Daily Devo

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Jeroboam was a man of standing, and when Solomon saw how well the young man did his work, he put him in charge of the whole labor force. (1 Kings 11:28)

Expanded Passage: 1 Kings 11:26-28

“I can’t do anything,” Sherri said, throwing her hands in the air and tears gathering in her beautiful brown eyes. In front of me sat a woman in her fifties with long silver hair which she flipped over her shoulder occasionally, reminiscent of a young adolescent trying to make a point. As a client of the program I ran, assisting adults with disabilities to find employment, Sherri and I had been brainstorming a list of skills for her resume.

Months later, after countless hours of preparation, including a near catastrophe in the fitting room while shopping for Sherri’s interview clothes coupled with weekly visits to local businesses (sometimes incentivizing the trips with ice cream along the way), it finally happened. She was offered a job! You might have believed Sherri had received a million dollars with the sheer excitement we both experienced in light of that glorious triumph.

While God ultimately appoints people to positions, our perseverance, character, and integrity serve as a foundation from which promotion finds us. Persevere, do the right thing, and be diligent even when you face challenges. Take your work seriously, regardless of how big or small you perceive it to be. Perhaps something within you is being cultivated and who you become will be the propelling force that takes you where you need to be in the future.

Guard your reputation by diligently working where God has placed you.

Sarah Cochran received an MDiv from Wesley Seminary and is an ordained Wesleyan pastor in the Florida District. She and her husband, Tom, work for an agency rescuing kids from trafficking.

© 2024 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.

Listen to today’s devo!

Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me! (Ps. 66:20)

Expanded Passage: Psalm 66:8-20

The musical Annie opens with an orphan’s prayer for love and a home. It ends with Annie’s anthem, “I Don’t Need Anything but You.” The song testifies that “yesterday was plain awful” but now she and Daddy Warbucks are “together forever.” Remarkably, even her old nemesis, the orphanage keeper Miss Hannigan, joins the celebration.

Today’s psalm hits the same notes. Verses 8–12 recall the Israelites’ imprisonment and slavery in Egypt (Gen. 39:20; 42:17; Ex. 1), then their exodus with the pillar of fire through the Red Sea’s water (Ex. 14) to the promised land. Remarkably, “all peoples” (Ps. 66:8)—even Egyptians!—receive an invitation to celebrate Israel’s salvation.

Verses 13–15 cover the formal temple ceremony of thanksgiving. It’s like Annie appearing before a judge to officially become Warbucks’ adoptee. But Annie’s never one to stick to the script, and just like she bursts into song to tell her friends of her good fortune, so does the psalmist in verses 16–20. The point isn’t to brag but to encourage: If it can happen to me, there’s hope for you too!

This past Monday we studied young Solomon’s prayer. His heart’s desire was pure: He asked God for wisdom, not worldly goods, and God listened. The psalmist prayed with right motives too (v. 18), and God answered! He still hears such prayers today. Is that your big news?

Don’t keep answered prayers to yourself. Testify!

Jerome Van Kuiken is a professor of Christian thought at Oklahoma Wesleyan University and the author of The Judas We Never Knew (Seedbed, 2023).

© 2024 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.

Listen to today’s devo!

“Now, Lord God, let your promise to my father David be confirmed.” (2 Chron. 1:9)

Expanded Passage: 2 Chronicles 1:7-12; 1 Kings 4:29-34; 11:1-8

“Big History” is the name of a current project in education that sets the history of humanity within the larger framework of the history of the planet and universe. Before you learn about the formation of modern nation-states, you learn about the formation of continents and galaxies. Along with studying the rise of early civilizations along the Nile and Indus Rivers, you study how those rivers arose. The goal is to see everything as part of a single unfolding narrative.

The Bible has its own big history. God had promised David an everlasting royal line (2 Sam. 7). When Solomon began his reign, he recognized that God was keeping his promise (2 Chron. 1:8–9). Tragically, though, Solomon didn’t keep his commitment to God like David had; he chased other gods and suffered God’s punishment (1 Kings 11:4, 6, 11). Yet God preserved his promise by sparing a tribe for David’s dynasty to rule (1 Kings 11:12–13). Later still, the monarchy ended in exile, but God maintained the line of heirs to the throne.

Matthew’s Gospel opened with Jesus’ genealogy and announced him as the long-awaited Messiah, the one who finally fulfilled God’s promise to David (Matt. 1). He was greater and more faithful than Solomon, and his kingdom filled the world (Matt. 12:42; 28:18–20). And he invites us to set our life stories within his big story.

Trust God—who was faithful to David—to be faithful to you.

Jerome Van Kuiken is a professor of Christian thought at Oklahoma Wesleyan University and the author of The Judas We Never Knew (Seedbed, 2023).

© 2024 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.

Listen to today’s devo!

“Give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may lead this people.” (2 Chron. 1:10)

Expanded Passage: 2 Chronicles 1:7-12

Billy Batson is just a kid. How could he save civilization from the forces of evil? But Billy learns that all he has to do is call out the magic word “Shazam!” Instantly, he transforms into a superhero who can handle any problem. “Shazam” is an acronym for the names of various mythological gods and heroes—H for Hercules, Z for Zeus, etc.—except for the S. That letter stands for a biblical character, Solomon, whose fabled wisdom Billy can access when he’s in superhero form.

