2 Samuel 1:11-12
11 Then David and all the men with him took hold of their clothes and tore them. 12 They mourned and wept and fasted till evening for Saul and his son Jonathan, and for the army of the LORD and the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.
I find it so interesting and compelling to think of David mourning and fasting over the death of Saul - a man who repeatedly hunted him down and tried to kill him. David even had to flee into Philistine country in order to escape the hand of this king! Yet, at all times, David respected Saul, loved Saul, and called him (even after his death) "the anointed of the Lord." At no time was David ever threatened by Saul's position (Samuel had anointed David king of Israel years earlier, at the leading of God), nor did he ever dishonor him as king.
What a remarkable lesson we can learn here! We all have (or have had) people in authority over us that we do not agree with, do not like, or even just seem to have it out for us! We feel justified in disliking them, dishonoring them to others, and disrespecting their authority. David knew something we would all be wise to remember - there is no authority in heaven or earth that God has not placed Himself. It is no different in our lives. Whether at work, church, or even as a nation, these people in authority have been given their authority from God Himself, and we would be wise to honor and respect that.
The only times David ever spoke ill of Saul were in his times with God. God alone can hear the honesty (pretty or not) of our hearts, and not let it be damaging to us or to those around us. So, if you really need to tell on someone, or complain about them - go to God. For He is safe, and He is trustworthy, and He can turn the tables by letting us see His perspective in the matter.
Is there someone in authority over your life today that you are having trouble honoring and respecting? Take it to God - pour out your heart to Him, and then trust Him to deal with that person in His way, and His time. In the mean-time, let's do our best to respect these people, and give them the honor they require, as servants of the Most High God (whether they realize it or not).
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Monday, March 12, 2007
Simple but Difficult
Belated Blessings, my dear friends!
Today, I simply wanted to reflect on a quote from a movie I saw a few weeks ago that has been resonating in my head ever-since. It is from the movie "Bobby Jones" (or something along those lines) about the amateur golfer who won the "Grand Slam" - the only golfer in history. An interesting story, and thought provoking, making me think about why I do what I do. Anyway, at one point in the movie, Bobby Jones sits down next to his friend during a golf match and says "The longer I play this game, the harder it gets."
Yeah, that pretty much says it all. That is exactly how I feel about this Christian journey. The more I learn and the longer I journey, the harder it gets!
Golf is a simple game - get the ball in the hole. Yet there is so much more to it. While that is the focus of the game, there are many obstacles and traps along the way. Not to mention the fact that every hole is different from the last, and must be approached a little differently within the structure of the game.
This causes me to reflect on the simplicity of it all - Jesus Christ. Is my focus on Him, alone. Is getting to know Him my goal? Or has my service for Him become my goal? Or my disciplines toward Him? Or my thoughts and teachings about Him? These things are wonderful, yet they are simply tools - our golf clubs, if you will - to get to know Him, get a little closer to Him with each stroke. If He, alone, is my goal, all else will come with. Yet, if I have any other goal, however noble or beautiful, I will miss the true goal altogether.
We have really complicated this Christian walk, haven't we? We have made it a maze, when in fact, it is a narrow path, traversed by the One who wishes us to follow Him. Yet, while it is simple, it is still difficult - so easy to get side-tracked or stuck, or feel as though we fallen 100 strokes behind. And just when we think we've got it, we move on the next hole, only to find it a little different from the last. I believe that God wants us to pursue Him. And not just pursue Him, but desire Him, long for Him, work for Him (though we do not have to); just as He pursues us, desires us, longs for us, and works for us. It is in the very simplicity of our journey with Christ that it feels so difficult. Sometimes I wonder if we make it difficult, just because we think it should be.
I know these thoughts feel scattered and incomplete, but so does this Christian life. So what is there to do? I cannot tell you that - I am simply thinking out-loud. I believe we must simply follow Jesus with all that we are, trusting Him around every bend, and giving Him all that we have and all that we are. We must use everything within us and around us to get to know Him a little better.
