Month: June 2011

Isaiah 33-34

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Strength For the Day!

“Lord, be merciful to us! We wait for you. Give us strength each morning! Deliver us when distress comes.” ­– Isaiah 33:2 NET

Do you ever feel overwhelmed by it all? Does attempting to live the Christian life in this world ever leave you feeling discouraged, disheartened and a little bit disillusioned? Just imagine how the faithful remnant living at the time of Isaiah’s prophesies felt. There were a small number of “believing” Jews who were faithful to God and yet were having to go through the same circumstances as the rest of the unbelieving, unfaithful population. They were having to listen to the messages of warning from Isaiah. They knew that destruction was coming and fully understood why. They were appalled by the spiritual condition of their countrymen and knew that God was just in having to discipline them for their rebellion and rejection of Him. But that didn’t keep them from calling out to Him and appealing to His mercy. As we read of God’s plans for the destruction of Assyria and Edom, we run across this single verse reflecting the cries of this faithful remnant of God’s people. They call out for mercy. The Hebrew word for mercy is chanan and it means: “to bend or stoop in kindness to an inferior.” It is an appeal for God to show them favor, to pity them and extend undeserved kindness to them. They are waiting for Him. The Hebrew word for wait is qavah and it carries the idea of eager anticipation, hope and expectation. They knew their only hope is in God. He is the answer to all their needs. There is no need to look elsewhere, because He is their strength. The word used here is actually zerowa and it means “arm.” It is a figurative term for strength, might and power. They are waiting on the “long arm of the law” to act on their behalf. And they are very specific. They ask God to reveal His strength each and every day, because without it, they will not survive. Ultimately, they want salvation. That is really what they are waiting for. The Hebrew word for salvation is yeshuwah. It means “salvation, deliverance or victory.” Again, they want God to save them, to give them victory and provide them with deliverance from their circumstances.

So who do you wait on? Are you eagerly waiting on God? Do you look to Him as Your strength, your source of power and protection? Where will you turn for the strength you need to make it through the day? Who will you turn to when you encounter the inevitable tough times along life’s way? Why not turn to Him? Why not eagerly wait for His deliverance? Cry out for His mercy. Ask Him to reveal His power in your life. Appeal to Him for salvation in times of trouble. He is faithful. He will answer.

Father, we can count on You, even when things look bleak and hopeless. May we learn to call out to You and eagerly wait for You to act. Don’t let us lose hope. Don’t let us turn elsewhere. Keep our eyes and our hearts focused on You even on the darkest days. Because You along are our strength and salvation. Amen

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org

Isaiah 31-32

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A Righteous King Is Coming!

“Look, a righteous king is coming!” ­– Isaiah 32:1 NLT

There is a theme running through all the books of the prophets in the Old Testament. It is a theme of redemption and salvation. Yes, God will discipline, but He will also deliver. He will punish, but He will also restore. Ultimately, the message is one of hope. The holy, righteous God who is bringing destruction on His own people, will also bring salvation. And while the punishment is based on their behavior, their salvation is based solely on God’s mercy and grace. He will restore them in spite of them. The day will come when God restores His people, the people of Israel, to a right relationship with Him. So He calls them to return to Him because He wants to restore them. “Repent, return, dear Israel, to the One you so cruelly abandoned. On the day you return, you’ll throw away – every last one of you – the no-gods your sinful hands made from metal and wood” (Isaiah 31:6-7 NLT). But they will continue to live in rebellion to Him. They will continue to reject His offer of restoration for repentance. But one day, God will restore them Himself. “Until at last the Spirit is poured out on us from heaven. Then the wilderness will become a fertile field, and the fertile field will yield bountiful crops. Justice will rule in the wilderness and righteousness in the fertile field. And this righteousness will bring peace. Yes, it will bring quietness and confidence forever” (Isaiah 32:15-17 NLT).

The prophet Ezekiel gives us more details concerning this great day of redemption for the people of Israel. It has yet to happen, but it will one day take place. And it will be the work of God, not men. He will pour out His grace and mercy – totally undeserved and unearned. He will redeem and restore, bringing salvation in the midst of rebellion. Because that is the kind of God He is.

