It’s absolutely fascinating what God has provided for those who love Him. I wonder how anyone would not want a relationship with Him. Sometimes, I just want to count our blessings.
So graciously, our Father has given us:
Jesus Christ–His Son, the atoning sacrifice for our sins, who is the Lamb of God, yet King of kings and Lord of lords. He is also wonderfully known as Immanuel (God with us), Prince of Peace, Savior, Our Good Shepherd, Redeemer, the Bread of Life, and Light of the World, among other names. He’s provided forgiveness for our sins, with the ability of repentance and sanctification, along with new mercies, daily. He’s our ever-present help in times of trouble.
The Holy Spirit–the power of Himself living within us to be witnesses for Christ, and to live a holy life before the Lord. He’s our Comforter, Counselor, Advocate, and Spirit of Truth among other blessings. He’s the presence of God within us; providing His fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Also, He’s our security in knowing He’s resident inside of us, and sees, hears, and faithfully assists us toward His will for our lives. Furthermore, He’s made available His presence for experiencing the joys of protection, prayer, counsel, companionship, and abundant compassion and mercy.
Eternal Life–now and forever, as our spirits, and later our transformed bodies, live with Him for eternity, never to experience death again.
Bible Promises–the Old and New Testament scriptural guarantees and covenants as blessings and warnings to help us live successfully for Christ.
A Heavenly Home–the loving care of living luxuriously forever in the Kingdom of Heaven, a home of unimaginable pleasure, and total freedom from all evil, sickness, and pain, with God and other families of believers from the beginning of time.
A New Heaven and New Earth–a new planet, still called Earth, and a new dwelling called Heaven, that our God will create for His and our enjoyment. And we think the old are spectacular!
TheExperience of Glorious Events–adventures of awesome glory that include the catching up of God’s people to live with Him, the return of Jesus to the earth to battle evil, and the Millennial Kingdom.
These are just a few blessings I’ve mentioned. Are there any others you can count?
Ever think about who or what we as individuals represent? Thankfully, the Bible tells us that believers are ambassadors for Christ, beloved children, a chosen race and royal priesthood, and God’s workmanship among other things. (2 Corinthians 5:20, Ephesians 5:1, 1 Peter 2:9, Ephesians 2:10).
However, sometimes, in our attempts to live as faithful Christians, we struggle with the battle between flesh and spirit, desiring to do what is good, but not carrying it out. Yet God is faithful to walk with us and counsel us as we represent Him effectively on the earth.
It’s important to note that the Bible tells us that 1 John 2 was written so that we will not sin, “but if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father–Jesus Christ, the Righteous one. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.”
“We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.“
So, as Christ’s representatives, loving is important, and understanding what it means to love is critical. The truth is seen in Christ and us: loving one another and living in the light, versus hating one another and living in darkness. Further, His Bible tells us the word of God lives in us and we have overcome the evil one! Now, our message as ambassadors or representatives of Christ is “Be reconciled to God.” (2 Corinthians 5:20/NIV).
“All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.” (2 Corinthians 5:18-19/NIV)
In addition, where there’s no place like home, as representatives of Christ:
“Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting for those who belong to the Lord.” (Colossians 3:18/NLT)
“Husbands, love your wives and never treat them harshly.” (Colossians 3:19/NLT)
“Children, always obey your parents, for this pleases the Lord.” (Colossians 3:20/NLT)
“And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.” (Colossians 3:17/NLT)
I love the fascinating story in John 5:1-13 where Jesus went to one of the Jewish festivals in Jerusalem and came upon a pool there called Bethesda. Many disabled people could be found lying there. They awaited movement in the water which took place after an angel would come down at certain times to stir it so that whoever first entered it was healed from whatever disease they had.
Can you imagine this pool where everyone, in large numbers, was blind, lame, or paralyzed? This was the pool of Bethesda.
Jesus encountered a man lying there who had been an invalid for 38 years and asked him if he wanted to get well. It’s interesting, that Jesus would ask the man that question as one would think, 1) Jesus would know if he did or not, and 2) who wouldn’t want to be healed of such a debilitating, long-term condition? Yet, of course, Jesus knew the answer, but perhaps wanted the man to express the desires of his heart verbally and be inspired with hope for change. The man explained to Jesus that he had no one to help him into the pool and that others would get in ahead of him when he was trying to get in.
