The Bible – Good News Translation

1 Kings 8:23

…there is no god like you in heaven above or on earth below! You keep your covenant with your people and show them your love when they live in wholehearted obedience to you.

My Thoughts:

So often I hear servants of God speak about God not being a puppet for us. In other words, he is not a genie just waiting on our next command, especially when we live like the devil. In the scripture today, Solomon was dedicating the awesome temple he had made, and he was well aware of God’s direction and help all through the construction, so at the conclusion he had a serious prayer to God. As part of his praise time in that prayer, Solomon thanked God for keeping His covenant with His people and showing His love to them, but then comes the kicker – WHEN they live in wholehearted obedience to God. I always like to look at the words of a verse and think about the opposite effect. First of all, if they are not obedient God will not keep His end of the bargain. I believe there are many examples in scripture that show proof of this. But God spoke to me through this, and showed me that when things appear to be going sideways, or backwards for me and my back seems to be against the wall with no place to go, I need to re-examine my life, my obedience factor, my relationship with God. In other words, I need revival in my life. So often we blame these type things on Satan, or tough times, or the government, or a thousand other reasons, but friend, these type indicators may very well be God trying to get our attention so that we could redirect our lives towards Him. Where are you at today friend? Is God truly in control and receiving your full obedience? Perhaps this might be a good reality check time for you! Draw close to God, and He will draw close to you, friend.

My Prayer:

Father, You have provided so much for me and continue to watch over me every day. You have given me the roadmap of where You would have me go, You have provided the power source – through Your precious Son, and the direction all throughout Your Word, like in this prayer of Solomon’s today. You have promised me a wonderful home in glory, with You! Please get my attention each time that You see me getting off track, and help me stay focused on the things that really matter – Your commands and imitating Your character. Your covenant is key to my Christian life, please help me to keep my end of the covenant at all times. Lord Jesus, it is also important to me that my friends are where they need to be in You, so as they meditate on this devotional today, please convict them of any area of their life that need attention so that they may also receive Your blessings.

**If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@yahoo.com so that we can pray with you and give you help and or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Any words underlined above will indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray.