Obedience vs Skill

The Philistines were attacking. David wanted to know how to respond. His first inquiry of God revealed that he was to attack the Philistines straightaway and God would give him victory. David followed God’s instructions and gained victory. Shortly after, the Philistines mounted another attack. “So David inquired of God again, and God answered him, ‘Do not go straight up but circle around them and attack them in front of the balsam trees.’” (1 Chronicles 14:14)

David was a well-trained warrior, a strategist. Yet, we find that David’s dependence on God to direct his efforts was very great. In fact after he won the first battle, he went right back to inquire again. This is the most important lesson we can learn from this story.

How many times have you or I made decisions, perform our daily work and projects based only on our own skill and ability? How many times have we truly sought the details of God’s will in our daily lives? David could have simply assumed that since he won the last battle, surely God would give him victory in the same manner. No. David had learned that communicating with the living God is the only sure way of victory. His skill was not enough. He had to have God’s blessing.

How many times have we worked in our daily lives the same way each time only because it was the way we did the last time? What if God has a better way? What if God has a better plan than ours? “So David inquired of God…” These are the important words that we are to learn from. We must be in such relationship with God that we are constantly inquiring of His mind on every matter. When we do this, we can expect the same results that David achieved – success in our endeavors and recognition by God.

“So David’s fame spread throughout every land and the Lord made all the nations fear him.” (1 Chronicles 14:17) This is the reward of obedience to God. We do not have to build a name for ourselves. God will see to it that we are honored for our obedience. He wants to make known those servants who are willing to obey Him at all costs.

Excerpted from: TGIF: Today God is First by Os Hillman
©2003 by Acts29 Publishing, p 203.

Happy Mother's Day!

As we celebrate Mother’s Day, let’s look at history’s most famous mother. The Bible is filled with lessons on parenting. And as we look at Mary, the earthly mother of Jesus, we may learn some lessons on motherhood. Mary was called to her task, just as mothers today are called by God to do their task.

A mother called by God submits completely to God’s will.

When Mary was only a young lady, she was confronted with the challenge to be completely submitted to God’s will. When Gabriel gave her the angelic message that she was to carry the Christ, Mary was stunned. "How will this be," she asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?" The angel explained what God would require of her and Mary replied, "I am the Lord's servant, may it be to me as you have said." (Luke 1:34-38)

The key phrase? “I am the Lord’s servant… ” Mary never wavered from her complete submission to God’s will. Was she nervous? Certainly. Was she worried about the forthcoming scandal? Of course! How was she going to explain everything to Joseph? Would anyone believe her? Was she unsure of her own abilities? Who wouldn’t be? What does she know about taking care of babies? Was she anxious about the prophecy that part of her future would include pain? Most probably. But Mary, unlike a lot of parents in the world today, was completely committed to God. She had no room for commitment to anything else. She set aside her own fears and committed her whole future to God, trusting God completely. And that made her a mother worth imitating.

A mother called by God does not have to be perfect.

Despite the fact that she was the mother of Jesus, Mary wasn’t perfect! Remember? In Matthew 12:46-50 while Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him. This is where Jesus replied, "Who is my mother, and who are my brothers? Whoever does the will of my Father in heaven, he is my brother and sister and mother." If Mary had truly understood the task of Jesus, would she have tried to interrupt him, stopping the ministry of Jesus, even for a little while? That was a mistake on Mary’s part.

We, as mothers (or fathers) have also made mistakes in the past, we’ll certainly make a mistake or two today, and we’ll make more mistakes tomorrow. Still, we are called by God to be mothers (or fathers) – to bring up our children His way. And through it all, God will love us, work with us, and accept us. Because God called us to be parents, we will be blessed.

Happy Mother’s Day!

Knowing the Scoop

Ignorance is not bliss. Especially in our fast-paced information world right now, we need to be competitive. We need to know as much as we can about everything from science to culinary arts or to whatever is happening in our neighbor’s backyard. Knowledge is power, or more accurately, knowledge is control – so that we would know how to act appropriately in any situation. If this is true for the secular world, all the more this applies to our spiritual life.

Throughout the Bible, God’s repeated command to His people is to learn, study, grow, equip our mind with His Word. 1 Peter 3:15 exhorts us to be “ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give account for the hope that is in you.” How do we defend the truth if we do not know the truth?

