“Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king. And as soon as Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard of it (for he was still in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon), then Jeroboam returned from Egypt. And they sent and called him, and Jeroboam and all the assembly of Israel came and said to Rehoboam, “Your father made our yoke heavy. Now therefore lighten the hard service of your father and his heavy yoke on us, and we will serve you.” He said to them, “Go away for three days, then come again to me.” So the people went away. Then King Rehoboam took counsel with the old men, who had stood before Solomon his father while he was yet alive, saying, “How do you advise me to answer this people?” And they said to him, “If you will be a servant to this people today and serve them, and speak good words to them when you answer them, then they will be your servants forever.” But he abandoned the counsel that the old men gave him and took counsel with the young men who had grown up with him and stood before him. And he said to them, “What do you advise that we answer this people who have said to me, ‘Lighten the yoke that your father put on us’?” And the young men who had grown up with him said to him, “Thus shall you speak to this people who said to you, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but you lighten it for us,’ thus shall you say to them, ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s thighs. And now, whereas my father laid on you a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.'””‭‭1 Kings‬ ‭12:1-11‬ ‭ESV‬‬

http://bible.com/59/1ki.12.1-11.esv
All,
This stands out because the writer says, “he abandoned the counsel that the old men gave him and took counsel with the young men who had grown up with him and stood before him.” Do we seek counsel for the purpose of confining our own thoughts or the purpose of God? It’s like sheep getting counsel from other sheep as opposed to from the good shepherd. Please pray that we and our friends seek wise counsel in our decisions. Please pray for Pete Jones. 

“Now King Solomon loved many foreign women, along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women, from the nations concerning which the Lord had said to the people of Israel, “You shall not enter into marriage with them, neither shall they with you, for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods.” Solomon clung to these in love. He had 700 wives, who were princesses, and 300 concubines. And his wives turned away his heart. For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. So Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and did not wholly follow the Lord, as David his father had done.”‭‭1 Kings‬ ‭11:1-6‬ ‭ESV‬‬

http://bible.com/59/1ki.11.1-6.esv
All,
This stands out because the writer says, “So Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and did not wholly follow the Lord”. Solomon spoke with God. God gave him great wisdom and discernment. Why would Solomon, of all people, not follow God’s commands? There is something about being human that makes it very difficult to keep God first in our lives. Are you tempted to credit yourself or other “idols”? Are you tempted to disobey God’s statutes in order to please someone else? Please pray that we and our friends spend time with God today and thank Him. Please pray for all the people trying to get their lives back together. 

“Thus King Solomon excelled all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom. And the whole earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God had put into his mind. Every one of them brought his present, articles of silver and gold, garments, myrrh, spices, horses, and mules, so much year by year. And Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen. He had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen, whom he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem.”‭‭1 Kings‬ ‭10:23-26‬ ‭ESV‬‬

http://bible.com/59/1ki.10.23-26.esv
All,
This stands out because the writer says, “And the whole earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God had put into his mind.” Has God given you certain talents or gifts? Have you thanked Him for those gifts? Like Solomon, we may be tempted to credit ourselves with certain gifts if we do not thank God daily and then lose our way. Please pray that we and our friends express to God today all the gifts and talents for which we are thankful. Please pray for Pete Jones. 

“And as for you, if you will walk before me, as David your father walked, with integrity of heart and uprightness, doing according to all that I have commanded you, and keeping my statutes and my rules, then I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised David your father, saying, ‘You shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.’ But if you turn aside from following me, you or your children, and do not keep my commandments and my statutes that I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them, then I will cut off Israel from the land that I have given them, and the house that I have consecrated for my name I will cast out of my sight, and Israel will become a proverb and a byword among all peoples.”‭‭1 Kings‬ ‭9:4-7‬ ‭ESV‬‬

http://bible.com/59/1ki.9.4-7.esv
All,
This stands out because the Lord says, “But if you turn aside from following me, you or your children, and do not keep my commandments and my statutes that I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them”. God loves us and wants to bless us all for now and eternity. However, if we “serve other gods and worship them”, do we love Him? Ask God to reveal any areas where you may be serving “other gods”. Please pray that we and our friends keep God’s statutes and rules. Please pray for Hunter Hopkins group. 

