Daily Reflections Feb 9, 2018

1 Kings 11: 29 - 32, 12 - 19; Mark 7: 31 - 37

“Lord, open my eyes that I may see the truth, open my ears that I may listen to thy word and loosen my tongue that I may praise thee with gratitude. Save my heart from lustful desires, only you can teach me, true love. Guide my hands to do your worship and cause me to cling to thy mercy”.

Nothing in this world is impossible, for God can do all things. He empowers people with awesome capabilities including wisdom and He knows what to do when their pride bloats them with arrogance. All that we are and all that we have is temporary. Nothing is guaranteed and we all live because of God’s mercy. God has a plan to carry out for the world. God has seen the hearts of mankind for thousands of years and God has decided to let the world proceed in a specific direction so that He may save a remnant that is loyal and true to His Merciful and Magnificent Heart. This life is a test for all of creation. Everyone and everything is being tested for its true worth. All those who prove themselves worthy will rejoice in the Lord’s Glory. Those found wanting will find themselves being ‘recycled’. God empowered King Solomon with power, wisdom and security. All that King Solomon needed to do was be loyal, follow the Law of Moses including God’s commands, ordinances and decrees and build the Temple in Jerusalem. And for that, God had already blessed him with the greatness inherited from King David, wealth and dominion over all the people of Israel. But King Solomon did not use his wisdom to remain loyal and devoted to God. King Solomon became arrogant because of his own greatness and got seduced by the non-Israelite women he married. King Solomon gave vent to his emotional, physical and lustful desires to fall prey to women devoted to idol worship. King Solomon did not use his wisdom to study and remember the scriptures written in the Book of Numbers when Moses led the Israelites through the land of Moab. The scriptures tell about the Seer Balam’s advice to Balak son of King Ziphor of Moab. Balam was a Seer who was called by Balak to curse the people of Israel in the wilderness of Moab. But Balam could not do it because as a Seer, he could only repeat what God would reveal to him. So instead, the Seer Balam advised Balak to entice and seduce the men of Israel at Shittim using the Moabite women and lead them into worshipping Moabite idols and sin against the Lord. King Solomon did not stop to pray and devoutly take advice about his intended marriages from God through the use of the Urim and the Thummim through the High Priest as his father King David always did. This is evidence of King Solomon’s pride. He thought it was wise to marry the Egyptian princess to make an alliance with the Pharaoh. King Solomon forgot/ ignored that God forbade marriages with foreign women for a specific reason. King Solomon did not humbly cling to God’s mercy for the protection of Israel.

It was plain and easy for God to make a servant into a King and in the book of 1 Kings 11: 12 - 19, God sent the Prophet Ahijah of Shiloh to announce His decision to Jeroboam son of Nebat. The Lord took ten tribes loyal to King Solomon and turned their hearts to follow Jeroboam making him King of the Northern tribes of Israel. And yet, for the sake of King David, the tribe of Judah continued to be loyal to King Rehoboam, Solomon’s son and his descendants for over three centuries until the fall of Jerusalem at the hands of King Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian. “God gave and the Lord taketh away, may His name always be praised”

In the Gospel of Mark 7: 31:37, the scriptures tells of a man born deaf and who thus was mute. The Gospel describes how Jesus healed the man enabling him to hear, listen and even speak. Till date, science and medicine cannot heal such deficiencies. But Jesus showed God’s love and healed the deaf-mute in a moment. And while doing that, Jesus teaches us that with a devout heart and sincere humble prayers nothing is impossible with God. Jesus teaches us that God’s love and unfathomable mercy can bring forth great miracles if people only sincerely believed and earnestly prayed. Thus, we continue to learn that no ailment is incurable today with humility, devotion and prayer.

Jesus commanded the people to keep the miracles secret so that He could win more hearts and convert more people from their paganism before the Temple leaders would get jealous of His fame and decide to crucify Him. Jesus knew why He came to the world and he followed His mission to the minutest detail accomplishing everything that God wanted and in every respect. In doing so, Jesus not only established the new Covenant with God through the Church, but he also took time to teach us to pray and to teach us to lead humble and devout lives serving God’s plan for our salvation and Eternal Life.
-By Bro Maryo