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Morning Devotional...

Solomon's Wisdom
1 Kings 3:1-15  NLT

      1Solomon made an alliance with Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and married one of his daughters. He brought her to live in the City of David until he could finish building his palace and the Temple of the LORD and the wall around the city. 2At that time the people of Israel sacrificed their offerings at local altars, for a temple honoring the name of the LORD had not yet been built.

    3Solomon loved the LORD and followed all the instructions of his father, David, except that Solomon, too, offered sacrifices and burned incense at the local altars. 4The most important of these altars was at Gibeon, so the king went there and sacrificed one thousand burnt offerings. 5That night the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream, and God said, "What do you want? Ask, and I will give it to you!"

    6Solomon replied, "You were wonderfully kind to my father, David, because he was honest and true and faithful to you. And you have continued this great kindness to him today by giving him a son to succeed him. 7O LORD my God, now you have made me king instead of my father, David, but I am like a little child who doesn't know his way around. 8And here I am among your own chosen people, a nation so great they are too numerous to count! 9Give me an understanding mind so that I can govern your people well and know the difference between right and wrong. For who by himself is able to govern this great nation of yours?"

    10The Lord was pleased with Solomon's reply and was glad that he had asked for wisdom. 11So God replied, "Because you have asked for wisdom in governing my people and have not asked for a long life or riches for yourself or the death of your enemies-- 12I will give you what you asked for! I will give you a wise and understanding mind such as no one else has ever had or ever will have! 13And I will also give you what you did not ask for--riches and honor! No other king in all the world will be compared to you for the rest of your life! 14And if you follow me and obey my commands as your father, David, did, I will give you a long life."

    15Then Solomon woke up and realized it had been a dream. He returned to Jerusalem and stood before the Ark of the Lord's covenant, where he sacrificed burnt offerings and peace offerings. Then he invited all his officials to a great banquet.
Which of Solomon's choices would you have made?[/size][/color]

When given a chance to have anything in the world, Solomon asked for wisdom in order to lead well and make right decisions. 

We can ask God for this same wisdom (James 1:5). 

Notice that Solomon asked for wisdom to carry out his job.  He did not ask God to do the job for him.

We should not ask God to do for us what he wants to do through us.  Instead, we should ask God to give us wisdom to know what to do and the courage to follow through on it.
The Best of the Bible--365 Must-Read Bible Passages[/i]

  thesaj

Nards, sorry I missed your birthday but Happy Birthday 364 days early!!

We got some rain this evening.  Hope it drowned the moles.  It cooled things down some, too.  It was getting mighty warm here in the house.  I don't like to run the A/C much before May 1st.  Why?  I don't know.  Just sounds like a good day to start running the A/C.   

Going to see Jerry tomorrow so I may not be on here in the morning.  See ya all later, though.

Etta Sue:  Thanks for the devotions you posted.  Yes, I think I would choose wisdom. 

Carol

Ya know, in a since, God allows us to make that same decision.  Maybe not on the same "scale" as Solomon, but we can definitely choose to pursue wisdom.  I think many times, we choose our own desires, wants, wishes, (and these things aren't always bad things to choose, especially when they align with God's desires, wants, and wishs), when a small dose of wisdom would help us to choose the best over the good and better.

It looks to be another beautiful day today.  I've got to go to the community college where I work for an awards ceremony.  Apparently, I am being "recognized" for the teaching award I mentioned several weeks ago.  I assume that means I won (woohoo -- it's a cash prize), but you know what you get for assuming.  Then, I may do something special for Travis as he starting to feel {can't find the right word to describe it} about his little sister.  He's not jealous, but is getting a bit annoyed at all the attention she is getting, I think.

I hear them waking up, so I'll be back later, maybe.

Have a great day!!

Good Morning Folks...

Last night, I went to a banquet put on by Partners International in Burlington.  It was lovely to see friends we've known since 1978 there from India.  It was good too to know that CP was in good hands and that the New Every Morning would be locked and a new one opened!  Thanks Etta Sue.

