The Original Intent

Have you ever got away from the original intent of something?

My confession to you today is have and I did  and have.  I have gotten away from the original intent of this blog.    I have been posting consistently for sometime now (I did not take the time to go back and look and see how long) and in doing so I lost the original intents of the blog.  The sub title of this blog is “my thoughts on God, pastoring, leadership, and life” and I have not shared any real thoughts in these areas in the past few months or even a year.  To me, that is sad.  Really what has happened over the past year or so is that  I have basically relegated this blog to a daily devotional.  I have nothing against a daily devotional but it is not what I feel or felt lead to do but it was something that came easy – so I did it.  So that is going to end -  NOW.

I am now intent on moving back to what my original thoughts were and so here is my plan.  I plan to write things each week that will reflect what I have in written in the subtitle.  I am going to write things in relationship to what I am experiencing in my relationship with God (including questions from the Bible).  I am going to write about what it is like to be a solo Pastor which means the only pastor on staff in a church because it brings about pressures and stresses that are different from a multi-staff church (I have worked in a multi-staff church and now and a solo pastor).  I am going to write about areas of leadership in the church, in the home, and in other areas of life.  I am going to write about life itself and how I make it through the good and the tough times.

As you can see I changed the look of the blog and I did so as a fresh start and a reminder for me to get back and stay connected to the original intent.  The question will be how often will I post – the plan is three times per week –sometimes more and sometimes less. 

I am having a number of wrestles right now with a number of things related to social media and this is the start of me getting back to what I think to be a manageable level.

Have you ever got away from the original intent of something?

Forgiveness is a Tough Word

Forgiveness is a tough word. 

I have been hurt deeply in my life and with that and my knowledge of God’s Word makes forgiveness an even tougher word.

Here is short synopsis of why forgiveness is in my thoughts right now.  I was working in a church years ago and I was deeply hurt by  the way some things handled in relation to and how I was leaving the church.  Now it is a few years later, I have got to go back to that church soon to do a memorial service for a dear friend who is dying of cancer.  Knowing I am returning there has really made me think a lot about forgiveness and questioning whether I have forgiven those who have hurt me so deeply.

In thinking at forgiveness, the Lord’s prayer has come to my mind – you my wonder why the Lord’s Prayer.  Let us look at it and it is found in Matthew 6:9-13 and then I will explain why is came to my mind.

"Pray, then, in this way: `Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. `Your kingdom come. Your  will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.  `Give us this day our daily bread.  `And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.  And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

I want you to notice verse 12 because it is about forgiveness, which is why the this portion of Scripture came to my mind.  In looking closer at this verse, the word debts here could be sins.  And that means verse 12 could read like this “And forgive us our sins, as we also have forgiven those who sin against us”.  That is quite the attitude to have because we are asking others to forgive as we forgive.  If we forgive people greatly then we will be forgiven greatly.  Now with that in mind I want to jump to verses 14 and 15 of Matthew 6.

"For  if you forgive others  for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if  you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.”

Of all that is written in the Lord’s prayer I want you to notice that Jesus chose to explain the forgiveness aspect of the prayer.  In my mind, Jesus pointing this out shows the definite importance of it..  Jesus says in these verses if you forgive, you will be forgiven of your sins but if you do not forgive then you will not be forgiven.  What I see here is that forgiveness is required for those who have been forgiven and that would be all of us who have been forgiven of so very much. 

Something to make note of is this:  none of us are given the option of holding on to our bitterness towards other people.  What I think Jesus teaches here and throughout his ministry and what is taught throughout the Bible is this – Forgiveness is not an option! That is some pretty powerful stuff that Jesus is telling us! Let me ask, do you treat it as an option in your life or do you freely forgive?

We need to forgive others for all that they have done to us.  You can put away that “but you do not know what they did, said, or whatever” you have rolling through your thoughts now because Jesus has forgiven us of so much. 

So as I head  to do this Memorial Service for my friend and I see the people who have hurt me so deeply,  the question I am facing is do I forgive freely and especially knowing what the Word of God tells me?

How tough is forgiveness for you?

Enjoying My Week!

