It's Hard to Be Humble

As I read 1 Samuel 22 (yes, today I linked to the English Standard Version - that is what I have been reading lately, and I really enjoy it - it comes across as plain and simple, yet profound at the same time), I was struck by the thought that David faced a lot of injustice and yet he never complained. He simply kept listening to and obeying God.

If anybody had a right to feel outrage and indignity at the injustice that was occurring in his life, it was David - God's anointed one, the chosen King of Israel, the slayer of Goliath and head of Saul's Body Guard, captain of the army, the list goes on and on - and yet where does he find himself - hiding in a cave surrounded by the down and outs of life. And yet, when the prophet Gad comes to him and says - don't stay here, go back to the land of Judah, what does he do? Does he say, "you know what Gad, God's way hasn't worked out so well for me - look where following God has got me so far? No, he simply obeys - without question (at least as it is recorded in the bible).

And then to top it all of, he once again displays his humility when Abiathar, the son of Ahimelech comes to David after he as escaped the wrath of Saul. At this point, David does not simply offer condolences or sympathy, he accepts full responsibility for the death of Abiathar's entire family and for the future protection of Abiathar. He says "I have occasioned the death of all the persons of your father's house. Stay with me; do not be afraid, for he who seeks my life seeks your life. With me you shall be in safekeeping." David doesn't blame Saul, he doesn't blame God, he doesn't throw a pity party. He humbly takes responsiblity for his actions and choices and chooses to move forward.

What a stark contrast to the "chosen ones" of today. The pop princesses, sports heroes, and celebrities who think that they deserve special treatment just becasue they have certain skills or attributes that make them "desireable" in the eye of the public. How different would our culture be if we all chose to hubmly and respectfully follow God's leading in our lives without assigning blame to others? Just a thought.

Friends are Friends Forever

Friends are Friends Forever, if the Lord is the Lord of them.

In Today's reading, 1 Samuel 20, I am reminded of the importance of friends. True friends that stand beside each other - through thick and thin. Closer than a brother (Don't get me wrong, I love my brother - the trouble is, he is in Northern Africa - in a situation where I needed somebody to walk beside me, I could talk with him, but it would be difficult to be with him). God bless you and your work Andy - I love you.

But throughout my lifetime, I have been blessed to have several very close friends. Friends that I could turn to in any circumstance for help. I have moved and left a couple of these friends behind, but our friendship continues.

In the case of Jonathan and David, Jonathan was willing to risk his own life to protect his friend David. As hard as it was for Jonathan, he was willing to take a stand against his own father (who just happened to be king). Saul was right, as long as David was alive, Jonathan would never be king - Jonathan didn't care - he loved David.

Who is your Jonathan - who can you turn to and know that they will always help? Who is in your life that is willing to sacrifice anything and everything for your sake.

One thing that is certain in life - we will face challenges. We will face hardships. We will face tragedy and uncertainty. We were not intended to live life alone. We need friends and family that will stand beside us no matter what. I praise God that he has given me both friends and family - I love you all.

Elephants are Faithful 100%

In today's reading from 1 Samuel 19, it seems to me that David goes above and beyond the call of duty - kind of like Horton the Elephant.

I think that given the circumstances that David found himself in, most people would have cut and run, kind of like lazy maisy in Horton Hatches the Egg, but David stuck around and continued to win great victories for Saul, even after Saul repeatedly tried to kill him.

It must have been that David recognized his loyalty to the Lord and his responsibility to the people of Israel that kept him going. How about you - when things get tough, when nothing goes the way that you want it to - do you assume that God must be leading you in a different direction, or do you tough it out and finish the race because you know that God has put you there?

Just because we are following God's calling in our lives, doesn't guarantee that life is going to be easy. In fact sometimes it seems that by following God's leading in our lives, we face more opposition than we would face if we just did our own thing - in fact, I guarantee it. If you are following God's path for your life you will face troubles - you will run into people that try to stop you - you will experience spiritual attacks.

