Solomon's Prayer

   

    In chapter 8 of the Book of 1 Kings we can read the prayer of King Solomon at the dedication of the temple that had been built to house the ark of the covenant with the Ten Commandments stones inside. The house would be where God would dwell on earth and the beginning of the chapter describes the filling of the temple with the cloud of God’s presence. King Solomon says: “LORD God of Israel, there is no God in heaven above or on earth like You, who keep your covenant and mercy with your servants who walk before you with all their hearts. But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this temple I have built.” (1Kings 8:23,27)

   Solomon continues to cry out to God and ask that God will hear when His people call to Him. “And may You hear the supplication of Your servant and of Your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. Hear in heaven Your dwelling place; and when you hear, forgive.” (1 Kings 8:30) He then continues to give several examples of the needs that the people will have in the future if there is drought, famine, pestilence, locusts, or war and that God will be attentive to the petitions of His people because He knows their hearts and He knows that they must have the protection and deliverance from God in a tough and difficult world. “that they may fear You all the days that they live in the land which You gave to our fathers.” (1 Kings 8:40) Read all of chapter 8 1^st Kings.

Do we have a real fear of God? By fear, we mean do we hold God in awe? Do we really care about those things, which are important to God? Are we listening when He speaks to us through the Scriptures and are we obedient to the things we know He has told us in His Word? “All God’s revelations are sealed until they are opened to us by obedience…Obey God in the things He shows you, and instantly the next thing is opened up…God will never reveal more about Himself until you have obeyed what you already know.” (Oswald Chambers, Utmost for His Highest, p210)

Pray:

1.     That we will be bold in our prayer to God, knowing that He loves us and wants us to prosper as we obey His Word and live for Him.

2.     That we will search our hearts and look for areas in our lives where we have been disobedient and repent and then,obey.

3.     That the teenagers and children in our homes and churches will be taught to look to God's Word for guidance in living their lives and that it will be modeled by us adults for them.

The effect of the Word of God

"BLESSED is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does will prosper. " (Psalms 1:1-3, NKJV)

   Every time I read this Psalm I cannot help but picture a man sitting under a tree by a river reading the Bible. He is a man that is "BLESSED." He is a man that delights in spending time in the Scriptures and meditating on the Word of God. Wow, how do I get to be a man or woman like that and where do I get the desire to spend time every day looking through the Scriptures for guidance for life and getting to know the God who, through His Holy Spirit, wrote it?
    The answer is really quite simple. I just need to purpose in my heart to set aside a time and place every day to read and spend time in prayer with my Lord. It is a discipline that may start out hard but as you do it day after day it becomes a part of your life that you really can't do without anymore. I remember reading Dr. Robertson McQuilkens book "Life in the Spirit" and he said that when he first started reading the Bible it was "like eating sawdust" but as he stuck with it, he fell in love with his time with God and the wonderful insights that the Scriptures gives us for everyday life in this difficult and challenging world.
    Psalms 119 tells us that: "You, through Your commandments, make me wiser than my enemies; For they are ever with me. I have more understanding than my teachers, For your testimonies are my meditation......How sweet are Your words to my taste, Sweeter than honey to my mouth! Through Your precepts I get understanding; Therefore I hate every false way." (Psalms 119: 98-99,103-104, NKJV)
    Of course, like all disciplines, there will come times when you can't meet with God and meditate on His book. But don't let the one or two days away from the Scripture keep you from going back and renewing this special time between you and the Living God of the Bible. This is where you gather your strength and courage to tackle the things that the devil and the world throw at you everyday. Of course, Oswald Chambers has the best way of reminding what it means to spend time in the Word of God:

    "When a soul is born from above and lifted to the atmosphere of the domain where our Lord lives, the Bible becomes its native air, its words become the storehouse of omnipotence, its commands and prophecies become alive, its limitless horizons brace the heart and mind to a new consciousness, its comforts in Psalms and prayers and exhortations delight the whole man. And better than all, the Lord Jesus Christ becomes the altogether Lovely One, it is  in His light that we see light, it is in Him that we become new creatures. He who is the Word of God unfolds to us the revelation of God until we say in sacred rapture, 'I hold in may hands the Thoughts of God.'" (Oswald Chambers, God's Workmanship)

Pray

1. Dear Lord, thank you so much that Your Word has been written down for us and faithfully preserved over the centuries that I can read the very words that you allowed Moses, Daniel, Paul, Peter and the other writers to write down for my benefit today.
2. Thank you Lord that we live in a country where it is legal to read and proclaim your words to a lost and dying world.
3. Help me Lord this day to spend time in your Scriptures, and that my heart will be attentive to your voice as you allow me to know You better and to be obedient to your infallible commandments and precepts.

God's abundance

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call on Me, and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:11-13)

    In the Book of 2 Samuel, chapter 7, God speaks through the prophet Nathan to David after David had said that he wanted to build a temple for God to dwell in Jerusalem. God told David that He did not need a temple nor had He ever asked for a house to live in but that He would allow David’s son to build one for him after David had “rested with his fathers.” Then God proceeds to tell David that: “your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever.” (2 Sam. 7:16) We now know that God fulfilled that promise with the coming of God’s Son, Jesus Christ, and that His Kingdom reigns in the hearts of every believer that has accepted His Son as Lord and Savior in their lives.

