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What Are Your Choices Costing You?

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“Let your heart therefore be wholly true to the Lord our God, walking in his statutes and keeping his commandments, as at this day.” 1 Kings 8:61

We love to celebrate God’s grace. His love and mercy offer so much blessing we don’t deserve, we often find ourselves tempted to think our choices don’t matter. God forgives, so we trust He overlooks the little things. Especially if our lives produce good kingdom works.

I wonder if that’s what Solomon believed.

Solomon inherited the kingdom of Israel through God’s promise to his father, David. Even Solomon’s birth unfolded in wrappings of grace, evidence of God’s redemption after his father’s grievous sin with Bathsheba and his attempts to cover it up.

But David’s sincere repentance unleashed marvelous blessing upon his son. And God gave Solomon a kingdom he had not earned.

When the time came for Solomon to take his throne, David gave him these instructions.

“Now therefore in the sight of all Israel, the assembly of the Lord, and in the hearing of our God, observe and seek out all the commandments of the Lord your God, that you may possess this good land and leave it for an inheritance to your children after you forever.

 And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever.” 1 Chronicles 28:8-9

Solomon started out dedicated to God’s ways. He sought God’s wisdom and God honored him, exalting him high above all other kings. Solomon built God’s earthly dwelling place, a glorious temple of gold, and his kingdom prospered with wealth and peace. God blessed Solomon, just as He promised He would.

But Solomon had one area of his life that he neglected to submit to God, one fleshly appetite he continued to feed in spite of God’s Word on the matter.

Now King Solomon loved many foreign women, along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women, from the nations concerning which the Lord had said to the people of Israel, “You shall not enter into marriage with them, neither shall they with you, for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods.” Solomon clung to these in love. He had 700 wives, who were princesses, and 300 concubines. And his wives turned away his heart. 1 Kings 11:1-4

In spite of God’s warnings, Solomon clung to foreign women who did not follow Israel’s practices. And just as God predicted, Solomon did the unthinkable.

Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Molech the abomination of the Ammonites, on the mountain east of Jerusalem. And so he did for all his foreign wives, who made offerings and sacrificed to their gods. 1 Kings 11:7-8

Unbelievable. The son of promise entrusted to build God’s house on earth also erected places of worship to other gods—demons who defied his God—on the mountain east of Jerusalem.

Why? To please his wives—the ones God warned him not to marry. Solomon allowed his appetite for women to pull him away from heeding God’s words.

And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods. But he did not keep what the Lord commanded. 1 Kings 11:9-10

 Did you catch it, dear one? On two separate occasions God appeared to Solomon to warn him and call him to repent. But Solomon refused.

Therefore the Lord said to Solomon, “Since this has been your practice and you have not kept my covenant and my statutes that I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you and will give it to your servant. Yet for the sake of David your father I will not do it in your days, but I will tear it out of the hand of your son. However, I will not tear away all the kingdom, but I will give one tribe to your son, for the sake of David my servant and for the sake of Jerusalem that I have chosen.” 1 Kings 11:11-13

Like his father, Solomon enjoyed the remarkable privilege of hearing from God. Another similarity also unites them. Both found themselves caught in sin, pulled away from God by the strong desires of their flesh. Yet one marked difference separates the legacies of these two men.

David loved God more than his sin, so he fell on his face in repentance when God confronted him through the prophet Nathan. And God poured out blessing that could not be undone.

Solomon loved his sin more than he loved God, so he built altars that defied Him. His refusal to repent cost both him and his children eternal blessing.

I have to ask, beloved. What are your choices costing you?

God kept His word to Solomon, exalting Jeroboam, one of Solomon’s servants, to rule over the kingdom of Israel.

“But I will take the kingdom out of his son’s hand and will give it to you [Jeroboam], ten tribes. Yet to his son I will give one tribe, that David my servant may always have a lamp before me in Jerusalem, the city where I have chosen to put my name. And I will take you, and you shall reign over all that your soul desires, and you shall be king over Israel. And if you will listen to all that I command you, and will walk in my ways, and do what is right in my eyes by keeping my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did, I will be with you and will build you a sure house, as I built for David, and I will give Israel to you.” 1 Kings 11:35-38

Nothing would keep God from keeping His promise to David. He watches over His word to perform it. But Israel became a divided kingdom because of one area of unsurrendered ground in Solomon’s heart. And his inheritance—the blessing that would also pass to his children—diminished to 1/12 of the blessing God had intended for him.

