Promised Land people say I'm a victor in spite of my surroundings. Wilderness people say These are difficult days and I'll never get through them. But God's people say, These days are Glory Days…and God will get me through!
John 1:12 says, "Yet to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God." Imagine what would happen if a generation of Christians lived out of their inheritance. The lonely would find comfort in God, not in the arms of strangers. Struggling couples would spend more time in prayer and less time in anger. And children would consider it a blessing to care for their aging parents.
Paul said, "I can do all things through Christ, because He gives me strength" (Philippians 4:13). Join me in claiming your inheritance in a special 4-week journey of scripture memory at GloryDaysToday.com!
Claim Your Inheritance
We are in the middle of our 4 week Scripture Memory Challenge. This week's verse is John 1:12."Yet to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God."
Claim your inheritance! As a child of God you have the power of God in you to fight any battle you face. He set us free so he could raise us up. The gift has been given. Will you trust it?
God said to Joshua, "Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses." The people of Moses' day chose the wilderness. Don't make the same mistake! Joshua didn't. He took God at his word and set about the task of inheriting the land! I encourage you to do the same!
1 Kings 4
Solomon’s Officials and Governors
King Solomon now ruled over all Israel, 2 and these were his high officials:
Azariah son of Zadok was the priest.
3 Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha, were court secretaries.
Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was the royal historian.
4 Benaiah son of Jehoiada was commander of the army.
Zadok and Abiathar were priests.
5 Azariah son of Nathan was in charge of the district governors.
Zabud son of Nathan, a priest, was a trusted adviser to the king.
6 Ahishar was manager of the palace property.
Adoniram son of Abda was in charge of forced labor.
7 Solomon also had twelve district governors who were over all Israel. They were responsible for providing food for the king’s household. Each of them arranged provisions for one month of the year. 8 These are the names of the twelve governors:
Ben-hur, in the hill country of Ephraim.
9 Ben-deker, in Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth-shemesh, and Elon-bethhanan.
10 Ben-hesed, in Arubboth, including Socoh and all the land of Hepher.
11 Ben-abinadab, in all of Naphoth-dor.[a] (He was married to Taphath, one of Solomon’s daughters.)
12 Baana son of Ahilud, in Taanach and Megiddo, all of Beth-shan[b] near Zarethan below Jezreel, and all the territory from Beth-shan to Abel-meholah and over to Jokmeam.
13 Ben-geber, in Ramoth-gilead, including the Towns of Jair (named for Jair of the tribe of Manasseh[c]) in Gilead, and in the Argob region of Bashan, including sixty large fortified towns with bronze bars on their gates.
14 Ahinadab son of Iddo, in Mahanaim.
15 Ahimaaz, in Naphtali. (He was married to Basemath, another of Solomon’s daughters.)
16 Baana son of Hushai, in Asher and in Aloth.
17 Jehoshaphat son of Paruah, in Issachar.
18 Shimei son of Ela, in Benjamin.
19 Geber son of Uri, in the land of Gilead,[d] including the territories of King Sihon of the Amorites and King Og of Bashan.
There was also one governor over the land of Judah.[e]
Solomon’s Prosperity and Wisdom
20 The people of Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand on the seashore. They were very contented, with plenty to eat and drink. 21 [f]Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River[g] in the north to the land of the Philistines and the border of Egypt in the south. The conquered peoples of those lands sent tribute money to Solomon and continued to serve him throughout his lifetime.
22 The daily food requirements for Solomon’s palace were 150 bushels of choice flour and 300 bushels of meal[h]; 23 also 10 oxen from the fattening pens, 20 pasture-fed cattle, 100 sheep or goats, as well as deer, gazelles, roe deer, and choice poultry.[i]
24 Solomon’s dominion extended over all the kingdoms west of the Euphrates River, from Tiphsah to Gaza. And there was peace on all his borders. 25 During the lifetime of Solomon, all of Judah and Israel lived in peace and safety. And from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south, each family had its own home and garden.[j]
26 Solomon had 4,000[k] stalls for his chariot horses, and he had 12,000 horses.[l]
27 The district governors faithfully provided food for King Solomon and his court; each made sure nothing was lacking during the month assigned to him. 28 They also brought the necessary barley and straw for the royal horses in the stables.
