1 Kings 14:25-26

1 Kings 14:25-26

New International Version (NIV)

 

 

 

²⁵ In the fifth year of King Rehoboam, Shishak king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem. ²⁶ He carried off the treasures of the temple of the Lord and the treasures of the royal palace. He took everything, including all the gold shields Solomon had made.





Just 5 years after Solomon died, the temple and palace were ransacked by foreign invaders. How quickly the glory, power, and money disappeared! When the people became spiritually corrupt and immoral, it was just a short time until they lost everything. Wealth, idol worship, and immorality had become more important to them than God. When God is gone from our lives, everything else becomes useless, no matter how valuable it seems.




 
Joe










 

1 Kings 12:28

1 Kings 12:28

New Living Translation (NLT)

 

 

 

 

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!”






All Jewish men were required to travel to the temple three times each year, but King Jeroboam set up his own worship centers and told his people it was too much trouble to travel all the way to Jerusalem. Those who obeyed Jeroboam were disobeying God. Some ideas, though practical, may include suggestions that lead you away from God. Don't let anyone talk you out of doing what is right by telling you that moral actions are not worth the effort. Do what God wants, no matter what the cost in time, energy, reputation, or resources.






Joe





















 

1 Kings 11:9-10

1 Kings 11:9-10

New Living Translation (NLT)

 

 

 

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.




Solomon didn't turn away from God all at once or in a brief moment. His spiritual coldness started with a minor departure from God's laws (see 1 Kings 3:1). Over the years, that little sin grew until it resulted in Solomon's downfall. A little sin can be the first step in turning away from God. It is not the sins we don't know about, but the sins we excuse, that cause us the greatest trouble. We must never let any sin go unchallenged. In your life, is an unchallenged sin spreading like a deadly cancer? Don't excuse it. Confess this sin to God and ask Him for strength to resist temptation.






Joe


















 

1 Kings 11:3

New Living Translation (NLT)

 

 

 

³ He had 700 wives of royal birth and 300 concubines. And in fact, they did turn his heart away from the Lord.

 

 

 

 

For all his wisdom, Solomon had some weak spots. He could not say no to compromise or to lustful desires. Whether he married to strengthen political alliances or to gain personal pleasure, these foreign wives led him into idolatry. You may have strong faith, but you also have weak spots - and that is where temptation usually strikes. Strengthen and protect your weaker areas because a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. If Solomon, the wisest man, could fall, so can you.

 

 

 

 

 

Joe

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 Kings 8:56-61

1 Kings 8:56-61

New International Version (NIV)

 

 

 

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. ⁵⁷ May the Lord our God be with us as he was with our ancestors; may he never leave us nor forsake us. ⁵⁸ May he turn our hearts to him, to walk in obedience to him and keep the commands, decrees and laws he gave our ancestors. ⁵⁹ And 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, ⁶⁰ so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God and that there is no other. ⁶¹ And may your hearts be fully committed to the Lord our God, to live by his decrees and obey his commands, as at this time.”




Solomon praised the Lord and prayed for the people. His prayer can be a pattern for our prayers. He had 5 basic requests; 1.) for God's presence (8:57); 2.) for the desire to do God's will in everything; ("turn our hearts to Him," 8:58); 3.) for help with each day's need (8:59); 4.) for the desire and ability to obey God's decrees and commands (8:58); 5.) for the spread of God's kingdom to the entire world (8:60). These prayer requests are just as important today. When you pray for your church or family, you can make these same requests to God.




Joe






 

1 Kings 8:27

New Living Translation (NLT)

 

 

 

²⁷ “But will God really live on earth? Why, even the highest heavens cannot contain you. How much less this Temple I have built!




In his prayer of dedication, Solomon declare that even the highest heaven cannot contain God. Isn't it amazing that, though the heavens can't contain God, He is willing to live in the hearts of those who love Him? The God of the universe takes up residence in His people.




Joe


















 

The Day the Sun Stood Still

^{Joshua 10:12-14}

 

 

 

^{The Day the Sun Stood Still}

 

 

 

¹² On the day the Lord gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua said to the Lord in the presence of Israel:

“Sun, stand still over Gibeon,
    and you, moon, over the Valley of Aijalon."¹³ So the sun stood still,
    and the moon stopped,
    till the nation avenged itself on its enemies,

as it is written in the Book of Jashar.

The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day. ¹⁴ There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the Lord listened to a human being. Surely the Lord was fighting for Israel!

 

 

 

 

As my family and I were watching the sun go down last night over the Pamlico Sound in North Carolina, I was reminded of the Bible lesson we had the opportunity to teach a few weeks back to our Northlife Community Church's Sunday School class (Kid's Central). Joshua prayed to God during this battle for the Sun to stay out to give the Israelites time to defeat the Amorites before nightfall.

 

 

 

While I was doing some research for this class, I came across a report from NASA that proves to non-believers what us Christians already know, that nothing is impossible for God ! (see below)

 

 

 

An email says that NASA (The U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration) has stumbled across some computer generated evidence that the Bible is true.  A man named Harold Hill, a NASA consultant and president of the Curtis engine company, describes how NASA computers were looking back in time when they issued an alert that something was wrong.  There seemed to be a day missing from the calculations.  The scientists puzzled over this a long time until someone in their midst reflected that in the Bible, there's a story about the day the sun stood still for the Hebrew leader Joshua.  This solves the puzzle, almost.  According to the computer, not an entire day was lost, but 23 hours and 20 minutes.  Now there's a new problem.  What about the other 40 minutes?  That's when the same employee remembers that there is another story in the Bible about a day when the sun moved backwards 10 degrees which (see Isaiah 38:8)  , according to the employee, is an arc of 40 minutes...so the entire question of the missing day is solved!      

 

 

 

 

Joe