I wonder, dear one. What blessings are we cutting off from our inheritance because we don’t walk in God’s ways with all our hearts? Do we daily deny our Lord through appetites that defy Him?

In the days of the kings we just read about, the cross had not yet defeated sin. Sin still had authority to rule and reign within man’s heart. Yet God still held them accountable for their sin in every way their hearts denied Him.

 How much more will He hold us accountable on this side of the cross, beloved?

Jesus freed us from the bondage of every sin. Fear. Lust. Greed. Selfishness. Pride. No stronghold remains that Jesus did not defeat. He has given us the power to overcome every fleshly appetite.

Repent, beloved, and rise to receive your full inheritance.

Waiting on Dueling Angels

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But for you, O Lord, do I wait; it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer. Psalm 38:15 ESV

God answers prayer. I love the certainty of that promise.

But our opening scripture also reveals another truth: We often have to wait for that answer.

The waiting frustrates most of us. In this world of instant gratification, often God’s movement seems a bit slow. But what if it isn’t God that’s keeping you from your answer?

Today we will glimpse two prayers from a gatekeeper, a man whose prayers released God’s deliverance on this earth. You’ve probably heard of him. His name is Daniel.

Our friend Daniel is most famous for having survived a den of lions, but that’s not what we’ll be talking about today. Today we’ll see how he served the people of God as a watchman, discerning God’s Word and releasing His will through prayer.

In the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, perceived in the books the number of years that, according to the word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet, must pass before the end of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years. Daniel 9:2

Daniel lived in Babylon, the result of Israel being carried off into captivity because sin had removed God’s covering of protection. Jeremiah had warned them in advance of their exile, declaring they would serve the king of Babylon for 70 years.

Daniel realized those 70 years were coming to a close and it was time for God to deliver His people once more. So, he put on his party hat and waited to see God move.

Well, not exactly. He did precisely what Elijah did last week when God had revealed His will. He prayed.

Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy … I prayed to the Lord my God… Daniel 9:3-4

Interesting consistency, don’t you think? God declares His will, and a human vessel comes into agreement with Him through prayer to see that what God said would happen actually does.

Are you beginning to understand the vital importance of prayer, dear one? You and I won’t see God manifest His power without it.

Daniel understood that and dropped to his knees. I love what scripture reveals about his answer.

While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my plea before the Lord my God for the holy hill of my God, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the first, came to me in swift flight at the time of the evening sacrifice. Daniel 9:20-21

Can you even imagine it? Daniel hadn’t even finished praying, and an angel showed up mid-sentence to give him God’s answer.

I bet you’re wishing you were on Gabriel’s “to do” list today.

Look at what Gabriel tells him.

At the beginning of your pleas for mercy a word went out, and I have come to tell it to you, for you are greatly loved. Daniel 9:23

The NIV puts it this way. As soon as you began to pray, a word went out, which I have come to tell you.

God released His answer the moment Daniel started asking.

Here’s what you need to know, dear one. Every time you utter a prayer with a heart that seeks God’s will, He moves. Something happens in the heavenly realms whether you see it at that moment or not.

This particular time, when Daniel prayed, God blessed him with an immediate answer. But let’s see what happens a few years later when Daniel approaches God the same way.

In Daniel 10, under the reign of a new king, Daniel received a vision from God and began to seek Him in prayer and fasting for understanding of it. We’re told he fasted, prayed and didn’t bathe for three straight weeks before a visitor arrived with a word from God.

“Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. Daniel 10:12

Once again, we see God confirming that He heard and answered Daniel’s prayer on the first day he started asking. But let’s see what else the visitor tells him.

But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia. Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the future, for the vision concerns a time yet to come.” Daniel 10:13-14

What in the world? God dispatched a messenger immediately to deliver His answer, but the prince of the Persian kingdom detained him for three straight weeks until the archangel Michael came to help him so he could slip away.

Listen, dear one. You and I have no idea what’s happening even now in the heavenly realms. Satan’s forces work hard to hinder God’s movement on earth at every turn. What we just read describes angels and demons battling in the unseen.

God sent His answer, but evil forces sought to hinder it from getting through to the earth. Why? Because presently the earth is Satan’s realm, and the enemy comes against God’s own “in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!” (Revelation 12:12)

But here’s our amazing promise!

You are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 1 John 4:4

God’s will always trumps the enemy’s efforts, as long as there is a human vessel willing to bend the knee and align himself with God to see it accomplished on earth.

