So…yesterday I had two separate occasions to “hoard” something that I really didn’t need, but instead I gave it away…cheerfully! Because I read yesterday how generous David was, and I want to be like that. I wonder how my life and habits will change based on what I read today…
“Don’t recite my decrees and pretend to obey while you do the opposite of what I commanded you.” Lord, I pray that my obedience will never be fake or contrived. I pray that the extent to which I am obedient to you is sufficient to please you.
“Thankfulness is a sacrifice that truly honors me” It’s a wonderful thing to give generously to the Lord. I believe that our generosity brings blessings on top of blessings…some for us, and some for others. “You cannot outgive the Lord”. 2 Cor 6:6-9
The most wonderful of all blessings is the receipt of wisdom from God. Specifically the wisdom that keeps us “on the path”. This first psalm says “Stay on the path and salvation will be revealed”. Lord, I pray that as I do my best to remain faithful to you, you would continue to be pleased with my actions, my words and my thoughts. I ask that you would forgive my indiscretions, I acknowledge they are sin and need your forgiveness. I ask that you would continue to make your path evident to me, and that I would have the good sense to walk in it. Help me to find the good way, and walk in it. Thank you for all that you do. Thank you for what you are doing that I am unaware of, and please forgive the inadequacies of my feeble attempts at praise.
I have a friend who says that April 1st is a religious holiday for atheists. (April fools day…the fool says in his heart…. nevermind)
That may make you wince, or make you smile…but what the Bible is saying is absolutely true. If we believe that there isn’t a God who created, sustained, judges, rewards and punishes…then we have made a very foolish decision. A foolish person challenges a mother bear, sticks a screwdriver in an electrical outlet, cuts off the limb they are standing on. They are called “foolish” because there are obvious consequences to every one of those actions. Someone might do it once, but everyone who sees what happens learns the obvious lesson and avoids the error….except the fool. The fool doesn’t seem to ever grasp the lesson, and repeats the same mistake, often perishing in the process.
We should feel sad for the fool, because the future is bleak for them. Ironically, each man is only a fool to the extent that he chooses to be. God has provided enough prevenient grace (grace that goes before salvation) to help us recognize that there is in fact a God, that God loves us, and that God is authentic. Creation testifies, the natural order, the galaxy, the single cell…all testify. Our neighbors testify, antiquity testifies…and God himself testifies. Feel sad for the fool, but at the same time recognize that the fool has chosen to be foolish. This isn’t a case of mocking the handicapped, this is wincing at the neighbor who refuses to listen to common sense, and hurts himself.
It looks like everyone is taking credit for the slaughter of the Edomites in the Valley of Salt. Joab just added his name to the list, along with his brother and king David. When reading these accounts it might be helpful to remember that Israel sits on a geological fault line, which shakes the country about every 80 years or so. I wonder if something like that happened about the time of battle (shaken the land, split it open) or was the author speaking metaphorically (Saul had divided the land, worship of true God will seal the cracks)
Along with everything else that is discussed, there is a theme of “victory comes from and through God alone”. I need to remember that the battle isn’t mine, it’s the Lords. I don’t need to get even, or to have the last word, or to be proven right. Whatever happens is God’s battle.
Well, maybe there’s something in all of that for you today. There certainly was for me. I will be praising more, for sure.
Faithfully,
PR