Eccl. 11 – Spit Ballin’

There are many areas of our faith in which we really don’t know what we’re doing. We think we do. We act like we do, but we don’t. Paul wrote, “We know that we all possess knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know.”

However, this shouldn’t keep us from doing what we think we should. We should not remain idle. In fact that’s probably the most important part. As Paul said in Romans 14, “Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.” Rest assured that one-day we’ll stand before God and we’ll see where we were off. But for now, the only one who knows it all, is God. Chapter 11 reminds me of that:

“Whoever watches the wind will not plant; whoever looks at the clouds will not reap. As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mother's womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things. Sow your seed in the morning, and at evening let not your hands be idle, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or whether both will do equally well.” Ecclesiastes 11:4-6

There’s so much division and argument on the ways we should live out our faith. It’s pretty much always been that way. There’s always been at least two sides to almost every issue. It’s funny how today we can be convinced of something that history shows cannot be solved with our own wisdom. That doesn’t mean we stop trying to understand, it just means we should have a bit more of a humble posture in thinking we know it all.

And whatever we do, we should do it to the Glory of God and out of affection for God. That’s much harder than it sounds. But if that’s truly our motive… I think God will be pleased with our efforts (and scripture tells us he'll give us a hand).

Eccl. 8 – Mind Map

We apply our minds in varying degrees. For our work, it seems the most natural, to apply them the most. We make much effort for our hobbies and likes. With our families, which might seem most intuitive and certainly most deserving, can often be the most neglected… and unfortunately our faith even beyond that.

“When I applied my mind to know wisdom and to observe man's labor on earth—his eyes not seeing sleep day or night- then I saw all that God has done. No one can comprehend what goes on under the sun. Despite all his efforts to search it out, man cannot discover its meaning. Even if a wise man claims he knows, he cannot really comprehend it.” – Ecclesiastes 8:16-17

Solomon applied his mind in observation of all that we do in order to make sense of it. What he found was that it could not be grasped because it’s understanding was in a realm only a heavenly king could comprehend. Our response?

“Do not be in a hurry to leave the king's presence. Do not stand up for a bad cause, for he will do whatever he pleases. Since a king's word is supreme, who can say to him, "What are you doing?" – Ecclesiastes 8:3-4

I can’t help but think about how different our concerns are as parents than they are as children. “No worries” comes to mind. My kids are oblivious to the concerns of this world, because they are unable to grasp them, are unconcerned if they could, and because they know I’m concerned about the big things for them. What if we could come to a place where we could see how temporal and ungraspable all this really is. And believe that there is one who does know, who really loves us, and who is in control. I would imagine that would bring a certain sense of peace, wouldn’t you say? Probably the peace we’ve been looking for.

It’s good to just let go. It’s good to be a child of the King.

Father, we apply our minds to many things. And most of the time they make us more worried than peaceful. If you help us to grasp anything, help us to remember that you are indeed in control, that you are indeed supreme, and that we can rest in these truths. Amen.

Esther 7 – Small Problems

Yesterday a homeless man cut in front of me in line at a restaurant. I was in a hurry, so initially I was “disturbed”. That emotion was quickly released as I heard him ordering a water and a small item from the junior menu. The total was a $1.07. As he exchanged his three wadded up dollar bills for the .93 cents in change, I saw him reading the box on the counter asking for donations to help local foster children. And without hesitation, he stuffed all .93 cents in the box, and walked away.

Our problems are so small.

“Then Queen Esther answered, "If I have found favor with you, O king, and if it pleases your majesty, grant me my life—this is my petition. And spare my people—this is my request. For I, and my people, have been sold for destruction and slaughter and annihilation. If we had merely been sold as male and female slaves, I would have kept quiet, because no such distress would justify disturbing the king.” – Esther 7:3-4

I guess what hits me today is how big I make my problems when they’re really not big at all. Esther went so far as to say, “Hey, if I were just being sold into slavery I wouldn’t bug you with such a small issue.”

Are you kidding me? “Merely” slavery?

