Ordinary Courage
Scripture: 2 Kings 12:17-18
"Then Jehoiada made a covenant between the Lord and the king and the people that they would be the Lord's people. He also made a covenant between the king and the people. 18 And all the people of the land went over to the temple of Baal and tore it down."
Observations:
Here we have one of the unsung heroes of the Old Testament named Jehoiada. He was a priest during the reign of the evil Queen Athaliah. One day Jehoiada devises this plan to lead Israel in a conspiracy to assassinate the Queen and rid the land of Baal worship so that God's people could serve the Lord. Not only does he pull off his plan and appoint a 7 year old kid as the next King of Israel (which seems a little questionable to me) but he appears to have done it all out of a genuine desire to please God. There were no prophets or miracles that inspired him to action. He simply looked at the world around him and applied the words God had already spoken in the past to his present circumstances and it gave him the courage to stand up and do what he knew was right (which by the way, nobody else in all of Israel had the guts to do).
Application:
I think sometimes we are waiting around for some really "spiritual" sign to motivate us to do something significant for God. But perhaps, God's definition of significant is when He doesn't have to work wonders in order to get our attention. Granted this method is a lot less flashy and comes with much less notoriety than performing the supernatural (not to mention your story probably won't get lots of attention or be told very often, much less remembered). Call me crazy, but do we really need special motivation to do the right thing? Ok, yes a lot of people do, but I have a notion that God is far more pleased when His people simply pay enough attention to what He has already said in His Word and just obey the truth they already know. If every follower of Christ could simply muster the courage to stand up and put into practice the plethora of instructions God has already given us it would start a revolution! (I just wish Jesus would have realized this cause it would have made a great memory verse. Oh, wait- Matthew 7:24. "Everyone who hears my words and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on solid rock.")
Prayer:
Father, help us to put into practice the truths we have already received today. Give us the courage to stand up and do the right thing even if we are the only ones standing. Make our lives count for eternity. Amen.
Daily Bible Reading Plan
"Then Jehoiada made a covenant between the Lord and the king and the people that they would be the Lord's people. He also made a covenant between the king and the people. 18 And all the people of the land went over to the temple of Baal and tore it down."
Observations:
Here we have one of the unsung heroes of the Old Testament named Jehoiada. He was a priest during the reign of the evil Queen Athaliah. One day Jehoiada devises this plan to lead Israel in a conspiracy to assassinate the Queen and rid the land of Baal worship so that God's people could serve the Lord. Not only does he pull off his plan and appoint a 7 year old kid as the next King of Israel (which seems a little questionable to me) but he appears to have done it all out of a genuine desire to please God. There were no prophets or miracles that inspired him to action. He simply looked at the world around him and applied the words God had already spoken in the past to his present circumstances and it gave him the courage to stand up and do what he knew was right (which by the way, nobody else in all of Israel had the guts to do).
Application:
I think sometimes we are waiting around for some really "spiritual" sign to motivate us to do something significant for God. But perhaps, God's definition of significant is when He doesn't have to work wonders in order to get our attention. Granted this method is a lot less flashy and comes with much less notoriety than performing the supernatural (not to mention your story probably won't get lots of attention or be told very often, much less remembered). Call me crazy, but do we really need special motivation to do the right thing? Ok, yes a lot of people do, but I have a notion that God is far more pleased when His people simply pay enough attention to what He has already said in His Word and just obey the truth they already know. If every follower of Christ could simply muster the courage to stand up and put into practice the plethora of instructions God has already given us it would start a revolution! (I just wish Jesus would have realized this cause it would have made a great memory verse. Oh, wait- Matthew 7:24. "Everyone who hears my words and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on solid rock.")
Prayer:
Father, help us to put into practice the truths we have already received today. Give us the courage to stand up and do the right thing even if we are the only ones standing. Make our lives count for eternity. Amen.
Daily Bible Reading Plan
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