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Today is Thursday April 22, 2010 and we are reading through the Bible in a year. Today's message comes from the reading of the Book of I Kings, chapters 3-4. If you would like to read the chapters along with us here online you can Click Here to read them or copy & paste this URL onto your browser: http://www.readytofollow.com/bible-april-22
Title: Bible Study: Just One Thing
When we get ourselves into messes we often wonder, “How did I get myself into this mess?” While sometimes we want to blame others or even blame God for what is happening the truth is, it's all of our own doing. If you truly stop and think about the things you did to get where you were you would find out that it all started with just one thing.
Solomon was a wise man, a rich man, a great man, yet the brightest praise of him, is that he loved the Lord. Sadly he also loved the things of the world and that would soon cause him to align Israel with Egypt once again. His first mistake, he married the Pharaoh's daughter. “And Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh's daughter, and brought her into the city of David, until he had made an end of building his own house, and the house of the LORD, and the wall of Jerusalem round about. Only the people sacrificed in high places, because there was no house built unto the name of the LORD, until those days. And Solomon loved the LORD, walking in the statutes of David his father: only he sacrificed and burnt incense in high places. And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there; for that was the great high place: a thousand burnt offerings did Solomon offer upon that altar.”- I Kings 3:1-4. How sad is it to read that he loved the Lord, yet sacrificed in high places, high places were the groves heathens used to offer human sacrifices to their gods. Solomon loved God, but he was not willing to follow all his commands. Perhaps he thought such a large offering would make up for compromising Israel with Egypt. Solomon is an example of brilliant, multi-talented people who say they love God, but compromise with the world to get the things they want. They are so blessed with God's gifts, yet compromise biblical principles, assuming that God is pleased and blessing them since they are successful and popular in the world.
God saw where this was going so to get his attention, that night He came to Solomon in a dream, “In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee. And Solomon said, Thou hast shewed unto thy servant David my father great mercy, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great kindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. And now, O LORD my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in. And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude. Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?” - I Kings 3:5-9. This was not just some ordinary dream, this was God and He was speaking to him through the dream. This dream revealed the abundant mercy and grace that God would give Solomon or anyone else who chooses to live to love the Lord with all his heart and keeps His commandments, but sadly, his dream did not create in Solomon a real desire to be faithful to God. Eventually he turned away from the Lord because his desire to please himself and his foreign wives became greater than his desire to please God. All it took was one thing to turn Solomon away from God and that was by marrying a heathen wife. Later on in his life, he learned that all of the things he had, all of the eight hundred plus wives he had, and all of the wealth he had, did nothing for him, it was all worthless without God.
Just one thing can turn prosperity into shame, that is why it is important that we make decisions according to the Word of God. God will use many ways to get us to hear what He has to say to us, even our dreams. How do you know if it is God speaking to you? Anything God says, whether it is in a dream, a vision, an impression, or that still small voice in your head, will agree completely with what He has revealed in His Word. If you you feel God is speaking to you, prayerfully examine the Word of God to see if it is in agreement with Scripture. “But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.” - I Corinthians 2:9-12. God is above human reasoning, all we have to do to hear Him is let the Holy Spirit that is inside all believers work inside us.
Just as one thing can turn prosperity into shame, it can turn shame into prosperity, regardless of the messes that we get ourselves into, one thing is for sure God will help us out of them if we repent and come to Him. “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.” - Acts 3:19. Praise God!
Enjoy the rest of your day/night,
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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