But when trouble comes - will you be a Horton or will you be a Maisy? The choice is yours.

For your viewing pleasure - Horton Hatches the egg.

Gifts that Keep on Giving

You know, sometimes we give a gift, it is consumed and then it is gone. Other gifts keep on giving for a long time to come. I have a friend whose wife gave him a gym membership for his birthday. In order to help motivate him, she also gave me a membership so that I could work out with him for the next couple of months. I'm not sure if it is a gift that I am thankful for or not - I am, but I hurt today in ways that I haven't hurt for a few years now - lol.

In today's reading 1 Samuel 18, Saul asked David for a gift in exchange for the hand of his Daughter in marriage - 100 Philistine foreskins (if you don't know what a foreskin is - ask your parents:) - David, wanting to impress his new father-in-law went above and beyond the call of duty and supplied him with 200 foreskins. How in the world do you wrap that? yuckk!!

Anyway, I had a few thoughts from today's reading. First of all, the more that Saul saw that God was with David, the more Saul decided to stand against David. His request for 100 Philistine foreskins was a veiled attempt to get David killed. He tried to pin David to the wall with his spear, not once but twice. I can't decide what was going through David's mind to allow Saul to get that close to him a second time - personally, I would have been gone after the first attempt.

It is interesting to me that when we are walking apart from the Lord, when we see Him at work, very rarely does it draw us closer to him. I seems like when we are apart from God and see God at work, something within us rises up and decides that we are going to oppose God, or at least His work around us. To me that is proof of our depravity and sinful nature in all of it's glory.

The other thing that I found interesting was verse 10 that mentions a harmful spirit from the Lord came upon Saul. How does that work? That seems to be so contradictory to a lot of what I have thought about God in the past. I mean we like to think of God as good, and kind, and caring, and loving - AND HE HIS but consider:

²² Notice how God is both kind and severe. He is severe toward those who disobeyed, but kind to you if you continue to trust in his kindness. But if you stop trusting, you also will be cut off.

Tyndale House Publishers, Holy Bible : New Living Translation., "Text Edition"--Spine., 2nd ed. (Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers, 2004), Ro 11:22.

God is severe with those who choose to disobey and walk apart from Him. If we turn our backs on Him, He will turn His back on us.

Also consider

In the same way, you younger men must accept the authority of the elders. And all of you, serve each other in humility, for

“God opposes the proud

but favors the humble.”^*

^* Prov 3:34 (Greek version).

Tyndale House Publishers, Holy Bible : New Living Translation., "Text Edition"--Spine., 2nd ed. (Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers, 2004), 1 Pe 5:5.

When we choose to live apart from God as Saul did, it is the ultimate sign of a prideful, arrogant spirit. When we live that way - God will turn his face against us. I personally choose to live my life with God's favor rather than as an enemy of God. How about you?

You've Got to Stand for Something

Today's reading in 1 Samuel 17:1-27 fits nicely with the sermon that I am preparing tomorrow.

I can't quite fathom the concept of sending a young boy off to the battlefront with some grain and cheese just to see how things were going, but that is what Jesse did with his son David. And of course David, being a young excitable boy leaves his wares with an attendant and runs right down to the front line as soon as he gets to camp. I find it hard to believe that civilian visitor were a common occurrence, but who know - perhaps they were.

Anyway, out comes Goliath and defies God and Israel. The Israelite army flees in terror at the mere sight of Goliath and yet David says - who is this uncircumcised heathen that he is allowed to defy the armies of the living God?

To David - it was cut and dried - this man defied God and his chosen nation and therefore deserved to die - regardless of how big and tough he was.

Where is our passion and indignity at seeing God put down and trampled upon in our nation? Why aren't we as zealous for God as David was? What can we do differently about it? We tremble in fear and don't say anything about our God at work or at school for fear of being ridiculed or maybe even fired for our beliefs - who cares - we are nothing compared to God. How can we flee at the thought of suffering for our God like the men in the army did when we should be willing to stand and fight to defend the Name and honor of God.

