Always say yes to Jesus!

Solomon is in the process of building the temple to the LORD that his father David wanted to build.  God told David that he was not allowed to build it because of all the wars he had fought.  It was to be done by his son Solomon.  God then promised David that if he would keep God’s laws and regulations and obey His commandments the nation of Israel would enjoy a special relationship with God.  He would live among them.  The LORD is now repeating this promise to Solomon.

That is an astounding promise.  The LORD said that He would live among them.  God had made no such promise to any other nation or group of people.  He wanted to have a very personal relationship with them.  It doesn’t take a lot of imagination to figure out that there would be some real advantages to having the Almighty Creator of the universe living among you.

There was one condition on that promise and that was that they do what God says.  And one of the primary commands that God wanted obeyed was that they worship no other gods.  God is a jealous God.  That means that He will not share our affections with anyone or anything.  To please God, He must be our only God.

All of God’s laws, regulations, and commandments were meant to make the nation of Israel a separated nation.  The LORD wanted to separate them out from the rest of the world.  He wanted them to be peculiar.  His intention was to bless them so abundantly that other nations would see and desire to know why.  It was also God’s intention that the nation of Israel bless the whole world by showing them God.

Sadly, Solomon didn’t do his part and the nation of Israel started into a spiritual decline that ended up with them being kicked out of the Promised Land and sent away into exile.  God is not finished with the Jews.  In the end-times He will restore them back to the place that He has always desired for them.

In the meantime, the church is to step up and do its part to draw the whole world to the LORD God.  Thankfully, none of us is responsible for reaching the world for Jesus Christ.  Our responsibility is just the same as it was stated to Solomon; obey God.  If we will simply do what He tells us we can rest assured of the fact that He will live with us and never forsake us.  Obedience will lead us into a full and abundant life.  The Almighty Creator of the Universe wants to live with you.  All you have to do to see that happen is say, ‘Yes, LORD’, whenever He speaks to you.  Jesus, help us to always say ‘Yes’ to You.

Daily Bible Reading: 1 Kings 5:1-6:38; Acts 7:1-29; Psalm 127:1-5; Proverbs 16:28-30