I am in Nags Head in North Carolina this week with just my wife, daughter, and son.  It is the first vacation in about 5 years where it has been just the four of us – we have have gone with family or to a family members home in the past several years when going on vacation.  I am looking forward to a great week with my wife, daughter and son and building memories – my daughter is 16 and who knows how many more vacation we will have with just the four of us because of jobs, friends, and college.  With all that – this is most likely the only post you will see from me this week although  I will probably send out a tweet now and that will most likely be a picture of  how much fun I am having or how beautiful it is here but that is about it.  I am off now to do some reading and then off to the beach….. enjoy your week because I know I am going to enjoy mine!

Choices Of The Heart

We have spent time looking David and Bathsheba this week.  We started looking at David’s poor choices in verses 1 and 2  here and here and now we will seem them continue in  verses 3 and 4.  Look at verses 3 and 4: So David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, "Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?" David sent messengers and took her, and when she came to him, he lay with her; and when she had purified herself from her uncleanness, she returned to her house.

You see David could have ended this whole thing  by making the choice to turn away from looking at Bathsheba but he does not do that, rather he embraces the temptation. David asks about her and learned she came from a notable family. Her father was Eliam, one of David’s Mighty Men and the wife of another of his Mighty Men – Uriah. He also would then know her husband was away, because the Mighty Men were away in battle against the Ammonites. This knowledge made the situation far more tempting. David most likely began to think, "I could get away having her at least for a night." His poor choices are piling up!

In this we see the man after God’s heart went against God’s heart, following through on his lustful impulse. David ignored every warning and way of escape God set before him. Just think about all this and know that David knew better! He is fifty years old and he has been King in Israel for twenty years. He is a man who has sought God, a mighty warrior for God, and the man after God’s own heart but we then see that he made the saddest of choices when he brought Bathsheba into his bed and he committed adultery with another man’s wife! He dishonors her; her husband; his wives and, most of all, he dishonors God.

What we see is that in all of his poor choices is that David has forgotten his relationship with God. The sin of lust has blinded him to the point where David has become a practical atheist. He is living as if there were no God! His choice to feed his lust is standing so tall in his heart that it has blocked the face of God from view!

I am sure that David and Bathsheba enjoyed the pleasures of their affair. We read in Proverbs 9:17, “Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant,” We will see as we continue looking at this that David will pay for his moment of pleasure with the rest of his life being filled with pain!

David forgot God and if you make poor choices, you will forget about Him too! When poor choices rise up in your heart, you will be unable to see God! When that happens, you will find yourself doing things that you never thought possible. You will find yourself doing the very things you said you would never do. You will find yourself filling your life with painful consequences. That is why it is so important that the choices we make in life are the right ones. That is why it is so important to keep your heart and mind clean and clear before God. It is important to always consider the consequences of your choices before you ever make them. Consider each word you speak, each picture you look at, each website you go to, each song you listen to, each show or movie you watch – it is a good choice or a poor one. Consider what it is doing to you – consider the consequences to the choices you are making. Always keep in mind that the choices you make – make you.

If David thought about all this maybe he would have understood how great the cost was and maybe he did but maybe the cost was so much greater than understood at the time. Would it have made a difference if David knew that this pursuit of pleasure would result in: an unwanted pregnancy, the murder of another, his baby dying, his daughter raped by his son, one son murdered by another son, a civil war led by one of his sons, a son who imitates David’s lack of self-control and it leads him and much of Israel away from God. Do you think this would have made a difference in the choices David made? Does it make a difference in your life to know that there are consequences for your behaviors? Do you know that your sinful choices will have consequences? Do you care?  Do you consider your choices – I mean really consider them? All choices have consequences be they positive or negative – all choices have consequences.

What are three things you do before you make an important choice?  What other thoughts do have on all this?

From An Insult?

Let us move forward in 2nd Samuel 10.  Yesterday we looked at verses 1-5 and and how a nice gesture was seen as an insult.  Today we are going to pick up with verse 6 and cover through verse 12 and see the results of the misinterpretation of a nice gesture.  I think if you take the time to read today you will find some interesting applications to your life. 

