SOAP 05/24/2014; Psalm 136:26

Today's reading: 1 Kings 9; 2 Chronicles 8; Psalm 136; Romans 5

S) "²⁶ Give thanks to the God of heaven,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting."

Psalm 136:26 (NASB)

O) This psalm repeats the phrase, "For His lovingkindness is everlasting." 26 times, as it follows the initial statement of each verse. In v.1, we are told, "Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good," and it is followed by 24 accomplishments of God. That is, 24 different reasons to, "give thanks to the LORD," and yet, that is not actually how each verse reads. Each verse implores that we give thanks to God, describing who God is, and that we are to give thanks for one, primary reason, "For his lovingkindness is everlasting." So, v.26 is the summarization of the entire psalm.

A) There is a curious happening when I read this psalm. Because of the repetition of the second line, I had a tendency to skim it - barely acknowledging what it said. I noticed it about a third of the way through reading. I realized that, because it's repeating, my human nature is to overlook it, taking it for granted. I was prone to think I knew what it was saying. But, here is the beauty of this psalm - it's repeating that line to combat that nature. It repeats the driving force of our thankfulness, 26 times, so that we can come away from this verse seeing one very important point: above all else, above every other reason to love God, above every other reason to be thankful for who He is, and what He does for us, we are to be thankful because His lovingkindness is everlasting. I cannot let that become monotonous. I cannot let the grace of God, which does not end, become something that moves out of my focus, or out of my notice. I need to let it be drilled into my head, until I cannot ignore it.

P) Father, Thank You for the grace and mercy You have shown me, for Your lovingkindness is everlasting. Let me continually be aware of Your goodness, unable to ignore Your greatness, for Your lovingkindness is everlasting. May I worship You continually, with every part of my life, for Your lovingkindness is everlasting. In Jesus's name I pray. Amen.

SOAP 05/23/2014; Psalm 135:15-18

Today's reading: 2 Chronicles 6, 7; Psalm 135; Romans 4

S) "¹⁵ The idols of the nations are but silver and gold,
The work of man’s hands.
¹⁶ They have mouths, but they do not speak;
They have eyes, but they do not see;
¹⁷ They have ears, but they do not hear,
Nor is there any breath at all in their mouths.
¹⁸ Those who make them will be like them,
Yes, everyone who trusts in them."

Psalm 135:15-18 (NASB)

O) There are a lot of things that seem to be the answers to our questions. There are a lot of things that seem like solutions to our problems. There are a lot of thing that seem like God - but they are not. When we put something in te place of God, we deceive ourselves into a false sense of purpose, accomplishment, security, and even happiness. There are four categories here, that all directly correlate to our relationship with God. The breath is a reference to our spirits, which originate from His Spirit. Seeing and hearing is our ability to perceive His truth, our ability to know who He is. The last is our ability to speak. Specifically, our ability to worship and praise Him.

A) If I am allowing something to be an idol to me, taking the place of the LORD, then I will slowly, but surely, become like it: dead. I will be unable to truly worship Him. Jesus said we cannot serve two masters. I will become less and less able to hear from God. My prayer will be hindered by my inability to know His will. Finally, my very life will suffer. I'm not suggesting I might drop dead, or that the Holy Spirit will be suddenly taken from me (we are promised the Holy Spirit is our guarantee!). But, how much will my spirit within me be depressed? Held down? Idolatry can be tricky, subtle, and insidious. The answer, is focusing on the LORD, the only living God.

P) Father, thank You for forgiving my unfaithfulness to You. Please clear my vision and understanding. Reveal to me when things in my life are becoming idols to me, taking away from Your worship. Open my eyes to see, and my ears to hear, so I can truly live as You have called me to live. Let me walk on the destiny You plan for me. In Jesus's name I pray. Amen.

SOAP 05/22/2014; 2 Chronicles 5:12-14

Today's reading: 1 Kings 8; 2 Chronicles 5; Psalm 99; Romans 3

S) "12 and all the Levitical singers, Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, and their sons and kinsmen, clothed in fine linen, with cymbals, harps and lyres, standing east of the altar, and with them one hundred and twenty priests blowing trumpets 13 in unison when the trumpeters and the singers were to make themselves heard with one voice to praise and to glorify the Lord, and when they lifted up their voice accompanied by trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and when they praised the Lord saying, 'He indeed is good for His lovingkindness is everlasting,' then the house, the house of the Lord, was filled with a cloud, 14 so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God."

