Author: Larry Soape

Larry Soape is the Associate Pastor for Median & Senior Adults, and Missions at FBCSA.

Inspired Praise

Re:Verse passage – 2 Chronicles 5:1-14 (day four)


When the Hebrews praised the Lord in the Temple (verse 13), they used a familiar phrase.  David had used it often in the psalms…”the Lord is good, for His lovingkindness is everlasting.”  (Chapters 106, 107, 118, 136)  The prophet Jeremiah used it later when he foretold the restoration of Israel from the Babylonian exile (Jeremiah 33:11).  Since Scripture is inspired by God, this phrase must be pleasing to God.  In our Re:Verse this week, God’s response to this corporate praise from the Hebrews was to fill the Temple with His presence.  He literally inhabited their praise.

Sounds like a good idea to use God’s own words to praise Him!  Using the words of Scripture to pray back to God is pleasing to Him.  In prayer, in songs and hymns, or in worship…God responds to His praise.  Do you want to acknowledge God’s love…God’s goodness…God’s character?  “The Lord is good, His lovingkindness is everlasting!”

Healthy Fear

Re:Verse passage – 2 Chronicles 3:1-17 (day four)

God had given David the plans for the temple and also supplied all of the needed gold and silver, brass, iron, precious stones, and fine woven material.  Solomon set out to build a temple worthy of the one true God.  In chapter 3, we see that God was very specific with where, how, and with what, every aspect of the temple was to be built.

In God’s sovereignty, He was very involved in the details of constructing the temple.  Throughout history, many have believed and taught that God created the world and then stepped back and allowed man to manage it on his own…that is not the case!  God is intimately involved in the affairs of man.  God promised Israel blessing and curse…depending on their obedience to Him.  Discipline and curse is prepared for those who do not obey God.  That truth should instill a healthy fear of God in our hearts.  How have you seen God’s hand at work in your daily life?

Hard to Trust?

Re:Verse passage – 2 Chronicles 2:1-12 (day four)

David had put aside vast amounts of supplies to build the Temple with…gold, silver, bronze, precious stone, iron, fabrics…but Solomon needed more.  Evidently, Solomon had enlarged the plans for the Temple and required more supplies.  As grand as the plans were for the Temple, Solomon recognized that God could not be contained within this house.  Even the heavens and the highest heavens were not large enough to hold God.  God was greater than time or space.

When we stop and contemplate on the greatness of God, it is truly beyond our comprehension.  God reminded Job of His greatness in Job 38-41.  God has performed tasks and created perfection in ways we don’t even know to ask about.  In our finite thinking, we cannot fathom the majesty and glory of God.

So can a God this big manage the petty needs in our lives?  They don’t seem petty to us maybe, but in the grand scheme of things they hardly register on the scale of importance and complexity.  Why does it seem to be so hard to trust God?  He has promised to guide us…to provide for us…to meet our every need, yet we struggle to trust Him.  Ask God for the faith to trust Him!

Here’s the Question

Re:Verse passage – 2 Chronicles 1:1-13 (day four)

Solomon recognized who had made him king…it wasn’t his father David, it wasn’t the Israelites, it was God.  He also recognized the huge task before him of ruling this mass of people.  Solomon had no doubt been raised in the lap of luxury…wanting for nothing.  Now though, faced with the responsibility of making the decisions that would affect all of the Israelites, Solomon turned to his God.  When God offered him whatever he desired, Solomon requested wisdom to rule.  To Solomon’s credit, this was a very wise answer…reflecting his training and heritage.

How would we respond to such an offer?  Winning the Publisher’s Clearing House drawing would be nice…houses and lands…longevity and good health…certainly our culture pushes us to such self-gratifying rewards.  Wisdom and knowledge, obedience and discernment, kindness and love…how could we best serve our God?  The answers to a question like God asked are answers of the heart.  Solomon had prepared his heart prior to God’s question by worshiping his God.  How are you preparing your heart…should you be asked a question?

Worship is the Goal

Re:Verse passage – 1 Chronicles 29:1-11 (day four)

So that we can put the value of the offering given for the Temple in perspective…the gold given by King David and the Jewish leaders, in today’s economy, would be $207,000,000.  The silver would be valued at $1,989,000.  This is a total of nearly 209 million dollars…just the gold and the silver!  Quite an offering!

David recognized though that all of the resource came from God to begin with.  He had provided the offering.  Verse 16 says, “O Lord our God, all this abundance that we have provided to build You a house for Your holy name, it is from Your hand, and all is Yours.”  Verse 18 follows with the purpose of the offering…it was to direct their heart to God.  (verse 18)

Good times and prosperity, hard times and need, joy, sadness, comfort or discouragement…all of our experiences are designed to lead us to God.  The privilege of giving was to direct the worship of the people towards God.  Is giving to God’s work a joy or a burden to you?  Do the difficult things in life turn you to God?  Giving is an act of the heart, not the wallet!