What is it that we are willing to fight for? What should we stand and fight for? What is the best way for us to do that in a practical way?

That's not the way I would have done it.

In 1 Samuel 16, I find it interesting that the Lord's choice as replacement for King Saul is not the man that Samuel (or anyone else) would have chosen. Samuel took one look at Eliab, David's oldest brother, and said "this must be the Lord's chosen." And yet, he was not.

God's choices and God's ways often times don't make sense to us - but when I look back at my life and think about the times when stuff didn't work out according to my plans I can, without exception, say that God's way was better than my way.

That being said, I still don't understand the purpose of sending David to live with King Saul after he had been anointed by Samuel. I mean don't you find it odd, in light of the fact that Samuel was scared to even go looking for a new King for fear that Saul would find out and kill him, that this newly appointed King was sent to live with a man that was mentally unstable and prone to violence? And why did God choose to leave Saul in power for such an extended period of time after David had already been chosen? I would love to hear your thoughts on this.

On a side note - I find it amusing that as Samuel who is by his own words old and grey (actually he already gave his retirement speech in chapter 12 prior to God rejecting Saul as King) approaches Bethlehem, the elders of the city trembled with fear and asked him if he came in peace. Do you think this has anything to do with the fact that He had recently "hacked Agag to pieces before the Lord (Chap. 15:33).

My Biggest Fear

In today's reading from 1 Samuel 15:24-35 I am haunted by one of my worst fears.

Verse 34 says that "The Lord was sorry that he had ever made Saul king over Israel."

One of my biggest fears is that as I go through the process of starting a new church I would do something to bring disgrace to God or His name.

We are all sinners, we all make mistakes - but I hope and pray that I would never become hardened to the point where I callously make choices in my life that cause people to turn away from God.

With great power comes great responsibility. I think that is the case that Saul found himself in. As he continued to make choices that led Israel to fall away from God. But is Saul any different than the rest of us? Is being a pastor of a church - any different than any other Joe the Plumber?

Yes, there is a higher degree of visibility, but each one of us is called to lead a life of obedience to God. If we fail to obediently follow the Lord's leading in our life, we are sinning. If we consistently sin and cause other people to turn away from the Lord we risk reaching the point where we bring disgrace upon the name of the Lord. When that happens we risk reaching the point where God rejects us. (Don't confuse this with thinking that God stops loving us) Perhaps he loves us (and others) too much to continue sinning and to let us lead others astray.

I Did it My Way

Today's reading in 1 Samuel 15:1-23 reminded me of the song My Way by Frank Sinatra.



Saul was told to completely and utterly destroy the Amalekites - to spare nothing not even the women and children, the livestock, or the treasures of the Amalekites - (this was contrary to the culture of warfare in Saul's time - common practice was for one nation to get rich by plundering other nations as they made war). So when the day came, Saul thought that his way was better. He spared the King and "everything, in fact, that appealed to them." (from the NLT:). He claims that it was to sacrifice to the Lord - but only after he has been caught, and after he has set up a monument to himself.

How often do we read something in the Bible or hear something from God and say to ourselves - surely God didn't mean it THAT way. That is what leads us to the point where we live in a culture that says - I'll Do It My Way - when it comes to lifestyle orientation, how we manage our finances, how we raise our children, etc.

Would our nation be facing an economic disaster of this magnitude if we had lived by the principles of money management found in the bible? I don't think so. I admit it, I have been apart of this in the past becasue that is what was culturally acceptable - credit cards and personal loans are a way of life - right? What happened to being content with what we have, to saving money and buying stuff with cash?

Would the world be facing epidemics of STDs if we lived according to the principles taught in the bible - absolutely not.

God has a plan for our life - when he says - do it my way - He means it.

