Josiah was one of the “royal performers” of the Southern Kingdom, Judah. Though he had not much encouragement from his grandfather or father (Manasseh, his grandfather, set up altars to Baal and did evil, 2 Kings 21:2-3), and Amon, his father, worshipped idols and did evil (2 Kings 21:20-22). Josiah from his earliest age of accountability “did right in the eyes of Jehovah, and walked in the way of David his father” (2 Kings 22:2). His had a good reign of thirty-one years, beginning at age eight (22:1). Perhaps his mother helped make the difference in his life. Note some great characteristics youths of today should imitate.

Josiah determined early to “remember his creator” (Ecclesiastes 12:1). He allowed “no man to despise his youth” (1 Timothy 4:12). He purposed early, as Daniel did, not to defile himself (Daniel 1:8). He would have been an example to Daniel, for Daniel must have been born and reared during Josiah’s reign.

Josiah “turned not aside to the right hand nor to the left” (22:2). He was steadfast (1 Corinthians 15:58). Neither the pressures of politics nor of friends and acquaintances nor of prestige, power, and influence turned his head from the truth. He deviated not from the straight and narrow (Matthew 7:21-23; 2 John 9:11; Revelation 2:10). He put God first (Matthew 6:33).

Josiah sought early in life to learn the law of God (22:8). He humbled himself before God, and he shuddered to think of the wrath of Jehovah, “that is poured out upon us, because our fathers have not kept the word of Jehovah, to do according to all that is written in this book” (2 Chronicles 34:21).

Josiah had a tender heart (22:19; 2 Chronicles 34:27). “Blessed are the poor in spirit” (Matthew 5:3). Blessed are those who want to know the truth and are ready to obey, like the Ethiopian nobleman (Acts 8:26), like Saul of Tarsus (Acts 22:16), like the Philippian jailer (Acts 16:30).

Josiah wanted all people to obey the Lord (22:11). He sought to teach the Word to all (23:1; 2 Chronicles 34:29). The king and the people made a covenant to serve Jehovah (2 Chronicles 34:31-33). This they did all of his days.

Think of what a youth can do.

He can restore God’s law to his life, his family, and his associates.
He can be a power against evil and perversion (23:4-7).
He can receive God’s wondrous grace — salvation, peace of mind, and strength (23:24-25).
He needs to realize that apostasy is but one generation away potentially (23:26-27). He was one of Judah’s last hopes.

May our young people of today be a Josiah!!!

Copied from Venice’s Bulletin

Hope of a reward we cannot see is the spring of our best endeavors. Without it there would be no reason to press on to greater heights in the Master’s service. Why climb a mountain when there is no reward on the summit? If there is no place called Heaven above the bright blue, let us eat, drink, and be merry, and live as we pretty well please, because the meager rewards and fleeting pleasures of this life are all we have to look forward to.

This is the reason no man or woman is used by God to build up His kingdom who has lost the precious treasure called hope. Wherever you find a person who is not very useful for the Master. He spends his time looking downward and backwards and never forward and upward. Naturally he soon strays from the path of service and shuffles along the road of idleness and despair.

Read about a man whose shop was destroyed by the great Chicago fire. The next morning he arrived on the scene carrying a table. He placed the table in the middle of the charred debris and erected a sign overhead. The sign read, “Everything lost except wife, children, and hope. Business will be resumed as usual for the Master as long as we retain our hope, but those who have lost this priceless possession are no longer engaged in the greatest work in the world with any degree of success.

“The wicked is driven away in his wickedness: but the righteous hath hope in His death” (Proverbs 14:32). The wicked man lives a miserable life which ends in regret, and death holds absolutely no hope of a better life beyond the grave. A righteous man falls asleep in Jesus with a smile on his lips and hope in his heart. He is actually rejoicing because he is going home to be with his Lord and Savior forever and ever. To him death is a gateway to the celestial city and its everlasting delights.

“In hope of eternal life which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began” (Titus 1:2). Death is only a temporary state of affairs for the righteous. There is hope of life eternal with the Father and the Son. This is a glorious and worthwhile goal, and we should keep it vividly before our eyes through study, meditation and prayer.

Power thought for your week: It is impossible for God to lie, and He promised eternal life to the righteous in the very beginning. The hope of everlasting life is not a vain wish, based on a rash and latter day promise. It is a sure thing and a certain reward for those who believe in Jesus and truly obey all of His commandments. “Though He were a son, yet learned He obedience by the things which He suffered; and being made perfect, He became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey Him” (Hebrews 5:8,9).

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The South Florida Avenue Messenger

Mary had a little lamb,
His fleece was white as snow.
And everywhere that Mary went,
The lamb was sure to go.

He followed her to school each day,
Twasn’t even in the rule.
It made the children laugh and play,
To have a lamb at school.

And then all the rules changed one day,
Illegal it became.
To bring the Lamb of God to school,
Or even speak Him name.

Everyday got worse and worse,
And days turned into years.
Instead of hearing children laugh,
We heard gunshots and tears.

What must we do to stop the crime,
That’s in our school today?
Let’s let the Lamb come back to school,
And teach our kids to pray!

Author Unknown