Psalm 128

1 How joyful are those who fear the Lord—
all who follow his ways!
2 You will enjoy the fruit of your labor.
How joyful and prosperous you will be!
3 Your wife will be like a fruitful grapevine,
flourishing within your home.
Your children will be like vigorous young olive trees
as they sit around your table.
4 That is the Lord’s blessing
for those who fear him.
5 May the Lord continually bless you from Zion.
May you see Jerusalem prosper as long as you live.
6 May you live to enjoy your grandchildren.
May Israel have peace!

Last night I went to prison.

It was a minimum security place and I was with the prison ministry team from Guts church in Tulsa. We gave a service in the chapel.  It is a women’s prison. The words spoken brought encouragement and hope. The audience agreed with our speaker many times during the service and were filled with hope that they are a new creation in Christ and that God loves them no matter what.

At the end of the service, I had the sweet privilege to pray with some of them Individually.  They wanted to pray their time to be released, personal growth as a Christian and their children.

Psalm 126:1-3

1When the Lord brought back his exiles to Jerusalem,
it was like a dream!
2 We were filled with laughter,
and we sang for joy.
And the other nations said,
“What amazing things the Lord has done for them.”
3 Yes, the Lord has done amazing things for us!
What joy!

I’ve been going through the Bible in a variety of ways for over thirty years. When I was in my twenties I read where Solomon ask God for wisdom and He gave it to him and so much more. This has always intrigued me so years ago I prayed God would give me wisdom like Solomon. And He has!  Today when I read it I pray it again and now I pray it for my family and my church. And that they would put this amazing wisdom into practice so that revival would come. I thank God this great deed is already done!

I have confidently realized something.  There are certain desires that God has put in my heart and it’s an important part of God’s will for my life!

Solomon asked for wisdom to rule Israel.  God gave it to him.  He also blessed him with riches and fame.  Solomon had flaws though in which he did not use his amazing wisdom.  He had many wives and offered sacrifices to false god’s.

1 Kings 3:3-14

3 Solomon loved the Lord and followed all the decrees of his father, David, except that Solomon, too, offered sacrifices and burned incense at the local places of worship. 4 The most important of these places of worship was at Gibeon, so the king went there and sacrificed 1,000 burnt offerings. 5 That night the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream, and God said, “What do you want? Ask, and I will give it to you!”

6 Solomon replied, “You showed great and faithful love to your servant my father, David, because he was honest and true and faithful to you. And you have continued to show this great and faithful love to him today by giving him a son to sit on his throne.

7 “Now, O Lord my God, you have made me king instead of my father, David, but I am like a little child who doesn’t know his way around. 8 And here I am in the midst of your own chosen people, a nation so great and numerous they cannot be counted! 9 Give me an understanding heart so that I can govern your people well and know the difference between right and wrong. For who by himself is able to govern this great people of yours?”

10 The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for wisdom. 11 So God replied, “Because you have asked for wisdom in governing my people with justice and have not asked for a long life or wealth or the death of your enemies— 12 I will give you what you asked for! I will give you a wise and understanding heart such as no one else has had or ever will have! 13 And I will also give you what you did not ask for—riches and fame! No other king in all the world will be compared to you for the rest of your life! 14 And if you follow me and obey my decrees and my commands as your father, David, did, I will give you a long life.”

King David’s death was approaching. He would give his son Solomon his position. Here are important words he spoke to the young predecessor.

1 Kings 2:1-4

2 As the time of King David’s death approached, he gave this charge to his son Solomon:

2 “I am going where everyone on earth must someday go. Take courage and be a man. 3 Observe the requirements of the Lord your God, and follow all his ways. Keep the decrees, commands, regulations, and laws written in the Law of Moses so that you will be successful in all you do and wherever you go. 4 If you do this, then the Lord will keep the promise he made to me. He told me, ‘If your descendants live as they should and follow me faithfully with all their heart and soul, one of them will always sit on the throne of Israel.’

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When Jesus died on the cross, three days later He came to life again.  He spent a lot of time with His disciples. Then He returned to Heaven (where He was before He was born as a baby). Here are the final words He said to His disciples before ascending.  The words He told His disciples applies to us as modern day disciples (Christians). Basically it’s our duty to continue spreading the good news of Christ Jesus.

Acts 1:8-11

8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

9 After saying this, he was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him. 10 As they strained to see him rising into heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!”

In another account of Jesus’ life there are a few more details. Jesus is at the right hand of God.

Mark 16:19-20

19 When the Lord Jesus had finished talking with them, he was taken up into heaven and sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand. 20 And the disciples went everywhere and preached, and the Lord worked through them, confirming what they said by many miraculous signs.

Jesus greatly loved. God’s immeasurable love for us fully shines through Jesus.

The book of John is summarized eloquently in its last verse:

John 21:25

Jesus also did many other things. If they were all written down, I suppose the whole world could not contain the books that would be written.

Psalm 19:14

Let the words of my mouth

and the meditation of my heart

be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord

my strength and my redeemer.

Four important things about this verse~

1) Speak words that are good in the eyes of God

2) Have an attitude that is good in the eyes of God

3) God is your strength if you are learning to control yourself in these areas.  Ask Him to help.

4) God is your redeemer if you mess up in these area.  He paid for and will set you free from the bondage of your errors in words and attitudes.

When Jesus died on the cross it was the pinnacle point of human history.  He chose when He would take His last breath. He lived a sinless life and then followed the will of His Heavenly Father and died on the cross taking on the weight of all wrong/sins that humans had committed and would commit. It was all on Him and He fully accomplished it all.

When they took Him down from the cross, God provided all that was needed.

~Joseph of Arimathea got permission from Pilate to remove His body from the cross.

~Nicodemus brought 75 pounds of ointment to prepare His body for burial.

~Jesus was placed in a new borrowed tomb.

Jesus stood before Pilate. Pilate would decide whether or not Jesus should be crucified. The religious leaders and the Jews were determined that Jesus should go to the cross.

John 18:33-40

33 Then Pilate went back into his headquarters and called for Jesus to be brought to him. “Are you the king of the Jews?” he asked him.

34 Jesus replied, “Is this your own question, or did others tell you about me?”

35 “Am I a Jew?” Pilate retorted. “Your own people and their leading priests brought you to me for trial. Why? What have you done?”

36 Jesus answered, “My Kingdom is not an earthly kingdom. If it were, my followers would fight to keep me from being handed over to the Jewish leaders. But my Kingdom is not of this world.”

37 Pilate said, “So you are a king?”

Jesus responded, “You say I am a king. Actually, I was born and came into the world to testify to the truth. All who love the truth recognize that what I say is true.”

38 “What is truth?” Pilate asked. Then he went out again to the people and told them, “He is not guilty of any crime. 39 But you have a custom of asking me to release one prisoner each year at Passover. Would you like me to release this ‘King of the Jews’?”

40 But they shouted back, “No! Not this man. We want Barabbas!” (Barabbas was a revolutionary.)