What is God's way - simply put.

37 Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’^[a] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’^[b] 40 The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”

Matthew 22:37-40 (New Living Translation)

New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers.

Which Translation of the Bible should I use?

One of my readers - I think I only have about 2 at this moment - asked a good question after noticing that I usually link to the New Living Translation of the bible (NLT). I thought that it was a good question, so I decided to post most of my response here so that it is easier to find.

We use the NLT a lot at Yellowstone Church. I grew up reading the NIV, and when I first started reading the NLT - I didn't really care for it that much. It seemed watered down and like you say "paraphrasy". But the more I sat with people who had never opened a bible the more I found myself having to explain what the NIV was really saying to them by putting it into relevant daily language. As I did that and as I compared it to the NLT, I came to realize that a lot of what I was doing had already been done in the NLT.

I still use the NIV a lot. Just recently, I have started reading the ESV in my own devotions (it is a relatively new - essentially literal translation).

By the way, some people confuse the NLT with the old Living Bible which was a paraphrase. But the NLT is actually a direct translation from the original language done by a huge team of scholars. It is done with a thought by thought approach as opposed to a word for word approach.

What I tell people is that they should read whichever version of the Bible they find the easiest to understand and read (don't confuse this with whichever translation says what you want to hear. :) provided that it is a good biblically faithful translation.

I do confess though, sometimes I like to see what Peterson has to say in The Message, but I find it very difficult to do any sort of Bible Study using a paraphrase like The Message.

Just out of curiosity, which translation of the bible do you read the most?

Lead, Follow, or Get out of the Way

Wow - a little late getting this up today. I apologize for keeping you waiting :) I got sidetracked posting this morning by politics and life.

My thoughts regarding today's reading in 1 Samuel 14:24-52 are this.

How often do we make brash statements or foolish decisions in life just as King Saul did in this passage? How often do we charge head long into something shouting over our shoulder as we go: "COME ON GOD - WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR - BLESS ME IN WHAT I AM DOING"?

Well that is exactly what King Saul did here - and it almost cost him the life of his own son.

What if instead of making up our minds ahead of time - we prayed and inquired of God FIRST?!?

I know that in life, I am all too often leading the charge hoping that God is moving in the same direction that I am moving at the same speed that I am moving. But the reality of the situation is that often times in life I have found myself either on the wrong path or so far out in front that I end up experiencing way more pain and difficulty than I would have if I had waited on the Lord.

Fortunately, as I grow older, I am learning (still learning - it is a long process:), but I am learning to slow down, listen to the voice of God and follow - or maybe better yet - I am learning to get out of the way and let God lead.

Football just isn't fun anymore

I know, I can't believe that I said that - but the Colts just can't seem to win on a consistent basis this year. And I thought that this was going to be a tremendous year after the Patriots lost Tom Brady in the first quarter of the season.

And on top of that - I am probably going to lose my fantasy football match up against a 12 year old girl this week. How humiliating :( My fantasy football team had so much potential coming into the season, but now I find myself in a very uncomfortable position of having to root for both the Broncos (icckk!!!) and the Patriots (ewwww!!!) to have huge games tonight.

Just make sure that the ball goes to Eddie Royal and Wes Welker.

Ahhhh, but I know something that you do not...

As I read today's Powered by 4 passage in 1 Samuel 14:1-13, I could not help but picture in my head the scene from The Princess Bride where Inego Montoya is standing at the top of the cliffs waiting for Wesley to finish climbing up the cliffs so that he can kill him. When Wesley finally reaches the top, Inego helps him over the edge and then they sit and have a nice conversation about Inego's father while Wesley regains his strength and catches his breath.



How else does a man scramble up a cliff on his hands and feet while his enemies wait for him at the top and then proceed to route over 20 men? Unless he knows something that his enemies don't know. In the sword fight scene from the Princess Bride, both Inego and Wesley know something that the other does not - something they think will give them the upper hand.