Then Jesus told him to get up, pick up his mat and walk. Now I imagine a man who had been an invalid for 38 years might be quite shocked by Jesus’ instructions, nevertheless, what would he have to lose? The Bible tells us immediately the man was cured, picked up his mat, and walked. In one sentence from Jesus, the man was suddenly healed and able to do that which he had not been able to do for 38 years. His debilitating status was immediately canceled! What an astonishing blessing!
Unfortunately, since it was a Sabbath, Jewish leaders reminded the newly healed man that the law forbade him to carry his mat on that day and asked him who told him to pick up his mat and walk. This shows just how powerful the law was in the hearts of those leaders, to even forbid the healing of someone because of a certain religious day.
The former invalid didn’t know who healed him as Jesus had departed into the crowd, apparently before he could find out. Yet later, Jesus found him at the temple and had additional instructions for him: “See you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.”
This verse indicates that: 1) even though the former invalid had been incapacitated for a very long time, he wasn’t always an invalid and he had been made well again; 2) apparently, in this case, the man’s illness was caused by his sinful behavior; and 3) if he didn’t stop sinning (which indicates he could do so), something worse could have happened to him. I shudder to think of anything worse. At that point, the man went away and told the Jewish leaders it was Jesus who made him well.
The story continues later to show Jesus being persecuted by the Jewish leaders because of his activity on the Sabbath and Jesus’ response to the persecution.
We don’t have all the information on this healed man’s life before his sickness, but Jesus in this event has given us some insight into one of the things that could cause sickness in one’s body: Sin.
There are other instances of impairment mentioned in the Bible not caused by sin, one, specifically in John 9, where Jesus and his disciples encountered a blind man and his disciples asked who sinned, him or his parents, and Jesus replied, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.”
One thing we are made aware of is, per Jesus’ view, the healed invalid did not have to sin. Some hold the view that this is not possible as it very well may appear, yet Jesus clearly tells the man to stop whatever the sinful behavior was or something worse could happen to him. Would He tell anyone to do something he could not do? So, perhaps we can conclude that if Jesus tells us not to do something, it is certainly possible. Though most of us may feel like it isn’t.
The wonder of God’s power and compassion are not the only characteristics of his love I see in this story that relate to our own lives today, but also his warning. His warning is that our sin can bring about sickness, or worse, in our bodies. Sin might not always be the cause, though in this event it was.
Thankfully, we have the Bible and access to the Lord by prayer for help when we feel overwhelmed by temptation and need God’s strength and guidance to assist us in our times of need. Even Jesus was tempted and used the word of God in His resistance and was successful in not sinning, which involves behaving against God’s instructions.
We can be honest with God in prayer, as he already knows all about us. We can talk to Him about our weaknesses, temptations, or feelings, and He will still lovingly counsel us according to His scriptures. When we feel incapable of behaving as we should, we can ask for His wisdom, power, and deliverance.
We all fall short at times but have the tools to be successful. After all, in our current new covenant age, Romans 6:14 reminds us of our elevated position in Christ.
Of the many ways we may define grace, not being a slave to sin is one of them. God graciously warns us as He did the former invalid, later a newly healed man, from the pool of the disabled in Bethesda.
Today, I came across the event in 1 Chronicles 13 of the Bible where David, with the whole assembly of Israel, had set out to bring the Ark of God back to him. It had been placed at Abinidab’s house. This Abinidab (there are others mentioned in the Old Testament) was a Levite of Kiriath Jearim. His house was where the Ark of God was taken after having been brought back from the land of the Philistines (1 Samuel 7:1-2). Uzzah was a son of Abinidab.
During the celebration of the Ark’s return, as they came to Kiriath Jearim, Uzzah reached out his hand to steady it because the oxen that carried it stumbled. As he did this, the Lord was angered and struck Uzzah dead. The Bible tells us in 1 Chronicles 13:10 that God did this because Uzzah had put his hand on the ark.
In an earlier instance of the movement of God’s holy possessions, in Numbers 4:15 we see God giving instructions to Moses and Aaron that “after Aaron and his sons have finished covering the holy furnishings and all the holy articles, and when the camp is ready to move, only then are the Kohathites to come and do the carrying. But they must not touch the holy things or they will die. The Kohathites are to carry those things that are in the tent of meeting.” The Kohathites were a branch of the Levites. God’s consecration of his sacred items is clearly evident, the result being death for disobeying.
