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Are we living a life that is Christ-like?

COMMON THOUGHTS ON THE WORD

And he walked in the way of his father Asa, and did not turn aside from it, doing what was right in the sight of the Lord. II Chronicles 20:32

If there is one thing we can learn from the life of Jehoshaphat, it is the fact that he had a consistent life before God. His righteousness came from the heart and was the motivation for a life of faith. He did make some mistakes, some really big ones. Like the time he joined forces with wicked King Ahab. He also made plans with the ungodly King Ahaziah, to build ships and bring gold back from Ophir, but they never sailed. The Lord destroyed the ships at Ezion-Geber.

In some ways, the mistakes he made should be an encouragement to us today. Without those mistakes, his righteous life would be difficult to imitate. But God was patient and longsuffering with him; God continued to bless the people of Judah because of Jehoshaphat. He is considered to be one of the godliest kings of Judah. Here are a few points that help to describe his example and life-style.

II Chronicles 17:3-4, “He walked in the former ways of his father David; he did not seek the Baals, but sought the God of his father.”

“And his heart took delight in the ways of the Lord; moreover, he removed the high places and wooden images from Judah,” 17:6.

“He sent his religious leaders to teach in the cities of Judah. So they taught in Judah, and had the Book of the Law of the Lord with them,” II Chronicles 17-9.

• In II Chronicles 20:3 it says, “And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord.”

• He worshiped God in spirit and in truth. “And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem bowed before the Lord, worshiping the Lord.”

“He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord,” I Kings 22:43.

In our study of King Jehoshaphat, we find a good example for a father to follow. There are many people around us who didn’t have a biological father growing up as a child. No one they could learn off of, or go to for advice and direction. It appears that there will be a lot more children without proper guidance, if the immoral trend continues in our country.

Are we living out the gospel message before our children? You can teach your kids the precepts and commandments in the Word of God; but if you live an ungodly life before them, it will usually do no good. Someone once said, “your actions speak so loud, I can’t hear what you’re saying.” We need to “practice what we preach and preach what we practice.”

Another thing we want to notice about Jehoshaphat is that he took a stand against evil and wickedness. I Kings 22:46 says, “And the rest of the perverted persons, who remained in the days of his father Asa, he banished from the land.” It says he also “removed the high places and wooden images from Judah.”

As we bring our little study to an end, I would make two points of application. Here is the first; are we consistently living a Christ-like life at home, in public, at church, or wherever we are? Here is the second; are we taking a stand against evil, wicked, perverted, ungodly people? We will, if we follow the example of King Jehoshaphat! Comments or questions, contact me at: thoughtsonword@gmail.com

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Lyndon Stimeling, of Richfield, has been writing about faith and family for many years. He has self-published three books, “Common Thoughts on The Word” in 2016 and “Eye of a Needle” in 2017 and “Common Thoughts on The Word II” in 2019. He has also had articles published in The Coming Home Journal and local newspapers and has written a children’s book.

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