The Right Way

Lately I've been reading about the life of King David in 1 & 2 Samuel.  I do that from time to time and am always amazed at the things that stand out to me.

What jumps out reading the following verses, (I added the bold emphasis.)

1 Samuel 23:4 Once again David inquired of the Lord, and the Lord answered him, "Go down to Keilah, for I am going to give the Philistines into your hand."

1 Samuel 30:8 and David inquired of the Lord, "Shall I pursue this raiding party? Will I overtake them?" "Pursue them," he answered. "You will certainly overtake them and succeed in the rescue."

2 Samuel 2:1  In the course of time, David inquired of the Lord. "Shall I go up to one of the towns of Judah?" he asked. The Lord said, "Go up." David asked, "Where shall I go?" "To Hebron," the Lord answered.

 2 Samuel 5:19 so David inquired of the Lord, "Shall I go and attack the Philistines? Will you deliver them into my hands?" The Lord answered him, "Go, for I will surely deliver the Philistines into your hands."

(all emphasis mine)

David had a habit of asking the Lord about everything.  Even when the choice seems obvious, he prayed about it!

But notice this one time when he did not.  David wanted to bring the Ark into the city, but when he did they placed it on a cart.  Sounded reasonable, right?  Everyone was happy, celebrating, until a donkey pulling the cart stumbles, causing the Ark to be unsteady.  A man named Uzzah reaches up to steady it, and is struck dead for touching the Ark.

Party over, and David was upset.

But instead of getting angry with God, David realized what the problem was.  When he decided to move the Ark a second time, this is what he said.

"Then David summoned Zadok and Abiathar the priests, and Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel and Amminadab the Levites.  He said to them, "You are the heads of the Levitical families; you and your fellow Levites are to consecrate yourselves and bring up the ark of the Lord, the God of Israel, to the place I have prepared for it. It was because you, the Levites, did not bring it up the first time that the Lord our God broke out in anger against us. We did not inquire of him about how to do it in the prescribed way." 1 Chron 15:11-13(NIV, emphasis mine)

How many times do things go wrong in our life simply because we neglect to pray about it?

Worth thinking about.

Getting Through The Day

I remember when I first started riding my motorcycle  I had a bit of apprehension, and I'm sure some of that is healthy.  After all, putting a combustion engine and gas tank between your legs and heading on down the road  is not the safest thing you could do with your time.

So each night I would come home from work and the first thing I would do is hop on the bike.  I had what I saw as my "fear meter," at first, 30% of what I was feeling was fun, with the remaining 70% being fear. 

But with each ride, I matured, and that scale changed until the fear was tucked away where it should be.  Fear became a healthy respect of riding, but not  something that stops me from riding.

But in those early days, I had to overcome the fear in order to ride.  I knew this was something I wanted to do, so I had to battle the fear every time.  I did this by looking forward to the day when the fear would be gone and I would have nothing but the pure joy of riding.

That's how we get through difficult times, we have hope of a better tomorrow. 

Hebrews 12:2 (NIV) says of Jesus, "For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."

Jesus was looking to the moment when he could say, "it is finished," and know that he reconciled the world to his Father.  That is how he got through the pain of the cross.

No matter what this life throws at us, we do have a paradise waiting for us.  This life is not all there is, and there are times when we need to remember that to get through the day.

Dead or Alive?

It never ceases to amaze me, how some people can be famous... just for being famous. 

Often even we as Christians can be tempted to envy the lives of rich or successful people.  They appear to have it all together.  They are "really living life."

But that is because we look at others around us from an earthly perspective.  We judge whether or not a person has a "good life" by health, success, or wealth. 

Yet, from God's perspective, there are only two kinds of people, dead or alive.  It matters not that a person is deemed a success in life.  Without Christ they are without life. 

"As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins,  in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.  All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,  made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved." Eph 2:1-5 (NIV)

Roots

In our neighbor's backyard there are many pine trees.

I don't particularly care for them.  Mostly because pine needles kill grass.

They have this one branch that overhangs my fence.  I tried to just pull it down once, but no luck!  That branch was way too strong for me. 

