March 31, 2011 (2 Chronicles 10-12)

As I'm in the Old Testament now, I continue to get 'depressed'. God's word is true - and it applies to the past as well as the present. Because of the 'political correctness' of our day, which includes an exclusion of God from pretty much everywhere, we really have no hope of peace, and only oppression from our enemies. Here's the story from chapter 12:

¹ But when Rehoboam was firmly established and strong, he abandoned the Law of the Lord, and all Israel followed him in this sin. ² Because they were unfaithful to the Lord, King Shishak of Egypt came up and attacked Jerusalem in the fifth year of King Rehoboam’s reign. ³ He came with 1,200 chariots, 60,000 horses, and a countless army of foot soldiers, including Libyans, Sukkites, and Ethiopians. ⁴ Shishak conquered Judah’s fortified towns and then advanced to attack Jerusalem.

But then, God sent a prophet to confront them and explain the situation:

⁵ The prophet Shemaiah then met with Rehoboam and Judah’s leaders, who had all fled to Jerusalem because of Shishak. Shemaiah told them, “This is what the Lord says: You have abandoned me, so I am abandoning you to Shishak.”

 ⁶ Then the leaders of Israel and the king humbled themselves and said, “The Lord is right in doing this to us!”

 ⁷ When the Lord saw their change of heart, he gave this message to Shemaiah: “Since the people have humbled themselves, I will not completely destroy them and will soon give them some relief. I will not use Shishak to pour out my anger on Jerusalem. ⁸ But they will become his subjects, so they will know the difference between serving me and serving earthly rulers.”

The thing I was struck with was that when they repented, God gave them SOME relief, but He still allowed them to become Shishak's subjects. There are always consequences for sin. Even though God has given us His word and examples from the past, we still are unfaithful to Him. May He continue to give us consequences for our sin so that we learn to obey, love and honor Him.

March 30, 2011 (Ecclesiastes)

This is such a strange book - it's kind of like Solomon 'talking to himself' - trying to figure out life.  And in this verse it seems he is echoing the message of the book I am reading - seeing God's goodness in everything:

^2:24 So I decided there is nothing better than to enjoy food and drink and to find satisfaction in work. Then I realized that these pleasures are from the hand of God. ²⁵ For who can eat or enjoy anything apart from him?

God is unfathomable. He can never be truly known, even though He has given us a glimpse of Him:

^3:11 ... He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end. 

This next set of verses should be the motto for Life Groups:

^4:9 Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. ¹⁰ If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. ¹¹ Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? ¹² A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.

I really liked this little section (and not because of the glass of wine part!) -

^5:18 Even so, I have noticed one thing, at least, that is good. It is good for people to eat well, drink a good glass of wine, and enjoy their work - whatever they do under the sun - for however long God lets them live. ¹⁹ And it is a good thing to receive wealth from God and the good health to enjoy it. To enjoy your work and accept your lot in life—this is indeed a gift from God. ²⁰ God keeps such people so busy enjoying life that they take no time to brood over the past.

I don't remember reading this one before - and this one I DON'T like:

^7:27 “This is my conclusion,” says the Teacher. “I discovered this after looking at the matter from every possible angle. ²⁸ Though I have searched repeatedly, I have not found what I was looking for. Only one out of a thousand men is virtuous, but not one woman! ²⁹ But I did find this: God created people to be virtuous, but they have each turned to follow their own downward path.”

And how does Solomon, the wisest man that ever was end his book?

 12:9 Keep this in mind: The Teacher was considered wise, and he taught the people everything he knew. He listened carefully to many proverbs, studying and classifying them. ¹⁰ The Teacher sought to find just the right words to express truths clearly.

 ¹¹ The words of the wise are like cattle prods—painful but helpful. Their collected sayings are like a nail-studded stick with which a shepherd drives the sheep.

 ¹² But, my child, let me give you some further advice: Be careful, for writing books is endless, and much study wears you out.

 ¹³ That’s the whole story. Here now is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty. ¹⁴ God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad.

March 28, 2011 (I Kings 12-14)

It's amazing what we will do to rationalize our sin. After Solomon's death, Jeroboam became king of ten tribes of Israel. Here is the story as it relates to him, as spoken by God:

³⁴ “‘But I will not take the entire kingdom from Solomon at this time. For the sake of my servant David, the one whom I chose and who obeyed my commands and decrees, I will keep Solomon as leader for the rest of his life. ³⁵ But I will take the kingdom away from his son and give ten of the tribes to you. ³⁶ His son will have one tribe so that the descendants of David my servant will continue to reign, shining like a lamp in Jerusalem, the city I have chosen to be the place for my name. ³⁷ And I will place you on the throne of Israel, and you will rule over all that your heart desires. ³⁸ If you listen to what I tell you and follow my ways and do whatever I consider to be right, and if you obey my decrees and commands, as my servant David did, then I will always be with you. I will establish an enduring dynasty for you as I did for David, and I will give Israel to you. 

