1 Samuel 18:30b (also 5,14,15,30)
"...David behaved more wisely than all the servants of Saul, so that his name became highly esteemed."
With all of David's skills in combat, courage before bears & lions & giants, favor with the people and the blessing and anointing of God; David did not oppose Saul. The temptation must have been great to take advantage of such favor and pursue the throne or at least enjoy the benefits of it. However with all of this favor, David restrained himself and "behaved wisely." He even restrained himself from what was rightfully his in humbly passing up Saul's offer of his oldest daughter (1 Sam 17:25). Where did David get such wisdom?
Psalm 111:10
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise.
Proverbs 15:33
The fear of the LORD teaches a man wisdom, and humility comes before honor.
David did not fear Saul nor revere him but instead feared and revered the Lord. The wealth and power and blessings of Saul paled in comparison to what David knew awaited those who fear and follow God. Wise behavior is born out of such fear for God and knowledge of His precepts.
God - make me more reverent of You. Teach me to fear You that I may be wise in all my actions. Teach me Your precepts that I may walk in wisdom. Teach me restraint and strengthen me to wait on Your favor and blessings. Help me put myself aside and trust fully in You. Amen
Friday, April 24, 2009
Thursday, April 23, 2009
The Heart
1 Samuel 16:7
But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."
The book of 1 Samuel uses the word "heart" 16 times. Each time it is tied to something deeply passionate or deeply personal. Often it is influenced or changed by God. The NKJV Bible translates the word heart 926 times and the NIV 743 times.
1 Samuel 13:14b
"the LORD has sought out a man after his own heart"
Jeremiah 17:9
The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?
Luke 6:45
The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.
Ezekiel 36:26
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.
Matthew 22:37
"Jesus replied, 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'
Father - Make me a man after Your own heart. Soften my heart and fill it with Your Spirit. Let good things flow from my heart; good words, good deeds, good will, good attitude. Let my heart be seen and known for love; love for You and love for others. Let my heart be a testimony to You and of Your gracious work. Amen.
But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."
The book of 1 Samuel uses the word "heart" 16 times. Each time it is tied to something deeply passionate or deeply personal. Often it is influenced or changed by God. The NKJV Bible translates the word heart 926 times and the NIV 743 times.
1 Samuel 13:14b
"the LORD has sought out a man after his own heart"
Jeremiah 17:9
The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?
Luke 6:45
The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.
Ezekiel 36:26
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.
Matthew 22:37
"Jesus replied, 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'
Father - Make me a man after Your own heart. Soften my heart and fill it with Your Spirit. Let good things flow from my heart; good words, good deeds, good will, good attitude. Let my heart be seen and known for love; love for You and love for others. Let my heart be a testimony to You and of Your gracious work. Amen.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Obedience is sacrifice
1 Samuel 15:22
So Samuel said:
“Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,
As in obeying the voice of the LORD?
Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,
And to heed than the fat of rams.
Saul was not intent on obedience or sacrifice, he was consumed with self promotion. In 1 Samuel 15:12 he even build a monument in his own honor. His only reason for or thought of sacrifice was as a justification for what he had done. This is a typical pattern after disobedience. We try to shift the balance in our favor by suggesting good to balance out the bad. Even I fall into this pattern. I justify sinful behavior by calculating all the time and compensation I've sacrificed by working at a church. I reason falsely that I am owed certain privileges or benefits in response to my sacrifice, almost as compensation. However, sacrifice with compensation is no sacrifice at all. Sacrifice is selfless. Sacrifice is also impossible without obedience. I can disobediently sacrifice but I cannot sacrificially disobey. Obedience is sacrifice. Obedience requires that I sacrifice my agenda, my ambition, my reputation, my comfort, my stuff, my life. This is what the Lord requires of me, nothing less.
God forgive me for justifying my disobedience with sacrifice. Humble me and help me learn to sacrificially obey daily. Amen.
So Samuel said:
“Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,
As in obeying the voice of the LORD?
Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,
And to heed than the fat of rams.
Saul was not intent on obedience or sacrifice, he was consumed with self promotion. In 1 Samuel 15:12 he even build a monument in his own honor. His only reason for or thought of sacrifice was as a justification for what he had done. This is a typical pattern after disobedience. We try to shift the balance in our favor by suggesting good to balance out the bad. Even I fall into this pattern. I justify sinful behavior by calculating all the time and compensation I've sacrificed by working at a church. I reason falsely that I am owed certain privileges or benefits in response to my sacrifice, almost as compensation. However, sacrifice with compensation is no sacrifice at all. Sacrifice is selfless. Sacrifice is also impossible without obedience. I can disobediently sacrifice but I cannot sacrificially disobey. Obedience is sacrifice. Obedience requires that I sacrifice my agenda, my ambition, my reputation, my comfort, my stuff, my life. This is what the Lord requires of me, nothing less.
