Read 2 Kings 23:30-32 30 And his servants carried him dead in a chariot from Megiddo and brought him to Jerusalem and buried him in his own tomb. And the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and anointed him, and made him king in his father’s place. 31 Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem…. 32 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his fathers had done. 2 Kings 23:30-32

A friend once told one of his children: “I would rather you had not been born than to see you go to hell.” My wife, Karen, and I have sat with people who have wept over their children’s rejection of the faith. Most of them had tried to model Christ-like lives for their children, but the pressures and influences of this culture, combined with our fallen nature, have pried many of these young people away from the faith.

Is there anything more discouraging than to have your children reject the faith?

We mustn’t assume that exposure and information are enough. Some parents think that if their children attend a Christian school, or a good youth group, stay in a good environment, edit what they watch on TV, and surf the Internet safely, they’ll turn out fine.

But despite all these external controls, our children can still make bad choices. We must not assume that what we’ve given them is enough. We need to place them in God’s hands, crying out to Him to touch their lives.

Second Kings 23:30-32 reminds us of this. Jehoahaz’s dad, Josiah, was a godly man whom God used to usher in tremendous reform and revival, but Jehoahaz did not follow his dad’s lesson. Jehoahaz came from a godly family and had been exposed to reformation. Undoubtedly, he had seen the impact of his father’s faith and faithfulness. Yet he did wrong because it was his choice. There was an assumption that he’d be like his dad. But it was a wrong assumption to make.

We need to take it easy on parents of prodigal kids. It may not be that the parents have done anything terribly wrong. Perhaps it’s the pull of evil and sin in that child’s heart and life? So don’t make assumptions about the spiritual lives of your children. Place them in God’s hands and ask Him to do a deep work in their lives. —Crawford W. Loritts

responding Have I made assumptions about my children’s lives? Do I pray for them consistently? Am I living a life that exemplifies Christ’s compassion?
following Every child needs a praying parent.

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Read Psalm 139:1-4, 23-24 1 0 Lord, you have searched me and known me! 2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. 3 You search out my path … and are acquainted with all my ways. 4 Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, 0 Lord, you know it altogether.. .. 23 Search me, 0 God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! 24 And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting! Psalm 139:1-4, 23-24

God is not seduced by the smooth talk of the wicked. He knows what others are not willing to admit. He is watching everything, and it is all recorded.

What is our response to this knowledge? David prayed: “Search me, 0 God, and know my heart! Try me and know my anxious thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:23-24).

Why did David ask God to search him when he had already affirmed that God knew him entirely? David was saying: “God, I know that You know everything there is to know about me; now show me what You see!”

David was willing to see himself in God’s mirror. He would see a clearer image without alibis, without shifting blame, without a carefully crafted spin on the details—just him alone in the presence of an all-knowing God.

God lets us see at least a bit of what He sees. We’ll never see ourselves exactly as He sees us, but we’ll see enough of reality to be brought to repentance. Perhaps we’ll also see ourselves the way others see us—sins and attitudes we did not know existed. Our self-perception will at least to some extent, be revealed. Other people can help us if we have the humility to accept their critique; but in the end, only God can help us see the whole horrid mess.

Pascal said, “Not only do we know God through Jesus Christ; we can only know ourselves through Jesus Christ.” The knowledge of ourselves is only possible through our knowledge of God. He is the standard by which we can come to know who we really are. He’s the only one with a straight mirror.
—Erwin Lutzer

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Read 1 Corinthians 15:12-19 12 Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? . . . 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. 1 Corinthians 15:12, 17-19

Life has a way of driving our faith dangerously close to the edge. If God is good, why did this happen? If God is all-powerful, why didn’t He stop this? If God really loves me, why am I not happier?

Questions like these quickly dampen our spiritual enthusiasm and threaten to leave our faith stale and stoic. Most of us grin and bear it, and hope that no one ever asks us
these questions. We may even come to believe that in order to maintain spiritual sanity, we need to park our brains and questions outside the door and separate the spiritual realm from the realities of life.

But disconnecting through denial falsely assumes that all the answers are found in this world. If we believe that this world is a place where comfort, happiness, and peace should be found, we’ll never understand why bad things happen. But, as someone rightly observed, “This is the short, nasty, brutish world!”

All of life has been damaged by the fall of Adam and is now under the management of our adversary the devil—lord of destruction! Actually, if we understood the damage of the fall and the destructive impulses of the underworld, we would be surprised that anything good happens at all!

