Revue: God’s Reboot

by Lynn, posted in Old Testament Studies, Revue

Quiet on the Maury_9x12Oil_LynnAbbott_For Cabell Gallery© Lynn Abbott Studios

True Confession: like a modern-day Don Quixote, I have occasionally spent entire weeks hurling insults at an inanimate object.

Yup.  I do believe that even Job himself would find an ornery computer to be an extraordinary trial.

Without a doubt, I sometimes threaten to kick my computer to the curb, and rid the world of it once and for all . . .

Despite all this, over the years, I typically return to what most techies deem my best option–the “reboot.”

Of course, this is not before I consider giving it the old-fashioned “boot.”

However, my computer’s misbehavior–although frustrating–is not the total picture.

And so, I seek to save the delinquent, piece of technology.

That’s right: time for the reboot; time to take the computer back to factory condition…

Viruses eliminated,

Internet junk left behind.

Uh, huh.  You guessed it. I have much in common with that aggravating computer.

I typically return to what most techies deem my best option–the “reboot.”

I daily collect dust and “viruses” as I walk through this world.  My life’s journey becomes increasingly difficult.   Sluggish, even.

And at the end of the day, I scratch my head and wonder, “How did I get here?”

The answer isn’t rocket science. Over the long haul, minor shifts can significantly impact any trajectory.  I regularly see that principle at work as I draw lines of perspective on paper or canvas.

Quiet on the Maury_9x12Oil_LynnAbbott_For Cabell GalleryIn much the same way, when I veer to the left or right and extend my path from there, I arrive at an “unplanned for” destination.

In other words, a small virus can do great damage; a little leaven can spoil the entire dough.

Just ask any of the Old Testament prophets.  The nation of Israel experienced the raw reality of this truth again and again.

The second book of Chronicles reveals the harvest.  However, the seeds of struggle began with Solomon.

As is often the case, his pivot point initially seemed insignificant.

After all, Solomon simply followed the general political wisdom of his day.  He pragmatically ratified his peace treaties and political alliances with other nations by marrying into the “family.”

Unfortunately for Solomon and God’s people, Solomon’s political marriages also represented a departure from the “manufacturer’s” directions.

And at the end of the day, I scratch my head and wonder, “How did I get here?”

God had specifically forbidden for His children to intermarry with the pagan nations around them.  Disobedience would certainly lead to long-term, negative consequences.

Solomon knew God’s Word, of course.  But he may have decided that the benefits of such alliances outweighed the risks.

Been there; done that whole “lean on my own understanding” bit.

Big mistake.

As God had warned, Solomon’s heart became divided, (1 Kings 11:2).  Over time, domestic peace demanded that Solomon compromise his faith.

And paganism began to infiltrate Israel’s culture.  That spelled long-term trouble.

Solomon’s line produced a great many evil kings, men with no respect for their people.

Quiet on the Maury_9x12Oil_LynnAbbott_For Cabell GalleryHowever, in His mercy, God provided a reboot through a boy king named Josiah.

Josiah’s godly life, in fact, stands in stark contrast to previous kings.

Josiah’s father and grandfather had been particularly evil kings.  Idolatry ran rampant, (2 Chronicles 33:9).

Scripture tells us that Josiah’s father Amon did not humble himself before God.

In other words, he proved an arrogant, cruel king.  Chronicles simply states that Amon “multiplied guilt,” (2 Chronicles 33:23).

While no details of Amon’s “guilt” are given, the behavior of his household servants confirms the absolute worst.  Two years into Amon’s reign, he was murdered by his servants.

Fortunately, the Israeli people prevented a total political meltdown: the conspirators received the death penalty.  And Amon’s eight year old son, Josiah, was crowned king.

Of course, from a purely political standpoint, an eight-year-old king didn’t hold much promise.  Yet, Josiah became one of Israel’s great kings.

In His great mercy, God provided His people a reboot through a boy king named Josiah.

Josiah reigned thirty-one years, and Chronicles reports that “he did right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the ways of his father David and did not turn aside to the right or to the left,” (2 Chronicles 34:2).

Josiah cleansed the nation of all its spiritual viruses: idolatry and paganism.   Then, Josiah commissioned the rebuilding of God’s temple.  He went back to the basics.

And in the process, a miraculous discovery was made.

The priest Hilkiah found “the book of the law of the LORD given by Moses,” (2 Chronicles 34:14).

In response to the reading of God’s word, Josiah further humbled himself before God.

In fact, Josiah’s obedience to the Word of God brought Israel long-term peace.

Yes, at the heart of any spiritual “reset” is obedience to our Manufacturer’s Directions.

Jeremiah wrote, “So now the Lord says, ‘Stop right where you are!  Look for the old, godly way, and walk in it.  Travel its path, and you will find rest for your souls,” (Jeremiah 6:16).

