Bible Pathway - May 21, 2012

Highlights:

Solomon's sacrifices; his dream of praying for wisdom; dimensions and materials of the Temple.

Wisdom and knowledge is granted unto thee; and I will give thee riches, and wealth, and honour, such as none of the kings have had that have been before thee (II Chr. 1:12).

It seems strange that Solomon could receive such wealth and wisdom from God and still not live in obedience to the Word of God. The wisest man on earth did evil in the sight of the Lord and . . . turned from the Lord God of Israel (II Kin. 11:6,11). Often times, we are blinded to the gifts of God by our enemy, the devil. God gives us so many good things in life, but somehow we find ourselves thinking that these things are our accomplishments. This happens as a direct result of allowing ourselves to become distracted from where our attention should be — to God and His kingdom.

Possessions give a false sense of self-sufficiency and security which often robs one of the true values of life. Things take our eyes off the truly important things in life. We begin to judge our worth by how much we accumulate. We think our accomplishments are to provide the bottom line in our bank accounts. We are living in days of unusual pressure, and the principle that must guide us is this: Our aim must be to please the Lord. There is no time for self-pity, nor time to be absorbed in this world's pleasures, for the time is short (I Cor. 7:29-32). God is looking to us to build His kingdom here on earth. If our focus is distracted by many other things, how can we accomplish what God wants from us?

There is a satanic power at work today, seeking to involve us in the affairs of this world (Eph. 2:2). The enemy would seek to cause us to stray from the path that God has called us to follow. Satan will distract you from your daily reading of the Word of God. In doing this, he knows he takes away your key weapon in this war we are fighting. It is through the Word of God that we overcome the power of the enemy. That is why we need to maintain our daily reading of God's Word. We need to read the Bible when times are good. We need to read the Bible when times are hard. Through the storms of life, we need God's Word the most. We must also be cautious of the devil attacking our prayer life. Once again, during times of great trials, our prayer lives should be growing. We should be seeking God all the more during these trying times.

Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits (I Tim. 4:1).

Thought for Today:

Material possessions often blind the eyes to the true values of life.

Christ Revealed:

By the thousand burnt offerings of Solomon (II Chr. 1:6). We can be thankful that the one perfect offering of Christ on the cross did away with the need for many and continual individual offerings. He died unto sin once (for all) (Rom. 6:10; Heb. 10:10-12,14).

Word Studies:

2:2 told out, assigned; 2:7 cunning, skilled; can skill to grave, has skill to engrave; 2:14 find out every device, execute any design; 2:16 floats, rafts; 3:1 affinity, alliance by marriage to Pharaoh's daughter; 3:5 cieled, paneled; 3:10 of image work, fashioned by carving; 3:16 oracle, Holy of Holies.

Prayer Needs:

Pray for International Broadcasts sponsored by Lt. Col. Walter and Penny Swanson • Staff: Gina Lesnefsky • Government Official: Sen. Al Franken (MN) • Country: El Salvador (5.9 million) in Central America • Major language: Spanish • Some intolerance of Protestants by government officials • 75% Catholic; 20% Protestant; .5% Baha'i; 2.5% Other; 2% None • Prayer Suggestion: Ask God to show you His ways (Ex. 33:13).

Optional Reading: 1 Corinthians 8

Memory Verse for the Week: Hebrews 6:1