Men’s Devotional: August 31, 2015

2 Chronicles 3


Scripture:

1 Then Solomon began to build the temple of the LORD in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the LORD had appeared to his father David. It was on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite, the place provided by David.

2 He began building on the second day of the second month in the fourth year of his reign.

Observation:

The acceptance, planning, and execution of a task is on display in this passage. Good intentions are nothing more than, well, good intentions. I am so thankful that Solomon accepted the task to build the temple, planned for the job and then executed the plan.

Every day we accept responsibilities. Many of these responsibilities are given to us by who we are as men. You have responsibilities as a husband and as a father that can only be completed by you. By responding as Solomon did, you empower those around you to accomplish what God has put in their heart. First, Solomon turned his words and intentions into action. He did not get distracted or surrender to fatigue. Solomon got to work and built the temple.

Second, Solomon didn’t just build a temple, as we begin to see in chapter 3, but he built it with incredible detail and excellence. As Spirit-Empowered Men we have the ability to fulfill the tasks and responsibilities with excellence as an act of worship to the Lord. I encourage you to learn from Solomon’s example of building the temple and do your very best at home, at work, in the church, and in the community.

Application:

  • Personal Application: Don’t get sidetracked from doing the responsibilities that only you can fulfill. Once you have identified those, do you very best to complete them.
  • Family Devotional: Take a moment and encourage each person in your family about one thing they have done well.  For example, thank your wife for cooking dinner and talk about how good the meal is in front of the kids. Tell them how important it is, as a representative of Jesus, to continue to do our best in everything that we do. Read some of 2 Chronicles 3 and show them how much detail and excellence Solomon used in building the temple. Pray for them.

Prayer:

  • Personal Prayer Focus: Ask God for focus and endurance to complete the tasks and responsibilities in front of you with excellence.
  • Family Prayer Focus: Pray that God will open the eyes of your family to see that doing things well impacts their witness for Him.

Three-Year Reading Plan for Sunday, August 30 to Sunday, September 6:


  • Sunday, August 30: 2 Chronicles 2
  • Monday, August 31: 2 Chronicles 3
  • Tuesday, September 1: 2 Chronicles 4
  • Wednesday, September 2: 2 Chronicles 5
  • Thursday, September 3: 2 Chronicles 6
  • Friday, September 4: 2 Chronicles 7
  • Saturday, September 5: 2 Chronicles 8
  • Sunday, September 6: 2 Chronicles 9

—TOM GROOT is National Director of Men’s Ministry and Christian Education. Connect with Tom on Facebook or Twitter @TomGrootJr.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise marked, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblicia, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com. The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

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