“Therefore, tell Israel, ’Message of God, the Master: I’m not doing this for you, Israel. I’m doing it for me, to save my character, my holy name, which you’ve blackened in every country where you’ve gone. I’m going to put my great and holy name on display, the name that has been ruined in so many countries, the name that you blackened wherever you went. Then the nations will realize who I really am, that I am God, when I show my holiness through you so that they can see it with their own eyes. For here’s what I’m going to do: I’m going to take you out of these countries, gather you from all over, and bring you back to your own land.  I’ll pour pure water over you and scrub you clean. I’ll give you a new heart, put a new spirit in you. I’ll remove the stone heart from your body and replace it with a heart that’s God-willed, not self-willed. I’ll put my Spirit in you and make it possible for you to do what I tell you and live by my commands. You’ll once again live in the land I gave your ancestors. You’ll be my people! I’ll be your God!” – Ezekiel 36:22-28 MSG

The righteous King is coming. The faithful God is going to provide salvation for His people. He will do for them what they could never have done for themselves. He will do for the people of Israel what He has done for every believer – He will save them in spite of themselves. He will provide the righteousness of Christ in place of their own unrighteousness. He will give them new hearts and a new capacity to love and serve Him. Their rebellion will be replaced with devotion. Their stubbornness will be replaced with a willingness to follow Him. He will restore them to the land and to a right relationship with Him. All because of His unchanging faithfulness.

Father, Your faith is unfathomable. Your kindness is immeasurable. Your patience is unbelievable. What You have done for me by providing Your Son as my sin substitute and Savior is mind-boggling. I didn’t deserve it. I could never have earned it. And I can never repay You for it. But You are going to do the same thing for Your chosen people – the people of Israel. Your faithfulness to them should be an encouragement to me. It should remind me of just how gracious, merciful and loving You are. You are an amazing God and worthy to be praised. Amen

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org

Isaiah 29-30

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Return To Him.

“So the Lord must wait for you to come to him so he can show you his love and compassion. For the Lord is a faithful God. Blessed are those who wait for his help.” ­– Isaiah 30:18 NLT

God is waiting. Waiting for His people to return to Him. Sometimes He uses discipline to get our attention. He allows us to go through difficulty to increase our need for Him. He lets us discover that all the other things we turn to for hope, healing, satisfaction and salvation can’t deliver. They always disappoint. But He is always there waiting. He reminds us through the prophet Isaiah, “He will be gracious if you ask for help. He will surely respond to the sound of your cries. Though the Lord gave you adversity for food and suffering for drink, he will still be with you to teach you. You will see your teacher with your own eyes” (Isaiah 30:19-20 NLT). This promise reminds me of the words of Job that he stated at the end of his season of suffering and shame. “I had only heard about you before, but now I have seen you with my own eyes” (Job 42:5 NLT). Job was a blameless and righteous man when his story begins. But suffering came his way and tested his faith and his view of God. He knew a lot about God, but his season of suffering was going to open his eyes to the reality of who God really is. Job’s suffering was not the result of rebellion or sin, but God used it in his life to bring him to a deeper understanding of Himself. Job grew closer to God through his trials than he ever would have otherwise.

God was calling the Israelites back to Himself through the prophet Isaiah. But they were stubborn. They would not listen. They refused to pay attention to what Isaiah had to say. They didn’t like his message of doom and gloom. In fact, they were telling the prophets, “Stop seeing visions! Don’t tell us what is right. Tell us nice things. Tell us lies. Forget all this gloom. Get off your narrow path. Stop telling us about your Holy One of Israel!” (Isaiah 30:10-11 NLT). They didn’t want to hear the truth. They didn’t want to listen to what God had to say. They would rather be lied to as long as it was what they wanted to hear. But God reminded them, “Your salvation requires you to turn back to me and stop your silly efforts to save yourselves. Your strength will come from settling down in complete dependence on me – The very thing you’ve been unwilling to do” (Isaiah 30:15 MSG). God was offering salvation, and all they had to do to receive it was return to Him. They had to turn away from their pseudo-saviors and God-replacements, and recognize that only God can truly save. He alone can rescue. And He promises to hear us when we cry. He promises to be gracious if we ask Him for help. But returning requires turning. We must walk away from our sin and all those substitutes we have made for God in our lives. We must acknowledge our need for Him. And when we return, He always responds. He is faithful.

