[DISPLAY_ULTIMATE_SOCIAL_ICONS]
Today: Proverbs 19:3-12; 1 Corinthians 1:1-17; 1 Chronicles 16:37-43; 1 Chronicles 17 & 18
Proverbs 19
“The one who gets wisdom loves life; the one who cherishes understanding will soon prosper.” Proverbs 19:8
God was pleased when Solomon asked for wisdom. It must be a good thing to ask for! I ask God for wisdom every single day. It is the first thing that I pray for. Maybe, just maybe, every once in a while, I think He gives me a little bit of it.
I do know this–the more I seek God and the closer I get to Him, the more I love life, the more my spirit prospers. Any time I start feeling unhappy or dissatisfied with my life circumstances, I know I need an attitude adjustment. TRUE happiness is not connected to our external life situation. TRUE happiness is a spiritual state. True spiritual prosperity can be had regardless of circumstances. Through Jesus, we can experience the deepest joy even through the most difficult trial.
1 Corinthians 1
“Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul? 1 Corinthians 1:13
Disunity in the church began almost immediately. In Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, we witness our human tendency to disagree and split up into ideological groups (denominations). Paul urges the Corinthian Christians to “agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought.” (v.10)
I believe God is grieved by the divisions in our Christian church body, especially the huge chasm between Catholics and Protestants. This rift is a weighty burden for my soul. I love both Protestantism (how I grew up) and Catholicism. For many years, I felt a strong spiritual call to become Catholic and I went through Catholic conversion classes (RCIA). I was not allowed to officially become Catholic but still hold a deep love for Catholic traditions.
Today I feel that one of my callings is to be a bridge between Catholics and Protestants. We are both Christian– following and worshiping the same Jesus Christ. I hope that some day we will be united as one church before Jesus Christ returns.
1 Chronicles 16-18 – David’s Humility
“Then King David went in and sat before the LORD, and he said: ‘Who am I, LORD God, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? And as if this were not enough in your sight, my God, you have spoken about the future of the house of your servant. You, LORD God, have looked on me as though I were the most exalted of men.'” 1 Chronicles 17:16-17
I am so awed by the humility of David. Here he was, king of Israel, a mighty warrior, a wealthy ruler… and yet he came humbly before God. He recognized that his great victories and success were from God. David was not perfect– but he did remain humble before God throughout his entire life. I believe he was the greatest king who ever lived. And “the LORD gave David victory wherever he went.” (v.18:13)
