“But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded.” 2 CHRONICLES 15:7–8 NIV When Asa heard these words and the prophecy of Azariah son of Oded the prophet, he took courage. He removed the detestable idols from the whole land of Judah and Benjamin and from the towns he had captured in the hills of Ephraim. He repaired the altar of the LORD that was in front of the portico of the LORD’S temple.

If, like King Asa, you had a message directly from God’s prophet that your work would be rewarded, would it make a difference? Would you work harder, change your plans, or keep on doing just what you’ve been doing all along?

Asa received this message and cleared his land of idols. It wasn’t an easy job, since Judah had long been involved in idol worship. No doubt he ruffled a few feathers of people who were happy with their worship just the way it was. But he did it anyway.

If we are following God’s ways, we don’t really need a prophetic message. His Word has already pointed us down the path we must follow. When we walk in God’s way, He promises to bless us (see Jeremiah 7:23). What could be better than to follow His path?

Lord, I want to follow Your path today, doing all that You have already commanded. Draw me closer to You.

Pamela L. McQuade, Daily Wisdom for the Workplace: Practical, on-the-Job Insights from Scripture (Uhrichsville, OH: Barbour, 2013).

The writer of Hebrews said, “Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity.” Hebrews 6:1 Many small group Bible study groups struggle because they do not do this—they do not move on beyond the elementary teachings.

This week it is How To Be Saved. Next week it is How To Be Sure You Are Saved. The next is How To Tell Someone Else How To Be Saved. The next is How To Be Forgiven and so on.

We study David and Goliath and Daniel in the Lion’s Den and the Life of Joseph and so forth—all good stuff—but if you have been attending for a while, you will get to feeling like you have heard this before.

This is why I am excited about one of our newest Bible Studies—a Study of the Life of Good King Asa. Asa was one of the exceptional kings of Judah and lived during a time of exceptional ungodliness. The contrast of his life with his background of ungodliness provides a fresh opportunity to live in today’s ungodly world. This Series is called Godly Living in an Ungodly World.

Sessions include:

Godly Living
2 Chronicles 14.1 - 8

Godly Dependence
2 Chronicles 14.9 - 15

Godly Courage
2 Chronicles 15.1 - 9

Godly Worship
2 Chronicles 15.10 - 19   44

“The eyes of the Lord range throughout…”
2 Chronicles 16

Good King Jehoshaphat (Asa’s Son)
2 Chronicles 17.1 – 11; 2 Chronicles 20

These lessons are available on Amazon, as well as a part of my Good Questions Have Groups Talking Subscription Service. Like Netflix for Bible Lessons, one low subscription gives you access to all our lessons--thousands of them. For a medium-sized church, lessons are as little as $10 per teacher per year.