1 Kings 6:11-13 – “Now the word of the Lord came to Solomon saying, ¹² “Concerning this house which you are building, if you will walk in My statutes and execute My ordinances and keep all My commandments by walking in them, then I will carry out My word with you which I spoke to David your father. ¹³ I will dwell among the sons of Israel, and will not forsake My people Israel.”

As I read, prayed, and pondered the Word of God today, obedience and grace filled my thoughts.  In obedience, we have access to God. In obedience, we have the blessings of God.  In obedience, we realize the presence of God.

1 Kings 6:11-13: God spoke to Solomon regarding the temple.   If you obey (explicitly), I will fulfill My promises, and I will live among you. (The presence of obedience).

1 Peter 1:3-11 should become a dedicated study for every believer.  Through God’s Divine Power and Immeasurable Grace, we Have Been Given everything necessary for life and godliness.   That has come through the rich knowledge of Jesus. (Not knowing about Him but knowing Him.)

Through Power and Grace, we have the Promises which enable us to:

• Partake of the Divine Nature. (That deals with the sin problem).
• Deliverance from fleshly desires.
• Enables us to become.

Our assignment or responsibility is – “Make every effort to do several things.”  This all flows out of salvation faith.   Notice the progression: We add excellence (moral excellence or virtue).   To that, we add knowledge (intimacy with God).  To that we add self-control (discipline).   To that, we add perseverance.   To that we add godliness (shun the very appearance of evil). To that we add brotherly affection, unselfish love (agape).

If those are developed and increasing, we will be enabled to be effective and productive in our pursuit of knowing Jesus intimately!   But if we do not, we reveal a destructive blindness and evidence that we do not have a memorial marker reminding us of what God has done in us.  We lose sight of the Cross and grace.

If we dedicate ourselves to these things and that level of knowing, we will never stumble. (Verse 10).  This is a portal or entrance into the eternal kingdom of God, and Jesus will make the journey with us. (Verse 11).

Keeping in mind that there is an eternal judgment and reward, 2 Peter 3:11 asks, “With that in mind, How Should We Conduct Ourselves?”   God gives us a pathway to peace and His presence.   He provides a pathway to stability. Our task is to turn our whole hearts to Him. 

Jesus, I ask You to take us by the hand and lead us out of this darkness into Your marvelous light.

2 Samuel 12:7 – “Nathan then said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘It is I who anointed you king over Israel and it is I who delivered you from the hand of Saul.”

As I read, prayed, and mused on the Word of God today, my heart was awed by God’s incredible grace! I saw His desire and disdain.  I saw His keys to blessing and causes for curses.  I saw His purpose for His people and our part in participation.   It would be impossible in a short text to detail it all, so let it suffice to see some highlights, hopefully inspiring each one to dig deeper into the treasure mine of God’s grace and revelation.

In 2 Samuel 11, the tragic story of David, Bathsheba, and her husband Uriah is presented.   It is a contrast of integrity (Uriah) and lust (David).   In 2 Samuel 12:7, Nathan the prophet confronts David’s sin: “You are the man.” David repented, but verse 12 reveals God’s curse: the sword will never depart from your house.  Sin has a lasting effect even after forgiveness. (Reap what we sow).

This declaration of God bears fruit in Amnon, then in Absalom. Absalom nurtured hate for two full years, then it became murder and later rebellion!

How do we combat and guard against the power of the flesh?  One key is found in 1 Peter 1:22: we purify our souls by obeying the truth.  That requires us to actively focus on Christ and definitively take steps to rid ourselves of even the appearance of evil, reject all deceit (manipulation and misrepresentation), avoid hypocrisy (be honest about everything), guard against envy (learn contentment and be who we are), and never engage in slander.   Instead, yearn for Spiritual truth like a newborn yearns for milk.

1 Peter 3:8-9 lists life objectives in interpersonal relationships that enhance our relationship with God. Harmonious, sympathetic, affectionate, compassionate, and humble, not retaliatory.

A major key is 1 Peter 4:1 – Arm ourselves with the mind of Christ.  Think and act like Jesus!  The best way to achieve that is to never allow an instant reaction out of pride or because we think we must defend ourselves.  Stop, look, and listen – What would Jesus do?   That’s more than a catchy fad or cliché; it is a safety valve opening the door to peace and victory. Overcome by submitting ourselves to God and resisting the devil.  We can because Jesus did! Christ IN us enables us to live as overcomers!

It is a choice and a process! Make the choice!   God’s Grace is Amazing!

James 1:2-8 – “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, ³ knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. ⁴ And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.  ⁵ But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. ⁶ But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. ⁷ For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, ⁸ being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”

As I read, prayed, and pondered the Word of God today, I encountered several misunderstandings in Bible interpretation prevalent in the church. It troubled me that I, too, have been guilty.  I will address some of them as I lay out what captivated my heart today.

If we read James 1:2-8 in a cursory reading without deeper thought, we come away with a misconception that trials automatically enable us to endure. In the whole of Scripture, we are taught that we repeat the tests until we pass them, and that produces the ability and desire to endure.  Trials have a purpose; they are not random attacks.

Endurance brings us to a new level of spiritual maturity that opens the storehouse of God’s wisdom and gives no breeding ground for doubt.  Doubt is a dam in the pipeline and springs forth from having two minds (Focus is the key).   It is impossible for faith and trust to thrive in a seedbed that is on God one moment and the flesh the next; that is being Double-minded.