Man, I’ve got a long way to go. Esther speaks of “such” a distress. Reality: Any distress to me is major distress. Any discomfort to me is major discomfort. Yet literally the worse thing that happened to me yesterday was getting cut in front of in line. Seriously.

As Rob Bell puts it, “We are so rich.”

I would add, and spoiled, and entitled, and we’ve lost perspective, and it’s saturated our faith. And this is our starting point. It’s our reality. It’s our place we must acknowledge before we’re going to change.

I think a lot of us avoid those who are without. We avoid considering what we have and what others don’t have. We avoid it to avoid the guilt. It makes us very uncomfortable. But, what I’m amazed by is how when we start at this place, the emotion is not condemnation, more guilt, feeling sorry for myself, etc… it truly sparks hope. I’m literally encouraged, excited, and want to make a difference. It slowly changes the way we feel about our “stuff”, and slowly changes our priorities. I believe with all my heart, that this is at least one of the reasons that Jesus told us to consider the least of these.

Psalm 32 - Break Time

We need a break. Not because we’re working too hard or because we think we deserve it, but because we need to take the time to stop and reflect on the goodness of God. We get so busy going, doing, and being that we forget to acknowledge, absorb, and appreciate.

King David knew the value of soaking it up. He soaked up every moment he had before God. He soaked up the victories. He soaked up the favor. And he soaked up the fact that he was forgiven.

“Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD " - and you forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah.” – Psalm 32:5

I love this word, “Selah”. It’s a pause in the writing. It’s a pause in the reading. It’s a pause to simply pause… and soak it up. “Selah” not only means to “pause” but it’s root means “to weigh”. I think that speaks for itself.

David had an amazing amount of confidence before God. While it’s refreshing to see his confidence in battle and leading, it’s surprising for me to see how much confidence he had in confession. I would imagine it came not from what he knew about himself, but more so from what he knew about God. Simply put, that if he acknowledged his sin in full disclosure, he would be forgiven. No matter how great the transgression.

There are some lessons to be found in there. I don’t always feel confident after a time of confession. Maybe we can all relate to that at times. And since God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, maybe when we fall short of full confidence in our confession, it’s because we aren’t offering full disclosure. God knows our hearts. I think we know them more than we like to admit, especially when we’re holding back.

Father, I want the confidence of David. But at times I lack the faith of David. At times I lack in fully believing in an unconditional love that should result in complete transparency with you. It makes absolutely no sense whatsoever to hold back, yet I have, and I do. Grow my faith. Thank you for your patience. Thank you for your faithfulness. Amen.

Psalm 13 – Desperate

Chapter 13 seems to show David at one of his most desperate and lonely places. You can hear it in his words:

“How long, O LORD ? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
and every day have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?
Look on me and answer, O LORD my God.
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death”
– Psalm 13:1-3

I guess in a weird way I find some comfort in David’s season of unknown. Although such seasons can be excruciating, each of us will experience them. With that in mind, there are some great lessons to be learned in studying how David addresses God during this time. First he takes a moment to be “real”, to lament and express the depth of his position (vs1-2). Then he literally asks, tells, begs God to “Look on” him and “answer” (vs.3). Reminds me of Luke 11:

“Then he said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend, and he goes to him at midnight and says, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him.'

"Then the one inside answers, 'Don't bother me. The door is already locked, and my children are with me in bed. I can't get up and give you anything.' I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man's boldness he will get up and give him as much as he needs.” – Luke 11

How does David have the confidence to come to God so bodly? I think it’s shown through the response of his heart. He knows God is faithful. He trusts God because he recalls God’s faithfulness. This allows him to rejoice and even sing.

“But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing to the LORD, for he has been good to me.” Psalm 13:5

No matter the situation, we can do the same.

