July 1
2 Chronicles 29:3-31:21
If you haven't heard of the series surrounding Jesus, called "The Chosen", by now, please download the app by this name and begin watching it. In the first episode of year one, the story centers around a demon possessed Mary Magdalene. It ends in a beautiful moment, when Jesus calls her by name, followed by His miraculously curing her by casting out the demons. Mary is then featured throughout the series as a faithful and loving follower of Jesus. But in the second season, episode 5, she has flashbacks as she has a short encounter with a Roman soldier, followed by a difficult day in the camp of the disciples, capped off with an encounter with a demon possessed man. She then leaves the camp and heads for town. She returns to her old life, even using her old name, Lilith, when she lived her sinful lifestyle. We see her getting drunk, gambling, etc. When she is found, she is reluctant to go back again, because she states, "I can't face Him, He already fixed me once". Ashamed, she goes back to Jesus, and tells Jesus that she was already redeemed, and she threw it all away. To which Jesus says, "It was not much of a redemption if it could be thrown away in one day". After a short exchange, She tells Him that she feels she is unable to live up to His expectations, to which Jesus tells her that He doesn't ask for much, all He wants is her heart. He then tells her that she is forgiven, as He embraces her.
We see a new king, Hezekiah, who, unlike his father, Ahaz, he has a zeal for the Lord and goes about bringing a restoration to the worship of the Lord. We read in 2 Chronicles 29:5-6, " He said to them, “Listen to me, you Levites! Purify yourselves, and purify the Temple of the Lord, the God of your ancestors. Remove all the defiled things from the sanctuary. Our ancestors were unfaithful and did what was evil in the sight of the Lord our God. They abandoned the Lord and his dwelling place; they turned their backs on him." Notice, he didn't tell them to patch things up, but to get rid of the old and bring in the new. He then sends out a call to celebrate the Passover, and we come upon an interesting situation involving a group of people who came with all their heart, but did not fulfill the requirements to participate in 30:17-20, " Since many of the people had not purified themselves, the Levites had to slaughter their Passover lamb for them, to set them apart for the Lord. Most of those who came from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun had not purified themselves. But King Hezekiah prayed for them, and they were allowed to eat the Passover meal anyway, even though this was contrary to the requirements of the Law. For Hezekiah said, “May the Lord, who is good, pardon those who decide to follow the Lord, the God of their ancestors, even though they are not properly cleansed for the ceremony.” And the Lord listened to Hezekiah’s prayer and healed the people." Notice, God responded to the heartfelt response of the people and the heartfelt prayers of King Hezekiah.
In Matthew 9:16-17, we read, "“Besides, who would patch old clothing with new cloth? For the new patch would shrink and rip away from the old cloth, leaving an even bigger tear than before. “And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the old skins would burst from the pressure, spilling the wine and ruining the skins. New wine is stored in new wineskins so that both are preserved.” Jesus is telling His disciples, that to follow Him is not to add onto brokenness and a broken system. He offers newness of life, but that comes with repentance or a turning away from our former way of thinking and our former way of living. It is an about face, not an adding onto change in our life. Even when we do enter into that new and beautiful relationship, unfortunately, we will fail, daily. We will think and do things that we know are contrary to His perfect plan for our lives as He has commanded for us. But as in the scene beautifully depicted with Mary Magdalene, our redemption is perfect, because it does not depend on our perfection, but on His perfect sacrifice for us. He asks us for our heart. He is always ready and willing to forgive us, no matter how bad we backslide. This is the relationship that He offers. There is no more beautiful relationship than this.
Messages from Pastor Lloyd Pulley: