IN TOUCH DEVOTIONAL 3RD APRIL 2024 BY DR. CHARLES STANLEY, WEDNESDAY MESSAGE
In Touch Devotional 3rd April 2024 TOPIC: Remaining Faithful
TODAY’S SCRIPTURE: 1 Kings 11:1-6(NIV)
1 King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh’s daughter—Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites.
2 They were from nations about which the LORD had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods.” Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love.
3 He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray.
4 As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father had been.
5 He followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molek the detestable god of the Ammonites.
6 So Solomon did evil in the eyes of the LORD; he did not follow the LORD completely, as David his father had done.
TODAY’S MESSAGE
God gives wisdom when we ask, but we are responsible for applying that wisdom daily. Let’s consider Solomon again. Despite his great understanding, the later part of his life was marked by a turning away from God. Solomon had clear instruction not to marry foreign women, but he chose to reject God’s wisdom and do it anyway. The influence of those wives eventually led Solomon into the worship of idols.
The unfortunate downfall of the wisest man who ever lived is a helpful warning for us. No matter how strong we think we are, we aren’t above making choices that could cause us to turn away from the Lord. Over time, small decisions to ignore God’s principles can have a devastating cumulative effect: Slight compromises in how we live can put us on a path leading away from God and His perfect plan.
Is there anything in your life that you know shouldn’t be there? Have you been justifying it? If so, ask the Lord for forgiveness and submit that habit, situation, or tendency to Him. He’s waiting with open arms. (See Luke 15:20.) Choose to apply the gift of God’s wisdom to your everyday decisions, today and throughout the entirety of your life. Let’s stay faithful to walk in wisdom at all times.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1 Samuel 30-31
THOUGHT FOR TODAY: Those who drift away from God will always find Him ready to forgive.
Dr. Charles Stanley was the founder of In Touch Ministries and a New York Times best-selling author. Throughout his ministry, he demonstrated a keen awareness of people’s needs and provided Christ-centered biblically based principles for everyday life.