We have hit the end of June. School’s out. It’s hot. Vacation plans are being made.  As the structure of my day has changed, I have to admit that it’s become a little harder for me to stay on top of my daily Bible readings and journaling for our reading plan.  Not to mention that this week, we are waist deep in different kings, revolutions, and rebellions.

Admittedly, this is generally the portion of scripture where my brain tunes out.  My eyes continue to track the letters and words from left to right but my brain is working on my ‘to do list’, not processing anything that I have just read. I tried to remedy that and ended up taking an insane amount of notes that didn’t seem to amount to anything other than a list of names and events.

But God’s word is so amazing at tying it together.

Cliff’s notes: We have several kings- Rehoboam and Jeroboam, their respective heirs Abijah and Nadab, Baasha, Elah, Zimri, Omri, Asa, Jehoshaphat and Ahab.  The Bible clearly states that these kings were evil and wicked with the exception of Asa and Jehoshaphat.  What did they do that was so wicked?

The object of their worship was not God.

That’s it. The scripture goes into the details of their idolatry and the extent of their idol worship.  The center of their worship deviated from where it should have, and that led to many other things being ‘okay’ that shouldn’t have been okay.

I don’t consider myself evil or wicked.  But during a few months of the year, my brain becomes consumed with all things football related. Do I worship it? I don’t think so.  Do I give it more brain space than I should? Probably.  Sometimes it’s a health kick,a Pintrest idea, or even just managing my social life that starts to consume me.  There are so many things in our daily lives that compete for our worship.  Let’s not lose focus on where our efforts, admiration and affections should be placed.

~Shiney