Quiet on the Maury_9x12Oil_LynnAbbott_For Cabell GalleryAnd so it is. When you and I wander from God’s path, Grace calls; “Stop right where you are!  Look for the old, godly way, and walk in it…”

John writes, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness,” (1 John 1:9).

Grace calls.  It clears the viruses; dumps the accumulated junk files. It returns our souls to manufacturer’s condition.

But there’s more.  Undoubtedly, the world is a messy place.   What if I misstep again?

Grace has that covered, too.

Jeremiah reminds us, “This I recall to my mind, Therefore I have hope.  The LORD’s loving-kindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail.  They are new every morning…” (Lamentations 3: 21-23).

Every morning…

Grace.

I love the picture that Jesus gave his disciples and us as well during the Last Supper.  Jesus knelt to wash the disciples’ feet.  At first Peter objected.

Yet, when Jesus told him that could not have fellowship with Jesus without the foot washing, Peter said, “Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.”

At the heart of any spiritual reset is obedience to our Manufacturer’s Directions.

Jesus’ response communicated profound truth for the believer’s life. He said, “He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet…” (John 13:10).

Quiet on the Maury_9x12Oil_LynnAbbott_For Cabell GalleryIn other words, as Abba’s child, I have already experienced the full restart.  The “idols” of my life have been cleared.  Now, I need only a daily foot-washing.

And as I obey the light I have been given, God grants greater wisdom; His Spirit teaches me more of His Word.

Yeah, I still wander at times, (Isaiah 53:6).  However, the closer I grow to the Savior and the more obedient I am to His Word, the easier it becomes to flee dangerous “viruses” and to live in daily victory.

You betcha. I thank God for His merciful reboot.

“So now the Lord says, “Stop right where you are!  Look for the old, godly way, and walk in it.  Travel its path, and you will find rest for your souls,” ~ Jeremiah 6:16

94 thoughts on “Revue: God’s Reboot”

  2. Amen, Lynn! We’ve all been there, done that, and strayed from the path a smidgeon. Thank God for His daily dose of grace and mercy!
    Beautiful painting, too! Love the colors ❤️

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    1. “Smidgeon…” Now, we’re talkin’ You are definitely a soul sister! “Smidgeon” is one of my favorite words. Love that! And yes, so thankful to God for His grace and mercy… and for wonderful friends like you! ❤ ❤ and hugs!!

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    1. I love it, Gary! Mornings are good for that, aren’t they? I love your coined term– “Reboot Time”… That’s perfect. My daily reset is just before breakfast. God bless you, my friend! Thank you for sharing your wonderful insight here! You blessed me today! May God bless you greatly in return! 🙂

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  6. Great read, Lynn! And you are so right about spiritual reboots! Prayer, study, giving, fasting, witnessing, worship, what we say….on and on….spiritual reboots are needed often! Love the wisdom here!

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    1. Thank you with all my heart, Jeff! I’m so glad it resonated with you, too. Much of the time I’m simply “preaching” to myself here, and so I’m extremely grateful if someone else finds it useful. 🙂 Your awesome! Thank you!

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  7. It’s mind-boggling that one tiny step pointed a wrong direction could take us miles apart from the right destination. Sometimes we asked when and what happened that got us to this point. Yes, by God’s grace, we could “reboot.” Thank you for sharing, Lynn.

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  8. beautiful as always Lynn—-and I’d comment better had I not a sleeping child in one arm while peeking on a keyboard with the other hand—we have her tonight and Abby will come down tomorrow to start the long 6 weeks of finishing the school year while staying with us so she won’t have to commute—the baby has been fitful tonight, probably missing them and home so I’m afraid to move!!!!! more later….

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    1. Oh, Julie… whatever would your DIL do without you? You give so much of yourself! Thank you for stopping by even in the midst of all the craziness that currently defines your circumstances. You are the best! Love and huge hugs to you!! ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤

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  14. One of the most successful lies of the devil is that Christianity is too dry and boring. He is the ‘god of this world’ and he advertises his domain. He says that the world is full of fun, exciting and inspirational. Many Christians, especially the ones gifted in music and arts, have fallen for his deception. The devil does not mind you going to church, if you can accept some religious ‘virus’ in your system. The devil preaches compromise and hates purity. But this is my prayer for you: “Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again” (1Thess 1:23). This is what I said to our congregation yesterday. You can see that the Spirit is one! God bless you Lynn!

