[Ohio-Communities-of-Faith] DONNIE DAILY GEMS FOR TUESDAY MAY 10

[Donnie Parrett]

DONNIE DAILY GEMS FOR TUESDAY MAY 10

WORD OF WISDOM

I am only one, but I'm still someone.

___

DAILY DEVOTION

Set Apart 


"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you
apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."
(Jeremiah 1:5, NIV)

	 What God said to Jeremiah, He says to each of us. You're not like
everyone else. You've not only been handpicked by the Most High God, but He
set you apart for His own purpose. He made you uncommon. Could it be the
reason you're not seeing increase is you're being common? Perhaps you're
stuck at one level because you're just fitting in, being like everyone else.
There's nothing different about you.
That's not who you are. You've been set apart. When others around you have a
sour, critical attitude, you have to dig your heels in and say, "That is not
the way I'm going to live. I'm going to enjoy each day and be grateful. I'm
going to be good to people and expect God's favor." You may be surrounded by
people who are lazy, taking the easy way out, but live by a higher standard.
Don't let that keep you from your destiny. You've been set apart. You're not
common. Now do your part and don't live common.
	 
A Prayer for Today

"Father, thank You that You are the Most High God, and You handpicked me and
set me apart for Your own purpose. Thank You for calling me to live by a
higher standard and be distinct. I want my life to be uncommon and bring You
praise. In Jesus' Name, Amen."

___

DAILY BIBLE READING

2 Chronicles 34-36 New King James Version
Josiah Reigns in Judah
34 Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one
years in Jerusalem. 2 And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord,
and walked in the ways of his father David; he did not turn aside to the
right hand or to the left.

3 For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, he began to
seek the God of his father David; and in the twelfth year he began to purge
Judah and Jerusalem of the [a]high places, the wooden images, the carved
images, and the molded images. 4 They broke down the altars of the Baals in
his presence, and the incense altars which were above them he cut down; and
the wooden images, the carved images, and the molded images he broke in
pieces, and made dust of them and scattered it on the graves of those who
had sacrificed to them. 5 He also burned the bones of the priests on their
altars, and cleansed Judah and Jerusalem. 6 And so he did in the cities of
Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, as far as Naphtali and all around, with
[b]axes. 7 When he had broken down the altars and the wooden images, had
beaten the carved images into powder, and cut down all the incense altars
throughout all the land of Israel, he returned to Jerusalem.

Hilkiah Finds the Book of the Law
8 In the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had purged the land and the
[c]temple, he sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, Maaseiah the governor of the
city, and Joah the son of Joahaz the recorder, to repair the house of the
Lord his God. 9 When they came to Hilkiah the high priest, they delivered
the money that was brought into the house of God, which the Levites who kept
the doors had gathered from the hand of Manasseh and Ephraim, from all the
remnant of Israel, from all Judah and Benjamin, and which they had brought
back to Jerusalem. 10 Then they put it in the hand of the foremen who had
the oversight of the house of the Lord; and they gave it to the workmen who
worked in the house of the Lord, to repair and restore the house. 11 They
gave it to the craftsmen and builders to buy hewn stone and timber for
beams, and to floor the houses which the kings of Judah had destroyed. 12
And the men did the work faithfully. Their overseers were Jahath and Obadiah
the Levites, of the sons of Merari, and Zechariah and Meshullam, of the sons
of the Kohathites, to supervise. Others of the Levites, all of whom were
skillful with instruments of music, 13 were over the burden bearers and were
overseers of all who did work in any kind of service. And some of the
Levites were scribes, officers, and gatekeepers.

14 Now when they brought out the money that was brought into the house of
the Lord, Hilkiah the priest found the Book of the Law of the Lord given by
Moses. 15 Then Hilkiah answered and said to Shaphan the scribe, "I have
found the Book of the Law in the house of the Lord." And Hilkiah gave the
book to Shaphan. 16 So Shaphan carried the book to the king, bringing the
king word, saying, "All that was committed to your servants they are doing.
17 And they have [d]gathered the money that was found in the house of the
Lord, and have delivered it into the hand of the overseers and the workmen."
18 Then Shaphan the scribe told the king, saying, "Hilkiah the priest has
given me a book." And Shaphan read it before the king.

19 Thus it happened, when the king heard the words of the Law, that he tore
his clothes. 20 Then the king commanded Hilkiah, Ahikam the son of Shaphan,
[e]Abdon the son of Micah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah a servant of the
king, saying, 21 "Go, inquire of the Lord for me, and for those who are left
in Israel and Judah, concerning the words of the book that is found; for
great is the wrath of the Lord that is poured out on us, because our fathers
have not kept the word of the Lord, to do according to all that is written
in this book."

22 So Hilkiah and those the king had appointed went to Huldah the
prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of [f]Tokhath, the son of [g]Hasrah,
keeper of the wardrobe. (She dwelt in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter.) And
they spoke to her to that effect.