Solomon started out feeling as inadequate as Billy. (In 1 Kings 3:7, he even admitted to God, “I am only a little child.”) He’d inherited a sizeable realm from his dad, the legendary King David, but those shoes seemed too big to fill, the job too big to shoulder. How could he govern so many people? His help came not from any magic spell but from God, who granted him wisdom to rule well.

That same gift is available today: “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you” (James 1:5). On our own, we may be inadequate to deal with life’s demands. But we can call on a name greater than any false god, phony magician, or fantasy hero. Call on Solomon’s God. He’s waiting to answer.

Request God’s wisdom to meet your current challenges.

Jerome Van Kuiken is a professor of Christian thought at Oklahoma Wesleyan University and the author of The Judas We Never Knew (Seedbed, 2023).

© 2024 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.

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“I will most certainly tear the kingdom away from you.” (1 Kings 11:11)

Expanded Passage: 1 Kings 11:9-13

Mac and Dick McDonald had a dream. Back in 1950s San Bernardino, California, they opened a fast-food restaurant serving burgers, fries, and shakes, with a side order of honesty and hard work. Then a salesman named Ray Kroc promised to take their dream to a much bigger level if they’d partner with him. Sure enough, McDonald’s restaurants mushroomed into a national and then multinational chain. But the brothers eventually lost corporate control to Kroc and ended with precious little except the ownership of their original McDonald’s restaurant.

The history of David’s dynasty traces a similar arc. David first became king over his home tribe of Judah (2 Sam. 2). He expanded his dominion to the nation of Israel as a whole (2 Sam. 3–5) and his son Solomon built the franchise into an international empire. Solomon’s heir, though, lost control of the organization and wound up retaining not much more than his grandfather’s original realm, the tribal territory of Judah.

Sometimes success goes to our heads and God has to humble us. That’s what happened to Solomon and his son. But that divine discipline gives us a chance to get back to the basics and prove faithful with what remains. Whatever you may have lost, be loyal to God with what’s left. That’s the lesson the McDonald brothers would serve up.

Focus not on past regrets or future ambitions but on today’s duties.

Jerome Van Kuiken is a professor of Christian thought at Oklahoma Wesleyan University and the author of The Judas We Never Knew (Seedbed, 2023).

© 2024 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.

Listen to today’s devo!

So Solomon did evil in the eyes of the Lord. (1 Kings 11:6)

Expanded Passage: 1 Kings 11:4-8

During the summer of 2023, The Sound of Freedom hit theaters. It told the story of a US federal agent and man of faith on a crusade to rescue girls and boys who’d been sold into sexual slavery. Human trafficking and pornography are multibillion-dollar global industries with a horrific cost in children’s lives.

Those same vile values entered Solomon’s kingdom through the international deities his wives followed. Ashtoreth (v. 5) was a goddess of sex and violence. The worship of Chemosh and Molek (v. 7) involved child sacrifice (2 Kings 3:27; Jer. 32:35). These false gods promised prosperity, but the price was the destruction of innocence.

Marrying neighboring nations’ princesses and importing their religions no doubt seemed like a smart foreign policy to Solomon. It opened the doors to treaties and trade. But his decision also exposed his homeland to perverse practices that harmed generations of Israelites. The prophets who wrote 1 Kings recorded Solomon’s failure as a warning to God’s people to resist such idolatry and immorality.

In our own day, films like The Sound of Freedom echo those prophets’ call to arms and organizations like World Hope (www.worldhope.org) fight human trafficking in Jesus’ name. On this Fourth of July, as Americans celebrate their freedom, let us each do our part to bring freedom to children and other vulnerable persons worldwide.

Consider supporting anti-trafficking efforts through praying, donating, and volunteering.

Jerome Van Kuiken is a professor of Christian thought at Oklahoma Wesleyan University and the author of The Judas We Never Knew (Seedbed, 2023).

© 2024 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.

Listen to today’s devo!

King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women . . . and his wives led him astray. (1 Kings 11:1, 3)

Expanded Passage: 1 Kings 11:1-3

I didn’t watch the TV show Big Love, but I know the basic premise: a polygamous Salt Lake City businessman and his adventures in managing his multi-wife marriage. A TV series about Solomon would be exponentially more complicated—after all, he had a thousand-spouse harem (v. 3)! With that many wives, someone is bound to feel jilted. In Solomon’s case, that someone was God.

Everything about Solomon’s story sounds larger than life: first the number of people in his kingdom (2 Chron. 1:9), then the extent of his wisdom and influence (1 Kings 4:29–34), and now the excess of his love life. But his weakness for widespread attractions proved a fatal distraction from his devotion to God. It compromised his witness to his own people and the surrounding nations.

