Fresh Start – Part Two

Devotional for January 21- January 27 , 2008

 

Day One        The Right Guy

 

As I write this I am sitting and waiting for the copy machine repairman to arrive out here at the church building.  The reason is that, yesterday, as I was attempting to make copies I somehow managed to cause a massive misfeed.  I say “massive” because I can only imagine what it actually is since I am completely unable to find the misfeed.  I have opened every door and pulled out every drawer that the instructions tell me to do and still the misfeed is no where to be found.  I would question if it is possible that the machine is playing tr cks on me and if, in fact, there is no misfeed.  But, I know the misfeed does indeed exist since there is a missing piece of blank copy paper.  I, in all of my infinite copy machine knowledge, have done all that I can, I now sit and wait for someone who actually knows what they are doing to come and rescue me from my crisis.

 

Machines, such as this, and I have a long history of problems.   I seem to bring out the worst in technology.  My first week serving at a church in Colorado I was having trouble with the copy machine.  One of the secretaries walked by, seeing me repeatedly push different buttons with no success, she inquired, “Have you been trained on that machine Rick?”  I had not been trained, nor would it have probably made any difference. I am just not the right guy.

 

So, here I sit waiting for the right guy.

 

History seems to be replete with situations looking for the “right guy” or “right girl.”  It also seems to be full of many “wrong guys and girls.”

 

Take a moment to look at some “right guys and girls” in scripture.  Beginning with II Kings 15 to the end of the chapter, glance through looking at the introduction to the various Kings.  Usually in the first three versus of introduction we find if that King was the “right” or the “wrong” guy.  What made each King “right” or “wrong”?

 

Now focus in on two “right” guys, Hezekiah and Josiah.  Read about Hezekiah in II Kings 18:1-6 and Josiah in II Kings 22:1-2.  What do you see in these descriptions of these Kings that made them the “right” guys?

 

Considering the fact that the other Kings before and after these two did not follow God, how do you think Hezekiah and Josiah managed to be faithful in their walk with God?

 

What made them “right” guys?

 

Are you “right”?

 

What adjustments do you need to make to become a “right” guy?

 

Day Two        The Right Place

 

Today, my dear sweet daughter Grace, is on a sixth grade field trip at the Oklahoma University campus.  Andrea and I have always been parents that volunteer as chaperones whether the teachers wanted chaperones or not.  However, my dear sweet daughter, began her middle school career by informing me that my services as chaperone would no longer be required.  She seems to be a little less definite toward her mother than me but nevertheless, it is obvious that, should we still choose to attend as a chaperone (which, incidentally, will happen) it may just be a less than cordial situation.  Today, however, I am minding my daughter (I have learned that obedience to the females in my life, whenever possible, is the best approach to an enjoyable life). 

 

But, I have not gone down without a fight.  I have sent couple of text messages to my dear sweet sixth grader saying, “Im here where are you?” and “Cnt find you”.  Her response to both of these has been “Nt funy.”  I must point out that it took me most of the morning to type my messages while she was able to respond in a matter of seconds.  Clearly, being with the sixth grade field trip is not the right place for me to be at this point in time….or at least according to my dear sweet sixth grade daughter.

 

Most of us have experienced being in the wrong place at some time in our lives.  We know that we are in the wrong place because it usually ends up turning out bad, or, at the least we end up feeling bad for where we are.  We also, hopefully, have also experienced being in the right place.

 

Josiah was a person in the right place.  He had become King at the young age of eight years old and did not allow the power and position to sway him from following God or from treating people right.  Read II Kings 22:3-7 to see how he treated people.

 

Did you notice II Kings 22:7?  He trusted people who had proven themselves trustworthy.  This is not a common thing for people in power, they usually put themselves into such a position of power that they find that they cannot trust others.  They put themselves on such a high pedestal that they are afraid of everyone around and under them.

 

When Joseph Stalin was the ruler of the old Soviet Union, he had placed himself in such a power position that he trusted no one.  Even those in his own family were not to be trusted.  He had a luxurious housing building built across the river from his home.  This housing complex included everything that a person could dream of.  The apartments had everything available to make life pleasurable.  In addition to the apartments the complex housed a large theater, other entertainment venues, restaurants, and nice stores.  It had everything and those who lived there were the envy of everyone on the outside.  Stalin built this complex in order that he could keep a close eye on all of his close associates as well as his family.  Historians now tell stories of how there were secret passages throughout the complex so that the secret guards could come into an apartment at any time, especially in the middle of the night, and take a tenant off to prison to never be seen or heard from again.  The apartments were bugged and most of the residents lived in fear.  While this complex is evidence that Stalin was not in the right place, a place where he could trust and be trusted, the people living in there were also not in the right place.  What looked like the right place actually was a nightmare place.  What is even more interesting about this complex, and the fact that it was not the right place, is that is was built on top of a marshland.  In order to build in the location that would enable Stalin to keep control they had to use land that was sinking into the river. The building ended up costing double what was expected because of the foundation that had to be built to make it secure.  It was not the right place, it was not in the right place, and it was evidence that their ruler had placed himself in the wrong place.

 

Place is not always physical, it can be in our mind, but it is almost always evident in the way we follow God and the way we treat others.  Josiah was in the right place.  What place are you in right now?