Today, I simply wanted to reflect on a quote from a movie I saw a few weeks ago that has been resonating in my head ever-since. It is from the movie "Bobby Jones" (or something along those lines) about the amateur golfer who won the "Grand Slam" - the only golfer in history. An interesting story, and thought provoking, making me think about why I do what I do. Anyway, at one point in the movie, Bobby Jones sits down next to his friend during a golf match and says "The longer I play this game, the harder it gets."
Yeah, that pretty much says it all. That is exactly how I feel about this Christian journey. The more I learn and the longer I journey, the harder it gets!
Golf is a simple game - get the ball in the hole. Yet there is so much more to it. While that is the focus of the game, there are many obstacles and traps along the way. Not to mention the fact that every hole is different from the last, and must be approached a little differently within the structure of the game.
This causes me to reflect on the simplicity of it all - Jesus Christ. Is my focus on Him, alone. Is getting to know Him my goal? Or has my service for Him become my goal? Or my disciplines toward Him? Or my thoughts and teachings about Him? These things are wonderful, yet they are simply tools - our golf clubs, if you will - to get to know Him, get a little closer to Him with each stroke. If He, alone, is my goal, all else will come with. Yet, if I have any other goal, however noble or beautiful, I will miss the true goal altogether.
We have really complicated this Christian walk, haven't we? We have made it a maze, when in fact, it is a narrow path, traversed by the One who wishes us to follow Him. Yet, while it is simple, it is still difficult - so easy to get side-tracked or stuck, or feel as though we fallen 100 strokes behind. And just when we think we've got it, we move on the next hole, only to find it a little different from the last. I believe that God wants us to pursue Him. And not just pursue Him, but desire Him, long for Him, work for Him (though we do not have to); just as He pursues us, desires us, longs for us, and works for us. It is in the very simplicity of our journey with Christ that it feels so difficult. Sometimes I wonder if we make it difficult, just because we think it should be.
I know these thoughts feel scattered and incomplete, but so does this Christian life. So what is there to do? I cannot tell you that - I am simply thinking out-loud. I believe we must simply follow Jesus with all that we are, trusting Him around every bend, and giving Him all that we have and all that we are. We must use everything within us and around us to get to know Him a little better.
Monday, February 05, 2007
Paths
Psalm 121:7-8
The LORD will keep you from all harm – he will watch over your life; the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.
As much as I wish with all that I am that this verse was true all around, I have to come face-to-face with the fact that it is not. I have really been trying to look at Old Testament concepts and see them as spiritual concepts rather than physical, especially as a New Testament believer. It would be easy to see the promises that were physical for the Israelites, and believe them to be physical for me as well, but that is not necessarily true. And I desire to know what is true, not what I desire to be true.
This is one of those verses that would be easy to interpret as a promise encompassing all of life. Again, in some cases it may be true, however I know that many times it is the physical and emotional pain that causes the most growth in us. Yet, I do believe that God will keep us from all spiritual harm. OK, at this point I have to stop and wonder “what does that mean?”
I look at this passage and am reassured that no matter the situation, no matter the temptation, God will always offer us a path that is firm and free from slips and stumbles. He presents this path to us at every turn, every fork in the road. Now, whether we choose that path is another dilemma completely. However, the path is there for the traversing, should we choose it. And this path will keep us from stumbling, from sin, from spiritual harm.
God is watching over us. Not only does He watch over our physical “coming and going,” but I believe that He also watches over our spiritual “coming and going.” He sees us when we wane, when our hearts are far from Him, and our flame is barely even a spark. He sees us then, and He watches over us just as intently as when we are passionate and abandoned to Him. He watches over us with the eyes of a Father, a Lover, a Friend. Whether He feels near or far to us, whether we are aware of His presence or not, He is there, guiding us, watching us, and presenting us with the best possible path in our current circumstances.
Which path will you choose today?
The LORD will keep you from all harm – he will watch over your life; the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.
As much as I wish with all that I am that this verse was true all around, I have to come face-to-face with the fact that it is not. I have really been trying to look at Old Testament concepts and see them as spiritual concepts rather than physical, especially as a New Testament believer. It would be easy to see the promises that were physical for the Israelites, and believe them to be physical for me as well, but that is not necessarily true. And I desire to know what is true, not what I desire to be true.
