TITLE: FIVE PRINCIPLES OF WISDOM FOR THE CHRISTIAN LIFE

SCRIPTURE:

“And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart and understands every desire and every thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever. 10 Consider now, for the Lord has chosen you to build a house as the sanctuary. Be strong and do the work.” (1Chronicles 28:9—10)

OBSERVATION:

King David’s parting words as he transitions the kingdom of Israel under the leadership of his son Solomon.  Adonijah one of David’s sons sets himself up as king without the knowledge of his father David.  There is always a danger in self-promotion.  It did not end well for Adonijah.  David chose Solomon to be the king instead to carry out the plans that he had for the temple of God to be built.  Solomon was a young king and David gave encouragement to prepare Solomon to lead Israel and build the temple.

These words are worthy of any leader that serves in the house of God.  I am reminded again and again of the importance of these instructions David gave Solomon as a young leader.

• ACKNOWLEDGE GOD…This is a powerful reminder that in everything we do, acknowledge God. Bring God always into the picture.  I must learn to always put God first in all my decision-making.  In this season of Corona, there were so many things to decide and so many opinions and thoughts on how to move forward.  Ultimately, I must acknowledge God in every decision that I make and tried my very best to hear him.   To acknowledge is to SEEK HIM in all that I do.
• SERVE HIM WITH WHOLEHEARTED DEVOTION…My desire is to serve Jesus, wholeheartedly and never second guess my devotion and commitment to his guidance. I know at times my heart is challenged by circumstances and my motivation to do anything becomes a challenge.  I want to continue to make the choice of serving Jesus with wholehearted devotion no matter the circumstances I face in life.
• SERVE HIM WITH A WILLING MIND…Along with serving the Lord with wholehearted devotion, I want to serve him with a willing mind. I want nothing more than to have a willing mind to serve Jesus.  Under any circumstance and all challenges, I want to discipline my mind to be willing to do anything my Lord asks me to do.  I owe it to Christ.
• SEEK HIM IN EVERYTHING YOU DO…this enforces the sense of always ACKNOWLEDGING GOD in everything I do. This is important to have in mind and heart to be dependent on God’s wisdom and pay attention to details of God’s purpose in my life.
• BE STRONG AND DO THE WORK…Courage is important in serving Jesus. When everyone else shrinks back, I made a choice that I will never shrink back from walking with Jesus no matter what the challenge is.  Be Strong is a choice.  Without courage, all the plans that God sets up for me will not move forward.  Thus, King David highlighted these important points for his young ruler and son Solomon to do.

APPLICATION:

I will continue to apply these five important truths in my life as a child of God.  I want to always acknowledge Jesus in my life, serve him with wholehearted devotion, serve him with a willing heart, to seek him always, and be courageous in carrying forth his will.  I will remind myself to live with these truths in mind daily.

PRAYER:

Father, thank you for reminding me through David the kind of heart I must develop as I serve you.  Help me to always acknowledge what you are planning and doing in my life.  Help me to always involve you in my life plans and vision.  I want to be led by you in every aspect of my life.  Teach me how to serve you with wholehearted devotion, and a willing mind, to seek you, and to have the courage to do the things you ask me to do.  I want to submit to you and learn from you what I must do in all circumstances.  I submit to your leadership and guidance today.  Amen!