     David’s response to all that God tells him through the words of the prophet Nathan are a great example of how we should respond when we consider all that God has done for us in adopting us as His sons and daughters and giving us full rights as heirs to the Kingdom of God. He proclaims: “For You have made your people Israel Your very own people forever; and You, LORD, have become their God. So let your name be magnified forever, saying, ‘The LORD of hosts is the God over Israel.’ And let the house of Your servant David be established before you. ‘And now, O Lord GOD, You are God, and Your words are true, and You have promised goodness to Your servant.” (2 Samuel 7:24,26,28) Let that be the prayer of your heart today as you reflect on how God has rescued you from the “horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set your feet upon solid ground.” (Psalm 40:2)

   For a more detailed description of this magnificent conversation between God and David read all of chapter 7, 2 Samuel.

As you pray today pray for:

1.  A heart of thankfulness for all that God had done for you in saving you and adopting you into His family.

2. A willingness to seek God’s face today that He may direct your paths in the coming week as you seek to be obedient to His Word.

3.  A willingness and a burning desire to spend time everyday this week in prayer for your pastor and all those in Spiritual authority in your life.

The historical accuracy of the Bible

"knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came from man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit." (2 Peter 1:20-21 NKJV)

   "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete,thoroughly equipped for every good work." (2 Timothy 3:16-17 NKJV)

  These two sections of Scripture were written by the Apostle Peter and the Apostle Paul, both men who had had personal encounters with the Lord Jesus, Peter for three years in Judea and Paul on the road to Damascus. The Scriptures that they are talking about are what we today call the Old Testament of the Holy Bible. Since these verses were written, Christians have incorporated the letters of Paul and Peter into a New Testament which we also hold to be Scripture. Books have been written that attest to the accuracy and validity of the Bible and are readily available for everyone who is interested may read. One of them that I would recommend is entitled "The Bible As History" by Werner Keller.

   However, it is not my task today to defend the Bible, but to give you one more reason for you to know that it is reliable when it talks about the history of the Hebrew nation, and the nations Israel and Judea had to contend with in their history and it is reliable when it tells us how God wants us to have a personal relationship with Him, His Son, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit.

    In Pauls letter to Timothy, he tells young Timothy that the Scriptures can be trusted and used for many reasons. It is inspired by God, in the literal Greek in which Paul used we would more accurately say it is "God Breathed." It is good for doctrine, reproof, correction, for instruction in righteousness, and will equip a man or woman of God for good works. It also can help you win a battle if you are a soldier! Wait, Paul didn't say that, but it is true just the same, at least it proved to be true for a British Infantry brigade in Palestine, fighting the Turks during World War I, and that is the subject of my writing today.

     On February 13, 1918, the 180th Brigade of the 60th Division, British Army was given the mission of attacking the village of Mukhamas, or Michmash (called Michmash in the Bible), as part of a major British assault on the city of Jericho. It was decided that the brigade would have to make a dangerous and bloody frontal assault on the town. The night before the battle, a Major Gilbert was reading his Bible and he felt like the name Michmash was a town he had read of before in the Bible and wondered where he had read it. He found it in 1st Samuel chapters 13, verse 23: " And the garrison of the Philistines went out to the pass of Michmash." The rest of chapter 14 goes on to explain that Jonathan, the son of King Saul, and his armor bearer, decided to do a reconnaissance of the pass near Michmash and found it occupied by the Philistines. There they found two big rocks on either side of the pass, one named Bozez and the other one, Seneh. The enemy outpost consisted of 20 men at the top of the pass on a plot of land about big as a half acre of land. The Philistines dared the two Hebrews to climb up to their position and Jonathan and his armor bearer accepted the challenge. They both climbed the pass, and then killed the soldiers there. When dawn broke, the Philistines noticed the high ground controlled by the Israelites and an earthquake started to shake the ground. The Philistines army of 145000 panicked and started to retreat as the Israelite army of 600 attacked along the main road, and a great victory was won by King Saul and Israel that day. (Read all of chapter 14 of 1st Samuel for the exciting details)

     Major Gilbert woke up General Watson and told him what he had read in the Bible. Watson decided to change his plan of attack. Instead of the entire brigade attacking he would send one company in the dead of night to the pass at Michmash. They quickly silenced the enemy and passed the rocks of Bozez and Seneh before climbing the hillside and taking up position on a small flat parcel of land about one half acre in size. When the Turkish soldiers below awoke the next morning and saw the British on the high ground, they thought they were surrounded, and immediately fled in disorder.

