THE LORD SPOKE (May 5)

Daily Reflections from Scripture:

Old Testament: II Samuel 7-8

At just the right moment, God brought another friend into David's life. Jonathan's death left a great hole in David's soul. Then God provided the prophet Nathan to fill it. What a friend! He jumped to encourage David (vs. 3) but then was spiritually sensitive enough to hear God's word (II Sam. 7: 4) and gently apply it as a balm to David. Take a look at the promises God gave David through Nathan:

• David wanted to build a house (temple) for the Lord but the Lord promised to build a house (dynasty) for him (II Sam. 7:5,11)
• David began as a "lowly" shepherd where he learned just the skills that the Lord required for governing the people of Israel (II Sam. 7:7-8)
• David heard the Lord say, "I have been with you...now I will make your name great...your kingdom will endure forever before me" (II Sam. 7:9,16)
• David received a promise that any father longs for - a son who would love the Lord (II Sam. 7:12,14)

And, did you take note of David's words on this day?

• "Who am I...that you have brought me this far?" (II Sam. 7:18-21) = genuine humility before God and man
• "How great you are, O Sovereign Lord! There is no one like you...." (II Sam. 7:22-24) = genuine praise from the depths of his soul
• "Do as you promised...[and] men will say, 'The Lord Almighty is God...'." (II Sam. 7:25-26) = genuine concern for others' spiritual state
• "Your words are trustworthy...for you, O Sovereign Lord, have spoken...." (II Sam. 7:27-29) = genuine trust in the Word of God

The Lord spoke a lot on that day! The Davidic Covenant (II Sam. 7:12-16) was not only a wonderful promise to David, it still rings with Messianic over-tones as we await the day when David's greater Son will sit on that throne in Jerusalem (Lk. 1:32-33; Acts 2:30f; 13:22-23; Rom. 1:2-4; Rev. 22:16).


New Testament: Romans 8

Being driven by desire will get you in trouble every time. Because that drive, whatever it is, will so easily blind you to other considerations, you end up not seeing clearly and, therefore, not judging correctly. Your focus on that particular desire will so quickly dominate all your thinking that you will fail to see otherwise perfectly clear road signs intended to keep you on the right path.

It can happen with a relationship, sports, a job, a hobby. It can be a perfectly good thing of itself but it’s the driven-ness of that desire that blunts your spiritual edge. This is what Paul means when he says “those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires” (Rom. 8:5a). It can be an addiction to food, to physical exercise, or to some other perfectly good activity but, because our desires focus so on that objective, it gets all our spiritual priorities out of whack. It begins to take over, to drive us, to make our direction other than God-honoring.

Being driven by desire will get you in trouble every time. But for one! Desiring God is the one desire that will balance and overcome all wrongly-directed desires. It’s what Augustine meant when he said, “Love God and do as you please.” This is the one desire that can’t be over done. It brings all other desires into their proper balance. Paul says, “those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires” (Rom. 5:8b). The result is that you “are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit” (Rom. 8:9).

Now, that puts all other desires in right perspective. Many of those desires can be perfectly good things, unless or until they are in the driver’s seat. When they begin to drive us we lose the direction that God desires for us. In the second half of the chapter, Paul describes the power that is unleashed by desiring God.

First, sin no longer has sway over us (Rom. 8:10). We safely trust in God (our Abba Father) and no longer have reason to fear (Rom. 8:15). We have an increasing share in His glory (Rom. 8:17-18) and begin to produce the fruits of the Spirit (Rom. 8:23). We can overcome weaknesses in His power (Rom. 8:26) and experience an on-going cleansing of our hearts (Rom. 8:29). As we are “conformed to the likeness of God’s son” (Rom. 8:29) we grow ever closer to God and our desires become one with Him - like the sympathetic vibrations of a sound chord with a tuning fork.

O to be like Thee! O to be like Thee!
Blessed Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

THE LORD SPOKE (April 28)

Daily Reflections from Scripture:

Old Testament: I Samuel 20-22

You might say Saul had Jonathan "in his pocket". In spite of his miserable recent actions, he still had the loyalty of his son. Jonathan told David, "...My father doesn't do anything, great or small, without confiding in me" (20:2).

Scripture tells us that "Jonathan became one in spirit with David" (18:1). He "made a covenant with David" (18:3) and "spoke well of David to Saul his father" (19:4). Herein lies the reason for Saul's duplicity with his own son. Saul saw Jonathan's loyalty as his way to get at David (20:3). Now Saul plays his second card. He was adept with the spear. Notice how often and against whom he uses it:

18:10-11 - he hurls it at David twice
19:9-10 - and then again
20:33 - then he hurls it at his own son, Jonathan
22:6 - it's close by his side while he plots against David and issues the order to kill the priests at Nob
26:7,11-12,16,22 - again it's nearby while he hunts down David who removes it from him in self-defense and as a lesson to both Saul and General Abner
II Sam. 1:6 - it's still with him (Saul) at the moment of his death

That would be quite some piece for the Antiquities Museum of Heaven! Do you want to have some fun? Trace out the references to David's sword (remembering chapter 17) starting at 20:9-10.