Father, we can be just as stubborn as the people of Israel. We can be just as prone to trust in other gods and reject Your Word. We want to hear good news and don’t like to listen to anything that convicts or condemns us. We don’t like having our sins pointed out to us. And we reject suffering in our lives as unacceptable.Yet You allow us to suffer in order to make us more dependent on You. Even the suffering we see happening all around us is a reminder of just how much we need You. Open our eyes. Soften our stubborn hearts. Help us return to You for salvation and restoration. Amen

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org

Isaiah 28

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Rejecting God’s Rest.

“God has told his people, ‘Here is a place of rest; let the weary rest here. This is a place of quiet rest.’ But they would not listen.” ­– Isaiah 28:12 NLT

Jesus Himself said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28 NLT). He was offering an invitation to escape the weary pursuit of self-righteousness and religious observance. He was inviting the Jewish people of His day to discover a way to come to God without trying to earn their way into His good favor. They were wearing themselves out with self-effort and futile attempts at keeping God’s law, and had been going it for generations. All the way back to the days of Isaiah, the people of God had been trying to work their way into a right relationship with God, but had failed. They had committed spiritual adultery, turning to false gods and placing their hopes in their own military might or alliances with other countries. Rather than simply trust God, they came up with all kinds of alternate plans. Even when God told them He was going to have to punish them for their unfaithfulness, they came up with plans to escape His judgment. In their hearts they said, “We have struck a bargain to cheat death and have made a deal to dodge the grave. The coming destruction can never touch us, for we have built a strong refuge made of lies and deception” (Isaiah 28:15 NLT). Listen to how The Message paraphrases this verse: “We’ve taken out good life insurance. We’ve hedged all our bets, covered all our bases. No disaster can touch us. We’ve thought of everything. We’re advised by the experts. We’re set.”

But they were placing their hope and trust in the wrong thing. They were building their future on a weak foundation. Their attempts at self-salvation were never going to work. Rather than rest in God, they were going to keep trying to save themselves – from God’s judgment and from death. But Isaiah gives us the only hope for any man – Jew or Gentile, in Isaiah’s day and in ours. “Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: “Look! I am placing a foundation stone in Jerusalem, a firm and tested stone. It is a precious cornerstone that is safe to build on. Whoever believes need never be shaken. I will test you with the measuring line of justice and the plumb line of righteousness. Since your refuge is made of lies, a hailstorm will knock it down. Since it is made of deception, a flood will sweep it away” (Isaiah 28:16-17 NLT). This was a message from God regarding the coming Messiah. One day He would send His Son as the rock-solid foundation upon which every man and woman could build their lives. He would live a life of justice and righteousness. His sinless life would be the measurement by which all men and women are judged. But simple faith in Him would provide rescue from destruction and escape from death. “The Scriptures provide precedent: Look! I’m setting a stone in Zion, a cornerstone in the place of honor. Whoever trusts in this stone as a foundation will never have cause to regret it” (1 Peter 2:6 MSG). Yet even when Jesus came to the people of Israel, they would reject Him as their cornerstone and Messiah. “Then Jesus asked them, ‘Didn’t you ever read this in the Scriptures? The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone. This is the Lord’s doing, and it is wonderful to see. I tell you, the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation that will produce the proper fruit'” (Matthew 28:42-43 NLT). Rather than find their ultimate rest in God’s Son, the people of Israel would reject His offer of rest and continue to try and earn their way into God’s good graces. Rather than build on a the solid foundation of Jesus Christ, they would work relentlessly to build their lives on a shaky foundation of self-effort and self-achievement. God’s offer of rest still stands today – for Jew and Gentile alike. Jesus still calls out, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”

Father, thank You for Your offer of rest. We still need it today. Even after coming to salvation through Christ, I can still find myself trying to earn favor with You through my own self-effort. I wear myself out trying to do good things that I think will make You love me more. I lose sight of the fact that You have already shown Your love to me by sending Your Son to die for me. I can’t do anything to make You love me more. Help me to find rest from my own self-effort and relax in the knowledge that Your Son has done it all for me. Anything I do to live in obedience to Your Word is out of a sense of gratitude, not obligation. I obey because I am loved, not to be loved. Amen

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org

Hosea 12-14

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Walk In His Ways.

