Goodness And Godliness Proceed From Preparation!

There is no question that Solomon, the son of David, was a great king over Israel, but he was not perfect. And among his many imperfections was his son Rehoboam who would be heir to the throne, and a foolish king! The biblical epitaph over his royal reign was, “He did evil, because he did not prepare his heart to seek the Lord.” (2Chronicles 12:14) His heart lacked the proper, purposeful preparation necessary to do good before God. He drifted, enjoying the trinkets of the royal throne, and was thus vulnerable to all kinds of evil. I ask, “Can a turkey dinner just be whipped up, or is there a course of proper preparation for something that good and tasty?” Can one’s heart be good and righteous before God without proper purposeful preparation? The heart needs to be purposeful in seeking the Lord of heaven and earth each day. And the heart needs to go through disciplined preparation if it is to gravitate towards good and not evil! One of the ways of preparing a turkey is to baste it and stuff it. So the heart needs to be basted each day with the Word of God, and stuffed with the fullness of God’s Spirit. Rehoboam did evil! This was the result of an undisciplined life, without purpose, and adrift! How do you prepare your heart for each day? What is the object of your heart’s affection? At the end of this day if God were to write an epitaph over your affairs, what would He say? You did evil because you did not seek the Lord, for your heart was unprepared! Or, you did good because you sought the Lord from a disciplined heart, basted by the Word of God, and stuffed full of the Holy Spirit!

A Love Affair With Trinkets!

“Now King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all she desired, whatever she asked, much more than she had brought to the king. So she turned and went to her own country, she and her servants” (2Ch.9:12). King Solomon was no ordinary man, and he was no ordinary king. Famous for his unprecedented wealth, but more than that which he possessed he was famous for the wisdom, knowledge, and understanding he was blessed with. So why then was the queen of Sheba so easily satisfied with a few trinkets? All she desired King Solomon gave to her! Whatever she asked it was given to her! And once she had her fill of trinkets she turned and went. Despite all of Solomon’s wisdom and glory she takes some trinkets and leaves. Does she not vainly see the true value and worth of this glorious king? And is this not also how vainly some see Jesus Christ today? The Bible declares that Jesus IS the King of kings. Yeah in all of Solomon’s glory he is but an understudy of King Jesus. And yet so many people today are satisfying themselves with trinkets while Christ stands over all of His creation as the Sovereign GLORY. “No”, many from this generation says, “we do not care to know you Lord Jesus, but give us our trinkets and we will be fine!” Even many who possess an ingenuine spirit of religion will take up a creed, ask Jesus for the trinkets of a good marriage, safety for their children, good health, healthy pets, and a nice vehicle and home, and turn and go from His presence without ever seeing His true value and worth as the unending, all-satisfying fountain of living waters. The soul’s delight is to simply marvel at Him without need of any other. He is a bastion for our affections and emotions. He is the pinnacle of divine glory—brilliant—strong—incomparable—unending—an all-consuming fire of righteousness, purity, holiness, gentleness and love! He is the King of all other kings! He is the Potentate over the impotent! His true value is to be gained from who He is, and not merely from what He possesses…”Behold, your KING!”

The Love of God!

“God loves you, and is willing to accept you wherever you are at!” This is the Christian mantra of our day. “What does that mean”, I often ask myself as a Christian minister? The Bible says that God is love, but the Bible also says that God is holy, pure, just, and righteous. God’s love and righteousness, at first sight, don’t appear compatible with each other. One is striving to uphold the holiness and justice of God’s character, while the other is defacing the character of God by forgiving and shirking the crime of sin. But when one follows the trail of these two Divine characteristics they gloriously and compatibly unite at the cross of Jesus Christ. It is through the passion of the Christ that we see the love of God for mankind in offering up His Son as a sacrifice for the nations. The prophet Isaiah said, “It pleased the Lord to bruise Him”- the “Him” being His Son! “For God so loved the world” (John 3:16), the apostle John penned, referring to a qualitative, not a quantitative action. It is the quality of God’s love that is impressive! He set forth His own Son! And it pleased Him to do so for the people of His love. Yet at the same time the suffering of Christ on the cross removes all suspicions about God’s righteous character too. He delivers a verdict upon sin and sentences His Son to bear the iniquities of many. Yes, His love is demonstrated and His righteousness upheld in the sufferings of His own Son. God will not accept you wherever you are at today, and He does not love you for who you are. But He will accept anyone at the cross of Christ—anyone who is willing to trust in the righteous loving sufferings of Jesus for their sin. And He will love you as He sees the reflection of His Son in you—clothed in the holy merits of Christ!

Which one of these prophets from the Bible was a 'Herdsmen'?

The answer to my last poll question, "Which one of these prophets from the Bible was a 'Herdsmen'?", is AMOS (Amos 1:1). I have been informed by a friend that my poll questions are too easy, so I will make any future poll questions a little harder from now on.