Living In the Age of Grace

570 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from: 2Sa 16:9-10a, “ Then Abishai the son of Zeruiah said to the king, "Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Please, let me go over and take off his head!" 10 But the king said, "What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah? (2 Sam 16:9,10a) David's right hand men have had enough of Shimei's yipping and they want to put an end to it, by killing him. It reminds me of the time that Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem for the last time, and the Samaritans refused to extend hospitality to Him and His disciples. We read about it in Lu 9:54, “And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, "Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?" 55 But He turned and rebuked them, and said, "You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. 56 "For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives but to save them." Now, pay attention here. David's reply of "What have I to do with you,” is the gist of Jesus' reply, “You do not know what manner of spirit you are.” As a baptized believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Spirit of God dwells in you, and this Spirit desires life for men, not death. Joh 3:17 says, "For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” and in Joh 12:47b we read, "for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.” And 2Pe 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. If then, you and I have the Spirit of God dwelling in us, we too, ought to seek life for those who are on the wide road to destruction. Retaliation doesn't come into play until the Last Day, when God will deal with those who went to their grave cursing His Son by rejecting the Gospel. We are living in the age of grace until our Lord returns, and we should seek to live in the Spirit of Christ , “who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously; (1 Pet 2:23) God, make our hearts more tender toward those who are on the path to destruction.

Cursing God

569 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from: 2Sa 16:5-7, Now when King David came to Bahurim, there was a man from the family of the house of Saul, whose name was Shimei the son of Gera, coming from there. He came out, cursing continuously as he came. 6 And he threw stones at David and at all the servants of King David. And all the people and all the mighty men were on his right hand and on his left. 7 Also Shimei said thus when he cursed: "Come out! Come out! You bloodthirsty man, you rogue! Shimei was very bitter about the slayings of Abner and Ishbosheth, and uses this opportunity to come out and curse the king. This cursing of the king, (our rulers both ecclesiastical and civil) is not taken lightly by God. Ex 22:28 says, "You shall not revile God, nor curse a ruler of your people.” Do you understand what is being said here? You curse your ruler and you are reviling or cursing God! That's the essence of Ro 13:1 Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Curse the ruler, you curse the One who put him there. In Ec 10:20 we read, “Do not curse the king, even in your thought; Do not curse the rich, even in your bedroom; For a bird of the air may carry your voice, And a bird in flight may tell the matter.” I don't want to get overly “spooky” here but these birds symbolically spoken of are spirit beings, demons, that are agents of the devil, and he will somehow use that cursing as a wedge to further his cause. Stop providing ammo to the evil one. Stop reviling our rulers! Stop cursing God! This concern about cursing rulers is not just an Old Testament thing either. When Paul was brought before Ananias he spoke a curse against him, and “those who stood by said, "Do you revile God's high priest?" Then Paul said, "I did not know, brethren, that he was the high priest; for it is written, 'You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.'" (Acts 23:4,5)As I read the revilings on Facebook about our president and other leaders, and listen to Christian talk radio, I am amazed by the number of professing Christians who ignore these words in Scripture and are cursing the very God whom they claim to serve. Listen to God's promise to those who do not revile their leaders: Ex 23:22 "But if you indeed obey His voice and do all that I speak, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries. Do you want to fight with your puny revilings, or do you want the God of the universe to fight for your cause? Father forgive us of this grievous sin, and grant us understanding in the area of respecting authority.