“Let those who are wise understand these things. Let those with discernment listen carefully. The paths of the Lord are true and right, and righteous people live by walking in them. But in those paths sinners stumble and fall.” ­– Hosea 14:9 NLT

“Return to the Lord your God.” That is the appeal God makes in the closing chapter of the book of Hosea. He begs His unfaithful people to return and repent. He tells them to admit their sin, confess it, and simply ask for forgiveness. He tells them to reject their false gods and pseudo-saviors. They just need to return to God and acknowledge Him as the one true God. And He promises, “Then I will heal you of your faithlessness; my love will know no bounds, for my anger will be gone forever” (Hosea 14:4 NLT).

God reminds His people that it is He who answers their prayers and cares for them. He is the one who provides for and protects them. All He asks in return is that His people walk in His ways. He expects those on whom He showers His love, grace, and mercy to respond in obedience to His will revealed in His Word. When we do we find that His ways are true and right. They lead to blessing. They bring peace, joy, and contentment. But too often we choose our own way. We demand to live according to our own standards. We refuse to listen to God’s command or follow His will for our lives. And we suffer. We reap the results of our disobedience.

God stands ready to restore. He wants to revive and rescue. He wants to bless and heal us. But first we must acknowledge our sin. We must turn from the other “saviors” we have made in our lives and recognize Him as the only true Savior. Ultimately, this book is about God’s faithfulness in spite of man’s unfaithfulness. God continues to love us even when we sin. He loves us even when we refuse to return that love to Him. But because God is holy and just, He must punish our sin. He must discipline us – because He loves us. He knows His way is better for us, so He brings discipline into our lives to encourage us to return to Him. He allows us to discover that our false gods and not really gods at all. Our replacement saviors can’t really save at all. And when we come to the end of our rope, He always stands ready, willing and able to restore us and rejoice over us. Because He loves us.

Father, You are faithful. You are loving. You are patient. You are persistent. You are God. Never let me forget that. Open my eyes to the replacement gods I make in my life. Show me the false saviors I turn to instead of You. Help me acknowledge that there is no God but You and no other Savior. Amen

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org

Hosea 8-11

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The Love of A Father.

“When Israel was a child, I loved him, and I called my son out of Egypt. But the more I called to him, the farther he moved from me, offering sacrifices to the images of Baal and burning incense to idols. I myself taught Israel how to walk, leading him along by the hand. But he doesn’t know or even care that it was I who took care of him.” ­– Hosea 11:1-3 NLT

When we read all these messages of coming destruction and God’s anger with Israel and Judah it is easy to forget the fact that God was in love with them. The whole story of Hosea is built around the imagery of a husband and wife. Hosea had been ordered by God to marry and father children with a known prostitute. She would prove unfaithful to him even after he showered her with love and affection, forcing him to buy her out of sexual slavery. This book is filled with messages from the prophet regarding God’s anger and the coming punishment for Israel’s unfaithfulness. But then we have in chapter 11 a reminder of God’s love. It is couched in terms that we can understand – the relationship between a father and his son. God speaks of His love for Israel as a father reminiscing about his wayward adult son, remembering the days when he was just a child. As the son grew, he rebelled against his Father, causing the Father to call out to him. But the son only rejected the Father’s efforts by moving farther away. God longingly remembers the early days of their relationship. He pictures Himself as a father who recalls teaching his son how to walk, leading him along, lovingly guiding and protecting him. But now, that same child “doesn’t know or even care that it was I who took care of him” (Hosea 11:3).

As a father of two sons, I can relate to God’s description of disappointment and sadness. I love my sons and can vividly remember the day of their births. I can recall teaching them to walk, ride their bikes, playing catch with them, kicking a soccer ball together, reading books a bedtime, putting band-aids on cuts, and laughing as we wrestled on the living room floor. But I can also remember days when they rejected my love and rebelled against my authority. Those moments were always heartbreaking and sad. And while neither one of my sons have ended up rejecting me completely, just the isolated instances of rebellion have left me feeling empty and sad. To think of God as a loving Father watch the son He loves reject Him and forget all about Him is disturbing, but also enlightening. The punishment God was bringing was motivated by His love for Israel. He loved His people. He had chosen them. He had nurtured them. He did not enjoy punishing them. In fact, God states, “My heart is torn within me, and my compassion overflows. No, I will not unleash my fierce anger. I will not completely destroy Israel, for I am God and not a mere mortal” (Hosea 11:8-9 NLT). God’s love influenced His reaction to Israel’s sin. He had to punish them for their behavior, but He did so out of love, just as He does with you and me today. God loves me. He cares deeply for me. He longs for a relationship with me. And yet, too often He has to watch as I walk away from Him and seek what He longs to provide from something or someone else. And when I do, I break His heart. But He never stops loving me.

