Monday, 5/4/2015

“The wound is the place where the Light enters you.” ~ Rumi

1 KINGS 9

God affirms Solomon and affirms the path for all those who follow him...

1When Solomon had finished building the temple of the Lord and the royal palace, and had achieved all he had desired to do, 2the Lord appeared to him a second time, as he had appeared to him at Gibeon. 3The Lord said to him:

“I have heard the prayer and plea you have made before me; I have consecrated this temple, which you have built, by putting my Name there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.

4“As for you, if you walk before me faithfully with integrity of heart and uprightness, as David your father did, and do all I command and observe my decrees and laws, 5I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised David your father when I said, ‘You shall never fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel.’

LUKE 23:44-56

Jesus breathes his last...

44It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, 45for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. 46Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”^eWhen he had said this, he breathed his last.

47The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, “Surely this was a righteous man.” 48When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away. 49But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.

JOURNAL

A heart of righteousness is only a result of God and his love.  Man can never create righteousness.  It is only in us because God created us.  It is only in this acknowledgement that we can ever find joy, love and peace.  Just as the centurion recognizes it in the midst of Jesus "shameful" death on a cross.  

This proves that righteousness is not found in circumstances but only in a heart that has been transformed and grafted into the heart and will of God.   The success, wealth and honor of Solomon pales in comparison to the soft last words of a "criminal" as he hangs, bleeding and dirty in the midst of pain, horror and death.  

The power and love of God never requires a beautiful building or a tranquil meadow.  It shows up wherever a heart is committed in humility and faith.  This doesn't mean that it cannot be found in the beautiful places in this world...it is there for sure...but it is seen and revealed most strikingly in the midst of the horrors of sin.  

3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 5who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. (1 Peter 1:3-7)

Sunday, 5/3/2015

“Without God, life has no purpose, and without purpose, life has no meaning. Without meaning, life has no significance or hope.”  ~ Rick Warren

1 KINGS 6-8

Solomon dedicates the temple and gives praise to God...

56“Praise be to the Lord, who has given rest to his people Israel just as he promised. Not one word has failed of all the good promises he gave through his servant Moses. 57May the Lord our God be with us as he was with our ancestors; may he never leave us nor forsake us. 58May he turn our hearts to him, to walk in obedience to him and keep the commands, decrees and laws he gave our ancestors. 59And may these words of mine, which I have prayed before the Lord, be near to the Lord our God day and night, that he may uphold the cause of his servant and the cause of his people Israel according to each day’s need, 60so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God and that there is no other. 61And may your hearts be fully committed to the Lord our God, to live by his decrees and obey his commands, as at this time.

LUKE 23:26-44

Jesus is crucified and grants a criminal acceptance into his kingdom...

39One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”

40But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? 41We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”

42Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.^d ”

43Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

JOURNAL

Solomon continues to understand that nothing is his but all is God's.  Even after accomplishing the building of the temple and immense wealth, he understands that his main purpose is to obey God and trust him fully with all his heart.

This scene on the cross takes us into the intimate conversation of 3 men in their final hour.  One is in desperation and will do anything, to save himself.  The other recognizes his own sin, owns it and honors Christ, accepts his fate and as a result Christ invites him into the kingdom.

32“Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. 33But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven. (Matthew 10:32-33)

Saturday, 5/2/2015

“Do not exchange your dignity for popularity.”  ~ Steve Maraboli

1 KINGS 3-5

Solomon asks for wisdom and God grants him this request and far more...

7“Now, Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. 8Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. 9So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?”

10The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. 11So God said to him, “Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice, 12I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be. 13Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for—both wealth and honor—so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings. 14And if you walk in obedience to me and keep my decrees and commands as David your father did, I will give you a long life.” 15Then Solomon awoke—and he realized it had been a dream.

He returned to Jerusalem, stood before the ark of the Lord’s covenant and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. Then he gave a feast for all his court.

LUKE 23:1-26

Pilate wants to release Jesus but the crowds demand he be crucified...

20Wanting to release Jesus, Pilate appealed to them again. 21But they kept shouting, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”

22For the third time he spoke to them: “Why? What crime has this man committed? I have found in him no grounds for the death penalty. Therefore I will have him punished and then release him.”

23But with loud shouts they insistently demanded that he be crucified, and their shouts prevailed. 24So Pilate decided to grant their demand. 25He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, the one they asked for, and surrendered Jesus to their will.

JOURNAL

Success in our culture is usually measured in what the masses think...whether they approve or not.  Here we find that Pilate succumbs to the same pressure...it's all about pleasing the masses rather than following God.  

Solomon on the other hand, requested wisdom rather than public support or wealth.  In the case of Solomon...public support followed dedication and obedience to God.  The point of it all though is that you can't trick God or use him to secretly get what you want.  Jesus and his disciples obeyed God and were killed for it.  Solomon followed God and was rewarded immensely.   

With God...you never know what obedience will get you in this life.  It may be wealth and notoriety, it may be ridicule and death.  The point though is that obedience and God's love have to be an end in and of themselves.  The reward has to be God's love and the promises of life after...never earthly wealth and blessing.

4You adulterous people,^a don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. (James 4:4)

Friday, 5/1/2015

“Never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat.” ~ F. Scott Fitzgerald

1 KINGS 1-2

David blesses Solomon and breathes his last...

1When the time drew near for David to die, he gave a charge to Solomon his son.2“I am about to go the way of all the earth,” he said. “So be strong, act like a man, 3and observe what the Lord your God requires: Walk in obedience to him, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and regulations, as written in the Law of Moses. Do this so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go 4and that the Lord may keep his promise to me: ‘If your descendants watch how they live, and if they walk faithfully before me with all their heart and soul, you will never fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel.’...10Then David rested with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David. 11He had reigned forty years over Israel—seven years in Hebron and thirty-three in Jerusalem. 12So Solomon sat on the throne of his father David, and his rule was firmly established.

LUKE 22:54-71

Jesus is arrested...

54Then seizing him, they led him away and took him into the house of the high priest. Peter followed at a distance. 55And when some there had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter sat down with them. 56A servant girl saw him seated there in the firelight. She looked closely at him and said, “This man was with him.”

57But he denied it. “Woman, I don’t know him,” he said.

58A little later someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.”

“Man, I am not!” Peter replied.

59About an hour later another asserted, “Certainly this fellow was with him, for he is a Galilean.”

60Peter replied, “Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed. 61The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times.” 62And he went outside and wept bitterly.

JOURNAL

Failure.  The ultimate tool in creating humility.  Peter fails and is left to realize his own sin and fragility.  It is a gift that feels like punishment but in reality is one of the greatest ways that God has loved me.  For Peter, he will be comforted and God's love will be showered upon him.  This lesson will strengthen him to living the rest of his life in obedience.

37No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,^k neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:37-39)