More Jesus, Less Injustice

511 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from: 2Sa 12:1-4,”Then the LORD sent Nathan to David. And he came to him, and said to him: "There were two men in one city, one rich and the other poor. 2 "The rich man had exceedingly many flocks and herds. 3 "But the poor man had nothing, except one little ewe lamb which he had bought and nourished; and it grew up together with him and with his children. It ate of his own food and drank from his own cup and lay in his bosom; and it was like a daughter to him. 4 "And a traveler came to the rich man, who refused to take from his own flock and from his own herd to prepare one for the wayfaring man who had come to him; but he took the poor man's lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him." (2 Sam 12:1-4) Nathan comes to David (the government) with a complaint. It seems that one of David's poor subjects has been grossly mistreated by a rich subject. This is a matter of civil justice and Nathan rightly takes it to the king in order for justice to be meted out. Nathan is simply doing what believers are encouraged to do in Pr 31:8,9 “Open your mouth for the speechless, In the cause of all who are appointed to die. 9 Open your mouth, judge righteously, And plead the cause of the poor and needy.” Nathan was pleading the cause of the poor man to the one who had the God-granted power to do something about it. David's instructions for handling the matter are found in Le 19:15 'You shall do no injustice in judgment. You shall not be partial to the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty. In righteousness you shall judge your neighbor. With this principle as his guideline David is to determine the penalty. Rom 13:4 b says this about civil authorities: “for he is God's minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil.” It's okay for Christians to point out injustice in society to the government, but let us never forget our main responsibility. “Go!” “Preach the gospel.” For the nation that embraces the gospel, embraces Jesus who is referred to in 1 Pet 3:18 as “the just one.” More Jesus...less injustice, and less need for the government to step in with the sword.

An Eyesore To God

510 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from: 2Sa 11:27b-12:1a, “But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD. 12:1 Then the LORD sent Nathan to David.” The word “displeased” is difficult to translate. It is connected to the eye. My own take on it is that David's actions with Bathsheba and Uriah the Hittite were an eyesore to the Lord. An eyesore is something that sticks out in a landscape. It's something that just doesn't belong in the picture. It makes everything around it....ugly. The landscape of David had been made exceptionally beautiful by the promise of a Messiah coming through the his lineage. But now David's sinful actions of covetousness and fornication had erected an eyesore in the midst of this stunning landscape. His sin was not fitting for a saint much less a king. Eph 5:3 tells us to not erect similar eyesores in our own lives. “But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints; “ These sins and others are eyesores, and should not even be named among followers of Jesus. Every sin, that is ignored or swept under the rug and not dealt with sticks out like a sore thumb in the eyes of God. David was in need of some “urban renewal” and so are we. God sent Nathan to David bearing His Word and pointed out the eyesore, He does the same to us with faithful preaching and reading of His Word. How about you? Any eyesores on your landscape? Anything that needs to be leveled? Don't sweep it under the rug. Rather bring it to God with a sincere confession, and let Him take care of it with the wrecking ball of the blood of Jesus. 1Jo 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Thank You Father for making each of us a personal beautification project. You really do make beautiful things!

David Exhibits Some Signs of Depression

509 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from: 2Sa 11:26,27, “When the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she mourned for her husband. 27 And when her mourning was over, David sent and brought her to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD. (2 Sam 11:26,27) Something very striking about this sequence of events is how rapidly everything has unfolded. There was the actual tryst between David and Bathsheba, and then within a month, she discovers she is pregnant. David immediately calls Uriah home from the battle. He stays home for two days, is sent back to the battle and is killed almost immediately. Bathsheba mourns for her husband which was usually a 7 day event, and then David marries her. Just around 42 days from the lustful glance to marriage. What a whirlwind of sin in a short span of time. Adultery, murder, trickery, lying and it looks like they are going to get away with it! With this kind of expediency, the whole nation may be led to believe that the child that Bathsheba is carrying is “legitimately David's! Yes everything is looking good on the outside, but things weren't going so well for David on the inside as we read in Ps 32:3,4 “When I kept silent, my bones grew old Through my groaning all the day long. 4 For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was turned into the drought of summer. Selah Seems to me that David was exhibiting the signs of depression. These symptoms surfaced because he “kept silent” about his sin with Bathsheba, and the idea of keeping silence here is sweeping it under the rug. But look what happens when David confesses those sins Ps 32:1,2 says, “ Blessed (the word means Oh how very happy) is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered. 2 Blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no deceit. I'm not saying that secret sin is the sole cause of depression, but it might be a place to start. One thing for sure, there is joy in knowing God's forgiveness, and God is more than willing to help us unearth those sins and be set free. Ps 19:12 says, “Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from secret faults.' A great prayer for all of us.

He Cleanses Confessions Not Excuses

508 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from: 2Sa 11:23-25, “And the messenger said to David, "Surely the men prevailed against us and came out to us in the field; then we drove them back as far as the entrance of the gate. 24 "The archers shot from the wall at your servants; and some of the king's servants are dead, and your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also." 25 Then David said to the messenger, "Thus you shall say to Joab: 'Do not let this thing displease you, for the sword devours one as well as another. Strengthen your attack against the city, and overthrow it.' So encourage him." (2 Sam 11:23-25) Is David making this statement to convince the messenger and others within earshot that Uriah's death was simply a matter of war taking it's random toll of lives? Is he acting here? Or is he already in the process of justifying his sin in his own mind? Has he already conveniently forgotten that Uriah was “devoured by the sword” by his own specific order to Joab? We don't know the answer to that question, but here are some things we do know: Jer 17:9 "The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it? Self -deception in the matter of justifying our actions is in the DNA of our flesh. It's part of our fleshly desire to save ourselves. It's “self-defense.” We forget that through faith in Christ we have the only sure defender. 1Jo 2:1 My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. Yes, sin will happen in our lives but we must never seek to find ways to excuse it or defend it. We have an Advocate, a defense attorney in Jesus, but His defense is of no avail to us if we seek to defend ourselves. On the Last Day, you cannot stand before God and tell Him you are not to blame. You can't say “I have an excuse.” David's excuses for sinning are a mile long. “It was a warm spring night. She was beautiful. All the other kings do it. She got pregnant, how would that look for me the King of Israel? Uriah left me no choice! Hey, it's not like I killed him...he died in battle, that happens all the time.” Listen, the blood of Jesus doesn't cleanse excuses...it cleanses sin. Oh God, forgive me. I confess I am an inexcusable sinner, keep me from that path that seeks to justify my sins, help me to turn to Jesus and allow Him alone to be my defense.