Discernment

I was reading through the story of King Solomon when he first became king. You can find the story in 1 Kings chapter 3. Maybe some of you are familiar with the story. So the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream and He asked, "What can I do for you, Solomon?" And we know that Solomon had asked not for wealth, fame, nor long life, but for 'wisdom.' Well, that's what I thought all this time: that he asked for ‘wisdom.’ But this is what Solomon really asks for. "Therefore give to Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people that I may discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?" 1 Kings 3:9.

Yes, you can read this text as asking for wisdom, but this phrase caught my eyes: ‘discernment between good and evil.’ It appeared to me that Solomon had hit the core of the central message of the Bible, the great controversy between good and evil. We need to learn to discern what good is, and what evil is. We need to understand what being godly and ungodly is. Above all, we need to know God, our Father and Creator, closely. I know that King Solomon was asking for wisdom to be a good ruler of a kingdom. But I believe that deep inside, the king also wanted to know God better and get to know Him more.

I believe we need this today in our lives as well: the discernment between good and evil. As Christians, we need to seek what is godly and practice to live that way, and learn to cut ourselves off from the ungodly ways of life.

Then God answers Solomon that he will receive what he asked for. But God does not stop there, but says: "And I have also given you what you have not asked: both riches and honor, so that there shall not be anyone like you among the kings all your days. So if you walk in My ways, to keep My statutes and My commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days." 1 Kings 3:13,14.

It is interesting to see what God told Solomon. He told Solomon to keep God's commandments. It's very simple. The Bible says that God is love. And it also tells us that the love of God is embedded in His commandments. In other words, the commandments of God reveal the character of God, which is love. And as we keep the commandments of God, He will give us the wisdom for us to be prosperous, but also the wisdom to discern between good and evil, AND for us to get to know God better and get closer to Him!

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A Happy Habit

“And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.” Luke 24:45.

Happy new year to you all. We say this each year, but time did go by real quick, didn’t it? And yet I am just thankful to God for giving us another year of life. It’s exciting to think about the wonderful blessings God will allow us in the new year. Also, we can be assured that we are now one year closer to the second coming of Jesus Christ.

You know, when Jesus was arrested and crucified the disciples and His followers fell into complete chaos. They didn’t know what to do. It seemed their meaning in life was gone and they were completely disappointed. When Jesus was resurrected the disciples heard about it and yet they couldn’t believe what they were hearing. It didn’t convince them. Finally Jesus appeared in front of them. And you know what Jesus did? He gave them a Bible study! It was a refresher for them. It was not the first time they were studying the Bible but Jesus had to spend time explaining to them the Bible.

A similar experience is found in the first part of the chapter as Jesus decided to walk with the two disciples as they were heading towards Emmaus. Verse 27 says, “And beginning at Moses and the all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.” It was not like they never heard of it before. They forgot.

I pray that in the new year that we make it a habit of studying the Word of God regularly. One thing I noticed with long-time Christians is that they are familiar with the beliefs and teachings of the Bible but when asked in detail, they don’t know how to answer them. It’s because we don’t study the Bible regularly. The one time study in the past is not good enough. You cannot rely on the pastor’s sermon on Sabbaths. You have to study the Bible for yourself on a regular basis. The New Year is here, please study the Bible. If the disciples couldn’t remember the Scriptures (especially when they were with Jesus for over 3 years), how can we remember the Words if we don’t study them regularly?

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