2 Sam 3 - Simply Amazing

When you think about how divided Judah was from Israel, when you think about the tension between David and Saul, when you think about the world today… It’s simply amazing what our God can really do. Beginning in verse 8 we see just a glimpse of how deep that separation was prior to God bringing it all back together. Abner was highly defensive after the accusation in vs.7 and his response to being a “dog’s head, on Judah’s side” shows us how wide the gap was, yet how big the plan is:

“Abner was very angry because of what Ish-Bosheth said and he answered, "Am I a dog's head—on Judah's side? This very day I am loyal to the house of your father Saul and to his family and friends. I haven't handed you over to David. Yet now you accuse me of an offense involving this woman! May God deal with Abner, be it ever so severely, if I do not do for David what the LORD promised him on oath and transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul and establish David's throne over Israel and Judah from Dan to Beersheba." 2 Samuel 3:8-10

Nothing is impossible for our God. No one is out of reach. His arm is certainly not too short to save and His ears are certainly able to hear. He is the one who brought men from the grave… even His own son. And yet often our confidence is so small.

I had dinner Sunday night with Bishop Matt Thomas. He oversee’s the Free Methodist Church in the western United States and all of Asia. Quite a job. We spoke at length about God’s movement outside of the US. It’s simply amazing. It’s highly spiritual. It’s gigantic. I’m not saying He’s not moving here… I’m just saying I felt very small hearing story after story of the Spirit’s direct movement in ministry and people. And I craved it.

And then he made it personal. One of the most profound moments for me was in discussing the recent passing of his 28 year old son, Mitch, who had just lost his battle with cancer. Or did he? There was a peace over the Bishop as he spoke of his son being with Jesus that I just don’t know my faith would allow. I’ve never heard a man speak of eternity and know that he believed it as much as he did. I’ve never heard a man talk about the violence and danger of persecution that he’s experienced overseas because of his faith with no fear at all. His perspective is truly eternal.

Why? He knows the power of God, the power that heals, the power that is capable, the power that is beyond circumstance and this temporal world. There is nothing our God cannot do.

1 Sam 27 - Back to Gath

Apparently this is a highly debated chapter in scripture. Many believe David had given up and made a bad (or at least selfish) decision here to head back to Gath. And that he was giving up. I just don’t see evidence of that. And it seems like weird timing to do that after such a cool scene and seemingly victorious effort in chapter 26. Instead I see some great insight to the heart and mind of David… and even more so, the fruit of a journey of faith.

“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 hand." (1 Sam 27:1)

It didn’t say God led him or told him. It simply tells us David “thought to himself” (more closely translated ‘said in his heart’). And he was right, Saul stopped his pursuit. Verse four says, “When Saul was told that David had fled to Gath, he no longer searched for him.”

Typically when I hear that inner voice, especially when it turns out to be right, I attribute it directly to hearing God. I wonder if in this scripture we don’t see the result of David being so close to God, so used to hearing His leading, and knowing His heart so well, that he began to think and in this moment choose His way without even hearing it. Maybe that’s the journey. Maybe it’s ours too.

Weird thought that is not a theological claim, simply a weird thought: It makes me wonder that if we don’t make the right decisions or have the right faith attitudes, if God doesn’t always take us the way of some form of trial until we eventually learn the right things that increase our decision making ability and/or faith attitudes. Each time David waited on God, it left him inches from Saul, which was a part of His refining plan. Once his faith was at a place in which he intuitively made the right decision, he found peace. If we remember, Gath was the place God led David in the first place. But then, instead of acting civil and being the man God he was, he acted insane.

He had now come full circle. Physically and Spiritually.

This time, David was armed with a greater level of God’s wisdom. And his faith was stronger. Immediately he took a humble posture before Achich. He let him know he was no threat to him and his intentions were pure.

“Then David said to Achish, "If I have found favor in your eyes, let a place be assigned to me in one of the country towns, that I may live there. Why should your servant live in the royal city with you?” vs. 5

And Achish gave David what he requested. Once at a place and under an authority in which David felt he must act crazy. Now, under a different strategy, he lives as a welcomed citizen. I’m not going to take this so far as to wonder if he’d of acted this way the first time if all the following experiences were unnecessary, but it most certainly makes me think about God’s refining through our experiences.

I’m so encouraged today to see God’s leading and David’s maturing as he literally learned to “flee” eminent danger in the Lord, take major risks in the Lord, remain faithful under any circumstance in the Lord, and eventually find a season of peace through it.

