Stoned, and Happy

S

(1 Chronicles 22:5) For David said, "Solomon my son is young and inexperienced, and the house that is to be built for the Lord must be exceedingly magnificent.... I will therefore make preparations for it." ...

O

To enable Solomon to succeed magnificently, even exceedingly, David collected the necessary raw materials: resident foreigners, foundation stones, iron, timbers, bronze, gold, and silver. Their potential, even their existence, was often hidden, overlooked, or overwhelmingly difficult to process. This story describes allegorically how our Heavenly Father is building a Church for His Son, Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2, 4; 1 Peter 2).

A

From this, we see what God is doing in our community (and in me) through His Church, how we interact with each other, and how parents can conceptualize our parental tasks. Evangelists collect the lost outcasts, inviting them into God's family. Apostles establish leaders, like foundational stones, who keep all of us square to God's Word. Prophets do the strange work of discovering hidden values, like iron for nails (that bind and bond) and doors (that block or open). Teachers, like carpenters, help us frame, structure, and organize our raw thoughts. And pastors, like bronze, gold, and silversmiths, help us purify and strengthen our lives so we become wholesome, healthy, and radiant.

P

Lord, I'm so thankful that You cared for me, a once rebellious, unhappy, outsider with no realistic expectation of the health and success You have given me. Thank You for making me a living, growing, and valuable part of Your Church. Such a miracle of miracles! Thank You!

Group Speak

S

(1 Thessalonians 2:14) For you ... became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea. For you suffered the same things from your countrymen as they did from the Jews who ...

O

The Holy Spirit (through Paul) commended the church of the Thessalonian (Greek) nation for observing then imitating the many churches in Judea. It was a group consensus to follow these other Christians' example. Specifically, they responded boldly and faithfully to a persecution that was calculated to obstruct them from spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ.

A

Although my salvation is an individual transaction and ongoing relationship with Jesus Christ, God also views me and responds to me for my contributions to the group I'm in and influencing (passively or actively). Therefore, I need to discern which group God associates me with: His Church that speaks to the lost that they might be saved, or people who "displease God and oppose all mankind by hindering us from speaking [the Gospel]" (v. 14,15).

P

Lord, I've forgotten the realities of this social-spiritual conflict and the reality of Your wrath (v. 16). As grateful as I am for enjoying Your peace and the joys of Your salvation, help me, too, to be listed among Your people who speak the Good News of salvation to people who don't really know You.

My Private Trainer

S

(Psalm 51:6) Behold, You delight in truth in the inward being, and You teach me wisdom in the secret heart.

O

The inner,secret life of a person is where God reveals truth; and more importantly, it's where He teaches us to apply truth (which He calls wisdom). This process liberates and heals a person's inner, secret life. From there, God helps us upgrade our observable, outward life and our relationships (Matthew 5:8; 6:21; 12:34; 15:8,18,19).

A

Seeking God's perspective (truth) and God's practices (wisdom) seems to be a life-long lifestyle that is built on a series of deliberate commitments and recommitments to Him. To do this, David asked God to do these "extreme heart makeovers" that give him an ongoing receptivity to God's truth and wisdom (v. 6), updated forgiveness of private, heart-lodged sins (v. 10), and re-activated steadfastness--a fresh commitment to righteousness (v. 12).

P

Lord, I see that when You reveal truth and teach me wisdom, it might hurt as bad as a broken bone or heart attack (v. 8, 17). Still, wisdom is worth it. So I re-crown You as my Lord because Your revelations heal. Truth and wisdom cause me to know true gladness and the undiluted joys of salvation (v 12). So I make my heart a classroom for You to teach me.

Honor Instead

S

(2 Samuel 10:2) And David said, "I will deal loyally [kindly] with Hanun the son of Nahash, as his father dealt loyally [kindly] with me."

O

David's sense of justice and goodness guided him to try to console Hanun (the new king of the Ammonites) whose father had just died ... even though the Ammonites had long been cruel oppressors of Israel. David's risky kindness was repaid with insults and eventually physical violence against the whole nation. All of this was ultimately an affront to God who was guiding David.