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    1. Thank you, dear Lia! You are such a treasure!! I’m so grateful for your prayers. Yes, I find that I am attacked for being a follower of Christ who works in the arts. You are very right about that. And for this reason and for so many others, I am extremely grateful for your kindness and prayers! God bless you greatly, my wonderful friend! Your congregation is so blessed to have you and your husband! ❤ ❤

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      2. Oh, it isn’t really a big deal, dear Lia. I just recently had a “heckler” make rude remarks on one of my art pages. If you are a believer and live for Christ, you are bound to be the subject of ridicule. Probably what I most wish for by way of prayer is that I be filled with the Spirit and with His wisdom and grace as I respond to each person that I encounter. Thank you my wonderful and godly friend! Your friendship is such a gift from God!! ❤❤ and huge hugs!!!!!

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  15. Pingback: A Distracted Mind | garyfultz

      1. You’re utmost welcome and sending hugs back your way! 💙Hope you’re having a blessed week. 🙂

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      3. Lovely to hear! 💙I’m currently recovering from being a little unwell, but God is great.

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      5. Thank you, Lynn! 💙 I can tell you that I feel super better today! Hope you’re having a blessed weekend, my friend. 😃

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  18. 2 beautiful pictures you paint here…. your artwork and the life application of biblical truth. I’m so thankful for reboots. Do you sell prints of your paintings?

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    1. Thank you with all my heart, Linda!! You are such a wonderful encouragement to me!

      As far as prints go, I have sold them through a site called RedBubble. Haven’t always been happy with the quality of the prints and so I’ve been exploring other options recently. I hope to be able to make professional giclees (archival prints)available in the fall. But in the meantime, if you are curious, follow the previous link to my RedBubble web page. This particular painting needs to be updated there. I’ll do that this evening when I return home. 😊 Love and huge hugs to you, my kind and thoughtful friend! ❤❤

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      1. I love them all! And I love the cards for special people too. Let us know when you find a way to sell prints that are of a quality you like. Meanwhile, I’m bookmarking this! Thank you!!

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      2. Oh, thank you, dear Linda! You are very good to me! And yes, I will definitely let you know! Also, I’ve been a bit overwhelmed this first part of the week…but I will be stopping by your blog soon! I always love your studies! What a blessing they are to me! Love and huge hugs to you! ❤

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  21. Thanks Lynn……
    Sometimes I find that the evil one likes to play with me especially when I need to write for GOD. And he will make all sorts of things go wrong especially when I am on the computer! Usually I take that as a sign that what I am putting into print is important and GOD wants that certain someone to hear what I have said and the enemy is trying to frustrate me to give up. So take comfort in that……and of course your beautiful images here as well touch people……..they are so grace filled! We are fighting that spiritual fight……but let us always know that GOD’s power is bigger than anything the world or the enemy can throw at us!! Persevere friend!

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    1. Amen! God is so good and I’m grateful that “greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world.” Thank you for your wonderful words of encouragement! You truly lifted me today! God bless you big time! ❤ ❤

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  22. I love your analogies that bring out Scripture truths in such a meaningful way, Lynn. I thank God, too, for His merciful reboots! That Lamentations verse always gives so much hope. If I look in myself with all my flaws, viruses, and unwanted junk, I wonder how He can be so patient with me. Yes, His mercies and compassion never fail! I love the thought of how His grace reboots us. As always, the painting is beautiful, so filled with the beauty of God’s grace. Are those lavender fields? I just checked out RedBubble, the link you gave in a comment to someone else here. Wow! The water scenes, the nature pathways, and the one of the sheep in the fields, oh, and the dog one are my favorites, but really, they’re all awesome. 🙂 Love and hugs to you!

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    1. Oh, Trudy… I can’t possibly fully express how much I look forward to your comments! I wish we lived close to one another. I would suggest a weekly coffee/tea outing together. You are such a kindred spirit. And thank you; thank you for your kind words about my art! You are truly good to me! Love you, my wonderful friend! ❤ ❤

      P.S. I've been a bit overwhelmed this week with work, but I'll visit your blog asap. I always hate to miss your wonderful posts! ❤ ❤

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  23. Oh dear, dear Lynn, so you think you have lost it with your Computer! I banged mine so hard it dislodged the Hard- drive and left a bruise, No on me not the Hard -drive and my Mobil has also been a pain. So I have now decided to go back to Smoke Signals Hmmm perhaps to save having Bush fires, maybe Two Tins and a piece of Cord will work better, of course that is if I can work out if the Cord goes up in the Air or underground!

    Seriously Lynn to Spiritually Reboot, we are to Work out our Salvation not meaning work for it…

    Philippians 2:12-13… Work out your own Salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which Worketh in you both to Will and to do of His Good Pleasure.KJV

    Jeremiah 29:12-14 Then shall ye call upon Me and ye shall go and Pray unto me and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall Seek Me and find Me when ye shall Search for me with all your Heart. And I will be found of you saith The LORD.KJV

    It is also very True Lynn that we all lack God’s Wisdom it pleased Him when King Solomon asked for it, and as we know not one of us were Born with God’s Wisdom or with the empowering of The Holy Spirit (1Corinthians2:9-16) and yes they come from God but we are to to Ask, Seek and Knock as Jesus tells us to do and He also says some do not have because they do not Ask in Faith or some don’t get what they ask for because they ask for the wrong reasons.

