 20:19) Let’s pray for ourselves that we may be a people who are quick to adjust our lives and bring them into line with God’s Word. In that direction lies spiritual growth, and this is surely what we desire if we are disciples of Christ. In The Message Josiah’s words in (13) read: Go and pray to GOD for me and for this people – for all Judah! Find out what we must do in response to what is written in this book that has just been found! In that version, God’s Word through Huldah contains these expressions: Because you took seriously…I’m taking you seriously.  I heard that one man who had a very successful ministry was asked his secret. He replied, ‘I don’t really know. All I can say is, ‘I am a serious reader of the Bible.’ Josiah was, and it affected a whole generation in Judah, not to mention his own life too. Have you ‘’lost’’ the Word of God somewhere, even in the midst of a religious life? Does God still speak to you, and do you obey? Warren W. Wiersbe: With the Word, p.222

Prayer: I ask for my brothers and sisters in Christ and myself that we will take you and your Word with the utmost seriousness Lord, and that we will grow thereby in leaps and bounds. One year from now, God-willing, may I be so much more of a Christian than I am today.

 Daily Bible thoughts 194: Thursday 27^th September 2012: 2 Kings 21:19-25

Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king…and my first instinct upon reading these words was to pray for all those twenty something’s in Christ’s church, that they will make wise choices. Amon made unwise choices, but it could have been such a different story. (Let’s also pray for many more people in their twenties to come to know Christ. In my own church we are aware of quite a gap in this age range, and it will be the case in many congregations.)

Amon made bad choices: a.) in his worship: he worshipped the idols his father had worshipped and bowed down to them. He forsook the LORD, the God of his fathers, and did not walk in the way of the LORD (21b, 22). Amon undid any good that his father Manasseh had done during the last years of his reign. The former idolatrous worship was quickly re-established. We saw yesterday how Manasseh was the vilest of the vile really, and led God’s people into paganism. But then, later in life, in a time of great distress when taken prisoner by the Assyrians, he repented and cried out to God (2 Chron.33:11-17). So we should not give up on anyone, no matter how depraved they are. Never stop praying. From a human perspective it is never too late to repent. Like the dying thief, people can turn to Jesus right at the end of their days (Lk.23:32, 39-43). Following Manasseh’s release and return to Jerusalem he sought to restore the authentic worship of God. He removed the pagan altars and idols from the temple; he offered sacrifices on the true altar, and urged his people to serve the Lord (2 Chron.33:15-16). However, it was all too late to change the course of Judah’s history and destiny. Amon, his son, was as wicked as Manasseh had been before his ‘conversion’. Because the people of Judah’s hearts had not really changed, they quickly reverted to idolatry as before; b.) In his walk: He walked in all the ways of his father… (21a i.e. his father’s ways prior to repentance, as we have just seen). He did not walk in the way of the LORD (22). Somebody said that walking is simply putting one foot in front of the other and moving in the right direction! Well, that’s the Christian walk. Sadly, Amon put one foot in front of the other and walked down the path signposted ‘Hell’.

Let’s also pray for all parents. Amon’s walk was bad because he followed his dad’s route (when he was bad.)  I knew someone who was a burglar before he became a Christian. As far as I remember the story, it was the family business. He got on the job training from his dad! That was the mould that formed him, until he became a new creation in Christ. Let’s also pray that God will raise up many ‘fathers’ (and ‘mothers’) in the church. Gordon McDonald wrote an inspiring and challenging article in one edition of ‘Leadership’, entitled ‘the under parented generation’. He called on the church to rise to tackle the very obvious need and try to make up the deficit of love and attention and example etc. that many children experience in this broken world.

When we think about leaders like Amon, and such as Manasseh was for much of his reign, let’s consider this: We sometimes can do very little about world affairs, but we can pray for persons in authority (1 Tim.2:1-8) and be faithful to obey God (Rom.13). Warren W.Wiersbe: With the Word, p.222.

Pray: Sovereign Lord, Heavenly King, we may not always agree with our political leaders, but we do want to pray for them consistently, as we should. Help them to govern wisely and justly with shepherd-like hearts and instincts. May there be more than a few who, like Manasseh, turn to you and change radically. Thank you that you can do miracles that will leave us open-mouthed.

Daily Bible thoughts 193: Wednesday 26^th September 2012: 2 Kings 21:1-18

The only truly reliable measurement of an individual or a community is the one taken by God. He had the measure of Jerusalem at this time (13), and the passage as a whole shows He had the tape around King Manasseh and his leadership. It is sad to report that he was a leader into sin; a thoroughly bad example (9, 11, 16). As far as GOD was concerned, he’d turned them into a nation of sinners. The Message. (I do note, though, that some things can go extremely well for the ungodly. Manasseh was permitted to reign for fifty-five years. See verse 1).

It is desperately sad when people are forced to admit that there are certain professing Christians who are eclipsed in good behaviour by some non-Christians. There are times, as here, when the world looks better than the ‘church’ (9, 10). Manasseh led them…into practices of evil even exceeding the evil of the pagan nations that GOD had earlier destroyed…Manasseh… has committed these outrageous sins, eclipsing the sin-performance of the Amorites before him, setting new records in evil. The Message.

Manasseh was born during the fifteen years of added life that God graciously gave to Hezekiah. During his reign he was to overturn every religious reform his father had undertaken, and he returned to Canaanite practices. He led the people into paganism and occultism (1-6). He was also a dangerous man to be around: The final word on Manasseh was that he was an indiscriminate murderer. The Message. Prophets were included in the list of his victims. According to Jewish tradition, Isaiah was one of them, and it is thought that he was sawed in two (Hebs.11:37). It was Manasseh’s desecration of the temple, however, that the author of Kings most regretted (7-9). This was grievous. God had put His Name there, but Manasseh was intent on putting other names in there alongside the Lord’s. He built altars in the temple of the Lord… (4, see also 5). Similarly today, many people are repulsed by the thought of Jesus being the only way to the only God there is. His Name is above every other name, but still men want to put other names beside his, and say that all gods should rub shoulders and be regarded as equals in a great big modern Pantheon. Such an idea is repulsive to Christians who believe what the Bible teaches about the uniqueness of Christ and the exclusive claims of Christianity.

If you are a devoted follower of God, you cannot guarantee that your children will follow in your steps (3). He was so unlike his dad. No, Hezekiah was not perfect. We have seen some of the cracks in the fine bone china of his life. But he was a man of God. Tom Hale makes some very helpful remarks on this subject in his The Applied Old Testament Commentary p.690: How could such a godly father as Hezekiah have had such a wicked son? (On the opposite side, how could the wicked Ahaz have produced the godly Hezekiah?) The answer is that each individual is free to make his or her own choices in life. Our parents influence us greatly, but they do not finally determine the course we take. We should sympathize with godly parents whose child does not follow God. Yes, they may bear some responsibility; no parent is perfect. But the main responsibility must be borne by the wayward child. He goes on to say that happily, for most parents Prov.22:6 holds true.

What a terrible man Manasseh was. Do they come any worse? Yet, it would appear he had a dramatic conversion later on in his life. Read 2 Chron.33:11-17, be encouraged by it, and be determined to not give up on anyone.

Prayer: Lord I pray for (you fill in the blank – the person you consider least likely to become a Christian) that they will turn from sin to Jesus.

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