Friday, August 29, 2014

Living On Mission with Josiah

Living On Mission with Josiah
A couple of things jumped out at me immediately when I was reading about Josiah in 2 Kings 22. 
 
The first thing I noticed was that Josiah, “did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and followed completely the ways of his father David, not turning aside to the right or to the left.” (2 Kings 22:2)  This sounds a lot like discipleship to me.  Of course he wasn’t taught or discipled directly by David, but evidently someone had learned some things from David and passed them down to others. We can be impacted by the lives of others. We should also think about the impact that our lives can have on others. Am I living a life I would want someone else to follow?  I’m so glad that Josiah was impacted by David instead of some of the other not-so-great-ok-actually-evil kings in his heritage.  What a great thing to be influenced by David who loved God wholeheartedly and ALWAYS turned back to God no matter how far he strayed.
 
Missional thought: Let’s be mindful of who is influencing us and who we are influencing.
 
The second thing I noticed was that Josiah instructed his finance department NOT to ask the construction leaders for receipts for the items they had to purchase in for the temple.  He said, “…they need not account for the money entrusted to them, because they are honest in their dealings.” (2 Kings 22:7)  (Obviously they didn’t have the IRS breathing down their necks!)  This shows either remarkable trust in these men based solely on their position, or that Josiah had built relationships with these workers. Bless him if this was based on respect for their position. How rare to find someone who is quick to honor another in this way! And double bless him if he had actually spent time building relationships with these men who served him as the king and served God by rebuilding the temple. I love that Josiah chose to honor and trust the people around him.
 
Missional thought: Relationships matter. Trust matters. Be a person who builds relationships of trust. 
 
Let’s practice living on mission!
 
Pastor Angela

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