Knowing the truth of God is very important. Knowledge will give substance to faith. Knowing that our faith is not based on feelings or someone else’s opinions but is based on God’s truth – the Bible, provides stability to our spiritual life. Knowledge will help us detect and confront errors. In this age of many religions and cults, we will not be intimidated and led astray by false teachings. Knowledge will also comfort us during times of testing. We will not panic. We will not doubt. Knowledge will also help us grow to spiritual maturity. As we follow God’s truth, we are going to be transformed and be more Christ-like.

We are responsible for nourishing ourselves with the truth – through reading the Bible and listening and learning Biblically sound doctrines, joining a Bible Study. However, knowledge alone can also be dangerous. Knowledge just for knowledge’s sake is incomplete and can turn into pride. The Bible frequently warns us against being full of knowledge and becoming “puffed up” because of it. Knowledge can also be dangerous when it remains theoretical. God gave us His truth so that we may put it into practice, not simply store it up. It does not matter if we can memorize a lot of verses from the Bible but if we do not apply His Word to our daily lives, then this kind of knowledge is useless. Knowledge can be inadequate if it is not balanced by love and grace. After all, it is by love and grace that we were given knowledge in the first place. Without grace and love, knowledge may lead to arrogance and discrimination “I know more than you do.” Finally, knowledge without the Spirit of God is tragic. Without the Holy Spirit, we will not gain discernment and wisdom.

What can you change in your daily schedule that will help you and give you more time for spiritual nourishment? Plan ahead. Give top priority to this end so that you can gain not just knowledge, but wisdom.



Reference: Growing Deep in the Christian Life by Charles Swindoll
Zondervan Publishing House © 1995, pp. 19-49

Gethsemane

Today we celebrate Christ’s resurrection. We rejoice because our Lord is alive! Most of us use holy week for rest, relaxation & vacation. However, in our rejoicing, we often forget that He died first – and suffered first. All the four gospels devote nearly a third of their length to the climactic last week of Jesus’ life. This must mean that His death is something we should pay attention to. When the Son of God died on planet earth, nature itself trembled – the grounds shook, rocks cracked open & the sky went black.

The movie “The Passion of Christ,” depicted His physical suffering in violent, gory, bloody details. But the gospels (Matt 26:36-46; Mark 14:32-42; Luke 22:39-46; John 18:1) showed another side of His agony that happened in a garden of olive trees called Gethsemane.

After the Last Supper, Jesus and His disciples proceeded to Gethsemane. It was probably cool & peaceful under the moon and stars, the disciples felt sleepy. But Jesus took Peter, James & John and requested them to keep Him company while He prayed. Why? Matthew said He was “sorrowful & troubled.” Mark said He was “deeply distressed.” (NIV) Now, this request was something out of the ordinary because Jesus had often gone off by Himself to pray. He would even send the disciples away in a boat so that He could spend the night alone with the Father. When His disciples failed Him, He did not conceal the hurt: “Could you not keep watch for one hour?” Three times during this night Jesus prayed & pleaded, “Take this cup from me…” He was in anguish – His sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. Jesus’ struggle was probably about fear of pain & death. In His humanity, that was to be expected. But since He knew that He was going to be restored after the third day, the pain & death was probably not the main issue. Philip Yancey in his book “The Jesus I Never Knew” wrote that there was more at work - Jesus was looking at a new experience: God-forsakenness. From this night up to the resurrection, God would turn away from Him.

After several hours of torturous prayer, Jesus came to a resolution “Not what I will, but what You will.” Jesus experienced sorrow, fear, abandonment, maybe even desperation. Still, He obeyed and endured because He knew that at the center of the universe lived His Father, a God of love He could trust regardless of how things appeared at that time. This love sustained Him as He carried His cross, as He felt the lashes of the whips, the crunch of fists against his body, the piercing of the crown of thorns on His head and the nails into His hands & feet, the slash of the knife against his flesh.

Think about it. Jesus is not powerless. If He had insisted on His will and not the Father’s, He could have called down legions of angels to fight the Holy War on His behalf. He can merely say the word and skip His personal sacrifice. But He did not. What happened in the garden of Gethsemane - showed our God was willing to relinquish power for the sake of Love – His awesome Love for us.

“God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Corinthians 5:21 NIV