Daily Bible Reading: 1 Kings 6

It took Solomon, with the help of Hiram, seven years to build the temple. The temple was beautiful. It was completely overlaid with gold, with ornate skilled carvings around and inside it. Each room had its purpose, as God had ordained.

God came to Solomon as he was in the building process and told him, “If you will continue to walk in my ways and follow my laws, I will be happy to live here, among these people.” God was pleased with His house that Solomon had built.

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It isn’t enough to build something for God. God expects you to maintain what you have built. In the New Testament, we are told that our bodies are now the new dwelling place of the Lord. If we do not maintain our bodies, by following in Jesus’ footsteps and obeying God, then the Lord will not live there. He wants to feel welcomed. He wants to feel comfortable, and at home. If you give to God, but your heart is not in it, God doesn’t want it.

How would you like to be invited to a friend’s house to stay for supper, and the whole time you are waiting for your friend to fix dinner, she complains about all the trouble she has to go through in order to make you feel comfortable. Does that help you feel comfortable or make you feel loved? God is the same way. If you are going to serve Him, He wants you to do it because it is pleasing to you to do so.

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