II Samuel 15: 27-28, 34-36
David the king also told Zadok the priest, "Look, here is my plan. You and Abiathar should return quietly to the city with your son Ahimaaz and Abiathar's son Jonathan. I will stop at the shallows of the Jordan River and wait there for a report from you. ... Hushai, you return to Jerusalem and tell Absolom, 'I will now be your adviser, O king, just as I was your father's adviser in the past.' Then you can frustrate and counter Ahithophel's advice. Zadok and Abiathar, the priests, will be there. Tell them about the plans being made in the king's palace, and they will send their sons Ahimaas and Jonathan to tell me what is going on."
When King David fled from his son Absalom in order to spare the city of Jerusalem from being destroyed by Absalom's Israeli troops, he set up a system, a spy network, that reached all the way into the king's chambers to spy on Absalom and get word to David what was going on. David was very wise and shrewd to not leave himself blind to what would transpire in Jerusalem, the nation's capital.
This shows us that international intrigue is not necessarily evil, but is a necessary requirement in order to promote God's righteousness in the halls of power in the World.
May we all seek to have that same wisdom and shrewdness that David displayed in our world of politics and power. May we have eyes to see how God sees all that is going on in the governments of this world system, including our own.
Then we will discern how to conduct ourselves in our personal lives and our relationships with our loved ones.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Tuesday, December 13, 2016
Monday, December 12, 2016
Treasure And Delight
Psalm 119: 111-112
Your laws are my treasure, they are my heart's delight. I am determined to keep Your decrees to the very end.
O my Father, I know that Your ways are not my ways at all, and I thank You and praise You for revealing to us Your ways in Your laws and decrees. Your system of rules and regulations is the wisest and most advanced and righteous and just system this World had ever seen to the time You gave it to Moses, and it has never been improved upon since.
O Father, please help me to be able to truly follow You in every realm of living on this Earth: the physical and dietary, the moral and ethical, the emotional, the mental, and the spiritual realms. Teach me how to apply Your principles every moment of every day, as I seek Your face and Your ways.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Your laws are my treasure, they are my heart's delight. I am determined to keep Your decrees to the very end.
O my Father, I know that Your ways are not my ways at all, and I thank You and praise You for revealing to us Your ways in Your laws and decrees. Your system of rules and regulations is the wisest and most advanced and righteous and just system this World had ever seen to the time You gave it to Moses, and it has never been improved upon since.
O Father, please help me to be able to truly follow You in every realm of living on this Earth: the physical and dietary, the moral and ethical, the emotional, the mental, and the spiritual realms. Teach me how to apply Your principles every moment of every day, as I seek Your face and Your ways.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Sunday, December 11, 2016
Waiting
Psalm 119: 81-82
I am worn out waiting for Your rescue, but I have put my hope in Your Word. My eyes are straining to see Your promises come true. When will You comfort me?
God has given us many precious promises, which He will fulfill in His time. He would never say that He will do anything that He would not be able to do, so we know that He will do everything He promised.
But it will all come in His time, not ours. We can wear ourselves out waiting for His rescue from the uncomfortable situation we find ourselves in. We can strain our eyes looking for His promises to come true. We can wait and wait for His comfort in our distresses.
But we will still put our hope in His Word, in what He has told us He will accomplish. We need never give up looking for His answers to our prayers. We can be assured that He will come through for us, as He has promised.
While we are still in this World, living among those who do not know Him (yet many who think they do, only know their own idea of Him), and we are surrounded by those who have a totally worldly world view, instead of God's Biblical view of reality; we must remember that we are to be His light in this darkness of understanding, we must be the salt that preserves and flavors the society in which we live, we are His witnesses to share with others the wonderful things He has already done for us.
God is faithful to us, and wants us to be faithful to Him, even when we don't see Him in our circumstances. If we want to see Him, He will show Himself, even in the most horrendous persecution we may be called upon to face. Some of us are already facing this opposition in the World, and others of us will soon also be confronted with it. Before long, every one of us who call upon the Name of the Lord will be the object of annihilation by those who are deceived by our enemy.
We all need to be strong in the Lord, availing ourselves of the Armor He has provided (Ephesians 6: 12-17), and standing watch against invasions of the Enemy into our attitudes and thinking processes.
And we know, because we've read the "last chapter," that God wins, and we win with Him, reigning with Him over all Creation, and enjoying Him forever.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
I am worn out waiting for Your rescue, but I have put my hope in Your Word. My eyes are straining to see Your promises come true. When will You comfort me?
God has given us many precious promises, which He will fulfill in His time. He would never say that He will do anything that He would not be able to do, so we know that He will do everything He promised.
But it will all come in His time, not ours. We can wear ourselves out waiting for His rescue from the uncomfortable situation we find ourselves in. We can strain our eyes looking for His promises to come true. We can wait and wait for His comfort in our distresses.
But we will still put our hope in His Word, in what He has told us He will accomplish. We need never give up looking for His answers to our prayers. We can be assured that He will come through for us, as He has promised.
