Prov 7-9; Rom 9

Scripture - Prov. 7:24 Now then, my sons, listen to me; pay attention to what I say. 25 Do not let your heart turn to her ways or stray into her paths. 26 Many are the victims she has brought down; her slain are a mighty throng. 27 Her house is a highway to the grave, leading down to the chambers of death.

Observation - Solomon spent much time in Proverbs discussing the folly of adultery. This entire chapter is dedicated to warning young men not to be led astray, not just by a woman, but by the great woman called adultery. Many people get involved with things without knowing how they will turn out, but Proverbs (wisdom in writing) reveals the outcome of all adulterous relationships. It let us all know that though her invitation is appealing, adultery has had a parade of victims, all of whom have been lead down to death.

Application - While Proverbs is full of wisdom, much of the writing is dedicated to the problem of adultery for good reason. With nearly half of all marriages ending in divorce, and many more good marriages damaged by extra marital affairs, and all of the carnage that goes along with it impacting jobs, finances, health, children, emotions, confidence, etc, this wisdom is so valuable and applicable to our lives. Adultery rarely pops up out of the blue, but is rather a slow seductive flirtatious invitation that is held in ones hand over time, observed, considered, pondered and fantasized over. It always considers the beginning and actions of the relationship, but is unable to see the end. The end is death. We are warned! We are like sheep that would run over the edge of the cliff just following the others ahead of us. God, in His faithfulness, has placed a giant sign to warn us of this danger!  Thank you Lord.

Prayer - Help me to keep my life pure... for so many different reasons! I want to honor you, I want to honor my wife and family, I want to honor Christianity and the church... but I also don't want to lose everything including my own life!

1 Kings 10-11; 2 Chron 9; Rom 6

Scripture - 1 Kin. 11:9 The LORD became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. 10Although he had forbidden Solomon to follow other gods, Solomon did not keep the LORD’S command. 11So the LORD said to Solomon, “Since this is your attitude and you have not kept my covenant and my decrees, which I commanded you, I will most certainly tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your subordinates. 12Nevertheless, for the sake of David your father, I will not do it during your lifetime. I will tear it out of the hand of your son. 13Yet I will not tear the whole kingdom from him, but will give him one tribe for the sake of David my servant and for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen.”

Observation - (see May 21) Solomon, though he experienced the blessing started by his father, he did not pass the same blessing on. He only had a individual vision. He was interested in the blessings that were available to himself, and didn't take into account that his disobedience would impact generations to come. He lived his life the way he wanted, and ignored how the repercussions would impact his own children. As a result, the kingdom was torn in two and began to spiral downward.

Application - I am reminded once again (see May 21) that what I do today is not for today, but days and people to come! My decision bring future blessing or cursing. I want to strive to live my life in a way and make decisions that will pay off for future generations! The older I get, the more important this becomes. My time is limited, and so much of what I am doing will not grow and produce a harvest right away. Years from now, the seeds I am planting with my actions will mature and begin to produce fruit. I want that fruit to be lasting. Keeping that perspective is key!

Prayer - Lord, help me to make great decisions and chose paths that will bless me, but over time, will bless many others!

2 Chron 6-7; Ps 135; Rom 4

Scripture - Rom. 4:18 Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” 19Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. 20Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. 

Observation - God promised Abraham a lineage, and into his older years, the promise had yet to be fulfilled. The years brought bareness to his body and his wife's.  Yet these verses reveal that he did not waiver on the promise. Regardless of circumstances, Abraham was fully persuaded that God could do what he had promised. We have the story in its entirety. God fulfilled His promise.

Application - faith is something all of us struggle with at times. Though Abraham is the father of faith, we can't dismiss the fact that Abraham himself struggled also, and tried to "help God" in his quest for a son. Faith was something Abraham learned to walk in, much like a pinball makes it's way to the bonus bell.  Years and experience helped him to understand how God fulfills his promises.  God had given Abraham a specific promise and Abraham made his way toward the fulfillment. 

I think we misunderstand what faith looks like. I think we imagine faith to look like someone who hears from God and then is unmoved in his pursuit of the fulfillment, like Superman wading through bad guys, unhindered, unscathed, never questioning - simply plowing through to the goal.  Abraham certainly wasn't that! But he did hear God's promise. He believed the integrity of God. And he was committed to God's ability to fulfill the promise, even in his old age.

