KIng David

P 2910 What’s NEXT?

/ DVH

When God kisses whatever is currently going on with His peace and power, maybe we would like to look like the guy in Psalm 18 who said:“For by You I can run through a troop, and by my God I can leap over a wall. As for God, His way is perfect! The Word of the Lord is tested and tried; He is a shield to all those who take refuge and put their trust in Him. For who is God except the Lord? Or Who is the Rock save our God,

The God Who girds me with strength and makes my way perfect? He makes my feet like hinds’ feet [able to stand firmly or make progress on the dangerous heights of testing and trouble]; He sets me securely upon my high places. He teaches my hands to war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. You have also given me the shield of Your salvation, and Your right hand has held me up; Your gentleness and condescension have made me great. You have given plenty of room for my steps under me, that my feet would not slip.” (verses 29-36.) 

I know this mythical guy talking here is actually King David — but I call him leaping Larry! You’ve met someone like this too. They pirouette around other people like Nijinsky. They have a perfect spiritual life, and while you are slogging away fighting off stuff on every side, spiritually speaking — they dance all around you telling you about how yesterday they defeated 45 demons, healed 19 sick people and reorganised their closet all on the same day … And they still had time to cook a three course dinner! …I’m not jealous or anything…😳

There are things that we do and say to each other  😱 … without even a thought for where the other person is. When we leave our humanity and faults out of our testimonies, we instantly eliminate most of His army from identifying with us. His army consists of people who continue to get it wrong as well as the broken, the down-trodden, the outcasts. Even Paul told us once he almost despaired of life itself!

We need to stop inflating our spiritual image so we can feel like we belong to His kingdom. I know that God can win anything with just a few people, but … He wants us ALL to live in the blessing of doing the work of the kingdom together!  And sometimes the guy we need the most is on the floor with his marriage in tatters, and his kids have walked away from all things spiritual..

We cannot afford to stand about simply observing the half-dead person walking next to us, even though we can see that they are staggering. Maybe that person is carrying more stuff than 12 people could. Of course we pray for them, but unfortunately, we are often spectators, instead of participants in whatever is happening around others. And we optimistically call that fellowship!

If your brother is up to his neck in deep trouble and he is not coping, then we need to take that suffering human being by the arm to a quieter place, and ask if we can pray for them. Then ask if there is anyway we can be of help … AND THEN, we need to start suggesting, and doing, helpful stuff!! Privacy can sometimes be overrated. Meanwhile when someone is overloaded, and burdened — trying to think up what someone else can do to help you, ends up overtaxing your brain, emotions, energy and time! Love carries people. It recognises difficulties and the weight of sin upon an individual’s life, without judgment, and it HELPS others.

True fellowship is far more than tea or coffee and cake at interval at church. Here’s a fantastic scripture to chew on …“He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.” Isaiah 53:3. This is what happened to Jesus – people hid from His suffering and pain too! This fatal flaw has become almost normal behaviour in today’s world. We think support means throw money at it, but we are His servants, so we need to actively accept and adopt an attitude that says: “I will not let you suffer alone, I’m standing with you. SomeBody Else already did the work for both of us.” 

I am not saying we should take over someone else’s life, or leave our own lives endlessly dangling over an abyss while we are ‘helping.’ But at the same time we need to do something concrete, that makes our love for others something they can stand on. Love is an action that can be seen.  God’s Love, the love we are all aiming at … covers sin, plus it has a strong belief for good when the other party can’t find any! It hopes for everyone’s future. It puts up with all kinds of rubbish, and stuff simply rolls off a God-prompted person like water off a duck’s back! We can’t fail each other when we participate in His kind of love. 

Waiting for that kind of love to fall on us is folly. We get this kind of all-purpose, all-encompassing love for others, by being obedient … doing whatever He tells us to do in the bible. This means that we don’t sit around waiting for a “voice” to tell us to help people. Instead we’ve read the book, on purpose, and we know how to obey what it says. We don’t excuse ourselves, or hide away from reality. Our true spiritual life is all about growth, so we don’t pretend we have arrived! 

