God Encounters / The Final Installment

Today is last post in a 6 week series of posts on God Encounters.  I hope this series has encouraged and uplifted you.

As we finish it out will look at the encounter that God had with Saul who later becomes the apostle Paul. Look to Acts 9 and get picture of what happened and how God encountered Saul.  Click here to read Acts 9:1-25.  We have  looked at that we should never forget that unbelievers can change and be converted and once someone is converted it should become “not I but Christ”  and that should show clearly in our lives.  Our lives should also reflect the fact that Jesus wants us to know Him intimately and when that happens we are transformed by knowing Him.   We also saw that there are times when we look foolish to others because we are following the wisdom of God.  That then leads to these last few thoughts.

Something else that we need to focus on; an encounter with God should take away our pride and humble us. Every person wants to sit upon the throne of their own life. We are all driven by selfish or egotistical goals – that is all of us – and that is what happens when Jesus is not where he should be in your life or mine. However, Jesus Christ wants to sit upon the throne of our life – He wants you to allow Him to be in control and drive. Jesus needs to be in the drives seat – we are NOT his co-pilot and He is NOT ours – we need to be in the backseat saying nothing and enjoying the ride! The arrogant Saul who met Jesus Christ could say for the rest of his life, "Not I but Christ" which is what he said in Galatians 2:20. For all of us – we need to rid ourselves of saying me, my, and I but make it about Christ and others! Pride is a self focus and humility is an others focus! How many times do you say me, my, or I each day? I dare you to count and I promise you will be astounded by the number times you say them and the subjects you say me, my, and I about. Me, my, and I pushed God out of whatever you use those words with! What are you pushing God out of?

Something else here I want you to notice and that is Saul was not the only one who was encountered by God in this story! God has some people who will help to explain to us our encounter with Him. There was a believer in Damascus called Ananias that was not previously mentioned in Scripture and interestingly he is never mentioned again. Apparently, Ananias is encountered by God and raised up for this one shining moment in life. Ananias was to help Saul in his crucial encounter with Jesus Christ. Ananias was a man whose main stage moment in life was this one thing and it was so very important! He had to step in and show Saul the meaning in what happened to him. Here is the thing – it is not an easy thing to do and in order to do it you must be one who is read up in the Word of God and one who is prayed up in the power of Christ. I believe Ananias to be a very godly man and one who is faithful because he was called to do something powerful in his encounter with Christ and something that was extremely hard!

I am reminded in some ways of Phillip and the eunuch in Acts 8:30 -31 where we read: 30 Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 31 And he said, “Well, how could I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. Are you connected with Jesus to the point where you could sit with someone and help them find Christ? Are you a person who has a positive reputation among people to come and talk with – without them feeling judged or condemned? Are you someone who has an open heart and attitude for God to encounter you and call you to speak with someone? Ananias was and God called him to do something very hard.

Ananias was initially afraid because he had heard about the reputation of Saul. He knew what Saul was like and what Saul had done and was going to be doing but now God encounters him to go and meet Saul and lay hands on him and pray for him. God is asking him to do something that was unpleasant and potentially deadly because he did not know if Saul was faking being a Christian to just learn who the Christians were or not! We can learn a lesson in this and that is: in an encounter sometimes God gives us a task that is unpleasant. God gave Ananias a task that was for certain unpleasant but in that task God gave him the strength and courage to do it and great blessing came as a result. We see that Ananias obeyed and went to Saul and then laid hands on him and prayed for his healing. God used Ananias to deliver a message to Saul that he was to be the apostle to the Gentiles. We see an example of someone we need to be like! I challenge you to think about yourself – are you willing to do the hard and unpleasant task if God encounters you to do so?

Has God ever encountered you to do something unpleasant?  How did it work out?  Any thoughts on the series?

God Encounters / Foolishness

We have been looking at the encounter that God had Saul who later becomes the apostle Paul in the last couple of posts. Look to Acts 9 and get picture of what happened and how God encountered Saul.  Click here to read Acts 9:1-25.  We have  looked at that we should never forget that unbelievers can change and be converted and once someone is converted it should become “not I but Christ”  and that should show clearly in our lives.  Our lives should also reflect the fact that Jesus wants us to know Him intimately and when that happens we are transformed by knowing Him. That then leads to these next couple of thoughts.

