Telling about Christ and the Cross

1 Corinthians 2 Friends, when I came and told you the mystery that God had shared with us, I didn't use big words or try to sound wise. ²In fact, while I was with you, I made up my mind to speak only about Jesus Christ, who had been nailed to a cross.
³At first, I was weak and trembling with fear. ⁴When I talked with you or preached, I didn't try to prove anything by sounding wise. I simply let God's Spirit show his power. ⁵That way you would have faith because of God's power and not because of human wisdom.
⁶We do use wisdom when speaking to people who are mature in their faith. But it isn't the wisdom of this world or of its rulers, who will soon disappear. ⁷We speak of God's hidden and mysterious wisdom that God decided to use for our glory long before the world began. ⁸The rulers of this world didn't know anything about this wisdom. If they had known about it, they would not have nailed the glorious Lord to a cross. ⁹But it is just as the Scriptures say,
"What God has planned for people who love him
is more than eyes have seen or ears have heard.
It has never even entered our minds!"
¹⁰God's Spirit has shown you everything. His Spirit finds out everything, even what is deep in the mind of God. ¹¹You are the only one who knows what is in your own mind, and God's Spirit is the only one who knows what is in God's mind. ¹²But God has given us his Spirit. That's why we don't think the same way that the people of this world think. That's also why we can recognize the blessings that God has given us.
¹³Every word we speak was taught to us by God's Spirit, not by human wisdom. And this same Spirit helps us teach spiritual things to spiritual people. ¹⁴That's why only someone who has God's Spirit can understand spiritual blessings. Anyone who doesn't have God's Spirit thinks these blessings are foolish. ¹⁵People who are guided by the Spirit can make all kinds of judgments, but they cannot be judged by others. ¹⁶The Scriptures ask,
"Has anyone ever known the thoughts of the Lord
or given him advice?"
But we understand what Christ is thinking.

King Abijam of Judah
(2 Chronicles 13.1-22)

1 Kings 15 Abijam became king of Judah in Jeroboam's eighteenth year as king of Israel, ²and he ruled from Jerusalem for three years. His mother was Maacah the daughter of Abishalom.
³Abijam did not truly obey the LORD his God as his ancestor David had done. Instead, he was sinful just like his father Rehoboam. ^4-5David had always obeyed the LORD's commands by doing right, except in the case of Uriah. And since Abijam was David's great-grandson, the LORD kept Jerusalem safe and let Abijam have a son who would be the next king.
^6-7The war that had broken out between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continued during the time that Abijam was king.
Everything else Abijam did while he was king is written in The History of the Kings of Judah. ⁸Abijam died and was buried in Jerusalem, and his son Asa became king.

King Asa of Judah
(2 Chronicles 15.16--16.6, 11-13)

⁹Asa became king of Judah in the twentieth year of Jeroboam's rule in Israel, ¹⁰and he ruled forty-one years from Jerusalem. His grandmother was Maacah the daughter of Abishalom.
¹¹Asa obeyed the LORD, as David had done. ¹²He forced the prostitutes at the shrines to leave the country, and he got rid of the idols his ancestors had made. ¹³His own grandmother Maacah had made an idol of Asherah, and Asa took it and burned it in Kidron Valley. Then he removed Maacah from her position as queen mother.
¹⁴As long as Asa lived, he was completely faithful to the LORD, even though he did not destroy the local shrines. ¹⁵He placed in the temple all the silver and gold objects that he and his father had dedicated to the LORD.
¹⁶Asa was always at war with King Baasha of Israel. ¹⁷One time, Baasha invaded Judah and captured the town of Ramah. He started making the town stronger, so he could put troops there to stop people from going in and out of Judah.
¹⁸When Asa heard about this, he took the silver and gold from his palace and from the LORD's temple. He gave it to some of his officials and sent them to Damascus with this message for King Benhadad of Syria: ¹⁹"Our fathers signed a peace treaty. Why don't we do the same thing? This silver and gold is a present for you. So, would you please break your treaty with Baasha and force him to leave my country?"
²⁰Benhadad did what Asa asked and sent the Syrian army into Israel. They captured the towns of Ijon, Dan, and Abel-Bethmaacah, and the territories of Chinneroth and Naphtali. ²¹When Baasha heard about it, he left Ramah and went back to Tirzah.
²²Asa ordered everyone in Judah to carry away the stones and wood Baasha had used to strengthen the town of Ramah. Then he used these same stones and wood to fortify the town of Geba in the territory of Benjamin and the town of Mizpah.
²³Everything else Asa did while he was king, including his victories and the towns he rebuilt, is written in The History of the Kings of Judah. When he got older, he had a foot disease. ²⁴Asa died and was buried in the tomb of his ancestors in Jerusalem. His son Jehoshaphat then became king.