Then, last winter we had a storm that covered the branch with ice.  It cracked and still hangs, but even now, half broken, I cannot snap it off.

I don't have the strength to snap off one branch, let alone uproot that tree and toss it.

Yet yesterday, while mowing the lawn, I noticed a little pine tree sapling growing in my yard, close to my house.  I pulled it up, roots and all, and tossed it with almost no effort.

As I went about mowing, I thought about how, if I let that tree grow, it would soon be big enough to cause damage.  The root could easily work itself into the foundation of my house, branches scraping and busting windows.  If I waited that long, I would have a huge problem on my hands, and a lot of damage to clean up afterwards.

That's why it's best to pull those things up, roots and all, when they are small.

Sin is a lot like that.  If we don't deal with the "small compromises" right away, they will soon take root and grow. 

James tells us, "When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone;  but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death." James 1:13-15 (NIV)

If something comes to mind while reading this blog, rip it out of your life now, you'll save a lot of trouble further down the line.

Devotion to Our Lord

Recently I watched a movie that had as its theme the code of the Samurai.  It wasn't a great movie, not even one I would recommend.  But, I found myself fascinated by the code by which these ancient warriors lived.

The one thing that truly intrigued me was the absolute devotion they had to their lord.  The code even taught how your thoughts should be about how to better serve, how the lord's life mattered more than your own. 

I thought to myself, if men can be ready to give that kind of devotion, even their life, to an earthly lord, how much more willing should we be to do the same for our Lord in Heaven?

One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?" "The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.''  Mark 12: 28-30 (NIV)

The difference from the Samurai being, he offers us life in exchange for our devotion.

He gives us his all, are we prepared to give the same to him?

Words of Wisdom

I truly appreciate listening to my brother Barney when he has something to say. 

He's a big man, in many ways.  Tall and formative, but also big-,hearted. 

When he speaks, he often appears to pause, choosing each word carefully.  When he says something,  I often sense the Spirit of God speaking to me.  So over the past few years, getting to know him, I pay attention. 

I remember once when Preacher Mike was preaching and questioned wether people pick up a penny when they see it, or not?  He asked Barney directly if he would, and Barney's reply was, "Yes, because 99 more make a dollar." 

I thought about that, how it's the little steps that slowly add up to something.  To not neglect them, even if I don't see the combined value right away.

Another time, in small group at ReFuel, he simply wrote  a single word on a piece of paper, and sliding the paper in front of those of us at the table,  said, "Envy is a four letter word." 

I still have the paper, it's a great reminder.

This past week at ReFuel, we were talking about not letting people get under our skin.  Barney said, "Don't let someone live rent-free in your mind."

To me, those words had the Holy Spirit in them.  I had let several people stay in my mind as I thought about the things they do that bug me.  Basically letting them occupy that space, while I'm sure they were giving little thought to me. 

The next day, each time one of those thoughts came into my mind, I thought about what Barney said and evicted it! 

Just as Paul said, in 2 Corinthians 10:5 (NIV)

"We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." (emphasis added).

As far as I know, Barney has never preached a sermon, but listening to the things he says reminds me of why it is so important for all of us to contribute, to share the things that the Lord has taught us.

That is how we grow together in the Lord.  That is true fellowship.

"What then shall we say, brothers and sisters? When you come together, each of you has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. Everything must be done so that the church may be built up."  1 Corinthians 14:26  (NIV)

What about you, is there a wealth of wisdom the Lord has taught you that needs to be shared with the rest of us?

Are You Content?

I love looking at motorcycle magazines, especially when they are doing reviews on new bikes.  Seeing what is coming out, the new enhancements or styles, that can be a lot of fun.

Or especially just visiting the dealership, throwing a leg over a new bike.

But what can happen during this "innocent" window shopping, is that my appreciation for the bikes I already have wanes just a bit.  I  find myself slightly discontent.  If only my bike had...

But that's the goal of the advertisements  isn't it?  To make us less happy with what we have, so they can sell us what we don't. 

It's easy to take our eyes of the blessings we have in our lives when we are staring at something we think we want.

Are you content with what God has given you?

"I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want." Phi 4: 12 (NIV)