Sometimes we can’t explain the experience of what happened in an encounter, we can only testify to the transforming power of Jesus Christ. It is all about the transforming power of Christ in our lives! On two occasions in his life, Saul gave testimony of his conversion on the Damascus road. In neither of those testimonies did he try to explain what happened in the experience. He emphasized the radical transformation in his life. Before he was converted, he was a Christ-hating Jew who wanted to persecute the Church and after he met Jesus Christ, he became a preacher of the gospel and proclaimer of Christ. Saul became someone focused on the right things in life and that is what a transformed life is – it is going from a wrong focus to a right one. Paul writes this so well in Philippians 1:21 "For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain” That is the right focus because it is all about Christ!

That brings about this point: People around us don’t understand what is happening when we encounter Christ. The people with Saul did not understand what Saul heard or saw. Acts 22:9 records Paul saying this; “And those who were with me saw the light, to be sure, but did not understand the voice of the One who was speaking to me.” They knew something happened but what happened they did not know. When we meet Jesus Christ, we march to a different drumbeat. Our friends who do not know Jesus Christ – should do not understand our motives, or our objectives. If you have people who are not believers in Christ understanding everything you do then you might not be living like you should! If the world understand every decision that the church you attend and I attend then we might be making worldly decisions and not faith decisions. Consider what Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 1:18-27  – NAS -18 For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, And the cleverness of the clever I will set aside.”

20 Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. 22 For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; 23 but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, 24 but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

26 For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; 27 but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong.

So if people understand everything that we are doing as individuals or as a churches, then we need to begin to rethink where we are getting our wisdom and what it is we are doing! We need to do things God’s way and not ours and God’s way will look foolish to those who do not know him.

What do you think?  Do you think people should understand the things we do as individuals or churches?  Why or why not?

God Encounters / Transformed

We, in the the last post, started looking at the encounter that God had Saul who later becomes the apostle Paul. Look to Acts 9 and get picture of what happened and how God encountered Saul.  Click here to read Acts 9:1-25.  In the last post we looked at knowing that unbelievers can change and be converted and once someone is converted it should become “not I but Christ”  and that should show clearly in our lives.  That then leads to the next thoughts along these lines..

Here is the truth of the matter; Jesus wants us to know Him for who He is. When Jesus encountered Saul on the road to Damascus, He did not give reasons nor did he try to re-interpret Old Testament Scriptures. Jesus simply told Saul in verse 5, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting ". Meeting Jesus was enough to transform Saul’s life and it is enough to transform yours! Jesus encounters us so that we can really get to know who he is! Paul writes in Philippians 3:10 – that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death. Do you know Him like this? Do you know His power? Do you see his power in your life? If someone were to ask you to prove you know Jesus like this, what would you say? Would you say you go to church? Would you say pray and read the Bible sometimes? Would you say you listen to Christian radio? Those things are all good but I do not think they are proof of knowing Jesus – a transformed life is proof – you are different today than you were yesterday because of the power of Christ in your life! You speak differently, you talk about Christ and not other people, you have the joy of the Lord in your heart and written all over your face! That is how people will know you have been transformed! Again I ask – could someone look at your actions, words, behaviors and see that you know Him and that you have been transformed by Jesus? If you are a believer in Christ, I pray so!

Here is the real deal; after an encounter with Jesus, our life is pointed in a different direction. Obviously, Saul was coming to Damascus to arrest Christians. But after encountering Jesus Christ, he began preaching as we read in verse 20, He was preaching “immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God ". Saul did the opposite in Damascus for which he came – he came to arrest but then preached. Are you living in the opposite manor as you were before you met Jesus? Are you living a little bit different or are you radically different! We need to be radically different from what we once were – that is transformation and that is the transformation we see here with Saul! He is radically transformed! Have you been radically transformed by Christ?

What would you say are evidences of a transformed life?  Any other thoughts to share?

God Encounters / Not I But…

We have been discussing God encounters over the past six weeks or so of posts and we will finish this series up this week. Before anything else let me remind you that the most important God encounter you can have is where you meet Jesus and you understand His work on the cross. It is an encounter where you are transformed and changed by the power of God. It will change everything and give you a purpose in life. After that there are other encounters we can have with God where He shows us things like direction in life or seeing Him in fresh and new ways or where he confronts sin and sinful attitude or pushes us reach out beyond our borders to new people or where He restores us or where He completely transforms our lives. God encounters are where we have an overwhelming sense of the presence and power of God in our lives and they happen when we have an open heart and attitude toward God.

