Costly Payment

"The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die. Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the LORD, the child who is born to you shall die." - 2 Samuel 12:13-14. You shall not die? Really? Is God changing His mind? Is the Almighty making exceptions? Why or for what reason? No God didn’t change His mind. Yes, David had committed adultery, he had lied and murdered a good friend, a man that covered his back. The Law says David must die and that Law was written by God. So what’s the deal? Did God just look the other way? Is God just a God of love and we can do whatever we want? No! There is and will always be a consequence to sin. God has not changed His position on sin. There was death, death of a baby. But that’s not fair you say. Really? David’s child from the adultery did die, but that was not the payment, propitiation for the sin, Jesus was. Jesus was also the child born to David and this and this only was the payment. Now before we pronounce David’s injustice, let’s look at our own mess. We have sinned, we have broken the commandments and everything is the same with us. Jesus died, Jesus paid dearly, not because He had to but because He loved you. Let that truth sink in today, the only true justice found in mankind has to be in God’s son, for David, for me and for you. 

Be strong - Be intentional

Be strong, and let us use our strength for our people and for the cities of our God, and may the LORD do what seems good to him." - 1 Chronicles 19:13. The background of this text finds Israel surrounded by enemies on every side. The captain of the army of Israel has to come up with a plan to make it through the day. Have you been there or are you there now? Surrounded by troubles, decisions, problems or adversity? What do you do? As if it wasn’t enough, Israel’s enemies had hired another county, Syria, to help them defeat Israel. That’s the way trouble often comes, our enemies or challenges seems to multiply or come all at once. I think the answer to these situations is found in the approach of the Israeli captain. Be strong, think of others and what God has blessed us with and then submit. Submit to God and God alone. Our tendency is to submit to our our knowledge, will and strength or the strength of others. However, they submitted fully to God’s will, “may the Lord do what seems good to Him.” In other words, if we win, praise the Lord, if we lose we will praise the Lord, for we know He is good. That attitude and focus is what faith and trust in the Almighty God is about. My encouragement today is when the trouble of life come, and they will, put this approach into practice. It comes first by commitment, then by practice but never comes natural. 

Say Amen!

Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting! And let all the people say, "Amen!" Praise the LORD!  - Psalm 106:48. Have you seen God’s glory today? Maybe it was in the sunrise or the early morning rain. Maybe it was evident in the small calf in the field you drove by to work or the tree by the roadside. Maybe it was in the smile of the elderly lady at the grocery or the child you walked by today. It was there, you may have seen it and didn’t think or you may have missed it altogether. His creation displays His glory. If you see anything that is peaceful, meticulous or is beyond your understanding, it is there where you can say, “Blessed be the Lord!’ He is not only in His creation but in His people and He always, always will be there, from everlasting to everlasting! Just say it, say Amen! Say praise the Lord! He is worthy and He is God, look for Him right now, He’s probably closer to you than you think. 

Two Way Street

O Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleas for mercy!  - Psalm 130:2. Why do we have to cry out to God asking Him to hear our pleas for help? He is God, He should know all our difficulties and just fix them, right? I think this question hinders many people in their relationship with God, especially in our current culture. Honestly, this culture thinks this way in more areas than God. Why doesn’t our government fix the poverty situation, the drug situation, the fill-in-the-blank situation? This mentality is common in families. If my dad loves me why doesn’t he…. I don’t know the answer for the culture mentality but I find in God’s Word the answer to the original question. God’s Word says, we don’t have because we don’t ask. So why ask? The answer is from Genesis to Revelation, relationship. God wants us to relate to Him intimately. This is His entire purpose of creating us and the creation we enjoy. Think about it, expectations without communication leads to dysfunctional relationships. I hate it when people just expect something of me and I bet you do to. Think about it from God’s perspective and the next time you find yourself wondering why God doesn’t act the way you think He should, try talking to Him about it. It may change everything for you. 

The Best Connection

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. - John 15:1. The shear vastness of the Word of Bible is far more than I can comprehend. For instance, in the 15th chapter of John lies the beauty of the purpose of God and all that He has done, is doing and will do for those that truly love Him. He promises a connection to Himself. A joint venture between the God of love and those that He loves and loves Him. A covenant of protection and power, of belonging and purpose. In this beautiful picture we can see why we should live, how we should live and how we can truly live in peace. It is amazing! The Son of God, by the obedience of God offering an unworthy creature life in Him. Jesus simply said, I am the true vine, stay connected to me and you will be free. Can I encourage you today to truly meditate on this? Jesus didn't give this as a commandment though in one way it is. In Jesus' love for you, He showed you how to have confidence, peace and satisfaction that is found no where else but in a love connection with Him. Blessed be the name of the Lord!

A loud world

The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.  - Zephaniah 3:17. We live in a world that is loud. To compound the ongoing reality of busyness, most of our worlds have so many things trying to get our attention that we find ourselves hearing only a fraction of what is important. As an example, I remember being so busy and so focused for success in life, or at least survival in life, to the point that I had times where I missed the voices of those I loved the most. I am pretty sure you have been there too. Within the mad race that most of us tend to run everyday, we are missing the blessing and peace of being quiet. Rest, peace and joy is found in quiet places. The best kind of relationships are found in the quiet atmospheres. It is very frustrating when you think about it, but what are we to do? The answer lies within the pages of the Word of God. Zephaniah wrote, "the Lord your God is with you, in your midst and He will quiet you by His love. Take time to be with Jesus regularly, outside the busyness and noise of your all too busy world and allow Him to take you into places that are special, beneficial and rewarding to the soul. It will change your world.