Let us begin with verse 6: Now when the sons of Ammon saw that they had become odious to David, the sons of Ammon sent and hired the Arameans of Beth-rehob and the Arameans of Zobah, 20,000 foot soldiers, and the king of Maacah with 1,000 men, and the men of Tob with 12,000 men.  What is this saying? Basically what we read here is that Hanun and his advisors realized their foolish blunder and so the panic-filled Ammonite king hires 33,000 foreign soldiers to help him repel the anticipated Israelite attack. Here is what we find when we read this story in 1 Chronicles 19:6 – When the sons of Ammon saw that they had made themselves odious to David, Hanun and the sons of Ammon sent 1,000 talents of silver to hire for themselves chariots and horsemen from Mesopotamia, from Aram-maacah and from Zobah. So what we are seeing is that He paid 1000 talents of silver to hire these troops from the north to come and fight his battle for his lack of judgment. In a way he is trying to cover his sin with his own might and power – is that how you try to cover yours or do you go to God with it?

So what then is David’s response to this: 7 When David heard of it, he sent Joab and all the army, the mighty men. 8 The sons of Ammon came out and drew up in battle array at the entrance of the city, while the Arameans of Zobah and of Rehob and the men of Tob and Maacah were by themselves in the field.

David now gets Joab in place as well as his mighty men and he is ready to go to battle. David is now put into the position where he is going to take care of this situation that started out as a nice gesture and was thought of as an insult and now will end with a war.

Look at what the Ammonites do here. You have them doing a double deployment with Ammonites coming out of the city, then you have the 33,000 northerners coming down and with that you have Joab and the armed forces crunched in between. What you have is a tight spot for Joab but he is a great military mind and leader so what will he do?

Let us look on: 9 Now when Joab saw that the battle was set against him in front and in the rear, he selected from all the choice men of Israel, and arrayed them against the Arameans. 10 But the remainder of the people he placed in the hand of Abishai his brother, and he arrayed them against the sons of Ammon. 11 He said, "If the Arameans are too strong for me, then you shall help me, but if the sons of Ammon are too strong for you, then I will come to help you. 12 "Be strong, and let us show ourselves courageous for the sake of our people and for the cities of our God; and may the LORD do what is good in His sight."

So what we see is that Joab saw that the battle line was against him and before him and behind him. As the army of the mighty men approached the Ammonite city they found themselves surrounded. In front of them were the Ammonites in battle array at the entrance of the gate. Behind them were the Arameans in the field. It looked bad for the army of Israel here.

Joab had only one strategy in battle – attack. Many generals would consider surrender when surrounded on both sides by the enemy, but not Joab. He called the army to courage and faith and told them to press on.

We see verse 12 which says, Be strong, and let us show ourselves courageous for the sake of our people and for the cities of our God; and may the LORD do what is good in His sight. Joab here is giving the men a pep talk and in reality a great speech before the battle and as they are surrounded. He makes at least three great points.

First he said, Be strong, and let us show ourselves courageous – Courage and strength are not matters of feeling and circumstance. They are matters of choice, especially when God makes His strength available to us. We can be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might as seen in Ephesians 6:10. This is a call to all of us to be strong and courageous! Let us step out of the every day lives we life and begin to live the courageous Christian life!

Then he said, For the sake of our people and for the cities of our God – Joab called them to remember all they had to lose. If they lost this battle they would lose both their people and their cities. This was a battle bigger than them, and the army of the mighty men had to remember that. In our Christian life we need to remember that people die and go to a Christless eternity (Hell) – this Christian life is bigger than our preferences, our thoughts, and our desires. It is all about Christ and His name being lifted on high and not out what we like or don’t like be it a song, a style, or whatever. This battle is about people in the communities we live in dying and going to hell. Let us always keep that in focus.

Finally he said, And may the LORD do what is good in His sight – Joab wisely prepared for the battle to the best of his ability and worked hard for the victory. At the same time, he knew that the outcome was ultimately in God’s hands. We need to prepare ourselves and do all God calls us to do and if we do that, we are doing right things. If we are not doing all for God that we can and we are not preparing ourselves then we are sadly falling short. Can you look God in the eye and tell him that right now you are doing all you can for Him and preparing like you should?