We have talked about a number of people who had encounters. We talked about Jacob and how he encountered God and left being reminded who God was and what He has done for him. We talked about Elijah who was discouraged and who encountered God and God reminded of the future in front of him and the hope that was in front of him. We talked about Ezekiel and his encounters and how God called him to do some seemingly crazy things and how Ezekiel’s dream died but how God gave him a new dream, new vision, and a new passion which he got because of his trusting God. We talked about the woman at the well and how she encountered Jesus and how he transformed her life and how she told everyone she could about Jesus and encouraged them to encounter Him for themselves. The last week we talked about how Jesus encountered Peter after he denied Christ and backslid and how in the encounter with Jesus, Peter was restored to his ministry because of his repentant heart and honest response to God. We have seen that God encounters people for a variety of reasons and it always radically changes the person and they are always better people because of their encounter with God.

Today we are going to start looking at the encounter that God had Saul who later becomes the apostle Paul. Look to Acts 9 and get picture of what happened and how God encountered Saul.  Click here to read Acts 9:1-25.

This is a passage that many, if not all of you have read before – so let me remind you – do not lose the wonder of what happens here. Saul a Jewish member of the Sanhedrin became Saul the Apostle to the Gentiles – his name had not yet changed to Paul. Saul persecuted Christians, after his conversion, the Jews tried to kill him in Damascus and then in Jerusalem. He went everywhere planting churches, and Jews followed him to criticize . . . arrest . . . stone . . . and attempt to assassinate him. Without a doubt, the man who encountered Christ on the road to Damascus became the most influential name in the spread of Christianity. The encounter with Christ motivated him to sacrificial service. He preached the gospel, wrote letters, trained disciples and influenced the future direction of all of Christianity.

What can we learn from his encounter Christ that will help us? What are the important lessons for us to learn so we can encounter Christ in this way?

The first thing is this: An unbelieving person can encounter Christ and be transformed. Before Saul took the trip to Damascus, he was not converted. But in a transforming experience he met Jesus Christ, and was transformed. Not only was his personality transformed, his theology was transformed, and his purpose in life was transformed. This shows us that an unbeliever can be transformed and we need never lose sight of this and it is a sad time if or when do.

The thing is this; the call for all is tell those who do not know Christ how to find Him. Sometimes we have been believers so long that we forget what it is like to be an unbeliever. So instead of reaching out to the unbelievers in love, we condemn them. Instead of shining our light into the darkness, we condemn the darkness. We, many times, forget that an unbeliever can encounter Christ and will be transformed when they do. It is our calling to help them by pointing to Christ so that He can encounter them. We are many times like those around Saul and think that there is no way that God could save this person or that person! Then we do not trust that they are transformed and question it when they do not make the changes we think they need to make in the time we think they should be making it. We need to remember what Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:17 – Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. Paul who was Saul was a walking example of this and it is our calling to help others to see that they can be someone new in Christ and not discourage it or put road blocks that are not in Scripture in the way! It is our job to encourage an encounter with Christ.

Then we come to this: The basis of encountering Christ is not grounded in logical explanations or empirical proofs, but rather in an experience with Jesus Christ. Saul, who was trained in logic under Gamaliel, could easily argue against Christianity, and had rational arguments to defend his faith. However, Saul didn’t have any defense when he met Jesus Christ. In the same manner, many atheists and skeptics doubt the Word of God but when they meet Jesus Christ, no one has to prove to them that the Bible is the Word of God because they know it too be true when they encounter Christ! When they encounter Jesus Christ, they inwardly know that God exists, and that His Word is true. How about you, have you met Jesus? Have you encountered Jesus? Do you know Him from experiencing his love, power, presence, grace, and mercy in your life? Do you know that He is real? Are you living like it? Are you showing others His love, His grace, His mercy or are your lips saying one thing but you actions something else? When you truly meet Jesus, what Paul writes in Galatians 2:20, becomes your life – he writes: I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. Is it no longer I that live in you but Christ – again is that seen in your life daily?

If someone asked you how do you live a “Not I but Christ” in me life?  How would you answer them?  Any other thoughts on this post?

Risks and Risk-Taking

Here are some thoughts on risks ^{(not too sure where I got this)}

To laugh is to risk appearing the fool.

To weep is to risk appearing sentimental.

To reach out for another is to risk involvement.

To expose your feelings is to risk revealing your true self.

To place your ideas and dreams before another is to risk rejection.