29 God gave Solomon very great wisdom and understanding, and knowledge as vast as the sands of the seashore. 30 In fact, his wisdom exceeded that of all the wise men of the East and the wise men of Egypt. 31 He was wiser than anyone else, including Ethan the Ezrahite and the sons of Mahol—Heman, Calcol, and Darda. His fame spread throughout all the surrounding nations. 32 He composed some 3,000 proverbs and wrote 1,005 songs. 33 He could speak with authority about all kinds of plants, from the great cedar of Lebanon to the tiny hyssop that grows from cracks in a wall. He could also speak about animals, birds, small creatures, and fish. 34 And kings from every nation sent their ambassadors to listen to the wisdom of Solomon.
Footnotes:
4:11 Hebrew Naphath-dor, a variant spelling of Naphoth-dor.
4:12 Hebrew Beth-shean, a variant spelling of Beth-shan; also in 4:12b.
4:13 Hebrew Jair son of Manasseh; compare 1 Chr 2:22.
4:19a Greek version reads of Gad; compare 4:13.
4:19b As in some Greek manuscripts; Hebrew lacks of Judah. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
4:21a Verses 4:21-34 are numbered 5:1-14 in Hebrew text.
4:21b Hebrew the river; also in 4:24.
4:22 Hebrew 30 cors [6.6 kiloliters] of choice flour and 60 cors [13.2 kiloliters] of meal.
4:23 Or and fattened geese.
4:25 Hebrew each family lived under its own grapevine and under its own fig tree.
4:26a As in some Greek manuscripts (see also 2 Chr 9:25); Hebrew reads 40,000.
4:26b Or 12,000 charioteers.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, September 29, 2015
Read: Isaiah 60:19-22
“No longer will you need the sun to shine by day,
nor the moon to give its light by night,
for the Lord your God will be your everlasting light,
and your God will be your glory.
20 Your sun will never set;
your moon will not go down.
For the Lord will be your everlasting light.
Your days of mourning will come to an end.
21 All your people will be righteous.
They will possess their land forever,
for I will plant them there with my own hands
in order to bring myself glory.
22 The smallest family will become a thousand people,
and the tiniest group will become a mighty nation.
At the right time, I, the Lord, will make it happen.”
INSIGHT:
In today’s passage, Isaiah paints a beautiful picture of what life will be like in God’s eternal kingdom. Using the imagery of light and darkness, Isaiah tells the people of Israel that the presence of God will ensure that their problems will never appear again. It is not that light simply makes problems disappear; it is that in the presence of God, only goodness and righteousness can exist. One day the darkness of our lives will be illuminated by the presence of God. J.R. Hudberg
Piercing the Darkness
By Julie Ackerman Link
The Lord will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory. Isaiah 60:19
I caught my first glimpse of them as a college student. On a frosty, fall night, far from the lights of the city, I was riding on a hay wagon loaded with noisy friends when the sky lit up and colors flashed across the horizon. I was mesmerized. Ever since that night I have been fascinated with the phenomenon called aurora borealis, also known as northern lights. Mostly they are seen far north of where I live, but occasionally they appear in lower latitudes. Having seen them once, I long to see more. Whenever the conditions are favorable, I say to my equally fascinated friends, “Maybe tonight . . .”
Throughout Scripture, light and glory are used to describe the coming of the Lord. A time is coming when the sun and moon will be unnecessary (Isa. 60:19). And in describing God on His throne, the apostle John wrote, “The one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and ruby. A rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne” (Rev. 4:3).
God's glory is a light that pierces through the darkness.
An emerald circle is an apt description of the northern lights. So whenever I see glorious light displays in the skies above—whether in person or via picture or video—I think of it as a foretaste of what is to come, and I praise God that even now His glory pierces the darkness.
Lord, the world around us is sometimes so dark that it is difficult to see Your power and goodness. Thank You for the reminders that the darkness does not and will not last forever. Help us wait with great expectation for the day when we will see You on Your throne.
