When I pray with my sons at night this is one thing I tend to always cover. That tomorrow they will listen to God as He speaks to their hearts.
Snips and snails, and puppy-dogs' tails are what little boys are made of. We, men and boys, tend to be creatures of action. Of running and feeling the moment. Not of listening to the pull of the Spirit upon us in the moment.
So I'll continue to pray with my sons for us to listen when God speaks.
We may want to be great. To have wealth and power. To be liked and loved. To do great things that will be remembered.
But, none of that can happen without ability and action. An athlete wouldn't dream of doing well by putting on 15 pounds of fat and sitting on the couch all day every day. Likewise we can't just do nothing and then ask God to fulfill our desires.
Solomon asked for the ability to do the task set out for him. For the tasks in your life what abilities do you need from God? Then ask for them and follow it up by using them.
"I don't believe ... I don't believe ... I don't believe ... I can't believe ..."
Ever been faced with a miracle? Do you sit there afterwords with your eyes closed and fingers in your ears crying "I don't believe".
Do not be so insistent on your own strength that you will deny God's power. God works in your life and in the life of others. In ways that make you sit back and be amazed. In ways that are foolishness to the world.
And as the ark of the covenant of the Lord came to the city of David, Michal the daughter of Saul looked out of the window and saw King David dancing and rejoicing, and she despised him in her heart.
I suppose it comes down to which you find more important. Your status with your neighbors. Or God. Most people will quickly answer "God", but by our fruit you can tell where our heart is.
Which do you find more embarrassing:
Talking to friends about God or Talking to friends about someone you hate?
Helping the beautiful woman at the store or Helping the homeless man in the parking lot get food?
Talking yourself up to someone important or Talking to the person no one at school likes?
To me the best word for what society does to us is brain washing. Over and over it tells us that hating, lust, and power are important. And God, the helpless, and the hated are not. But God flips that on its ear.
By looking at your own works you can know that is more important to you. What is it?
You shall not build a house to my name, because you have shed so much blood before me on the earth.
Going to a Christian collage that was supported by a pacifist denomination was how I was first introduced to Christian pacifists. For myself, I was raised by a Christian dad who was also a veteran. I was taught early on that sometimes violence is needed to protect others and keep peace. The above verses are where I found my own understanding between the calling of a warrior and the calling of a pacifist.
God called David. All that David did was for the LORD. Including the blood he shed. And today some are still called to be warriors. To serve as soldiers and police officers. But, the calling of David was not the calling of Solomon.
God called Solomon. And Solomon could build the temple of the LORD where David could not. Today some are still called to the building of the Church in a way that a warrior can not.
Do not confuse the two men. God did not call only Davids to His work. And God did not call only Solomons to His work. They are two very different Men of God.
The question for you is so find what God has called you to be.
Ever notice how Christ doesn't answer the actual questions that are asked by those trying to trap Him? And it isn't because He was being tricky in not getting "caught". Rather notice how He answers the real problem that is in the heart of the people talking to him.
Everyone that came to Christ to question him had a personal agenda. And Christ directly spoke to that agenda. The rich man wanting to know if he was following the law was told to sell everything. The authorities on taxes were told about the giant chasm between God and Caesar. And the men wanting to point out the sin in others had their own sin placed in front of them.
Only one man standing there had the right to judge the woman and that was Christ. At that time He wasn't on earth as the judge. He was there as the living sacrifice for her sins. But soon He will return to judge.
They ministered with song before the tabernacle of the tent ...
One thing I like to do is sing. Play the mountain dulcimer and sing. I'm not that good and at times my daughter asks me not to. But, I really enjoy it.
God has given us a great gift in playing music and singing. It is a blessing to Him and to us. So if you are at home don't just listen to the music ... sing out loud. Sing with joy.
The chapters above list "mighty men" and men that were in "charge of the utensils of service". Not all of us are called to the front lines of the spiritual battle. But, we all are called.javascript:void(0)
In what God has placed before you ... you must do. If it is as the leader of many, lead well. If it is as the worker behind the scenes, work well. If it is as the man seeking out the poor, seek and help. If God has given you wealth, share with generosity.
After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.
Much of what God does and calls for us to do is hard. We try to understand and many times it is impossible to do so.
There have been two plane crashes close together. In one everyone lived. In the other everyone died. Many people point to the hand of God in the first. And many point that there must be no god because of the second. How can a god not save everyone? Why is there suffering?
The sad part is that they are pointing to their own idols not God. Their desire is an idol that will "save" everyone from tragedy. Life is life. God did not promise that we would stay in the womb for eternity. Constantly fed, warm, and cared for with nothing happening in our lives. He gave us life, not slavery.
He calls us to love Him. He calls us to love others.
In life there is joy, pain, hate, love, blood, and comfort. Expect that and live. If God grants us joy and love ... embrace it and be thankful. If tragedy comes ... endure and help.
There is always a consequence to your actions. No matter how far out they may be. You will eventually have to deal with your problems. I doubt many great grand fathers thought about how their personal sins would lead their decedents away from God.
I'm sure it started small. They just kept the high places. They still worshiped God, but why not talk to some "lesser" god about the small issues? It wouldn't be that big an issue would it?
We sacrifice truth as well. We look at sexual sins and shrug our shoulders. We look at greed and turn our cheek while holding out our hand for the offering.
But, don't fool yourself. God sees. And God will act.
That is a lot of names. I just wanted to be honest about what first came to me as I listened to these chapters.
My wife asked me why verses like these are in the Bible. I can't really say why because I don't know. One idea I did have ... God did fulfill His promise to Abraham. He did have a lot of kids.
They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and walk’?
"Don't confuse me with your facts and logic! I have an agenda and you are upsetting it!" ... Not that anyone actually says this, but we do act that way.
When Christ healed him others were more interested in the bed roll then the healed man. How sad that we can live in the same way. We don't see the eternal soul in front of us. We just see someone we don't like. We don't see the naked and sick. We just see the new toy we can buy with our own money.
LORD ... Open my eyes! Let me see the healing and not the bed roll.