The Importance of Ruling Your House

568 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from: 2Sa 16:5 Now when King David came to Bahurim, there was a man from the family of the house of Saul, whose name was Shimei the son of Gera, coming from there. He came out, cursing continuously as he came. 6 And he threw stones at David and at all the servants of King David. And all the people and all the mighty men were on his right hand and on his left. 7 Also Shimei said thus when he cursed: "Come out! Come out! You bloodthirsty man, you rogue! 8 "The LORD has brought upon you all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose place you have reigned; and the LORD has delivered the kingdom into the hand of Absalom your son. So now you are caught in your own evil, because you are a bloodthirsty man!" All is not well between the house of Saul and the house of David. Shimei greets the fleeing king David with curses and stones. He is certain that this bloodthirsty king is getting what he had coming. Shimei is still hurting over the slaying of Abner and Ish-bosheth, who were both part of the household of Saul. Abner was slain by Joab in retaliation for his slaying of Joab's brother. This was made worse by the fact that it happened immediately after Abner and David had made peace with each other. Ishbosheth was slain while he lay on his bed by two of David's men. David had the killers of Ish-bosheth put to death for their crime. But Shimei's response here shows that he held David responsible for the actions of his underlings. Absalom's revolt in the eyes of Shimei was further proof that David could not rule those under his authority. (why, he couldn't rule his own son!) The ability to rule those under your authority is an important part of church leadership As spoken of in 1Ti 3:4. Here part of the qualifications for church leadership is to be “one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence 5 (for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?) This entire saga of David, from Abner to Ishbosheth to Tamar, to Amnon are all examples of what NOT to do in leadership. May God raise up merciful and just leaders in His church.

Don't Preach For the Sake of the Offering

565 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from: 2Sa 16:3,4, “Then the king said, "And where is your master's son?" And Ziba said to the king, "Indeed he is staying in Jerusalem, for he said, 'Today the house of Israel will restore the kingdom of my father to me.'" 4 So the king said to Ziba, "Here, all that belongs to Mephibosheth is yours." And Ziba said, "I humbly bow before you, that I may find favor in your sight, my lord, O king!" (2 Sam 16:1-4) Ziba has given a generous gift to David as the kings readies to leave for the wilderness. Then Ziba tells a blatant lie about Mephibosheth and David doesn't take the time to get the real story. He immediately hands over all of Mephibosheth's property to Ziba. There is so much wrong here. Let's start with the necessity of establishing a matter with two witnesses. 2Co 13:1b says, "By the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall be established." And in the matter of church discipline, Jesus says in Mt 18:16, “take one or two others along with you that every charge may be established.” Still another bothersome part of the story is the possibility that David was quick to look the other way because of the nice gift he had received from Ziba. This can be a temptation in the church even today. Pastors, elders, church leaders can find themselves looking the other way at the indiscretions of those who generously fill the offering basket. Paul's instructions to Timothy in 1 Tim 5:21, were, “do nothing from partiality,” and in James 2:3,4 “and if you pay attention to the one who wears fine clothing....have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?” Then in James 2:9, “But if you show partiality you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.” Ex 23:8 And you shall take no bribe, for the bribe blinds the wise and perverts the words of the righteous. The offering basket must never wag the tail of the church. A church that preaches for the sake of the offering,....well, “verily, verily, you have your reward. Truth must never be watered down for the sake of cash flow. Father, help us to remain steadfast in Your Word.

Hope For the Liar

565 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from: 2Sa 16:3,4, “Then the king said, "And where is your master's son?" And Ziba said to the king, "Indeed he is staying in Jerusalem, for he said, 'Today the house of Israel will restore the kingdom of my father to me.'" 4 So the king said to Ziba, "Here, all that belongs to Mephibosheth is yours." And Ziba said, "I humbly bow before you, that I may find favor in your sight, my lord, O king!" (2 Sam 16:1-4) David asks Ziba and interseting question. “where is your master's son?” Note, he didn't ask, “Where is Mephibosheth?” He asks, “where is your master's son?” Mephibosheth was the son of David's beloved friend Jonathan. By invoking the name and memory of Jonathan, integrity enters the conversation. Honesty, truth, valor, loyalty and all the other character traits of Jonathan are brought to mind. And how does Ziba respond? With a lie. Do you realize that as a professing Christian, Jesus is your Master? Your actions and deeds ought to reflect His character. And just one aspect of His character is He does not lie! Nu 23:19 says, "God is not a man, that He should lie,” and Heb 6:18 states that “ it is impossible for God to lie,” and in Tit 1:2, we read, “ in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began,” We represent our Master and therefore we seek to tell the truth. The Apostle Paul was not afraid to make the connection between his relationship with Jesus his Master and telling the truth. In Ro 9:1, he said, “ I tell the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit,” and in 2Co 11:31 The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying.” and in Ga 1:20 (Now concerning the things which I write to you, indeed, before God, I do not lie.) There are many stern warnings about liars in Scripture. Ps 101:7 says, “ He who works deceit shall not dwell within my house; He who tells lies shall not continue in my presence.” Is there any hope for the liar? Yes! Start believing this truth, “I am a lying sinner!” Then confess the sin and believe 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.