Father, never let me lose sight of the fact that You are indeed my Father. You are responsible for my very existence. You created me. You chose me. You have made me who I am. You have blessed me, fed and clothed me, disciplined me, protected me, and showered me with undeserved love and affection. Yet I have rejected You so often and turned away from You. I have acted as if I don’t know You or am not grateful for all You have done for me. Please forgive me for my arrogance and ingratitude. Thank You for loving me like a Father. Amen

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org

Hosea 5-7

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To Know Him.

“I want you to show love, not offer sacrifices. I want you to know me more than I want burnt offerings.” ­– Hosea 6:6 NLT

How well do you know God? Or do you just know about Him? God condemned Israel and Judah, His chosen people, for not knowing Him. Yet He had saved them out of captivity in Egypt, led them through the wilderness for 40 years, fed and clothed them the entire time, then gave them the land of Canaan as their inheritance. Yet they didn’t really know Him. And they really had no desire to know Him, in spite of what they might have said. “Oh, that we might know the Lord! Let us press on to know him” (Hosea 6:3 NLT). All they really wanted from God was what He could give them. At this point they needed rescue from their enemies, so they wanted to “know” Him. But they wanted to know other gods just as much. Their relationships with their gods were based solely on what they could get out of them. So God tells them what He really wants in a relationship. He wants them to show love, not offer sacrifices. The Message paraphrases that verse this way: “I’m after love that lasts, not more religion.” The word translated “love” here is checed. It is the Hebrew word that can mean goodness, loyal love or faithfulness. What God is asking for is that they would express a faithful, loyal love to Him. This isn’t about loving others, but about loving God. The context is unfaithfulness or spiritual adultery. Remember how this book started? Hosea was commanded by God to marry a prostitute who would prove unfaithful to him. Gomer was a picture of Israel. God wants us to love Him faithfully, to show Him fidelity and devotion. He doesn’t want our religious rituals or outward acts of piety. We can go through the motions, do all kinds of acts of service, and never really love God.

Then God tells them that He wants them to know Him more than He wants their burnt offerings. Again, The Message paraphrases this verse “I want you to know GOD, not go to more prayer meetings.” God is basically claiming that they are ignorant of Him. They have no knowledge of who He really is or what He really desires. They have no recognition or understanding of God. Sure, they know all about the history of His relationship with Israel. They can quote all the stories about how He delivered them in the past. But their knowledge of Him was not intimate or personal. The fact that they simply came to Him to offer burnt offerings was based on the fact that they simply wanted something from Him, not to get to know Him. They prayed to Him just to get an answer from Him. The offered sacrifices to Him just to pacify Him and in hopes that He would deliver Him. But they didn’t know Him. They didn’t understand Him.

So let me ask again. How well do you know God? Do you just know about Him? Do you pray to Him just to get things from Him? Do you serve Him just to keep Him happy with you? Do you try to obey Him just because you fear Him? If so, you probably don’t really know Him. God wants a relationship with you based on faithfulness. He wants you to want Him. He wants you to desire Him more than anything else. Hosea wanted Gomer to love him. But instead she continued to give herself to others, being unfaithful to her covenant with Hosea. In what ways are you being unfaithful to God? Return to Him. Seek to know Him. He is waiting.

Father, may we be a people who really know You. May we move beyond actions and express our love with our attitudes. May we seek You more than anything else in the world. May we desire You more than anything else. Amen

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org

Hosea 1-4

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A Graphic Illustration.

“When the Lord first began speaking to Israel through Hosea, he said to him, ‘Go and marry a prostitute, so that some of her children will be conceived in prostitution. This will illustrate how Israel acted like a prostitute by turning against the Lord and worshiping other gods.'” ­– Hosea 1:2 NLT

Wow! Talk about a difficult command to follow. Hosea, the prophet of God, is instructed by God to marry a young woman who was a known prostitute. And not only that, he was to father children through her, never knowing if the children she bore him were his or not. But he was to take them as his own and name them as God instructed him. She would give birth to three children, two boys and one girl. Yet, in spite of Hosea’s love and faithfulness, she would continue to practice prostitution, ending up enslaved, forcing Hosea to buy her back.