A

I like Joab's response to the Ammonite attack (v. 12); Joab was commander of Israel's armies. (1) "Be of good courage"; that is, stir up from deep within you the highest character that God makes available to you. (2) "And let us be courageous for our people, and for the cities of our God"; that is, remember that we live and serve with great consequences for our loved ones and future generations. (3) "And may the Lord do what seems good to Him"; that is, remember that God's good purposes transcend this conflict and our tiny perspectives.

P

Jesus, I commit myself to treating people honorably, kindly, and generously--even though I risk them mistreating and maligning me in the process. I'd rather live and die honorably, serving You well, than to shrink back to small, vindictive responses.

My Kingdom for the Want of His Nail

S

(Matthew 21:43) “Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits.”

O

Amazingly, God sublets the management of His kingdom to people. In this series of parables, Jesus shocks us even more by His attitude toward sinners: He gives roles of responsibility and influence to the most contempt-worthy people who humbly repent and begin harvesting the fruits of God’s Spirit. Other, who are driven by the works of their flesh, are in due time exposed and deposed (Galatians 5:19-24).

A

My heart is a tale of two warring kingdoms—I choose to rule my life either as a bitter slave or as a benevolent servant of the most High God. I produce either my works (sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these—Galatians 5:19-21), or His fruits (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control—Galatians 5:22). I surrender one to have the other.

P

King Jesus, I long for that day when heaven shouts, “The Kingdom of the world has become the Kingdom of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever” (Revelation 11:15). May my heart—with its roles, relationships and responsibilities—help to hurry that day!

Heart Disease--The Number One Killer

S

(Psalm 106:1,48) Praise the Lord! Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever ... Blessed be the Lord ... from everlasting to everlasting ...

O

God's goodness and love fills eternal past, eternal future, and eternal now. One response is necessary: Giving thanks is our perpetual need, and our ability to do this is based on having insight to recognize His mighty deeds in the past and present (v. 2, 7,13) and our willingness so acknowledge Him. Not giving thanks leads to despising our current circumstances, doubting God's promised love and goodness, then murmuring against God and disobeying Him (v. 24, 25).

A

This psalm reminds me that before, during, and after all things, God's goodness and love is the final, the supreme word. Even though our human history is shell shocked from denying God, our freedom to be cruel ends up providing even more demonstration of God's contrasting faithfulness. When I choose not to become thankful, I choose to become blind to God, which leads to doubt and despair.

P

Jesus, I'm a citizen of a world that actively hardens its heart against You ... and I've contributed to that hardness (v. 6-8). Forgive me, please. Forgive us. Now I choose instead to cherish Your mighty deeds and I ask You to open my eyes so I can praise You for even more for Your kindnesses and mercies to me. As I do this, may I change the history of our attitude towards You?

A Line in the Sand

S

(Psalm 68:1,3) God shall arise, His enemies shall be scattered; and those who hate Him shall flee before Him ... But the righteous shall be glad; they shall exult before God; they shall be jubilant with joy!

O

God's "arisal" was a frequent and descriptive prayer of David's: "Arise, O Lord" and move to righteous intervention, rescue me, deliver us, establish justice, etc. The more we acknowledge God's interventions, the more aware we become of His expectations. Our responses get simpler and more obvious: fear or love, hate or joy. Those who insist on creating their own rules flee as God approaches; those who prefer God's rule rejoice.

A

How do I know if I'm God's enemy? Will I flee when He intervenes and shows His hand? This psalm points to my relationship with righteousness as that answer. Do I insist on defining righteous for my own purposes? Do I justify my unrighteous actions or attitudes? Then I'll also resist God and end up fleeing from His provision of safety ... the cross.

P

Jesus, I count all my self-promoting accomplishments as losses: they moved me to resist You instead of flee to You (Philippians 3). I want You to find humility in my life, not my own brand of righteous arrogance. I owe everything to Your grace and mercy: I have been too generously forgiven, too lavishly loved, and too surprisingly trusted. I hide in the joys of Your resurrection.