John 12:1-19 KJV (1) Then Jesus six days before the passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead. (2) There they made him a supper; and Martha served: but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him. (3) Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment. (4) Then saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, which should betray him, (5) Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor? (6) This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein. (7) Then said Jesus, Let her alone: against the day of my burying hath she kept this. (8) For the poor always ye have with you; but me ye have not always. (9) Much people of the Jews therefore knew that he was there: and they came not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might see Lazarus also, whom he had raised from the dead. (10) But the chief priests consulted that they might put Lazarus also to death; (11) Because that by reason of him many of the Jews went away, and believed on Jesus. (12) On the next day much people that were come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, (13) Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord. (14) And Jesus, when he had found a young ass, sat thereon; as it is written, (15) Fear not, daughter of Sion: behold, thy King cometh, sitting on an ass’s colt. (16) These things understood not his disciples at the first: but when Jesus was glorified, then remembered they that these things were written of him, and that they had done these things unto him. (17) The people therefore that was with him when he called Lazarus out of his grave, and raised him from the dead, bare record. (18) For this cause the people also met him, for that they heard that he had done this miracle. (19) The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, Perceive ye how ye prevail nothing? behold, the world is gone after him.
2 Chronicles 1:1-3:17 KJV (1) And Solomon the son of David was strengthened in his kingdom, and the LORD his God was with him, and magnified him exceedingly. (2) Then Solomon spake unto all Israel, to the captains of thousands and of hundreds, and to the judges, and to every governor in all Israel, the chief of the fathers. (3) So Solomon, and all the congregation with him, went to the high place that was at Gibeon; for there was the tabernacle of the congregation of God, which Moses the servant of the LORD had made in the wilderness. (4) But the ark of God had David brought up from Kirjathjearim to the place which David had prepared for it: for he had pitched a tent for it at Jerusalem. (5) Moreover the brasen altar, that Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, had made, he put before the tabernacle of the LORD: and Solomon and the congregation sought unto it. (6) And Solomon went up thither to the brasen altar before the LORD, which was at the tabernacle of the congregation, and offered a thousand burnt offerings upon it. (7) In that night did God appear unto Solomon, and said unto him, Ask what I shall give thee. (8) And Solomon said unto God, Thou hast shewed great mercy unto David my father, and hast made me to reign in his stead. (9) Now, O LORD God, let thy promise unto David my father be established: for thou hast made me king over a people like the dust of the earth in multitude. (10) Give me now wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out and come in before this people: for who can judge this thy people, that is so great? (11) And God said to Solomon, Because this was in thine heart, and thou hast not asked riches, wealth, or honour, nor the life of thine enemies, neither yet hast asked long life; but hast asked wisdom and knowledge for thyself, that thou mayest judge my people, over whom I have made thee king: (12) Wisdom and knowledge is granted unto thee; and I will give thee riches, and wealth, and honour, such as none of the kings have had that have been before thee, neither shall there any after thee have the like. (13) Then Solomon came from his journey to the high place that was at Gibeon to Jerusalem, from before the tabernacle of the congregation, and reigned over Israel. (14) And Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen: and he had a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, which he placed in the chariot cities, and with the king at Jerusalem. (15) And the king made silver and gold at Jerusalem as plenteous as stones, and cedar trees made he as the sycomore trees that are in the vale for abundance. (16) And Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt, and linen yarn: the king’s merchants received the linen yarn at a price. (17) And they fetched up, and brought forth out of Egypt a chariot for six hundred shekels of silver, and an horse for an hundred and fifty: and so brought they out horses for all the kings of the Hittites, and for the kings of Syria, by their means. (1) And Solomon determined to build an house for the name of the LORD, and an house for his kingdom. (2) And Solomon told out threescore and ten thousand men to bear burdens, and fourscore thousand to hew in the mountain, and three thousand and six hundred to oversee them. (3) And Solomon sent to Huram the king of Tyre, saying, As thou didst deal with David my father, and didst send him cedars to build him an house to dwell therein, even so deal with me. (4) Behold, I build an house to the name of the LORD my God, to dedicate it to him, and to burn before him sweet incense, and for the continual shewbread, and for the burnt offerings morning and evening, on the sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the solemn feasts of the LORD our God. This is an ordinance for ever to Israel. (5) And the house which I build is great: for great is our God above all gods. (6) But who is able to build him an house, seeing the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain him? who am I then, that I should build him an house, save only to burn sacrifice before him? (7) Send me now therefore a man cunning to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in iron, and in purple, and crimson, and blue, and that can skill to grave with the cunning men that are with me in Judah and in Jerusalem, whom David my father did provide. (8) Send me also cedar trees, fir trees, and algum trees, out of Lebanon: for I know that thy servants can skill to cut timber in Lebanon; and, behold, my servants shall be with thy servants, (9) Even to prepare me timber in abundance: for the house which I am about to build shall be wonderful great. (10) And, behold, I will give to thy servants, the hewers that cut timber, twenty thousand measures of beaten wheat, and