1Kings3; 2Chronicles1; Psalm42; Romans 8

1 Kings 3;
We see in David a father who set a good example for his son Solomon in the way he served and worshipped God. The bible in this chapter said Solomon loved the Lord by walking in the statues of his father David. Solomon demonstrates this by going to offer a great sacrifice to God at Gibeon. God rewards his faithfulness by promising him anything he ask for. Solomon ask for the wisest thing from God, “wisdom to rule His people” and God tops that by giving him even more than he asks for “wealth and splendour”
I learn from this that if I put God’s will first He will reward me by adding all other things (including wealth) to me

2 Chronicles 1;
Here the scriptures confirms that because God was with Solomon, He made him great.
This scripture not only repeats the story in 1Kings3 but also goes on to record the beginning of Solomon’s splendour and wealth, a fulfillment of God’s promise to him. I learn from here that if you walk with God He will exalt you for His name sake and also that God stays true to His promises, if He said He will do it, He certainly will!!

Psalm 42;
Here I learn the importance of God in my life as my true and only source…the psalmist at various times thirst for the living God, His souls hopes for God to uplift and encourage him when his soul is downcast. I learn once again God is the source of true happiness so my soul pants for God like a deer for water!!

Romans 8
I learn here the importance of walking in the spirit as a Christian as the only way to live above sin and fulfilling the lust of the flesh.
I also learn the importance of The Holy Spirit our personal Helper in making intercession for us with words that can’t be uttered and also God’s grand plan in causing all things to work together for our good

In Christ

BM

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I Kings 2; I Chronicles 29; Romans 7

I am a textbook firstborn, perfectionist, Enneagram 1, Meyers Briggs ESTJ.  In my world rules were meant to be followed.  I don’t even really care what the rules are, I just want them to be obeyed.  I would have been a great Old Testament Jew!  All those rules about eating and drinking and cleanliness and uncleanliness would have made my heart sing, and I would have done my best to keep every single one of them right down to the smallest detail.  Unfortunately, this means that I tend to reduce my Christian walk to a list of rules to be followed as well. Read the Bible for 30 minutes. Pray for an hour. Don’t listen to that style of music or read that genre of literature. But the truth is that following the rules is not following Christ. 

What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. (Romans 7:7, ESV)

Are all the laws/rules I want so badly to follow wrong?  No!  In actuality, the law is for my good because it illuminates my shortcomings and reveals my need for a Savior.  But the laws that I think will make me a good Christian are not what make me good. Only God’s grace can accomplish that.

For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.

For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.  For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. (Romans 7:15,18-19, ESV)

My personality is such that I believe that I think I can just “buckle down”, figure out what rules need to be followed and follow them.  I make it all about me and my own capability to obey.  Too often, I’m more concerned with following the rules than having a relationship with Christ, which can make me look at that relationship as something I HAVE to do rather than something I GET to do. 

Like Paul, my problem isn’t a lack of knowledge or desire.  I KNOW what’s right and I WANT to do it but relying on my own strength will never work.  The law reveals my sin, but it has no power to save me from it.  CS Lewis wrote “No man knows how bad he is until he has tried very hard to be good.”  In God’s perfect plan, the law was not given to be perfectly followed but to prove that following it perfectly was impossible.  When I realize this and stop trying in my own strength, I will truly understand my need for a Savior and will be released from the prison of my own (and others’) expectations into true freedom in Christ.

Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! (Romans 7:24-25a, ESV)

Legalism will always reveal my “wretchedness” and will either make me self-righteous, thinking I can do it on my own, or so hopeless that I give up on following Christ altogether.  When I focus on “keeping the rules”, I am constantly reminded of my shortcomings, which isn’t always a bad thing unless I also fail to remember God’s grace.  But when I focus on Jesus and the freedom I have in Him, I become more like Him.

Father, it’s so easy for me to get caught in the cycle of trying harder to be good, failing, getting discouraged, and giving up.  Thank you for sacrificing your Son and providing freedom from the Law.  Help me to depend on You so that I’m not just modifying my behavior but changing my heart and becoming more like You.