Monthly Archive for April, 2009
I hope that these series of articles will encourage our young people as we continue to look at the life of another young person who God used mightily to accomplish His purpose. It is hoped also that this story will inspire and challenge our young people to know that God can use them also to accomplish great things for His kingdom.
Our featured subject for this piece is King Josiah, whose story is found in (2 Chronicles 34). Josiah was only eight years old when he became king of Judah.
He ascended the throne following the death of his father (king Amon) who was killed by his servants (2 Chronicles 33:24-25). In spite of such traumatic circumstances young Josiah chose to trust in God. The bible tells us “in the eighth year of his reign while he was still young (sixteen years old), he began to seek the God of his father David” (2 Chronicles 34:3). In other words he wanted to know what his purpose was, and to carry it out.
All young people are called by God for a purpose, no one is here by chance, God has a plan for your life, and like Josiah He wants you to fulfil it. I would therefore challenge you to seek the Lord diligently and He will reveal it to you. Sometimes it is easy to blame family background or role models etc as reasons for not fulfilling our purpose, but as we can see that did not deter this young man.
Josiah came from a background where his Grandfather and Father (Manasseh &Amon) “did evil in the sight of God” by leading the people of God into idolatry (2 Chronicles 33:1-9, 21-23). In spite of all that he chose not to go down that path, instead he decided to return the nation to the true worship of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. As a result he removed all symbols of idol worship in the land, purged the land, restored true worship throughout the entire nation thus turning the hearts of the people back to serving the God of Israel.
The bible says that “all his days they did not depart from following the Lord God of their fathers” (2 Chronicles 34:33b). I would like therefore to challenge, and encourage you the reader of this article not to be put off by your age, but like young Josiah choose to make a difference.
May God continue to bless and prosper you in your walk with Him.
It is not news to most of us today that we are in the mist of the one of the worst economic crisis of our time. For some of us, this is the first time the full impact of a recession has really hit home. The 90’s down turn did not mean a thing to me because I was young and did not have any responsibilities.
For married couples, I just want to say this is not the time to turn on each other and start playing the blame game. I know that sometimes in a marriage relationship one person could be the big spender while the other might be trying to rein him or her in.
Well with the economy going belly up, job losses becoming the current trend, with fear and despair on the streets, it might be time to do one thing. You may ask me, what preacher?
It might be time for you to review your marriage vows. It might be time to get the old video or dvd out, get some pop corn and remember what you signed up for. It might be time to solidify your love for each other. You said till death do us part, in sickness and in health.
I am not trying to put a guilt trip on you, or trying to take a swipe at those who have been through a divorce. But the truth is money is one of the major sources of conflict in a marriage. It has also tragically been the end of many unions.
I have a few recommendations for you and I guess you already know most of them.
Repent: If you have bought into materialism, it is time to get before God and repent. Yes, money is important, but a man’s life is not based on the abundance of his possessions (Luke 12:15). We have to strike a balance. Many of us have been greedy during the boom and some of us hate to admit it. Facing up to the truth is the first step to change.
Stand together: Since you are married there is no point in tearing each other up. Jesus said a house divided against itself will not stand (Matt 12:25). This is not rocket science. Don’t let your flesh get the better of you. Sometimes people say the devil is attacking marriages. That may be true, but there is something we fail to address, we let our flesh run amok in our relationships and give the enemy too much to work with (Eph 4:27).
Restructure your finances: If you have been spending more than you have, it might be time to start getting rid of some of your liabilities. There might be some unnecessary expenses to throw overboard to keep your ship afloat during this crisis (Prov 27:12 MSG). While listening to a teaching series on stewardship, the preacher gave a quote he heard, that simply sums up our capitalist society. “A boom is when we spend money we don’t have; a recession is when we stop spending money we don’t have.”
Forget the Joneses: I have learnt a valuable lesson, and believe me it has taken me very long to implement this. Who cares what the Joneses think? When you create a liability for yourself to impress them, remember they are not going to stay awake with you to pay your bills. Please do not hold on to stuff you should throw away, just to impress a few. Be your own person! I don’t think Jesus would have amounted to much if he spent his time thinking about what the Pharisees and the Priests thought about him. Living your life at the mercy of the opinions of others is a crazy way to live (Prov 29:25 MSG).
Support One another: If a spouse looses their job, they need your support. This is the time to encourage one another. The words you use are very important, and can go a long way to affect your crises positively or negatively (Prov 18:21). Don’t put them down! Support each other. This is what the marriage covenant is about. It is suppose to bring security not chaos.
Knowing that you have got each others back in the crises will go a long way to bring you through it. Remain strong in the Lord!