Upon Uzzah’s death in 1 Chronicles 13, the Bible says that David was angry and afraid that day because of the Lord’s anger. So, he did not take the Ark to the City of David as he’d planned, but to the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite. The Ark stayed there for three months, with the result of the Lord blessing his household and everything he had.
In the next chapter of 1 Chronicles 14, we see David’s focus on his own house and the defeat of the Philistines. We see that he takes on more wives and then fathers more children. The Philistines hear of David being anointed to be king of all of Israel and search for him. Then David inquires of the Lord if he should attack them and the Lord replies that he should and that He would deliver them into David’s hands.
David was successful in defeating the Philistines but was later attacked again and David sought the Lord’s counsel. The Lord gave him very specific instructions that differed from the first attack and by following them, David succeeded again. As a result, David became even more famous and was feared by all the nations.
Next, in 1 Chronicles 15, we see David erecting buildings for himself as well as a place for the Ark of God. He very clearly instructs, “No one but the Levites may carry the Ark of God, because the Lord chose them to carry the Ark of the Lord and to minister before him forever.”
David called together the descendants of Aaron and the Levites and summoned Zadok and Abiathar the priests, and Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab the Levites. He clearly recognized them as the heads of the Levitical families and told them to consecrate themselves and bring up the Ark to the place he had prepared for it. He told them,“It was because you, the Levites, did not bring it up the first time that the Lord our God broke out in anger against us. We did not inquire of him about how to do it in the prescribed way. And the Levites carried the Ark of God with the poles on their shoulders, as Moses had commanded in accordance with the word of the Lord.”
Despite the unfortunate circumstance of the death of Uzzah and later the disappearance of the Ark, the New Testament’s Revelation 11:19, shown by God to John, indicates “…God’s temple in heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen the Ark of his Covenant. And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and a severe hailstorm.” The Ark still exists!
As for us today, 2 Corinthians 6:16 reminds us: “…we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.” Praise the Lord! No more carrying his presence from place to place in a box untouchable. Further, He has provided the pouring out of His precious Holy Spirit on all flesh! (Joel 2:28-32). Confirmation also exists in John 14:17, “the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.” In addition, 2 Corinthians 13:5, “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?”
Moreover, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 reminds us that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in us, whom we’ve received from God and we are not our own, but bought at a price. Therefore we are to honor God with our bodies.
When something or someone is sacred, it or they are holy, sanctified, consecrated, dedicated, or set apart. God, his instructions, and we as born-again believers, are such, and worthy to be treated with respect.
There is so much more we can study and gather from this passage in 1 Chronicles 13. However, may we all be granted the mindset to place the highest reverence on that which God has so graciously given us–his presence and instructions; not to mention one another.
Nevertheless, today much light is made of God’s instructions in the Bible. However, as for myself, I need to read some part of it every single day because I don’t want to forget any of it. Thankfully, His Holy Spirit helps us recall what He’s written and will sometimes even give us a heads up with some aspect of it that will be needed for a specific future circumstance to come in our lives. His mercies through His sacred counsel are to be much appreciated.
If I learn nothing else from all of this, I learn it pays to obey even when my own plans might appear to be and feel better. We all should inquire of Him about His prescribed way if we truly want successful results from our decisions.
In Genesis 11:27-25:11 of the Bible, we are privileged to see how Abraham and Sarah lived long and strong experiencing God’s blessings and struggles toward their victories in life. In their story, we see the results of their faith as well as those moments of their lack of faith.
Some bible facts about Abraham and Sarah: Abraham’s name was Abram before the Lord changed it. His father was Terah (who lived 205 years), and Abram had two brothers named Nahor and Haran (the father of Lot–Abram’s nephew).
Abram’s wife’s name was Sarai before the Lord changed it to Sarah. She was unable to conceive, so at that time, she had no children.
The Lord told Abram to leave his country and go to where He would show him. Abram at 75 years of age took his wife Sarai, his possessions, and his nephew Lot, and went, obeying the Lord. He went to Canaan, then to Bethel, the Negev, then on to Egypt.