King Nadab of Israel

²⁵Nadab son of Jeroboam became king of Israel in Asa's second year as king of Judah, and he ruled two years. ²⁶Nadab disobeyed the LORD by following the evil example of his father, who had caused the Israelites to sin.
^27-28Baasha son of Ahijah was from the tribe of Issachar, and he made plans to kill Nadab. When Nadab and his army went to attack the town of Gibbethon in Philistia, Baasha killed Nadab there. So in the third year of Asa's rule, Baasha became king of Israel.
²⁹The LORD's prophet Ahijah had earlier said, "Not one man or boy in Jeroboam's family will be left alive." And, as soon as Baasha became king, he killed everyone in Jeroboam's family, ³⁰because Jeroboam had made the LORD God of Israel angry by sinning and causing the Israelites to sin.
³¹Everything else Nadab did while he was king is written in The History of the Kings of Israel.
³²King Asa of Judah and King Baasha of Israel were always at war.

The LORD's Invitation

Joel 2 ¹²The LORD said:
It isn't too late. You can still return to me
with all your heart.
Start crying and mourning! Go without eating.
¹³Don't rip your clothes to show your sorrow.
Instead, turn back to me with broken hearts.
I am merciful, kind, and caring.
I don't easily lose my temper, and I don't like to punish.

¹⁴I am the LORD your God. Perhaps I will change my mind
and treat you with mercy.
Then you will be blessed with enough grain and wine
for offering sacrifices to me.

¹⁵Sound the trumpet on Zion! Call the people together.
Show your sorrow by going without food.
¹⁶Make sure that everyone is fit to worship me.
Bring adults, children, babies,
and even bring newlyweds from their festivities.

¹⁷Tell my servants, the priests, to cry inside the temple
and to offer this prayer near the altar:
"Save your people, LORD God!
Don't let foreign nations make jokes about us.
Don't let them laugh and ask, 'Where is your God?' "

The LORD Will Bless the Land

¹⁸The LORD was deeply concerned about his land
and had pity on his people.
¹⁹In answer to their prayers he said,
"I will give you enough grain, wine, and olive oil
to satisfy your needs.
No longer will I let you be insulted by the nations.
²⁰An army attacked from the north,
but I will chase it into a scorching desert.
There it will rot and stink
from the Dead Sea to the Mediterranean."

The LORD works wonders ²¹and does great things.
So tell the soil to celebrate
²²and wild animals to stop being afraid.
Grasslands are green again;
fruit trees and fig trees are loaded with fruit.
Grapevines are covered with grapes.

²³People of Zion, celebrate in honor
of the LORD your God!
He is generous and has sent the autumn and spring rains
in the proper seasons.
²⁴Grain will cover your threshing places;
jars will overflow with wine and olive oil.

The LORD Will Rescue His People

²⁵I, the LORD your God, will make up for the losses
caused by those swarms and swarms of locusts
I sent to attack you.
²⁶My people, you will eat until you are satisfied.
Then you will praise me
for the wonderful things I have done.
Never again will you be put to shame.

²⁷Israel, you will know that I stand at your side.
I am the LORD your God-- there are no other gods.
Never again will you be put to shame.

The LORD Will Work Wonders

The LORD said:
²⁸Later, I will give my Spirit to everyone.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy.
Your old men will have dreams,
and your young men will see visions.
²⁹In those days I will even give my Spirit to my servants,
both men and women.

³⁰I will work wonders in the sky above
and on the earth below.
There will be blood and fire and clouds of smoke.
³¹The sun will turn dark, and the moon will be as red as blood
before that great and terrible day when I appear.
³²Then the LORD will save everyone who faithfully worships him. He has promised there will be survivors on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and among them will be his chosen ones.