OUR DAILY BREAD : STEP UP!

[cimi]

August 30
Saturday


STEP UP!

READ:
2 Chronicles 15:1-12
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[Asa] took courage,
and removed the
abominable idols from
all the land...'
and he restored the
altar of the LORD.
__2 Chronicles 15:8
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When a woodchuck started eating our garage (well, just the trim), I bought a live trap with plans to transplant the little guy to a park. I baited it with an assortment of goodies and opened the trap door. The next morning, I was excited to see a little critter in my trap__until I noticed that it was no woodchuck. I had snared a skunk.


I went online to see how to untrap the skunk without having it...well, you know. The solutions were extremely cautious in their descriptions of how to protect yourself while releasing the animal. Plastic bags. gloves. Tarps. Blankets. Goggles. The task looked daunting and dangerous.

Then my son-in-law Ewing stepped up. He simply walked over to the trap, opened the door, and coaxed our striped friend on its way with a few sprays from the garden hose.

Sometimes our fears can lead to inaction. We worry so much about protecting ourselves that we fail to simply step up. When King Asa learned that the Lord wanted him to remove the idols from Israel, he "took courage" (2 Chron. 15:8). He could have had a rebellion on his hands for doing this. But he stepped up, and as a result the nation rejoiced (v.15).

Facing a spiritual challenge? The Lord will help you step up with courage and trust Him for the outcome. __Dave Branon

`````````````````````````````````Let the road be rough and dreary,````````````````````````````
````````````````````````````````````And its end far out of sight,`````````````````````````````
`````````````````````````````````Foot it bravely, strong or weary;````````````````````````````
`````````````````````````````Trust in God and do the right. __Macleod````````````````````````
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Courage is fear that has said its prayers.

************************************Today's Bible Reading __ 2 Chronicles 15:1-12*******************************

1 Now the Spirit of God
came upon Azariah the son
of Oded. 2 And he...said to
him: "...The LORD is with
you while you are with Him.
If you seek Him, He will be
found by you; but if you
forsake Him, He will folrsake
you. 3 For a long time Israel
has been without the true
God, without a teaching
priest, and without law; 4 but
when in their trouble they
turned to the LORD of
Israel, and sought Him, He
was found by them. 5 And in
those times there was no
peace to the one who went
out, nor to the one who came
in, but great turmoil was on
all the inhabitants. of the
lands.... 7 But you, be
strong and do not let your
hands be weak, for your
work shall be rewarded!"

8 And when Asa heard these
words...he took courage,
and removed the abominable
idols...and he restored the
altar of the LORD that was
before the vestibule of the
LORD.

9 Then he gathered all Judah
and Benjamin, and those
who dwelt with them from
Ephraim, Manasseh, and
Simeon....

10 So they gathered together
of Jerusalem in the third
month, in the fifteenth year
of the reign of Asa. 11 and
they offered to the LORD at
that time seven hundred bulls
and seven thousand sheep
from the spoil they had
brought. 12 Then they entered
into a covenant t o seek the
LORD God of their fathers
with all their heart and with
all their soul.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>INSIGHT<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

While the books of Samuel and Kings follow the monarchy from
the days of Saul all the way into the divided kingdom, the books of
Chronicles devote only one chapter to Saul (1 Chorn. 10). The writer
spends most of his time and effort recording the reigns of David and
Solomon, presenting their reigns as the high point of Israel's history.