The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 2 Chronicles 15:1-2,
"The Spirit of God came on Azariah son of Oded. He went out to meet Asa and said to him, 'Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin. The Lord is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you.'"
"The Spirit of God came on Azariah son of Oded. He went out to meet Asa and said to him, 'Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin. The Lord is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you.'"
Asa was king of the southern two tribes of Israel. This message from the Lord was a great encouragement for him and he and all the people joined in an oath to follow the Lord.
One of the aspects of Azariah's prophecy that capture's my thoughts this morning is that there were only two possible positions Asa and the people could take: seek the Lord and be with him, or forsake the Lord and be without him. I note there is no third possible position to take relative to the Lord. To fail to seek the Lord was to forsake the Lord.
I suspect there are many today who seek to avoid entering that spiritual fray whatsoever. They may not be interested in seeking the Lord, and they do not particularly want to forsake the Lord either. Just avoid the choice altogether. However, that is not possible. To fail to seek the Lord is to forsake the Lord. There is no neutral ground here.
There is no third consequence at the great white throne judgment. Either a person will be embraced into to the Lord's family with their sins forgiven, or cast into that fiery lake of burning sulfur. There is no Purgatory, there is no holding place, there simply is no third alternative.
Perhaps that is why so many who reject the truth are so opposed to the notion that life and reality has no black and white to it, just merely shades of grey. I suspect if I failed to embrace the Lord, I might want to fool myself into thinking that things were not so cut and dry.
But real life is cut and dry. And, either we embrace the Lord or we fail to do so. There simply is no third option here.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
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