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Monday, August 17, 2015

Monday Morning Devo - What Power?


The sermon yesterday was about King Solomon, how he was a great and wise king who followed God at the beginning but made bad choices along the way with disastrous results.

There’s an old saying that absolute power corrupts absolutely. When a person yields to no one, when he (or she) decides for him or herself what is right and wrong, when she or he goes after what he or she wants no matter who gets hurt—well, Solomon was that man. I’m sure he began with good intentions, but he became a slave instead of a ruler. A slave to his appetites.

One woman wasn’t enough. Building the Lord’s temple wasn’t enough. A little wealth wasn’t enough. Nothing satisfied.

Ever been there?

Someone died last week who meant a lot to me. I never met him face to face, but Mike Clark was maybe the one person I’ve ever known about who could put an entire sermon into a five-line paragraph.

He came by his wisdom the hard way. A serious addict, he sank to the bottom of the sewer before he discovered the cross of Jesus reached even there. Mike made a statement that apparently didn’t originate with him, but it rang true to me. Maybe it will to you too: “You will never realize that Jesus is all you need until you realize He is all you have.”

No one is ever all-powerful, no matter what he or she may think, no matter how much wealth or prestige they may have, no matter if all the kings, queens, emperors, dictators, and presidents of this earth bow to them. Not even Solomon.

And no one is ever beyond the power of God. I’m glad He’s the only one with that kind of power, because He’s the only one who would ever use all His power to help, to lift, to heal.

Lord, thank You for being all-powerful. Thank You for loving me enough to call me out of the messes I get myself into. What a wonderful God You are! Amen.

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