Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK … Please take the time to take in a YouTube video of images and lyrics from Steve Green singing … God And God Alone … poignantly singing what should be the reality of our lives … worshipping God, and God alone, with our lives as living sacrifices.
Worshipping God ... and God alone!!
=============Highlight Verse[s]: 2 Kings 23:12a, 21 … [NLT] …
12 Josiah tore down the altars that the kings of Judah had built on the palace roof above the upper room of Ahaz. … 21 King Josiah then issued this order to all the people: “You must celebrate the Passover to the Lord your God, as required in this Book of the Covenant.”
… When God’s truth prevails over the idols of the world thru obedience God’s word.
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Highlight Passage [context]: 2 Kings 23:12-14, 21-25 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… Young King Josiah, surrendering to God’s will from His word, destroyed all idols and restored God’s covenant worship.
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Reference Passage #1 [NKJV] : … Joshua 24:15 [NLT] …
15 But if you refuse to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.”
… Joshua made his choice as to Whom he would serve. We must make ours.
Reference Passage #2 [NKJV] : … Romans 12:1-2 [NLT] …
1 And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all He has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind He will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship Him. 2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
… When we are living sacrifices to/for our God, we destroy the idols in our lives and worship the One True God.
My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Tim Gustafson, used a cross-cultural illustration to teach about destroying the idols in The ODB author wrote: As he awaited his baptism in Togo’s Mono River, Kossi stooped to pick up a worn wooden carving. His family had worshiped the object for generations. Now they watched as he tossed the grotesque figure into a fire prepared for the occasion. No longer would their choicest chickens be sacrificed to this god.
In the West, most Christians think of idols as metaphors for what they put in place of God. In Togo, West Africa, idols represent literal gods that must be appeased with sacrifice. Idol burning and baptism make a courageous statement about a new believer’s allegiance to the one true God.
And as the ODB author intimates, we likely have idols in our lives to which/whom we sacrifice our allegiance, draining our worship of the one true God. And so, as did the young King, Josiah, when we know the truth of God’s word, we must tear down and destroy all idols in our lives and sacrifice our lives in worship to the ONE TRUE GOD [see highlight passages].
So, what must we do to surrender to our LORD; and give our lives in worship to Him ALONE? Josiah made his choice (again, see highlight passages). Joshua made his choice (see Joshua 24:15); and the Apostle Paul made his (see Romans 12:1-2).
Now, … we must make ours!
My Prayer Today: Heavenly Father, … LORD, … Help me tear down any idol which stands between You and my worship of Your holiness. … Amen
Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled Our Daily Bread, distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you can read/study the ODB blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.
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