This is one of those verses that would be easy to interpret as a promise encompassing all of life. Again, in some cases it may be true, however I know that many times it is the physical and emotional pain that causes the most growth in us. Yet, I do believe that God will keep us from all spiritual harm. OK, at this point I have to stop and wonder “what does that mean?”
I look at this passage and am reassured that no matter the situation, no matter the temptation, God will always offer us a path that is firm and free from slips and stumbles. He presents this path to us at every turn, every fork in the road. Now, whether we choose that path is another dilemma completely. However, the path is there for the traversing, should we choose it. And this path will keep us from stumbling, from sin, from spiritual harm.
God is watching over us. Not only does He watch over our physical “coming and going,” but I believe that He also watches over our spiritual “coming and going.” He sees us when we wane, when our hearts are far from Him, and our flame is barely even a spark. He sees us then, and He watches over us just as intently as when we are passionate and abandoned to Him. He watches over us with the eyes of a Father, a Lover, a Friend. Whether He feels near or far to us, whether we are aware of His presence or not, He is there, guiding us, watching us, and presenting us with the best possible path in our current circumstances.
Which path will you choose today?
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Be Blessed
Psalm 32:1-2
Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit.
I can't count the number of times I have read these verses, thought briefly about them, and then quickly moved on to the next verse in this Psalm. Today, however, God moved in me and I spent a little more time thinking about them. At first glance I want to say, "Yes, I'm blessed because God has covered every bad choice I've made," thinking in past-tense. Yet today it occurred to me that every sin and transgression I ever have or will commit has been covered.
Of course we talk about that quite often - Jesus has forgiven ALL our sins, past, present, and future, but this was just another stark reminder of that reality. I think you may already know this, but I tend to dwell, unhealthily I might add, on all the things I do wrong and all the ways I fall short. What a blessing to be "told" that even in the midst of the sin, God does not count it against me!
Now, I am not saying we will not have consequences for our bad choices, or that we won't have to live with the results, but I am saying that God doesn't treat us as the sinners we are, but rather as the righteous children He is making us to be. Woo-hoo!! Hallelujah!!
I think my favorite part of this passage, though, is our being blessed when we have no deceit in our spirit. "I'm not a liar!" I want to scream. However, in context I think this is talking about something altogether different. I think David is reminding us that while God will not count our sins or transgressions against us, we also shouldn't just merrily skip through life, ignoring them in our lives completely. No, we still must acknowledge the sin in our lives, the bad choices. We must go before God and say "I screwed up . . . again." And then repent - turn from them and walk the other way. Ignorance is NOT bliss (as a matter of fact, ignorance of the law has never been an excuse, even in the Old Testament.)
So, if you have been wallowing in your sin, get up, brush yourself off, and count yourself blessed, because God does not count it against you! If, however, you have been ignoring some sin (whether big or little), perhaps calling it something it isn't, or somehow justifying it, you need to get on your knees, and come clean at the foot of the cross. Yes, there may be some consequences, and they will probably be painful, but God still counts you righteous, and the burden of guilt will be lifted from your shoulders.
May you be blessed, today!
Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit.
I can't count the number of times I have read these verses, thought briefly about them, and then quickly moved on to the next verse in this Psalm. Today, however, God moved in me and I spent a little more time thinking about them. At first glance I want to say, "Yes, I'm blessed because God has covered every bad choice I've made," thinking in past-tense. Yet today it occurred to me that every sin and transgression I ever have or will commit has been covered.
Of course we talk about that quite often - Jesus has forgiven ALL our sins, past, present, and future, but this was just another stark reminder of that reality. I think you may already know this, but I tend to dwell, unhealthily I might add, on all the things I do wrong and all the ways I fall short. What a blessing to be "told" that even in the midst of the sin, God does not count it against me!
Now, I am not saying we will not have consequences for our bad choices, or that we won't have to live with the results, but I am saying that God doesn't treat us as the sinners we are, but rather as the righteous children He is making us to be. Woo-hoo!! Hallelujah!!