Who gave the best inspirational speech you ever heard?

Kindness, Grace, and Generosity (Part 3)

We are moving forward in 2nd Samuel 9 and looking at the kindness, grace, and generosity of David toward Mephibosheth.  We will look at verses 7 and 8 today but before we do, let us be reminded that yesterday we looked at how Mephibosheth was hiding out and would have been fearful that David would be wanting to kill when David called for him.  Let us see what happens when he comes before David." ⁷ David said to him, "Do not fear, for I will surely show kindness to you for the sake of your father Jonathan, and will restore to you all the land of your grandfather Saul; and you shall eat at my table regularly." ⁸ Again he prostrated himself and said, "What is your servant, that you should regard a dead dog like me?"

The first thing we read is that David did away with Mephibosheth’s fear. David gave him all that was his and more.  David gave him all the land that was his grandfather Saul’s. David also brings him to his table to eat. This one who is lame and worthless in society is now going to be eating at the King’s table and he now has land. David went against the custom that would have been to kill and blessed him instead. This one who society said should be his enemy David choose to bless. 

David did more than that by allowing him to eat at his table he gave him the privilege of being in his presence continually.  What that would mean would be that in essence he was added into the family. He was being treated like an adopted son which he actually calls him in verse 11.

So how does Mephibosheth react?  Mephibosheth reacts by telling David that he is not worthy of such an honor. He calls himself a dead dog which is a pretty bad thing at that time. In the Jewish culture dogs were repulsive, disgusting, something to be despised. Calling yourself a dead dog in those days would carry the connotation today of saying, "I’m just a road killed skunk – a smashed cockroach." He sees himself as worthless when he was heir to the throne! What happened was because he was crippled, society at that time would have taught him that he was worthless and unfortunately he believed them. He was at one point in time the rightful heir to the throne but did not live like it until David brought him to that point.

God says you’re an heir to the kingdom – do you live like it? You are an adopted son or daughter of God’s but do you live like it? Do not believe society when they tell you that you are worthless or do you keep in your mind that you are a priceless child of the king and an heir to the thrown of God?  These are questions that we need to wrestle with and find your answers in God and in His Word.

What does it mean to you that you are a son or daughter of God?

Proverbs 7–The Advice And The Lady

My friend Chris Goforth is doing something cool in the month of June which is he is having a guest write a post on each chapter of Proverbs.  I was honored when he asked me to write for June 7th which would be Proverbs chapter 7.  I shared some thoughts over at his blog.  Make the jump over and read it and comment.  http://goforthsjournal.wordpress.com/2011/06/07/proverbs-chapter-7/

Also keep going back – the first six days have been great and I am sure the rest of the month will be great – plus Chris writes great stuff himself!

If you are on twitter Chris has some wonderful stuff there too so follow him – http://twitter.com/#!/pacnwdadof6

Make the jump over now……

Death of a Dream (Part 2)

Continuing on with where we left off yesterday in looking at the death of David’s dream of building a temple for God. Yesterday we saw that when God says no to something that you want to do for him that He will do something even more amazing.

2nd Samuel 7:10 And I have provided a permanent homeland for my people Israel, a secure place where they will never be disturbed. It will be their own land where wicked nations won’t oppress them as they did in the past, 11 from the time I appointed judges to rule my people. And I will keep you safe from all your enemies. ‘And now the LORD declares that he will build a house for you—a dynasty of kings! 12 For when you die, I will raise up one of your descendants, and I will make his kingdom strong. 13 He is the one who will build a house—a temple—for my name. And I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be his father, and he will be my son. If he sins, I will use other nations to punish him. 15 But my unfailing love will not be taken from him as I took it from Saul, whom I removed before you. 16 Your dynasty and your kingdom will continue for all time before me, and your throne will be secure forever.’" 17So Nathan went back to David and told him everything the LORD had said.

