Stand With God—October 1 Bible Reading Plan - Denise Pass

Stand With God

When I was in middle school (oh, the dreaded middle school years!), I remember when people wanted to beat me up. It wasn’t until I had someone bigger than my threat who stood up for me that my enemies stepped down. There is so much strife in this fallen world—so much fighting and pressure to be like everyone else. And yet the one who will stand with God and not with the world will be the most blessed.

Bible Reading of the Day: 2 Chronicles 11-15

There’s a game-changer that can happen in our lives—both when we obey God and when we don’t. Change is certain to happen based on our faithfulness or faithlessness.

2 Chronicles 11:16 – 12:1-2

“16 From all the tribes of Israel, those who sincerely wanted to worship the Lord, the God of Israel, followed the Levites to Jerusalem, where they could offer sacrifices to the Lord, the God of their ancestors. 17 This strengthened the kingdom of Judah, and for three years they supported Rehoboam son of Solomon, for during those years they faithfully followed in the footsteps of David and Solomon.”

Stand With God—Don’t Abandon the LORD

2 Chronicles 12:1-2, 5

“But when Rehoboam was firmly established and strong, he abandoned the Law of the Lord, and all Israel followed him in this sin. 2 Because they were unfaithful to the Lord, King Shishak of Egypt came up and attacked Jerusalem in the fifth year of King Rehoboam’s reign. 5 The prophet Shemaiah then met with Rehoboam and Judah’s leaders, who had all fled to Jerusalem because of Shishak. Shemaiah told them, “This is what the Lord says: You have abandoned me, so I am abandoning you to Shishak.”

“6 Then the leaders of Israel and the king humbled themselves and said, “The Lord is right in doing this to us!” 7 When the Lord saw their change of heart, he gave this message to Shemaiah: “Since the people have humbled themselves, I will not completely destroy them and will soon give them some relief. I will not use Shishak to pour out my anger on Jerusalem. 8 But they will become his subjects, so they will know the difference between serving me and serving earthly rulers.”

Stand With God—Be Faithful to God

If we change course and stop being faithful to God, we cannot expect a blessing. Ezekiel has a few verses that speak to this truth.

Ezekiel 18:23-24

“23Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Lord GOD. Wouldn’t I prefer that he turn from his ways and live? 24But if a righteous man turns from his righteousness and practices iniquity, committing the same abominations as the wicked, will he live? None of the righteous acts he did will be remembered. Because of the unfaithfulness and sin he has committed, he will die. ”

Stand With God—Stand Firm

Ezekiel 33:13

“If I tell a righteous person that they will surely live, but then they trust in their righteousness and do evil, none of the righteous things that person has done will be remembered; they will die for the evil they have done.”

King Asa made a stance. He was not going to abandon God.

2 Chronicles 13:10

“10 “But as for us, the Lord is our God, and we have not abandoned him…”

Stand With God—Don’t Drift from God

In the surrounding culture, it can be easy to drift away from devotion to God. But we don’t have to drift. We can choose ahead of time and be on the watch for temptations that try to pull us away from God.

When we stand with God, God stands with us. King Asa was faithful to God and God defended him.

2 Chronicles 14:9-11

“9 Once an Ethiopian named Zerah attacked Judah with an army of 1,000,000 men and 300 chariots. They advanced to the town of Mareshah, 10 so Asa deployed his armies for battle in the valley north of Mareshah. 11 Then Asa cried out to the Lord his God, ‘O Lord, no one but you can help the powerless against the mighty! Help us, O Lord our God, for we trust in you alone. It is in your name that we have come against this vast horde. O Lord, you are our God; do not let mere men prevail against you!’ 12 So the Lord defeated the Ethiopians in the presence of Asa and the army of Judah, and the enemy fled. 13 Asa and his army pursued them as far as Gerar, and so many Ethiopians fell that they were unable to rally. They were destroyed by the Lord and his army, and the army of Judah carried off a vast amount of plunder.”

Scripture of the Day: 2 Chronicles 15:1-2

“Then the Spirit of God came upon Azariah son of Oded, 2 and he went out to meet King Asa as he was returning from the battle. “Listen to me, Asa!” he shouted. “Listen, all you people of Judah and Benjamin! The Lord will stay with you as long as you stay with him! Whenever you seek him, you will find him. But if you abandon him, he will abandon you.”

The LORD will stay with you as long as you stay with Him. When we stand with God, God stands with us, friend. Standing with God means we do not compromise His word or standard.

2 Chronicles 15:8

“8 When Asa heard this message from Azariah the prophet, he took courage and removed all the detestable idols from the land of Judah and Benjamin and in the towns he had captured in the hill country of Ephraim. And he repaired the altar of the Lord, which stood in front of the entry room of the Lord’s Temple.”

Stand With God—Not Men

2 Chronicles 15:12-15

“12 Then they entered into a covenant to seek the Lord, the God of their ancestors, with all their heart and soul. 13 They agreed that anyone who refused to seek the Lord, the God of Israel, would be put to death—whether young or old, man or woman. 14 They shouted out their oath of loyalty to the Lord with trumpets blaring and rams’ horns sounding. 15 All in Judah were happy about this covenant, for they had entered into it with all their heart. They earnestly sought after God, and they found him. And the Lord gave them rest from their enemies on every side. 16 King Asa even deposed his grandmother Maacah from her position as queen mother because she had made an obscene Asherah pole. He cut down her obscene pole, broke it up, and burned it in the Kidron Valley. 17 Although the pagan shrines were not removed from Israel, Asa’s heart remained completely faithful throughout his life. 18 He brought into the Temple of God the silver and gold and the various items that he and his father had dedicated.”

Stand With God—Calling Sin Out

How about us? Will we be faithful to God when the surrounding culture isn’t? Will we be faithful to call out sin in our ranks and in our own family? And will we fear God more than man? Notice that Asa and the people entered a covenant with God with all their heart. It was not halfhearted devotion. Asa’s heart remained completely faithful throughout his life.

Application

• Look over your life. Are there times when you were not loyal to God? How about now? Is there anything that is against God’s standard and word?
• When we stand with God he will stand with us.
• There’s a game-changer that can happen in our lives—both when we obey God and when we don’t. Change is certain to happen based on our faithfulness or faithlessness.
• Asa did not compromise even when it came to family—are we condoning sin that God doesn’t? God will not stand with us if we are.

𝗝𝗼𝗶𝗻 𝗺𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗮𝘁 𝟱 𝗽𝗺 𝗘𝗧.

Day #275: 2 Chronicles 11-15

Verse of the Day: 2 Chronicles 15:2

Audio: www.biblegateway.com/audio/mclean/niv/2Chr.11

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