As we read this story, it is easy to miss what Hosea must have felt as all this took place. From the moment God commanded him to marry Gomer to the day he had to buy her out of her slavery to prostitution, this had to have been a difficult time for Hosea. He must have felt used, betrayed, shamed, and angry. While we are not given his thoughts, I am sure there were times when he questioned God’s wisdom in all this. But through it all, he was faithful to follow God’s commands. He knew God had a reason for it all. He knew God was using his relationship with Gomer as a living illustration of His own relationship with Israel. The people of God had been unfaithful, running after other lovers and selling herself to them for food and water. Like Gomer, Israel failed to recognize the love of her husband – God. Israel did not realize that all the blessings and abundance it enjoyed were due to the love of God. Yet Israel took the gifts of God and gave them to others. The priests and the people proved themselves unfaithful.

But the story of Gomer is the story of God’s faithfulness. In spite of Gomer’s rejection of Hosea, he would buy her back and forgive her of her indiscetions. God told Hosea, “Go and love your wife again, even though she commits adultery with another lover. This will illustrate that the Lord still loves Israel, even through the people have turned to other gods and love to worship them” (Hosea 3:1 NLT). Israel had proven themselves unfaithful time and time again. They had prostituted themselves with other nations and other gods. They had rejected the love of God and sought to find satisfaction in other relationships. But God was not going to abandon them. God said of Israel, “My people are being destroyed because they don’t know me” (Hosea 4:6 NLT). Their lack of intimacy with God was leading to their own destruction. They did not know the One who had chosen them for Himself. They enjoyed the blessings of the relationship, but didn’t know the One who had given them the blessings. But in spite of all this, God would not let them go. They would suffer. There would be a purging and a cleansing, but ultimately God would restore them. God longs for intimacy with His people. He desires a relationship with us. He longs for us to know Him intimately and deeply. He wants us to love Him for who He is, not just for what He gives us. The book of Hosea is a picture of spiritual unfaithfulness – loving someone or something else other than God. It contains a stinging accusation against Israel, but we can’t read this book and not be convicted by our own unfaithfulness. We prostitute ourselves daily to the things of this world, attempting to find satisfaction and pleasure from all it offers us. When we do, we show our disappointment and dissatisfaction with God. He is not enough. He can’t provide enough. He has not done enough. Yet He loves us and remains faithful to us. His love never fails. What an amazing reminder.

Father, I know that I can be like Gomer. I can be unfaithful and ungrateful to You. I turn away from You so often, seeking elsewhere for “love” and satisfaction, failing to realize that it only in You that I will find real love and true satisfaction. Thank You for Your faithfulness. Forgive me of my unfaithfulness and continue to call me back to You. Amen

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org

2 Chronicles 29-31

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Real Revival.

“At the same time, God’s hand was on the people in the land of Judah, giving them all one heart to obey the orders of the king and his officials, who were following the word of the Lord.” ­– 2 Chronicles 30:23 NLT

When I was growing up, the word revival carried a certain connotation. It was a special series of services held at the church for seven nights in a row and preached by a visiting minister. The intent was to light a fire in the lives of the people of the church, but in most cases, theses revivals were evangelistic in nature, aimed at those outside of Christ. There was a lot of singing, special music, and and always, a lengthy altar call at the end. I experienced a lot of these revivals over the years, but none ever really seemed to make much of a difference in the life of the church. Sure, they seemed to energize some of the people for a period of time, but it never seemed to last long. After the revival was over, things went back to the way they were before.

As I read about the reign of Hezekiah, I can’t help but think that what happened in his day was what real revival is all about. This is a picture of the people of God getting right with God. There is repentance involved. There is cleansing from sin required. Sacrifice is non-optional. And godly leadership set the example. Hezekiah was instrumental in making all this happen. He recognized that the nation of Israel had turned from God and had neglected their duties as His chosen people. He reminded the Levites, “My sons, do not neglect your duties any longer! The Lord has chosen you to stand in his presence, to minister to him, and to lead the people in worship and present offerings to him” (2 Chronicles 29:11 NLT). He told the people, “Our ancestors were unfaithful and did what was evil in the sight of the Lord our God. They abandoned the Lord and his dwelling place; they turned their backs on him” (2 Chronicles 29:6 NLT). Hezekiah began an aggressive plan for restoring the centrality of God in the nation of Israel. He restored the Temple. He rededicated and re-instituted the priesthood. He reestablished the sacrificial system. He called the people of Israel – in both the northern and southern kingdoms to return to God and obey His commands. All the things that had been neglected over the years were restored – including the Passover. All of this came with a cost. To restore the Temple was an expensive proposition. Hezekiah personally paid for the sacrifices of many of the people, donating 1,000 bulls and 7,000 sheep and goats. The officials of Jerusalem donated another 1,000 bulls and 10,000 sheep and goats. This revival was not cheap. The people were required to travel to Jerusalem to make sacrifices. They had to bring offerings. They had to pay for their trips and for accommodations when they arrived. But the people brought so many gifts and offerings that special storehouses had to be built to hold it all.

