1 Kings 11 as the bible reading and then devotionals

Click to hear God's teachings.
Max Lucado Daily: Keep Your Gaze on Jesus

Whether or not storms come, we cannot choose.  But where we stare during a storm, that we can!

In the doctor’s office, I quickly noticed the abundant harvest of diplomas.  I’m in good hands, I thought.  His nurse entered and handed me a sheet of paper.  Contrary winds began to blow.  Unwelcome words like atrial fibrillation, arrhythmia, bloodclot.  What happened to my peace?

I changed strategies.  I counteracted diagnosis with diplomas.  I looked at the wall for reminders of good news.

That’s what God wants us to do.  God’s call to courage isn’t a call to naiveté or ignorance.  We aren’t to be oblivious to the challenges.  We’re to counterbalance them with long looks at God’s accomplishments.  Hebrews says, “Pay much closer attention to what we’ve heard, so that we do not drift away from it.”

Do whatever it takes to keep your gaze on Jesus!

1 Kings 11

Solomon’s Wives

11 King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh’s daughter—Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites. 2 They were from nations about which the Lord had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods.” Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love. 3 He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray. 4 As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been. 5 He followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molek the detestable god of the Ammonites. 6 So Solomon did evil in the eyes of the Lord; he did not follow the Lord completely, as David his father had done.

7 On a hill east of Jerusalem, Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the detestable god of Moab, and for Molek the detestable god of the Ammonites. 8 He did the same for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and offered sacrifices to their gods.

9 The Lord became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. 10 Although he had forbidden Solomon to follow other gods, Solomon did not keep the Lord’s command. 11 So the Lord said to Solomon, “Since this is your attitude and you have not kept my covenant and my decrees, which I commanded you, I will most certainly tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your subordinates. 12 Nevertheless, for the sake of David your father, I will not do it during your lifetime. I will tear it out of the hand of your son. 13 Yet I will not tear the whole kingdom from him, but will give him one tribe for the sake of David my servant and for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen.”

Solomon’s Adversaries

14 Then the Lord raised up against Solomon an adversary, Hadad the Edomite, from the royal line of Edom. 15 Earlier when David was fighting with Edom, Joab the commander of the army, who had gone up to bury the dead, had struck down all the men in Edom. 16 Joab and all the Israelites stayed there for six months, until they had destroyed all the men in Edom. 17 But Hadad, still only a boy, fled to Egypt with some Edomite officials who had served his father. 18 They set out from Midian and went to Paran. Then taking people from Paran with them, they went to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt, who gave Hadad a house and land and provided him with food.

19 Pharaoh was so pleased with Hadad that he gave him a sister of his own wife, Queen Tahpenes, in marriage. 20 The sister of Tahpenes bore him a son named Genubath, whom Tahpenes brought up in the royal palace. There Genubath lived with Pharaoh’s own children.

21 While he was in Egypt, Hadad heard that David rested with his ancestors and that Joab the commander of the army was also dead. Then Hadad said to Pharaoh, “Let me go, that I may return to my own country.”

22 “What have you lacked here that you want to go back to your own country?” Pharaoh asked.

“Nothing,” Hadad replied, “but do let me go!”

23 And God raised up against Solomon another adversary, Rezon son of Eliada, who had fled from his master, Hadadezer king of Zobah. 24 When David destroyed Zobah’s army, Rezon gathered a band of men around him and became their leader; they went to Damascus, where they settled and took control. 25 Rezon was Israel’s adversary as long as Solomon lived, adding to the trouble caused by Hadad. So Rezon ruled in Aram and was hostile toward Israel.

Jeroboam Rebels Against Solomon

26 Also, Jeroboam son of Nebat rebelled against the king. He was one of Solomon’s officials, an Ephraimite from Zeredah, and his mother was a widow named Zeruah.

27 Here is the account of how he rebelled against the king: Solomon had built the terraces[l] and had filled in the gap in the wall of the city of David his father. 28 Now Jeroboam was a man of standing, and when Solomon saw how well the young man did his work, he put him in charge of the whole labor force of the tribes of Joseph.

