"And the temple, when it was being built, was built with stone finished at the quarry so that no hammer or chisel or any iron tool was heard in the temple while it was being built." ~ I kings 6:7 Reference: 1 Kings 6:1-7 In the 6th century, Solomon's Temple was called one of the seven wonders of the ancient world (Wikipedia). Its magnificence was such that people came from all over the world to see it. It was the pride of Israel, and it housed the Ark of Covenant, which signified the presence of God. Solomon used the...
“Then it happened, when the musician played, that the hand of the Lord came upon him. And he said, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Make this valley full of ditches.’ For thus says the Lord: ‘You shall not see wind, nor shall you see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water….” ~ II Kings 3:15-18 REFERENCE: II Kings 3:8-20 The kings of Israel and Judah, Jehoram and Jehoshaphat, allied to fight against the Moabites to crush their rebellion. After a session of military strategy and projection, they concluded that they would make an incursion on Moab through the...
"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you." ~ Matthew 7:7 REFERENCE: Matthew 7:7-11 God extends an invitation and a blank check to us in this verse. It is an invitation to come to God in prayers and supplication; it is a blank check because there are no restrictions to what we can pray for. The strength of the invitation to prayer is in the acronym, 'A.S.K.' 'A' for ask, 'S' for seek, and 'K' for knock. The acronym captures what God expects us to do in prayers...
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” ~ II Timothy 1:7 REFERENCE: I II Timothy 1:3-7 Fear is a damaging emotion to man. Fear can stop your ability to think or act or, at best, make you act irrationally. It is satan’s greatest weapon against man. If satan is allowed to inject fear in the heart, his work is done; a cycle of negative thoughts, hopelessness, worry, paranoia, etc., will begin; such a person will end up sabotaging himself. Job said, “the thing I greatly...
"Therefore, I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on…" – Matthew 6:25 REFERENCE: Matthew 6:25-34 It is important to God that you do not worry about the details of your life. Worry is detrimental to your general well-being, so Jesus repeated, "Do not worry" three times in these few verses. We live in an uncertain world where most of the things we respond to are other people's fault – their decisions or choices; hence, we are prone to anxiety...
"Now when Abner had returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside in the gate to speak with him privately, and there stabbed him in the stomach, so that he died for the blood of Asahel his brother." ~ II Samuel 3:27 REFERENCE: II Samuel 3:22-30 Joab deceitfully lured Abner from the well of Sirah. He tricked him into thinking King David had information from him, and he caused him to depart from his course, eventually leading to his death. Joab’s quest for revenge and his despicable nature led him to shed the blood of war in a time of...
"Those in the crowd were indignant and scolded him for making so much of a disturbance, but he kept shouting with all his might, “Son of David, have mercy on me now and heal me!” ~ Mark 10:48 TPT REFERENCE: Mark 10: 46-52 Timai (Aramaic) was his name, and it means ‘highly prized’ or ‘honored,' but he was not at a location that befit his name. He was a blind beggar, sitting at the side of the road outside the village, wrapped in his beggar’s cloak. There was nothing that looked honorable at that season of Timai’s life....
“Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.” ~ Isaiah 60:1 REFERENCE: Isaiah 60:1-5 Yesterday we began paying close attention to the verse above and its instructions. The first was to ARISE, and the second was SHINE. It is also a command! 'SHINE' is an action; it is a verb. The following describes what it means to SHINE: 1. To emit or reflect light to glow. 2. To distinguish oneself, to excel 3. To be immediately apparent 4. To be eminent, conspicuous. Light has come, and we are to shine. We...
“Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you.” Isaiah 60:1 REFERENCE: Isaiah 60:1-5 This famous Bible verse forms the lyrics of gospel songs we may have sung at different times without paying attention to what we are saying. Today, we are going to pay attention to the verse and receive the instructions in it. Yes, it is a command! ‘ARISE’ denotes an action. It is a verb. These three dictionary definitions reflect this: 1. To come up from a lower to a higher position 2. To come up or get up...
"So, David sent and inquired about the woman. And someone said, "Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?". ~ II Samuel 11:3 REFERENCE: II Samuel 11:1-5 God has given us freedom in Christ. He made us free-moral agents to choose and do what we consider to serve our purpose. We have the freedom of expression, acquisition, and association. However, your freedom stops wherever it infringes on another person's rights or stops them from enjoying their freedom. Although we are free, we must respect boundaries. Freedom without boundaries is hazardous. Suppose you can...