1 Kings 19:7 (KJV) Bigger and Better

1 Kings 19:7 (KJV)

And the angel of the LORD came again the second time, and touched him, and said, Arise and eat; because the journey is too great for thee.

I think it is possible that this cake of bread was sufficient to provide not only the first meal, but the second and perhaps enough to take along for his journey. That this bread was enough for a forty-day journey is supernatural. How he came to have it is a miracle indeed. 

It is interesting that Elijah seemed so casual about talking with the angel of the LORD and of eating food he had provided. 

• Perhaps this was a consequence of his depression 
• Perhaps he was so weary he could not express himself
• Perhaps he was so accustomed to God’s provision that it didn’t impress him anymore 

I think we get this way over time. When at first, we meet the Lord, everything is brand new, fresh, and exciting. After a while, some years maybe, we lose our passion for what God is doing because it isn’t that much different than what God has done. 

I am afraid we treat God like some sort of thrill ride. We get bored with Him unless we have bigger and better answers to prayer or bigger and better spiritual experiences. What, may I ask, could ever be bigger and better than being born again?

Oh, that God might feed us day by day and that we never lose the wonder that He has done so.

To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

For this and, more than 5300 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

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1 Kings 19:7 (KJV) Bigger and Better

Luke 14:7 (KJV) Publicly, Directly, Immediately

Luke 14:7 (KJV)

And he put forth a parable to those which were bidden, when he marked how they chose out the chief rooms; saying unto them,

Jesus marked, observed, He took note of, how those who were bidden behaved
Jesus was neither indifferent to it nor ignorant of it. He purposely paid attention to the behavior of those who attended this supper.

Jesus spoke directly to them at the moment of their behavior concerning their behavior 

He corrected them publicly, directly, and immediately. He gave them no time to separate themselves from their own actions. He was not unkind. But I imagine someone was offended because it was so obvious of whom He spoke. 

Jesus, I believe, would have His disciples to do likewise 
The best way to correct a behavior is immediately and directly. We ought never and do not have to be unkind, but we must be forthright and direct. 

To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

For this and, more than 5300 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

My books are available at:
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Luke 14:7 (KJV) Publicly, Directly, Immediately

Luke 13:33 (KJV) Today, Tomorrow and the Day Following

Luke 13:33 (KJV)

Nevertheless I must walk to day, and to morrow, and the day following: for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem.

• Jesus knew there was a threat to His life in Galilee 
• Jesus knew He had an appointment with the cross in Jerusalem 
• Jesus also knew He had still work to do between them

Jesus did not let the present threat, or the future reality distract Him from His purpose. Today, tomorrow, and the day following were His to use as His Father had commanded. 

Each of us is journeying toward our own Jerusalem – the appointed time of our death. We all face various dangers and threats along the way.

Don’t allow them to distract you from your walk with God today, tomorrow, or the day following. 

• God can deliver us from danger if He wills
• God is perfectly aware of the time when our departure is at hand

Leave those things to Him and focus instead on your next step of faith. 

To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

For this and, more than 5300 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

My books are available at:
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Luke 13:33 (KJV) Today, Tomorrow and the Day Following

1 Kings 18:17-18 (KJV) Who’s the Real Troubler?

1 Kings 18:17-18 (KJV)

And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel?
And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father’s house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the LORD, and thou hast followed Baalim.

Ahab accused Elijah of causing all the trouble in Israel. Elijah turned it around and said the troubler of Israel was Ahab. 

Elijah had:

• Preached that there would be no rain
• Trusted that the Lord would care for him
• Helped to build the faith of the widow and her son

Ahab had:

• Forsaken the commandments of the Lord and
• Followed Baalim 

There was famine and drought and with it much loss. But the troubler of Israel was not the praying preacher. The troubler of Israel was the unbelieving king. 

Our country is pointing fingers at Christians today as if we are the problem in the world. Truly our world has problems but, just as it was in Elijah’s time, the troublers today are not the Christians. The troublers right now, the ones causing unrest and harm, are those who have rejected God for the gods of this world. 

To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

For this and, more than 5300 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

My books are available at:
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1 Kings 18:17-18 (KJV) Who’s the Real Troubler?

Luke 12:41 (KJV) For Those Who Hear It

Luke 12:41 (KJV)

Then Peter said unto him, Lord, speakest thou this parable unto us, or even to all?

Earlier in the chapter the Bible says, Luke 12:1 (KJV)
In the mean time, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

He spoke the truths of this passage to His disciples first of all, but Peter understood they were meant to make it to all. 

• 
  
  They were not to be hidden
• They were to be proclaimed from the housetops
• They were to do as the wise steward
• They were to have their loins girt and their lights lit
• They were to judge and discern what is right

The Word of God is for those who hear it first of all. But it is also for those who never hear and do not know every bit as much. 

Luke 12:47-48 (KJV)
And that servant, which knew his lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.
But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.

To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

For this and, more than 5300 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

My books are available at:
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Luke 12:41 (KJV) For Those Who Hear It

1 Kings 14:27 (KJV) Something Not As Valuable

1 Kings 14:27 (KJV)

And king Rehoboam made in their stead brasen shields, and committed them unto the hands of the chief of the guard, which kept the door of the king’s house.