But here’s the good news: For those of us who have been rescued by Jesus, the best world is yet to come. The world where comfort and peace will reign in unhindered joy forever! And in that day, God will make all things new and show us how all things worked together for good.

Paul had it right when he said: “If in this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied” (1 Corinthians 15:19). Thankfully, we are people of two worlds. Let’s stop blaming God for Satan’s evil schemes and start praising God that in the end justice will be done, questions will be answered, and God’s glory will be vindicated! —Joe Stowell

responding What are some questions that threaten my spiritual sanity? What’s the significance of Christ’s resurrection on my life? How does the anticipation of heaven bring me hope and joy today?
following Faith bridges chasm that reason cannot fathom.

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Read 1 Corinthians 7:17-24 17 Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him. This is my rule in all the churches.. . 23 You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men. 24 So, brothers, in whatever condition each was called, there let him remain with God. 1 Corinthians 7:17, 23-24

Everyone searches for meaning and fullness to life—to know where it’s all going. The Bible teaches that the purpose of life is to know Christ and to make Christ known. Joy and
fulfillment is ultimately found in this goal alone. The starting place for that kind of joy begins with kneeling before the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

You may say “I’ve already made a commitment to follow Christ. What comes after?” Too often we focus only on that first decision, but God doesn’t just want to forgive you and get you off to heaven.

He wants to change you on the way, to make you righteous, to experience His plan for you. As 1 Corinthians 7:17 says, “Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him.”

Jesus wants to be Lord, ruling over every area of your life. Here are the areas Jesus wants to be Lord of:

• Your conduct—over all that you do, say, feel, and think.
• Your family—over the way you treat your parents, and your loved ones.
• Your time—over the way you invest your minutes, days, and years.
• Your talents—over how you apply the gifts to build God’s kingdom.
• Your treasure—Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there your heart is.” To be honest, He doesn’t care about your 35 bucks. But He knows that until He has what you have, He doesn’t have you. When you surrender what you have to Jesus Christ as Lord, He gives it back to you and says, “Use it for Me.” There is such joy in that!

Bottom line: He wants to be Lord of your life.

By embracing Jesus as Lord of your life, you begin to see, choose, act, and take hold of life from His perspective. There is no end to the joy you’ll experience in that place. —James MacDonald

responding Ask God to show you where you need to surrender to God and let Him lead your conduct, family, time, talents and treasure.
following When God is central in our hearts, He can teach us His way through every experience of life.

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Read 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 & 7:23 19 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 23 You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men. 1 Corinthians 7:23

Hanging on the wall of my study is a simple, worn wooden chair. If you were to see it in a yard sale it probably wouldn’t occur to you to make a bid on it. But, as you might guess, it is very valuable to me.

It was made around 1816 by Dick Poyner, a slave who lived just a few miles from where I live today. It is especially precious because, with the extra money he made building chairs, Dick purchased his freedom around 1850, and later that of his wife, Millie. It was extremely rare, especially in the South, for a slave to find the means to buy themselves out of slavery. In the world of the New Testament, it was also possible and perhaps more common.

In 1 Corinthians 6, Paul reminds us that we’re not our own; that we have been bought at a price. He repeats the statement in the next chapter. Paul, who occasionally signs himself “a slave to Christ” (Romans 1:1; Ephesians 3:7; Titus 1:1), wants us to know that, while it might have been possible for some slaves to buy their freedom, you and I could never pay the price for ourselves. Only the price paid on the cross of Christ can purchase our freedom and reconcile us to God. Even the word Paul uses for “reconcile” (Romans 5:10; 2 Corinthians 5:18-20) comes from the world of the slaves. It denotes “the bringing together of those who had been separated from each other” after the slave, excluded from the rights of a free society, became a member of society upon release.

You’re not your own. You belong to the One who bought you. Some people struggle with the fact that the New Testament does not offer us the choice between slavery and freedom; only the choice of whose slave we will be: the world’s or Christ’s. The more I meditate on that, the clearer it becomes that Jesus does not offer freedom from slavery but instead a new kind of slavery that offers the only true freedom. —Michael Card

responding What freedoms does slavery to Christ offer? (See Romans 6:19; 7:25; 8:15; Galatians 1:10; 3:24-29.) What freedom found in Christ are you most thankful for? Why?
following You and I could never pay the price for ourselves.

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