KJB Daily Devotion – Following Jesus Through Every Chapter
Date: Monday, June 19, 2017
Chapters: I Kings 10-11, II Chronicles 9
Message: True Wealth
Hello My Friend,
We are going to go through a lot of things in this life, some of us are blessed to have wealth from birth, others have to work for every penny, some possess great things, others not so much, some have a great family, others only have Jesus for family. True wealth has nothing to do with fame or fortune, but everything to do with Jesus Christ. “There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing: there is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches.” – Proverbs 13:7.
King Solomon was the most powerful and prosperous kings of all time, not because he was a great man, but he was a Godly man, led by the influence of his father, David. He not only possessed great wisdom and wealth, he was looked highly upon by the rest of the world as the king who was led by the only living God. Solomon had kings and queens from all over the world coming to see if the God they only heard about was true. We learn this through the queen of Sheba, who upon observing and asking him many questions, discovered his true wealth.
“And when the queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon, and the house that he had built, And the meat of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel; his cupbearers also, and their apparel; and his ascent by which he went up into the house of the LORD; there was no more spirit in her. And she said to the king, It was a true report which I heard in mine own land of thine acts, and of thy wisdom: Howbeit I believed not their words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it: and, behold, the one half of the greatness of thy wisdom was not told me: for thou exceedest the fame that I heard. Happy are thy men, and happy are these thy servants, which stand continually before thee, and hear thy wisdom. Blessed be the LORD thy God, which delighted in thee to set thee on his throne, to be king for the LORD thy God: because thy God loved Israel, to establish them for ever, therefore made he thee king over them, to do judgment and justice.” – II Chronicles 9:3-8.
“to be king for the LORD thy God:” Here is the key right there, God, he was made king because God chose him to be king. We are only as successful in this world as God sees fit to give us the things contained within the world according to our obedience to Him. Sheba knew that there was only one LORD, and she saw Him in the actions of Solomon. While it is true that our works have nothing to do with our salvation, they do have to do with our being blessed by God. We ought to be a reflection of Christ, and if we are not than we ought to rethink our actions. “For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men: As free, and not using your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but as the servants of God.” – I Peter 2:15-16.
As we are blessed by God we must be careful not to push Him to the side or take for granted what He has given us or we have the risk of losing it. While our salvation can never be taken away, our possessions can. And no matter how strong our faith, we cannot take our eyes off God for one second because that is all it takes for us to go from loving and worshiping Him to turning away and worshiping false gods. Things began to change for Solomon as his love for women turned him away from God completely.
“But king Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites; Of the nations concerning which the LORD said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in unto you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon clave unto these in love. And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart. For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. And Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD, and went not fully after the LORD, as did David his father.” – I Kings 11:1-6.
“Solomon clave unto these in love.” Eleven hundred women and he stuck by all of them in love? This goes to show you that as much as Solomon had he was miserable and constantly desired to be loved. The heart is a strange thing, it looks for things that bring it joy and happiness, we search for them with possessions, wealth, knowledge, lust, and fame, but it all comes down to a hungry heart and a thirty soul. I get it, I have fallen for the wrong guy because he made me feel good, but all that led to was a path to destruction. Only Jesus can feed a hungry heart and quench a thirsty soul. “But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” – John 4:14.
Being saved does not keep us from living in sin, it only keeps our soul from ending up in hell after our flesh dies. What we do after we are saved determines the rest of the life we will live, and if we remain living sinfully, we can expect judgment from God. God took the kingdom away from Solomon’s heritage, when he dies, the entire kingdom, except for one tribe, Judah, would be given to another man to reign over because of his turning away from Him and worshiping so many false gods. God made a promise to David, that He would always send a light
“Because that they have forsaken me, and have worshipped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the children of Ammon, and have not walked in my ways, to do that which is right in mine eyes, and to keep my statutes and my judgments, as did David his father. Howbeit I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand: but I will make him prince all the days of his life for David my servant’s sake, whom I chose, because he kept my commandments and my statutes: But I will take the kingdom out of his son’s hand, and will give it unto thee, even ten tribes. And unto his son will I give one tribe, that David my servant may have a light alway before me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen me to put my name there. And I will take thee, and thou shalt reign according to all that thy soul desireth, and shalt be king over Israel. And it shall be, if thou wilt hearken unto all that I command thee, and wilt walk in my ways, and do that is right in my sight, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did; that I will be with thee, and build thee a sure house, as I built for David, and will give Israel unto thee. And I will for this afflict the seed of David, but not for ever.” – I Kings 11:33-39.
“but not for ever.” It is a strange thing, but we are often afflicted, not because of something we did, but what a family member did. Sometimes I think about how much I struggled in life and wonder if it was because of the way my father lived before he died. But I come to realize something, we may have had to face some poverty because of what he did, but through it we learned, grew, and became stronger in our faith in Christ through it. We are not defined by our parents or anyone else, but what we do with what we are given, we have a choice on how we handle the trials and tribulations of life, and if we can let Christ lead the way we can overcome all of it. “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” – Philippians 4:13.
Jesus Christ Magnified: Today, Jesus is revealed through the light of Judah that always shines (I Ki 11:36). Jesus is the light that always shines the way to God.
Today’s Prayer: God, You have proven to me time and time again that it is not how much I have that determines my worth, but who I have. True wealth is not about fame, fortune, or pleasing the flesh, it is about a relationship with Your Son, and letting Him shine through us, the more He shines the more blessed we are. Lord, I do not want my life to be about meaningless pursuits to feed my heart and quench my thirst, I want it to be about fulfilling the purpose You brought me here for. Watch over me, guide me, give me wisdom, truth, and true love, help me let go of anything that is hurting me, and let me do all things through Christ who is my strength. I ask these things in Jesus’ name. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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