The Holy Bible: The Good news Translation

1 Ki 11:9–11 (Key verses)

^9–10 Even though the LORD, the God of Israel, had appeared to Solomon twice and had commanded him not to worship foreign gods, Solomon did not obey the LORD, but turned away from him. So the LORD was angry with Solomon
¹¹ and said to him, “Because you have deliberately broken your covenant with me and disobeyed my commands, I promise that I will take the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your officials.

³⁹ Because of Solomon’s sin I will punish the descendants of David, but not for all time.

^14:9 You have committed far greater sins than those who ruled before you. You have rejected me and have aroused my anger by making idols and metal images to worship. Because of this I will bring disaster on your dynasty and will kill all your male descendants, young and old alike. I will get rid of your family; they will be swept away like dung.

My Thoughts:
(How Can I apply what God is saying here to my life today?)

I believe that the thing that bothered me most while growing up, was to disappoint my parents or those that may have had charge over me at the time. I always wanted them to be proud of me, and not feel let down because of something I may have done or said. In the chapters I studied today I was vividly reminded that my Heavenly Father is much the same way. He had promised so much to David, then He promised so much to his son Solomon. However, He was up front about what He promised them. He said that they would be blessed IF they are obedient. Like us, Solomon must have thought that his blessings were self-earned and that he couldn’t be touched, so he went off in his own direction doing his own thing. We generally have the same misfortune as he had – anytime we decide to do our own thing, it means that we are not doing God’s will. Friend, I was reminded about how this must hurt my Father. He sacrificed His only begotten Son (Jesus) and allowed Him to suffer and be humiliated, and die on a cruel old cross, so that I might have a better life. The hope of glory – in heaven with Him when I graduate from this world! But imagine hurting such a loving Father? And that is exactly what happens when we deliberately turn from God, disobey Him, go our own way, do our own thing, disregard His love. Wow, what an eye opener to the things that I do or say that may not be in line with God’s Word – the Bible. Friend, examine yourself and decide to correct your ways also today, if you are weak and disobedient like I am at times. Let’s rededicate our lives to serving our Master! Let’s ask for help to be obedient servants of the King. Ones He could be proud of, and continue to bless.

My Prayer
(What I will ask of God, in order for me to properly apply His Word to my life)

Lord Jesus, You have heard my heart in my above thoughts and I sincerely need Your help in being dedicated to serving You with all of my fiber through my actions, my words and my obedience. May my life be pleasing in Your sight through everything that I am about. I cannot judge my friends, but I pray that as they meditate on this devotional, that they would examine their own lives in light of Your Word and that they will individually get their lives in order also. Our wicked world needs to see more examples of You so that they can be drawn to You, please begin this process through me and any friend that asks for the same after meditating on this devotional.

 

**Words underlined may be a hyperlink to a song that God laid on my heart while sharing this devotional this morning. Click it and be blessed by the song, like I was when I listened to it! …… I would be overjoyed to have the opportunity to pray with you about a need in your life that may, or may not have been highlighted by this Nugget today. Why not drop me a note and tell me about it? You may email me at:
nuggetsfromgodsword@yahoo.com
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