God forgive me for justifying my disobedience with sacrifice. Humble me and help me learn to sacrificially obey daily. Amen.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Nothing restrains the Lord
1 Samuel 14:6
Jonathan said to his young armor-bearer, "Come, let's go over to the outpost of those uncircumcised fellows. Perhaps the LORD will act in our behalf. Nothing can hinder the LORD from saving, whether by many or by few."
How often has my view of a situation been shaded by the obvious or physical details of this earth. How often have resources or timing or people or opposition been my focus instead of the Lord and His will?
In these tough economic times God is still able to save and to do ministry with $1 as well as with $1,000,000. If His people are faithful and obedient, there is nothing in this world that can hinder the Lord. (These only hinder in that God, by His character, has made them factors in accomplishing His ideal will for us. Otherwise the Lord able to rise up stones in order to bring Him glory.)
God is hindered by nothing. My obstacles are opportunities for God. My faith and obedience however are everything to Him.
God - make me more faithful and obedient. Strengthen my faith in your abundance and provision. Turn my focus from earthly things and let me see Your salvation. Amen.
Jonathan said to his young armor-bearer, "Come, let's go over to the outpost of those uncircumcised fellows. Perhaps the LORD will act in our behalf. Nothing can hinder the LORD from saving, whether by many or by few."
How often has my view of a situation been shaded by the obvious or physical details of this earth. How often have resources or timing or people or opposition been my focus instead of the Lord and His will?
In these tough economic times God is still able to save and to do ministry with $1 as well as with $1,000,000. If His people are faithful and obedient, there is nothing in this world that can hinder the Lord. (These only hinder in that God, by His character, has made them factors in accomplishing His ideal will for us. Otherwise the Lord able to rise up stones in order to bring Him glory.)
God is hindered by nothing. My obstacles are opportunities for God. My faith and obedience however are everything to Him.
God - make me more faithful and obedient. Strengthen my faith in your abundance and provision. Turn my focus from earthly things and let me see Your salvation. Amen.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Faith and Followthrough
1 Samuel 12:22-23
For the LORD will not forsake His people, for His great name’s sake, because it has pleased the LORD to make you His people. Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you; but I will teach you the good and the right way.
Samuel had perfect faith in the character of God. He knew the statutes of the Lord and understood the great things which God had done for His people. The sovereign Lord would not let His people be destroyed. However Samuel still went before God in petition for Israel. Samuel's faith and certainty in the goodness of God did not lead him to rest but to even more fervent prayer. For Samuel, prayer was not only a matter of need and seeking God's will, but moreover one of obedience. For Samuel, prayer confirmed what he already knew of the character and reputation of God and also what he himself committed to. Prayer confirmed his faith.
As for me, do I pray out of obedience? Do I pray only out of need? Is prayer a habit of answers rather than obedience? Will I pray regardless of my faith in the character of God to do what is right for His name sake?
Father - make me more faithful to pray. Drive me to pray out of obedience and not only out of need. Let my prayers be driven by faithfulness in spite of my faith. Amen.
For the LORD will not forsake His people, for His great name’s sake, because it has pleased the LORD to make you His people. Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you; but I will teach you the good and the right way.
Samuel had perfect faith in the character of God. He knew the statutes of the Lord and understood the great things which God had done for His people. The sovereign Lord would not let His people be destroyed. However Samuel still went before God in petition for Israel. Samuel's faith and certainty in the goodness of God did not lead him to rest but to even more fervent prayer. For Samuel, prayer was not only a matter of need and seeking God's will, but moreover one of obedience. For Samuel, prayer confirmed what he already knew of the character and reputation of God and also what he himself committed to. Prayer confirmed his faith.
As for me, do I pray out of obedience? Do I pray only out of need? Is prayer a habit of answers rather than obedience? Will I pray regardless of my faith in the character of God to do what is right for His name sake?
Father - make me more faithful to pray. Drive me to pray out of obedience and not only out of need. Let my prayers be driven by faithfulness in spite of my faith. Amen.
Friday, April 17, 2009
a new heart
1 Samuel 10:9
So it was, when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, that God gave him another heart; and all those signs came to pass that day.
