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Showing posts from April, 2011

Who is He?

“But what about you?” he (Jesus) asked. “Who do you say I am?” -Matthew 16:15 I love it how Jesus here gets right to the heart of the matter. He asks the disciples straight out, “Who do you say I am?” He comes forward and ask the tough question about what they really believe. But what is interesting is when Jesus asked this question. He didn’t ask this question in the middle of the Last Supper. But he asked this during the times where things were going good. But at least one of them, Peter, answered it right. But this is a valid question that should be asked of every person who is the follower of Christ. What if Jesus came today and asked the question right in my face? See what we answer will determine how your life is lived. When I hear this verse it reminds me to come back to the basics. Who is Jesus? Though I know the answer intellectually, but do I truly understand the answer and do I believe it with all my heart. That is what I have to determine. Who is Jesus to me?

Hard Decisions

But David thought to himself, “One of these days I will be destroyed by the hand of Saul. The best thing I can do is to escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will give up searching for me anywhere in Israel, and I will slip out of his hands.” 1 Samuel 27:1 It appears to be frustrating times for David and it doesn’t seem like it will change anytime soon. Tired of fighting the system and running for his life, he does something unthinkable, he joins the enemy camp. He becomes part of the Philistines. This is an ultimate betrayal, to put it in modern day times, it is like when Johnny Damon became a Yankee after he won World Series with the Red Sox, or like how I saw Hulk Hogan become a tool in the WWE. This idea David had, was crazy. I am not so sure that David was convinced that this was a great idea. But it seams like he had no choice. He had to make a call to on a difficult decision, a decision he knew that being king of Israel would haunt him in the future. However,

Constant Communication

Once again David inquired of the Lord, and the Lord answered him, “Go down to Keilah, for I am going to give the Philistines into you hand.” -1 Samuel 23:4 This seems to be a very common phrase I am reading in this book of Samuel, “David inquired of the Lord”. David was in constant communication with God. He asked God about every major thing in his life. He developed a habit and lifestyle that before any major decision he ask God before anything. It prevented him from making brainless decisions but it also give him a dependence on God. It is a very wise choice to make. Jesus in the sermon on the mount also said to, “ask... seek... knock....” He instructed to ask God for wisdom in all that you do. To me this is elementary in teaching, but really difficult to put into practice, especially here in the US. I am convinced that “rugged individualism” and “self made man” theories in life has really hindered our ability to be more reliant on God. Thus it is difficult for me to ask God

Taste, Fear, Seek..

“Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him. Fear the Lord, you his holy people, for those who fear him lack nothing. The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.” -Psalms 34:8-10 Funny when you look at this you see how great these bible verses are. However, after you read about what is going on with David when he wrote this Psalm, it sounds more like he wrote this to himself so he would not go insane, even though he was pretending to be insane. In a short amount of time, David’s life turned upside down. He went from riches to rags in a heartbeat. From hero to zero like some celebrities we know. The difference is that he did nothing wrong. However, we see here that though his life was going downhill, his devotion and love for God never wavered. Through these verses he teaches us to do three things in times of adversity. Taste and see the Lord, Fear the Lord, and Seek the Lord. David was a gifted writer,