2 Chronicles 5:12-14 (NASB)

O) This is a beautiful picture of corporate worship. The ark of God had just been brought into the newly constructed temple, and they were about to begin a feast. They determine to worship in unison (see v.11), and it ushered in a powerful manifestation of the presence of the LORD.

A) I can't get this wrong- I do not worship so I can feel God's presence. My worship of Him is not about my feelings. By definition, if those are my motives, that is not truly worship. But, this is a sort of enigma, I think. In grace, God allows us the pure joy of His presence, and it does (or it should, at least) draw us into more worship. So, when I'm feeling lazy, or complacent about worship, especially corporate worship, a passage like this reminds me of the joy of His presence, that comes so often in the heart of His children, worshiping in unison.

P) Father, over and over, Your grace overwhelms me. It is such pure joy, to know Your presence. When I am truly worshiping You, it really does feel great. So much joy, and peace, and contentment- and yet, You didn't have to design it this way! You deserve my worship, regardless of my feelings. Thank You, though, that You consider my feelings at all. Than You, for allowing me to enjoy worship, LORD. In Jesus's name I pray. Amen.

SOAP 05/21/2014; 2 Chronicles 4:2

Today's reading: 1 Kings 7; 2 Chronicles 4; Psalm 98; Romans 2

S) "² Also he made the cast metal sea, ten cubits from brim to brim, circular in form, and its height was five cubits and its circumference thirty cubits."

2 Chronicles 4:2 (NASB)

O) Being the math nerd that I am, the first thing I thought when I read this, was, "A circle with a diameter of 10, means it has a circumference of 10[pi], or 31.415926535897932384626433832795... cubits... but I guess they just rounded it off." But then, I kept reading, and I got to the start of v.5, "It was a handbreadth thick..." So, that had my brain in a frenzy of background calculations that I was trying not to do as I continued to read through the chapter. Check out this cool, biblical math:

Remembering our geometry, circumference = diameter x Pi (c = d*[pi])

If you draw two concentric circles, a larger one with a diameter of exactly 10, and a slightly smaller one with a circumference of exactly 30, you'll find a gap between the two, that measures 0.2253517072 across. Remembering our unit of measure here is a cubit, which is traditionally 17.5 inches, we find this gap to be 3.943654876 inches... also known... as a handbreadth.

A) I am constantly blown away by the exact nature of our God. He is the God of math, the God of precision, of order, and purpose, and measure, and timing! I cannot believe in the god of random. I cannot believe in the god of chance. I cannot believe in the god of sloppy, or estimation, or vagueness. I concede that I am not always made aware of every detail, but that doesn't mean that HE is unaware of the details! I don't always need to know the details, and He will often withhold details that His servants don't need, but I always need to be aware that there are still details to consider. If I inquire about the precision of something, and He chooses not to reveal those exactitudes, then I must still be obedient and content. But, I should not ever assume that the details don't exist, or that God does not know or care about minutia. It may be that I don't need to be concerned with them, but He is, because He is!
One of my favorite baseball movies is "Little Big League" and in that movie, the manager, Billy, has a math problem he can't solve. One of his pitchers, Jim Bowers, says, "Long have I been familiar with the exactitudes of the mathematical world!"

- But we serve the Creator of the exactitudes of the mathematical world!

P) Father, I don't want to sweat the details, but I thank You in humility, that You already worked them out. You have measured and counted every single thing. You have planned and timed all of creation. You are supremely detailed, and yet You are never overwhelmed, too busy, or preoccupied. You are truly amazing, and I am truly humbled. May I always be aware of the vastness of Your attention. In Jesus's name I pray. Amen.

SOAP 05/20/2014; 2 Chronicles 3:9

Today's reading: 1 Kings 6; 2 Chronicles 3; Psalm 97; Romans 1

S) "⁹ The weight of the nails was fifty shekels of gold. He also overlaid the upper rooms with gold."

