1 Kings 3:3-14

In 1 Kings 3:5, God made Solomon an offer he couldn’t refuse, Ask what I shall give you. This was an open ended offer – a blank check – and opportunity for wealth, power, long life, anything he wanted. Solomon responded by asking God for wisdom – for wisdom so that he could discern between good & evil as he led the people of Israel. God gave him his request. And it was the best thing Solomon could have asked for.

Solomon started out well, but in time, he did not ‘choose wisely.’ He began to follow the morality and customs of the unbelieving world around him. He traveled a path which eventually led him to the place where he regularly worshiped many gods and turned his back on the One, True God. The people followed his example and the nation was fractured when Solomon died.

God warned him that this would happen when He said, I give you a wise and discerning mind, so that none like you have been before and none like you shall arise after you…..IF you walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and my commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days (1 Kings 3:12, 14).

We sometimes forget that being a child of God entails a journey, not an event. We are called to be faithful throughout our days. God gives us His Word, His church, His Spirit, and our fellow believers to encourage us along the way. Just because you/I were faithful to God at one time does not guarantee that we are traveling on the right and proper road. As I said, the life of a believer is a Journey, not an Event. My baptism, my knowledge of God & His Bible, my intentions are of little value if I do not put them into practice.

May you & I stay the course and do what we know to do when it comes to God’s plan for our lives………and keep on doing it.

Author: Arthur Blessitt

Pages: 221 pages

Publisher: Authentic Publishing

Price: 12.23

Genre: Biography

Quick Summary:

You may have heard of Arthur Blessitt before. He is the man that has devoted his life to carrying the cross in every nation. If you watch TBN you have probably heard him speak. This book is all about Blessitt’s journey throughout the world telling people of Jesus and carrying a big wooden cross.

What I Liked:

This book is interesting. Blessitt had the opportunity to pray with Pope John Paul II, George W. Bush, and a score of other world leaders as well. But it is not only the world leaders that he ministered to, he truly does seem like a man that loves all people and wants them to come to Jesus. That is why it pains me to write the next section.

What I Disliked:

Blessitt’s theology is the typical theology found on the Trinity Broadcast Network. There are several problems that I see with this book. Perhaps, the greatest is that it encourages a believer to follow the voice of Jesus (and sometimes the leading of the Holy Spirit). That all sounds well and good, and I feel like a jerk saying this, but I just don’t buy it. Do I believe that God still speaks today? Absolutely. But I believe that God speaks through His Word. There is nothing in Scripture that leads me to believe that Jesus still speaks to us audibly today.

Not only is the typical TBN, word of faith theology rampant, but also the decision theology that is ever present in these circles. Let me just sum it up. If you like TBN, Paul Crouch, and the like then you will love this book and find it to be a wonderful testimony to the power of God. If you do not agree with the TBN folks then this book will make you cringe. It is dangerous at best.

Something tells me that Jesus meant something very different when he tells us to take up our cross and follow him.

Should You Buy This Book?

I cannot recommend this book. If you want advice on following Jesus, I’d strongly suggest reading Kevin DeYoung’s book Just Do Something. If you want a story of men that took up the cross and followed Jesus, then read the biography of David Brainerd, Robert Murray McCheyne, Charles Spurgeon, etc.  Or perhaps this excellent work by Piper: The Hidden Smile of God.

Rating: 1 out of 5 stars

Do you ever get really hungry during the Sunday morning worship service?  I know I do.  I typically am running late and unable to eat much for breakfast beforehand.  By the time noon rolls around I am getting pretty hungry.  So, when we celebrate the Lord’s Supper I often wish that we had entire meals instead of only a little wafer.  I am hungry and I want filled. 

Before you dismiss me as a heretic that is trampling the Lord’s table, hear me out, I’m making a point.  There is actually some *unintentional symbolism between my hunger and the unfulfilling wafer.  The wafer is not meant to quench my hunger, but it is meant to point me to He who will will ultimately quench my hunger. 

The Holy Spirit is given to us (believers) as a deposit.  Not only does the Spirit seal us but His indwelling presence is also somewhat of a “preview of things to come”.  Our experience of the Spirit now is life the wafer that only really makes me hungry for more.  This is not a perfect analogy because the Spirit does indeed fill us and satisfy us far more than a wafer satisfies my desire for lunch.  But, what the little cracker does for my stomach is what the Spirit does for my soul: He makes me that much more hungry for Jesus.  He makes me think about the meal to come.  As I “do this in remembrance of Jesus” I also remember that His death is not the end of the story.  

So, the next time you are participating in the Lord’s table, and you are hungry, remember that your experience of Christ now is but a taste.

*I said unintentional symbolism because the smaller “communion crackers” have more to do with making sure the body of Jesus is not eaten by a mouse, or that burly gents do not take the body of Christ home in their beard.