Instead of asking for wealth, power, or fame, Solomon thanked God for his family blessings and said, “Give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?”
God was pleased with Solomon’s unselfish and godly request and promised to make him like no other king who ever lived. In that same chapter, Solomon proved his wisdom in a case with two mothers claiming the same baby (1 Kings 3:16-28).
The book of Kings continues with the story of Solomon’s incredible reign. His wisdom was admired by many nations, he peacefully ruled over a massive kingdom, and he built the temple for the Lord. In 1 Kings 9, God promises Solomon great reward if he remains faithful to the Lord, and He warns him that turning from God will lead to his downfall.
Solomon’s unselfish attitudes, gratitude, and desire to serve God put him in a position like no other king in the world. Could he now “rest” in his relationship with God?
How we answer this question will deeply affect our own walk with the Lord, and we're going to discuss it further in tomorrow's devotion. So please read Philippians 3:7-14 (below) and find out what attitude Paul had toward his salvation.
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In preparation for “the rest of our story,” check out these devotions that will give you hints about where we are headed: Joash: Good King, Bad King and Christians Are Lifelong Students of Jesus.
It's worth reading every verse of Philippians 3:7-14.
This is the AMPC version below, but you can click the link above to read it in NIV, KJV, and NLT.
7
But whatever former things I had that might have been gains to me, I
have come to consider as [one combined] loss for Christ’s sake.
8
Yes, furthermore, I count everything as loss compared to the possession
of the priceless privilege (the overwhelming preciousness, the
surpassing worth, and supreme advantage) of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord
and of progressively becoming more deeply and intimately acquainted
with Him [of perceiving and recognizing and understanding Him more fully
and clearly]. For His sake I have lost everything and consider it all
to be mere rubbish (refuse, dregs), in order that I may win (gain)
Christ (the Anointed One),
9 And that I may [actually] be found
and known as in Him, not having any [self-achieved] righteousness that
can be called my own, based on my obedience to the Law’s demands
(ritualistic uprightness and supposed right standing with God thus
acquired), but possessing that [genuine righteousness] which comes
through faith in Christ (the Anointed One), the [truly] right standing
with God, which comes from God by [saving] faith.
10 [For my
determined purpose is] that I may know Him [that I may progressively
become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and
recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly
and more clearly], and that I may in that same way come to know the
power outflowing from His resurrection [which it exerts over believers],
and that I may so share His sufferings as to be continually transformed
[in spirit into His likeness even] to His death, [in the hope]
11
That if possible I may attain to the [spiritual and moral] resurrection
[that lifts me] out from among the dead [even while in the body].
12
Not that I have now attained [this ideal], or have already been made
perfect, but I press on to lay hold of (grasp) and make my own, that for
which Christ Jesus (the Messiah) has laid hold of me and made me His
own.
13 I do not consider, brethren, that I have captured and
made it my own [yet]; but one thing I do [it is my one aspiration]:
forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,
14 I press on toward the goal to win the [supreme and heavenly] prize to which God in Christ Jesus is calling us upward.
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