Prayer: Father, when You compare us, Your assessment is accurate. I desire to be found faithful and obedient. Know my heart, Lord. Amen.
Reading: 2 Kings 21 key: vs. 1-3 “Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned 55 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hephzi-bah. But he did what was evil in Adonai’s eyes, following the abominations of the nations that Adonai had dispossessed before Bnei-Yisrael. For he rebuilt the shrines that his father Hezekiah had destroyed and he erected altars for Baal and made an Asherah pole, as King Ahab of Israel had done, and bowed down to all the host of heaven and worshipped them.” TLV
Attention: When we think about the evil men and women in history, there are names which come to mind. Names of dictators, mass murderers, and kings and queens. However, Manasseh’s name makes the list of Adonai’s kings in Israel. He is labeled as doing “much evil in Adonai’s eyes to provoke Him.” The level of his evil is compared to the “nations that Adonai dispossessed before Bnei-Yisrael.”
There is a narrative of Yeshua which Matthew records saying, “For I tell you that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the Pharisees and Torah scholars, you shall never enter the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:20)!” The comparison is not about evil, but righteousness.
Even the prophet Isaiah compares our righteousness to filthy rags: “For all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteousness is like a filthy garment, and all of us wither like a leaf, and our iniquities carry us away, like the wind. No one calls on Your Name, or stirs himself up to take hold of You. For You have hidden Your face from us, and have consumed us, because of our iniquities (Isaiah 64:5-6).”
The prophet Isaiah claims there is a remedy, a coming Messiah. “For to us a child is born, a son will be given to us, and the government will be upon His shoulder. His Name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God My Father of Eternity, Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:5)!”
I hope you know the Messiah and have embraced Adonai’s Love gift. Our goal at First Place Ministries, is to help many know God through the study of the scriptures. I hope you will keep participating in a daily journey with the word and spirit. Just this one act of daily discipline will transform your life.
Action: I choose to seek Adonia (God) everyday with the Choose Life Journal plan.
Yield: I choose to submit to the leading, guiding, and mentoring of the Holy Spirit.
Engage: I choose to engage with the Holy Spirit in pursuing and knowing God.
Relationship: I choose to live in holy intimacy with Adonai.
Prayer: Father, I shake my head at the years of wandering and complacency. I have resolved to live for You. I love what You love, righteousness, and hate what You hate, sin and evil. I desire to build Your kingdom as a citizen. Amen.
Memory Verse: Isaiah 64:5 “For all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteousness is like a filthy garment, and all of us wither like a leaf, and our iniquities carry us away, like the wind.” TLV
Music Video: CityAlight—Yet Not I But Through Christ In Me https://youtu.be/zundjUFazfg?si=LE5wzKBqs3Y4_Qcl
Remember, “Abide in Yeshua, today!”