In the calmness of a Sunday morning on the dock, persistent voices of determined boaters cast their lines over and over again in the hopes of reeling in the big one. I can hear their voices echo from the middle of the lake all the way to my Muskoka chair. Then the chorus of the loons, like a distant choir usher me into the wonder of these beautiful water birds that make the lake their own private paradise.

My voice echoes too.

Sometimes loudly with harshness that tears away at my family. I can’t hide the tone, just like the boaters, it all can be heard across the waters to the shores of our hearts. Simply said, voices carry.

What is my voice echoing to others near or far? Sometimes what carries is impatience in my voice or a joy-filled and passionate sound resonating and reverberating as a blessing. This back and forth can be exhausting, I want to end this cycle that can easily entangle. Our families know what rattles us and what blesses us with peace. Our reactions echo through our walls and rooms. I admit, I don’t like the sound sometimes and need to be reminded of that reality. Accountability means we want our voices to carry well. It’s a constant reminder to be in the Word and allow it to change me, mold me, make me more like Jesus. It simply won’t happen without hearing and reading the Bible.

This was my ‘dock moment’ challenge!

Not too long after, we watched church online and of course the connection was Holy Spirit inspired! Based on 2 Chronicles 34 one of our pastors (Brandon) skillfully led us through the passage in 2 Chronicles 34 – Josiah Reigns in Judah. At a very young age, King Josiah made wise choices and listened intently to the Word of God even though it was stated his, “… fathers have not kept the word of the Lord.” I was reminded of the importance of tearing down idols in my own life,

“Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, and walked in the ways of David his father; and he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.  For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet a boy, he began to seek the God of David his father, and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the Asherim, and the carved and the metal images (2 Chronicle 34:1-3).

After he purged and cleansed he returned to Jerusalem to, “…repair the house of the Lord his God” (v.8). It was during this time that, “…Hilkiah the priest found the Book of the Law of the LORD given through Moses” (v.14). This discovery led King Josiah to inquire about the words of the book. It was the prophetess Huldah that spoke these words that we read as Josiah’s legacy, 

 ^“But to the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the Lord, thus shall you say to him, Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Regarding the words that you have heard, ²⁷ because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before God when you heard his words against this place and its inhabitants, and you have humbled yourself before me and have torn your clothes and wept before me, I also have heard you, declares the Lord. ²⁸ Behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace, and your eyes shall not see all the disaster that I will bring upon this place and its inhabitants.’” And they brought back word to the king. ²⁹ Then the king sent and gathered together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. ³⁰ And the king went up to the house of the Lord, with all the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the priests and the Levites, all the people both great and small. And he read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant that had been found in the house of the Lord. ³¹ And the king stood in his place and made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes, with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant that were written in this book. ³² Then he made all who were present in Jerusalem and in Benjamin join in it. And the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers. ³³ And Josiah took away all the abominations from all the territory that belonged to the people of Israel and made all who were present in Israel serve the Lord their God. All his days they did not turn away from following the Lord, the God of their fathers” (2 Chronicles 34:26-33).

 

One question Brandon had for us today was this: “What is creeping into our homes causing our hearts to become cold?” Just as King Josiah was brought back to following God through the discovery of the book of the law from Moses, so we must be brought back and often it is in the path of brokenness. Broken over sin in our lives and in true worship coming to Christ with a broken and contrite heart, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise” (Psalm 51:17). I was confronted with idols in my life that need addressing and I am thankful for hearing this good word today because I am prone to wander.

Here is the link to the sermon today:

Return// Blessing is Found in Brokenness (Pastor Brandon)

2 Chronicles 34 King Josiah

 

Beautiful music to share today!

Come Thou Fount – David Crowder Band (with lyrics)

Shane & Shane: Come Thou Fount (Above All Else)

Matthew West – Broken Things (Lyric Video