While we are still in this World, living among those who do not know Him (yet many who think they do, only know their own idea of Him), and we are surrounded by those who have a totally worldly world view, instead of God's Biblical view of reality; we must remember that we are to be His light in this darkness of understanding, we must be the salt that preserves and flavors the society in which we live, we are His witnesses to share with others the wonderful things He has already done for us.
God is faithful to us, and wants us to be faithful to Him, even when we don't see Him in our circumstances. If we want to see Him, He will show Himself, even in the most horrendous persecution we may be called upon to face. Some of us are already facing this opposition in the World, and others of us will soon also be confronted with it. Before long, every one of us who call upon the Name of the Lord will be the object of annihilation by those who are deceived by our enemy.
We all need to be strong in the Lord, availing ourselves of the Armor He has provided (Ephesians 6: 12-17), and standing watch against invasions of the Enemy into our attitudes and thinking processes.
And we know, because we've read the "last chapter," that God wins, and we win with Him, reigning with Him over all Creation, and enjoying Him forever.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Saturday, December 10, 2016
He Cannot Return To Me
II Samuel 12:23
But why should I fast when he is dead? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him one day, but he cannot return to me.
This is King David speaking. He had taken another man's wife in adultery, murdered her husband to take her for his own wife, and now their child that resulted from the adultery has died. While the baby was still sick, David had fasted and prayed that his life would be spared. Then when he died, David got up off his knees, showered and ate dinner. This perplexed his servants, who thought he would mourn excessively for this child, and questioned him about it. This was David's answer: While the child lived, there was hope for life for him; but now that he is dead, the only hope left is that David would one day die also, and be with him in the place where all the dead go, but this boy will never return to the earth to live with David again.
This is a definitive passage for the question of the possibility for anyone who has died to return to the earth to live again or have anything to do with what is done "under the sun" (as Ecclesiastes 9:5-6 states).
The Epistle to the Hebrews 12:1 tells us that "we are surrounded by a huge cloud of witnesses," referring to all the saints in God's Hall of Heroes in the preceding chapter. So those who have died before us are watching us, but do not have anything to do with what is done here on Earth.
This is an interesting phenomenon, that our loved ones who have gone before us would be watching how we are doing, but cannot affect how things go for us.
I often wonder what my late husband thinks of how I've managed or mismanaged things since he died. But I know that I must be more concerned for how my Lord Jesus considers how I've done, because He is my Husband now.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
But why should I fast when he is dead? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him one day, but he cannot return to me.
This is King David speaking. He had taken another man's wife in adultery, murdered her husband to take her for his own wife, and now their child that resulted from the adultery has died. While the baby was still sick, David had fasted and prayed that his life would be spared. Then when he died, David got up off his knees, showered and ate dinner. This perplexed his servants, who thought he would mourn excessively for this child, and questioned him about it. This was David's answer: While the child lived, there was hope for life for him; but now that he is dead, the only hope left is that David would one day die also, and be with him in the place where all the dead go, but this boy will never return to the earth to live with David again.
This is a definitive passage for the question of the possibility for anyone who has died to return to the earth to live again or have anything to do with what is done "under the sun" (as Ecclesiastes 9:5-6 states).
The Epistle to the Hebrews 12:1 tells us that "we are surrounded by a huge cloud of witnesses," referring to all the saints in God's Hall of Heroes in the preceding chapter. So those who have died before us are watching us, but do not have anything to do with what is done here on Earth.
This is an interesting phenomenon, that our loved ones who have gone before us would be watching how we are doing, but cannot affect how things go for us.
I often wonder what my late husband thinks of how I've managed or mismanaged things since he died. But I know that I must be more concerned for how my Lord Jesus considers how I've done, because He is my Husband now.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Friday, December 9, 2016
Ask For Anything
John 15:7-8
But if you remain in Me and My words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! When you produce much fruit, you are My true disciples. This brings great glory to My Father.
This is a wonderful promise! But it has a premise--we must "remain in" Him and His "words" must "remain in" us. So what does that mean?
If we have repented, turned around our thinking processes to stop defending ourselves and realize that we deserve the death He died and He took our place on the Cross, that's when the Father will cause us to be born into His own Family by placing His Holy Spirit in us; that's when we begin to be "in Christ."
Then when we continue to consider Jesus to be Lord (Boss) over our lives, submitting to His will and ways, and live our daily lives conforming to the way He would have us to think, speak and act according to His Word, the Bible; that is remaining in Him and His words remaining in us.
That's why I seek to enter into His Words every day, why I post a new blog entry every morning, and keep myself aware of God with me every moment of every day, "practicing the presence of God," as Brother Andrew so aptly expressed.
Then when I ask for something I want, I can be assured that it is something God wants for me and wants to give me, so it brings glory to Him to answer my prayer.
