Walking with Max again today and on the journey, I was working on my sermon in my head because it is not finished yet. As I we walked and I reviewed the problem God had with Judah in 2 Chronicles, the Holy Spirit awakened me and said, “Pay attention.”
You see, the problem with both the Northern Kingdom and Southern Kingdom and Israel overall from their arrival into the Promised Land as God’s people until this moment in 2 Chronicles, was that when they engaged with other kingdom’s customs, gods, and worship practices, they found themselves curious and enamored with all these new things. They were so curious and excited that they added them to what they already had – the one true God. It is almost kind of scary how easily they were seduced this way. And then the Spirit again said, “Pay attention.”
It was then I realized that we, 21st Century Christian Americans, have succumbed to the same seductions. Again, as Solomon said, “There is nothing new under the sun.” Now this is not the undoing of us, although it could be, but rather it is our wake-up call to “Pay attention.”
We need to stop being enamored by the ways of the world. We need to cling to what we are taught about God’s design for life with Him. We can be loving without being duped. We can speak truth and then let the Holy Spirit do its work. We can pray. We can repent of our own failings in giving in to the seduction. And we can gather with each other receiving and giving help staying on the narrow path. I thank the Holy Spirit for prompting me to “Pay attention” so that I can guard my heart, soul, mind and tongue.
It’s amazing how much God loves us that He says “Pay attention.”
What am I writing about here?