Let’s treat the people we know, and even those we don’t, the same way we would treat our own family – simply because everybody is valuable to Him. In these troubled times, my prayer often consists of ‘what’s next?’ That way I can’t easily miss anything. Bye 👋

P 2546 We will sometimes suffer wrong.

/ DVH

I Samuel 24:1-12 “After Saul returned … …set out to look for David and his men near the Crags of the Wild Goats.He came to the sheep pens along the way; a cave was there, and Saul went in to relieve himself. David and his men were far back in the cave. The men said, “This is the day the Lord spoke of when He said to you, ‘I will give your enemy into your hands for you to deal with as you wish.’” Then David crept up unnoticed and cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. Afterward, David was conscience-stricken for having cut off a corner of his robe. He said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed, or lay my hand on him; for he is the anointed of the Lord.” With these words David sharply rebuked his men and did not allow them to attack Saul. And Saul left the cave and went his way.

Then David went out of the cave and called out to Saul, “My lord the king!” When Saul looked behind him, David bowed down and prostrated himself with his face to the ground. He said to Saul, “Why do you listen when men say, ‘David is bent on harming you’? This day you have seen with your own eyes how the Lord delivered you into my hands in the cave. Some urged me to kill you, but I spared you; I said, ‘I will not lay my hand on my lord, because he is the Lord’s anointed.’ See, my father, look at this piece of your robe in my hand! I cut off the corner of your robe but did not kill you. See that there is nothing in my hand to indicate that I am guilty of wrongdoing or rebellion. I have not wronged you, but you are hunting me down to take my life.  May the Lord judge between you and me. And may the Lord avenge the wrongs you have done to me, but my hand will not touch you.”

Every time I read this scripture I am extremely impressed by David’s integrity. He had totally committed himself to living His life Almighty God’s way. But at the same time, King Saul was constantly attempting to kill him. Saul was the legitimate king, appointed by God, but he was threatened by David and he had been chasing this young man here there and everywhere for years. Jealousy and spite drove that older man along. But David’s conscience was so soft before God, it smacked him upside-of-his-head when he cut off a piece of Saul’s robe.

We may not like it but submission is in the book. We are not submitted to God if we are not prepared to submit to the person who is the leader. In our homes, at our office, in the government or our churches. Just because it is not cultural to submit, that does not make it wrong. Submission is not meant to be fashionable, fun or enjoyable! It’s hard work and sometimes even dangerous – as David found out! Particularly if you happen to disagree with the person you are submitted to or they have a bone to pick with you! 

However, real submission is a tool to facilitate transformation in us, not make us comfortable. After all the Lord Jesus was utterly submitted to His Heavenly Father, but He also submitted to all the religious leaders of the day. The King of all glory was standing right in front of these experts, and they didn’t know Who He was! But Jesus chose to submit to them, anyway. God’s way is not always about us enjoying the process, it is about obedience. ‘Rebellion is as witchcraft in the eyes of the Lord.’ 1 Samuel 15:23.

David understood this truth and he respected God’s order. He understood the Lord lifts up one, and pulls down another. So David left Saul to God, so the Lord could deal with him … for twenty-five years. Did you get that? Twenty five YEARS!  This young man had been anointed by Samuel and he knew he was to be the next king, yet he let the Lord God build His own house. He did not try to wrestle the kingdom from Saul. Instead he lived honourably, and learnt from God how to respect His enemy. And at the same time he honoured God by his diligent obedience.

You know in my denomination, sometimes there are things that happen that I don’t understand. People move around between churches like ice cubes in a water pitcher. These people are often here one week, and gone the next. It seems to be that they think the preacher is not spiritual enough, or they don’t like what he says, or he doesn’t come to visit them, or they already know all that stuff they want something different. Why this world doesn’t already know all there is to know about the Lord Jesus because of these gifted people, who apparently know everything there is to know … escapes me! 🙄

Human beings disagree, mainly because we prefer to hold onto our own rights. But it is not a matter of compatibility. It is a matter of learning how to love those who cruelly use us. Meanwhile, some days, nobody can annoy us better than a spouse! LOVE CONQUERS ALL … not war of the words! None of us are nice – that’s a rumour started by people who want their own way. Without the Holy Spirit in charge, we can all be mean. Look at Adam and Eve. God came to be with them in their garden every evening and yet they still disobeyed … then they blamed each other. Before we make important decisions we should try looking in the mirror, strangely enough, the person at fault is often in the mirror!