1 Kings 7; 2 Chron 4; Ps 98; Rom 2

Scripture - 1 Kin. 7:51 When all the work King Solomon had done for the temple of the LORD was finished, he brought in the things his father David had dedicated—the silver and gold and the furnishings—and he placed them in the treasuries of the LORD’S temple.

Observation - the completion of this task was not the work or vision of a single man. It was multi-generational. In fact, the temple preceded Solomon's father David all the way back to the man Moses who originally received the instructions for the Tabernacle from the Lord and had the furniture constructed. The vision of one man was passed to another, and so on, and so on, until it was completed.

Application - this generation too often lives only for today, and it shows. It is obvious in our financial realm - we buy stuff today with money we hope to have tomorrow. It is obvious in our social realm - we don't like who we are with today so we set them aside for someone new, regardless of how it will impact our future. We live for this moment sometime in the church. We forget that we are impacting generations down the road by what we are doing today.

I once heard a pastor ask the question, "Why should we do that? I don't see how that will impact us here today?" The answer to his question was that there would be no impact for us, but it would impact others some day in possibly other places. Because it didn't better the here and now, we didn't do it, and there will be no ripples that turn into waves and impact the shore of peoples lives.

I feel like too often we are looking through a microscope at this second, and we need to stand back and see a couple of generations as we make decisions, because our decisions will impact generations! The best decision for right now might not be the best for ten years from now!

Prayer - Lord, help us to impact generations... not just this weekend!

1 Kings 6; 2 Chron 3; Ps 97; Rom 1

Scripture - 1 Kin. 6:37 The foundation of the temple of the LORD was laid in the fourth year, in the month of Ziv. 38In the eleventh year in the month of Bul, the eighth month, the temple was finished in all its details according to its specifications. He had spent seven years building it.

Observation - Solomon spent 7 years meticulously building the temple of the Lord, which wasn't incredibly large, but was constructed in a very tedious fashion and with intricacies galore. Solomon's attention to detail was because of Who would reside in this facility - the Presence of God! That being the case, Solomon didn't even want to hear typical consutruction sounds on site. He even required all saw and chisel work on the stone to be done at the quarry prior to the deliver of rock. 

While the facility was incredible, God was willing to inhabit it based on the following: 1 Kin. 6:12 “As for this temple you are building, if you follow my decrees, carry out my regulations and keep all my commands and obey them, I will fulfill through you the promise I gave to David your father. 13And I will live among the Israelites and will not abandon my people Israel.”

God didn't seem to be that impressed with the facility.  He was more interested in obedience which paved the way for his residence, blessing and fulfillment of promises.

Application - sometimes we lose track of what impresses God in our lives. We think it's all the books we've read, the things we are involved with, the tasks we fulfill or the awards we win in His Name. That's all good, after all, we are the temple of the Lord and a beautiful temple advertises a beautiful God who resides within. But it is possible to present a beautiful BUT empty temple. A king prior to Solomon learned that God wasn't nearly as excited about sacrifice as he was obedience, and God once again communicates that truth to Solomon. Giving stuff to God is cool, as is doing stuff for Him, telling people about Him, claiming spiritual territory on His behalf, proclaiming His Kingdom, etc. It's all good. But the question is, ARE YOU OBEYING HIM? It is possible to observe all of the other and still not fulfill the last.

OBEDIENCE. God promised so much if we do it.

Prayer - Lord, in the busyness of building for you, help me to hear clearly and respond. If there is anything I haven't done, remind me. Yell louder, as I tend to be deaf! Allow your Spirit to clearly speak to my life.

2 Sam 11-12; Ps 51; Mt 23

Scripture - Matt. 23:7 they love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have men call them ‘Rabbi.’ 8“But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have only one Master and you are all brothers. 9And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. 10Nor are you to be called ‘teacher,’ for you have one Teacher, the Christ. 11The greatest among you will be your servant. 12For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

Observation - Jesus was instructing his disciples about their conduct, while using the improper conduct of the Pharisees as a teaching tool. One of the huge shortcomings of these religious leaders were their unquenchable thirst for position, especially as it related to the greater visibility of their spirituality. Not only did they love their position, they loved to be addressed by the title of their position, and no doubt demanded it. They loved for others to hear them addressed by their title, as this established greater resepect amongst those who overheard. Jesus following comments are to dismantle this erroneous motive of the heart.  Jesus instructed them to stay away from the title rabbi, and even father. Interestingly, he goes on to instruct them to stay away from the title teacher. Of course, we know that the position of teacher is legitimate because it is mentioned as one of the five-fold ministry positions within the church. Jesus named these titles because of their misuse in that cultural setting. The specific issue of our time is not necessarily the title, but the abuse of any title and/or position.