Money Talks, But It Often Doesn't tell theTruth

565 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from: 2Sa 16:1-4, “ When David was a little past the top of the mountain, there was Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth, who met him with a couple of saddled donkeys, and on them two hundred loaves of bread, one hundred clusters of raisins, one hundred summer fruits, and a skin of wine. 2 And the king said to Ziba, "What do you mean to do with these?" So Ziba said, "The donkeys are for the king's household to ride on, the bread and summer fruit for the young men to eat, and the wine for those who are faint in the wilderness to drink." 3 Then the king said, "And where is your master's son?" And Ziba said to the king, "Indeed he is staying in Jerusalem, for he said, 'Today the house of Israel will restore the kingdom of my father to me.'" 4 So the king said to Ziba, "Here, all that belongs to Mephibosheth is yours." And Ziba said, "I humbly bow before you, that I may find favor in your sight, my lord, O king!" (2 Sam 16:1-4) By way of review, Mephibosheth was Jonathan's son who was crippled as a five year old while fleeing for safety from the ravages of war. In an act of kindness David gave Mephibosheth all the property of Saul, and charged Ziba to be the overseer of this property, and further, Mephibosheth was given lifelong privileges of eating at the king's table. Ziba, seizes this opportunity to score points with David by bringing him much needed supplies, and when David inquires about Mephibosheth, Ziba lies and tells him that Mephibosheth was staying behind, hoping that this rebellion might restore his family to the throne. Upon hearing this news, David immediately cuts Mephibosheth off, and gives all of Mephibosheth's property to Ziba. Due to this generous gift (dare we say bribe?) from Ziba, David forgets a very important biblical principle. De 19:15 says, "One witness shall not rise against a man concerning any iniquity or any sin that he commits; by the mouth of two or three witnesses the matter shall be established.” Davis has fallen victim to the truth spoken of in De 16:19b "a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous.” There is a warning for all of us here. We should not let money and goods lead us to quick and erroneous judgment.

No Need For Spies

564 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from: 2Sa 15:32-37, “ Now it happened when David had come to the top of the mountain, where he worshiped God-there was Hushai the Archite coming to meet him with his robe torn and dust on his head. 33 David said to him, "If you go on with me, then you will become a burden to me. 34 "But if you return to the city, and say to Absalom, 'I will be your servant, O king; as I was your father's servant previously, so I will now also be your servant,' then you may defeat the counsel of Ahithophel for me. 35 "And do you not have Zadok and Abiathar the priests with you there? Therefore it will be that whatever you hear from the king's house, you shall tell to Zadok and Abiathar the priests. 36 "Indeed they have there with them their two sons, Ahimaaz, Zadok's son, and Jonathan, Abiathar's son; and by them you shall send me everything you hear." 37 So Hushai, David's friend, went into the city. And Absalom came into Jerusalem. ( 2 Sam 15:32-37) David has spent some time worshiping before he leaves for the wilderness. Who knows, maybe he was praying for guidance on how to go about defeating Absalom. He looks up and there standing before him is Hushai the Archite with his robe torn and dust on his head. Dare we say, an answer to prayer? Looks like Hushai is the last one out of town and that speaks of some kind of feebleness on his part that might slow David down when he is on the lam. It occurs to David that Hushai could be a very useful tool in defeating the advice of Ahithophel, which would be an answer to his most recent prayer. So he asks him to stay behind and feign loyalty to Absalom and to look for opportunities to thwart the advice of Ahithophel. In addition, he was to act as a spy and send any useful information to David via Ahimaaz, and Jonathon. Remember, this is war! And gathering useful information to use against the enemy is part of the deal. Israel had used spies in the past as they spied out the land of Canaan, and then there were the two spies who scoped out Jericho. Have you not heard that as a Christian, you too are in a war! But you and I don't need to employ spies in this battle. Everything you need to know about your enemy is found in the Scriptures. Know his tactics of doubt and isolation and seek to cling to Christ because the Scriptures also tell us who wins in the end!