November is Native American Heritage Month and a perfect time
to try this recipe for delicious Navajo Fry Bread compliments
of gracious host Becky from The Hillbilly Kitchen.
Always remember, put God first!
With everything imaginable working in his favor, at first it seemed Solomon
would gratefully follow God. His prayer of dedication for the temple in
1 Kings 8 is one of the most majestic ever prayed:
SOLOMON'S DEDICATION
(1 Kings 8:22-53)
"Then Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in front of the whole assembly,
spread out his hands toward heaven and said:
"O LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like You in heaven above or on earth below,
keeping Your covenant of loving devotion with Your servants who walk before You
with all their hearts. You have kept Your promise to Your servant, my father, David.
You have spoke with Your mouth, You have fulfilled with Your hand this day.
Therefore now, O LORD, God of Israel, keep for Your servant, my father, David,
what You promised when You said: 'You will never fail to have a man sit before Me
on the throne of Israel, if only your descendants guard their way to walk before Me
as you have done. And now, O God of Israel, please confirm what You promised
to Your servant, my father, David.
But will God indeed dwell upon the earth? The heavens, even the highest heavens,
cannot contain You, much less the temple I have built. Yet regard the prayer and plea
of Your servant, O LORD, my God, so that You may hear the cry and the prayer
that Your servant is praying before You today.
May your eyes be open towards this temple night and day, toward the place of
which You said, "My Name shall be there", so that You may hear the prayer that
Your servant prays toward this place. Hear the plea of Your servant and Your people
Israel when they pray towards this place. May You hear from heaven,
Your dwelling place. May You hear and forgive.
When a man sins against his neighbor and is required to take an oath, and he comes
to take an oath before Your altar in this temple, then may You hear from heaven and act.
May You judge Your servants, condemning the wicked man by bringing down on his
own head what he has done, and justifying the righteous man by rewarding him
according to his righteousness.
When Your people Israel are defeated before an enemy because they have sinned
against You, and they return to You and confess Your name, praying and pleading
with You in this temple, then may You hear from heaven and forgive the sin of
Your people Israel. May You restore them to the land You gave to their fathers.
When the skies are shut and there is no rain because Your people have sinned
against You, and they pray toward this place and confess Your name, and they
turn from their sins because You have afflicted them, then may You hear from
heaven and forgive the sin of Your servants, Your people, Israel, so that You
may teach them the good way in which they should walk. May You send rain
on the land that You gave Your people as an inheritance.
When famine or plague comes upon the land, or blight or mildew or locusts or
grasshoppers, or when their enemy besieges them in their cities, whatever plague
or sickness may come, then may whatever prayer or petition Your people Israel
make-each knowing his own afflictions and spreading out his hands toward the
temple-be heard by You from heaven, Your dwelling place. And may You forgive
and act, and repay each man according to all his ways, since You know his heart-
for You alone know the hearts of all men-so that they may fear You all the days
they live in the land that You gave to our fathers.
And as for the foreigner who is not of Your people Israel but has come from a
distant land because of Your name-for they will hear of Your great name and mighty
hand and outstretched arm-when he comes and prays toward this temple, then may
You hear from heaven, Your dwelling place, and do according to all for which
the foreigner calls to You. Then all the people of the earth will know Your name
and fear You, as do Your people Israel, and they will know that this house
I have built is called by Your Name.
When Your people go to war against their enemies, wherever You send them, and
when they pray to the LORD in the direction of the city You have chosen and the house
I have built for Your Name, then may You hear from heaven their prayer and their
plea, and may You uphold their cause.
When they sin against You- for there is no one who does not sin- and You become angry
with them and deliver them to an enemy who takes them as captives to his own land,
whether far or near, and when they come to their senses in the land to which they
were taken, and they repent and plead with You in the land of their captors, saying,
"We have sinned and done wrong; we have acted wickedly" and when they return to
You will all their heart and soul in the land of the enemies who took them captive,
and when they pray to You in the direction of the land that You gave to their fathers,
the city You have chosen, and the house I have built for Your Name, then may
You hear from heaven, Your dwelling place, their prayer and petition,
and may You uphold their cause.
