Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “Attitude”
Our Bible verse for today: “Then Amaziah said to the man of God, ‘What should I do about the 7,500 pounds of silver I gave to Israel’s division?’ The man of God replied, ‘The Lord is able to give you much more than this.” 2 Chronicles 25:9 (HCSB)
Our thought for today: “Do what you know to be right and then trust the Lord.”
Amaziah was one of the few good kings of Judah during the era when the Jews were divided into two kingdoms, Judah in the south and Israel in the north. This was a time when most of the kings in both Israel and Judah were evil.
For the most part, Amaziah honored the Lord in the way he led the nation of Judah. However at one point, when he was preparing his nation for war, he became concerned that his army wasn’t large enough to prevail over his enemies. So he decided to enter into an agreement with the kingdom of Israel to hire 100,000 of their soldiers to supplement his army. But at that time the kingdom of Israel was knee-deep in idolatry and all sorts of wickedness. That means that the godly man Amaziah was about to enter into a business and military partnership with people who were very evil. He was dancing with the devil.
So God sent an unnamed prophet, identified in Scripture only as “the man of God”, to warn the king not to enter into this partnership with Israel. At that time Amaziah had already paid 7,500 pounds of silver in order to pay for the rented army, and he knew the Israelite king would never voluntarily return the money. That’s why he asked the man of God the question he did in 2 Chronicles 25:9, “But what about the money I paid?”
The response from the man of God was classic and it’s one we need to remember, “The Lord is able to give you much more than this.” In other words, “Just let it go. Just break the partnership you have made with evil people. Do what you know to be right and trust the Lord for the outcome.”
Far too many Christians are willing to dance with the devil if it seems as if there might be some advantage to doing so. Oh, they don’t intend to fully embrace him, of course not. They’re not thinking about a cozy and cuddly slow dance, arms wrapped tightly around each other. They’re going to keep him at arms length and just do a polite little two-step.
Uh-huh. The Apostle Paul warned us about this in 2 Corinthians 6:14-15: “Do not be mismatched with unbelievers. For what partnership is there between righteousness and lawlessness? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness? What agreement does Christ have with Bellal? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?”
This does not mean that we cannot be friends with or work with unbelievers. However it does mean that we have to be cautious and wise about how deeply we allow them into our lives and what kind of relationships we have with them. It also means that we should not allow ourselves to be drawn into anything that is in anyway illegal, unethical, or even questionable. We should strive to avoid even the appearance of impropriety in our own lives – and that has to include not allowing ourselves to be associated with the evil or ungodly activities of others.
Sometimes this is not so easy. Sometimes it will require us to make tough choices. And sometimes it might appear that if we decline to dance with the devil, just a little bit, it might cost us in terms of friendships, job, income, etc. Decline anyway.
Let your attitude be that you will do what you know to be right and then you will trust the Lord for the outcome.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 