Key Verse: 1 Kings 2:3
And keep the charge of the Lord your God: to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His judgments, and His testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn.

King David’s final words to his son Solomon resembles those spoken by Moses to Joshua (Deuteronomy 31:7-13). Two towering historical people, Moses and David, make for interesting character studies. Great care was taken by the writers of Scripture to be accurate. Most histories written about an absolute ruler are coloured to make the monarch look much better than reality, but not the Bible. It tells it like it really was.
David had a good idea what it will take for his son to have a successful reign. The twelve tribes were filled with people who would be extremely difficult to rule. This was 500 years before democracy arose in Greece. Since Israel had rejected God’s rule through judges, who would be recognized as leaders only when needed, the prediction of Samuel as to the actions of kings was now a reality. The often-quoted statement, “Absolute power corrupts absolutely,” will be shown to be true as we move through the sad history of the next 500 years. Some of what David says is good advice for us too: “Keep the charge of the Lord your God: to walk in His ways.” Amen!!!
PRAYER FOR TODAY:
Lord God, I pray for grace to obey Your instructions in all matters. With all my heart and mind, I desire to walk in Your ways. In the Name of Jesus, the only One who ever walked 100% of the time in Your ways, I ask this request. Amen!!!

100 PERSONAL WORDS:
Five of our Circle Square Ranches were given by Crossroads in 2011 to InterVarsity Christian Fellowship to join with their already very successful Pioneer Camps. The other ranches are now operated by other worthy ministries. It’s time to register our children and our teens at a Christian summer camp. Check out the camp nearest you, run by various Christian organizations across Canada…click here. Or if you’re in the USA, click here. When I first received the vision from God for the Circle Square Ranch ministry, I became convinced that an in-depth work of God’s Spirit and His Word could be accomplished in one week at a Bible camp, more than in any other way, such as seven Sundays in Sunday School. Don’t get me wrong. I’m the biggest fan of faithful Sunday School attendance. But that concentrated week, day and night, at camp is very, very effective. Because of the television opportunities we enjoyed, our registration records showed approximately 60% of the campers came from homes where the children had no church background. From 1978 to 2010, Circle Square Ranches hosted approximately 250,000 children and teens for at least a week each. It has been estimated that as many as 100,000 of these infinitely precious souls made first-time decisions to give their lives to Jesus. I’m praying fervently for a great response this summer at every camp which is committed to serving Jesus.

Yours for future generations of followers of Christ. “Indeed, [One] greater than Solomon is here” (Luke 11:31b),

David

P.S. I recently joined Lorna Dueck live on 100 Huntley Street [2017]. If you’d like to view the interview, click http://100huntley.com/watch?id=225440&title=catching-up-with-david-mainse- for part one and http://100huntley.com/watch?id=225438&title=grandparent-challenge--david-mainse- for part two. You can be a big encouragement to Lorna and her team through your support…click https://donate.crossroads.ca/ to be a “Game Changer” and help share the Good News of Jesus in Canada and around the world!