PJP2 PROLOG 160602 PROLOG Focus - 1 Kings 11:3, 9, 36, 38-39....

1 Thessalonians 5:14-22 (ESV/emphasis added/jaj)...."And we urge you, Brothers, Admonish the idle, Encourage the fainthearted, Help the weak, Be Patient With them all.  See That No one repays anyone evil for evil, BUT Always Seek To Do GOOD To one another And to everyone. Rejoice Always, Pray without ceasing, Give Thanks In ALL circumstances; For This Is The Will Of God In Christ Jesus for you.  Do NOT quench the Spirit.  Do NOT despise Prophecies, BUT Test Everything; Hold Fast What Is GOOD.  Abstain From Every form of evil."....


PJP2 PROLOG POST 160602 -1 Kings 11:3, 9, 36, 38-39 (ESV/emphasis added/jaj)...."King Solomon had 700 wives, who were princesses, and 300 concubines. And his wives turned away his heart.... And the Lord Was Angry with Solomon, Because his Heart had turned away From The Lord, The God of Israel, Who Had Appeared to him twice....And The Lord Said to Jeroboam through Ahijah God's Prophet: 'Yet to Solomon's son I Will Give one tribe, That David My servant May Always Have A Lamp Before Me in Jerusalem, The City Where I Have Chosen To Put My Name....And IF you Will Listen To ALL That I Command you, AND Will Walk In My Ways, AND Do What Is Right In My Eyes BY Keeping My Statutes AND My Commandments, As David My servant Did, I Will Be With you AND Will Build you A Sure House, As I Built for David, And I Will Give Israel to you.....And I Will Afflict the offspring of David Because of this, BUT Not forever.’”

As we Shared in yesterday's PJP2 PROLOG POST 160601, we discussed God's "IF....THEN" Principle.

Today's POWS (1 Kings 11) is yet another example of God The Father's consistent stance....IF we Follow Him, Then He's Got us and Takes Care of us....IF we Stumble and Disobey (following our own way), Then our Consequences of our actions comes home to muck things up.....In today's POWS we see where King Solomon has fallen from God's Grace (Because Solomon ignored YAHWEH's Warning of NOT becoming distracted by Solomon's desires......Clearly 1000 wives (700 princesses; 300 concubines) had a negative impact on Solomon's Walk With YAHWEH).....God has already Expressed to Solomon the downward spiral impact Solomon's 1000 wives was having on him (meaning Solomon had begun to be heavily involved in idol worship) AND that the Consequences would be King Solomon would see the kingdom of a united Israel ripped out of his hands and given to another.

Enter Jeroboam - he was one of King Solomon's court officials.

God selects Jeroboam to be the Recipient of God's Gracious Gift to rule 10 of the 12 Tribes.  BUT don't miss that YAHWEH is True to His Promise to David, and agrees to leave Judah (and Benjamin follows along with Judah), so 2 Tribes remain aligned with King David's lineage of kings.

And, IF we read slightly between the lines - God The Father is Hinting, ever so lightly, that His Son, our Lord Jesus, Will Be That Descendant of David Who Revives David's Throne Line for Eternity.....

Ok....Here is what I Hear The Holy Spirit pointing out to me this morning.....(a) God's IF.....THEN Principle is Always In Effect; (b) God's Ever Faithful and True to His Promise(s) EVEN when we're being chuckleheads; (c) The Slippery Slope of Distractions Can End in Disaster; (d) God's Will and Way Will Always Prevail, no matter how badly we screw things up

Thus my Prayer for us today is indeed one of Encouragement - O Lord Jesus, Holy Spirit, Father God, we Worship and Praise You, Lord.  Lord Jesus, Please Do Encourage us with Your Peace, Presence and Guidance.  Holy Spirit, when we've stumbled and allowed the distractions to creep into our Focus on You, Revive our Inner Eyes to See You Clearly.  Father God, Protect us, Please, from ourselves.  Lord Jesus, May we Grasp Your Truth, Like a Life-Line.  Holy Spirit, Inspire our own spirit, to Ever Seek and Connect with Your Presence Within us.  Father God, Your Will be Done, and Align us to Follow You in all Your Ways.  In Your Name, Lord Jesus, we Lift Up our Prayers....Amen/Amen....jaj