“The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Say to the people of Israel, Any one of the people of Israel or of the strangers who sojourn in Israel who gives any of his children to Molech shall surely be put to death. The people of the land shall stone him with stones. I myself will set my face against that man and will cut him off from among his people, because he has given one of his children to Molech, to make my sanctuary unclean and to profane my holy name. And if the people of the land do at all close their eyes to that man when he gives one of his children to Molech, and do not put him to death, then I will set my face against that man and against his clan and will cut them off from among their people, him and all who follow him in whoring after Molech.”‭‭Leviticus‬ ‭20:1-5‬ ‭ESV‬‬

http://bible.com/59/lev.20.1-5.esv
All,
This stands out because the Lord says, “Any one of the people of Israel or of the strangers who sojourn in Israel who gives any of his children to Molech shall surely be put to death.” For someone to “give ” their child to Molech meant they sacrificed(killed) their child for prosperity from this god. Certainly no one would sacrifice their child now for prosperity or would they? It’s amazing how there is nothing new under the sun. Many of the same issues our society deals with today are addressed over and over throughout the Bible. Please pray that we and our friends pray for those who are tempted to sacrifice a unborn baby. Please pray for Dottie, Bob and Fran Tidwell. 

“”When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the Lord your God. “You shall not steal; you shall not deal falsely; you shall not lie to one another. You shall not swear by my name falsely, and so profane the name of your God: I am the Lord.”‭‭Leviticus‬ ‭19:9-12‬ ‭ESV‬‬

http://bible.com/59/lev.19.9-12.esv
All,
This stands out because Moses says, “you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the Lord your God.” Is it compassionate to just leave the grapes on the ground as opposed to delivering them to the poor? There are many places in the Bible where we are to take care of the “widows and the orphans”, but God knows people desire the dignity of work if it’s possible. Please pray that we and our friends truly love our neighbor and want God’s best for them. 

“And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding beyond measure, and breadth of mind like the sand on the seashore, so that Solomon’s wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all the people of the east and all the wisdom of Egypt. For he was wiser than all other men, wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol, and his fame was in all the surrounding nations. He also spoke 3,000 proverbs, and his songs were 1,005. He spoke of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of the wall. He spoke also of beasts, and of birds, and of reptiles, and of fish. And people of all nations came to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and from all the kings of the earth, who had heard of his wisdom.”‭‭1 Kings‬ ‭4:29-34‬ ‭ESV‬‬

http://bible.com/59/1ki.4.29-34.esv
All,
This stands out because the writer says, “And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding beyond measure, and breadth of mind like the sand on the seashore”. How will you be remembered? Think of the person you most admire. How do you remember them? Is it the same? Why not? There is a reason why you admire the person you admire. Please pray that we and our friends put first things first. Please pray for Wilma Holden, mother of Barry Holden, as she is moved to Hospice today. 

“Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?” It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this. And God said to him, “Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches or the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, behold, I now do according to your word. Behold, I give you a wise and discerning mind, so that none like you has been before you and none like you shall arise after you. I give you also what you have not asked, both riches and honor, so that no other king shall compare with you, all your days. And if you will walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and my commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days.””‭‭1 Kings‬ ‭3:9-14‬ ‭ESV‬‬

http://bible.com/59/1ki.3.9-14.esv
All,
This stands out because Solomon asks, “Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil”. For what do you ask God? He has a purpose for each of us today and the best day we can have is in His purpose using His wisdom and discernment. Please pray that we and our friends treasure the wisdom and discernment He gives us. Please pray for Hollis Younger. 

“He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust. As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field; for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more. But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children’s children,”‭‭Psalms‬ ‭103:10-17‬ ‭ESV‬‬

http://bible.com/59/psa.103.10-17.esv
All,
This stands out because the Psalmist says, “so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him”. God loves us! He wants the best for us. Do we go to Him like we want our children to come to us? There is nothing our children can do to make us love them less, but we will guide them and discipline them because we want the best for them as God does us. Please pray that we and our friends cherish our time with God today. Please pray for Pete Jones. 

“”With the merciful you show yourself merciful; with the blameless man you show yourself blameless; with the purified you deal purely, and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous. You save a humble people, but your eyes are on the haughty to bring them down. For you are my lamp, O Lord, and my God lightens my darkness. For by you I can run against a troop, and by my God I can leap over a wall. This God—his way is perfect; the word of the Lord proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.”‭‭2 Samuel‬ ‭22:26-31‬ ‭ESV‬‬

http://bible.com/59/2sa.22.26-31.esv
All,
This stands out because David says, “This God—his way is perfect; the word of the Lord proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.” Where do you take refuge typically? What makes you feel secure? Most people are tempted to put security in their savings or job. Would it concern you more if you had $1.00 in your bank account or a distant relationship with Christ? Please pray that we and our friends look to God as our refuge and ask ourselves and God “why” if we don’t. Please pray for Stacey Kessler.