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.