 

Day Three     The Right Time

 

When the kids were younger we took them to see Barney at the State Fairgrounds Arena.  Now, I am sure that you are now questioning my logic of talking about going to Barney the day after I spoke about being in the right place.  Many would wonder how going to Barney could ever relate to being in the right place.  In defense of Barney, I have to admit that I now seldom leave the water running while brushing my teeth.  Hearing the words to the song “and never leave the water on, and never leave the water on” over and over can do all kinds of things to you, in this case it has served to help the environment.  So, there were benefits to my years of watching the big purple guy.  Anyway, midway through the Barney show I gave in to my childrens’ calls for drinks and popcorn.  As I hit the first concessions stand I found that every other dad in the state of Oklahoma had also given in to the demands of their children.  Since all these dads caused a very long line, and heaven forbid I miss any more of the show than I had to, I began to walk around to find a shorter line concession stand.  Finally, as I had circled the entire arena I found a “short line” concession stand.  As I stood in front of the counter deciding what I should order, and what I could realistically carry on my own, I looked down and saw a twenty dollar bill.  This was a very exciting moment in my life, even more exciting than the fact that I would soon be singing “I love you, you love me, we’re a happy family……”.  I bent down and picked up the money and then stood to observe if anyone seemed to be missing the money.  I stood there long enough to sooth my conscience (which honestly was a fair amount of time) and then I used my new found wealth to buy popcorn and ice cold pop.  I was at the right place at the right time.

 

Let’s take a look back at Josiah.  Remember he was one of the few Kings who followed God and did not do evil in the sight of God.  Sadly, of the Kings we looked at, he was one of only two.  He also stayed in the right place.  He did not start to think too much of his power and he treated people properly.  Then, being the right person, in the right place, he proved to also be there at the right time.  Read II Kings 22:8-10.  What did Josiah, and his workers, find?

 

Why do you think this is significant?

 

They had found the Book of Law.  This was very significant, it was the way they knew how to properly follow God.  Why do you think that it was Josiah that found the Book of Law?

 

Are you the right person, at the right place, ready for the right time?

 

Day Four       The Right Choice

 

One summer, when I was in High School, our family went on a vacation traveling to Arizona to visit my Aunt and Uncle and Cousins.  While we were gone we had enlisted the girl that lived across the street to take care of our dog.  The dog stayed outside so all she had to do was feed him each day.  When we got home and stepped out of our car on the front drive we immediately noticed a horribly foul smell.  We could not imagine what the smell was but knew that it was horrible and were convinced that everyone in the neighborhood surely had been suffering for some time from this noxious odor.  It was not long until we discovered the source of the smell, it was coming from our backyard.  There, we found our very dead and very stiff, and extremely pungent, dog.  We could hardly handle even remaining in the backyard leaving dad, the only brave one in the bunch, to take care of our deceased pet.  We later asked the girl, who had been hired to take care of the dog, when the dog had died and she had no knowledge that the dog had passed.  Amazingly, the person who was charged with taking care of the dog had failed to notice that he had obviously died.  We could only assume that she had not followed through with her responsibility and taken care of the pet.

 

When we have a task ahead, with specific requirements assigned to us we have the choice to either follow through and do what we need to do or we can allow it to go undone and eventually fall by the wayside.  Life is full of these types of choices.  When Andrea and I got married we decided that I would be in charge of taking care of our bank account.  Eventually Andrea got very nervous at seeing the months of unreconciled bank statements and finally asked if she could handle that task.  It had become obvious to her that I was not doing what was required of me to handle the bank statement, she in turn was willing to take on this task.  I had not done what needed to be done and if I had continued we would have been in deep trouble.  However, she was willing to take on the task, which kept us on top of our finances.

 

When Josiah found the Book of the Law he was faced with the same choice.  He could accept the responsibility of having the Law and chose to follow it, or he could do the same as his predecessors had done and ignore it.  Read about his choice and the results of this choice in II Kings 22:18-20.  What was his choice in regard to the Law?

 

What difference did it make to him and his people that he made the choice that he made?

 

What choices of follow through do you face in your walk with Christ?

 

Day Five        The Right Impact

 

My daughters love to watch the show “What Not To Wear” on The Learning Channel.  If you have never seen this show, it is the basic makeover show with a twist.  On this show the friends of an individual will nominate her to be on the show by sharing what horrible fashion sense she has.  Then, the nominee will be ambushed by the two fashion experts in front of all her friends and family.  The surprised fashion reject is then flown to New York City with a Credit Card worth $5,000.00 and instructions on how to pick out the right clothes.  Then, as she shops, she are closely watched and critiqued by the fashion experts who usually have to intervene.  Finally, after the shopping is done, the newly clothed woman is then treated to new hair and makeup style.  By the end of the show the made over individual is usually in tears, not because of what she has received, but because of the way it has made her look at herself.  The impact is usually far greater than just giving her $5,000.00 worth of clothes.  It has made her understand how to dress herself and given her a confidence that will possibly last far beyond the airing of the television episode.

 

We all have those moments or people in our life who manage to impact us far beyond their reason for being in our lives.  Whether it is your parents, a teacher, someone else, or some event in our lives, there are those impacting people and moments that are pivotal to us and to our development as human beings.

 

Josiah was one of those impacting people.  Look at his impact in II Kings 23:1-3. What does it say was his impact on the people?

 

Think back over our look at Josiah this week, what allowed him to be a person of such great influence?

 

How can you be a person of influence?