"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.
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God is so great and wonderful and powerful and awesome. His book is the most-read, most-printed, most-authored, most-translated, and most-changing book in all history and in all the planet. And it can hardly hold 1% of him. I want to follow a God like that.
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