Details

Re:Verse passage – 1 Chronicles 28:11-21 (day four)

One of the first things you recognize in our passage is the detail of the plans that David provides to his son, Solomon.  He has a plan for everything…buildings, porches, inner rooms, upper rooms, utensils, dishes, storehouses, etc.  David had put a lot of thought into the temple.  These were not his plans though…verse 19 gives us the key.  “All this,” said David, “the Lord made me understand in writing by His hand upon me, all the details of this pattern.”  It was God who paid attention to all the detail.  Details are not surprising when God created the heavens and the earth.  Exquisite and intricate detail characterizes every creation of God.

Is it important to God that things are done correctly?  Does He give a general idea as to how something should be and leave the details up to man to figure out?  Does God, for instance, have a detailed ‘master plan’ developed for our church or does He allow us to come up with our best plans and ideas?  Sounds like we have some praying to do!

The Name of the Lord

Re:Verse passage – 1 Chronicles 28:1-10  (day four)

From the beginning of time, the name of the Lord had been holy.  Following man’s expulsion from the Garden of Eden and the birth of Seth, men began to call on the name of the Lord.  (Genesis 4:26) Following the flood and when God made His covenant with Abraham, men called upon the name of the Lord.  All through Scripture, the name of the Lord was revered and holy.  Now when David seeks to build the temple, God preserves His holy name.  His name will not be associated with the shedding of man’s blood.

Does God’s name cause you to reverence Him?  Do you prepare your heart to come into His presence?  We are not to casually or lightly approach His throne.  Care must be taken not to presume upon His grace and promises.  We are not to demand His response.  The love of God compels us to reverence His name…our God is a Holy God!

True Colors

Re:Verse passage – Mark 3:31-35 (day four)

There will always be someone ‘outside’…someone close to you, related to you, or thrown together with you through circumstances…that will be set on distracting or diverting you from obedience to what God wants you to do.  They may make a frontal assault or present as a caring companion offering a common sense approach.  Even more insidious an enemy though is sin.

Sin masquerades as a harmless distraction that can do us no harm.  (Picture trying to run a race when you are entangled in a fishing net.)  In fact, we must recognize sin as a subtle and pervasive enemy that seeks to rob us of spiritual power and victory.  If we call our sin a weakness or bad habit instead of confronting it for what it really is, we can never have victory.  Hebrews 12:1 warns us to throw off the sin that so easily entangles us.  Thank God there is no sin that entangles us that God’s grace does not abound more!  (Romans 5:20)

Preparation

Re:Verse passage – Mark 3:20-30 (day four)

What is a parable? It is a short, didactic story using people as characters to teach a spiritual truth or principle. Our passage this week says Jesus began to speak to them in parables…but these don’t exactly look like parables. Parables often require the reader to recognize the allegory in the story and then to make the connection to the spiritual truth. These parables seem to be straightforward…no interpretation required here. A kingdom divided against itself cannot stand…you cannot plunder a strong man’s house unless you first bind the strong man. Some of Jesus’ parables went right by the religious leaders of the day…they had no idea what He was talking about. You would think that these parables were very obvious in their truths.

Scripture has many straightforward principles…you must be born again…Jesus is the only way to salvation…I go to prepare a place for you and I will come again. These and many others give a clear message…to the heart that has been prepared by the Holy Spirit! Rejection of the Holy Spirit brings eternal judgment. The heart cannot understand without the Spirit’s enlightening work.

True Disciples

Re:Verse passage – Mark 3:13-19 (day four)

Our passage this week presents a very important period in the life of Christ…the calling of the twelve.  These men would be tasked with spreading the gospel throughout the world.  Jesus invested His entire public ministry time into these men.  They were given great gifts…much was expected of them.  When others fell away, they stood firm.  Following the ascension of Christ, all eleven remaining disciples were still present.

Four of the men on this list are almost anonymous…we know little or nothing about them.  Their mention here in this list of the called is the totality of our knowledge of them.  They had no pedigree…they sought no recognition…they demonstrated no great insight or leadership…they disappeared almost without a trace.

These men were Jesus’ disciples.  They were faithful to the end…they accomplished what they were called to do.  No fanfare, just obedience!  Many of us are called just as they were.  No fame, no recognition, no high profile responsibility…just simple obedience to share the gospel.  God is glorified by our obedience!