So let us all continually search the Scriptures to see what God's Truth is concerning every matter we confront each day, to make sure we are remaining in Christ and His Word is remaining in us.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
But if you remain in Me and My words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! When you produce much fruit, you are My true disciples. This brings great glory to My Father.
This is a wonderful promise! But it has a premise--we must "remain in" Him and His "words" must "remain in" us. So what does that mean?
If we have repented, turned around our thinking processes to stop defending ourselves and realize that we deserve the death He died and He took our place on the Cross, that's when the Father will cause us to be born into His own Family by placing His Holy Spirit in us; that's when we begin to be "in Christ."
Then when we continue to consider Jesus to be Lord (Boss) over our lives, submitting to His will and ways, and live our daily lives conforming to the way He would have us to think, speak and act according to His Word, the Bible; that is remaining in Him and His words remaining in us.
That's why I seek to enter into His Words every day, why I post a new blog entry every morning, and keep myself aware of God with me every moment of every day, "practicing the presence of God," as Brother Andrew so aptly expressed.
Then when I ask for something I want, I can be assured that it is something God wants for me and wants to give me, so it brings glory to Him to answer my prayer.
So let us all continually search the Scriptures to see what God's Truth is concerning every matter we confront each day, to make sure we are remaining in Christ and His Word is remaining in us.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Thursday, December 8, 2016
Criticism And Discipline
Psalm 119:29a
Keep me from lying to myself.
Proverbs 15:31-32
If you listen to constructive criticism, you will be at home among the wise. If you reject discipline, you will only harm yourself; but if you listen to correction, you will grow in understanding.
Who among us has never lied to him or herself!
O my Father, please keep me from lying to myself; don't let me listen to the lies my past tells me, help me to discern the Truth to recognize the lies and reject them; to replace the lies with Your Truth in my life about my life. Open my eyes to see Your Truth, open my ears to hear Your correction, open my mind to welcome Your view, Your understanding of my past and my life now; that I may see with Your eyes, hear with Your ears, think Your thoughts in my mind, understand with Your perception of life and circumstances; that my hands would be Your hands doing Your work, my mouth would speak Your words, and my feet would go where You lead, whether to the next room or to the ends of the world.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Keep me from lying to myself.
Proverbs 15:31-32
If you listen to constructive criticism, you will be at home among the wise. If you reject discipline, you will only harm yourself; but if you listen to correction, you will grow in understanding.
Who among us has never lied to him or herself!
O my Father, please keep me from lying to myself; don't let me listen to the lies my past tells me, help me to discern the Truth to recognize the lies and reject them; to replace the lies with Your Truth in my life about my life. Open my eyes to see Your Truth, open my ears to hear Your correction, open my mind to welcome Your view, Your understanding of my past and my life now; that I may see with Your eyes, hear with Your ears, think Your thoughts in my mind, understand with Your perception of life and circumstances; that my hands would be Your hands doing Your work, my mouth would speak Your words, and my feet would go where You lead, whether to the next room or to the ends of the world.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Wednesday, December 7, 2016
Who's In Charge?
II Samuel 3:39
And even though I am the anointed king, these two sons of Zeruiah--Joab and Abishai--are too strong for me to control. So may the Lord repay these evil men for their evil deeds.
When King Saul died, his commander-in-chief Abner set up Saul's son Ishbosheth as king over Israel (II Samuel 2:8-9), but then argued with Ishbosheth and changed his allegiance to David (3:7-12), and would have peacefully united Israel and Judah under King David. But when Joab, David's commander-in-chief found out that David had sent Abner on his way in safety, he, against his king's wishes, called Abner back and murdered him in revenge for his own brother's death. David was very wise, recognizing that his commander was more politically powerful than he was even as king, and put him into God's hands.
There are several lessons here. A very relevant one is that the one in power is not necessarily the one with the most power--the power behind the throne is the one to be reckoned with politically. God is ultimately the One Who controls all things, so when things seem to be getting out-of-hand, beyond reasonable control, then God can be trusted to set all things right, both personally and politically. Good to know in these present troubling times.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
And even though I am the anointed king, these two sons of Zeruiah--Joab and Abishai--are too strong for me to control. So may the Lord repay these evil men for their evil deeds.
When King Saul died, his commander-in-chief Abner set up Saul's son Ishbosheth as king over Israel (II Samuel 2:8-9), but then argued with Ishbosheth and changed his allegiance to David (3:7-12), and would have peacefully united Israel and Judah under King David. But when Joab, David's commander-in-chief found out that David had sent Abner on his way in safety, he, against his king's wishes, called Abner back and murdered him in revenge for his own brother's death. David was very wise, recognizing that his commander was more politically powerful than he was even as king, and put him into God's hands.
There are several lessons here. A very relevant one is that the one in power is not necessarily the one with the most power--the power behind the throne is the one to be reckoned with politically. God is ultimately the One Who controls all things, so when things seem to be getting out-of-hand, beyond reasonable control, then God can be trusted to set all things right, both personally and politically. Good to know in these present troubling times.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
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