Meditation

04/27/2022

“When Hiram heard Solomon’s message, he was greatly pleased and said, ‘Praise be to the Lord today, for he has given David a wise son to rule over this great nation.” (1^st Kings 5:7)

It might be that King Hiram of Tyre was being polite, but given the facts that Solomon had prayed to God for wisdom and guidance to govern Israel in a manner to honor Israel and God, I tend to think that once Hiram heard Solomon speak as a king that sought to honor God and to work side by side with Hiram’s men to rebuild and restore that which had been torn down during numerous wars. I think he was impressed and filled with hope for the future.

PRAYER FOR THE DAY:

Precious Abba, today we recognize the gift of real leadership. The message that we take out into the world is not much different than in King Solomon’s day. We must rebuild the strength our faith by restoring the church to a place of worship and not an entertainment center for the people. Then, we must reaffirm the church’s belief in missionary work, both at home and abroad. We have much, dear Abba, to restore in your churches, in the community’s we live in as well as sending missionaries out into the world, to help people with the basics of life and to continue to preach the message of salvation. Today we also pray those who are suffering in body, mind, and/or spirit, with friends, family, for those we don’t know, especially the people in Ukraine, as they are fighting for their very lives and way of life. Amen

THOUGHT OF THE DAY:

“Be content with whose you are, but never with what you can become.”

KNOWING GOD:

“Praise be to the Lord your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on his throne as king to rule for the Lord your God. Because of the love of your God for Israel and his desire to uphold them forever, he has made you king over them, to maintain justice and righteousness.” (2^nd Chronicles 9:8)

God wanted Israel to point the nations of the world to Yahweh. Those who preach in our churches, the congregation with the responsibility to go out into the world they live and work in, and the missionaries that we send both at home and abroad, are to continually point all honor and glory to our Father in Heaven and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, following the Holy Spirit to guide our minds and our mouths. This our number one priority.

I AM:

“Moreover, I hereby decree what you are to do for these elders of the Jews in the construction of this house of God: ‘The expenses of these men are to be fully paid out of the royal treasury, from the revenues of Trans-Euphrates, so that the work will not stop. Whatever is needed—-young bulls, rams, male lambs for burnt offerings to the God of heaven, and wheat, salt, wine and oil, as requested by the priests in Jerusalem—-must be given them daily without fail, so that they may offer sacrifices pleasing to the God of heaven and pray for the well-being of the king and his sons. May God, who has caused his Name to dwell there, overthrow any king or people who lifts a hand to change this decree or to destroy this temple in Jerusalem. I Darius have decreed it. Let it be carried out with diligence.’” (Ezra 6:8-10, 12)

History records that Darius and Cyrus deferred to the gods of he vassal nations of Persia. Arius realized the value of prayer to Israel’s God. These foreign kings did not believe in the uniqueness of the God of Israel, but God makes even pagan rulers serve His purposes.

2ND THOUGHT OF THE DAY:

“After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, ‘Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.’” (Matthew 2:1-2)

These Magi or astrologers or whatever their office, were Gentiles. They perceived that God was manifesting Himself uniquely within the Jewish tradition. Jesus’ coming made clear God’s open door policy to all peoples. The plan was perfect, but not all believed and Herod murdered a lot of children to keep the new king from replacing him. This reveals the level of faith that Herod had, as he saw himself as the true king and how wrong he turned out to be!