May You forgive Your people who have sinned against You and all the transgressions
they have committed against You and may You grant them compassion in the eyes
of their captors to show them mercy. For they are Your people and Your inheritance.
You brought them out of Egypt, out of the furnace of iron. May Your eyes be open
to the pleas of Your servant and of Your people Israel, and may You listen to them
whenever they call to You. For You, O LORD God, have set them apart from all
the peoples of the earth as Your inheritance, as You spoke through Your servant,
Moses, when You brought our fathers out of Egypt."
Yet, by the end of his reign, Solomon had squandered away nearly every advantage...
In one generation, Solomon took Israel from a fledgling kingdom dependent on God
for bare survival to a self-sufficient political power. But along the way he lost sight
of the original vision to which God had called them. Ironically, by the time of
Solomon's death, Israel resembled the Egypt they had escaped: an imperial
state held in place by a bloated bureaucracy and slave labor, with an
official state religion under the ruler's command.
Success in the kingdom of this world had crowded out interest in the kingdom of God.
The brief, shining vision of a covenant nation faded away, and God withdrew
His sanction. After Solomon's death, Israel split in two and slid toward ruin.
A quotation from Oscar Wilde might provide the best epitaph for Solomon:
"In this world there are only two tragedies. One is not getting what
one wants, and the other is getting it."
Solomon got whatever he wanted, especially when it came to symbols of
power and status. Gradually, he depended less on God and more on the props
around him: the world's largest harem, a house twice the size of the temple,
an army well-stocked with chariots, a strong economy.
Success may have eliminated any crisis of disappointment with God, but it
seemed to eliminate Solomon's desire for God at all. The more he enjoyed
the world's good gifts, the less he thought about the Giver.
"Solomon's Epitaph "
A devotional by
Philip Yancey
(1949-
American Christian author
Great Southern Gospel sung in beautiful harmony by legendary Hee Haw
stars Buck Owens, Roy Clark, Grandpa Jones, and Kenny Price.
"The Revolution was in the mind and the heart of the people."
-John Adams
A powerful Election Day message from Pastor Jack Hibbs
"The earth has yielded it's harvest..."
May God be gracious to us and bless us,
and cause His face to shine upon us,
Selah!
(Pause and calmly think of that!)
that Your way may be known on earth,
Your salvation among all nations.
Let the peoples praise You, O God;
let all the peoples praise You.
Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for You judge the peoples justly
and lead the nations of the earth.
Selah!
Let the peoples praise You, O God;
let all the peoples praise You.
The earth has yielded its harvest;
God, our God, bless us.
God bless us,
that all the ends of the earth shall fear Him.
October! October!
There's magic in the name-
A clear sky, a blue sky,
And sunsets all aflame.
October! October!
It's harvest time again;
The high corn, the low corn,
Is gathered in the bin.
October! October!
The birds sing with swelled throats;
A long song, a last song,
Of tender parting notes.
October! October!
The hills are all aglow
With red leaves, with gold leaves,
That dance when soft winds blow.
October! October!
I love you more each year;
Your warm days, your soft days,
To me they are most dear.
"October"
A poem by
D. Maitland Busby
Citizen journalist James O'Keefe recently exposed "vouching" at
voter poll booths in Minnesota, which allows someone to vouch,
or witness as ID for up to eight unregistered voters! Unfortunately,
O'Keefe's undercover investigation was exposed and now he and
a fellow citizen journalist, Cam Higby, are facing felony charges
for "breaking the law".
The two men dressed as Muslims and spoke with fake accents which
prosecutors say, violates state law. James O'Keefe, the founder of
Project Veritas, is well-known for his "hidden camera" investigations,
and although various news sources have demonized him as a "right-
wing provocateur" his latest investigation only proves how easy
it is to commit voter fraud in Minnesota!
According to MPR News, the state's 'vouching law' is half a
century old and "rarely used" today. Traditionally, this law has
been used by people who recently moved and have not updated
their address on their voter registration.
Personally, I've never heard of an obscure law like this before.
I think it should be done away with in Minnesota and any
other US state or territory that allows "vouching" for
someone without any identification. Especially if
they are not a legal American citizen!