King David knew all about facing his weaknesses, and through God’s processes he was transformed by them – but he  still suffered. Suffering wrong is one of the greatest keys in our spiritual keyring. It hurts like mad, but carries with it the incredible honour of sharing in the fellowship of Christ’s suffering. 👋

P 2534 Not just saved from, we are saved … FOR!

/ DVH

“But you are God’s chosen treasure —priests who are kings, a spiritual “nation” set apart as God’s devoted ones. He called you out of darkness to experience His marvellous light, and now He claims you as His very own. He did this so that you would broadcast His glorious wonders throughout the world. For at one time you were not God’s people, but now you are. At one time you knew nothing of God’s mercy, because you hadn’t received it yet, but now you are drenched with it!” 1 Peter 2:9-10 TPT.

Drenched! What a word that is. It means – ‘wet thoroughly; soaked.’ I think that this word illustrates that we have been totally saturated in His Love … forever. When I think about what Jesus did for us, in spite of all of our wilful ways, it still blows my mind. I’ve done some stuff I’m not proud of in my life, and now it is under His blood, thank you Lord!  Thank God He is so much wiser than I will ever be, He saw our sins and dealt with them over 2000 years ago.  🙌

However He did not simply save us from all our sinful appetites and proclivities, He saved you and I for His purposes. There is a world of difference right there — between from and for. It is one thing to be rescued, but it is entirely another thing to be rescued … for a purpose, and in this case, you and I were rescued for His higher purpose!  We’ve been given a calling, identity and purpose. Feel free to cheer!!

I cannot begin to imagine how God would want to take ordinary people and call us kings and priests. However, I think that someone like King David is a great illustration of that fact. It worked in his life like this. David was no-one. In the pecking order of society in those days – he was way down the bottom. Yet he was chosen, by God, to be king. We need to remember that this young man had no birthright to that throne. But he was still chosen to lead Israel. 

Now, if we take my illustration over into life in the 21st century … sometimes our hearts aren’t in the best order, maybe not always on the up and up? … So Almighty God sent His Son to change our hearts forever. The power for us to change the way we think and act toward Him, and others, was released on that cross. And the proof that Jesus Christ Himself had the power to do that for us – is seen in the resurrection and the arrival of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. The best thing we can do, is to let Him do what He wants with our lives. After all, now we know that the bible lays that change out like a map! 

The thing is, we must actively choose to come out of the darkness all around us and stand there in His marvellous light – daily. That clear holy light can be very daunting – nothing can hide there, trust me! But because Jesus gave mankind HIS standing as a free gift, we have been given His power to overcome and His purity. His exchange changed everything. Now, Almighty God’s calls us His very own. And that’s worthy of praise! 

So it is easy to think we are sort of, kind of, OK – but that is because in this life, we are not standing next to absolute purity and total dedication to God’s ways and will. If Jesus Christ walked into our space and time in all His glory and splendour – we’d be on our faces in a split second! In our world today, there are people I know that are incredibly genuine in their love for Christ, but they don’t particularly see themselves in a good light. As a matter of fact, they hardly see themselves at all! They are way too busy gazing at Him and enjoying the view! It seems to me that gazing at Him is the best place to be. 

Our God honours mankind because of Christ. He now calls us His treasure. How could any of us be worthy of that? In order to appreciate what God did for us, we must lift our eyes up — from the one who is being blessed — us … to the One Who is doing the blessing… the Lord! Grace bent down and lifted you and I up into a place we will never deserve. In order to stand in that place we need to focus on HIM, not just our little lives. Focussing on ourselves just sets us up for a fall. Focussing on Jesus sets us up for adoration.

We must stop giving any room to our sins. And instead look at the One Who delivered us. Because of Jesus we’ve been saved FROM that person we used to be. Not because of what we do, or who we are – but because of His incredible generosity. Love Himself looked down on mankind from that cross. Today, we need to remember that we’ve been saved FOR a higher purpose – we’ve been given the privilege of reflecting His love into our world. Let’s not be a muddy MIRROR. 👋