Jesus came to give light to a dark world.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, September 29, 2015
The Awareness of the Call
…for necessity is laid upon me; yes, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel! —1 Corinthians 9:16
We are inclined to forget the deeply spiritual and supernatural touch of God. If you are able to tell exactly where you were when you received the call of God and can explain all about it, I question whether you have truly been called. The call of God does not come like that; it is much more supernatural. The realization of the call in a person’s life may come like a clap of thunder or it may dawn gradually. But however quickly or slowly this awareness comes, it is always accompanied with an undercurrent of the supernatural— something that is inexpressible and produces a “glow.” At any moment the sudden awareness of this incalculable, supernatural, surprising call that has taken hold of your life may break through— “I chose you…” (John 15:16). The call of God has nothing to do with salvation and sanctification. You are not called to preach the gospel because you are sanctified; the call to preach the gospel is infinitely different. Paul describes it as a compulsion that was placed upon him.
If you have ignored, and thereby removed, the great supernatural call of God in your life, take a review of your circumstances. See where you have put your own ideas of service or your particular abilities ahead of the call of God. Paul said, “…woe is me if I do not preach the gospel!” He had become aware of the call of God, and his compulsion to “preach the gospel” was so strong that nothing else was any longer even a competitor for his strength.
If a man or woman is called of God, it doesn’t matter how difficult the circumstances may be. God orchestrates every force at work for His purpose in the end. If you will agree with God’s purpose, He will bring not only your conscious level but also all the deeper levels of your life, which you yourself cannot reach, into perfect harmony.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Our danger is to water down God’s word to suit ourselves. God never fits His word to suit me; He fits me to suit His word. Not Knowing Whither, 901 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, September 29, 2015
Staying Clean in a Locker Room World - #7492
If you've ever been in an athlete's locker room, because you were playing or because you were working with the team, you know there is something very distinctive about the aroma in a locker room. And I don't think there will ever be a best selling fragrance, for example, called Essence of Locker Room. No, see, athletes carry into that room all the accumulated odors of sweat and dirt from their exercising. Fortunately, they leave their odors there if they get a shower every day; which they had better. And you'll be able to tell if they haven't! That's even more important if you live in a locker room like you and I do.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Staying Clean In A Locker Room World."
Our word for today from the Word of God is about getting clean. It's in John 15:3. Jesus said, "Now you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you." That's a simple but profound statement. Jesus is talking to us here about the cleansing power of the Bible-of God's Word. It's referred to again in that great marriage passage in Ephesians 5, where it talks about "Husbands love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her..." Now, what happens as a result of Christ's love for the church, because that's talking about His love for us, He says he did that "...to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through The Word."
There we go again. The Bible gives us a brain washing, and our brain needs to be washed because we live in a locker room. Each 24 hours you and I are bombarded with so much dirt. We hear a lot of inappropriate talk and language. In fact, it's so common we almost don't even notice it any more. And that's sad. We're bombarded with programs, and commercials, and websites, and billboards, and humor, and Facebook posts, and music, and it's promoting what's dirty, what's selfish, what's greedy, what's godless.
And unless you live in a monastery, you're going to get a truckload of dirt dumped on you every day. And that's how often you need a spiritual shower, like the guys in the locker room-except we need a daily Bible bath. A daily Bible bath is a basic necessity. Each 24 hour period of time, we get hit with the aromas, and the dirt, and the smells of life in a broken and lost world. So, you've got to have a shower. And you need it every day, because the other stuff's coming every day.
So it means you need to consciously, intentionally set aside time in God's holy, cleansing presence, where you and He are together exclusively-nobody else is there, you're not listening to any other voices, and you let God's viewpoint, from His Word, wash your soul and get you back to a pure starting point for that day; washing you off again.
The dirt's going to accumulate on you, but it shouldn't stay there for long. It's got to be removed every day. The alternative is that the dirt of the world in which we live accumulates on you, it wears you down, and you start to accept as normal and acceptable and maybe even attractive. But it's what God calls sick, repulsive and deadly.
I didn't let my son go a day without a shower. He was a high school athlete. And I know that God expects a spiritual shower from his kids every day too. After all, in a spiritual sense, you and I really are living in a locker room.
We can't avoid the odors, but we can wash them off with a daily shower from the Word of God.
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