Category: faithfulness

As Ecclesiastes says life is like a vapor, we are born and then we die. Life is like a revolving door. Centuries have passed since these stories of the two wicked kings but life has a way of teaching us wise principles by their lives. The first is, obey and serve God and He will bless. Turn away from Him and you will suffer both in this lifetime and the afterlife to come. A second principle is this: Parents are told to raise children to honor their parents and God, but pride steps in and their focus is on self, not the next generation.  We forget that this life is but a vapor and soon will be past. 

Rehoboam and Jeroboam were two foolish and wicked kings. They lived with no thought for tomorrow and in the end, both died leaving their nations as they lived: corrupt! It is sad to read these chapters but also stops us to think: how am living now and what do I pass on to my children so they will live and have prosperous lives. 

Take time today to read, study, pray and live a God centered life that you will pass on to your children. 

Today in my reading of Daniel 3 and Proverbs 30 one verse was clearly stamped on my thoughts: “Every word of God is purified; he is like a shield for those who take refuge in him.” (Vs 5) 

Three Hebrews challenged Nebuchadnezzar’s command to bow down to the golden statue, but this verse says exactly what they did. They trusted in God to be a shield about them and He proved Himself faithful. We will always come across the Nebuchadnezzar’s in this world. What will we choose to do? The Proverbs writer reminds us that in challenging times, God alone will be our refuge. Psa 33:20 We wait for the Lord; he is our deliverer and shield. And again Psa 115:11 You loyal followers of the Lord, trust in the Lord. He is their deliverer and protector.

What Nebuchadnezzar is in your path today? Trust God to be your shield and protector. 

God blessed King David with a son who became the wealthiest and most wise king of his time. The stories circulated about him and because of that the Queen of Sheba, who did not believe the tales told her about him, decided to travel to see for herself. As she met with him, she shared: “She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your wise sayings and insight was true!  I did not believe these things until I came and saw them with my own eyes. Indeed, I didn’t hear even half the story!Your wisdom surpasses what was reported to me.” 

The Queen noted that she did not believe until she “saw” with her own eyes. Sometimes that is also true for us except in matters of faith. Faith is seeing with our inward eyes that God provides. 

The Queen noted that it was God who placed Solomon on his throne and it is God who places us where He can use us for His benefit. That is God’s purpose for His chosen ones. Today stop and consider that God has placed you right where He can use you for His work. Thank God that He has blessed you for this. Do others see and believe because they see the hand of God on our lives? What testimony is true for you today? 

Solomon as the author of Ecclesiastes writes what is truly a wise saying: “For wisdom provides protection, just as money provides protection. But the advantage of knowledge is this: Wisdom preserves the life of its owner.“ 

Protection is something we all crave and yearn for. We use tools to help us achieve protection from the enemies around us, whether it be a criminal seeking our money or scam artists. We yearn for protection from what our bodies face from disease and pain. But, Solomon is telling us that it is wisdom that will preserve our lives. We need it when confronted with the enemies of our souls when sin seeks to corrupt our peace. We need it when we are faced with unsavory people seeking to empty our bank accounts. We need it when we face a life threatening disease. Whatever you are facing, know this truth from this verse: it is wisdom that will preserve you emotionally, spiritually, mentally and yes, even physically. 

But, stop and ponder this, God has given us wisdom to preserve our life spiritually because life is fleeting and we need protection for the afterlife. If truth be known, many are squandering their lives here and not thinking about where they will spend eternity. Pray for wisdom to be prepared for your afterlife. Where will you spend it? In heaven or hell? The rich man in Luke 16 did not consider this question and he lives now eternally in torments. Let that be a lesson! Moses wrote in Deuteronomy to choose life. Will you do that today? 

Psalms 73:1-75:10

Once again the psalmist reminds us of this principle: you may say you love the Lord but your works prove if that is true to God and others. The example of King Joash proves that truth. As long as Jehoiada the priest was alive he followed God. But, as soon as the priest died, so did his “love” for the Lord. It was fake all along! 