To love is to risk not being loved in return.

To live is to risk dying.

To hope is to risk despair.

To attempt is to risk failure.

Do you ever think about risks or risk-taking? Are you a risk taker or a risk avoider?  I believe that God wants us to take risks in life.  I am not talking about foolishness but about taking a risk and trusting God.

Here are some more thoughts on Risks:

1. Where there are no risks there are no rewards.
2. The greatest risk you can take is not serving Christ.
3. Faith is always an important first step
4. The Holy Spirit is a key to taking right risks.

I invite you to read 1 Sam. 14:1-23 to see a great passage on risk taking – one of my favorite passages in all of the Bible!

What are any thoughts you might have on risks?  What an example where you risked and it did not work out like you thought?

He Took A Risk

Doing some reading this weekend  in Acts and I was reminded of these verses: Acts 9:26-28  26 When he arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to associate with the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, since they did not believe he was a disciple. 27 Barnabas, however, took him and brought him to the apostles and explained to them how Saul had seen the Lord on the road and that He had talked to him, and how in Damascus he had spoken boldly in the name of Jesus.28 Saul was coming and going with them in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord.

What strikes me is  the risk  that Barnabas was willing to take here.  Saul was a known killer of the Christians and so people are afraid of him.  Barnabas was willing to take the risk and take him to the apostles.  Barnabas takes up and share the story of how the Lord came to Saul and spoke to him.  Barnabas is letting them know that Saul is boldly speaking the name of Christ.

Barnabas is risking his reputation by taking Saul to the apostles.  Just think, Barnabas is risking the fact that if he is wrong that he could be killed by Saul and the church could be in great danger.  Barnabas was willing to risk looking foolish  to everyone if he were wrong.   I see it that Barnabas was willing to risk all these things because he had compassion on Saul.  He was willing to risk because he new it was the right thing to do.  He was willing to risk because he believed in Saul and what God has done in his life.

All the believers in Jerusalem not want to trust Saul and some of that was because they did not want to recognize that people can and do change. The knew Saul as the proud one and the arrogant one had been killing and persecuting the ones in the church.  But they were not seeing that Saul was one who was grace oriented and one who was characterized by maximum humility. Barnabas I believe saw this in Saul and therefore he knew it.  He realized that people could  and do change. Barnabas was a person who was willing to get involved in other peoples lives. He was willing to invest the time to find out what was really true and then to act upon that knowledge.

He risked to invest in people.  He risked to believe in people.  He risked to get to know people. He risked to encourage people. He risked to have compassion on people.

How about you?  Are you willing to take a risk and invest in others, believe in others, get to know others, to encourage others, and have compassion on others?

What is the biggest risk you have ever taken?  Any thoughts you want to share on risk taking and people?

Power of the Positive–Part 5

This week we have been focusing on this passage from 2nd Samuel 1:17-27:

17 Then David chanted  with this lament over Saul and Jonathan his son, 18 and he told them to teach the sons of Judah the song of the bow; behold, it is written in the book of Jashar.  19 "Your beauty, O Israel, is slain on your high places! How have the mighty fallen! 20 "Tell it not in Gath, Proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon, Or the daughters of the Philistines will rejoice, The daughters of the uncircumcised will exult. 21 "O mountains of Gilboa, Let not dew or rain be on you, nor fields of offerings; For there the shield of the mighty was defiled, The shield of Saul, not anointed with oil. 22 "From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, The bow of Jonathan did not turn back, And the sword of Saul did not return empty. 23 "Saul and Jonathan, beloved and pleasant in their life, And in their death they were not parted; They were swifter than eagles, They were stronger than lions. 24 "O daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, Who clothed you luxuriously in scarlet, Who put ornaments of gold on your apparel. 25 "How have the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle! Jonathan is slain on your high places. 26 "I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan; You have been very pleasant to me. Your love to me was more wonderful Than the love of women. 27 "How have the mighty fallen, And the weapons of war perished!"

The final thought for this week on this passage is that David thinks of Saul in terms of his office and honors him in this light. We see this matter of honor mentioned in Philippians 4:8: “. . . whatever is honorable. . . .” But this principle is taught in a number of other contexts as well:

Exodus 20:12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the LORD your God gives you”

Romans 13:7- Render to all what is due them: tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor.

