Kingdom Era

Hi everyone,

The past couple days have been jammed packed! I got out of class today 2 hours early so I get to write this post earlier than I expected.

Last week was spirit week and each day we had a different theme to dress up as. Dan and I did terrible in this area because we didn't give the time or thought into it, However, on Friday we had a powder puff football game. My team was the Duck Divas and we dressed in camo as our team colors. I have not dressed up in camo in a really long time, unlike my sister who loves that color/print. I actually had to go and buy a fleece jacket to wear during the game because I didn't have anything camo to wear for the game. The fleece worked great and it didn't look to bad on me. Own team did not win the tournament but had some fun playing and watching the other games.

Saturday consisted of Dan and I getting away from the Branson and taking some time just for us. We went up to Ozark, MO and stayed till Sunday morning. It was a quick 24 hours but it was so great to get out of our regular routine and just relax. And I got much need laundry done! We got lunch at Chick-fil-A and watched movies all day. Home Alone 1 and 2, The Italian Job, and the first season of The Next Great Baker. Dan researched about his new project - making his own sequencer - which is a audio devise that allows you to flip one switch and that then proceeds to turn on all other audio devise in a certain order. I worked on our Bible Overview Project that is due next week. Altogether it was a great relaxing weekend and I felt refreshed as well as productive at the same time. On Sunday we went to church had a youth meeting with lunch after and then had the rest of the day to work on Bible Overview back on campus.

This week in class we got the privilege to study the Kingdom Era in more depth. Our teacher was James Skinner from Louisiana and he definitely had an accent. We walked chapter by chapter through 1st and 2nd Samuel then briefly looked into 1st and 2nd Kings and 1st and 2nd Chronicles.
I learned a lot with the slower teaching of this time period. I loved learning about the heart of each one of the kings during the United Kingdom - Saul, David, and Solomon. I gained a new insight of how much God really does desire to have our WHOLE HEART following, trusting, seeking and devoted to God.
Here are the notes I have on each of the King's hearts and how they were so different.
Saul - Had no heart for the Lord and this is seen through these aspects of Saul's life and others.
1. He was chosen to be King and his outward appearance was a big deal in this- height, looks and etc. - 1 Samuel 9:2, 10:1
2. He was scared to death to be King and hide instead of seek out the Lord for help - 1 Samuel 10:18-27, 13:8-14, 17:10-11
3. He did not do what the Lord asked, and was disobedient and therefore God rejected him - 1 Samuel 13:8-14, 15:22-26
David - Whole heart for the Lord and this is seen through these aspects of David's life and others.
1. God saw his heart and that is why he was anointed king - 1 Samuel 16:7, 13
2. He trusted the Lord to provide and sought out His will - 1 Samuel 17:45-47, 23:1-5,
3. He spared Saul's life even though Saul was trying to kill David - 1 Samuel 24:3-12, 26:6-25
4. Listened to council - 1 Samuel 25:32-33, 2 Samuel 12:1-13
5. Sought forgiveness of own sin - 2 Samuel 12:13, Psalms 51
Solomon - Had half a heart for the Lord and this is seen through these aspects of Saul's life and others
1. Followed what David, his dad, had taught him - 1 Chronicles 28, 2 Chronicles 1:1, 1 Kings 2:4,12
2. He got distracted by Wealth, Women, and Horses from Egypt. Our teacher said Wheels for the Horses because then the three things that Solomon did to lose his heart for the Lord all start with W. 1 Kings 10:22-23, 11:1-2, 10:26-29
3. He did not follow the ordinances of the Lord as king. Deuteronomy 17:14-20, 1 Kings 11:10-11

By learning about these kings and how God views their hearts, I now know what it means to have the kind of heart the Lord desires.
1. To seek forgiveness and forgive - Ephesians 4:32, Luke 11:4, Matthew 6:14
2. To Trust in the Lord with every aspect of my walk - Proverbs 3:5-6
3. To walk in His commandments

On Monday we did our lifeline and it was about Marriage, Divorce, and Blended Families. It was a hard statement to write because of the hurt that some people feel because of this situation. The Bible is very clear on these issues the hard part is speaking to people in these situations because of the relationship part of the difficulty. Truth is truth and it is best to live by it but when it is broken that is when heart ache happens and speaking truth is hard to communicate.

Be encouraged, God is for us and He wants our full devotion. So what in your life do you need give up and turn towards God and walk closer with Him?

Have an amazing day examining your walk with the Lord and making the decision to walk closer to Him by searching your heart of anything that is not of Him.