July 3

2 Kings 22:3-23:30, Acts 21:37-22:16, Psalm 1:1-6, Proverbs 18:11-12



Pray: Let us begin today by giving God thanks for the simple things which we too often take for granted. Let’s express our appreciation for food, shelter, and relationships. Now let's ask God to open our ears to hear more fully and our eyes to see more clearly what He wants to reveal in our Scripture reading today.

Read: 2 Kings tells us of a king who was cleaning house, literally, in every respect. Josiah was cleansing the temple of false gods, clearing out the male and female prostitutes, and tearing down the Asherah poles and grinding them into dust. Far too long the house of the Lord had been abused and desecrated under evil kings. Josiah’s guide was the reading of the Law of Moses which gave clear guidelines in how the house of worship is to be kept and the people of God should conduct themselves.

Edify: When reading 2 Kings there is both a sound “amen” which comes from our agreement that it is about time someone cleaned house, and there is a piercing question which has to be uttered, “What idols exist in my life, in my home?” These are not easily detected for they are disguised often as things which appear good, wholesome, but anything becomes an idol when it takes first place over Jesus Christ being first in your life and my life. Work is a good thing, a job provides income for us, yet these should never be allowed to give us our ultimate identity. Children are a gift from God but they should never take first place in our lives. In fact we do our children a terrible disservice if they grow up thinking that a parent worships them, puts their sports, their extracurricular activities above worshiping God on the Sabbath day and keeping the Sabbath day holy. Marriage is likewise a beautiful creation of God, yet some have been guilty of putting their spouse in front of their ultimate allegiance to God. You see good things can become idols. Too often we think of money, possessions, and material things as obvious idols, but Satan is far more clever in causing us to have divided minds and hearts. No wonder Jesus said, “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God then all these other things will be added unto you.”

Practice: It’s not enough to talk about potential idols in our life. It’s time to name them, to identify things or people which have the potential to cause us to have divided loyalties when it comes to God having first place in our hearts. Be honest. List the things, activities, and people in your life which may give you divided loyalties and give these to the Lord. Ask the Holy Spirit to keep you focused on gaining your worth and identity, not in the things of this earth or what you do for a living, but from the Living God who created you in His image and sent His son Jesus that you may have life and have it abundantly.