1 Kings 18:34-35 “34 And he said, “Fill four pitchers with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood.” And he said, “Do it a second time,” and they did it a second time. And he said, “Do it a third time,” and they did it a third time. 35 The water flowed around the altar and he also filled the trench with water.”

PRECIOUS LIQUID

The story of Elijah and the prophets of Baal has been told over and over again.  You have probably read about it in Sunday School or heard sermons on it.  But many miss this part.  There was a drought.  It hadn’t rained in 3 years.  I saw that last year when I was in Kenya.  I was in an area that had not seen any kind of significant rainfall in 3 years.  People were dying.  Livestock was dying.  Crops wouldn’t grow.  People had to leave their homes and move to find water. It was horrible. Continue reading →

1 Kings 15:11, 14b “11Asa did what was right in the sight of the Lord, like David his father. 14b …nevertheless the heart of Asa was wholly devoted to the Lord all his days.” 

DEVOTION

Asa was the great, great grandson of David.  He was he first king of Judah, since David, who held true to the things of the Lord.  That took courage.  He had to shift the nation in a different direction.  But he did.  He stood for the right things and put away the wrong things. Continue reading →

1 Kings 12:24 “Thus says the Lord, ‘You must not go up and fight against your relatives the sons of Israel; return every man to his house, for this thing has come from Me.’ So they listened to the word of the Lord, and returned and went their way according to the word of the Lord.”

RASH DECISION

Here we are!  The kingdom of Solomon has been passed down to Rehoboam, but because of Solomon’s sins God had told him his kingdom would be divided.  Jeroboam rises up against the new king, and 10 tribes follow him.  Rehoboam, after taking the bad advice of the young men, wants to go to war to get back his kingdom. But God stops him.

Have you ever rushed to judgment and gotten angry before you knew all the facts?  Of course not.  You are more spiritual than me!  Lol.  Boy, I have.  I have started to “retaliate” against someone for a wrong committed, only to find out it wasn’t true.  How embarrassing.  We need to be sure before we act.

TEACHING MOMENT

Boy oh boy!  This is something that we have to be so careful to NOT teach our kids!  They will respond the same way we do, if we are hot headed.  Teaching restraint and patience is hard.  It’s practically impossible.  It requires that we practice it ourselves in front of our kids.  Count to ten (or maybe 1000) before reacting.  Don’t start plotting your response before you have sought the Lord.

If you will go back and read all of chapter 12 in 1 Kings, you will notice that Rehoboam never sought the Lord’s counsel.  Do you think that’s because the wisest man in the world, his father Solomon, had stopped seeking the Lord and had begun to follow false gods?  Solomon had NOT set the example for his son to follow.

Stop right now, if you are contemplating some type of revenge.  Make sure you have really been offended and then let the Lord handle it.  Forgive!  Extend grace.  After all, think of all the wrong you have done against the Lord.  He still loves you and extends you fresh grace every day.

O God my Father, forgive me for rushing to judgment of others.  Forgive me for getting angry about things that really have no eternal significance.  Forgive me for not setting the example for my children that You require.

1 Kings 8:10-11 “10 It happened that when the priests came from the holy place, the cloud filled the house of the Lord, 11 so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.”

CAN’T STAND IT

I really love this passage.  The ark has just been placed into the Holy of Holies in the Temple for the first time.  All of a sudden, the glory of the Lord filled the Temple.  The cloud of His presence was seen.  It was such an awesome and powerful thing that the priests could not stand before it. Continue reading →

1 Kings 7:51 “Thus all the work that King Solomon performed in the house of the LORD was finished. And Solomon brought in the things dedicated by his father David, the silver and the gold and the utensils, and he put them in the treasuries of the house of the LORD.”

COMPLETION

Building the Temple was no small matter.  The building itself was a seven year process, plus the construction of all the utensils.  I am sure there were times Solomon and the people of Israel thought it would never be completed.  But Solomon was determined to make it worthy of the Lord. No cost was spared.  They say this Temple was truly a marvel to behold. Continue reading →

1 Kings 2:46c “Thus the kingdom was established in the hands of Solomon.”

CAN’T ESCAPE FOREVER

You really should read the entire chapter of 1 Kings 2.  David has died and Solomon is king.  But before David dies he gives Solomon some instructions concerning two individuals (Joab and Shimei) who seemingly had escaped the consequences from earlier rebellions and sin.  I bet these two guys thought, “Whew, that was close.  David’s dead so we are home free.”  Nope!  Read the chapter to see the whole story. Continue reading →

2 Samuel 23:17d “These things the three mighty men did.”

HOW WILL YOU BE REMEMBERED

“Here I come to save the day! That means that Mighty Mouse is on the way! Yes sir, when there is a wrong to right, Mighty Mouse will join the fight!” Continue reading →

2 Samuel 22:29 “For You are my lamp, O Lord;  and the Lord illumines my darkness.”

THEN SHINE IT BRIGHTLY

I sometimes go out on the lake to fish early in the morning or stay out on the lake until dark.  If you are on the lake from dusk to dawn, you are required to have a bow light and a stern light illuminated.  This allows other boats to see you and avoid a collision.  Believe me, when you are on the water when it’s dark, it’s really dark.  You want those lights on. Continue reading →

2 Samuel 19:5-6 “5 Then Joab came into the house to the king and said, ‘Today you have covered with shame the faces of all your servants, who today have saved your life and the lives of your sons and daughters, the lives of your wives, and the lives of your concubines, 6 by loving those who hate you, and by hating those who love you. For you have shown today that princes and servants are nothing to you; for I know this day that if Absalom were alive and all of us were dead today, then you would be pleased.’” 

MOURNING

This is a sad story.  Continue reading →

Psalm 62:6-7 “6 He only is my rock and my salvation, My stronghold; I shall not be shaken. 7 On God my salvation and my glory rest; The rock of my strength, my refuge is in God.”

MY EVERYTHING

Just look at the descriptions of God that David uses in these two verses. He calls God six different things – rock, salvation, stronghold, glory, strength and refuge.  But look at those words.  Those are great words!  Those are great descriptors for God.

David knew God in all these ways.  Think of the times God had saved him.  Think of the many times God had been his strength in battle.  Think of the occasions when God had stood as a rock, stronghold or refuge from Saul.  David knew God in these ways!

TEACHING MOMENT

And our children can know Him in the same ways, if they will just trust Him.  You see, in all these ways David had to trust God.  When our children learn to trust the God of the universe He can be their rock, salvation, stronghold, glory, strength and refuge.  We, as parents, have to teach them how to trust Him.  We have to give them opportunities to place their trust in God, starting with salvation.

Little Gertrude and Elrod can’t trust in our trust in God who is our rock, salvation, stronghold, glory, strength and refuge.  They have to make the decision to make Him their own.  All we can do is lay the groundwork and live out our faith before them.  We can’t save them.  Only God can.  But they have to decide to let Him.

Are you trusting completely in the Lord?  Is He your salvation and nothing else?  You are missing so much if He is not also your rock and stronghold.  Until you experience Him as your refuge and strength, you haven’t experienced the fullness of God in your life.  Don’t you want to experience all of Him?

Oh Father, show me your fullness today!  Let me rest in You completely.  Show me how to trust you in everything, because, just like David, I want to know you as my rock, salvation, stronghold, glory, strength and refuge.