So he was promised that God would establish an enduring dynasty with him, as long as he obeyed. We fast forward to the end of chapter 12, and we see Jeroboam's thoughts:

²⁶ Jeroboam thought to himself, “Unless I am careful, the kingdom will return to the dynasty of David. ²⁷ When these people go to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices at the Temple of the Lord, they will again give their allegiance to King Rehoboam of Judah. They will kill me and make him their king instead.”

 ²⁸ So on the advice of his counselors, the king made two gold calves. He said to the people, “It is too much trouble for you to worship in Jerusalem. Look, Israel, these are the gods who brought you out of Egypt!”

 ²⁹ He placed these calf idols in Bethel and in Dan—at either end of his kingdom. ³⁰ But this became a great sin, for the people worshiped the idols, traveling as far north as Dan to worship the one there.

He forgot what God had specifically told and promised him. He was afraid that if the people returned to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices, they would be 'wooed' to give their allegiance to King Rehoboam. Because of that, he decided to build altars at the northern and southern end of his territory, to offer sacrifices there and to appoint priests that were not from the tribe of Levi.

Fear can cause you to disobey God. The only fear God wants us to have is reverential fear of Him.

The end of this story is that he never repented. And God ripped the kingdom away from him and his family.

March 27, 2011 (2 Chronicles 8-9, I Kings 9-11, Various Psalms)

As I was reading this morning this verse caught my attention:

^{2 Chronicles 8-11} Solomon moved his wife, Pharaoh’s daughter, from the City of David to the new palace he had built for her. He said, “My wife must not live in King David’s palace, for the Ark of the Lord has been there, and it is holy ground.”

It struck me that Solomon knew that his wife was 'wrong'. If she had been 'of his people' and 'of his God' I don't think he would have been so concerned with her being in King David's palace.

And then in I Kings, this book goes into much more detail about Solomon's wives:

^{1 Kings 11:1} Now King Solomon loved many foreign women. Besides Pharaoh’s daughter, he married women from Moab, Ammon, Edom, Sidon, and from among the Hittites. ² The Lord had clearly instructed the people of Israel, ‘You must not marry them, because they will turn your hearts to their gods.’ Yet Solomon insisted on loving them anyway. ³ He had 700 wives of royal birth and 300 concubines. And in fact, they did turn his heart away from the Lord.

 ⁴ In Solomon’s old age, they turned his heart to worship other gods instead of being completely faithful to the Lord his God, as his father, David, had been.

Verse 2 is very telling - "The Lord had clearly instructed...". There was no ambiguity. God was clear in His direction.  "Yet Solomon insisted on loving them anyway." Solomon disobeyed. And it seems as if he 'got away with it' for a while. But "in his old age" they turned his heart away from the Lord.

The message is, you 'play with sin', you get burned. It may not happen right away, but God's word is true and there will be consequences. Here was his punishment:

⁹ The Lord was very angry with Solomon, for his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. ¹⁰ He had warned Solomon specifically about worshiping other gods, but Solomon did not listen to the Lord’s command. ¹¹ So now the Lord said to him, “Since you have not kept my covenant and have disobeyed my decrees, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your servants. 

So someone, to whom God had appeared to twice, chose sin over his God. Very sad- the wisest man in all the earth allowed his sexual appetite to destroy his life.

March 26, 2011 (2 Chronicles 2-7, I Kings 5-8, Psalm 136)

Today's reading encompassed the building of the Temple and Solomon's residence. I was struck by the fact that it took 7 years to build the Temple and 13 years to build his residence. Why so much longer to build his residence? Because it was almost twice as big. It also talks about him building a living quarter for Pharaoh's daughter, one of his wives. It seemed to me that even back then, in the midst of doing something good, his heart was 'conflicted'. But God honored the building of His temple by consuming all the sacrifices offered and consuming it with His presence.

2 Chronicles 7 has one of the verses that I've heard and memorized:

¹⁴Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land. 