Sarai was a very beautiful woman, so Abram asked Sarai to say she was his sister and not his wife so that his life would be saved and he’d be treated well by the Egyptians.
When the Egyptians saw Sarai, she was taken into Pharaoh’s palace and Abram got special treatment and added wealth because of her. Then God inflicted deadly diseases on Pharaoh and his household, after which he told Abram to take his wife and leave which he did with everything he had, along with Lot, his nephew.
Abram was very wealthy in livestock, silver, and gold. Lot, his nephew, was also wealthy and he and Abram could no longer stay together because of their great possessions, as the land could not support it. Quarreling arose between Abram’s and Lot’s herders, so they decided to separate.
Lot and his possessions got carried off by kings that invaded Sodom and Gomorrah as he had pitched his tents near Sodom which was experiencing war. Abram rescued Lot and brought him back along with his possessions.
Later God told Abram that he would give him an heir from his own flesh and blood. He also told him that he would have offspring numbered as the stars in the sky. The Bible tells us Abram believed the Lord and credited it to him as righteousness.
Since Sarai hadn’t given Abram any children, she asked Abram to sleep with her Egyptian slave to build a family through her. Abram agreed and slept with her slave, Hagar, and she had a son whom she named Ishmael (meaning God hears). Eventually, the slave’s pregnancy and the birth of Ishmael caused some problems in Abram’s household. Yet, God was still quite aware and active in graciously helping and an Angel of the Lord promised to multiply her descendants greatly. Abram was 86 years old when Hagar birthed Ishmael.
When Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to him and established his covenant of circumcision promising to greatly increase his numbers and that he’d be the father of many nations. Also, at that time, the Lord changed his name from Abram to Abraham and his wife’s name from Sarai to Sarah, promising she would give Abraham a son, be the mother of nations, and that kings of people would come from her.
During a visit from three men including the Lord, Abraham was told that by that time of the next year, Sarah would have a son. The Bible describes Abraham and Sarah as “already very old” at this time. Sarah was listening and laughed, but out of fear denied she laughed. Yet, by the next year, Sarah gave birth to a baby boy named Isaac. She was 90 years old when Isaac was born and her husband, Abraham was 100.
I’ve only chosen to highlight a few facts about Abraham and Sarah’s exciting life of faith, so as not to go beyond the few minutes I have with you.
I find it remarkable that by faith, Abraham left his family and the land he knew without knowing where he was going. However, his faith did not allow him to have enough courage to tell the truth about Sarah being his wife and trusting God to keep them both safe. He risked her being sexually violated out of fear, but God was faithful and showed everyone who was boss. He would not have her harmed.
Moreover, for Sarah to attempt to speed up God’s promise of birthing a child by giving her slave to Abram, without any mention in the Bible of hesitation from him, but agreement, is somewhat disappointing, though understandable.
Nevertheless, before Sarah’s death at 127 years of age, and Abraham’s at 175, their lives were filled with faith lessons and victories from which our own faith is now inspired.
So what can we, God’s children, do or accept by faith today? What seems impossible or too difficult to do, or believe, that God has actually said would happen for us individually and corporately as Jesus’ body of believers? We should remember the lives of Abraham and Sarah, great lessons in faith, and God’s supernatural ability to bring His will to pass.
Thinking about getting to know God, and experiencing His presence in our decision-making and relationships, the Bible has provided so many promises and stories that encourage us toward maturing in our walk with God.
In Exodus 33:13 Moses speaks with the Lord and says, “… Show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. …” The Lord replies in verse 14, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” How wonderful is that? To experience God being with you, and giving you rest? An amazing privilege. And yet we have this blessing today via His Holy Spirit living inside of us. We only need to seek Him and we’ll find Him, when we seek Him with all our hearts, as stated in Jeremiah 29:13.
Regarding the lives of believers in Christ, John 10:10 tells us that “The thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full..” Knowing this truth, we as believers in Christ should accept nothing less than what God says He wants for our lives. Hence, it should be our ambition to stay closely connected to Him; growing in who He is and being who He desires us to be.
Spending enough time in God’s presence, we’ll eventually recognize His Holy Spirit in our lives, as well as in the lives of others we may encounter. We’ll also develop the ability to rightly discern good and evil.
The Bible tells us, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” (1 John 4:1/NKJV) This scripture was written for all believers, as we are His Beloved.