I am prone, I know, to apply this passage to the church. However, its application belongs foremost to a nation. 

Rehoboam let the nation slip.

• They built high places instead of worshipping at the a temple
• They suffered the Sodomites in their land
• They copied the abominations of those nations the LORD had cast out

In consequence, Egypt, a picture of the world, took away the treasures in the house of the LORD

Think of it. This is likely when the Ark, the Tabernacle, the Altar of incense, the golden candlestick, along with Solomon’s shields of gold, were taken – by that which represents the world. 

Rehoboam’s response was to make shields of brass. Not as valuable, not as beautiful. Not as heavy, but enough of all of that to give the air of what they used to have in the Temple. 

America has gone after the way of the world and has lost most of her spiritual treasures to the world. I am afraid that to a great extent, Christians have responded by making something not as valuable, not as weighty, not nearly as beautiful, but possessing an air of what we used to have. 

To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

For this and, more than 5300 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

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1 Kings 14:27 (KJV) Something Not As Valuable

1 Kings 12:18 (KJV) Never The Wise Choice

1 Kings 12:18 (KJV)

Then king Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was over the tribute; and all Israel stoned him with stones, that he died. Therefore king Rehoboam made speed to get him up to his chariot, to flee to Jerusalem.

That Rehoboam made a mistake in following the counsel of the young men, is apparent. That he did so willfully, not so much. This whole situation could be described as one of those “They had already decided to leave, they were just looking for an excuse.” 

• They were always a trouble to David
• They were festering under Solomon 
• They merely took advantage of the leadership change as their excuse

Rehoboam was correct in assuming he would get their tribute. Though he had pressed for more than was mete, that he had authority to do it is without question. 

It was the other group, under Jeroboam who rebelled. 

Right, wrong, or indifferent, rebellion is never the wise choice of action. 

To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

For this and, more than 5300 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

My books are available at:
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1 Kings 12:18 (KJV) Never The Wise Choice

1 Kings 10:2 (KJV) A Man of Understanding

1 Kings 10:2 (KJV)

And she came to Jerusalem with a very great train, with camels that bare spices, and very much gold, and precious stones: and when she was come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart.

Once the Queen had communed all that was in her heart, Solomon told her all her questions. He hid nothing from her. 

It is one thing to give counsel and instruction to someone who is open and honest. It is an entirely different thing to give that same instruction to someone who has a secret agenda, who is withholding in their heart, who does not honestly seek the answers but only asks out of obligation or to bring a trap. 

Solomon had supernatural wisdom to discern the heart. None of the rest of us have that. But it is still a matter of wisdom to discern when it’s time to quit giving out our counsel and when we are in a good position to continue. 

It was after all, Solomon who wrote, (under inspiration of the Holy Spirit) Proverbs 17:28 (KJV) 
Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding.

To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

For this and, more than 5300 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

My books are available at:
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1 Kings 10:2 (KJV) A Man of Understanding

1 Kings 9:2 (KJV) His Presence Has Moved

1 Kings 9:2 (KJV)

That the LORD appeared to Solomon the second time, as he had appeared unto him at Gibeon.

The Lord displayed His presence in the Temple with His glory. Here God displays for Solomon His continuing fellowship as the house of God transferred from the Tabernacle of the congregation to the new Temple. 

• He not only resided there
• He spoke to the people from there

The Word of God clearly declares that His presence and communication has moved today from the Tabernacle, to the Temple, and now to the New Testament Baptist Church 

To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

For this and, more than 5300 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

My books are available at:
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1 Kings 9:2 (KJV) His Presence Has Moved

1 Kings 8:4 (KJV) Happening in America

1 Kings 8:4 (KJV)

And they brought up the ark of the LORD, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle, even those did the priests and the Levites bring up.

 

Such treasures there were, that were in the Temple Solomon built!

The ark of the covenant was there

This chapter says that within it was only the table of stone which Moses put there. Hebrews 9:4 says that it also had Aaron's rod that budded and a pot of manna. Two possibilities to reconcile this apparent discrepancy are:

·       That 1 Kings means that the only written thing inside the ark were the tables of stone.

·       That Solomon may have removed Aaron's rod and the pot of manna and placed them in some other part of the Temple, perhaps alongside the Tabernacle.

 

The tabernacle of the congregation was there

King David had made a separate tabernacle to keep the Ark in prior to the building of the Temple. The Tabernacle of the congregation, that Moses and supervised the construction of, had been in Gibeon until this time. Now that the Temple was completed it was dismantled and tucked away inside the Temple. Let it not become a competing place of worship.

 

None of these objects ought to have been worshipped. But each of them had been vital to the life and testimony of Israel for the previous 480 years.[1]

 

Such things as these were tragically taken away by Babylon. What a terrible thing to so decline that we come to a place where our history can be stolen from us.

 

This is happening in America right now.

To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

For this and, more than 5300 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

My books are available at:
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1 Kings 8:4 (KJV) Happening in America

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[1] 1 Kings 6:1 (KJV)

And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month Zif, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the LORD.