Perfectly Imperfect Together

In 1 Kings Chapter 19, Elijah listens to the words of the enemy instead of God's Word and finds himself full of fear. He flees to Mount Sinai. God meets him there and calls out to him - "What are you doing here?" - God leads him back to the mission and reminds him that he is not alone, God is with him. 

In 1 Kings Chapter 18, Elijah declares rain is coming. God spoke to him and when he declares what is true and correct from God and His Word, the miracles come forth. Our words matter and it's important to guard our hearts and minds and ensure we are declaring what is right and true from God and His Word. Elijah sent a servant to check for the coming rain SEVEN times before the miracle came forth....

In 1 Kings Chapter 17, a drought has entered the lands and God ensures His prophet Elijah is fed through the hard times. He miraculously multiplies a widow's supplies to ensure there is food through the drought and even brings her son back to life! 

In 1 Kings Chapters 15 & 16 we stumble across one good king who actually did what was good and pleasing to God. The rest of the kings during this period seem to be competing as to who could be the worst. There's conflict, war, disruption and a lot of worshiping of false idols which angers God. Prophets weave in and out bringing forth God's words and warnings but no one seems to pay attention o...

In 1 Kings Chapters 13 & 14, a prophet warns Jeroboam about worshiping false idols and even paralyzes his hand! The prophet Ahijah warns Jeroboam again and his son ends up dying. Rehoboam is also up to no good. Wars and conflict were abundant during their rulings. All the while, God was right there for them to repent and turn their ways.

In 1 Kings Chapter 12, Solomon's son, Rehoboam, takes charge. We see the divide of Israel happen with 10 tribes to the north under the rule of Jeroboam and 2 tribes of Judah to the south under Rehoboam's ruling. We see some similarities to Exodus as the northern tribes build golden calves and start worshiping idols instead of God. 

In 1 Kings Chapter 11, we see King Solomon has also taken 700 wives of royal birth and 300 concubines (which is just below a wife status) - that's 1000 women and a whole lot more words in the house! He's taken on his own path instead of God's and ultimately leads Israel into a huge downfall. He's the wisest man, yet the most foolish and can't see it past his pride. 

In 1 Kings Chapter 10, King Solomon is forgetting God's instruction and starting to do his own thing. His focus is veering off of God. He's storing up gold, wealth, and Egyptian horses which was all warned against by Moses in Deuteronomy 17. Will he straighten his ways back to God before it's too late?  

In 1 Kings Chapter 9, King Solomon hears a response from God to his earnest prayers. God hears us. God tells King Solomon IF he chooses to follow God completely and continually, the covenant promises will continue. IF he chooses not to, Israel is sure to fall. What will he choose?

In 1 Kings Chapters 7 & 8, King Solomon builds himself and his wife, Pharaoh's daughter, a palace. He also finishes the final details of the inside of the Temple of God. They bring the Ark of the Covenant into the Temple and God shows up in a thick cloud affirming them that He is indeed with them at the Temple. King Solomon praises God, prays a beautiful prayer of dedication pouring out his he...

In 1 Kings Chapters 5 & 6, King Solomon carries out the covenant God promised to King David that his son, Solomon, would build a Temple to honor God. He goes through great detail and care to get it just right as he builds a Temple that properly honors God. 

In 1 Kings 3&4, God blesses Solomon with great wisdom and knowledge. He's now super smart in all areas and his fame grows and spreads throughout the land. He has a super strong team and his kingdom is doing quite well.  

In 1 Kings Chapter 2, King David is passing and gives his son Solomon instruction and orders. He carefully warns him to follow all of God's decrees, commands, regulations, and laws. He stresses the importance of keeping God at the forefront of his kingdom. He also gives him instructions to "clean house" in the kingdom and the chapter depicts him doing just as his father recommended. So far, King S...

1 Kings Chapter 1 shares with us what was going on during the time when Solomon was 1st pronounced king by King David and the hurdles they had to overcome to get there. God called Solomon to be king and by listening to God's instruction and following the heart of God's will, that promise was faithfully brought forth. 

James Chapter 5 reminds us to be steadfast against self-indulgence. If we want to make it through the waiting, we need to stop thinking about ourselves, fix our eyes solely on the Lord, and remain steadfast in prayer. 

James Chapter 4 discusses how to humbly live in a broken world following God's will. It also reminds us to not judge or speak evil about anyone because only God can judge. It's not our job. We are all the same under Christ. 

James Chapter 3 teaches the importance of watching what we say, how we say it, and who we say it to. Our words have extreme power to either burn things down like a spark igniting a forest fire or encouraging people with the peace and love of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is our hub for all things and how we treat and talk to people matters.

James Chapter 2 shows us how to extend the same love and mercy that Jesus extended to us to others. Showing one person preference over another for any reason is a sin. God is after hearts not fancy cars or clothes. Every person on Earth has an eternal value and our actions and the things we do on Earth should reflect the love and mercy of Jesus for every single person. 

James! The half-brother of Jesus - talk about growing up in a sibling's shadow! Right out of the gates, he tells us how to make it through life's trials, which will come. He teaches us that religion without the power of Jesus is pointless and how we end up fooling ourselves in so many ways. As our love for God increases, our selfish ambitions decrease and that is exactly what we should want throug...

In Job Chapters 38-42, God enters the scene and shows Job the intricate vast details of the universe. Job is humbled, repents, forgives his friends, and is restored doubly by God. 

In Job Chapters 32-37, a mysterious 4th friend pops in. It appears he's been there the whole time listening. He has a bit of truth as he speaks about how powerful God is, but has a lot of sprinkling of accusations and criticism towards Job who continues suffering with no encouragement from his friends. 

In Job Chapters 28-31 Job continues to cry out in his sufferings. We see a bit of Pride and entitlement bubbling up, but also still see his firm steadfastness in his faith in God.

In Job Chapters 23-27, Job continually remains steadfast in his faith and trust in God. His awe of God and who God is shines through these passages. His friends continue to be jerks and Job's sarcasm starts to peek out as I'm sure he is utterly exhausted physically, emotionally, and spiritually - especially as he has to continually defend himself to his cruel, heartless "friends" throughout his su...

In Job Chapters 20-22, Job's friends continue the cruelty rather than encouragement. Job challenges their theories and refuses to budge from his steadfast faith in God. 

In Job Chapters 16 - 19, Job responds to his friends begging for mercy and calling them horrible comforters. We see another prelude to the coming of Jesus and Job's faithful hope in God shines through loud and clear. We are reminded to let God do His job in people - He's good at being God.