What we have here in this portion of Scripture is something called the Davidic Covenant. What is it? This is an unconditional covenant made between God and David through which God promises David and Israel that the Messiah would come from the lineage of David and the tribe of Judah and would establish a kingdom that would endure forever as seen in verses 10-13. The Davidic Covenant is unconditional because God does not place any conditions of obedience upon its fulfillment. The surety of the promises made rests solely on God’s faithfulness and does not depend at all on David or Israel’s obedience.

The Davidic Covenant centers on several key promises that are made to David.

1) God reaffirms the promise of the land that He made in the first two covenants with Israel which are the Abrahamic and Mosaic Covenants. This promise is seen in 2 Samuel 7:10, “Moreover I will appoint a place for My people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own and move no more; nor shall the sons of wickedness oppress them anymore, as previously.”

2) God promises that David’s descendant or “seed” will succeed him as king of Israel and that David’s throne will be established forever. This promise is seen in verses 12-13, "I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.” This is a reference to the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ.

The provisions of the covenant are summarized in 2 Samuel 7:16, “And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever.” The promise that David’s “house,” “kingdom” and “throne” will be established forever is significant because it shows that the Messiah will come from the lineage of David and that He will establish a kingdom from which He will reign. The covenant is summarized by the words “house,” promising a dynasty in the lineage of David; “kingdom,” referring to a people who are governed by a king; “throne,” emphasizing the authority of the king’s rule; and “forever,” emphasizing the eternal and unconditional nature of this promise to David and Israel.

So again there are two promises for David:

1) God will provide a permanent place for the Israelites to live.

2) God will build David a house or in other words a dynasty will come from David’s line. What this is saying is that David would live on long after his death. Funny how David wanted to build God a house but God said no thank you but I will build you a house! What we see here is God honored David’s sincere intentions.

Each of these great promises was partially fulfilled in Solomon, David’s son and successor to his throne.

· Solomon ruled on David’s throne

· God’s mercies never departed from Solomon, though he sinned

· Solomon built God a magnificent house

God’s promises to David are completely fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

· Jesus does reign, and will reign on David’s throne forever

· The Father’s mercies never departed from Jesus, even when He was made sin for us

· Jesus is building the Father a magnificent house as we read in 1 Corinthians 6:19 and we are God’s temples as read in 1 Peter 2:5 and the church is God’s new house. We also see Christ fitting in to these as well as the prophets foretold of fulfillment of these promises that are seen in the life of Christ. This covenant here had a double meaning; all these things fit Christ as well as Solomon. God promised that the Christ would come through the line of David and He did. God truly blessed David in the middle of saying no to his dream!

Have you ever had God say no to a dream of yours?  If so, what was it and did God give you something even better?

Compromise?

I have mentioned before that I love the shows where people bring in old items and you learn the history and value of the items people have.  One of my favorite shows is Pawn Star.  On Pawn Stars one  of the things that I love is interviews they do with people before they enter the shop.  The people say how much they hope to get for their items and then they say what their bottom line will be.

One of the things I find so interesting is that people will give a number they will not go below and well over half the time they are walking out having taken the cash for less than what they said they would do.  They say one thing then do another.  Why do they do this?

I think part of this answer is lies in the fact that people are greedy.  I think part of the answer lies in the fact that people are willing to compromise on their word.  I also see that people have a tendency to think that their things are  worth more than they actually are.

Think about us for a moment.  How often do we say what the bottom line on things.  We say that when we get to this point then we will stop doing a problematic action, or a sin, or we will start doing something.  When we get to that point we do not stop or start what we say much of the time.  We say we will do one thing and then do another.  Why do we do this?

I think the answer lies in many areas.  It is because we compromise on what we believe.  We also do not think our sinful or problem areas are as bad so we make excuses to continue.  I think some of it lies in the fact of a thing called pride and it keeps us from getting the help we need.

Proverbs 18:12 – Before his downfall a man’s heart is proud, but humility comes before honor.

How do you do with a bottom line?  Are you able to do what you say or do compromise for one reason or another?

I have Tumors!

I have tumors – really and honestly – I have a whole host of them throughout my body.

Now these tumors are called lipomas.  You might wonder what a lipoma is so here  …..

You can read the rest of this here  at Hardcore Christian Men – Thanks to the guys over there for giving me the opportunity to post over there!  Now make the jump.