2 Chronicles 3:9 (NASB)

O) Solomon spares no expense when building this temple for the LORD. Everything inside the temple was overlaid with gold. The floors, doors, and walls, all were overlaid with pure gold. With this verse, we see even some of the nails were made of gold. This brings up an interesting point about Solomon's dedication to making this house extravagant. First, let's point out that nails made of gold would not be very practical. It's a relatively soft metal, especially compared to the metals available at that time, especially iron. Second, the vast majority of the nail itself would be hidden, once the nail is driven into the wood - so what's the point? If only the head of the nail is seen, wouldn't it be easier, more secure, to fasten the wood with regular nails, and overlay that with gold? But, then it wouldn't just be easier and more secure - it'd be cheaper. Solomon wanted this to be expensive, I think, because that was an expression of it's importance.

A) The descriptions of such ornate, yet mundane, objects, also reminded me of the description in Revelation, of the famous streets paved with gold. I'd always taken that passage to mean that everything else was so glorious, that gold was seen as completely pedestrian by comparison. While that may prove to be true, I don't think that it's the only thing to take away. Looking at the above verse, what I think is really expressed, is that nothing about God's glory is mundane. Nothing about God is pedestrian. I don't think the gold streets, or gold nails, are meant to be dull by comparison, to give some kind of extrapolated, relative, extraordinary beauty to the rest. These nails were gold, but so was the rest. With God, I need to remember that it's all glorious. I need to treat it all as magnificent. Even when the things of God will be hidden away, like the nails driven into the wood, to mostly disappear from sight, they are still awesome when I do get to see them, before they are put to their uses.

P) Father, open my eyes to see just how glorious You truly are. Help me to understand, with better awe and wonder, how amazing it is, everything about You. Rebuke me, Lord, if I ever treat any part of You as mundane or pedestrian. Correct my senses, to be rapt by Your glory. In Jesus's name I pray. Amen.

SOAP 05/19/2014; 2 Chronicles 2:12

Today's reading: 1 Kings 4, 5; 2 Chronicles 2; Psalm 101; 2 Thessalonians 3

S) "¹² Then Huram continued, 'Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who has made heaven and earth, who has given King David a wise son, endowed with discretion and understanding, who will build a house for the Lord and a royal palace for himself.'"

2 Chronicles 2:12 (NASB)

O) Huram was the king of Tyre, who had some dealings with David, Solomon's father. Here, Solomon was on the throne, and was preparing to build the temple for the LORD, so he reached out to Huram to obtain the necessary timber. Solomon also inquired about any craftsmen that Huram can send to help. The result of Solomon's actions (being politically wise), were not only that Huram agrees to help, but it also results in this foreign king praising the LORD, despite the fact that he is not one of God's own people.

A) If I am living my life in righteousness and productivity, and people around me see that I am trustworthy and have integrity, then any compliments I receive can ultimately be turned into praise for the LORD. It is harder, when the culture is so full of atheism, but if I continually credit my God for every positive trait I have, then any amount of praise that could be attributed to me, is instead given the the LORD. My actions, words, and life, can actually cause others around me to praise God, even if they didn't set out to do so.

P) Father, I want to worship You with my life. In every way, I want my life to be a reflection of Your goodness. So, even more than my own worship and praise for You, my life can be used to even cause others to praise and worship You. Let me walk in the fullness of Your ways, to glorify Your name. In Jesus's name I pray. Amen.

SOAP 05/18/2014; 2 Chronicles 1:6-7

Today's reading: 1 Kings 3; 2 Chronicles 1; Psalm 78; 2 Thessalonians 2




S) "⁶ Solomon went up there before the Lord to the bronze altar which was at the tent of meeting, and offered a thousand burnt offerings on it.
⁷ In that night God appeared to Solomon and said to him, “Ask what I shall give you."

2 Chronicles 1:6-7 (NASB)

O) To be clear, Solomon did not purchase the favor of the LORD by sacrificing a thousand burnt offerings to Him. What this verse shows, though, is that even before God approached Solomon, and he made his famous request, he was showing himself committed to seeking God. He hit the ground running with this sacrifice, getting serious about seeking the LORD from the beginning.

A) Sometimes, there are big times that I actually see coming in my life. But, I don't always treat those moments as the pivotal points they might be. It's important for me to seek God at all times, but significant starts require significant searching.

P) Father, shed light on my path. By Your will, let me know where I'm going, what's coming my way. I don't want to miss important starts in my life. Help me to appreciate, as fully as I am able, the gravity of events in my life, and help me to treat them accordingly. In Jesus's name I pray. Amen.