Turn On The Light

It seems that the country is spinning out of control and with that, many people are feeling futility in attempting to make sense of it all. It is a bunch of noise and chaotic spin. Deception, lies, emotional bribery and just plain evil is at the roots of the miasma.  It is not easy to drown it all out.

Due to the internet and 24/7 cable news, the mob mentality is alive and kicking, running around perverting the culture. Things are said over and over to capture and twist the thinking of those hearing their message. Yes evil exists in this world. We can rise above the muck and the mire that is being spewed out everywhere by holding forth the love of God. God's word needs to be spoken:

2 My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass: Deuteronomy 32:2

How refreshing and cleansing is the gentle rain that falls in a dusty dry season!

4 Blessed is that man that maketh the Lord his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.
5 Many, O Lord my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.
6 Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required. Psalm 40:1-6

David saw many extended difficult times.  Psalm 40 records how he dealt with a tough world around him.. His trust was in God, not the false madness and arrogant belligerence of the world.  He did not succumb to it. Instead the he sung about the wonderful works of God. They are everywhere. If we made a list it would go on and on and on.

People need to hear the truth about God. Light dispels darkness.  A dark room is not easy to navigate. Even if you light one little match, it helps. If you use a floodlight darkness runs.  There is no greater joy than speaking about God's love and seeing futility flee.  Lets have at it this week!!!

God Is No Respecter of Persons

  For all of us that have at one time  sought validation from God, the New Testament is really good news! God loves every human being that has ever walked the earth. There are no exceptions.  God doesn't care whether you are old, young, black or white, male or female, rich or poor, educated or uneducated. We don't need to seek validation from him. We only need to be humbly available to him and allow him work in our lives.

There can be unity among those who love God when we understand what true unity is. In Ephesians 4:4-7, unity among God's people has some specific aspects that we are encouraged to know and believe:

4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; 5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism,

6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. 

7 But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Ephesians 4:4-7

'One body' means one body. The body of Christ is one in God's eyes. I Corinthians 1:1-13 is a great record. Is Christ divided?

'One Spirit' means one spirit:

24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. John 4:24

God is a Spirit.  He has provided the gift of holy spirit to all people who recognize Jesus as Lord (title imparted to him by God) and believe in their OWN heart that God raised him from the dead. (Romans 10:9) It is through this wonderful gift that we can have fellowship with God AND his son.(I John 1:3-4) The spirit doesn't take the place of the resurrected Christ, it connects us to him. This is the 'one baptism':

5 For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost (holy spirit) not many days hence.

The written word integrates with this connection too. Sometimes a verse just pops up in my head out of seemingly nowhere and usually I know it is there for a reason and I know where it came from. As we read more and more of God's word, the efficacy of this results in reinforcing our believing and our peace.

Christ is present, not absent, and he is active, not just sitting around on God' right hand.  'God's right hand' is a figure of speech to give emphasis to what Jesus Christ is doing now. He is active and doing a whole lot of stuff! Why wouldn't he be building the church God gave him to have authority over. God's church is made up of human hearts not bricks, communication is vital! There is 'one Lord' over this group, not 2, 100, 5000, or 25,000. God has placed Jesus Christ in charge; that's what the title, 'One Lord', indicates.

 It is with the heart that people connect to God and his word and really get to know what he means to their life. 'One faith', one hope naturally are wrapped up with this.

22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: Romans 3:22. 

Jesus Christ is a Superstar

For the past nine years I have been  on a trek through the Old Testament. I am taking my time rather than doing the yearly schedule I used to do. Reading the Bible through in a year doesn't work at this point in my life. It is important to get a overview of the Bible and that is where a year-long schedule can help, but taking it slow teaches more about life and living. It has been great  savoring all that God thought important enough for all of us to read and understand.  It has been eye-opening to get to know the various people in biblical history and how God worked with them.


In looking at David in the books of Samuel and Psalms, it is amazing how much we can learn about his life and motivations. We can get to know people like David though God's point of view and because of that we might get to know them better than people who actually are around us.

The Old Testament is amazing. There is so much  grace and love shown to some very human people. Things, for example, like polygamy and idolatry have been puzzling.  Even more puzzling is how commentaries and theologians explain these various issues of the Old Testament.  Many times I would read about a specific event that was difficult to follow or explain so I would try looking them up in my reference books. Many times I would find 2, 3 or 4 different explanations about what was going on. It got a little discouraging trying to figure who was right until God stepped in and reminded me to keep it simple. Then it just rolled out beautifully.