23 Then she answered them, "Thus says the Lord God of Israel, 'Tell the man
who sent you to Me, 24 "Thus says the Lord: 'Behold, I will bring calamity
on this place and on its inhabitants, all the curses that are written in the
book which they have read before the king of Judah, 25 because they have
forsaken Me and burned incense to other gods, that they might provoke Me to
anger with all the works of their hands. Therefore My wrath will be poured
out on this place, and not be quenched.' " ' 26 But as for the king of
Judah, who sent you to inquire of the Lord, in this manner you shall speak
to him, 'Thus says the Lord God of Israel: "Concerning the words which you
have heard- 27 because your heart was tender, and you humbled yourself
before God when you heard His words against this place and against its
inhabitants, and you humbled yourself before Me, and you tore your clothes
and wept before Me, I also have heard you," says the Lord. 28 "Surely I will
gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in
peace; and your eyes shall not see all the calamity which I will bring on
this place and its inhabitants." ' " So they brought back word to the king.

Josiah Restores True Worship
29 Then the king sent and gathered all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. 30
The king went up to the house of the Lord, with all the men of Judah and the
inhabitants of Jerusalem-the priests and the Levites, and all the people,
great and small. And he read in their hearing all the words of the Book of
the Covenant which had been found in the house of the Lord. 31 Then the king
stood in his place and made a covenant before the Lord, to follow the Lord,
and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes with all
his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant that were
written in this book. 32 And he made all who were present in Jerusalem and
Benjamin take a stand. So the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the
covenant of God, the God of their fathers. 33 Thus Josiah removed all the
abominations from all the country that belonged to the children of Israel,
and made all who were present in Israel [h]diligently serve the Lord their
God. All his days they did not depart from following the Lord God of their
fathers.

Josiah Keeps the Passover
35 Now Josiah kept a Passover to the Lord in Jerusalem, and they slaughtered
the Passover lambs on the fourteenth day of the first month. 2 And he set
the priests in their duties and encouraged them for the service of the house
of the Lord. 3 Then he said to the Levites who taught all Israel, who were
holy to the Lord: "Put the holy ark in the house which Solomon the son of
David, king of Israel, built. It shall no longer be a burden on your
shoulders. Now serve the Lord your God and His people Israel. 4 Prepare
yourselves according to your fathers' [i]houses, according to your
divisions, following the written instruction of David king of Israel and the
written instruction of Solomon his son. 5 And stand in the holy place
according to the divisions of the fathers' houses of your brethren the lay
people, and according to the division of the father's house of the Levites.
6 So slaughter the Passover offerings, consecrate yourselves, and prepare
them for your brethren, that they may do according to the word of the Lord
by the hand of Moses."

7 Then Josiah gave the lay people lambs and young goats from the flock, all
for Passover offerings for all who were present, to the number of thirty
thousand, as well as three thousand cattle; these were from the king's
possessions. 8 And his leaders gave willingly to the people, to the priests,
and to the Levites. Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, rulers of the house of
God, gave to the priests for the Passover offerings two thousand six hundred
from the flock, and three hundred cattle. 9 Also Conaniah, his brothers
Shemaiah and Nethanel, and Hashabiah and Jeiel and Jozabad, chief of the
Levites, gave to the Levites for Passover offerings five thousand from the
flock and five hundred cattle.

10 So the service was prepared, and the priests stood in their places, and
the Levites in their divisions, according to the king's command. 11 And they
slaughtered the Passover offerings; and the priests sprinkled the blood with
their hands, while the Levites skinned the animals. 12 Then they removed the
burnt offerings that they might give them to the divisions of the fathers'
houses of the lay people, to offer to the Lord, as it is written in the Book
of Moses. And so they did with the cattle. 13 Also they roasted the Passover
offerings with fire according to the ordinance; but the other holy offerings
they boiled in pots, in caldrons, and in pans, and divided them quickly
among all the lay people. 14 Then afterward they prepared portions for
themselves and for the priests, because the priests, the sons of Aaron, were
busy in offering burnt offerings and fat until night; therefore the Levites
prepared portions for themselves and for the priests, the sons of Aaron. 15
And the singers, the sons of Asaph, were in their places, according to the
command of David, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun the king's seer. Also the
gatekeepers were at each gate; they did not have to leave their position,
because their brethren the Levites prepared portions for them.

16 So all the service of the Lord was prepared the same day, to keep the
Passover and to offer burnt offerings on the altar of the Lord, according to
the command of King Josiah. 17 And the children of Israel who were present
kept the Passover at that time, and the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven
days. 18 There had been no Passover kept in Israel like that since the days
of Samuel the prophet; and none of the kings of Israel had kept such a
Passover as Josiah kept, with the priests and the Levites, all Judah and
Israel who were present, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 19 In the
eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah this Passover was kept.