This new heart given to Saul reminds me of the new heart God promised to all of true Israel in Ezekiel 36:26-27, "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws." (also in Ezekiel 11:19 & 18:31) God was preparing Saul's heart to receive His Holy Spirit and lead His people. This must have been an Old Testament form of regeneration (removing sin & sins curse and recreating a whole new person on the inside). Without regeneration of the heart, the Spirit could not work and Saul could not lead according to God's will. It says in 1 Corinthians 2:14, "But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned."
While I believe that regeneration is a one-time event at the beginning of a believer's walk, I also believe it is a person and private event that occurs daily in all believers. I am regenerated, made new, daily through confession of sin, adoration of the nature of God and meditation on the Word of God. These habits soften my heart and allow me to hear and receive promptings of the Holy Spirit. Wen my heart is renewed and made right before God, then I can also lead God's people and confidently claim His victory in my life and His kingdom. Without regeneration, Saul and I are left leading out of our own sinful nature.
God, search my heart and remove my sin. Soften my heart to hear and receive Your Word. Strengthen my heart to do according to Your will. Set my heart apart for You alone. Amen.
So it was, when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, that God gave him another heart; and all those signs came to pass that day.
This new heart given to Saul reminds me of the new heart God promised to all of true Israel in Ezekiel 36:26-27, "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws." (also in Ezekiel 11:19 & 18:31) God was preparing Saul's heart to receive His Holy Spirit and lead His people. This must have been an Old Testament form of regeneration (removing sin & sins curse and recreating a whole new person on the inside). Without regeneration of the heart, the Spirit could not work and Saul could not lead according to God's will. It says in 1 Corinthians 2:14, "But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned."
While I believe that regeneration is a one-time event at the beginning of a believer's walk, I also believe it is a person and private event that occurs daily in all believers. I am regenerated, made new, daily through confession of sin, adoration of the nature of God and meditation on the Word of God. These habits soften my heart and allow me to hear and receive promptings of the Holy Spirit. Wen my heart is renewed and made right before God, then I can also lead God's people and confidently claim His victory in my life and His kingdom. Without regeneration, Saul and I are left leading out of our own sinful nature.
God, search my heart and remove my sin. Soften my heart to hear and receive Your Word. Strengthen my heart to do according to Your will. Set my heart apart for You alone. Amen.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Holiness
1 Samuel 6:20
And the men of Beth Shemesh said, “Who is able to stand before this holy LORD God? And to whom shall it go up from us?”
Who is able to stand before this Holy Lord God? The answer is no one. The truth is that God is so Holy that no one is even able to stand before the Holy stuff of God. For sinful man, even the symbols of God were unapproachable.
I think that today it is difficult to witness the Holiness of God, consequently, it is difficult to even understand the Holiness of God. We have no Ark or Holy Temple or priestly ritual to observe. As Western churches and evangelical Christians, we tend to resist tangible symbols, religious rituals and mystical/spiritual traditions. The result is a common, manageable, safe faith devoid of fear, reverence and wonder. The side effect is a lost sense of Holiness, the wholly other and set apart. And while there is risk and temptation to abuse or idolize these symbols as Israel did the Ark of the Lord, the reward far outweighs the risk. To know the Holiness of God is well worth the risk.
So how can we bring back the Holiness of God to the church today? How can we bring back the fear of the Lord, wonder, awe and reverence?
Lord, make me Holy. Let my life; my words, my actions, my attitudes reflect Your Holiness. Set me apart from this world and even the stuff of religion. Make me a tangible living symbol and testimony of Your Holiness. Amen.
And the men of Beth Shemesh said, “Who is able to stand before this holy LORD God? And to whom shall it go up from us?”
Who is able to stand before this Holy Lord God? The answer is no one. The truth is that God is so Holy that no one is even able to stand before the Holy stuff of God. For sinful man, even the symbols of God were unapproachable.
I think that today it is difficult to witness the Holiness of God, consequently, it is difficult to even understand the Holiness of God. We have no Ark or Holy Temple or priestly ritual to observe. As Western churches and evangelical Christians, we tend to resist tangible symbols, religious rituals and mystical/spiritual traditions. The result is a common, manageable, safe faith devoid of fear, reverence and wonder. The side effect is a lost sense of Holiness, the wholly other and set apart. And while there is risk and temptation to abuse or idolize these symbols as Israel did the Ark of the Lord, the reward far outweighs the risk. To know the Holiness of God is well worth the risk.
So how can we bring back the Holiness of God to the church today? How can we bring back the fear of the Lord, wonder, awe and reverence?
Lord, make me Holy. Let my life; my words, my actions, my attitudes reflect Your Holiness. Set me apart from this world and even the stuff of religion. Make me a tangible living symbol and testimony of Your Holiness. Amen.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