Then a few verses down in verse 7 we find “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.”
So, we should know God’s Holy Spirit and His love for us and not be deceived. We should also know that this love is not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His son to be the propitiation, or atoning sacrifice, for our sins, also stated in 1 John 4.
Our love for one another should be reflected in our speech toward others as Colossians 4:6 tells us to let it “always be with grace, seasoned with salt” so that we may know how we ought to answer each one.
In addition, the safety measures of setting healthy boundaries are good and necessary to be established in all places; work, church, family, and friendships. Knowing when someone is going beyond what the Bible shows to be a sound and respectful relationship of any kind helps us to guard our hearts as mentioned in Proverbs 4:23. Its importance is highlighted as it is written that our hearts are the wellsprings of life. What is a wellspring? A bountiful source of something.
Praying to God and studying the Bible to learn God’s character and principles for godly living, we come to know God specifically for ourselves, versus only through the experiences and advice of others.
We should then ask God to show us how to be led by His Holy Spirit, and then how to be led by others as we’ll need to do both in life. We’re told in Galatians 5:16 to be led by the Spirit so that we won’t fulfill the lusts of our flesh. These include those selfish things that are harmful to us and others; and those things that displease God. These things include: “sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like” as stated in Galatians 5:19-20. Thankfully, His Holy Spirit’s fruit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).
Moreover, we should ask God to give us His perspective on relationships and not be discouraged if we haven’t fully seen it in our lives yet. God is available and willing to help us if we desire His help.
Living in His presence will protect us and help us to understand that love isn’t devious, deceptive, or controlling. We need only focus on Jesus, who’s full of goodness, honesty, and freedom. Hallelujah! Per Psalm 16:11, He’s made known to us “the path of life” and in “His presence there is fullness of joy;” and at “His right hand are pleasures forevermore.”
Today I wanted to start my prayer time by reading aloud from the Bible’s book of Psalms as a prayer of my own. I arrived at one of David’s prayers and could not continue because it sounded so much like a curse against his enemies. Nevertheless, I understood his emotions having read all he had experienced from his adversaries in life. However, now we live in a new era after Jesus’ death and resurrection. We have been given a new commandment; a new edict, order, or rule: “Love one another.” (John 13:34) Moreover, this also includes loving our enemies as is taught by Jesus in Luke 6:27.
Interestingly, Jesus indicates it’s no big deal to love those who love us, and for most, if not all of us, even this is a difficult task. Yet the real demonstration of God’s love is loving our enemies (Luke 6:32-34). After all, this is what God does regularly showing His mercy and grace to everyone, though society sometimes represents this action as weak and wimpy behavior.
It’s actually scary to me sometimes, the thought of loving someone who may verbally or even physically abuse me. Yet God has ways unlike our ways and knows what is beneficial and wise for us in our responses to evil. We live to please Him. The Bible says to do good to them and lend to them without expecting anything in return. We are told to be kind and merciful to them (Luke 6:35-36). He tells us to bless and not to curse them and to pray for those who mistreat us. He even tells us if someone slaps us on one cheek, to turn to them the other also, and If someone takes our coat, to not withhold our shirt from them (Luke 6:28-29). Now mastering these incredible feats really gets our Father’s attention and we will be rewarded by Him.
Nevertheless, I’m convinced that it is impossible to consistently love everyone without the help of the Holy Spirit. He’s the only person who can infuse us with the power to truly love someone who hates, hurts, and harasses us. Yet He doesn’t require us to repay them with like behavior. He is God and knows every unique fiber of their being and doing. So it is only God’s right and authority to handle them accordingly. Thankfully, God is love (1 John 4:8)!
May God give us the strength and courage to love everyone, including our enemies. Despite what society, and even some of our own brothers and sisters, teach us about self-preservation, we are commanded by God to live and respond differently–biblically. As a parent with children or a teacher with students, we may not always enjoy some methods of loving when we aren’t hearing or receiving exactly what we want at the time. Nevertheless, love in its many expressions, is an amazing blessing.
A Christian’s journey is a life of submission to a king and kingdom unlike any we’ve ever known. One that is not worldly, but where love is the chief commandment for living a holy and righteous life. In it, our aim is to do no wrong to a neighbor, even if he’s an enemy. By this we glorify the Father, acting like our Dad.