The source of temptation is the self.   In verse 15, we read, “Then when desire conceives, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is full-grown, it gives birth to death.”   You can’t have conception without copulation. Keep that in mind.  James 2 speaks of faith and works. If we can receive it, faith, by its definition, demands action.   Faith (trust implemented) is an active application of the word.

There is more, but I offer this in conclusion: You have not because you ask not.   This verse is, in my view, misapplied.  We make it about general praying and answers to prayer. Consider the context.

Conflicts and quarrels, discord and disharmony are conditions that can only exist where the flesh rules and influences.  The implied question was, “How do we have peace and harmony? Why don’t we have it?”   The response was, because…

Because we are either not asking for God’s help from a surrendered heart, or our motives are impure. You want peace and harmony your way!   It is

not genuine peace but peace that gets you your way. It is selfishness!

Pride is one of our biggest obstacles in life.  To be an overcomer, we must submit to God Everything!   We must pursue God with our whole heart.  The promise is that if we make God our goal, He makes us His.  In that state of surrender, we are to and can resist the devil, and because of our authority and identity, he has to and will run like a scared jackrabbit.

The Promise and Provision are ours; receive them.   Keep looking; redemption is drawing near!

1 Samuel 30:6 – “David was very upset, for the men were thinking of stoning him; each man grieved bitterly over his sons and daughters. But David drew strength from the Lord his God.”

As I read, prayed, and meditated on the Word of God today, the rubber met the road in my heart and mind.   I began in 1 Samuel 30:6, where in a difficult time, “David drew strength from the LORD His God.”   

That was his key and our pathway to becoming who God designed us to be.    We try and try and try and fail because our strength, wisdom, ability, or position can never prevail over the forces of darkness and life’s challenges.   But we try!  We keep trying to be by doing.   We eat from the wrong tree!

In Hebrews 11:1, we have a simple definition or explanation of faith.   We make it mystical or magical and succumb to the pride of self-producing.  Faith IS!

Faith is what?   Faith is being sure (certain) of what we hope for.  The question is, what do we hope for?  What do we long for?  What do we crave?   What is God’s Promise?  

Faith is being convinced (unshakably certain and confident) of what we do not see.  It is a matter of: God said that it’s not visible, but because God said it, we see it, believe it, expect it, and receive it.   Convinced!   Unshakably certain. 

Hebrews 11 is a record or reminder of God’s faithfulness and the fruit of trust and obedience even when you can’t see it!   Consider the power, purpose, and benefit of discipline.    What does that have to do with faith?  Everything!   Discipline molds us into His image, and in that relationship, faith is the air we breathe.   Hebrews 12:7 – “Endure your suffering as discipline.”   No, every trial is not chastisement, but there is a lesson in every trial.

Hebrews 13 begins with Paul’s final instructions on how to live and live in faith.  Love one another and be hospitable (opens the door to divine encounters).  Focus on others, not just our needs, for that is the heart of Jesus.   Then, out of the blue, he inserts the sanctity of marriage and marital intimacy.  Why?   To remind us that human marriage is a type of our relationship with Christ and to defile that is to trample Christ’s blood underfoot. 

Hebrews 13:8 is not a standalone verse.  Jesus is the same eternally; therefore, we must live in purity because He is eternally pure and our example.   He is our pattern. 

Hebrews 13:20-21 – Through Christ Be!   Take all your sins, baggage, doubts, and fears outside the camp and nail them to the Cross.  

Don’t be an Esau and sell out for anything.   What will we sell out for?  A drink, a drug, a fling, a dollar?  What?   Nothing is worth our eternal soul.  Therefore, no discipline is too harsh.  Only Jesus!

LORD, You are our strength; help us to learn to draw strength from You!

1 Samuel 11:6 – “The Spirit of God rushed upon Saul when he heard these words, and he became very angry.”

1 Samuel 15:10-11 – “Then the Lord’s message came to Samuel: ¹¹ “I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned away from me and has not done what I told him to do.” Samuel became angry, and he cried out to the Lord all that night.”

As I read, prayed, and mused on the Word of God today, my heart overflowed. Many things tugged at my heart as reminders and challenges.  Uncontrolled anger is destructive, but Holy Spirit-induced anger is constructive. 1 Samuel 11:6 & 15:11.

Explicit Obedience is the only acceptable response to God.  In 1 Samuel 15:22-23, this is made glaringly clear. God equates ignoring or disobeying His commands with rebellion and compares it to divination and witchcraft. It is rejected. It cost Saul the kingdom.

The Anointing brings empowerment to serve!  1 Samuel 16:12-13, “The Spirit of the LORD rushed on David from that day forward.”   The word rushed means to be empowered!

The focus is the foundation of faith.   Faith enables us to perform the purposes of God.  1 Samuel 17:32-42, David & Goliath operated with two opposing focuses. Goliath viewed things in the natural; David viewed things in the supernatural. Goliath focused on his ability; David on God’s.

The key is what we focus on. David’s focus gave him faith, which enabled him to declare the finish from the start. (1 Samuel 17:45-47.)   We can’t have the faith needed to fulfill God’s purposes if we focus incorrectly or divide our focus. David declared the end before the battle began. He went into battle victorious. How do we go in? Most go hopeful and even wishful, not assured!

Focus is the seedbed for faith.  Faith is the fuel for the fight.  Hebrews 10:35-36 reminds us that we have to finish the race to receive the prize. Focus enables and inspires us to persevere to the end!

LORD, help us to become inspired to be angry at the things we should be angry at and focus on the task at hand!