To the Cross I Cling

# 393 - Today's Du-votional comes from: 1Sa 30:5,6, “And David's two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite, had been taken captive. 6 Now David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God. (1 Sam 30:5,6) David and his men return to camp and find that their wives, sons, and daughters had been taken captive. This was failed leadership on the part of David. While he was feigning loyalty to the Philistines, he left the camp unguarded and easy prey for the marauders. His men were so grieved over their lost loved ones that they spoke of stoning David to death. You and I might feel the same way in similar circumstances. This whole situation causes David to be greatly stressed. The word “stress” here is the idea of getting pressed in on all sides. It's the feeling of being in a trash compactor. Sometimes life is like that. For whatever reason, we find ourselves pressed in on all sides. What to do? Follow David's example and “strengthen yourself in the Lord.” The word used here means to attach oneself to something, it means to cling, to adhere. Sometimes, that's all you can do. I remember some of the intense spiritual battles I faced early on in my Christian walk. Pressed in on all sides I felt like just giving up. I mean, before I came to Christ, I didn't have all of these struggles. By the grace of God, I realized that to turn back would be utter foolishness and so I clung. Sometimes this clinging felt so fragile that it seemed like all I had left for a grip was a thread. But I hung on, and time after time after time, God pulled me through. I am not so foolish to think that my days in the trash compactor are over, but when the switch is thrown and the sides start closing in on me, I know that I need to adhere to Jesus. It is at times like these that I remember the classic hymn, “Rock of Ages.” Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to the cross I cling, Naked, come to Thee for dress, helpless, look to Thee for grace.” Father, help those today who are being squeezed. Give them the strength to cling to Jesus.

Let's talk About Tears

# 392 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from: 1Sa 30:4 Then David and the people who were with him lifted up their voices and wept, until they had no more power to weep. (1 Sam 30:4) David and his men return to camp and find that their women and children have been carried off by marauders. It was a very emotional moment for these warriors and they cried until they had no more power left to cry. (Real men DO cry!) They were completely drained, without strength. There was nothing left in the emotional tank. Have you ever been there? So emotionally drained that you can't even cry anymore? You're in good company. Listen to the Psalmist in Ps 42:3, “My tears have been my food day and night, While they continually say to me, "Where is your God?" Here the Psalmist is experiencing an almost continual flow of tears, while those around him sneer at him and say, “Where is your God now?” I don't know what you went through or what you are going through, but I do know this, God has a keen interest in your tears. He knows. He sees. He makes note of each one of them. Ps 56:8b says, “Put my tears into Your bottle; Are they not in Your book? Can you believe it? God cares so much for you that He notes every single tear drop? In a perfect world there would be no tears and that's the world followers of Christ can look forward to. In this “new”world tears will be gone forever! Re 7:17 says, “for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes." And Re 21:4, says, "And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away." The poets have called our existence on earth the “vale of tears” (the “valley) of tears, and these passages in Revelation, the last Book of the Bible seems to back it up, as there is a twice mentioned promise that one day the cause of all crying will be removed from those who have placed their faith in Jesus. Father, thanks for the reminder, tears happen, even Jesus wept. Help us to finish in the faith, to be with Jesus in that place where there will be no more sorrow.

Appreciate the Day

# 391 - Today's Du-votional comes from: 1Sa 30:1-3, “Now it happened, when David and his men came to Ziklag, on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the South and Ziklag, attacked Ziklag and burned it with fire, 2 and had taken captive the women and those who were there, from small to great; they did not kill anyone, but carried them away and went their way. 3 So David and his men came to the city, and there it was, burned with fire; and their wives, their sons, and their daughters had been taken captive. (1 Sam 30:1-3) Ziklag was the place where David and his men had been given refuge by Achish and it was three days journey from the battle site that was shaping up between the Philistines and the Israelites. Imagine how David and his men felt as they were approaching home. What does the sight of smoke do to their emotions? They quicken their pace and draw nearer and see ruins instead of buildings. Faster and more frantic they draw nearer still and they see no human activity at all. Oh how their hearts must've sank. The only good news is that it appears their women and children were carried off, rather than slain. Remember 9-11? On that day, 2977 people boarded flights, went to work, and never came home. We were all stunned and many husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, children, friends, made it a point to express anew their love to each other, realizing how quickly things can change. It's funny how quickly that sense of urgency disappears, when disasters fade from our memory. Yet every day cars crash, mud slides, cancer strikes, and hearts fail. The point being, we don't know what will befall us or our loved ones on any given day, when we step outside that door. Things can change in an instant! Pr 27:1 says, “you do not know what a day may bring forth.” I wonder how this truth might change our daily interactions with others, especially our loved ones. I wonder how this truth would change our prayer life. I wonder how thankful we might become for each moment with each other, and even more thankful that through faith in Christ, no matter what befalls us in the here and now, we can be together with loved ones on the other side. Thank You Father for the gift of today. May we use it to show our appreciation to You and to the others that You have placed in our lives.