A good thing to remember is that the Bible is descriptive as well as prescriptive.  Sometimes, God describes things that went on without commenting on whether they were right or wrong. I use polygamy as an example because some of the great patriarchs had multiple wives and concubines. The multiple wives of Jacob and Elkanah, David and many more examples are all described.  I know that God designed marriage in the beginning to be monogamous. That is pretty simple. Marriage should be a blessing.

Jacob's family was dysfunctional because of all the wives and their offspring. In the books of Samuel, this issue is front and center as David moved into becoming the king. It was a source of pressure and difficulty in causing factions, political maneuverings and war. God certainly doesn't advocate polygamy, but humans do human things and those human things cause messes. Those messes teach us a lot. It is as simple as that.

I was thinking about this on my walk today and all of a sudden I was humming "Jesus Christ, Superstar!" under my breath. We are so blessed to live in the New Testament era.  Jesus Christ is God's prescription for all our humanness. It is worth singing about! The Old Testament believers looked to his coming, but we have him today. When you stop and think about this and its ramifications, it puts a spring in your step. It is a big change when one thinks about the significance of the Lordship of Jesus Christ. The fact that he was raised  from the dead is enormous!  He is alive! The church that he is gathering is different from the Old Testament tabernacle and temple. In addition, Holy spirit was upon certain men and women in the Old Testament. Today holy spirit is available to all who believe.  We need to tear down the bricks and old structure, along with tossing out the passive pews and podiums in our minds in relating to God as well as how we relate to each other. It is interesting to think about what this can look like.

As I walked today, I was thankful that my trek through the Old Testament is even more meaningful through the lens of the  New Testament context. As so often happens when reading, the New Testament enriches and takes God's love and grace to a whole other level.

Anointings of David

In the books of Samuel, three anointings of David are recorded in:

I Samuel 16:12-13 (Samuel anointed David)
II Samuel 2:4 (men of Judah did the anointing)
II Samuel 5:3 (elders of Israel anointed David

When Samuel anointed David, he was a young sheep herder and Saul was the king of the Hebrews. Saul had shown that  he cared more about what the people thought rather than God. The Lord rejected Saul as king. When David was anointed with the horn of oil, the Spirit of the Lord came upon David and he certainly would need the power to do all  that God wanted him to do.

David was the youngest of the eight sons of Jesse. Three of his older brothers served in Saul's army. In the famous confrontation of Goliath, none of Saul's men had the courage to take on Goliath.  David did and got the job done, but not without some chiding from his oldest brother. Despite David's age, Saul asked to see him and David convinced him that he would take care of Goliath. Saul tried to give David his armor and sword but David did not  feel he could use them and he handled Goliath with a sling and stone:

44 And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field.45 Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.46 This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. 47 And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the Lord's, and he will give you into our hands. 1 Samuel 17:44-47

The Spirit of God was with David and he knew the outcome of the fight. He was bold and full of courage to defend God's people despite the negative in front of him. He killed Goliath.

After Saul died, David became King of Judah as recorded in II Samuel 2:4 when the men of the tribe of Judah anointed him as an acceptance of his kingship. The rest of the Israel made Saul's son king over Israel. There was a long war between the house of Saul and the house of David but eventually through a series of events, the elders of Israel came to David.

5 Then came all the tribes of Israel to David unto Hebron, and spake, saying, Behold, we are thy bone and thy flesh. 2 Also in time past, when Saul was king over us, thou wast he that leddest out and broughtest in Israel: and the Lord said to thee, Thou shalt feed my people Israel, and thou shalt be a captain over Israel. 3 So all the elders of Israel came to the king to Hebron; and king David made a league with them in Hebron before the Lord: and they anointed David king over Israel. II Samuel 5:1-3

Many things happened before all all of this could come together. A significant amount of time passed. God's overview of men's hearts and conditions surpasses  men's impatience in trying to arrange things for themselves. Saul failed as a king because he didn't wait on God and put his own fears into his kingship.  Confusion resulted. David became king over all of Israel as he carried out God's directions for the best benefit to Israel. Order resulted.

12 And David perceived that the Lord had established him king over Israel, and that he had exalted his kingdom for his people Israel's sake. II Samuel 5:12