29 About that time Jeroboam was going out of Jerusalem, and Ahijah the prophet of Shiloh met him on the way, wearing a new cloak. The two of them were alone out in the country, 30 and Ahijah took hold of the new cloak he was wearing and tore it into twelve pieces. 31 Then he said to Jeroboam, “Take ten pieces for yourself, for this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘See, I am going to tear the kingdom out of Solomon’s hand and give you ten tribes. 32 But for the sake of my servant David and the city of Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, he will have one tribe. 33 I will do this because they have[m] forsaken me and worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Molek the god of the Ammonites, and have not walked in obedience to me, nor done what is right in my eyes, nor kept my decrees and laws as David, Solomon’s father, did.

34 “‘But I will not take the whole kingdom out of Solomon’s hand; I have made him ruler all the days of his life for the sake of David my servant, whom I chose and who obeyed my commands and decrees. 35 I will take the kingdom from his son’s hands and give you ten tribes. 36 I will give one tribe to his son so that David my servant may always have a lamp before me in Jerusalem, the city where I chose to put my Name. 37 However, as for you, I will take you, and you will rule over all that your heart desires; you will be king over Israel. 38 If you do whatever I command you and walk in obedience to me and do what is right in my eyes by obeying my decrees and commands, as David my servant did, I will be with you. I will build you a dynasty as enduring as the one I built for David and will give Israel to you. 39 I will humble David’s descendants because of this, but not forever.’”

40 Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam, but Jeroboam fled to Egypt, to Shishak the king, and stayed there until Solomon’s death.

Solomon’s Death

41 As for the other events of Solomon’s reign—all he did and the wisdom he displayed—are they not written in the book of the annals of Solomon? 42 Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years. 43 Then he rested with his ancestors and was buried in the city of David his father. And Rehoboam his son succeeded him as king.


Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Read: Psalm 145

A psalm of praise. A psalm of David.

 1 I will honor you, my God the King.
      I will praise your name for ever and ever.
 2 Every day I will praise you.
      I will praise your name for ever and ever.
 3 Lord, you are great. You are really worthy of praise.
      No one can completely understand how great you are.
 4 Parents will praise your works to their children.
      They will tell about your mighty acts.
 5 They will speak about your glorious majesty.
      I will spend time thinking about your miracles.
 6 They will speak about the powerful and wonderful things you do.
      I will talk about the great things you have done.
 7 They will celebrate your great goodness.
      They will sing with joy about your holy acts.
 8 The Lord is gracious. He is kind and tender.
      He is slow to get angry. He is full of love.
 9 The Lord is good to all.
      He shows deep concern for everything he has made.
 10 Lord, every living thing you have made will praise you.
      Your faithful people will praise you.
 11 They will tell about your glorious kingdom.
      They will speak about your power.
 12 Then all people will know about the mighty things you have done.
      They will know about the glorious majesty of your kingdom.
 13 Your kingdom is a kingdom that will last forever.
      Your rule will continue for all time to come.
   The Lord is faithful and will keep all of his promises.
      He is loving toward everything he has made.
 14 The Lord takes good care of all those who fall.
      He lifts up all those who feel helpless.
 15 Every living thing looks to you for food.
      You give it to them exactly when they need it.
 16 You open your hand
      and satisfy the needs of every living creature.
 17 The Lord is right in everything he does.
      He is loving toward everything he has made.
 18 The Lord is ready to help all those who call out to him.
      He helps those who really mean it when they call out to him.
 19 He satisfies the needs of those who have respect for him.
      He hears their cry and saves them.
 20 The Lord watches over all those who love him.
      But he will destroy all sinful people.
 21 I will praise the Lord with my mouth.
      Let every creature praise his holy name
      for ever and ever.

Seeing Near And Far

May 15, 2012 — by Julie Ackerman Link

The Lord is near to all who call upon Him. —Psalm 145:18

Having two healthy eyes is not enough to see clearly. I know this from experience. After a series of eye surgeries for a torn retina, both eyes could see well but they refused to cooperate with each other. One eye saw things far away and the other saw things close up. But instead of working together, they fought for supremacy. Until I could get new prescription glasses 3 months later, my eyes remained unfocused.

Something similar happens in our view of God. Some people focus better on God when they see Him as “close up”—when they think of Him as intimately present in their daily life. Other Christians see God more clearly as “far away” or far beyond anything we can imagine, ruling the universe in power and majesty.

