HOW WILL YOU BE REMEMBERED?

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God. He removed the foreign altars and the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. He commanded Judah to seek the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and to obey his laws and commands. He removed the high places and incense altars in every town in Judah, and the kingdom was at peace under him. He built up the fortified cities of Judah, since the land was at peace. No one was at war with him during those years, for the Lord gave him rest.

“Let us build up these towns,” he said to Judah, “and put walls around them, with towers, gates and bars. The land is still ours, because we have sought the Lord our God; we sought Him and He has given us rest on every side.”

So they built and prospered.

2 Chronicles 14:2-7

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

If someone asked about you and your spiritual life, how would you be defined? Is it something we even think about?

We should.

Not that I am saying we should completely buy into every person’s opinion of who we are and what we do but we would be remiss in not remaining conscious of how well we are doing when it comes in our walk with the Lord.

For me, I would only like to be remembered in one simple way and it is my life’s work to ensure that my epitaph is as follows:

Mark was an ordinary man that God used in extraordinary ways.

That’s it. Short and sweet and to the point.

For I would not be able to do anything that was spiritually significant as a Christian if it wasn’t for the Lord first granting me the gifts to carry out His will, then calling me to do His will, and finally seeing me through the process until He was glorified and magnified. Without Him, I would be incapable of accomplishing anything good in His name.

I pray that I am succeeding in my efforts to live in a way that leads others to see me as doing extraordinary work through the One who always makes the ordinary extraordinary, the natural supernatural. As I ran into a woman today, I was given some validation that I am trending that way.

I have not spoken to this woman much but she does work in the same building I do. When we have encountered one another, I behaved in the way I do around everyone, a behavior that is punctuated by a sense of joy and peace and blessing from all that the Lord has done and continues to do for me. She told me that she asked a co-worker about me saying that she always sensed a special spirit when she saw me. He told her that I was a Christian and a devout believer and she said it made sense because she saw me as always walking in the light of Christ.

Her words blessed me richly. Of course, I don’t ever look for praise from anyone as I would rather the Lord be lifted up and worshiped. That’s my goal in any ministry endeavor I take on.  But it is nice to know that you’re heading in the right direction as you are striving to carry out the will and way of Jesus who we know is the Way and the Truth and the Life (John 14:6).

As we look at our scripture from the 14th Chapter of 2 Chronicles, we find Abijah’s son, Asa, being recognized for his godly reign and rule. The scriptures simply say this about him:

Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God.

That’s it. Short and sweet and to the point.

Asa was devoted to living righteously so that everything he did was good and right in the Lord’s eyes. In other words, Asa saw himself as completely accountable to God for everything that He did. The same God who blessed him rising to the throne was the same God who would judge how well he led His people. And as we know, Asa fared very well under the God’s scrutiny.

Some highlights included:

1. Asa removed the foreign altars and the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles.

In other words, he destroyed and eliminated any place or object that was used to worship false gods. These places did nothing but disrespect and anger God.

2. Asa commanded Judah to seek the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and to obey his laws and commands.

Asa made a concerted effort to lead His people toward a deeper relationship with God. It wasn’t just how well he had pleased God that mattered but how well the nation he led pleased God.

So what was the end result of these efforts? How did God honor obedience and initiative taken toward righteousness?

He granted Asa and Judah rest and prosperity.

Friends, isn’t this something we all yearn for? Don’t we all pray for a life that is full of rest and peace and prosperity?

Through God’s word, we find it is possible but not from anything we do for ourselves. It only comes from what we do in and through the Lord. It is He that leads and guides us to a point where we can do what is good and right in His sight. No one else can lead us to that place.

The scriptures are clear and we ought to adopt their truth in our lives. For when we fully give ourselves over to God and trust Him with everything that we are and everything that we have, then we can and will achieve and accomplish His purposes and experience rest, peace, and blessings that transcend all understanding (Philippians 4:6-7).

And those who know us will remember us as ordinary people who lived in extraordinary fashion through the Lord who made it that way.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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