Then the king called together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. He went up to the temple of the LORD with the men of Judah, the people of Jerusalem, the priests and the Levites-all the people from the least to the greatest. He read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant, which had been found in the temple of the LORD. The king stood by his pillar and renewed the covenant in the presence of the LORD-to follow the LORD and keep his commands, regulations and decrees with all his heart and all his soul, and to obey the words of the covenant written in this book.
Then he had everyone in Jerusalem and Benjamin pledge themselves to it; the people of Jerusalem did this in accordance with the covenant of God, the God of their fathers. … As long as he lived, they did not fail to follow the lord, the God of their fathers.
Character Check Settle that you are going to follow Christ no matter what the repercussions are.
In Business Terms In his newspaper column “Market Report,” Bill Barnhart explained the difference between investors and traders. “A trader in a stock,” wrote Barnhart, “is making decisions minute-by-minute in the hope of shaving off profits measured in fractions of a dollar. An investor, on the other hand, typically buys or sells a stock based on views about the company and the economy at large.”
In other words, traders pursue short-term profits. By contrast, investors are in it for the long haul. They commit their money to a stock, believing that over years the stock will grow in value. Investors aren’t flustered by the ups and downs of the market because they believe in the quality of the company.
In the kingdom of God, there are also investors and traders. They come to Christ with very different goals. Traders in the kingdom want God to improve their lot in this world. If following Christ means pain or hardship, they sell out.
But investors in the kingdom stay true to Christ no matter what happens in this world, knowing that eternal dividends await them.
—Craig Brian Larson
Something to Think About It doesn’t take much to say, “I quit.” It takes a lot more to say “I’ll try.” – Thelma Wright
