Hi Peeps,
Today’s Quote
“Be a trendsetter who is fundamental, morally, and ethically sound to be a leader, doing all the good you can for God, not for self-pity, fake piety, greed or ill-gotten gain.” ~ Jon Barnes
Treat
What a treat it is to see young people learn from the next generation to improve their piety to God, their family, health, and spiritual growth. Money is a good tool, but it does not measure the success with the quality of love God has given you to share with others. Sharing this love to your enemies and people you do not like is also your job in your faith. Only the people receiving this love can validate your honest efforts and pure intentions, as a gift from God. Otherwise, your gift of love is fake and you will be retested over and over again to endure the same pain you refuse to give up and let go of.
Setter
You are simply the faithful, honest messenger of love sent to do an important job for humanity with your own family first. Don’t follow the ways of wicked people in their private path of destruction and self-hate. Forgive, forget, learn and follow the pleasant path of doing the right things so that you can sleep peacefully at night with a clear conscience, smiling all day. If you are frowning all day, something is wrong with you!
Message
Keep your message of hope, love, integrity, respect, and honesty wrapped around your neck so that you don’t forget your calling. Be who you are in God and live well. Your message will speak for itself in your actions of love and character. The motives that are in your mind will play out on stage as life unfolds each day. Live the trend that you set with God or you will fall back into your old dumb habits.
Today’s Question
Are you going in the opposite direction of God with your daily trends or did you pass the test today?
Enjoy The Reading
Ahaz Rules in Judah
16 Ahaz son of Jotham began to rule over Judah in the seventeenth year of King Pekah’s reign in Israel. 2 Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. He did not do what was pleasing in the sight of the Lord his God, as his ancestor David had done. 3 Instead, he followed the example of the kings of Israel, even sacrificing his own son in the fire.[a] In this way, he followed the detestable practices of the pagan nations the Lord had driven from the land ahead of the Israelites. 4 He offered sacrifices and burned incense at the pagan shrines and on the hills and under every green tree.
5 Then King Rezin of Aram and King Pekah of Israel came up to attack Jerusalem. They besieged Ahaz but could not conquer him. 6 At that time the king of Edom[b] recovered the town of Elath for Edom.[c] He drove out the people of Judah and sent Edomites[d] to live there, as they do to this day.
7 King Ahaz sent messengers to King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria with this message: “I am your servant and your vassal.[e] Come up and rescue me from the attacking armies of Aram and Israel.” 8 Then Ahaz took the silver and gold from the Temple of the Lord and the palace treasury and sent it as a payment to the Assyrian king. 9 So the king of Assyria attacked the Aramean capital of Damascus and led its population away as captives, resettling them in Kir. He also killed King Rezin.
10 King Ahaz then went to Damascus to meet with King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria. While he was there, he took special note of the altar. Then he sent a model of the altar to Uriah the priest, along with its design in full detail. 11 Uriah followed the king’s instructions and built an altar just like it, and it was ready before the king returned from Damascus. 12 When the king returned, he inspected the altar and made offerings on it. 13 He presented a burnt offering and a grain offering, he poured out a liquid offering, and he sprinkled the blood of peace offerings on the altar.
14 Then King Ahaz removed the old bronze altar from its place in front of the Lord’s Temple, between the entrance and the new altar, and placed it on the north side of the new altar. 15 He told Uriah the priest, “Use the new altar[f] for the morning sacrifices of burnt offering, the evening grain offering, the king’s burnt offering and grain offering, and the burnt offerings of all the people, as well as their grain offerings and liquid offerings. Sprinkle the blood from all the burnt offerings and sacrifices on the new altar. The bronze altar will be for my personal use only.” 16 Uriah the priest did just as King Ahaz commanded him.
17 Then the king removed the side panels and basins from the portable water carts. He also removed the great bronze basin called the Sea from the backs of the bronze oxen and placed it on the stone pavement. 18 In deference to the king of Assyria, he also removed the canopy that had been constructed inside the palace for use on the Sabbath day,[g] as well as the king’s outer entrance to the Temple of the Lord.
19 The rest of the events in Ahaz’s reign and everything he did are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Judah. 20 When Ahaz died, he was buried with his ancestors in the City of David. Then his son Hezekiah became the next king.
Love,
Jonathan
barnesislife 