While people disagree about which view is best, the Bible works like a prescription lens helping us to see that both are correct. King David presents both views in Psalm 145: “The Lord is near to all who call upon Him” (v.18) and “Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and His greatness is unsearchable” (v.3).

Thankfully, our Father in heaven is near to hear our prayers yet so far above us in power that He can meet every need.

Lord, You’re the high and lofty One,
Yet close enough to hear our voice;
You’re powerful, yet personal;
Your love for us makes us rejoice. —Sper
God is big enough to care for the smallest needs.


My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
May 15, 2012

The Habit of Rising to the Occasion

. . . that you may know what is the hope of His calling . . . —Ephesians 1:18

Remember that you have been saved so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in your body (see 2 Corinthians 4:10). Direct the total energy of your powers so that you may achieve everything your election as a child of God provides; rise every time to whatever occasion may come your way.

You did not do anything to achieve your salvation, but you must do something to exhibit it. You must “work out your own salvation” which God has worked in you already (Philippians 2:12). Are your speech, your thinking, and your emotions evidence that you are working it “out”? If you are still the same miserable, grouchy person, set on having your own way, then it is a lie to say that God has saved and sanctified you.

God is the Master Designer, and He allows adversities into your life to see if you can jump over them properly—”By my God I can leap over a wall” (Psalm 18:29). God will never shield you from the requirements of being His son or daughter. First Peter 4:12  says, “Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you . . . .” Rise to the occasion—do what the trial demands of you. It does not matter how much it hurts as long as it gives God the opportunity to manifest the life of Jesus in your body.

May God not find complaints in us anymore, but spiritual vitality—a readiness to face anything He brings our way. The only proper goal of life is that we manifest the Son of God; and when this occurs, all of our dictating of our demands to God disappears. Our Lord never dictated demands to His Father, and neither are we to make demands on God. We are here to submit to His will so that He may work through us what He wants. Once we realize this, He will make us broken bread and poured-out wine with which to feed and nourish others.


A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

A Piece of the Price - #6612

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

I know a teenage guy who's trying to make his dream come true - to have a music group of his own. And so there are four guys spending long evenings - a lot of their weekends - practicing, writing, perfecting, and recording. Their goal is to do a professional recording and see if it can open some doors for them.

Of course, they found one issue that needs to be resolved right up front. See, they need some fairly expensive equipment, plus it's going to cost to get the recording done. So, who's going to pay for all that? Well, obviously, some of the guys have more money than others, but they know that it's only right to divide it equally. So they're all working right now to chip in on that equipment. They basically agreed on a simple principle: It's only fair if we all share the cost.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "A Piece of the Price."

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Philippians 2, and I'll begin reading in verse 5. "Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus." Okay. Well, then he goes on to tell what that attitude is, "Who, being in the very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness, and being found in appearance as a man He humbled himself and became obedient to death, even death on a cross."

Now, when you hear this expression, "Have the same attitude as Jesus" and you ask what attitude, the answer is very clearly spelled out. God was willing to pay a high price to save lost people. Well, here's the question, "Why should God make all the sacrifices?"

See, Christians in other generations have paid for this gospel...for this faith with physical consequences, economic consequences, family persecution, and many have paid with their lives and still are. This very day people are paying with their lives for their allegiance to this Jesus. Why should God's people in other generations make all the sacrifices to reach the lost? Today Christians in many parts of the world are risking everything to stand for the Gospel. Why should God's people in other places make all the sacrifices?

Which brings it to you and me. Should we be getting off this comfortably; this conveniently? So many of us are figuratively speaking, throwing in our few pennies while God and so many of His people have thrown in everything they had to rescue a dying world. There's a world of lost people out there; we're surrounded by them, we know some of them. They're headed for the hell of a Christ-less eternity.


We just can't be content with going to our Christian meetings, giving our little offerings, holding some office, singing our songs, and serving on our committees. This is a costly faith; it's an expensive faith; one for which God's Son gave His life. What are you and I giving? We all have to sacrifice some of our earth loves to reach the people that Christ gave His entire life for. And yet it seems that, we who have more than any other Christians in history, instead of giving more time, and more talent, and more resource, only keep more.

The guys in that music group got it right. It's only fair if we all share the cost.