Good morning and may God bless you for reading His Word today.
My normal routine is to wake up, shower, come out to the living room and read the Bible while my wife makes breakfast for me. Yes, I am spoiled by her. I won’t deny it.
I read the Bible on my phone and highlight passages that speak to me.
Later in the day, I will go back and read the highlighted verses and recall what the Lord had placed in my heart. Then I bring up this document and write.
I felt an overwhelming sense of urgency and power from the Word this morning. So I am writing this while many people are still having their morning coffee.
We will read 2 Chronicles 6-8 today.
Darkness and Light
This was the blessing Solomon gives at the dedication of the temple.
We begin in verse 6:1, which says, “The Lord has said that he would dwell in a dark cloud.” (NIV)
Ellicott gives us this added detail, “The thick darkness.—‘Araphel, which is explained as caligo nubium, “gloom of clouds.” (1)
The greatest dichotomy of all time was that moment when Jesus hung on the cross. It was the darkest event in history. We murdered an innocent man, who was also the Lord.
If I were God, praise the Lord I am not, I would have just wiped humanity from existence at the very second. When Jesus said, “It is finished,” (John 19:30), I would have ended everything.
This would have been the thick darkness, the gloom of clouds.
But, it was also the brightest moment in history, because we didn’t kill Jesus. He laid His life down for us (see 1 John 3:16). It was at this very instant that Jesus defeated Satan, and all who place their faith in Jesus won the victory.
The Nature of Sin
We start today in this dark cloud because we all are sinners (see v6:36).
When we sin, God becomes angry with us and allows sin to take us captive.
One sin sends me down the rabbit hole again, even though I focus intensely on God and strive for a clean life.
It is like when you are diligent in your diet and are avoiding sweets. After a while, you don’t even want them. You can look at a donut and all it looks like is grease,
You may go along for weeks, months even, and feel great. No cravings, good energy.
Then you see a chocolate covered Bavarian creme filled donut, and you cave. You enjoy the gooey sweetness, thinking – it’s just one donut, no big deal.
Suddenly, you are craving many carbohydrates. Not only sweets, but snacks, chips, french fries, bread!
I am not saving eating is a sin, though gluttony is. Sin works the same way.
When we indulge, it is hard to stop.
With the diet, you put on some pounds. Your energy drops. Even though you love going to the gym, you want to skip a few days.
Your clothing gets tighter and doesn’t look as good on you.
With sin, you realize you are working harder. Nothing seems to go as smoothly as it had been. Your health declines. Even your boss is not happy with the quality of your work.
The Importance of Repentance
Take that up a level, and if you look at this on a national scale. Famines, plagues, natural disasters. The economy tanks, and strife increases everywhere.
Where harmony once filled the land, anger and hatred now reign.
This is what Solomon was talking about in verses 6:36-38.
He tells them, when this is happening, they have a choice.
They can turn away from their sin. This is what it means to repent.
But that is only the first step.
When you do this, all you are is a sinner standing in no-man’s-land, not sinning. Like a guy standing at the snack table looking at the donut, but not eating it.
Then, if verse 37, it says you must admit your sinfulness. Accepting that what you are doing is wrong.
Until you see it as evil, it will not offend you enough for you to resist it.
This is that moment when you decide not to take the donut, but you don’t walk away.
In your mind, you are trying to justify that it’s just one donut. You ate little for breakfast. Lunch is a long time from now.
If you walk away, you might be ok. But, you don’t.
You just stand there with your back to the table. Temptation is still within reach.
The Pathway to Salvation
Verse 38 tells us we need to move. Turning back to God. Heading in a different direction.
It is not enough to admit that you were wrong. Now you must do what is right.
God does not dwell in a temple made with human hands. He dwells in our hearts.
We must pray to that temple, to Jesus dwelling in our hearts. This is how we open our hearts to let Him change them.
When we are going through the struggles of life. We must realize the problems result from our sinfulness.
Verse 7:13 tells us these things are to be expected.
Then verse 7:14, which is what inspired me to write this, says, “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” (NIV)
God didn’t leave us here to do this alone.
He knew we would sin, and Jesus paid for that sin. He gave us a way to come back to God.
This means realizing our wrong, turning away from it and moving toward Him.
You don’t need to suffer.
It doesn’t matter if you don’t have the willpower. He has done it for you.
All you need to do is walk away from the sin and go to the Lord.
