CHARGE FOR THE KING

“As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a loyal heart and with a willing mind; for the LORD searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever" (1 Chron. 28:9

NKJV).

These words were spoken by David to Solomon at his coronation as the new king of Israel. These words give good instruction to all people in every age. They speak of the schooling about God, the serving of God, the searching by God, and the seeking for God.

Schooling about God - “Know the God of your father.” Knowing about God is where learning truly begins. Failure to know God leads to the worst kind of ignorance. Today we know so many things, yet few people really know the Lord. Know God; it will be our greatest learning.

Serving God - “Serve Him with a loyal heart and with a willing mind.” Three things are said about service here:

The man who serves - Solomon was to serve God. A person does not have to be a preacher or missionary to serve God. Solomon was a king, yet it was expected of him to serve God.
The manner of service - “Loyal heart” means sincere. We are to be genuine in our service. There is no room for hypocrisy in God’s service.
The motivation of service - “Willing mind.” Serving God is to be done willingly, not because we are forced to serve. Considering all that God has done for us, we should be more than willing to serve Him.

Searching by God - “The Lord searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts.” God knows all about us, even our very thoughts. This is a truth that will clean up our minds when we think on it. We need to keep our minds clean if we want our character to be holy.

Seeking for God - “If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever.” God reciprocates our attitudes. If we do not want God in our lives we will discover that when we die, there will no place in Heaven for us, and we will be cast into hell.

(Adapted from Butler Daily Bible Reading NT)

Soli Deo Gloria (To God Alone Be The Glory)

Quotation of the Week

“He is wise who takes God for a teacher!”

Anonymous

Word Study

Disciples

In Matt. 5:1 we read, “And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him” (NKJV).

Disciples is the Greek word mathetes (μαθητής = math-ay-tes'). The word means learner or pupil. We get our English word mathematics from this word. Mathetes describes a person who learns from another by instruction, whether formal or informal. It includes the idea of one who intentionally learns by inquiry and observation. Mathetes has no spiritual connotation, and it is used for superficial as well as genuine followers of Jesus.

In Classical Greek, mathetes describes an adherent of a teacher. In the Septuagint, the word “disciple” appears quite infrequently. In the New Testament a disciple must be willing to imitate his teacher, not simply in knowledge but in behavior, life-style, and suffering.

During the lifetime of Jesus there were many who considered themselves His disciples. Yet many had the wrong idea of the person the Messiah would be. They expected Him to be a political leader who would free the Jews from Roman domination. When they found out that Jesus was not this kind of leader, they withdrew from Him. Still, there were many who were true disciples. From these, Jesus chose twelve whom He appointed apostles. After His resurrection and ascension, all the followers of Jesus became known as disciples (Acts 1:15; Acts 6:1), and later as Christians (Acts 11:26).

Prophecies Fulfilled by Jesus

Old Testament Prophecy – That His bones would not be broken (Ex. 12:46; Num. 9:12).

New Testament Fulfillment – John 19:33-36

Bible Facts

Continental drift inferred (Gen. 7:11). Today the study of the ocean floor indicates that the landmasses have been ripped apart. Scripture states that during the global Flood the “fountains of the great deep were broken up.” This cataclysmic event apparently resulted in the continental plates breaking and shifting..

Bible Quiz

Who did Joshua meet near Jericho with a drawn sword?

**Answer to last week’s trivia: What Old Testament characters appeared at Jesus’ transfiguration? Moses and Elijah (Mark 9:4).

That’s in the Bible

"Abraham's bosom”

“So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried” (Luke 16;22 NKJV).

The phrase Abraham’s bosom refers to paradise, heaven, or bliss. The phrase is taken from the practice of reclining at meals, where the head of one lay on the bosom of another. It therefore denotes intimacy and friendship. To say that Lazarus was in Abraham’s bosom was the same as saying that he was in heaven. Thus Abraham’ bosom is a term that expressed the happiness that believers should expect upon death. The bosom of Abraham was referred to because he was the father of the Jewish nation.

Did You Know – Christian History

Benjamin Titus Roberts was born July 25, 1823 in Western New York. He was an American Methodist bishop. He first trained as an attorney, then entered the ministry in the Genesee Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church of New York State.

Benjamin Roberts didn’t smoke, drink or curse. He worked hard on the farm, stood at the top of his school class, read avidly and memorized whole chapters of the Bible. To outward appearances, he looked like an ideal candidate for the ministry. The Presbyterian minister of Gowanda, offer to pay for his education, but Benjamin shook his head. “I cannot accept your offer,” he said. “I have not been converted.” The same offer was made again later, but Benjamin again rejected it.

Converted to Christ at age 20, Benjamin entered Wesleyan University in Connecticut. After graduation, he was admitted to the Genesee Methodist conference. In 1857 his life changed after he wrote an article criticizing the Methodists for departing from principle.

Benjamin saw these trends eroding the purity and spiritual fire of the church. After publicly stating his objections, Benjamin Roberts was censured and then expelled from the Methodist Church. He led a movement to form the Free Methodist denomination and published a magazine, The Earnest Christian. He founded a college and wrote a number of books. Seventeen years after his death, the Methodists formally acknowledged that they had wronged him

A Little Humor

A man and his ten-year-old son were on a fishing trip miles from home. At the boy’s insistence, they decided to attend the Sunday worship service at a small rural church. The father forgot to bring any cash, so he reached in his pocket and gave his son a dime to drop in the offering plate as it was passed. As they walked back to their car after the service, the father complained. “The service was too long,” he lamented. “The sermon was boring, and the singing was off key.” Finally the boy said, “Daddy, I thought it was pretty good for a dime.”

Thought Provoking Church Sign

“Jesus is God spelling Himself out in language that man can understand!”