THE INEVITABLE RESULTS OF A DIVIDED HEART

October 17, 2023

Now Solomon loved many foreign women ... who turned his heart away ... Now the Lord was angry with Solomon because his heart was turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice, and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods; but he did not observe what the Lord had commanded. (1 Kings 11:1-2, 9-10)

You would think that Solomon had learned. He watched his father, David, make a fatal mistake with unguarded affections and misplaced love. And now, this son, wiser than anyone who had ever lived, comes in his old age and “loved many foreign women.”

A DIVIDED HEART

The operative word in this tragic travelogue is “loved.” Solomon’s affections were turned away from the Lord ... the One who had blessed him with riches and a kingdom ... who had endowed him with unsurpassable wisdom. The Sovereign who had come and warned him not to go down the road of moral impurity.

But he loved something more greatly than he loved the One who had given him everything. And this divided loyalty, this misplaced love, was his downfall. The whole nation was plunged into disunity, chaos, and war because of one man’s misplaced affection. The history of Israel in the next generations became ugly and it all began with this fatal step.

MY HEART

What do I love more than I love Christ? Regardless of what He says and how He warns, what love am I unwilling to forsake? It is a recipe for disaster, not only for me but those around me and it could have ramifications for years.

The first and greatest commandment is to “love the Lord your God will ALL your heart, mind, soul, and strength.” All. Not only will this focused affection yield the best fruit and highest satisfaction, but it will also save us from the disasters of a worldly turn.

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A NEAR SIX-DECADE TESTIMONY OF THE VALUE AND JOY OF SIMPLY READING THE BIBLE EVERY DAY

January 01, 2025

So this morning, January 1, 2025, I rise early once again. I will enter into the throne room before the Father, because the Son has made a way for me to come into this “grace in which I now stand.” I will open the Word God has written and preserved for me so I could have it in my hands. I will ask the precious Holy Spirit to teach me, showing me things which “eye has not seen and ear has not heard” that have been prepared for me. And I will have the glorious privilege, once again, of communing with God.