July 10

Today's Reading: 2 Chronicles 33:1-25

By now the northern kingdom - Israel - has been defeated by the Assyrians and the people have been scattered. In the southern kingdom of Judah, Manasseh began to reign when he was 12 years old and reigned for 55 years. Unlike his father, Hezekiah, Manasseh did evil. But when confronted by God, he at least repented.

A couple of lessons for us to learn here:

1. No matter how deep our sin is, it's never too late to repent and return to God.
2. Even when we do repent, God doesn't always take away the consequences of our sin. Manasseh's evil influence was so deep-seated that the people of Israel still didn't follow God whole heartedly. And his son, Amon, carried on the evil ways of his father.

Is there any sin in your life right now that you need to deal with?