Well Jonathan also had a secret. The arrogance of the Philistines was a sure sign form the Lord that He had delivered them into Jonathan's hands. But I still wonder, how did it go down, did they help him over the edge of the cliff, and then allow him to catch his breath because they were so sporting? We may never know.

But what we can know, is that when we face impossible odds. When we are fighting an uphill battle. If God is with us, no one can stand against us. When God calls us to do something, if we do not do it - if we don't follow through on God's leading in our lives. It is first of all a sin (James 4:17). And secondly we are passing up the opportunity to witness God do amazing things in our lives.

Now if only we could make a statement like Jonathan made that would serve as a test and allow us to know for sure what it was that God wanted us to do :) How many of us, given the opportunity to make a statement like that, even if we did get the word "GO" from God, would still find an excuse not to go up against such overwhelming odds?

By Whatever Means Necessary

Good morning, I'm going to have to keep this short. I'm headed out the door to do setup for church. Oh, the joys of starting a new church. I look forward to the day that we have our own building and don't pack our equipment around in a trailer. But until that time - HAVE CHURCH, WILL TRAVEL.

Today's Powered by 4 reading came from 1 Samuel 13. In the past when I have read this, I have always focused on how Saul took it upon himself to offer an unlawful sacrifice to God. And while there is much to be learned from this regarding our own willingness to wait on God's timing, what grabbed my attention this morning was the desperation of the Israelites to stand and fight for what was important to them.

At the end of the Chapter, we see the Israelites so desperate to stand and fight that they are willing to go up against an army that was vastly superior in both numbers and equipment with nothing but sharpened farm equipment.

My question is this - What do we do when the odds look stacked against us? Do we turn tail and run, or do we stand and fight with whatever we have at our disposal? When God has called us to do something - even if it seems impossible, we must gather the shovels, and the plowshares, and the axes, and the hoes, and whatever other tool God has given us. We must sharpen the tools at our disposal, even if it means paying a tremendously high price, and dig in.

Are you willing to do whatever it takes to follow God's leading in your life?

Be Cafeful of what you ask for

Ok, I have had enough of you encourage me to Blog that I'm going to give it a try. One problem is that I never know what to say. So in an attempt to get more out of my Bible Study and to hopefully be an encouragement to those of you that happen to find my blog. I have decided to start by doing an online Journal/Biblestudy. I am going to base it upon the daily reading suggested at Powered by 4 from Back to the Bible - I would like to encourage you all to join me in getting into God's word on a regular basis - (At least 4 times a week - preferably every day).

Today's readying was 1 Samuel 12 and it is Samuel addressing the people of Israel. After much whining and complaining from the people of Israel, God has given in and allowed Samuel to anoint a King over Israel. Neither Samuel nor God thought that this was a very good idea.

I am struck by the ending of chapter 12.

"“As for me, I will certainly not sin against the Lord by ending my prayers for you. And I will continue to teach you what is good and right. But be sure to fear the Lord and faithfully serve him. Think of all the wonderful things he has done for you. But if you continue to sin, you and your king will be swept away.”" (1 Samuel 12:23-25, NLT)

[1]
[1] Tyndale House Publishers. Holy Bible : New Living Translation. 2nd ed. Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers, 2004.

A couple of thoughts come to mind - First, just because the people had demanded their own way, neither Samuel nor the Lord abandoned them. Second, just because God gave the people their own way, they were not free from the consequences of their decisions. God made it clear that if the people continued to sin and demand their own way, they and their new king would be destroyed.

I guess that leads me to a couple of questions. How often in life do we ignore the Lord's leading in life and demand our own way to the point where God gives it to us, even when it isn't what is best? What warnings does God give us in life that would lead us to change if we were to head them? And what is the Answer.

Well the answer is simply verse 25.

"Be sure to fear the Lord and sincerely worship him. Think of all the wonderful things he has done for you."