In response to Solomon’s idolatry later in his life, the Lord chooses a man named Jeroboam to lead a rebellion to rend the kingdom and lead 10 of the 12 tribes apart from the rule of Solomon. When Solomon gets wind of this revolt, he attempts to kill Jeroboam, but he flees into Egypt for safety until Solomon’s death. When Solomon’s son, Rehoboam, takes over, he makes very foolish decisions to oppress the people, listening to his young friends instead of the wise sages that counseled Solomon. During this time, Jeroboam has returned and leads a rebellion of the northern 10 tribes that become known as “Israel” going forward, and the 2 tribes of Judah and Benjamin still under Rehoboam’s rule are known as “Judah” going forward (see 1 Kg. 11-12 for this whole account).
Category: Articles Page 1 of 12
Articles, devotionals, study guides, and other writings from Pastor David Wise and other select writers.
As we begin to make New Year’s Resolutions for the upcoming year in 2025, arguably no resolution is more important than a renewed commitment to the reading and study of God’s word. We hope you will embark with us on this one-year Bible reading plan designed to read your Bible all the way through in the next year.
Click here to view and download a PDF of the 2025 One Year Bible Reading Plan
To aid you in reading God’s word, you might consider downloading this Bible Timeline of the Old and New Testament to place each passage of scripture in the appropriate historical context.
Click here to view and download a PDF of the Biblical Timeline of the Old and New Testament
“And he (Jehoshaphat) walked in all the ways of Asa his father; he turned not aside from it, doing that which was right in the eyes of the LORD: nevertheless the high places were not taken away; for the people offered and burnt incense yet in the high places.” (1 Kg. 22:43)
God’s people are very susceptible to creating our own personal high places that we don’t see as a problem in our lives, while it actually stands in direct opposition to God’s word. These high places can take many forms in our lives and hearts, and your secret high place might look different than mine. Regardless of what form it takes, God’s word upholds that any high places that detract from singular devotion and worship of God, anything that detracts from obedience to the greatest commandment to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, is something that needs to be purged from our hearts and purged from our lives. We see examples in the Old Testament of incomplete obedience, a willingness to purge out some high places but to allow others to remain. We need to allow the Lord to search our hearts and give us clarity of any high places in our lives that are restricting us from singular devotion to Jesus Christ.
As we move towards the conclusion of yet another year and reflect upon the last twelve months, most likely we can say along with the hymnwriter, “mixtures of joy and sorrow I daily do pass through.” As we reflect and take inventory of the last year, I hope we can see the happy, joyful moments that we have been blessed to enjoy by God’s grace. We need to count our many blessings, name them one by one, and it should not surprise us what the Lord has done, but sometimes we need to be reminded of just how much we have been blessed by individually counting (maybe even writing down) our blessings one by one. I hope we can thank the Lord for his blessings, care, provision, and grace in our lives, not just in the last twelve months, but throughout our entire lifetime.
We consider the providence of God, how God “sees before” the needs of his children and does everything necessary beforehand to ensure those needs are met at the exact time that they arise. As we consider the dynamic providence of God, we are led to worship and to declare along with scripture truly God’s judgments are unsearchable and his way past finding out!
Click here to view and download a PDF study guide of the Providence of God
Click here to listen to a sermon series on the Providence of God.
Fear is a natural emotion that we all have and sometimes struggle with, but fear left unchecked can create torment and bondage in our lives. We consider together the ways in which fear might be expressed in our lives, and also the remedies and weapons the Lord has given us to conquer the spirit of fear. In this study guide and sermons, we consider together how we can live in freedom and conquer fear in our lives.
Click here to download a PDF copy of Conquering Fear (Study Notes)
Click here to listen to the sermon series on Conquering Fear.
For the sincere child of God, we want to follow and be obedient to God’s will. However, practically speaking, what actually is God’s will? how do I know and discern God’s will for my life? how does God guide His children in walking in His will? In this study guide on the subject, we consider the verses that address God’s will in scripture and try to consider some practical ways that we can know and walk in accordance with God’s will during our lives.
Click here to view and download the PDF outline of The Will of God Study Guide.
Click here to listen to the sermon series on The Will of God.
As we begin a new year, it can be overwhelming to consider all the commands in scripture that we are to obey. Therefore, here are a few simple commands that we can focus on as we begin a new year.
Here are 7 simple commands to focus on as a goal each day in the new year:
- Love God with all your heart, soul, and mind
- Love your neighbor as yourself
- Fear God
- Keep God’s commandments
- Do justly
- Love mercy
- Walk humbly with thy God
These commands come from 3 verses that describe all-encompassing themes that if we focus on then we will serve God in an acceptable way.
- The greatest & second commandment (Matt. 22:36-40)
- The whole duty of man (Eccl. 12:13)
- What does the Lord require of thee (Micah 6:8)
The struggle of couples trying to conceive and have children is one of the most difficult seasons of life and marriage. When we might see others around us conceiving much easier, it is hard to not let unfulfillment, jealousy, and bitterness creep into our mind. We know that we are supposed to be content in whatever state we are in, but contentment is a great challenge for the barren couple. We wonder why the Lord has not blessed us with the answer to our prayers, and most of the time we will never receive a perfect answer to that question. Scripture affirms the barren womb is never satisfied, and some women preferred death to barrenness. The struggle, grief, and burden of soul is deep. We hope to be able to consider this topic from the word of God and receive balm from the scriptures of both God’s sovereignty and his tender care towards his children struggling through this season of life and marriage.
“In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” (1 Thess. 5:18)
It seems each year as we arrive in late November approaching the Thanksgiving holiday, I am convicted of how much I have taken for granted and not given appropriate thanksgiving for God’s blessings in my life. Rather than an annual, once-a-year remembrance of God’s blessings and thanksgiving, the Lord commands his people to give thanks “always” (Eph. 3:20). Furthermore, God’s will for us is to give thanks “in every thing.” (1 Thess. 5:18) We certainly do not give thanks “for” everything in our lives. We don’t thank God “for” sin, temptations, sickness, death, the devil, and the evil of this world. However, in spite of any circumstance we encounter in this life, we can still give thanks to God “in” the midst of any trial.