1 Kings – Chapter 10

Blessed be the Lord your God, who has delighted in you and set you on the throne of Israel! Because the Lord loved Israel forever, he has made you king, that you may execute justice and righteousness. 1 Kings 10:9 – King Solomon had a visitor, the Queen of Sheba. She arrived with a great royal host, with great royal gifts, and a royal amount of questions for Solomon. Yet after the introductions, after the tours of the kingdom, and after hearing Solomon’s wisdom, the Queen was breathless. Everything was more amazing than she had heard and she gave praise to the Lord as a result. Now we don’t have any indication that she was a follower of God, nor became one after this, but after seeing the immeasurable blessing of God she couldn’t help but give Him praise. This was the promise of the Lord for His people, that if they followed Him, He would bless and exalt them over every nation on earth. That the earth would see and give praise to the Lord for it was clear He was far greater than anything of this world. While the takeaway for us shouldn’t be that if we follow God we’ll be blessed with an abundance of gold and a royal throne, it should be that God will richly bless those who follow Him to the point that others around will see and give God praise. God will bless with rich joy during the hardest of seasons. God will bless with supportive community. God will bless with deep peace during the chaos that comes in this life. When the world around us sees us filled with joy and peace, surrounded by a loving spiritual family, all during the seasons of life that typically destroy people…they will see and hopefully give glory to the Lord, for those blessings come only from a heavenly place. Live faithfully, embrace the blessings that come from God as a result of faithful living, and be willing to point the world to Him when they see your blessed life. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 3054

1 Kings 10 Daily DEVO Now when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord, she came to test him with hard questions. 1 Kings 10:1 – Does a passage like this make you nervous? The idea that someone would come and test you with hard questions? Know that hard questions will be directed at us as we walk the path God is leading us on. So start now getting ready for them. How? Never stop studying God’s Word. That will be your key resource to answering the hard questions. Also pour time into relationship with people further along in the faith than you. When you need help finding answers, they’ll be the ones to help you. Finally, know it’s ok to say “I don’t know” to their question. Don’t though leave it there but be willing to search, maybe even with them, for an answer. Hard questions will come, know though you have resources and a God who is with you to help. Never then let the fact that hard questions may come up be an excuse to not share God’s love with people. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1011

And the whole earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God had put into his mind. 1 Kings 10:24 – When you read this chapter it’s hard to come away from this not amazed at the life and kingdom of Solomon. Even the Queen of Sheba had her breath taken from her after experiencing his kingdom. His wisdom was like none other and his wealth was like nothing before seen. Something though to keep in mind was all this was from God. If it wasn’t for God Solomon wouldn’t have had the wisdom that was the foundation to his kingdom. So if we are amazed at Solomon, how much more amazed should we be at the God who gave Solomon what he had! How much more should God take our breath away for He is the one who gave out of His abundance so that Solomon could have what he had. When then something of this world takes your breath away remember how much greater is the One who provided the resources to make that breath-taking thing. If this world takes your breath away, how much more should the God who simply spoke and the Heavens were created should take your breath. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2194