David went through it all. He experienced it all. God took him there. He didn’t become bitter or negative, never expressed (to our knowledge) confusion instead he held the banner high and led others through his trial. Oh yeah, and eventually he would become King of Israel and his lineage would be that of Jesus.

Lord, I say often that I know your plan is bigger than mine. I’m reminded this morning how true that really is. I know that it’s not about me. Literally nothing is. Nothing corporate and nothing personal. If our pursuits are right, it’s always about you and your Glory, not ours. You are amazing. Your ways are divine. Thank you for your greatness. Amen.

1 Sam 24 - More than Words

“The men said, "This is the day the LORD spoke of when he said to you, 'I will give your enemy into your hands for you to deal with as you wish.' " Then David crept up unnoticed and cut off a corner of Saul's robe.” 1 Sam 24:4

David is a bigger man than me. (No duh, right) I don’t know if any of us can really understand how intense, how emotionally draining, and how spiritually thick this whole journey was for David. Talk about a ride. What gave him this confidence and strength? A word from the Lord.

"The LORD forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the LORD's anointed, or lift my hand against him; for he is the anointed of the LORD." With these words David rebuked his men and did not allow them to attack Saul. And Saul left the cave and went his way.” 1 Samuel 24 6-7

David heard from God. And he did what He said. Seems like a simple concept. But is it really? We spend so much time searching for what God is saying next, sometimes we forget about what He’s already said, even when the answers are already there as well. If we would just do this: Do what God has told us, things would never be the same.

Here are some more "Words" from the Lord. There is little room for misinterpretation.

“Love God.”

“Love your Neighbor.”

“Obey my commands.”

“Do what I have been doing.”

“Take my yoke upon you... For my burden is light.”

"Do not let your hearts be troubled.”

“Trust in God. Trust also in me.”

Courage

1 Samuel 17 "Courage"

People probably thought David was out of his mind.

Seriously. Scripture tells us Goliath was over 9 feet tall. Think about that for a minute. And of the giants, he was their greatest warrior. And the fight was not over a girl, or pride, a misplaced “mom” joke, or his lunch money it was for an entire nation’s wellbeing. And the fight was to the death.

“He (Goliath) looked David over and saw that he was only a boy… He said to David, "Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?" And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. "Come here," he said, "and I'll give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!" – 1 Samuel 17:42-44

Goliath basically said, “Come here boy. I’m gonna give you a spanking”. Yet David took his life. I know it sounds cliché’ but we all have our giants to slay. Here are some thoughts on what we can learn from this story of David:

1. David waited his turn (and was content playing a harp) but rose to the occasion at the right time.
2. David realized it wasn’t his giant to slay it was God’s.
3. Therefore, David acted as if He represented the Lord not himself.
4. However, David stayed true (authentic) to who he was with stones not Saul’s armor.
5. The result gave David a faith that would help him lead a nation.
6. He often remembered (psalms) God’s faithfulness in this moment.

Ruth 3 “Patience”

Ruth 3 – Brandon Hatmaker “Patience”
Austin New Church – South Austin Cares
Tuesday, September 30th, 2008

Patience. Since that’s a topic I need as much work on as anyone, I’ll just share something I wrote from someone better qualified. I was encouraged. Hopefully you will be as well.

“Ruth had done all that was fit for her to do, she must patiently wait the event. Boaz, having undertaken this matter, would be sure to manage it well. Much more reason have true believers to cast their care on God, because he has promised to care for them. Our strength is to sit still, Isa 30:7. This narrative may encourage us to lay ourselves by faith at the feet of Christ: He is our near Kinsman; having taken our nature upon him. He has the right to redeem. Let us seek to receive from him his directions: Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? He will never blame us as doing this unseasonably. And let us earnestly desire and seek the same rest for our children and friends, that it may be well with them also.”

My favorite part is “HE will never blame us as doing this unseasonably.” When we wait on the Lord, and when our seeking is truly of Him, His timing is perfect and we will not be found guilty of getting ahead of him.