The key element to this revival was not life change or spiritual renewal, but a renewed focus on God. These people had not been irreligious all these years. They had just been worshiping false gods. They had turned away from worshiping the one true God. So this revival was about returning to God and making Him he focus of their lives again. This was about relationship, not religion. They were reviving their love for and obedience to God. And it all began with Hezekiah. He provided the motivation and inspiration. “In all that he did in the service of the Temple of God and in his efforts to follow God’s laws and commands, Hezekiah sought his God wholeheartedly. As a result, he was very successful” (2 Chronicles 31:21 NLT). Revival begins in the heart. It is not an event, it’s an attitude – a desire to serve and love God regardless of the cost. It is a willingness to put God first in our lives, obeying Him willingly and eagerly. It is making Him the center of our lives and the focus of our attention. When we do that, God revives us. He restores us. He reinvigorates us.

Father, there is no doubt that we need revival among Your people today. We have become distracted and in some cases, highly religious. But we have taken our focus off of You. Bring us back to You. Raise up leaders who will call the people to repentance and renewal. May we turn away from the false gods we have set up and return to You – the one true God. May we make You the focus of our lives once again. Amen

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org

2 Kings 18:1-8; Psalm 48

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The Secret To Spiritual Success.

“Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before or after his time. He remained faithful to the Lord in everything, and he carefully obeyed all the commands the Lord had given Moses.” ­– 2 Kings 18:5-6 NLT

What do you want said of you when you die? I once heard it said that we are writing our eulogies right now – as we live our lives. What we do right now will determine how we are remembered. Our actions and attitudes will form the opinions of others and influence their memories regarding us. So if I hope to be remembered as a godly man, I must live like one now. My spiritual legacy is being made with each breath I take and every move I make. We see this truth lived out in the life of Hezekiah. After reading the stories of countless kings in both Judah and Israel, we come to the brief review of the life of Hezekiah, the king of Judah. He came to the throne at the age of 25 and took over the throne from his father Ahaz. Hezekiah did not have a great role model to follow in Ahaz. Ahaz did not do what was pleasing in the sight of the Lord. Instead, he led the people to worship false gods, even sacrificing one of his sons to a pagan deity. His legacy was lousy. He did not leave his son with an example worth following. But for some reason, Hezekiah was able to remain faithful to God and did not follow his father’s example.

Hezekiah gives us hope that we can break the cycle of sin that exists in some of our families. We do not have to live out the sins of our fathers and mothers. We can remain faithful to God even when we are raised in environments that are faithless. We can begin a new legacy. We can leave our children and our grandchildren a new example to follow. Hezekiah became a powerful reformer, restoring the worship of God in Judah and restoring the Temple and reestablishing the sacrificial system God had commanded. He put his trust in God, not alliances with pagan nations. He remained faithful to the Lord in everything – every area of his life – no compartmentalization. He obeyed the commands of God, and not just when it was convenient or easy. And as a result the Lord was with him. God gave him success in all that he did. God blessed him. When it would have been easy for Hezekiah to follow his father’s example and continue his legacy of self-centeredness and self-destructiveness, Hezekiah charted a different course. He determined to follow after God. He chose to live a godly life in the midst of a godless generation. And he left a legacy of faithfulness, trust, and obedience. What will your legacy be? You are building it right now. Will you be pleased with the results when you are finished?

Father, help me remember that I am building my legacy right now. With every decision, action, and attitude, I am writing the eulogy of my life. I will be remembered for who I am right now. The memories my children have of me are being forged right now. What people recall about me will be based on how I live from this moment forward. May I be a man of faith and faithfulness like Hezekiah. A reformer, not a follower. Amen

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org