Ps 73:11 says They say, “How does God know what we do? Is the Most High aware of what goes on?” This is the picture of King Joash, who rejected God and His principles. If you think God does not see and understand your heart, listen to those words. One has to be blind and foolish to think that God does not see or hear what we do. Our hearts reveal our true self and our actions prove that as well. But, God does not leave us in our quagmire of our foolishness. He keeps coming after us because He knows our true hearts and He desires that we all come to repentance. 

Today, check your words and your actions. What do they say about your heart? Are you true or a fake?

God had blessed Solomon in so many ways. God blessed him with men to build the temple and other buildings. God also gave him riches to pay for all the construction work as well as a friendly neighbor who assisted by sending workmen who were gifted to help. After many years,the project was finished and again God came to Solomon with a promise and a warning. He promised that if he, Solomon as well as his legacy honored God above all other gods, He would bless them and all the nations around would bless them as well. In the middle of his speaking to Solomon is a dire warning! Stay true and I will bless. Walk away and honor other gods and I will bring the other nations to ridicule you and remove you and your riches to another land. 

That principle applies to us as well. If we want God to bless our families and our nation, we must honor and serve God only. If we turn our hearts to other gods, He will bring that same ridicule upon us. History proves the truth of that principle as later Israel was taken captive to Babylon and the temple was destroyed.  Presently we see that principle in our own nation and in our own families. 

There is one redeeming promise here; if we turn to God and pray He will return to us His blessings. 

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!

For what do you praise the Lord? This set of psalms reminds us that He is the Lord and there is none like Him or ever will be. He has created all for His glory and we are the recipients of His grace and love. This last line in Ps 150 summarizes all that the psalmist has written. He began in Psalm 1 to remind us the blessed are the ones who do not walk, stand or sit in the seat of those who scorn Him and His creation. Now as the psalmist begins to close this book, he reminds us that if we obey the words of Psalm 1 we are part of the company who gives praise to the Lord. 

What a powerful way to begin our week! Take time today to praise the Lord for He is good and He is our God. 

The psalmist in writing reminds the reader that God’s love is not a once time but His love endures forever! Strong’s defines this word as “long duration, antiquity, futurity, for ever, ever, everlasting, evermore, perpetual, old, ancient, world 1a) ancient time, long time (of past).” What a blessing to know that God’s love is enduring forever! When Satan comes calling to deny this fact, turn to this psalm and rehearse it as your way of encouragement. 

The psalmist uses creation to remind the reader that because of His love, He has created the heavens and the earth as we know it. Paul in writing to the Romans says it is His eternal attributes that teach us about who God is and why men are without excuse. 

God’s love showered His people from destruction in Egypt, He led them through the desert and provided food and water as they traveled to the Promised Land. All because His love endures forever. 

Today take time to meditate on this psalm and give God the praise He deserves for His love endures forever. 

As Solomon led the people to honor God as they worshiped at the new 

 Temple, he also took time to pray and sought God’s guidance for the future. He noted that men are fallible and will fail, but the God they now worshiped had a ready ear. Over and over Solomon talked about the sin of the people and how they should respond.  He then asked God to “listen from heaven to their prayers for help and vindicate them.”  He claimed this promise for the people and for us as well.  If we sin, we can trust that if we are humble and repent God hears and will respond. God loves to hear His people pray! God loves to hear us ask for His forgiveness and to set us back on the path He has declared.  

Today if you are pricked in your heart about some sin, humble yourself and go to God to seek His face and His forgiveness. Solomon was ready to close his time of prayer with these words: “May you be attentive to your servant’s and your people Israel’s requests for help and may you respond to all their prayers to you.” 

Spend time in prayer today for the sin of others as well as yourself. God is listening and He will respond. 

Solomon is king and his lifestyle provides that evidence. He took seven years to build the temple and as glorious as it was, his own home took thirteen years to build. True it seems that Solomon built the temple first and his own home after. It seems that Solomon saw the temple and thought, I can do one better and so he made his own home more grand and more opulent than the temple. What does that tell us about his character? It certainly does not show humility! 

Like many today that offer a pittance to cover the costs of the church yet spend over and above their budgets on lavish vacations and even second homes. Solomon is a picture of today’s rich whose heart is not for God but for themselves. 

What does your lifestyle reveal about your heart?