To me, in some ways, it just makes life easier; love them all! No need to pick and choose who gets the love. Though costly, God repays. Our enemies’ evil issues are not ours to transform. We can only say and do what God says. However, we leave it to God to change hearts in His highest sovereignty and wisdom, while we continue in prayer and obedience as an authentic follower of Christ. As we fellowship with our Father who is love, may we mature in expressing His kind of love to others.
I believe it’s quite amazing how we’re told in the New Testament of the Bible to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us; to bless those who curse us and to pray for those who mistreat us. (Matthew 5:44, Luke 6:28). Yet, we are given some interesting instructions relating to dealing with the trouble we may incur from our adversaries, which may be encouraging to know. These promises give us hope and confidence that our God takes good care of us during difficult relational issues.
I’m offering the following three reminders that point us toward the right thinking regarding our state of mind and behavior when encountering problems with people whose hearts are set firmly against us.
Our attitude regarding vengeance: Romans 12:19-21, “Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
Our trust concerning defense: Psalm 44:6-7, “I put no trust in my bow, my sword does not bring me victory, but you give us victory over our enemies, you put our adversaries to shame.”
Our help in times of trouble: Psalm 41:1-3, “Blessed are those who have regard for the weak; the Lord delivers them in times of trouble. The Lord protects and preserves them–they are counted among the blessed in the land–he does not give them over to the desire of their foes. The Lord sustains them on their sickbed and restores them from their bed of illness.”
There are many additional scriptures relating to believers and God’s instructions on vengeance, defense, and trouble. It will help us to do biblical research on those three words to encourage faith in the Lord’s wisdom in dealing with our adversaries.
Whether we’re male or female, we can learn a great deal from the life of Solomon in 1 Kings 1:28-11:43 of the Bible. He was the son of King David and Bathsheba and was the wisest and wealthiest king in the world. Nevertheless, this wisdom did not stop him from making some very poor decisions that caused some unfortunate circumstances in history, something we all can do. It is possible to gain godly wisdom but err in exercising it in our lives. We’ve been given the freedom to choose to focus on godly priorities or those carnal desires of our own that pale in comparison.
As King David was about to pass away, his instructions to Solomon were to act like a man and observe and walk in obedience to whatever God required, according to the Law of Moses. He said that in doing so, the Lord would prosper him wherever he went in all that he did. It would also mean that the Lord’s promises to David would be kept if his descendants watched how they lived and walked wholeheartedly and faithfully before God. Then, David would never fail to have a successor on Israel’s throne.
The Bible says that Solomon showed his love for the Lord by walking according to the instructions of his father, King David, except he offered sacrifices and burned incense at the high places. David had also married the daughter of Pharaoh (King of Egypt) through an alliance with the king, taking her to the City of David, until he finished building the temple and his palace. The people were still sacrificing at the high places because a temple had not yet been built for the Lord.
God appeared to Solomon in a dream and told him to ask Him for whatever he wanted. Solomon replied that he wanted a discerning heart to govern His people and to distinguish between right and wrong. The Lord was pleased with that request and told him that He would give him a wise and discerning heart as well as what he hadn’t asked for–wealth and honor. Further, if he walked in obedience to God and kept His decrees and commands, He would give him a long life.
Later, Solomon succeeded in building the Lord’s temple as well as his palace and is known as one to whom God gave wisdom and great insight, “greater than the wisdom of all the people of the East, and greater than all the wisdom of Egypt. …From all nations people came to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, sent by all the kings of the world, who had heard of his wisdom.” (1 Kings 4:30-34) Yet, how in the world did such a great man of wisdom and prominence, end up doing such a dishonorable thing, by marrying many foreign women besides Pharaoh’s daughter, against God’s instructions?
God had told the Israelites that they weren’t to intermarry with the foreigners (not because of their skin color) but because they would turn their hearts after their gods. Yet the Bible says, “… Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love. He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines and his wives led him astray.” (1 Kings 11:2-3) Can you imagine relating to one thousand women on that level? How is that humanly possible? I imagined, viewing the following photo, that this amount of women would be a drop in the bucket compared to Solomon’s household. Mind-boggling.