I also was reminded in this reading about how God is in control of everything - to include the rain.  Here were Solomon's words concerning this in his prayer:

³⁵ “If the skies are shut up and there is no rain because your people have sinned against you, and if they pray toward this Temple and acknowledge your name and turn from their sins because you have punished them, ³⁶ then hear from heaven and forgive the sins of your servants, your people Israel. Teach them to follow the right path, and send rain on your land that you have given to your people as their special possession.

The 'funny' part is that these days it's not attributed to sin, but to changes in weather patterns, global warming and the like. God, please be merciful to us and forgive us for losing sight of You in so many areas.

In God's answer to Solomon and his offerings, because He knows the beginning and the end, He knew that Solomon's heart was not 'perfect' towards Him and that his many wives would lead him astray. Here was God's 'prediction' as to what would take place.

^{2 Chronicles 7:19} “But if you or your descendants abandon me and disobey the decrees and commands I have given you, and if you serve and worship other gods, ²⁰ then I will uproot the people from this land that I have given them. I will reject this Temple that I have made holy to honor my name. I will make it an object of mockery and ridicule among the nations.²¹ And though this Temple is impressive now, all who pass by will be appalled. They will ask, ‘Why did the Lord do such terrible things to this land and to this Temple?’
 ²² “And the answer will be, ‘Because his people abandoned the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who brought them out of Egypt, and they worshiped other gods instead and bowed down to them. That is why he has brought all these disasters on them.’”

You would think this would have 'awakened' Solomon, but are we any different? God has warned us over and over again in His word and yet we still do those things that we know are sin.

March 24, 2011 (2 Chronicles 1, I Kings 3-4, Psalm 119)

"For the Lord his God was with him and made him very powerful" - Opening words about Solomon. As I think about these words, I don't want to be powerful. I just want the Lord, my God, to be with me.

It's 'funny' that this first chapter of Chronicles should talk about Solomon going up to the bronze altar and 'sacrificing a thousand burnt offerings on it'. What does God say He wants from us? The 'sacrifice of praise'. "One Thousand Gifts" - the book I'm re-reading. And that's exactly what the book is all about - finding a thousand ways to thank God - to see God in the everyday things around us. And what happened after Solomon did this? God came to him and asked him what he wanted. And what did he want? He wanted wisdom to govern God's people. I think his request came from his heart of worship. And I think as we see God in the details of our lives and worship Him, our prayers will reflect His will for us.

Psalm 119 - the longest Psalm in the Bible. It offers a lot of wisdom. Such as:

⁹ How can a young person stay pure?
      By obeying your word.


¹⁸ Open my eyes to see
      the wonderful truths in your instructions.

And if we would only apply this one and turn off the stupid TV and get into His word:

³⁷ Turn my eyes from worthless things,
      and give me life through your word.

I can attest to the truth of this verse:

⁷¹ My suffering was good for me,
      for it taught me to pay attention to your decrees.

Would I really consider this to be true? If I had the choice between these two items, would I choose His Word?

⁷² Your law is more valuable to me
      than millions in gold and silver.

May I reflect upon this in these coming weeks:

¹⁴³ As pressure and stress bear down on me,
      I find joy in your commands.

I can say I haven't been sleeping well. I do awake through the night and think of His words and pray for His people:

¹⁴⁷ I rise early, before the sun is up;
      I cry out for help and put my hope in your words.
 ¹⁴⁸ I stay awake through the night,
      thinking about your promise.

This is how I want to live:

¹⁷¹ Let praise flow from my lips,
      for you have taught me your decrees.
 ¹⁷² Let my tongue sing about your word,
      for all your commands are right.
 ¹⁷⁵ Let me live so I can praise you,
      and may your regulations help me.

March 23, 2011 (I Kings 1-2, Psalm 37, 71 & 94)

The thing that struck me from 1 Kings was the story of the second born child of David that revolted against him. This was a telling sentence about his relationship with his father:

"Now, his father, King David, had never disciplined him at any time, even by asking, "What are you doing?"

All children need the input and guidance from their parents, even if they don't understand it at the time. As I think of the other book I am reading, if only our children could see the hand of God through their parents discipline, and thank God that their parents love them enough to correct them.

Our world is crazy right now. Revolts and uprisings and unjust leaders being in place to rule their countries. These verses were very fitting:

^{Psalm 94:20} Can unjust leaders claim that God is on their side—
      leaders whose decrees permit injustice?
 ²¹ They gang up against the righteous
      and condemn the innocent to death.
 ²² But the Lord is my fortress;
      my God is the mighty rock where I hide.
 ²³ God will turn the sins of evil people back on them.
      He will destroy them for their sins.
      The Lord our God will destroy them.