How different this all could have been if Saul had just acknowledged his sin and asked God to forgive him. He was, after all, the one God had chosen to be the first king. Certainly, God would have been quick to forgive him and he could have still been useful as the King of Israel. I once heard Warren Wiersbe say, "It's not the weapon in your hand, but the integrity in your heart that God honors and uses." That was what Saul lacked. How is it with me?


New Testament: Romans 1

The description of sins at the end of Romans 1 sounds just like any normal day’s programming on TV. The paragraph concludes with the condemnation of those who approve of such practices. Wouldn’t watching them repeatedly constitute some form of approval? At the very least, that’s what keeps them on the air.

When we continue in such practices, we run the risk of falling under the judgment of God similar to another example in this chapter. Three times regarding sexual depravity, it says, “God gave them over” to their sin (Rom. 1:24,26,28). When we stay fixed on a sin or sins, we push God’s grace to the limit. There comes a time when God says, “Enough! Have it your way.” God will allow sin to run its course.

It’s not only the heathen who are “without excuse” (Rom. 1:20). True, there is just basis for their condemnation in the fact that they have all the necessary evidence to respond properly to God. The evidence of the created world is sufficient to know two things: (1) that there is a God, and (2) that He is all-powerful, i.e. I must bow before Him.

But willful ignorance of God is no worse than willful abandonment of the ways of God. Knowing God’s righteous standard and willfully turning away from it, or worse, applauding those who do, leads to a depraved mind (Rom. 1:28,32). That depravity will manifest itself in the ugly litany of sin found listed in Romans 1:29-31.

There’s hope. If you peek ahead to the next chapter, you read that “God’s kindness leads you toward repentance (Rom. 2:4).

Marvelous grace of our loving Lord,
Grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt!
Yonder on Calvary’s mount outpoured,
There where the blood of the Lamb was spilled.

Grace, grace, God’s grace,
Grace that will pardon and cleanse within;
Grace, grace, God’s grace,
Grace that is greater than all our sin!

Sin and despair, like the sea waves cold,
Threaten the soul with infinite loss;
Grace that is greater, yes, grace untold,
Points to the refuge, the mighty cross.

Dark is the stain that we cannot hide;
What can we do to wash it away?
Look! There is flowing a crimson tide,
Brighter than snow you may be today.

Marvelous, infinite, matchless grace,
Freely bestowed on all who believe!
You that are longing to see His face,
Will you this moment His grace receive?

THE LORD SPOKE (April 24)

Daily Reflections from Scripture:

Old Testament: I Samuel 14

Jonathan was a leader touched by God. His inspiring words, "nothing can hinder the Lord from saving whether by many or by few" (vs. 6) helped to check the downward spiral of Saul's leadership. When a leader demonstrates his trust in God like that, notice what the people's response will be (vs. 7). It happened with Joshua against the Canaanites (Josh. 10), with Gideon against the Midianites (Jud. 6), with Jehoshaphat against the Moabites and Ammonites (II Chron. 20), and with many others who trusted the Lord (Heb. 11:32-34).

Notice though the uncertainty involved in following God. Joshua looked for a sure signal from the Lord that what he was doing was right (vs. 10). He was determined to press on only if he was sure it was the Lord's leading. Notice again the follower relationship that flows from that kind of leadership (vs. 14).

One more thing: compare Jonathan's "ministry goal" (vs. 6) with Saul's (vs. 24 - "before I have avenged myself ") and you'll see why they obtained such different results: Jonathan (vs. 13) - "the Philistines fell before Jonathan"; Saul (vs. 37) - "but God didn't answer him".

God is bigger than any human leader and, ultimately, He will have His way. In spite of Saul's failures, God delivered the people through him (vs. 46-48). Aren't you glad we serve such a great God?


New Testament: Acts 25

Three chapters; three trials. Each one quite different. Felix (Acts 24) was looking for a bribe and concerned not to offend the Jews. Festus (Acts 25) was the kind that liked to get things crossed off his lists, run a tidy court, and clear up unfinished business. Agrippa (Acts 26) was more philosophical in his interests, liked to get to the bottom of a matter, and weighed the issues.

The charge sheet had some things listed on it but it was anything by tidy. Festus wanted to clean it up before sending it to a higher court. It would reflect badly on him if the case wasn’t more clearly stated. He had four main points but none of them would stick and he knew it. Paul responded to all four (Acts 25:8,10):

1. I have done nothing wrong against the Law of the Jews
2. I have done nothing wrong against the Temple.
3. I have done nothing wrong against Caesar.
4. I have done nothing wrong to the Jews themselves.

If he hadn’t appealed to Caesar, Festus would have had no choice but to throw the whole case out of court. The suggestion to move the venue to Jewish Jerusalem held promise but higher courts don’t bounce things down to lower courts and besides, Paul saw quickly through that tactic. It would be a lynching trial there. Agrippa’s visit provided a welcome opportunity to shift the responsibility. Now, if he could just come up with some appropriate wording for the charge sheet....

Festus was really getting nervous by the end of the trial. He tried to silence what appeared to be contempt of court on the part of Paul (Acts 26:24). When the judges returned to their chambers (Acts 26:30-31) the feeling must have been, “Just who is on trial here?” They were feeling conviction themselves. Paul’s words, under the Holy Spirit’s direction, brought them to weigh guilt - their own!

It really does boil down to one ultimate question, “Do you believe?”