About that ‘renovation project’ I left off with yesterday, and the work that was being done to repair God’s holy temple there in Jerusalem...

Like any physical building that exists, especially homes that are well ‘used’...maintenance and upkeep are a way of life, and necessary if you want to maintain the integrity of that building for any length of time. Yes, it can and will be costly; and if you think you can ‘cut corners’ along the way, let me assure you that somewhere down the road, you will pay for it.

But regarding the poor conditions of the temple that King Josiah was having renovated, the likely causes were due to decades of abuse and neglect. Keeping in mind what the ‘temple’ that God dwells in today (us)...have you ever wondered why so many professing ‘Christians’ talk about the need and desire for personal and even corporate ‘revival’? Why do so many believers admit to ‘feeling dry’...or ‘empty ... asking God to ‘restore the joy of their salvation’? (Ps. 51:12). Why do so many sincere and ‘long time believers’ go through seasons of feeling ‘distant’ from God?

If you were taking a personal inventory of your own walk of faith and your relationship with Jesus, as Paul admonishes us to do regularly (2 Cor. 13:5)...think back to what those early days were like when you first ‘came to Jesus’ in sincere and genuine faith. Can you remember that ‘unspeakable joy’ that filled your soul...and drove you into God’s word with an unsatiable hunger? How is that appetite today for God’s word?

Were you one of those ‘Jesus freak converts’ that didn’t want to talk about anything else...but the Lord....to the point where others (friends and family) began to avoid you because they were tired of hearing about it? Do you recall how easy it was to ‘set your mind on things above’ and how that prayer line of communication with God just flowed all the time? How’s that working out for you these days...or for others you may go to church with regularly?

And can you remember how the Holy Spirit began to convict you and redirect your steps and thoughts away from so many of those ‘carnal weights and sins...that could so easily ensnare you’ to the point where you might see something come across your TV...and you immediately jumped to change the channel or even just turn the set off all together? You know what I’m talking about. How are those viewing habits today...and your ‘thought-life’? What consumes much of what goes through your mind on any given day now?

Can I just tell you that our ‘enemy, the devil’ (1 Pet. 5:8) has been at this for a long time when it comes to steering us away, oh so subtly from God’s narrow path. We are not ignorant of his schemes (2 Cor. 2:11). And believe me...he can be one patient foe...since he knows what works. He’s good about coming immediately to snatch God’s word from your heart so it can’t begin the work in you that it was designed to do (Luke 8:11-12; 1 Thess. 2:13). And oh, the host of ‘distractions’ that he can lay in our paths like ‘bait’...(Mark 4:19).

Does it makes more sense now why we are admonished to ‘give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard...lest we drift away’? (Heb. 2:1). And what is the one contributing factor that slowly hardens our hearts? It is the ‘deceptiveness of sin’ (Heb. 3:12-12), sin that I might remind you...that you are told from the majority of pulpits across the land that you will continue to always do because you are a ‘flawed human being with a sinful flesh nature’. So much for being a ‘new creation in Christ’ who was set free from sin, which is what the Bible teaches happens to those who truly call upon His name.

The spiritual decay and destruction that takes place within us is easily masqueraded by busy ‘church activity’ that deceives us to thinking we are still ‘good with God’ while we flounder along in a ‘form of outward godliness’ ... not grasping the serious danger we are in (Matt. 7:21-23; 1 Cor. 13:1-3). Have you ever read the stern and somber warning given to the church at Ephesus in Revelation 2:1-5 how despite some notable deeds...they had ‘left their first love’ and were in serious need of repenting (4-5).

And do you know what one of the greatest and most deceptive tragedies is that follows? It’s this silly idea that we can just go to ‘one more gospel singing’ when the big name preacher comes to town to ‘revive us’...attempting to get us ‘worked up’ like priming a car engine with a few drops of gasoline; but then it’s only a matter of time before we doze off at the wheel once again and drift right back into our old ways. Friends...I’m not knocking anointed singing and worship...but we cannot sing our way into heaven. If you are serious about undergoing true and genuine transformation...try taking the advice of Mary, the mother of Jesus who said: “Whatever He says to you...do it!” (John 2:5). If you don’t...then Acts 3:22-23 spells out what you can expect. And that is not a ‘threat’, rather it’s a warning. That would be the same warning Jesus gave in Luke 13:3,5.

So an interesting thing happened while Josiah was directing funds to the temple renovation project there in Jerusalem (2 Kings 22: 3-7). Some ‘book’ was unearthed or found tucked away in the clutter or debris (8-9). Care to guess what ‘book’ this was? It was the Book of the Law. And the implications were clear...nobody had been reading this or hearing it read for some time. Word of this discovery was sent back to King Josiah and then it was delivered to him so he could have it read aloud by Shaphan, the scribe (10). And that is when all the lights and bells and signals began to ‘light up’. Let’s read vs 11 together:

“Now it happened, when the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, that he tore his clothes.” And everything began to make sense; so many unanswered questions...were answered. More dots were connected and more ‘puzzle pieces’ fell into place bringing more clarity to a ‘picture’ that had been blurred for far too long.

Friends...I myself underwent a similar experience six years ago, this past month...when I ‘heard the law’ for my first time. And it was the ‘hearing of the law’...that ‘led me to Christ’ in a way like I never knew was possible (Gal. 3:24). It also produced in me a very similar response that it did in young king Josiah when he heard it as well. We’ll dive in to that story tomorrow, Lord willing. You can finish reading chapter 22 until then.