Lies Beget Lies

# 390 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from: 1Sa 29:6-11, “Then Achish called David and said to him, "Surely, as the LORD lives, you have been upright, and your going out and your coming in with me in the army is good in my sight. For to this day I have not found evil in you since the day of your coming to me. Nevertheless the lords do not favor you. 7 "Therefore return now, and go in peace, that you may not displease the lords of the Philistines." 8 So David said to Achish, "But what have I done? And to this day what have you found in your servant as long as I have been with you, that I may not go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?" 9 Then Achish answered and said to David, "I know that you are as good in my sight as an angel of God; nevertheless the princes of the Philistines have said, 'He shall not go up with us to the battle.' 10 "Now therefore, rise early in the morning with your master's servants who have come with you. And as soon as you are up early in the morning and have light, depart." 11 So David and his men rose early to depart in the morning, to return to the land of the Philistines. And the Philistines went up to Jezreel. (1 Sam 29:6-11) There is no doubt that David dodged a bullet here big time. His feigned loyalty to Achish had reached a point to where it was going to be tested in a life and death manner. Having been given an “out” by the king, David and his men could well be on there way to safety, but instead David puts up still another false pretense. To paraphrase from Hamlet, “David doth protest too much methinks.” What was this objection of David but yet another lie? David's lies to Achish began with his raids against the Amalekites. When Achish asked David what he was up to, he would lie and tell Achish that he was attacking Israelites. Then in order to cover his lies he would take no prisoners. Such is the way of the liar as they seek to cover their tracks. They don't care who they hurt as they seek to cover their butt. Lies beget lies and can even lead to habitual lying! In Ezekiel 24:12, we read of one of the sins of Jerusalem, “She hath wearied herself with lies Did you catch that? Lying is wearisome, it tires you out, because you have to keep coming up with new ones to cover your tracks. Tired of living a lie? Come to Jesus. Ask for His forgiveness and His help because He “desires truth in the inward parts” (Ps 51:6) and He can get you there. Jesus help me out of this pit I have dug with my lies. Deliver me from my lying tongue.

Presumptious Sinning

# 389 - Today's Du-votional comes from: 1Sa 29:3-5, “Then the princes of the Philistines said, "What are these Hebrews doing here?" And Achish said to the princes of the Philistines, "Is this not David, the servant of Saul king of Israel, who has been with me these days, or these years? And to this day I have found no fault in him since he defected to me." 4 But the princes of the Philistines were angry with him; so the princes of the Philistines said to him, "Make this fellow return, that he may go back to the place which you have appointed for him, and do not let him go down with us to battle, lest in the battle he become our adversary. For with what could he reconcile himself to his master, if not with the heads of these men? 5 "Is this not David, of whom they sang to one another in dances, saying: 'Saul has slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands'?" (1 Sam 29:3-5) All the battle ready divisions of the Philistines have passed in review in front of all the generals, and bringing up the rear is David and his men. WHAT?, the generals protest to the king. Hebrews for our rear guard? Isn't this the guy who has a history of kicking our butt? The king defends David citing his perceived loyalty of the past sixteen months to him. But the princes of the Philistines prevail and David and his men are relieved of their rear guard duty. Just try to imagine what was going through the hearts and minds of David and his men at this time. Up to this time they had been able to feign their loyalty to Achish but now they were marching in rank with the Philistines on the eve of battle with their own flesh and blood. Something would have to give here. Would David and his men turn on the Philistines or would they press on against their brothers. We'll never know because God acted in mercy and grace on David's behalf. He pulled the “I own the king's heart card” and delivered David from this mess. Pr 21:1 says, “ The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, Like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes.” David dodged a bullet! This is not a green light for us to act in such a way that we put ourselves in “messy” conditions. As we read in Ro 6:1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? No we must plead with David, “Ps 19:13 Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins; Let them not have dominion over me.” Then I shall be blameless, And I shall be innocent of great transgression. Father, I pray for those even now who are playing with spiritual fire. Deliver us all from presumptuous sinning.

