Reform
I have been a part of the Restoration Movement for most of my life. It was a Christian movement that sought to reform the church from within. The movement also sought “the unification of all Christians in a single body patterned after the church of the New Testament.” The word reform and restore are closely related words. The word reform can mean to put an end to bad practices and behavior and restore good practices and good behavior.
King Josiah of Judah was seeking to reform the religious worship of the people of Judah. When he ordered the clean-up of the temple a scroll of the law was found and read to the king. His immediate response was repentance on behalf of the people of Judah. He also systematically began the clean-up of the pagan religious practices throughout the country of Judah. Check this out….
21 King Josiah then issued this order to all the people: “You must celebrate the Passover to the Lord your God, as required in this Book of the Covenant.” 22 There had not been a Passover celebration like that since the time when the judges ruled in Israel, nor throughout all the years of the kings of Israel and Judah. 23 But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah’s reign, this Passover was celebrated to the Lord in Jerusalem.
24 Josiah also got rid of the mediums and psychics, the household gods, the idols, and every other kind of detestable practice, both in Jerusalem and throughout the land of Judah. He did this in obedience to the laws written in the scroll that Hilkiah the priest had found in the Lord’s Temple. 25 Never before had there been a king like Josiah, who turned to the Lord with all his heart and soul and strength, obeying all the laws of Moses. And there has never been a king like him since. (2 Kings 23:21-25 NLT)
This passage prompted me to look into my life to see where reform is needed in me. Over the years I can slide into some bad practices and bad attitudes. As I walk with the Lord and study His Word, I find myself in need of daily reform. There are habits and attitudes that need to be checked on a daily basis to check against the light of His Word. I need help reforming my heart that can become diseased and tainted by the culture I’m part of. The Holy Spirit can prompt and point out the daily reforms that need to be addressed. Just like the scroll discovered in Josiah’s day, the Word of God can point me to reforms that are needed inside my heart. I have to be humble, teachable and careful to listen to the Word of God when I’m convicted of reforms needed in me.
Pressing On!
Dwayne