Tag: Solomon

Live and Work in Excellence

“Live and Work in Excellence” by Kirk Hunt

 

And king Solomon sent and fetched Hiram out of Tyre. He was a widow’s son of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in brass: and he was filled with wisdom, and understanding, and cunning to work all works in brass. And he came to king Solomon, and wrought all his work.

1 Kings 7:13-14  KJV

Solomon took the task of building the Temple seriously.  King David’s stockpile for the Temple did not suffice.  Solomon started importing the best materials from other countries.

 

As any builder will tell you, good materials are not enough.  Excellent men and women are required for the best results on any project.  Solomon looked past the politically connected and even those with good local reputations.  He wanted an elite artificer to work on God’s Temple.

 

Solomon sent for Hiram (or Huram), a craftsman, living in a foreign land, to serve as Chief Craftsman on the Temple.  Despite his mixed heritage, and probably disadvantage upbringing, Hiram came to the attention of kings (Hiram I and Solomon, as a minimum).

 

You have the opportunity to live and work in excellence.  With enough excellence, you will come to the attention of “kings.”  Of course, you should be focused on the attention of the King of Kings.

 

Your life can bring Him Glory.  Your work can praise Him to everyone around you.  Just live to be the best of the best.

 

 

Think: No matter where I am, I should live and work in excellence.

 

Pray: “Lord, give me a chance to bring You glory through a spirit of excellence.”

 

 

Copyright © June 2012, Kirk Hunt

The Effect Of Dedication

[display_podcast]

“The Effect Of Dedication” by Kirk Hunt

And Solomon offered a sacrifice of peace offerings, which he offered unto the LORD, two and twenty thousand oxen, and an hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the children of Israel dedicated the house of the LORD.

1 Kings 8:63 KJV

After the last workman finished, it was just a house. Was the building beautiful? Without a doubt. Was the cost high? Extravagantly so. Still, it otherwise remained commonplace.

Something happened during the ceremony. It was a shelter like many others, until it was assigned a special purpose. That mundane edifice in Jerusalem became The Temple during the dedication.

Solomon and the priests’ prayers and offerings didn’t suddenly transform the stone and timber. The joint recognition of Israel that the building would serve God did. Dedication is assigning a special purpose to a place, or even person.

The things, and lives, around you do not need to remain commonplace. You can transform the mundane into the extraordinary. Dedication changes everything.

There is no minimum qualification value. No standard for appearance controls your selection. You choose what you dedicate to God. You pick what is reserved for the God of heaven. May I suggest something valuable and precious, like your soul?

Think: You can assign a special purpose in God to anything and anyone. Even yourself.

Pray: “Lord, help me to dedicate my things, and myself, to You.”

Copyright © November 2009, Kirk Hunt