I think my favorite part of this passage, though, is our being blessed when we have no deceit in our spirit. "I'm not a liar!" I want to scream. However, in context I think this is talking about something altogether different. I think David is reminding us that while God will not count our sins or transgressions against us, we also shouldn't just merrily skip through life, ignoring them in our lives completely. No, we still must acknowledge the sin in our lives, the bad choices. We must go before God and say "I screwed up . . . again." And then repent - turn from them and walk the other way. Ignorance is NOT bliss (as a matter of fact, ignorance of the law has never been an excuse, even in the Old Testament.)
So, if you have been wallowing in your sin, get up, brush yourself off, and count yourself blessed, because God does not count it against you! If, however, you have been ignoring some sin (whether big or little), perhaps calling it something it isn't, or somehow justifying it, you need to get on your knees, and come clean at the foot of the cross. Yes, there may be some consequences, and they will probably be painful, but God still counts you righteous, and the burden of guilt will be lifted from your shoulders.
May you be blessed, today!
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Consumed by God
Ephesians 4:30
And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
My daughter is becoming ever-more curious about Jesus, sin, salvation, and everything in-between. We often talk about how we ask Jesus into our lives and hearts and live for Him. She insists she bowed her knee to him last April - I continue watching for the fruit of that transformation, and am beginning to see the little, baby spiritual buds popping out here-and-there.
Well, all this talk of "Jesus in our hearts" has got me thinking about that concept. I have been thinking about how we tend to live our lives as though we have taken Christ in and enveloped Him, making Him a part of us. We live as though He is our genie, called on in times of distress or despair; tucked away when we want to indulge in a "little harmless" sin (after-all, He'll forgive us!); molded into our version of Him (currently 6.0); loved and obeyed when it is easy and/or beneficial (church is a great place to make business contacts, after-all!).
However, it should be the other way around, shouldn't it? We need to be taken into Christ, enveloped in Him - in His way of living, His thoughts, His actions, His love. We are the ones that need to be molded to Him, calling on Him at all times, living in a constant awareness of His passionate love for us, resulting in obedience (even in the oh-so tempting moments) because we want to please Him and make Him proud! Just as Ephesians 4:30 says, He has sealed us, as though we have been bottled and corked by El Shaddai Bottling Inc.
We need to re-focus and re-think this: we have not taken Him in, doing Him some immense favor; He has taken us in, full of grace and mercy, love and compassion. So, the next thing we need to ask ourselves is this: Are we living lives having been completely consumed by God?
And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
My daughter is becoming ever-more curious about Jesus, sin, salvation, and everything in-between. We often talk about how we ask Jesus into our lives and hearts and live for Him. She insists she bowed her knee to him last April - I continue watching for the fruit of that transformation, and am beginning to see the little, baby spiritual buds popping out here-and-there.
Well, all this talk of "Jesus in our hearts" has got me thinking about that concept. I have been thinking about how we tend to live our lives as though we have taken Christ in and enveloped Him, making Him a part of us. We live as though He is our genie, called on in times of distress or despair; tucked away when we want to indulge in a "little harmless" sin (after-all, He'll forgive us!); molded into our version of Him (currently 6.0); loved and obeyed when it is easy and/or beneficial (church is a great place to make business contacts, after-all!).
However, it should be the other way around, shouldn't it? We need to be taken into Christ, enveloped in Him - in His way of living, His thoughts, His actions, His love. We are the ones that need to be molded to Him, calling on Him at all times, living in a constant awareness of His passionate love for us, resulting in obedience (even in the oh-so tempting moments) because we want to please Him and make Him proud! Just as Ephesians 4:30 says, He has sealed us, as though we have been bottled and corked by El Shaddai Bottling Inc.
We need to re-focus and re-think this: we have not taken Him in, doing Him some immense favor; He has taken us in, full of grace and mercy, love and compassion. So, the next thing we need to ask ourselves is this: Are we living lives having been completely consumed by God?