It’s interesting but sad to read what Solomon did in appeasing his wives that made God “angry”, though He had appeared to Solomon twice, and also forbade him from following other gods. As a result, the kingdom would be torn from him and given to one of his subordinates. However, for his father’s sake, he wouldn’t do this in Solomon’s lifetime but would tear it out of the hand of his son, though still allowing his son one tribe. I love how merciful, yet just God is.
I believe these events show us the power of the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life. These things come from the world and not from God. These are the things we as humans, still on earth, struggle with and have to kill. It gives more insight into the importance of Romans 8:12-13, “Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.” Thank God for His Holy Spirit, whereby we can live according to God’s will for our lives. We who live under God’s new covenant have now received this grace and ability not to live after our own lusts. Yet we will always have a choice in the decisions we make; the option to do what’s right or wrong. God will not take that privilege away from us.
So we must keep our laser-like focus on the priorities God gives to us for our lives–those people He’s placed in our lives to love; the places we are to live and worship; and the ministries for which he’s provided our gifts. Thankfully, God lavishly provides access directly to Him through prayer, as well as His Bible, and gifts to the church via apostles, prophets, teachers, miracles, gifts of healing, helping, guidance, and different kinds of tongues (1 Corinthians 12:28).
What does it mean to be different? What does it mean to be set apart? Being different is described as being dissimilar, distinct, unlike, or separate. As God’s holy people, His set-apart ones, we carry the spiritual presence of our Father wherever we go. Though every word and action may not have reached the full level of perfection, there is a noticeable difference between ourselves, patterning our lives based on God’s standards, versus the world’s or society’s trends and human methods or desires of thinking. As we recognize humans are flawed in many aspects, we remain as such in our thinking, without the influence of our Creator who is all-knowing, everywhere, and all-powerful.
Thankfully, God has provided statutes, commandments, declarations, and attitudes based on heavenly principles that far differ from those of this world’s system. For example, God tells us in Matthew 5: 43-45, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. ‘ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven.He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” Yet the world encourages us to hit back if we are hit. Also, God tells us in Luke 6:38 to “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Nevertheless, the world elevates getting money–more and more–even if you have to step on others to do so.
If we live within a system that functions differently from God’s kingdom, we can expect to be ridiculed, mocked, misunderstood, and even slandered or bullied, much like the children who appear to be weird or odd compared to their classmates. Yet interestingly, if we find the world and those who love it, adore us, we might need to self-reflect to see if we’ve actually become just like them.
Jesus already told us in John 18:36, “My kingdom is not of this world. …” He also told us in John 15:20, ” ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also.” Hence, we are faced with the choice of faith in the Way, Jesus Christ of the Bible, or human logic, philosophy, and reason. This entails God’s way of faith–believing without seeing, over human understanding–God’s Kingdom over our worldly culture.
We as believers have found in Jesus a new and better way of living differently based on life in the spirit, versus life based solely on our own wants and needs. For this, we need God’s Holy Spirit active within us, alive and active in our everyday lives, His word, the Bible, strong in our thinking and doing.
1 Corinthians 2:13-16 shows us how amazing it is to think like Christ. “This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words.The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.”
As a result, we are different in what we believe, say, and do. With gratefulness, we have the freedom or right in this country to share our beliefs and to invite whoever we may to experience our way of worship and love. We are free to share the promises, gifts, and warnings the Lord has provided us for living the godly and abundant life the Lord has given us, remembering, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” ( John 10:10) Hence, he works with us to take part in this endeavor, by sharing with others.
So we aren’t afraid to be different or uncommon, unusual or rare. It is with us as it was with Jesus when He walked the earth. At least that is how we aim for it to be. “But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.” (1 John 2:5-6) “Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.” (1 John 4:17)
We recognize it is not by our own power or strength, but by God’s Spirit, that we can live life healthy and holy before Him. Moreover, God, in His Bible, makes it crystal clear, what is right and what is wrong. No method of changing or deleting it will matter. He has clearly instructed us on how to behave and how not to behave and left us with gifts to the Church to edify and instruct us on living this different life. “So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” (Ephesians 4:11-13)
Thankfully, God sanctifies and works with us to accomplish what He’s created us to do in life. To sanctify means to consecrate, set apart, and declare holy. In this, we are made different. The world as a result will see us as different and hopefully want to join us–a very good thing!
Ms. Rita's Minute 