LOYAL HEARTS AND WILLING MINDS

Today’s Reading: 1 Chronicles 28

Click scripture link to read online or HERE to listen online (then click the symbol of the audio speaker above the scripture portion).

Zedekiah’s Cave, an extension of Solomon’s Quarries, is a 5-acre underground meleke limestone quarry that runs the length of five city blocks under the Old City of Jerusalem. It was carved over a period of several thousand years and is a remnant of the largest quarry in Jerusalem. Here is the path that leads down into the depths of the quarry.

GOOGLE MAPS – To see where the photo was taken, click HERE.

Key Verse: 1 Chronicles 28:20

And David said to his son Solomon, “Be strong and of good courage, and do it; do not fear nor be dismayed, for the Lord God — my God — will be with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you, until you have finished all the work for the service of the house of the Lord…”

Young Solomon must have been overwhelmed by the challenge facing him. God had called him to follow his father as king. His first task was to oversee the building of the Temple in Jerusalem on Mt. Moriah. But, along with the calling, God gave Solomon instructions and a promise.

First, Solomon was to know the God of his father and to “serve Him with a loyal heart and with a willing mind” (28:9).

Second, Solomon was encouraged to “Be strong and of good courage and do it” (28:20a).

Third, his father assured him that God would be with him and that God would not leave him or forsake him (28:20b).

When God calls us to do His work we must do it without fear, knowing that He will accomplish His purpose through us.

PRAYER FOR TODAY:

Lord God, I need Your provision in order to accomplish Your purpose. Here I am, Lord, at Your service. Please grant me a loyal heart and a willing mind. With heart and mind focused on doing Your will, I know I will succeed. In the Name of Jesus, the One who did Your will 100% of the time, I pray, Amen!!!

100 PERSONAL WORDS:

When I saw the number “100” on the front of the building on Huntley Street in downtown Toronto, I knew, without a doubt, that God wanted Crossroads to renovate and occupy that building. Recently I walked down that street and marvelled at God’s provision back in 1977. The building where the 100 Huntley Street telecast originated is gone now and the head office of the cable TV and telecommunications giant, Rogers Communications, is there. Our lease on the building at 100 Huntley Street ended and, like Solomon might have been with the Temple, I was almost overwhelmed at the building challenge that faced us. I marvel at God’s call and His provisions! In the Spring of ’92, we dedicated to God the new 143,000 square foot building known as the “Crossroads Centre” in Burlington, Ontario. God has done amazing things through the faithful support of His loyal people, our partners in ministry.

Yours because of God’s gift of loyal hearts and willing minds,

David

Another view inside Zedekiah’s Cave/Solomon’s Quarries.

You can see the walls of Jerusalem above the bedrock of the Quarry. Here is one of the entrances to Zedekiah’s cave. Just to the south is the area where the Temple was built, and to the north on the other side of the quarry is the rock wall considered by many as the Place of the Skull. This is Mt. Moriah where Abraham was about to offer Isaac as a sacrifice when God said that He would provide the sacrifice. Jesus, the Son of God, was that Sacrifice offered on this mountain (Genesis 22:1-18).