1 Peter 2:17 – Honor all men; love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king.

In these verses, God calls upon us to “honor” others due to their position. In most cases, this honor is clearly to those in a position of authority over us like our parents or those in government. As Christians, we should honor all men, not only because God created them, but because we are to put their interests above our own (Philippians 2:1-8). David provides us with an excellent example of how we are to honor others.

We should also recognize that honoring the king of Israel had special significance. The king held a very special position of honor. We need to understand honor in that light.  When we see that David honors Saul as “God’s anointed,” and in so doing, honors the “Anointed One” who was to come we should begin to get the right idea. As the Old Testament revelation progresses, this becomes more and more clear.

When we honor those over us we are ultimately honoring Jesus Christ. Let me ask how are you doing with honoring those that God has put over you?

What are your thoughts on this final day looking at this passage?

Power of the Positive–Part 4

This week we are focusing on this passage from 2nd Samuel 1:17-27:

17 Then David chanted  with this lament over Saul and Jonathan his son, 18 and he told them to teach the sons of Judah the song of the bow; behold, it is written in the book of Jashar.  19 "Your beauty, O Israel, is slain on your high places! How have the mighty fallen! 20 "Tell it not in Gath, Proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon, Or the daughters of the Philistines will rejoice, The daughters of the uncircumcised will exult. 21 "O mountains of Gilboa, Let not dew or rain be on you, nor fields of offerings; For there the shield of the mighty was defiled, The shield of Saul, not anointed with oil. 22 "From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, The bow of Jonathan did not turn back, And the sword of Saul did not return empty. 23 "Saul and Jonathan, beloved and pleasant in their life, And in their death they were not parted; They were swifter than eagles, They were stronger than lions. 24 "O daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, Who clothed you luxuriously in scarlet, Who put ornaments of gold on your apparel. 25 "How have the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle! Jonathan is slain on your high places. 26 "I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan; You have been very pleasant to me. Your love to me was more wonderful Than the love of women. 27 "How have the mighty fallen, And the weapons of war perished!"

Today’s point  is that David illustrates his obedience to a very important command, expressed clearly in Paul’s letter to the Philippians4:8: Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things.

Truth is the first test of what should occupy our hearts and minds and proceed from our mouths. This is the baseline test, but there are many other standards as well, as we see in this text. David has written a psalm to help Israelites of his day and of later generations to remember and honor Saul and Jonathan. If they remember Saul the way David portrays him, then they will most certainly “let their minds dwell on what is honorable, right, pure, lovely, and of good repute.” David will not have us dwell on Saul’s sins. Neither are we to overlook Saul’s sins. The author of 1 Samuel recorded them for us to learn from them. So really it is a balance.

Where does your mind dwell? Does it dwell on the positives? Do you have such a problem with some people that no matter what they do you see their actions negative? That is sin and you need to confess it and get past it and then purpose in your heart to have your mind dwell on what is honorable, right, pure, lovely, and of good repute about all people you come in contact with. It will change your life dramatically in a great way!

Power of the Positive–Part 3

This week we are focusing on this passage from 2nd Samuel 1:17-27:

17 Then David chanted  with this lament over Saul and Jonathan his son, 18 and he told them to teach the sons of Judah the song of the bow; behold, it is written in the book of Jashar.  19 "Your beauty, O Israel, is slain on your high places! How have the mighty fallen! 20 "Tell it not in Gath, Proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon, Or the daughters of the Philistines will rejoice, The daughters of the uncircumcised will exult. 21 "O mountains of Gilboa, Let not dew or rain be on you, nor fields of offerings; For there the shield of the mighty was defiled, The shield of Saul, not anointed with oil. 22 "From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, The bow of Jonathan did not turn back, And the sword of Saul did not return empty. 23 "Saul and Jonathan, beloved and pleasant in their life, And in their death they were not parted; They were swifter than eagles, They were stronger than lions. 24 "O daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, Who clothed you luxuriously in scarlet, Who put ornaments of gold on your apparel. 25 "How have the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle! Jonathan is slain on your high places. 26 "I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan; You have been very pleasant to me. Your love to me was more wonderful Than the love of women. 27 "How have the mighty fallen, And the weapons of war perished!"

Another thought on this passage is this:  I am forced to conclude that David thinks more highly of Saul than I do. I must confess that I do not like Saul very much. I want to think badly of him, and I am inclined to think the worst of him, rather than the best. I believe the author sides with David in thinking more highly of Saul than I may. This seems especially evident in his summation of Saul’s reign in chapter 14 of 1 Samuel: 47 Now when Saul had taken the kingdom over Israel, he fought against all his enemies on every side, against Moab, the sons of Ammon, Edom, the kings of Zobah, and the Philistines; and wherever he turned, he inflicted punishment. 48 And he acted valiantly and defeated the Amalekites, and delivered Israel from the hands of those who plundered them (1 Samuel 14:47-48).