Daniel prayed for 3 straight weeks. The angel met resistance for precisely 21 days. Daniels’s persistence in prayer bound the work of the enemy and loosed God’s will so it could become realized in his life.

Does that sound familiar, dear one? Jesus taught that the gates of hell cannot prevail against a praying church.

“I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Matthew 16:19

Perhaps we should pray like we believe Him.

Feeling Fine

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Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place.  

Psalm 51:6, NIV 1984

I have a family member who’s quite fond of telling us she’s fine. It’s her standard answer when asked how she’s doing. In sickness, loss, or even celebration, her response to us remains the same. “I’m fine”—even if she’s not.

I saw a movie once that gave a clever acronym for FINE: freaked out, insecure, neurotic and emotional.

Yep. That sounds about right.

We have a terrible habit of projecting one thing when in reality we’re really something else. It seems harmless. We’re not trying to hurt anyone. We simply don’t want to be a bother. No one needs to know what’s really going on inside. After all, what can they do? And more importantly, what would they think?

So we pretend to be something that we’re not. We say we feel one way when we actually feel another. Or we don’t speak what we really think; instead we speak what we think we should.

We often spend a good bit of our lives under a banner of pretense. Unfortunately, we have no idea the danger that puts us in.

Beloved, deception lies at the heart of every one of Satan’s schemes. More than what he does, it’s who he is. It’s Satan’s nature to deceive.

He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. John 8:44

When you and I deceive, dear one—even inadvertently—we share the nature of the enemy of our souls.

Ouch. Every time we stand on pretense instead of truth, we align ourselves with the father of lies. And we become tools in his schemes.

Gideon found that out the hard way. Last week we saw God use Gideon to defeat the Midianite army. I wish I could say that was the end of his story. Unfortunately, he had a little trouble with pretense. No wonder God desires truth in our inner parts. When they don’t match what we present on the outside, we can do all sorts of damage. Let’s take a look at Gideon’s story.

After his amazing victory, Israel rallied around Gideon and made a request.

The Israelites said to Gideon, “Rule over us—you, your son and your grandson—because you have saved us from the hand of Midian.” Judges 8:22

Wait a minute. Who saved them from the hand of Midian? Let’s see how Gideon responded.

But Gideon told them, “I will not rule over you, nor will my son rule over you. The Lord will rule over you.” (Verse 23)

Well done, Gideon! He gave what appeared to be a very humble answer, didn’t he? He knew exactly what he should say, and he said it. Israel had no king. God Himself ruled and led them. That’s what made Israel different from every other nation. Gideon knew good and well who had given them the victory—even if the people were a bit confused about it—and he wasn’t about to challenge Him for the throne.

So Gideon declared that God alone would rule. Unfortunately, his actions declared something else.

And he said, “I do have one request, that each of you give me an earring from your share of the plunder.” Judges 8:24

The people spread out a garment and happily tossed rings of gold into it for Gideon, a tribute normally reserved for kings.

The weight of the gold rings he asked for came to seventeen hundred shekels, not counting the ornaments, the pendants and the purple garments worn by the kings of Midian or the chains that were on their camels’ necks. (verse 26)

He may not have accepted the title of king, but he certainly lived like one. Verse 30 records,

He had seventy sons of his own, for he had many wives.

Scripture names only one of them in verse 31: Abimelech. You might be interested to know what the name means in the original Hebrew. Abimelech literally translates to, “My father is king.” [Strong’s, 40, p.1467]

I guess we can see what Gideon really believed in his “inner parts” (Psalm 51:6).

The inconsistency between what he said and what he held in his heart led him to twist God’s law to meet his own desires. He used some of the gold to make an ephod, a garment God had ordained for priests alone through which He would communicate direction to lead them. Judges 8:27 reveals,

Gideon made the gold into an ephod, which he placed in Ophrah, his town. All Israel prostituted themselves by worshiping it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and his family.

Gideon declared with his mouth that he would not rule. Then he asked for tribute and led God’s people right into idolatry.

Do you see why it’s so important for us to allow God to bring truth to our inner parts, beloved? Without a renewed nature, every one of us—even mighty men used greatly by God—can become a snare to His people.

Jesus beckons you to authenticity, dear one. Will you allow Him to change you from the inside out? Only the light within us will dispel the darkness around us. Let’s abandon pretense and put an end to the enemy’s schemes.