Today I spent my quiet time with God reading two devotionals that some of you may be familiar with. In addition to these I am on a reading plan to read through the entire bible just one chapter at a time. Today the chapter was 2 Chronicles 2, in this chapter King Solomon is preparing to build a holy temple to honor the name of The Lord. He describes the temple using the word magnificent because our God is greater than any other god. So in order to build a magnificent temple King Solomon obviously needs some very skilled people and just a lot of help in general. So in the chapter he writes to a king named Hiram requesting he send him supplies and skilled men to get the job done. In return Solomon sends him wine, olive oil, and barley (very expensive gifts). The king responds in praise to The Lord and does what king Solomon requests gratefully. One of my devotions this morning communicated to me that each day is a precious gift from The Father and as we savor this gift we find Him. The other devotion was from Nehemiah 8:10 which speaks of sharing gift of food with people who have nothing prepared. So today I want to share a resource that I feel was very much a gift to me. We’re taking a missions training class and learned a great technique for doing a simple bible study. The method is in the image of a sword. The base of the sword being what did you learn about man, the tip what did you learn about God. The left hand side asks the question is there a command and the right asks if there is an example to follow. I’ll attach a diagram and hopefully you can use this method as you delve into God’s word today. Sometimes it’s hard for me to understand the bible,and I find myself not connecting with what I’m reading, this has been a very helpful technique that Colby and I use as we read now. As I used the sword method in 2 Chronicles 2 today I learned that man needs the help, skills, and resources of other men to accomplish God’s purposes. I learned that God has commanded us to use all that God has gifted us and other people with to bring Him glory. The example to follow was that both King Hiram and King Solomon both worked together and treated each other respectfully. They were both willing to use their skills and resources to bring God glory with this temple and in the midst of this King Hiram praised God. What I learned about God was that He doesn’t ask us to do anything He hasn’t already equipped us with skills or resources around us to do! I also learned that sometimes He uses other people (Solomon) to encourage us (King Hiram) to join His purpose of everyone having the opportunity to know God and hear the good news about Jesus. God commands us in Matthew 28:19-20 Go and make disciples (go teach and make teachers) baptizing them in the name of the Father (God), the Son (Jesus), and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age. So today be encouraged that God has commanded and equipped you and me with gifts and resources to share the good news of Jesus and our testimony with the lost, and cast a vision of how the saved people can join together for God’s purpose today.
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