These verses seem almost out of place there in 1 Samuel. They are a kind of eulogy or benediction, placed before Saul’s irrecoverable error in 1 Samuel chapter 15, and also before the account of his death in chapter 31. I think the author is telling us that it is over for Saul, long before his life ends. In this I see and I must concede that Saul is spoken of much more positively in the Scriptures than I would expect. I believe the author of 1 Samuel gives us this relatively positive assessment because we need to keep this in mind as we focus on a very narrow slice of Saul’s life in this book. The author chooses to focus on Saul’s failures to teach the reader some very important lessons. I believe the way Saul failed is the same way Israel failed. To go a step further, the way Saul failed is also the way we fail today.  The focus of 1 Samuel then is on Saul’s failures, those that brought about the end of his reign. In spite of these failures, Saul did many good things. In his eulogy, David dwells on these good things.

Where do you focus?  Do you focus on failures or on the good things?  What are your thoughts?

Power of the Positive–Part 2

This week we are focusing on this passage from 2nd Samuel 1:17-27: 

17 Then David chanted  with this lament over Saul and Jonathan his son, 18 and he told them to teach the sons of Judah the song of the bow; behold, it is written in the book of Jashar.  19 "Your beauty, O Israel, is slain on your high places! How have the mighty fallen! 20 "Tell it not in Gath, Proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon, Or the daughters of the Philistines will rejoice, The daughters of the uncircumcised will exult. 21 "O mountains of Gilboa, Let not dew or rain be on you, nor fields of offerings; For there the shield of the mighty was defiled, The shield of Saul, not anointed with oil. 22 "From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, The bow of Jonathan did not turn back, And the sword of Saul did not return empty. 23 "Saul and Jonathan, beloved and pleasant in their life, And in their death they were not parted; They were swifter than eagles, They were stronger than lions. 24 "O daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, Who clothed you luxuriously in scarlet, Who put ornaments of gold on your apparel. 25 "How have the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle! Jonathan is slain on your high places. 26 "I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan; You have been very pleasant to me. Your love to me was more wonderful Than the love of women. 27 "How have the mighty fallen, And the weapons of war perished!"

What we see when we go through this song is that David shows the great love and generosity in his heart towards Saul. It shows that David didn’t kill Saul with a sword or with in his heart or mouth. Here is what David saw:

· He saw beauty in Saul

· He wanted no one to rejoice over the death of Saul

· He wanted everyone to mourn, even the mountains and fields

· He praised Saul as a mighty warrior

· He complimented the personality and loyalty of Saul

· He called the daughters Israel to mourning, and praised the good Saul did for Israel

All this is a powerful testimony of how David kept his heart free from bitterness, even when we was greatly wronged and sinned against. David fulfilled 1 Corinthians 13:5: love thinks no evil. David knew the principle of 1 Peter 4:8: And above all things have fervent love for one another, for "love will cover a multitude of sins."

David could do this because of his great trust in God and God’s power. He knew that God was in charge of his life, and that even if Saul meant it for evil, God could use it for good. Have you learned this lesson? Even if someone has evil intentions, God can weave good into their poor choice.

There is a lot too this whole thought process of David saying positive things about Saul.  Imagine David not saying anything bad about Saul after everything, the running for is life for over 10 years. How can he do this? David seems to have already dealt with Saul’s sins against him by forgiving him. This is what seems to have freed Joseph to deal kindly with his brothers, in spite of their wicked actions toward him. I believe David has forgiven Saul, therefore he has no bitterness to suppress or to vent. It is a sad thing to harbor bitterness, because of the harm that it does to us. David does not have to dredge up the past because he keeps short accounts. Do you keep short accounts with people or are you living in bitterness? Bitterness is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die. Bitterness harms you!

Do not let bitterness take root in you! Hebrews 12:15 – Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many.  We see here that bitterness in us will corrupt many others. Let me ask you – are you a corrosive and toxic person? Are you so full of bitterness that you are spewing your corrosive junk over others? I challenge you to look closely at your life and see if bitterness is in you and spewing on others.

What are your thoughts on this?