An Example of Law and Grace

This is the fourth most viewed post of the Prime Time Devos and it is an illustration of the difference between Law and Grace 1Sa 8:9-13, "Now therefore, heed their voice. However, you shall solemnly forewarn them, and show them the behavior of the king who will reign over them." 10 So Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people who asked him for a king. 11 And he said, "This will be the behavior of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons and appoint them for his own chariots and to be his horsemen, and some will run before his chariots. 12 "He will appoint captains over his thousands and captains over his fifties, will set some to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and some to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. 13 "He will take your daughters to be perfumers, cooks, and bakers. (1 Sam 8:9-13) Up until this time the Israelites were not ruled by a king. God served as their protector and provider. This was unlike any other arrangement in the world. As long as the people served and loved God rather than idols, the people were more blessed and more powerful than any other nation in the world. God would raise up leaders and then use them to bring enemy forces to their knees. Remember what Moses did in Egypt, Joshua in Canaan, Gideon, Deborah, and Samson in the period of the judges. When the people voluntarily followed God they lived in freedom and prosperity. And here's the key.....it was all voluntary service on their part. But now the people want a king like all the other nations. And note well what the king does, “He will take.” All right then people, this is what having a king will look like. Your sons and daughters will no longer have this volunteer option. They will be drafted into the kings service as soldiers in the army, and servants in the kings palace and on his land. They will be made to work in the kings weapons factories. They will serve as cooks, bakers, perfumers, and anything else the king may demand. What a picture of law and grace. One a life of compulsion, the other a life of voluntary service. Which would you rather live under? In Christ, we live and serve in love. 1Jo 4:19 says, “We love Him because He first loved us.”

The Test of the Talebearer

Today's Prime Time Devo is a repeat from an earlier blog. This particular Devo has been the third most popular and it deals with the faithfulness in the area of confidentiality. 1Sa 10:14-16, “ Then Saul's uncle said to him and his servant, "Where did you go?" So he said, "To look for the donkeys. When we saw that they were nowhere to be found, we went to Samuel." 15 And Saul's uncle said, "Tell me, please, what Samuel said to you." 16 So Saul said to his uncle, "He told us plainly that the donkeys had been found." But about the matter of the kingdom, he did not tell him what Samuel had said. " Why the secrecy? Why not spill the beans to Saul's uncle? Why even include this little incident in Scripture. It certainly isn't necessary to the rest of the story. What lessons can we learn from this. First of all, I think it's a major miracle that Saul didn't spill the beans. This is an uncle, a close friend of the family. Wouldn't you want to tell him about this tremendous honor that has just been bestowed upon you? Yet Saul remains silent. This “new heart” that God had given him and the dousing with the Holy Spirit is already producing fruit in Saul's life. In not “spilling the beans” to his uncle Saul is demonstrating faithfulness, and patience. Pr 11:13 says, “A talebearer reveals secrets, But he who is of a faithful spirit conceals a matter.” and Pr 19:11 says, The discretion of a man makes him slow to anger, And his glory is to overlook a transgression. Saul had a choice. He could be a talebearer and demonstrate unfaithfulness in keeping confidentiality, or he could exercise discretion and demonstrate that he could be patient. Patience (longsuffering) and faithfulness are two of the qualities listed among the fruit of the Spirit in Ga 5:22. “ But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,” Think about it. Every time you are given information in confidence from another, the Lord is giving you an opportunity to display the fruit of the Spirit in your life. Oh others just like Saul's uncle will try to pry it out of you, but remember this incident and look to God to help you to keep a lid on it.