We forget that the Just God will someday make it all right. He is asking us to trust Him and to tell others of our faith in Him, that they might trust Him as well.

March 22, 2011 (Psalm 111-118)

Lots of good things from the Psalms this morning. I would love to just copy them all here, but I know that would make some people (you know who you are...)  :)  - angry!  :)

This first Psalm I read is all about God's faithfulness. About how His commandments are trustworthy. We live as if they are not. We don't take Him at His word. Do we want to find true wisdom? Here's how:

^111:10 Reverence for the Lord is the foundation of true wisdom.
      All who obey his commandments will grow in wisdom.

I thought of last night's blog as I read this verse:

^112:1 Praise the Lord!

   Happy are those who fear the Lord.
      Yes, happy are those who delight in

    doing what he commands.

It ties with obedience from the heart - being 'happy' about doing what He commands and not doing things 'because we have to'.

I thought of my Norwex business that I am finally going to try to build when I read this verse. I always want to conduct my business fairly.

 ^112:5 All goes well for those who are generous,
      who lend freely and conduct their business fairly.

And in this day and age where there is so much bad news all around us:

^112:7 They do not fear bad news;
      they confidently trust the Lord to care for them.

And then, a verse that He 'did' for me:

^113:9 He gives the childless woman a family,
      making her a happy mother.

   Praise the Lord!

And then a reminder to us all. It's all about Him! -

^115:1 Not to us, O Lord, not to us,
      but to your name goes all the glory
      for your unfailing love and faithfulness.

I could go on and on, but I'll finish with these:

^116:1 I love the Lord because he hears my voice
      and my prayer for mercy.
 ² Because he bends down to listen,
      I will pray as long as I have breath!

And this is my deepest desire:

 ^116:9 And so I walk in the Lord’s presence
      as I live here on earth!

I can't quit yet! :)

^118:6 The Lord is for me, so I will have no fear.
      What can mere people do to me?

 ⁸ It is better to take refuge in the Lord
      than to trust in people.
 ⁹ It is better to take refuge in the Lord
      than to trust in princes.


¹⁴ The Lord is my strength and my song;
      he has given me victory.

March 21, 2011 (I Chronicles 26-29, Psalm 127)

Today's title should be 'evening musings' - I finished the book "1000 Gifts" earlier today, tried to finish a book by Hannah W. Smith - "The Christian's Secret to a Happy Life". I am just now getting into God's word straight from Him and not through 'other authors'. I read of David's charge to Solomon - his parting words, and as such, the most important thing he could pass on to his son.

The first part - the part that I think I key on too much - the obedience part. I don't mean obedience is not important, because obviously it is. But you can obey and 'do' all the right things, but if the heart behind it isn't right, what good is that? Here's the first part:

28:7 And if he continues to obey my commands and regulations as he does now, I will make his kingdom last forever.’ 8 “So now, with God as our witness, and in the sight of all Israel—the Lord’s assembly—I give you this charge. Be careful to obey all the commands of the Lord your God, so that you may continue to possess this good land and leave it to your children as a permanent inheritance.

And after that, it's as if David did a 'double take' and realized the most important thing is not really obedience, but it's truly KNOWING God - developing a relationship with Him. All obedience must flow out of a heart of love - a willing heart and mind. Otherwise it is all empty.

9 “And Solomon, my son, get to know the God of your ancestors intimately. Worship and serve him with your whole heart and a willing mind. For the Lord sees every heart and knows every plan and thought. If you seek him, you will find him. But if you forsake him, he will reject you forever. 10 So take this seriously. The Lord has chosen you to build a Temple as his sanctuary. Be strong, and do the work.”

I love the sentence "Take this seriously." We are bombarded by distractions. Bombarded by TV shows and YouTube videos and music - so many things that take our focus off of God and off of seeking Him. Even being 'away' for a few days I realize the 'struggle' to focus on Him. It doesn't matter where we are, we HAVE to discipline ourselves to seek Him. But He promises that those who seek WILL find. The problem is not with Him, it's with us. It's hard work to attune the mind and will to see Him. We HAVE to spend time in His word. How else will we ever know His mind? It won't come through TV. He has placed us 'in the world' but doesn't want us to be 'of the world'. Our focus and gaze has got to be on our eternal home - fixing our eyes on Jesus - to purify this life on earth.