Application - while it is an honor to serve, and certainly an honor to hold position amongst people, especially within the Church of Jesus Christ, I think our attitude toward positions needs to be similar to Jesus and his position while on earth. I respect that Jesus didn't announce to anyone who he actually was. I love that once they figured it out, he told them not to tell anyone. I especially love that wether or not people knew, he still fulfilled the responsibilities of that position.

I was at a camp meeting almost 20 years ago and we had a special musical guest singing/preaching in these outdoor/pavilion services. Her entourage arrived 20 minutes after the service began with two white Cadillac's (renatals which she demanded as part of her contract) which completely distracted the 500 people attempting to worship at this semi-outdoor venue. The pomp with which she entered the room, and later ministered with was very similar to her arrival. She especially loved to use the term "prophetess" when speaking of herself, and loved to be addressed with the same. I could go on about her "it's all about me" narcissistic approach to ministry, but I'll leave it at that. She had a modern day Pharisee approach to her position. 

Here is the real problem - people who become "that big" eclipse Jesus!

Prayer - Lord, help me to serve, and serve humbly, to make you famous. In any success, may I decrease so that you may increase.

1 Chron 16; Ps 106; Mt 19

Scripture - Matt. 19:16 Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?”

Observation - A very wealthy young man approached Jesus and asked what he needed to do to get eternal life. Jesus told him he needed to give his wealth away (the hinderance) and follow Him (the requirement). 

Application - human nature is so geared at "doing" in order to receive favor with God. This rich young ruler had also been a very moral individual and yet, deep down within the core of who he was, he sensed that he was missing something. There was still something else to do, or accomplish, or win, or obtain in order to be in right standing with God. That "feeling" resides within the flesh of men and can be a torturous driving force causing men to try to obtain the favor of God in so many ways. They attempt to give, to serve, to sacrifice, to join to.... and the list goes on, but the man is still left feeling empty, void of "it" and wondering what he can do to obtain what only God can give. Its not until man stops trying and begins to comprehend that favor with God is not earned but is simply received from hand, that the lights come on and his heart is at peace. If mercy is earned, I will never be able to do enough. If it is given, it is done!

Prayer - Lord, thank you for your mercy to me. Undeserved! Appreciated! Enjoyed!

1 Chron 14-15; Ps 132; Mt 18

Scripture - Matt. 18:23 “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents£ was brought to him. 25Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. 26“The servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ 27The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.

Observation - A servant owed a large amount to the king, 10,000 talents. This probably equaled several million dollars, for a talent was probably a measure of gold, between 58 and 80 pounds. The king was going to extract the full measure of the debt by selling the man, his wife and children into slavery so that the debt could be repaid. Payment was his end goal!  The servant fell on his knees - the NIV doesn't quite capture the greek picture. While he did fall down, the word used is "proskune" which means like a dog licking his master’s hand, prostrate oneself in homage. It is akin to the response we have to God in worship. He offered to pay back everything of the king would give him time. The man's response touched the king so deeply that he cancelled the man's debt! Millions of dollars owed - CANCELLED! The king was moved by the expression of the man.

Applicaton - I'm reminded that this parable of Jesus starts of by saying "The Kingdom of Heaven is like.."  In this passage, I see two things at work - Kingdom Nature and Human Nature.  Here are a few thoughts:

• Human Nature - man will always rack up a debt with God. Sin is a transaction between us and God. David said, "against you and you only have I sinned...." We know that sin is an offense against God, similar to keying His car. After the offense, payment for damages is due. Scripture teaches the payment is death.
• Kingdom Nature - God demands payment! God is a God of justice, meaning the law is to be fulfilled, and parties wronged will be righted! All of us owe God and payment will be extracted.
• Human Nature - man is subconsciously aware of his debt and tries to "work it off". Good deeds, charitable giving, donating time are often times given out of the deep knowledge of our own sin. Unfortunately, the debt is far to large for us to pay for.
• Kingdom Nature - God responds to our posture in the debt. If we humble ourself and ask for mercy, God is quick to offer it.

Prayer - Lord, thanks for full payment of my offense - JESUS! While I can't repay you, let me walk in that debt-less-ness and allow me to bring something to the table of value to show my appreciation!