PJP2 PROLOG 160603 PROLOG Focus - 1 Kings 15: 9, 11, 14....

Psalm 106:1 (ESV/emphasis added/jaj)...."Praise The Lord!  Oh Give Thanks To The Lord, For He IS GOOD, For His Steadfast LOVE Endures Forever!"....

PJP2 PROLOG POST 160603 - 1 Kings 15:9, 11, 14 (ESV/emphasis added/jaj)...."In the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Asa began to reign over Judah....AND Asa Did What Was RIGHT In The Eyes of The Lord, As David his father Had Done.....BUT the high places were not taken away. Nevertheless, The Heart of Asa Was Wholly True/Devoted To The Lord All his days."....

Our Lord and Savior is a God of Consistency....we've discussed a couple of times now His "IF....THEN" Principle.  Well, we see this again, today, in a bit of a different Way.  More on that in a moment.

One of His methods that The Holy Spirit is Mentioning to me today is The Lord IS Ever Molding and Preparing His Person to Arrive and Reveal that God's Always Been There on the Scene.  Sometimes the Revelation of His Presence is a bit 'dramatic' (e.g. Jesus walking on water to reach the disciples awash on a stormy sea).  Often times, than not, His Revelation of Presence is subtle (e.g. check out The Book of Esther, or Ruth, or Review The Birth of Jesus/First Advent - which by the way was BOTH Subtle and Quite The Demonstration of Revelation/jaj).

Ok, The Point I Hear The Spirit Making, along those lines is following the death of King Solomon, the Kingdom of Israel has been ripped apart - 10 Tribes shifting their alliance to King Jeroboam (called Kingdom of Israel) and 2 Tribes remaining with King Rheoboam (Solomon's son) (called Kingdom of Judah).  Both Jeroboam and Rheoboam are kings that 'do evil in The Eyes of The Lord'.  Seems President Reagan's comment - "Freedom is always just one generation away from extinction.", proves to be very True.  Israel/Judah in just 20 some years has drifted far left into appalling apostasy.
Then BABAAM....Asa is Crowned King, replacing his evil father Abijah (which by the way only ruled for three short years).  As we see in today's POWs...."Asa Did What Was RIGHT In The Eyes of The Lord".....Ta-Dah!  God's servant appears, and begins the Restoration Process.

Just like with us - At That Moment IF we Accept God The Father's Revelation of His Presence With us (found In His Son our Lord Jesus) - THEN He Begins The Restoration By Placing His Holy Spirit Within our Hearts....and The Rest, as they say, Is HISTORY.....

One last quick note - God's Word Reminds us that He Understands that we, His people, are NOT perfect, and each of us (I know it to be True with me) have areas we will stumble and/or falter as we Follow Him and His Way.  - King David....Bathsheba AND murdering Uriah; - King Solomon's distraction via 1,000 wives et al; - Kings Jeroboam/Rheobaom's waywardness into the depths of idolatry; - King Asa Fully Devoted BUT not quite going the full-bore on the Restoration (tearing down the 'high places' (idol worship sites))....

Which brings us back to God's "IF....THEN" Principle.....IF, when we Recognize that we have strayed From God's Path...AND we Confess/Repent.....THEN God The Father, as mentioned above, IS READY to Reconcile and Restore us to Himself....And Off we GO back In Step On His Way.

In a Word....OUTSTANDING!

My Prayer for us today.....O Lord Jesus, Holy Spirit, Father God, we Bow in Humble Worship.  We Praise Your Holy Name.  Thank You, Lord, for Your Ever Amazing and Saving GRACE.  Lord Jesus, Guide us to Better Understand Your IF....THEN Concept.  Holy Spirit, Keep us Ever Mindful of our tendency to stray From Your Way.  Father God, Open our Inner Eyes, that we May See You and Calling us to Ever Walk With You.  Lord Please Forgive us when we falter.  Father God, May we Always Reflect Your Love and Light in All we Say, Think or Do.  Lord Jesus we Raise our Prayers in Your Holy Name....Amen/Amen....jaj