twenty thousand measures of barley, and twenty thousand baths of wine, and twenty thousand baths of oil. (11) Then Huram the king of Tyre answered in writing, which he sent to Solomon, Because the LORD hath loved his people, he hath made thee king over them. (12) Huram said moreover, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, that made heaven and earth, who hath given to David the king a wise son, endued with prudence and understanding, that might build an house for the LORD, and an house for his kingdom. (13) And now I have sent a cunning man, endued with understanding, of Huram my father’s, (14) The son of a woman of the daughters of Dan, and his father was a man of Tyre, skilful to work in gold, and in silver, in brass, in iron, in stone, and in timber, in purple, in blue, and in fine linen, and in crimson; also to grave any manner of graving, and to find out every device which shall be put to him, with thy cunning men, and with the cunning men of my lord David thy father. (15) Now therefore the wheat, and the barley, the oil, and the wine, which my lord hath spoken of, let him send unto his servants: (16) And we will cut wood out of Lebanon, as much as thou shalt need: and we will bring it to thee in floats by sea to Joppa; and thou shalt carry it up to Jerusalem. (17) And Solomon numbered all the strangers that were in the land of Israel, after the numbering wherewith David his father had numbered them; and they were found an hundred and fifty thousand and three thousand and six hundred. (18) And he set threescore and ten thousand of them to be bearers of burdens, and fourscore thousand to be hewers in the mountain, and three thousand and six hundred overseers to set the people a work. (1) Then Solomon began to build the house of the LORD at Jerusalem in mount Moriah, where the LORD appeared unto David his father, in the place that David had prepared in the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite. (2) And he began to build in the second day of the second month, in the fourth year of his reign. (3) Now these are the things wherein Solomon was instructed for the building of the house of God. The length by cubits after the first measure was threescore cubits, and the breadth twenty cubits. (4) And the porch that was in the front of the house, the length of it was according to the breadth of the house, twenty cubits, and the height was an hundred and twenty: and he overlaid it within with pure gold. (5) And the greater house he cieled with fir tree, which he overlaid with fine gold, and set thereon palm trees and chains. (6) And he garnished the house with precious stones for beauty: and the gold was gold of Parvaim. (7) He overlaid also the house, the beams, the posts, and the walls thereof, and the doors thereof, with gold; and graved cherubims on the walls. (8) And he made the most holy house, the length whereof was according to the breadth of the house, twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof twenty cubits: and he overlaid it with fine gold, amounting to six hundred talents. (9) And the weight of the nails was fifty shekels of gold. And he overlaid the upper chambers with gold. (10) And in the most holy house he made two cherubims of image work, and overlaid them with gold. (11) And the wings of the cherubims were twenty cubits long: one wing of the one cherub was five cubits, reaching to the wall of the house: and the other wing was likewise five cubits, reaching to the wing of the other cherub. (12) And one wing of the other cherub was five cubits, reaching to the wall of the house: and the other wing was five cubits also, joining to the wing of the other cherub. (13) The wings of these cherubims spread themselves forth twenty cubits: and they stood on their feet, and their faces were inward. (14) And he made the vail of blue, and purple, and crimson, and fine linen, and wrought cherubims thereon. (15) Also he made before the house two pillars of thirty and five cubits high, and the chapiter that was on the top of each of them was five cubits. (16) And he made chains, as in the oracle, and put them on the heads of the pillars; and made an hundred pomegranates, and put them on the chains. (17) And he reared up the pillars before the temple, one on the right hand, and the other on the left; and called the name of that on the right hand Jachin, and the name of that on the left Boaz.
John 11:47-57 KJV (47) Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council, and said, What do we? for this man doeth many miracles. (48) If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation. (49) And one of them, named Caiaphas, being the high priest that same year, said unto them, Ye know nothing at all, (50) Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not. (51) And this spake he not of himself: but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation; (52) And not for that nation only, but that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad. (53) Then from that day forth they took counsel together for to put him to death. (54) Jesus therefore walked no more openly among the Jews; but went thence unto a country near to the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim, and there continued with his disciples. (55) And the Jews’ passover was nigh at hand: and many went out of the country up to Jerusalem before the passover, to purify themselves. (56) Then sought they for Jesus, and spake among themselves, as they stood in the temple, What think ye, that he will not come to the feast? (57) Now both the chief priests and the Pharisees had given a commandment, that, if any man knew where he were, he should shew it, that they might take him.
And Peter said, Man, I know not what thou sayest. And immediately, while he yet spake, the cock crew. (Luke 22:60)
For centuries we have enjoyed practicing our religion in safety here in America. Faith was so important to the founders of this nation that its protection is clearly stated in the first sentence of the first amendment to our Constitution. First, in a series of ten amendments which are known as the Bill of Rights. Sadly, there is an increasing number of people who are adamantly opposed to allowing Christians to have that basic freedom. Too often we read in the news of attempts to silence the preaching of God’s word. Here in America, the land of freedom, Christians have been arrested for refusing to deny their faith.
I would like to believe I am grounded enough in my faith that I would boldly proclaim the name of Christ no matter the circumstances. But in our verse today we find Peter denying he knew Christ the third time. Peter was afraid.