Josiah Dies in Battle
20 After all this, when Josiah had prepared the temple, Necho king of Egypt
came up to fight against Carchemish by the Euphrates; and Josiah went out
against him. 21 But he sent messengers to him, saying, "What have I to do
with you, king of Judah? I have not come against you this day, but against
the house with which I have war; for God commanded me to make haste. Refrain
from meddling with God, who is with me, lest He destroy you." 22
Nevertheless Josiah would not turn his face from him, but disguised himself
so that he might fight with him, and did not heed the words of Necho from
the mouth of God. So he came to fight in the Valley of Megiddo.

23 And the archers shot King Josiah; and the king said to his servants,
"Take me away, for I am severely wounded." 24 His servants therefore took
him out of that chariot and put him in the second chariot that he had, and
they brought him to Jerusalem. So he died, and was buried in one of the
tombs of his fathers. And all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah.

25 Jeremiah also lamented for Josiah. And to this day all the singing men
and the singing women speak of Josiah in their lamentations. They made it a
custom in Israel; and indeed they are written in the Laments.

26 Now the rest of the acts of Josiah and his goodness, according to what
was written in the Law of the Lord, 27 and his deeds from first to last,
indeed they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.

The Reign and Captivity of Jehoahaz
36 Then the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and made him
king in his father's place in Jerusalem. 2 [j]Jehoahaz was twenty-three
years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. 3
Now the king of Egypt deposed him at Jerusalem; and he imposed on the land a
tribute of one hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. 4 Then the
king of Egypt made [k]Jehoahaz's brother Eliakim king over Judah and
Jerusalem, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. And Necho took [l]Jehoahaz his
brother and carried him off to Egypt.

The Reign and Captivity of Jehoiakim
5 Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned
eleven years in Jerusalem. And he did evil in the sight of the Lord his God.
6 Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against him, and bound him in
[m]bronze fetters to carry him off to Babylon. 7 Nebuchadnezzar also carried
off some of the articles from the house of the Lord to Babylon, and put them
in his temple at Babylon. 8 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, the
abominations which he did, and what was found against him, indeed they are
written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah. Then [n]Jehoiachin his
son reigned in his place.

The Reign and Captivity of Jehoiachin
9 Jehoiachin was [o]eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in
Jerusalem three months and ten days. And he did evil in the sight of the
Lord. 10 At the turn of the year King Nebuchadnezzar summoned him and took
him to Babylon, with the costly articles from the house of the Lord, and
made Zedekiah,[p] [q]Jehoiakim's brother, king over Judah and Jerusalem.

Zedekiah Reigns in Judah
11 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned
eleven years in Jerusalem. 12 He did evil in the sight of the Lord his God,
and did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke from the
mouth of the Lord. 13 And he also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who
had made him swear an oath by God; but he stiffened his neck and hardened
his heart against turning to the Lord God of Israel. 14 Moreover all the
leaders of the priests and the people transgressed more and more, according
to all the abominations of the nations, and defiled the house of the Lord
which He had consecrated in Jerusalem.

The Fall of Jerusalem
15 And the Lord God of their fathers sent warnings to them by His
messengers, rising up early and sending them, because He had compassion on
His people and on His dwelling place. 16 But they mocked the messengers of
God, despised His words, and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the
Lord arose against His people, till there was no remedy.

17 Therefore He brought against them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed
their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no
compassion on young man or virgin, on the aged or the weak; He gave them all
into his hand. 18 And all the articles from the house of God, great and
small, the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king
and of his leaders, all these he took to Babylon. 19 Then they burned the
house of God, broke down the wall of Jerusalem, burned all its palaces with
fire, and destroyed all its precious possessions. 20 And those who escaped
from the sword he carried away to Babylon, where they became servants to him
and his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia, 21 to fulfill the word
of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her
Sabbaths. As long as she lay desolate she kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy
years.

The Proclamation of Cyrus
22 Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord
by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit
of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his
kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying,

23 Thus says Cyrus king of Persia:

All the kingdoms of the earth the Lord God of heaven has given me. And He
has commanded me to build Him a [r]house at Jerusalem which is in Judah. Who
is among you of all His people? May the Lord his God be with him, and let
him go up!

Footnotes
2 Chronicles 34:3 Places for pagan worship
2 Chronicles 34:6 Lit. swords
2 Chronicles 34:8 Lit. house
2 Chronicles 34:17 Lit. poured out
2 Chronicles 34:20 Achbor the son of Michaiah, 2 Kin. 22:12
2 Chronicles 34:22 Tikvah, 2 Kin. 22:14
2 Chronicles 34:22 Harhas, 2 Kin. 22:14
2 Chronicles 34:33 Lit. serve to serve
2 Chronicles 35:4 households
2 Chronicles 36:2 MT Joahaz
2 Chronicles 36:4 Lit. his
2 Chronicles 36:4 MT Joahaz
2 Chronicles 36:6 chains
2 Chronicles 36:8 Or Jeconiah
2 Chronicles 36:9 Heb. mss., LXX, Syr. eighteen and 2 Kin. 24:8
2 Chronicles 36:10 Or Mattaniah
2 Chronicles 36:10 Lit. his brother, 2 Kin. 24:17
2 Chronicles 36:23 Temple