One of the saddest sections in the Bible to me is the first half of 1 Kings. This story starts strong with Solomon becoming king and praying for wisdom. The temple is built and furnished because God has selected Jerusalem as the place He will dwell. Solomon's prayer of dedication and the sacrifices he makes and God's response to them is inspiring. God pours out His blessing on Solomon so that he is the wisest - and richest - man in the world. All Israel sees peace and prosperity like never before.
But then Solomon grows old. And because he had sinned by marrying women God had forbidden, those women enticed Solomon away from God to worship the gods of their ancestors. This sin angered the Lord and He tore the kingdom away from Solomon. This tearing away also tore apart the country and Israel became a divided kingdom during the reign of Solomon's son.
After this division, Asa King of Judah reigned 41 years and "the heart of Asa was wholly true to the Lord all his days". In Israel, however, king after king "did evil in the sight of the Lord". There is war and betrayal and murder. One king ruled only 7 days before being murdered.
And it all started because Solomon did not finish well. So that is a huge question for me as I get older. How will I finish? Will I finish well or go down in flames of disgrace taking family and friends with me?
It might be easy to think I'm not anyone special like Solomon; I'm no ruler, no one particularly important. But I do have influence on those around me, on my children and grandchildren, on people I work and volunteer with, on those who cross my path by God's design. So it is important, not only for my sake but for those around me, that I finish well.
And how DO I finish well? Bible and prayer; prayer and Bible. Along with loving friends who are following Christ too and are willing to speak truth into my life.
Friday, July 27, 2012
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
I'd Bet It's God
I've been watching a lot of NOVA on PBS. Although a lot of what they show is completely beyond my intelligence level, I find it fascinating. Lately they have been having a series of programs on space...the Hubble telescope, black holes, dark energy, string theory, and the origin of time. The more I watch these shows the more I want to say you just don't get it do you?
As they speak of the theories of the beginnings and endings of the universe, the vastness and beauty of it all, whether the universe is expanding or contracting, what holds it all together, it just reinforces in my mind the absolute certainty of a creator. And not just any creator but THE Creator, the God of the Bible. "My hand laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand spread out the heavens; when I call to them, they stand forth together." Isaiah 48:13
One of the things discovered in the last few years is something the scientists call dark energy. They have discovered that space is not empty. In fact they stated over 70% of space is filled with an energy they don't understand and can't identify although they can recognize some of it's effects.
Scientists are baffled by this energy but I immediately thought of Genesis 1:1-2. "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters." I'd bet that "dark energy" that fills up 70% of the universe, that controls the expansion of the universe, is the Spirit of God that was hovering in the beginning.
In one show questions were about how it will end. Will it all implode or explode? Will the stars fall out of the sky? And I'm thinking, yep, I don't know when or even how but I do know the stars will fall from the sky. "...the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky..." Matthew 24:29
It seems the more the scientists study the more they don't know. I enjoy their curiosity and their study and their theories. They don't expound any religious beliefs on these scientific shows but I would hope all this study leads these scientists to thoughts of the Creator. For me, the more I watch the more I believe that something so vast, so colorful, so unexplainable shouts of the glory and majesty of God. "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims His handiwork." Psalm 19:1
As they speak of the theories of the beginnings and endings of the universe, the vastness and beauty of it all, whether the universe is expanding or contracting, what holds it all together, it just reinforces in my mind the absolute certainty of a creator. And not just any creator but THE Creator, the God of the Bible. "My hand laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand spread out the heavens; when I call to them, they stand forth together." Isaiah 48:13
One of the things discovered in the last few years is something the scientists call dark energy. They have discovered that space is not empty. In fact they stated over 70% of space is filled with an energy they don't understand and can't identify although they can recognize some of it's effects.
Scientists are baffled by this energy but I immediately thought of Genesis 1:1-2. "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters." I'd bet that "dark energy" that fills up 70% of the universe, that controls the expansion of the universe, is the Spirit of God that was hovering in the beginning.
In one show questions were about how it will end. Will it all implode or explode? Will the stars fall out of the sky? And I'm thinking, yep, I don't know when or even how but I do know the stars will fall from the sky. "...the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky..." Matthew 24:29
It seems the more the scientists study the more they don't know. I enjoy their curiosity and their study and their theories. They don't expound any religious beliefs on these scientific shows but I would hope all this study leads these scientists to thoughts of the Creator. For me, the more I watch the more I believe that something so vast, so colorful, so unexplainable shouts of the glory and majesty of God. "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims His handiwork." Psalm 19:1
God Delights in Me
In 2 Samuel 22 there is a song King David wrote after God rescued him from his enemies and from Saul. It's a classic hymn of David, "The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge, my savior; you save me from violence. I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies." (ESV)
This is a long song but the part that really struck me was in verse 20 when David declares, "...[God] recused me because he delights in me." That statement is enough to make me fall down in wonder and praise because that is true for me as well.
How amazing is it that God rescued me by sending Jesus because God delights in me? How do I know He delights in me? He's engraved me on the palm of His hand (Isaiah 49:15-16). He rejoices over me with singing (Zephaniah 3:17). He gives me gifts (Ephesians 2:8; James 1:17; Acts 2:38; Romans 6:23; John 3:16). He loved me when I didn't love Him (1 John 4:10; Romans 5:10).
I am so thankful that I don't have to earn God's love; I don't have to earn my salvation. I'm too frail, too weak, too sinful, too human to be able to ever be good enough to earn my way to God. The greatest proof of God's delight is that He knows all that so He came to me because I couldn't get to Him on my own.
This is a long song but the part that really struck me was in verse 20 when David declares, "...[God] recused me because he delights in me." That statement is enough to make me fall down in wonder and praise because that is true for me as well.
How amazing is it that God rescued me by sending Jesus because God delights in me? How do I know He delights in me? He's engraved me on the palm of His hand (Isaiah 49:15-16). He rejoices over me with singing (Zephaniah 3:17). He gives me gifts (Ephesians 2:8; James 1:17; Acts 2:38; Romans 6:23; John 3:16). He loved me when I didn't love Him (1 John 4:10; Romans 5:10).
I am so thankful that I don't have to earn God's love; I don't have to earn my salvation. I'm too frail, too weak, too sinful, too human to be able to ever be good enough to earn my way to God. The greatest proof of God's delight is that He knows all that so He came to me because I couldn't get to Him on my own.
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