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Day 117, or April 27. Some advice is easier to take.

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Our thoughts today are rooted in 2 Chronicles chapter 25 verse 16. While he was still speaking,

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the king said to him, Have we appointed you an advisor to the king? Stop! Why be struck

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down? So the prophet stopped, but said, I know that God has determined to destroy you,

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because you have done this, and have not listened to my counsel.

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Now the big picture surrounding this verse. As the northern kingdom comes towards its

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final acts, the southern kingdom of Judah continues to vacillate between following God

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faithfully and joining in with the pagan rituals of its neighbors. The Assyrians will soon

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attack but Judah is not worried. As it happens, they should have been, as they will be attacked

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and scattered, and, but for a miraculous act of God, would have been defeated just as the

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northern tribes were. During these years there were some good godly kings in the south,

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but not a single one in the north.

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And now today's action step. An unnamed prophet told King Amaziah that God was displeased

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with his actions, and Amaziah's response was similar to that of a spoilt child. He

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ignored him. You can almost see him in your imagination, putting his fingers in his ears

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and singing, La, la, la, la. Advice is often easier to take when it comes from a source

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that we respect and trust. However, when an unknown prophet comes to the king, his message

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is dismissed, partly because of where it comes from, but probably, and I suspect mainly,

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due to it not being what the king wanted to hear. If we only listen to those we approve

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of or admire, we are in danger of missing something important. When we meet opposition

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in life, we have three possible responses. We can ignore it, or slavishly obey it. Both

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of these bypass the brain and are not recommended. The third and best response is to evaluate

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it before God with a view to possibly changing our minds. Be ready today to hear from God,

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even through individuals you don't particularly like.