I'm going to go back and read all of the posts I missed since yesterday afternoon.  I also have some Avon deliveries and then I have a lot of housecleaning to do.

Good Morning, Thank you Etta Sue for the devotional today.

Going to Arcata today to Jan's then to Versal's before I come back to McKville to Fay's this is a long day.

For Bible study we are watching a 12 part study by John Bevere on Drawing Near to God. Last night was partly on prayer and on the answers God gives us to prayer. He said that sometimes  God will give us  whatever we are leaning toward in a particular decision even if it is the wrong decision.  He does this to  teach us to be humble and to have our hearts neutral when we go to ask Him for help in choosing the right thing to do.
TTYL

  Daily Word — Thursday, April 21, 2005
 
Forgive

I am one with the loving, forgiving spirit of Christ within me.

With forgiveness, I experience blessed peace of mind. I understand that forgiveness does not change what happened that upset me or another, but I do know that it changes me--the way I think and feel.

Having a forgiving attitude, I keep a positive perspective that enriches whatever I experience from the moment I first choose the path of forgiveness.

Some memories might tend to cling to me and hold me back as if they were tangled brush on my path, but only if I let them. I am not a victim of circumstances, stuck in resentment, anger, fear, or blame.

I am one with the loving spirit of Christ within me. I rise above painful feelings to a place of love. I am able to release negative memories and move forward on a clear path.


"When deeds of iniquity overwhelm us, you forgive our transgressions." --Psalm 65:3 

Hi everyone.  It is a pretty morning but there is a chance we will get rain this afternoon.  Etta Sue, like you I hate to turn on my a/c this early but my wife has different ideas sometimes and you know who prevails.  I have to admit it usually feels much better with the a/c as we get humitity with the heat.

I think we are going to go out in a little bit to get a couple hanging baskets of flowers for our porch.  There is a garden center that has good prices not far from us if I can find it.  Then this afternoon I will go to Calvin Cove.  I missed last week as wasn't feeling well so it has been 2 weeks since we sang.

Etta Sue, thanks for the devotional.  Hope you find the Jerry improved today.

Pat, don't overdo that housework.  It sounds like you have a lot on your plate today and I worry about your overdoing.

Marilyn, your 12 part series Bible study sounds interesting.  It sounds like you also have a busy day ahead.

Karmat, hope the cash award is a nice big one.  It sounds like Travis is very normal in his reactions.  It is hard for a little one to go from being the focus of attention as an only child to having to share that attention with a sibling. 

Welcome to thesaj.

Hope everyone has a good day.

A cold day here in Indiana.  Even predicting snow flurries this weekend.  I think I will keep my eyes shut so I don't see them.   

Jerry was sleepy today.  I feel he was sedated.  Plus he was downright ornery.  I would put Elmer, the Elephant, on his bed and he would either shove him off with his right arm or his right leg.  So I put Lulu, the Lamb, on his bed and he did the same.  So Jerry's toys are put up for right now.  That sounds childish but Jerry was acting like a child today in several ways.  Not that I was discouraged but I was dozing off to sleep when Jerry was sleeping so I decided to come on home where it was nice and warm.

I did stop at Chili's in Noblesville for a great afternoon meal.  Couldn't think of a thing that I wanted to eat that was here at the house.

Etta Sue - he may have been ornery with you today, but - if he didn't have you - with whom would he be ornery?  I suspect, if he could be fully rational he'd say he was glad you were there.  May our Father bless him moment by momernt.

I can't even imagine how frustrated he must be.  I'm praying for you Etta that God will continue to give you the grace and sustain you as you stand by him during this time.  You are an awesome friend.

I did definitely get the award (Officially called the "Excellence in Teaching Award") but i still don't know for how much. >(
Just kidding (about the >( face ). 

It was a long day today, but tomorrow should be rather relaxing and give me the opportunity to get caught up on some house stuff.  So, who's gonna come and do my laundry???

Interesting...

81 folks have clicked on today's New Every Morning but only 12 posted. 

Let's see if we can do much better tomorro?

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