And then, after David gave his son direction, his final prayer to God is recorded:

29:10 Then David praised the Lord in the presence of the whole assembly:

“O Lord, the God of our ancestor Israel, may you be praised forever and ever! 11 Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. Everything in the heavens and on earth is yours, O Lord, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as the one who is over all things. 12 Wealth and honor come from you alone, for you rule over everything. Power and might are in your hand, and at your discretion people are made great and given strength.
13 “O our God, we thank you and praise your glorious name! 14 But who am I, and who are my people, that we could give anything to you? Everything we have has come from you, and we give you only what you first gave us! 15 We are here for only a moment, visitors and strangers in the land as our ancestors were before us. Our days on earth are like a passing shadow, gone so soon without a trace.
16 “O Lord our God, even this material we have gathered to build a Temple to honor your holy name comes from you! It all belongs to you! 17 I know, my God, that you examine our hearts and rejoice when you find integrity there. You know I have done all this with good motives, and I have watched your people offer their gifts willingly and joyously.
18 “O Lord, the God of our ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, make your people always want to obey you. See to it that their love for you never changes. 19 Give my son Solomon the wholehearted desire to obey all your commands, laws, and decrees, and to do everything necessary to build this Temple, for which I have made these preparations.”


Everything we have is because of the gracious hand of God. It's all His and He can take it all away. As was recorded above "We are here for only a moment". How does God want to use us in this moment? May He give us eyes to see things as He sees them - an eternal perspective.

Psalm 127 is a good one for me. I am a work-a-holic. I know I am. I know I need to lighten up and not think the world will fall apart if I take a day off. It's the balance between working hard and not overdoing it that I find difficult. We are not to be lazy, but we also have to realize that God is the One who works through us and we must be in tune to what He wants us to accomplish.

1 Unless the Lord builds a house,

the work of the builders is wasted.
Unless the Lord protects a city,
guarding it with sentries will do no good.
2 It is useless for you to work so hard
from early morning until late at night,
anxiously working for food to eat;
for God gives rest to his loved ones.
3 Children are a gift from the Lord;
they are a reward from him.

Also, children are a gift from God, and I am thankful for the gift of a son.

March 18, 2011 (Various Psalms)

I've been really horrible about blogging lately. Going to bed too late and getting up with only time to read and not blog. But last night was an early night, and so, I'm up earlier than usual. I will try to continue that pattern.

As I read these verses I realized this is where I am right now:

^{Psalm 139:23} Search me, O God, and know my heart;
      test me and know my anxious thoughts.
 ²⁴ Point out anything in me that offends you,
      and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

And He is showing me the things that offend Him. And I am working on them. And I fear that once I see some progress in this area, He'll reveal to me another. The only way we can't be offensive to Him, in my opinion, is to walk in fellowship with the Holy Spirit. And what does that mean? Well, let me go to Galatians to contrast the flesh and the Spirit. I read this section very, very slowly, thinking of each of the things mentioned and how they apply to my life:

^5:16 So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. ¹⁷ The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. ¹⁸ But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses.

 ¹⁹ When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, ²⁰ idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, ²¹ envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

 ²² But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

 ²⁴ Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. ²⁵Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. ²⁶ Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another.

This seems impossible to me, but I know it is not. If God commands us to walk in the Spirit, then it's not impossible. He wouldn't command us to do something that is impossible. I will continue to seek Him and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit to produce in me that which I cannot produce in myself.

Psalm 145 was in my reading today also. As I read this verse:

^{Psalm 145:5} I will meditate on your majestic, glorious splendor
      and your wonderful miracles.

I thought of that one aspect being a lot of my problem. How much do I really meditate upon God - REALLY meditate. Then I did a search in Bible Gateway for that word:

1. Joshua 1:8
   Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do.
   
2. Psalm 48:9
   O God, we meditate on your unfailing love as we worship in your Temple.
   
3. Psalm 119:23
   Even princes sit and speak against me,but I will meditate on your decrees.
   
4. Psalm 119:27
   Help me understand the meaning of your commandments, and I will meditate on your wonderful deeds.
   
5. Psalm 119:48
   I honor and love your commands.I meditate on your decrees.
   
6. Psalm 119:52
   I meditate on your age-old regulations; O Lord, they comfort me.
   
7. Psalm 119:117
   Sustain me, and I will be rescued; then I will meditate continually on your decrees.
8. Psalm 145:5 I will meditate on your majestic, glorious splendor and your wonderful miracles.

As I saw Joshua 1:8, I again remembered that meditation is key. So important, in fact, that God says that's the only way we will be successful. God help me to really believe what You say and to show my belief by obeying and doing.