Peter was the third disciple to follow Christ. When Jesus met Peter, He renamed him Cephas, which interpreted means a stone, signifying the rock-solid faith that Peter would have. Peter stepped out on the waters of the Sea of Galilee when Jesus said “Come”.
All the disciples hid in fear as Jesus alone faced those next few hours of torment leading up to His crucifixion. But the Bible only gives us the account of Peter, the one whom Christ granted the rock-solid faith.
Even the strongest Christian has a breaking point. Rock-solid faith planted in the heart of this carnal flesh will eventually show its weakness. But in our weakness, God shows His unfailing strength. Jesus tells us that the tiniest amount of faith in Him is enough to move mountains. When our faith falters, (that’s when, not if) we are still secure in His hand.
Brethren we need to encourage one another, pray for each other, that in this time we have, we may continue to stand boldly for Christ.
“Woe is me!” The prophet Micah laments his circumstances in the seventh chapter of his discourse to the leaders of Israel, speaking of the wickedness surrounding him. We can sympathize with Micah’s plight today. Our leaders seem to have no regard for the people. In chapter 2, Micah describes those in power as devising evil at night to practice when the morning light comes. Their greed drove them to oppress the common people without any sign of remorse. Judges required bribes for their verdicts. The rich and powerful would entangle their mischief in the courts allowing them to continue their evil ways. Sound familiar?
Micah was given the unpopular task of proclaiming God’s impending judgement on Israel. His bold witness for God was believed by a few and rejected by many. In chapter 7 Micah speaks of discord within close family members. The controversies caused by his witness surely affected his mental state. We can easily be discouraged at the mockery of God we see around us.
But Micah made a determined choice to trust God. In verses 7-8 we read; “Therefore I will look unto the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me. Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD shall be a light unto me.” (Micah 7:7-8)
We can easily get distressed if we watch all the evil going on around us. It may seem like the whole world is against us. But like Micah, we must determine to look unto the LORD, trust Him, and allow Him to be our light in this dark world. God gives rest to the weary, strength to the down-trodden, and comfort to the brokenhearted.
But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: (1 Peter 3:15)
Whether you admit it or not, we all crave attention. We want people to hear what we have to say. Our society has driven many of us to sharing frivolous nonsense on social media, then agonizing over how many likes and follows we get. Going “viral” is now the ultimate excitement.
Truth is that people are watching us wherever we go. If we claim to be a follower of Christ, we are watched even closer. God calls us to be a peculiar people. Why would He do that you ask? So that people might take notice of our gratitude and praise toward God. (ref. 1 Peter 2:9).
When we attract attention for God’s glory, it awakens a curiosity in those around us. As Peter tells us in our focus verse, we must be ready to answer questions about our faith. When talking about our faith, we need to be honest. We should not try to hide our flaws or pretend that we are perfect. We need to be open about our own journey and allow others to see that we are real people who have struggles just like them.
How can we prepare ourselves for the questions? Spending time each day reading God’s word and in prayer is vital to our readiness. The most effective message you can give someone is to tell them how you came to trust in Christ. That is your witness that no one can dispute. But as the apostle Paul warns young Timothy, (ref. 2 Tim. 2:23) we must avoid getting side-tracked into foolish questions which will certainly lead to arguments and do nothing to further God’s kingdom. Always allow the Holy Spirit to guide your answers and conversations.
Allowing God to continuously transform your life through the reading of His word and in prayer will prepare you to not only be ready, but confidently await any questions about the hope within you.
“There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.”
Hebrews 4:9 KJV
Webster’s defines rest in several ways. A few of them are freedom from activity or labor, peace of mind or spirit, to be free from anxiety or disturbance, and a rhythmic silence in music.
Hebrews 4:9
We can see examples of all these definitions in God’s Word. God rested on the seventh day after His six days of work of creation, (Gen. 2:2). We can have peace of mind and be free from anxiety when we “Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him”, (Psa. 37:7a). Jesus is resting at the right hand of the His Father, a brief rhythmic quiet intermission between His finished work on the cross and His triumphant return to claim His church bride and destroy the enemy, (Psa. 110:1).
But for us, those who are the people of God, we have a rest that “remaineth”, one to look forward to. How do get to that rest? A work must be done, and energy must be exhausted for a rest to be applicable. It cannot be called rest if no work has been done beforehand.
What is this work? Jesus said “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:” (Matthew 28:19). All nations means all countries around the globe, but it also includes our next-door neighbor, our family members, our co-workers and classmates. Nations are made up of people. All nations means ALL people.
How long must we work before we reach our rest? Jesus also said, “And the gospel must first be published among all nations.” (Mar. 13:10). Man’s life is but a vapor, that appears for a little time, and then vanishes away. We must work tirelessly to publish the gospel to all people while we still have breath. Only then will our work be complete, and we may enter into our rest.
Gracious Father, thank you for the promise of rest when my work is complete. Give me strength today for the tasks You have planned for me. In Jesus’ name I humbly pray. Amen.
