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From the porch this morning <3

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Good morning!

I have to be somewhere at 8 and it isn’t a pajama party, so I need to get a move on.

But I wanted to have something in case you stopped by, so grab your coffee and Bible and let’s look at something pretty sweet in 2 Chronicles.

Yes. I said 2 Chronicles.

Israel and Judah were a M. E. S. S. when Hezekiah began to reign over Judah.

This king brought about a series of reforms and ignited a revival, but for today I was reading in Chapter 30 where he kept the Passover for the first time in a long time for this wayward people.

My heart was moved by the passages covered in 30: 13-27 (which is why you all are going to want to grab your bibles…) because as they gathered to observe the Passover together, it was like they were grappling to find people who were consecrated and could actually do the sacrifices.

There weren’t even enough priests who were able to perform the necessary duties and a large number of the people were unclean according to the laws of partaking in this sacred  observance.

It was like spiritual triage.

So Hezekiah prayed and asked God to take them as they were…to honor their hearts as they were in the throws of national repentance…would He bless them to come ….

just as they were.

Messed up and broken but with hearts turned back to their God.

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and He did.

He blessed them.

And the fruit of this messy, not-the-way-it’s-supposed-to-be-done Passover is a beautiful picture of the Redeeming love of Christ our LORD.

Because we come to His table as sinners saved by G.R.A.C.E.

We sit and feast on His sacrifice and the result bears witness to the work of the Holy Spirit in a repentant heart turned back to its God…Jehovah…I AM

The account of the response of this people as they began to embrace righteousness and obedience is the fruit of repentance and renewed devotion to a God who overlooked their unconsecrated partaking of the Passover.

God’s mercy allows the sinner to come to Him in our broken state and receive forgiveness and healing.

The righteous of heart will respond with fruits of righteousness and those whose hearts are not turned back to God will continue in their sin.

His grace is unaffected by our response.

He pours out forgiveness and mercy and we can choose to receive it or we can turn our backs on it.

“In the path of your judgments, O LORD, we wait for you.

Your name and remembrance are the desire of our soul.

My soul yearns for you in the night; my spirit within me earnestly seeks you.

For when your judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.

If favor is shown to the wicked, he does not learn righteousness; in the land of  uprightness he deals corruptly and does not see the majesty of the LORD.

Oh LORD, your hand is lifted up, but they do not see it.

Let them see your zeal for your people, and be ashamed.

Let the fire of your adversaries consume them.”

Isaiah 26:8-11 ESV

The choice to respond is yours.

How will you choose today?

 

 

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