TEMPLE INTERESTS

“Then Solomon determined to build a temple for the name of the LORD, and a royal house for himself. " (2 Chron. 2:1 NKJV).

Within a few years after becoming king, Solomon saw the need to build temple. Our verse speaks of the beginning of the project. It describes the passion, purpose, and priority of the building of the Temple.

Passion - “Then Solomon determined to build a temple for the name of the Lord.” The word “determined” can also be translated “commanded” and shows the passion of Solomon to build the Temple. He was in earnest about the project. This was crucial because building the Temple was a great work and required much money and material. We will never accomplish much for the Lord if we are not in earnest about it. A lot of folks do very little for the Lord because they are not dedicated enough, give enough and steadfast enough to see any good project to completion.

Purpose - “Build a temple for the name of the Lord.” Solomon wanted to honor God by building the Temple. This ought to be the purpose for building every house of God. We ought to build our churches so they will honor the Lord in function and in structure. The use of the building and the appearance of the building should honor Him. Poorly constructed buildings are a shame to the Lord, and the activities that go on in some church buildings are also a dishonor the Lord.

Priority - “A royal house for himself” This refers to the palace that Solomon would live in, and was built after the Temple was completed. This shows the priority of Solomon’s heart. First we take care of God’s business; then we take care of our own business. The prophet Haggai condemned the people of his day for building their own houses while the Temple was being neglected. This is also happening today. People build grand houses in which to live but refuse to get earnest about building a good church building in which to worship. They need to have their priorities adjusted to Solomon’s priorities. The church comes first. Get it built, and then take care of your own house.

(Adapted from Butler Daily Bible Reading)

Soli Deo Gloria (To God Alone Be The Glory)

Quotation of the Week

“If you want to have a heart for God, you must let God have your heart!”

Anonymous

Word Study

Discipline

In 1 Tim. 4:7 we read, “But have nothing to do with worldly fables fit only for old women. On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness” (NASB).

Discipline is the Greek word gumnazo (γυμνάζω = goom-nad'-zo). The word means naked, bare, unclad. Literally it means to exercise naked and describes the practice of males in the Greco Roman ‘gymnasia.’ We get our English words gymnasium and gymnastics from this word. Figuratively gumnazo means to exercise so as to discipline oneself, either the body or the mind. It conveys the picture of the rigorous, persevering, painstaking, diligent, strenuous, self-sacrificing training an athlete undergoes.

In secular Greek gumnazo it is used to refer to an athlete training in the nude, as was done in the Greek games. In the New Testament gumnazo is used both in a positive and negative sense, referring to those who by continual practice had trained themselves to a particular way of life.

The word discipline therefore, refers to a conscious divestment of all encumbrances, and then a determined investment of all of one’s energies. Just as ancient athletes discarded everything and competed naked, so the disciplined Christian must divest himself of every association, habit, and tendency which impedes godliness. Then, with this lean spiritual nakedness, he must invest all his energy and sweat in the pursuit of godliness.

Prophecies Fulfilled by Jesus

Old Testament Prophecy – That He would be stared at in death (Zech. 12:10)

New Testament Fulfillment – Matt. 27:36; John 19:37.

Bible Facts

Life begins at fertilization (Jer. 1:5). God declares that He knew us before we were born. The Biblical penalty for murdering an unborn child was death (Exodus 21:22-23). Today, it is an irrefutable biological fact that the fertilized egg is truly an entire human being. Nothing will be added to the first cell except nutrition and oxygen.

Bible Quiz

What was put on the lips of Isaiah by a seraph?

**Answer to last week’s trivia: What church was described as “neither cold nor hot?” Church at Laodicea (Rev. 3:15).

That’s in the Bible

"Act of God”

“But your eyes have seen every great act of the LORD which He did” (Deut. 11:7 NKJV).

In context, Moses is reminding Israel of all the “great acts of the Lord” which they had seen including the drowning of Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea. The literal opening up of the earth and the subsequent swallowing of the households of Dathan and Abiram for their rebellion against God was also called a great act of the Lord. This incident foreshadowed the fate of the wicked who will actually be cast into the same place as Dathan and Abram’s household - hell, according to many scriptures. Psalm 55:15 says the wicked “go down alive into hell.” It interesting to note that Insurance companies today refuse to cover natural calamities, or acts of God, as they call it. Apparently, they aren’t responsible for what God does.

Did You Know – Christian History

Augustus Montague Toplady, was born November 4, 1740 in Farnham, England. He was an Anglican cleric and hymn writer. He was a major Calvinist opponent of John Wesley.

Toplady studied at the Westminster School and received the degrees of Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts from Trinity College. Ordained deacon in 1762, he was licensed to the curacy of Blagdon the same year. Passionate for the Lord, he prayed, “God keep me from being a mere scholar.”

His first published work was Poems on Sacred Subjects, Dublin, 1759. His major works were the Historic Proof of the Doctrinal Calvinism of the Church of England (1774) and The Church of England Vindicated from the Charge of Arminianism (1769.) He was prone to rhetoric and was cutting in his opposition to Wesley followers.

Toplady suffered from tuberculosis. As his death neared, he sensed God’s presence. “O what a day of sunshine this has been to me! I have not words to express it. It is unutterable. O my friends, how good is God!” The day he died, he was calling, “Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly!” He told his friends that he could not live much longer for no mortal man could live after seeing the glories of God that he had seen. He was not quite thirty-eight when he died August 11, 1778.

He is best remembered as the author of the hymn “Rock of Ages”. Three of his other hymns – “A Debtor to Mercy Alone,” “Deathless Principle, Arise” and “Object of My First Desire” are still sung today.

A Little Humor

A minister parked his car in a no-parking zone in a large city because he was pressed for time and couldn’t find a space with a meter. So he put a note under the windshield wiper that read: “I have circled the block 100 times. If I don’t park here, I’ll miss my appointment. FORGIVE US OUR TRESPASSES.” When he returned, he found a ticket from a police officer along with this note. “I’ve circled this block for 10 years. If I don’t give you a ticket, I’ll lose my job. LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION.”

Thought Provoking Church Sign

“Reformation is turning over a new leaf; regeneration is receiving a new life!”