Last year at this time we reconnected with Jack Garrott, a missionary to Japan, who has been writing at Virtual Vitamins since April, 2011. We have a double-feature for you today, and encourage you to click through and read beyond the two hear. These devotionals might be just what you need for another part of your day, so consider subscribing.
Presumption
1 Kings 8:25 “Now Lord, God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father the promises you made to him when you said, ‘You shall never fail to have a man to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only your sons are careful in all they do to walk before me as you have done.’”
The irony in this line of Solomon’s prayer is extreme, because he himself failed to stick to the path his father David had walked before the Lord. He wanted the promised blessings without fulfilling the specified conditions.
We tend to be exactly the same way. There are several “Scripture promise books” circulating, and many people have been greatly encouraged by them, but if we lift promises out of context, then they give us false hope. It’s the little matter of accountability.
To be honest, it can get tricky here, because God is incredibly gracious and merciful, and sometimes it seems downright unfair that someone who had been very far from God is restored to Him in a moment. That’s what the whole parable of The Prodigal Son is about. (Luke 15:11-32)
However, the genuine key, the ultimate requirement, is repentance, and God alone is the judge of that. Are we sorry for our sin? Are we really discarding it to turn to God? Sometimes we ourselves aren’t sure. Sometimes we have to come to God and say, “Lord, I did it again!”
In such cases, John’s words are a great comfort. “If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.” (1 John 3:20) But again, the attitude that “God will excuse this” is deadly. We certainly don’t want to hear Him say, “I never knew you!” (Matthew 7:23)
Solomon’s biggest problem was presumption, based on pride in the gifts God had graciously given him. The moment we forget that all the good stuff is by the grace of God alone, we are in deep trouble.
This is exceedingly close to home for me. I have been blessed beyond measure, much as Solomon was, and I too have forgotten at times that I didn’t earn any of it. IQ doesn’t equal genuine wisdom! Though I had some genuine encounters with God in my childhood, I was already a married father when the Lord, again very graciously, showed me the state of my heart, and the absolutely stupid pride I was wallowing in. That repentance was bitter!
In the years since then I have been to seminary, become a pastor, and have now been a missionary for over 42 years, but I am still tempted to feel that since I can say all the right things, that means I’m doing them. God alone knows my heart attitude. I must never be presumptive, but always be humble before my Lord, allowing Him to show me when and how I need to repent, so that I may walk fully in step with His Spirit. (Galatians 5:25)
Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for Your incredible patience with me! Thank You for the plans You laid out for me before I was ever born. May I walk in them faithfully, fulfilling Your purposes for me on Your schedule for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!
Bonus devotional
Houses of Worship
1 Kings 8:41-42 “As for the foreigner who does not belong to your people Israel but has come from a distant land because of your name—for they will hear of your great name and your mighty hand and your outstretched arm—when they come and pray toward this temple,”
This is just a sentence fragment, but it contains two elements that strike me. The first is favorable, the second, not. I like it that Solomon opens the door to Gentiles here. After all, the design of the temple specifically included “the Court of the Gentiles,” which was the area overrun by merchants in the 2nd temple of Jesus’ day.
What doesn’t turn me on is the focus on physical location. For Solomon that was an advantage, because it helped consolidate his political power. However, that was wiped out in the early Church after Pentecost, because believers gathered, but they didn’t have dedicated buildings for their gatherings.
After Constantine Christianity became the state religion, and focus again came on dedicated houses of worship. It’s not that such houses are bad as such, but rather that when we place our focus on the physical location and structure, we tend to forget that God is everywhere, and we are to walk humbly before Him whatever our environment. We forget that in both Hebrew and Greek, the word translated “church” actually means “gathering,” or “congregation” (which also means gathering, but we don’t think about that). Special places can be very nice, certainly convenient, and even deeply meaningful, but if we let them take priority over the One whom we say we worship, then they become idols in themselves. Solomon had no idol to draw people to, so he used the temple instead!
This is an issue I have been aware of for much of my life. In the 40-year history of this church we have met in various locations, but for the past 25 years we have had a dedicated church building, that also includes our residence. I try to be specific when I am talking about the church building, but even I get lazy and just say “church” far too much of the time.
I desire that every believer realize that they are “God’s temple,” (1 Corinthians 3:16), acting as good stewards of the building but not fixating on it. I also want each one to realize that their own body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, (1 Corinthians 6:19) and rejoice to carry His presence with them everywhere they go. I want us all to expand our awareness of God and realize that He “fills everything in every way,” (Ephesians 1:23) and so live lives of worship in every circumstance.
Father, thank You for this reminder. Help me not be legalistic about it, but rather share Your truth in grace and love, so that many will be set free from the deceptions of the enemy, for their blessing and Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!
Truth2Freedom's Blog 