Sharon Sharing God: BIBLE PICK 'EMS

Sunday, March 11, 2012

BIBLE PICK 'EMS - The One and Only

Today's "Bible Pick 'Ems" comes from the book of 1 Kings.

The verses are taken from the beginning of King Solomon's prayer of dedication for the newly-built Temple in Jerusalem. After hundreds of years, a permanent home for the presence of God was finally completed!

It was a joyous time of celebration.

Solomon's Temple was a glittering spectacle, displaying the riches of a prospering nation. As a dwelling place for God, it was fitting for the Temple to be beautiful.

In the final climactic moment, when all the building was complete, the Ark of the Covenant was brought into the Most Holy Place, and "…the glorious presence of the LORD filled the Temple." (1 Kings 8:11)

Then Solomon gathered the people of Israel together to dedicate the Temple – but he also wanted them to rededicate themselves to God's service.

I can almost hear his voice resounding across the centuries:

"Then Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in front of the entire community of Israel. He lifted his hands toward heaven, and he prayed.

'O LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like you in all of heaven above or on the earth below. You keep your covenant and show unfailing love to all who walk before you in wholehearted devotion…

(and to the people of Israel)…And may you be completely faithful to the LORD our God. May you always obey his decrees and commands, just as you are doing today.'" (1 Kings 8:22-23, 61)

Solomon declared that even the highest heavens, the far reaches of the universe, could not contain God. His majesty shines brighter than any light in the sky, and His riches far surpass any man-made structure.

Can you imagine what it was like when the glory of God filled the Temple?

But have you ever stopped to think about your own heart?

Isn't it amazing that God is willing to live in the hearts of those who believe in Him and love Him?!

We are blessed indeed.

So where is God's presence?

He's here, in my heart,

Directing my pathways

As He has from the start.

Where is God's presence?

He's here! Don't you see?

The Most High of the Universe

Dwells within me.

Let us walk in wholehearted devotion to Him – obeying Him always, just as we are doing today…

What does it mean to you to have the presence of God within you?

Linked today with Charlotte at SPIRITUAL SUNDAYS

BLOG = "Blessedly Leaning On God!"

4 comments:

Chatty CroneMarch 11, 2012 at 6:08 PM
It's amazing God loves us enough to do that for us. sandie
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Nikki (Sarah)March 11, 2012 at 7:22 PM
Feeling His presence is the best thing ever....I feel so free and so full of joy that it's hard to contain it. Have a great week Sharon....full of His Sonshine
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DeniseMarch 11, 2012 at 8:31 PM
God makes me so happy, I love Him beyond measure.
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CharlotteMarch 14, 2012 at 1:23 PM
How blessed those people were to actually see the temple after it was completed. It must have really been dazzling. Even more important is God's temple in people. We need to remember we are temples of the Holy Spirit and pray we can live in such a way that people will see Christ living in us.
Blessings,
Charlotte
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"So [I] have been greatly encouraged in the midst of [my] troubles and suffering, dear brothers and sisters, because you have remained strong in your faith. It gives [me] new life to know that you are standing firm in the Lord. How [I] thank God for you!" (1 Thessalonians 3:7-9)

Thanks for your comments - it is such a joy to be sharing my journey with friends like YOU!

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MY WORD FOR 2016

GRATEFUL

Grateful: feeling or showing thanks to someone for some helpful act; appreciative of benefits received; warmly or deeply thankful; indebted; beholden.

Word origin: 1550's, "pleasing to the mind," also "full of gratitude," from obsolete adj. grate "agreeable, thankful," from Latin gratus "pleasing" – derived from the same word origin as the word "grace."

The trick to changing your behavior is to become more thankful.

The practice of gratitude involves a focus on the present moment, on appreciating your life as it is today and what has made it so.

Let us begin an eternal quest to express in new and creative ways our thanks to God.

So I'm breathing in Your grace,

And I'm breathing out Your praise.

Let our prayers be the overflow of a grateful heart to God.

Three steps in prayer:

PRAISE – praise, reverence, worship, adoration, and awe for who God is and what He does

ASK – honest, earnest, and intense requests

THANK YOU – always end with thanksgiving for everything

Pulpit commentary:

In everything give thanks.

In every circumstance – in joy and in sorrow; for everything – for prosperity and for adversity; in every place – in the house of God and on the bed of sickness.

Christians should not only be engaged in constant prayer, but in constant thanksgiving.

For this – this thankful spirit – is the will of God, His desire.

God by the gift of his Son has laid us under the obligation of perpetual thanksgiving. Our whole lives ought to be one continued thank-offering for all the blessings of redemption.

Gill's Exposition:

Thanks are to be given to him for all things…

For all temporal good things;

for our beings, the preservation of them;

for food and raiment, and all the mercies of life;

for the means of grace, the word and ordinances, and the ministers of the Gospel;

for spiritual blessings, for electing, redeeming, regenerating, adopting, pardoning, justifying, and persevering grace:

for a meetness for heaven, a right unto it, and a good hope of it;

and especially for Jesus Christ, for such a…Saviour, and advocate with the Father, as he is; and for life, peace, joy, comfort, righteousness, and salvation in him.

Thanks should be given to God in every circumstance of life; in adversity, as Job did; when not in so comfortable and agreeable a frame of soul as to be wished for…even under the temptations of Satan…since the grace of God is sufficient to bear up under them, and deliver out of them.

[Give thanks] in afflictions of every kind, since they are all for good – temporal, or spiritual, or eternal.

WHAT IS LOVE?

Love is when you are missing some of your teeth but you're not afraid to smile because you know your friends will still love you even though some of you is missing.

By Emma K. - Age 6

"Out of the mouth of babes..."

A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words.

Anonymous

When you are uncertain, it helps to have someone remind you what is true – someone who knows you well, who sees you, and keeps track of you – not just your body but your soul.

Emily Freeman

Sharon Sharing God

Sunday, March 11, 2012

BIBLE PICK 'EMS - The One and Only

4 comments:

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HOW GREAT THOU ART

ALL FOR HIS GLORY

I'D RATHER HAVE JESUS

THE GLORIFIED ONE

SERVING THE MOST HIGH

HE IS ALWAYS THERE, AND EVER NEAR