Too often the news reports big-name Christian leaders whose lack of restraint, like Solomon’s, undermines their ministries while the church and the world look on. Solomon ignored God’s command, preferring to follow his own heart (1 Kings 11:2), and his heart led him astray. If you and I want to avoid a similar disaster, we must remain accountable to Scripture, spouse, and church. Solomon substituted quantity for quality: he “held fast . . . in love” (1 Kings 11:2) to a thousand women instead of the one true God. When it comes to love, less can be more.

Commit to love the one God faithfully and fully.

Jerome Van Kuiken is a professor of Christian thought at Oklahoma Wesleyan University and the author of The Judas We Never Knew (Seedbed, 2023).

© 2024 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.

Listen to today’s devo!

God gave Solomon wisdom and very great insight.. . . From all nations people came to listen to Solomon’s wisdom. (1 Kings 4:29, 34)

Expanded Passage: 1 Kings 4:29-34

Do faith and politics mix? What about faith and philosophy, the arts, and science? God gave Solomon such wisdom in these fields that it impressed even nonbelievers in neighboring nations. Here’s a sampler of Christians from various theological persuasions who’ve followed in Solomon’s footsteps:

Politics. Member of Parliament William Wilberforce legislated an end to slavery in the British Empire. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt orchestrated the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Archbishops Óscar Romero and Desmond Tutu led peaceful opposition to government injustice in El Salvador and South Africa, respectively.

Philosophy. Early church father St. Augustine and medieval friar Thomas Aquinas contributed immensely to Western philosophy. More recently, Elizabeth Anscombe and Alvin Plantinga reclaimed philosophy as a Christian discipline.

The Arts. Solomon was a musician (v. 32). From Bach to Bono and Handel to Mahalia Jackson, Christians have shaped the world’s musical heritage. And where would visual art and literature be without Michelangelo and Rembrandt, Shakespeare and Shusako Endo, Dante and Dostoevsky, Tolkien and Toni Morrison?

Science. Let’s focus on life science, like Solomon studied (v. 33). Friar Gregor Mendel founded modern genetics. Nun Miriam Stimson was one of DNA’s codebreakers. Evangelical Francis Collins oversaw the Human Genome Project.

Christians needn’t fear these fields or any other. We just need to apply the same winsome wisdom that Solomon had as the world watches us.

Confidently apply divine wisdom to your occupation or sphere of influence.

Jerome Van Kuiken is a professor of Christian thought at Oklahoma Wesleyan University and the author of The Judas We Never Knew (Seedbed, 2023).

© 2024 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.

Listen to today’s devo!

Come and see what God has done. (Ps. 66:5)

Expanded Passage: Psalm 66:1-7

I can still hear the sound of her knees hitting the floor. Collapsing beneath the weight of her emotion, my friend melted into a ball of tears the moment she knew her husband was still alive. Her woeful cries melted into relief, and what rose out of her grief was gratitude. Face in her hands, she called out God’s goodness, her words rising in pure worship.

When we have been in the shadows, surrounded by a darkness we think will never end, seeing God’s goodness can be overwhelming. Blinding, even. Like the psalmist, my friend was compelled toward a posture of awe, as if falling on her knees was the only right response in light of the reality of what God had done. David was the same. Faced with the full picture of his situation, admitting his failure and turning toward God reminded him of all the ways God had been with him all along.

Because we are human people who daily encounter brokenness, dark days will find us. Whether they’re due to circumstance or decisions, we too will wonder where God is or whether we are too far gone. But even in the shadows, may we pay attention to the light. May we look back and remember “what God has done” and hold on to the hope of what he will do yet again. May we be people who shout, “Come and see!”

Out loud or on paper, recall the good things God has done.

Sarah E. Westfall is an author and speaker who currently resides in northeast Indiana with her husband Ben and their four boys; she is a graduate of Indiana Wesleyan University.

© 2024 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.

Listen to today’s devo!

Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” (2 Sam. 12:13)

Expanded Passage: 2 Samuel 11:1-11, 18-27; 12:7-14

Growing up within the evangelical church, I often heard dramatic conversion stories. I heard secondhand tales of drug addicts, atheists, and orphans compelled by the message of Jesus. Like Paul on the road to Damascus, every story had a clear before and after, a moment that changed everything. But I often struggle with these stories, because held up against my own experience, my conversion seemed much more gradual. A gentle turning. A story without clear lines, beginnings, or endings.

We each have a story. One is not more important or impactful than another, and one single moment is not the sum. If we are still breathing, the story is still unfolding. Without glossing over the harm David’s decisions caused, we can also find hope in a God who welcomes us every time we turn toward him. Every time we recognize our need, when we cry out like David, “I have sinned!” God is ready to receive us.

In A Long Obedience in the Same Direction, Eugene Peterson wrote that repentance is “a rejection that is also an acceptance, a leaving that develops into an arriving, a no to the world that is a yes to God.” And for most of us, that turning is continual. The Christian life is saying yes to God over and over and over again, a gentle turning as he brings us further into himself.

Consider how God might be inviting you to turn toward him.

Sarah E. Westfall is an author and speaker who currently resides in northeast Indiana with her husband Ben and their four boys; she is a graduate of Indiana Wesleyan University.

© 2024 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.