    Matthew 7:7-8 Ask and it shall be given you Seek and ye shall find Knock and it shall be opened unto you for every one that Asketh Receiveth and he that Seeketh Findeth and to him that Knocketh it shall be Opened.KJV

    Proverbs 4:7 Wisdom is the Principal thing; therefore get Wisdom and with all thy getting get Understanding.KJV

    James 1:5-6 If any of you lack Wisdom let him Ask of God that giveth to all Men liberally and upbraideth not and it shall be given him. But let him Ask in Faith nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the Sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that Man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded Man is unstable in all his ways.. KJV

    Luke 11:13….how much more shall your Heavenly Father give The Holy Spirit to them that ask Him?KJV

    We are to humble ourselves and Ask and believe we have received and we will when we Reverently Fear God, not meaning of course having Carnal fleshy fear of Him but we are in great Awe of Him and Love Him passionately and because we do we will obey Him.

    God tells us to put our Carnal flesh to death by the Spirit as we Aim to be Perfected in Love and as the Scripture below confirm when we are Born Again we do not Sin we can’t.

    1 John 3:9 No one who is Born of God will continue to Sin because God’s Seed remains in him; he cannot go on Sinning because he has been Born of God.KJV

    John 8:34-36 Jesus replied, “I tell you the Truth everyone who Sins is a slave to Sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free you will be free indeed.KJV

    1John 5 18-20 We know that no one who is Born of God Sins but He who was Born of God keeps him and the evil one does not touch him. KJV

    1 John 3: 1-11 ( 6-7 ) Whosoever abideth in Him Sinneth not: whosoever Sinneth hath not seen Him, neither known Him. Little Children let no Man deceive you he that doeth Righteousness is Righteous, even as He is Righteous. KJV

    Romans 6:22-23 But now being made free from Sin and become Servants to God ye have your Fruit unto Holiness and the end Everlasting Life. For the wages of Sin is death but the gift of God is Eternal Life through KJV

    1 Peter 2:24 Who His own self bare our Sins in His own body on the tree that we being dead to Sins should Live unto Righteousness by whose stripes ye were healed.KJV

    Romans 6:11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto Sin but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.KJV

    Romans 8 :12-15 Therefore Brothers we have an obligation but it is not to the Sinful Nature to Live according to it. or if you Live according to the Sinful Nature you will die but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body you will Live because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. KJV

    But as you shared Lynn until we are Perfected In Love we are under God’s Grace,, yes we are covered by the Blood of Jesus and than having been Born Again we are washed of all our Unrighteousness and so we are Perfected in Love, having put our Carnal flesh to death by choosing to walk in The Fruit of The Spirit as He empowers us so we can..KJV

    1 John 4:17-19 Herein is our Love made Perfect that we may have boldness in the day of Judgment: because as He is so are we in this World. There is no fear in Love but Perfect Love casteth out fear because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made Perfect in Love. We Love Him because He first Loved us. KJV

    Romans 8:1-4 There is therefore now no Condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus who walk not after the flesh but after The Spirit. KJV

    Daniel 12:10 Many shall be Purified and made White and tried but the wicked shall do wickedly and none of the wicked shall Understand but the Wise shall Understand.KJV

    Christian Love Lynn and God’s Abundant Blessings Now and Always,
    Anne.

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    1. I so love your sense of humor, dear Anne! Thanks for the huge smile today! And you have listed some amazing scripture here! Thank you! I’m sure others besides myself will be truly blessed by these! <3, hugs and prayers!

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  25. Praise the Lord, Lynn!!! 🙂 He directs our footsteps, and like a child whose parent has a leash (my mom was one haha when we went to the mall), He gives us a sharp tug when we travel too far on the wrong path.

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  26. Beautiful!! I love how the Lord touches your heart with these extraordinarily, beautiful analogies, and how He blesses your hands with the beauty you unfold!
    I’m so thankful He led me to your blog!
    I’ve been having some problems, so forgive me for not getting to your posts earlier.
    Have a great weekend!
    Prayers for your current trial!
    Hugs to you, my cherished friend!
    Blessings~

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    1. Oh, thank you, dear Robbye!! And I’m so grateful that God led me to your wonderful blog!! Not to worry about not having gotten to my posts. I’m a bit swamped this week myself and so I totally understand! Sigh. My laptop has given up the ghost, in fact, which has made it very difficult to keep up with everything especially since I work away from home fairly frequently. Sigh. Needless to say, I’m grateful for your prayers! Thank you! I will pray for you as well that God resolves all of your website issues as well. Love and hugs to you, my wonderful friend!! ❤ ❤

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