David's Blog

Psa 57:1 To the chief Musician, Altaschith, Michtam of David, when he fled from Saul in the cave. Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast.
Psa 57:2 I will cry unto God most high; unto God that performeth all things for me.

The more I read the Psalms, the more I relate the ones David penned to blogging. It really sets my mind to imagination. I can picture him in this episode, narrowly escaping Saul, having spent the night curled up in the corner of the same cave, hiding from the one who wanted him dead.

I can picture him making this escape, tip-toeing past his pursuer, stopping to quietly cut off a bit of Saul's garment, proof of his near miss, thinking, "Boy, is this going to make a good Psalm, if I live through it!"

Later in the day, a safe distance away, he sits to pen these words: "Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast."

I think it is good to record our thoughts as God's will unfolds before us, as the events of our lives give way to praise for His providence.

For me, another work week has come to a close and I am in awe of the sovereignty of God in my life. I write this morning, refusing to be nonplussed by the plusses of the week or negated by the negatives.

I note, with David in verse 2, “God performeth all things for me.” As my preacher friend from Pittsburg says, "Only God can do these things."

What's it going to take?

Ps 51 - David's Repentance.

"Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions."

Let's not be too smug in our self righteousness. We are all sinners, some are as lost as can be, others are forgiven, but we are all still sinners. It is the nature of the bodies which house our souls.

King David, the man after God's own heart, has committed some of the most egregious sins imaginable - sloth, lust, adultery, deceit and murder. For a year, his soul has been rotting under the guilt of hypocrisy. I wonder if he had been in regular attendance at the services at the tabernacle. I imagine he had been singing the songs of Zion from a half heart as his wickedness had separated him from intimate fellowship with his God.

And then, one fateful day as timing, his misery, God's sovereignty and providence and the Prophet's chutzpah would have it, reckoning came to pass. The prophet Nathan stuck his nose in where David may have thought it didn't belong. He also stuck his long bony finger into the king's chest and said, "Thou art the man!"

Why, the holy audacity! Heads have rolled for much less. But God's man has to do God's bidding. And, thank God he was faithful. This is what it took to restore the sweet Psalmist of Israel to a right relationship with God.

I remind you, none of us are immune to our common enemy. We sin, most of us daily and possibly even more often that that. When we realize that sin is defined as the things we think, say and do that break God's law, we know that we are all miserable sinners.

My question today is, what's it going to take for us to get right with God? The burden of having broken the Savior's heart? The reality of our guilt for breaking His commands? The sorrow of having our own lives broken by the consequences of our sin? Perhaps the man of God breaking through our privacy barrier to confront us with our offense?

God may use any of these methods, or a combination thereof. But in any case, it is the goodness of God that leadeth us to repentance.

Thank God that He never gives up on His own. He won't put up with us willfully staying out of fellowship with Him. He will do what it takes to bring the Prodigal back home.

If you are away from the Lord right now, what's it going to take to get you right with God?

E-Gads!!! (and E-Reubens!)

Num 32:23 But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out.

The tribes of Reuben, Gad and half of Manassah approached Moses to petition that they be allowed to stay on the east side of the Jordan and have an inheritance there, rather than in the Promised Land. Their reasoning was that they had so many cattle and that land was good cattle land. Gad, by the way, means a troop or a crowd.

Moses was angered at the request by this crowd. It was definitely not part of his agenda, for which he had worked the past 40 years.

But these 2 and 1/2 tribes proffered a plan, the men would go into the land, conquer and divide it with the rest of Israel and then return to their people east of Jordan. Moses decided he could live with that, as long as they held up their end of the bargain.

We can well relate to this story. The Jews in the wilderness are a type of the church in this world. It is to be unified and strong. Splits and division are to be avoided whenever possible. Only in God's plan should division for greater good occur.

One example may be planting a partner church across town. A pastor, like Moses was to Israel, is rightfully agitated when a body is about to separate. But He is thrilled when it means that God's work is increased.

May our church (and yours) work together to become so successful that we are able to divide and conquer the land.

Thou Shalt Have No Other Gods Before Me!

Num 33:4 For the Egyptians buried all their firstborn, which the LORD had smitten among them: upon their gods also the LORD executed judgments.

It is well known that each of the miraculous plagues sent upon the Egyptians were a direct attack against their gods.

That makes me think of the gods we "sophisticated" people tend to prostrate ourselves before; cash, cars, careers, etc.

I firmly believe that our great and jealous God will only put up with our idolatrous ways for so long before He begins to strike out against them.

Perhaps today, each of us could examine our lives to see if we are committing idolatry and get it out of the way of a wonderful relationship with Him.

Remember, the Devil only pays us in counterfeit bills.

Godly Jealousy

Num 31:1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Num 31:2 Avenge the children of Israel of the Midianites: afterward shalt thou be gathered unto thy people.
Num 31:3 And Moses spake unto the people, saying, Arm some of yourselves unto the war, and let them go against the Midianites, and avenge the LORD of Midian.

The Israelites, by God's direction, launched an attack against Midian in revenge for Midian's degradation of Israel in chapter 25, culminating with the following verses;

Num 25:16 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Num 25:17 Vex the Midianites, and smite them:
Num 25:18 For they vex you with their wiles, wherewith they have beguiled you in the matter of Peor, and in the matter of Cozbi, the daughter of a prince of Midian, their sister, which was slain in the day of the plague for Peor's sake.

As a result, they took the spoils, or booty of them the following; 675,000 sheep, 72,000 cattle, 61,000 donkeys and 32,000 virgin girls.

This is so dramatic, so drastic. Yet, it shows the tremendous jealousy God has over His people. He wants NOTHING to come between Himself and His own. He wants NOTHING to usurp our allegiance to Him. If God went to these lengths to destroy the Midianites and to preserve His people, I can only imagine the battle that transpires between God and the enemy to preserve our fidelity to Him.

God, Who bought us with His dear Son's blood, is deserving of our loyalty and we should be sober and guarded of the relationship He desires to build with us.

God, let nothing come between me and you today. Allow me to be alert to the devil's devices. May our fellowship be strengthened today. Help me to be as jealous over your sheep as you are over me. In Jesus' name, Amen!

There Was Not a Man Left of Them

Num 26:65 For the LORD had said of them, They shall surely die in the wilderness. And there was not left a man of them, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun.

Caleb and Joshua distinguished themselves from the rest of the Jews in the wilderness by believing in God and acting by faith on His Word.

Imagine, 2 out of 600,000 men in the wilderness who believed God, and thereby pleased Him. Hebrews tells us that without faith, it is impossible to please God.

Jesus asked the rhetorical question, when the Son of Man returns, will He find faith on the earth?

It makes you wonder if there will be one man, woman, boy or girl left of us with true faith in God. Honestly, I don't see a whole lot of it among the people I know. Lip-service type faith, there is plenty of that. But the kind of faith that moves mountains in issues related to the salvation of souls, the spiritual prosperity of the church, health, relational and financial, etc., I don't see a whole lot of it.

God is looking for faith to be expressed among His children, will there be one left among us who will not die in the wilderness of unbelief?

What Hath God Wrought?

What hath God wrought! Numbers 23:23

A great nation out of an undeserving people led by an unlikely leader in an unusual manner. He fashioned warriors out of slaves, winners out of whiners, lions out of lambs (24).

As impotent as we are, God is always omnipotent. I take great solace in this.