Saturday, January 13, 2007
God's Pursuit
Philippians 1:3-6
I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
I love this passage, as it really speaks of my heart right now. First, I must ask you to forgive my absence – I have been sick, and fought a headache for about 4 days. It got to the point to where I could hardly think!! (Not that I’m much better without a headache, but at least I can form semi-understandable thoughts.) Anyway, when I am unable to “meet” with you, I find that I think about you more often. I am thankful for you and your understanding, when I do not meet with you daily. However, I have to admit that I also begin to beat myself up, and I begin to wonder if you think I am lazy or apathetic. I truly am my own worst critic.
As I’ve thought about this tendency in my life (not just with the Morning SonRise, but with everything, especially everything spiritual . . . which I guess for me is pretty much everything), I thought about a quote I read from Eugene Peterson, who translated The Message. Now, I’m not going to be able to get this word-for-word, so I’m just going to have to paraphrase it for you. Basically, he said that his life was completely changed when he came to the realization that God was infinitely more interested in a relationship with him than he was with God. He talked about how he started to just calm down, he stopped fretting about everything he did wrong, stopped his frantic reaching and striving, and he started taking the time to notice God pursuing him every day in ways he had never noticed before.
I have been thinking a lot about that interview I read and I have really been trying to do the same. I try to notice God’s pursuit of me everyday, and stop beating myself up over the little things, like not getting a chance to send out a daily devotional.
Perhaps you need to do the same?
Do you need to stop fretting over all the things you’re not doing, and just start enjoying the things you are? Do you need to get your focus off your “to do” list and start focusing on God and all the ways He is reaching out to you each day? Perhaps you just need to stop and realize that God is so much more interested in your relationship than you are. If this is you, then know that you are not alone – I am right there with you. Perhaps together we can begin to cut ourselves some slack, and let God reach into our hectic but mundane lives and give us some passion, some peace, some excitement, some love, and some of the sweet relationship we always seem to be striving for.
God started this thing in us, let’s let Him finish it – shall we?
I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
I love this passage, as it really speaks of my heart right now. First, I must ask you to forgive my absence – I have been sick, and fought a headache for about 4 days. It got to the point to where I could hardly think!! (Not that I’m much better without a headache, but at least I can form semi-understandable thoughts.) Anyway, when I am unable to “meet” with you, I find that I think about you more often. I am thankful for you and your understanding, when I do not meet with you daily. However, I have to admit that I also begin to beat myself up, and I begin to wonder if you think I am lazy or apathetic. I truly am my own worst critic.
As I’ve thought about this tendency in my life (not just with the Morning SonRise, but with everything, especially everything spiritual . . . which I guess for me is pretty much everything), I thought about a quote I read from Eugene Peterson, who translated The Message. Now, I’m not going to be able to get this word-for-word, so I’m just going to have to paraphrase it for you. Basically, he said that his life was completely changed when he came to the realization that God was infinitely more interested in a relationship with him than he was with God. He talked about how he started to just calm down, he stopped fretting about everything he did wrong, stopped his frantic reaching and striving, and he started taking the time to notice God pursuing him every day in ways he had never noticed before.
I have been thinking a lot about that interview I read and I have really been trying to do the same. I try to notice God’s pursuit of me everyday, and stop beating myself up over the little things, like not getting a chance to send out a daily devotional.
Perhaps you need to do the same?
Do you need to stop fretting over all the things you’re not doing, and just start enjoying the things you are? Do you need to get your focus off your “to do” list and start focusing on God and all the ways He is reaching out to you each day? Perhaps you just need to stop and realize that God is so much more interested in your relationship than you are. If this is you, then know that you are not alone – I am right there with you. Perhaps together we can begin to cut ourselves some slack, and let God reach into our hectic but mundane lives and give us some passion, some peace, some excitement, some love, and some of the sweet relationship we always seem to be striving for.
God started this thing in us, let’s let Him finish it – shall we?
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
My Jesus
Psalm 18:1
I love you, O LORD, my strength.
My strength. My love. My life. My breath. My joy. My peace. My sanity. My purity. My time. My resource. My body. My senses. My rest. My desire. My passion. My heart. My soul.
My everything.
I love you, O LORD, my strength.
My strength. My love. My life. My breath. My joy. My peace. My sanity. My purity. My time. My resource. My body. My senses. My rest. My desire. My passion. My heart. My soul.
My everything.
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