I just had to share this link. It is a wonderful addition to my previous post. Many thanks to Pastor Brad Williams. Read @ Sojourner.
For a closer look at what kind of busy we should be: check out Tyler's post @ Sons of the Prophets.
My how time flies! I did not realize that it had been 10 days since my last post. According to my sitemeter, some of you have been checking in regularly. So sorry for the lack of new material. I've had lots of laundry to catch up on since vacation. And we have been involved in a couple of outreach opportunities with our church. My sis over at BTIW tells me that traffic always slacks up in the summer but mine has been pretty consistent.
Thank you for your continued support. You will find my post for today at Beneath the Ivy Wreath's Worship Wednesday.
I didn't want you all to miss Worship Wednesday, so I posted it here. Enjoy.
Dead flies in perfume make it stink, And a little foolishness decomposes much wisdom.
Ecclesiastes 10:1 The Message
King Solomon has been called the wisest man that ever lived. Even before he asked the Lord for wisdom, he was a man with some sense. A foolish man would have asked for gold, silver, land, and many women to satisfy his carnal appetites. The unwise would have no restraint in his use of these acquisitions. His contentment would be short lived.
Solomon wound up with wisdom and all the trimmings. He was also known as the wealthiest man of his time. There was no shortage of women in his life either. Scripture records that he had 700 wives and 300 concubines. Just how could one man handle 1000 women in his household????? Men today would like to know. lol.
He may have married some for love, but many were little more than political pawns to advance his objectives. Others he acquired as booty (no pun intended) from his conquests.
Still others were gifts from neighboring kings and magistrates. These women became the beginning of the end for him. In the following verses we see that God gave Solomon some strict commands concerning women. Verse 4 is the sad outcome of his poor choices.
2Of the nations concerning which the LORD said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in unto you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon clave unto these in love.
3And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart.
4For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father. I Kings 11:2 - 4 KJV
You see my friends, even the gifts of God can be marred by their misuse or neglect. Solomon had every advantage as long as he was using the wisdom God gave him. As long as he was obedient to the Lord, he acted responsibly. No doubt he began to worship idol gods to appease the foreign wives. He probably funded many pagan feasts and activities. Perhaps he helped many with solid advice. Certainly he left a cache of help for future generations.
Look at the books of Proverbs, Song of Solomon, and Ecclesiastes. They are insightful, educational, powerful, and proven. But they are of little value to us if we do not take heed to them. If we are disobedient we will miss out on all the God has for us. Even our offspring can suffer from our lack of commitment.
11Wherefore the LORD said unto Solomon, Forasmuch as this is done of thee, and thou hast not kept my covenant and my statutes, which I have commanded thee, I will surely rend the kingdom from thee, and will give it to thy servant.
12Notwithstanding in thy days I will not do it for David thy father's sake: but I will rend it out of the hand of thy son. I Kings 11:11, 12 KJV
"There’s no use offering me sweet frankincense from Sheba. Keep your fragrant calamus imported from distant lands! I will not accept your burnt offerings. Your sacrifices have no pleasing aroma for me." Jeremiah 6:20 NLT
Don't let anything ruin your fragrance!
Come see me here today. I just can't seem to finish anything these days. I have four posts in progress. Each needing that little something to make them complete. It is not just in the blogosphere that I am slacking. I have several home improvement projects that are awaiting my attention. Maybe I have adult ADHD. :>)
******News Flash**** It is 2pm and my sister there has not posted it yet.*****
Guess you'll have to shame her into giving me posting access to her place. Then it would actually be my fault if Worship Wednesday was not posted on time. :-)
Priorities: it is all about priorities. That's a post for another day.
Right now, I need to be getting my bills ready to mail. They are in a stack right beside the printer. But..... I needed to write and send a post to my sister before morning. That's how I wound up on the computer in the first place..... but.....and....but....and... Excuses abound.
Seriously, I should be posting some better material soon.
P.S. Have any of you ever gotten a bug or virus from blogger comments? Just wondering.
Doubtless you have heard the expression, "I had an ox in the ditch" or some variation of it. It is just another saying that man has taken from the Bible and shaped to suit his own purposes. In most instances today, it is merely an excuse. "An excuse is a skin of truth stretched over a lie." That's what an aged Sunday School teacher told me, and I believe she was right.
Many times this expression is used in regards to missing church or being late getting there. Oh they will elaborate and say something about having to run an errand before church and......and..... It is in all the explanation that you find the truth of the matter. Something else took priority over attending the house of God. Does it really take both parents and all the siblings to care for one puny child? Couldn't they have filled up the car before the service?
And Jesus answered them, saying, Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the sabbath day? Luke 14:5
In the original context, getting the ox out of a pit was considered work and thus broke the Law of the Sabbath. Yet having mercy on the animal outweighed the penalty of the Law. Jesus had just healed a man of dropsy. It was the Sabbath. The Pharisees looked on him with disdain. Jesus used this example to expose the weakness of the Law, highlight the supremacy of mercy, and shut the mouths of the religious critics.
Showing mercy to an ox is an attribute we all should have. If we see a fellow ox in the ditch then we should act immediately. Don't wait for the elders to pray for them on Sunday. Don't wait until their struggles have zapped all their strength. Don't wait until they are covered in mud or the water is over their heads. Jesus would not wait, so why should we?
By the way, be sure to check out the reader's comments on the previous post. Good stuff.
