2 Chronicles 15:9

2 Chronicles 15:9 says, And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and the strangers with them out of Ephraim and Manasseh, and out of Simeon: for they fell to him out of Israel in abundance, when they saw that the Lord his God was with him.  With his reformation of Judah to worshipping God alone, other people began to come to Judah, from the other tribes of Israel.  They did this because they saw that God was with Asa.  We as individual Christians and as a nation should draw people to God because they see evidence that He is with us.  Verse ten adds, So they gathered themselves together at Jerusalem in the third month, in the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa.  In the fifteenth year of Asa's reign, the people gathered at Jerusalem.  It had taken a while for them to get to this point, and if we stray away from God, it may take us a while to get back, but when we do, we need to celebrate the fact that we have.  Verse eleven continues, And they offered unto the Lord the same time, of the spoil which they had brought, seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep.  The people then offered and offering to God from the spoils of war that they had taken.  We need to offer sacrifices to God from all that He blesses us with today.  Verse twelve states, And they entered into a covenant to seek the Lord God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul;  They also entered ino a covenant relationship with God to seek Him with all their hearts and souls.  He was called the God of their fathers, but once they entered into a covenant relationship with Him, He was no longer just the God of their fathers.  He was their God.  We cannot be a part of the family of God simply because our parents were but must enter into a personal covenant relationship with Him by putting our faith in Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord.  Verse eleven adds, That whosoever would not seek the Lord God of Israel should be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman.  Anyone not seeking God, whether a great person or a little known one, was to be put to death.  Though this might be a great motivator for people to at least say they are a Christian, it still wouldn't make them one.  We are not called on to kill nonbelievers, but to share the gospel with them as we reach out to them with the love of God.  Verse fourteen continues, And they sware unto the Lord with a loud voice, and with shouting, and with trumpets, and with cornets.  They cried out to God as a group with shouting and trumpets and cornets.  We need to shout out to God and worship Him with music and songs today as well.  Verse fifteen says, And all Judah rejoiced at the oath: for they had sworn with all their heart, and sought him with their whole desire; and he was found of them: and the Lord gave them rest round about.  When the people sincerely sought God and swore their allegiance to Him, He was found and gave them rest.  God never hides, but He actually seeks us.  If we put our faith in Him, He will give us rest spiritually, no matter what is going on in the world.  Verse sixteen adds, And also concerning Maachah the mother of Asa the king, he removed her from being queen, because she had made an idol in a grove: and Asa cut down her idol, and stamped it, and burnt it at the brook Kidron.  Asa also removed his mother from being queen, because she was still worshipping an idol.  He then destroyed the idol and the grove dedicated to it.  When we put our faith in Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, we must destroy all the idols in our lives if we are going to serve Him effectively and we can never allow anyone, even our parents, to lead us to worship any other god.  Verse eighteen continues, But the high places were not taken away out of Israel: nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect all his days.   Still, Asa did not remove the high places of worship, though we are told that his heart was perfect all his days.  We must remove everything that would lead us away from worshipping God as His word tells us to.  Verse eighteen states. And he brought into the house of God the things that his father had dedicated, and that he himself had dedicated, silver, and gold, and vessels.  Asa also brought the things that had been dedicated to the temple back into the temple and dedicated some more himself.  We should never attempt to take back anything that we have dedicated to God but must allow it to be used as He sees fit.  Verse nineteen adds, And there was no more war unto the five and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa.  For the next twenty years of Asa's reign, God gave them peace.  As Christians, we should be at peace spiritually for the rest of our lives, and if we are obedient to God, we will be,