   "Every enemy soldier who had slept that night in Mishmash was either killed or captured. After thousands of years, the tactics of Jonathan and Saul had again met with success." ("Allenby And The Last Crusade" by John Thom Spach, Military History Magazine, March 1996)

    God's word is accurate in every detail. It is a book that you can depend on to know, not only the history of the Hebrew nation and the early Christian Church, you can actually get to know the Creator of the universe, His Son, Jesus Christ, and the Comforter, the Holy Spirit! It is "God Breathed" as the Apostle Paul says ,and you can use it to guide you on the rough and difficult road that we call "life." Psalm 119: 105 says "Your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path." Let it light your way today! Someone once said that the Bible is God's love letter to you. Read it. Apply it. Obey it! He loves us and wants the best for us. Taste it and see for yourself.

PRAY:

1. Lord help me to spend time in Your Word today. Open the eyes of my heart that I might know you better and that I might learn to be a man or woman of God.
2. Help me to be obedient to the things You try to teach me. Things like: loving my neighbor as myself, forgiving those who have wronged me, seeking first the Kingdom of God........
3. Lord help me to look for ways to serve you and your Kingdom in the church, in my workplace, and in my family.
   

Independence Day Remembrance

   

     When the Declaration of Independence was signed in July 1776 there was great joy and enthusiasm in the American colonies. John Adams, one of the signers, and future president of this new republic penned these prophetic words to his wife, Abigail: The day on which the Declaration was passed “……will be the most memorable….. in the history of America. I am apt to believe it will be celebrated by succeeding generations, as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illumination from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forevermore.” (John Adams, The Light and the Glory p.310)

     As we enter another election year in a country that has set the world standard for religious liberty and lawful and peaceable transfer of power by elected presidents, senators, and representatives, it is good to look back and see where God has had to intervene from time to time to help us achieve the freedoms that we enjoy in this nation. Freedoms that were penned on a piece of parchment, but then had to be won by long years of blood and sacrifice on numerous battlefields.

    August of the same year found the army of George Washington and the Continental Army in a precarious position. With 8 thousand troops, half of which were untrained, Washington’s army faced 15 thousand British soldiers and an additional 5 thousand Hessians (German mercenaries) in Brooklyn, New York, just across the East River from New York City.  In five days the Americans were almost surrounded and the British attacked inflicting heavy casualties. After the left and center of the Continental line was overwhelmed and pushed back, the right wing was surrounded and trapped. Led by William Alexander, they repeatedly attacked trying to return to American lines but were unable to break through. Washington and his other generals watched the action through telescopes and at one point Washington was observed wringing his hands and said “Good God, what brave fellows I must this day lose!” (The Light and the Glory, p.312) The Continentals were driven almost all the way back to the East River and were low on ammunition and other supplies. Surely the British Navy would now come up the river and bombard them from the back while the British Army attacked from the front.

     Now the Americans waited for the final attack that would finish them off. They waited and they waited. But for some reason, against all military logic, General Howe did nothing. He had planned and executed a masterful plan up until this point but now his army and navy were taking a break. Unbelievable! The next day dawned and still General Howe did nothing. All day the Americans waited for the enemies final assault but the British did nothing. In the afternoon it started raining and a strong Northeast wind kept the British from sailing up the river.

     Now Washington had a plan. They would evacuate Brooklyn by small boats during the night and pray that the British continued to do nothing by land or by river. His generals told him he was crazy. The British Navy could easily destroy a line of small boats as they crossed the mile wide river. At midnight, using a company of Marbleheaders, from Massachusets commanded by John Glover and another regiment of fishermen from Salem they began slowly and quietly rowing soldiers across the river in small boats. The night became clear and the moon was out so that they could be easily seen by the British, but no alarm was ever raised. As dawn approached there were still many that had to be evacuated. But as the sun arose, a fog rolled in and completely obscured the river and the silent evacuation.

   The fog remained intact until about noon until the last boat, with Washington in it, departed. At that point the British sounded the alarm and attacked but to no avail. By the time the British troops reached the shore and started firing at the boats they were out of range! 8 thousand troops had been evacuated without the loss of a single life! “Virtually every soldier who kept a diary that day recorded that fog, and most of them made a point of giving credit where credit was due. The Continental  Army had suffered a severe defeat, with some 15 hundred casualties. Yet, thanks to a storm, a wind, a fog, and too many other human ‘coincidences’ to number, there was still an Continental Army!” (The Light and the Glory, p.315)

    Anyone reading the history of the Continental Army throughout the Revolutionary War will see that time and time again the army was defeated but was never destroyed. It was able to enjoy an occasional small victory from time to time, but not until Yorktown, when once again a competent British General Cornwalis, blundered repeatedly until all he could do was surrender. We need to remember that it is God who raises up nations and leaders for the special times that they are needed according to His plans. We need to pray that God will raise up some new leaders for our nation today! Politicians that we have today are not the ones who will provide the leadership we need. We need godly leaders in the pulpits, in the judicial circuit, in business, and in the local and national government. Our job is to pray fervently and passionately for this leadership and to start today!

Pray:

11.   That God will raise up the godly leaders we need in our families, churches, businesses, local, state, and national governments.

22.   That God will help me to be more faithful in praying for these men and women that God is preparing to take these jobs of leadership.

33. That we will depend totally on God for His direction and leadership in all aspects of our lives.