God Our Refuge - Closet Reflections

Sunday, July 7, 2019

Verse of the Day: 1 Samuel 21:14-15, Then Achish said to his servants, “Look, you see the man is insane. Why have you brought him to me? 15 Have I need of madmen, that you have brought this fellow to play the madman in my presence? Shall this fellow come into my house?”

David seemed to go from one place to another, making the most unwise decisions. However, before we criticize him, many of us would, and have, done the same if we felt that our lives depended on it. He first lied to Ahimelech the priest, and now he essentially delivers himself into his, and Israel’s, enemies hands. In spite of what we read here, we are not really given a snapshot of where David was emotionally. If we read only this passage, we will also misunderstand where he was spiritually. For all intents and purposes, we could easily conclude that David’s heart, because he lied and now made such an unwise decision, was far from the LORD. However, I warn us to take caution in jumping to such a conclusion, and remind all of us why it is dangerous to make assumptions about where someone is spiritually, solely based on what we think we see. In order to have a better understanding of where David was spiritually, we must read the Psalms he wrote while going through this ordeal. In spite of having to run from King Saul, convincing himself that he had to lie and use deceit in order to survive, we see David’s heart in Psalms 56 and 34. In Psalm 56 he wrote, after being captured by the Philistines, about his prayers to God and how he was confident that God had not forsaken him, but was for him. In verses 8-11 he stated, “You number my wanderings; put my tears into Your bottle; are they not in Your book? 9 When I cry out to You, then my enemies will turn back; this I know, because God is for me. 10 In God (I will praise His word), in the LORD (I will praise His word), 11 In God I have put my trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?” In spite of what we see of his actions, his heart was with the LORD. This is part of the reason God called him a man after God’s own heart, even in spite of his imperfections. In Psalm 34 he wrote praise after praise about God’s goodness and how He delivered him when Achish, king of the Philistines, cast him away, convinced that David was really insane. Although we cannot excuse David for his sinful behavior, what is most important in all of this is God’s mercy, grace, forgiveness, patience, and love for David. This is the same mercy, grace, forgiveness, patience, and love, that has been extended to us in Christ Jesus. We can learn many lessons from David’s victories and failures, but the most important lesson we can learn is about God’s faithfulness. In Psalm 34:8-9 David wrote, “Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him! 9 Oh, fear the LORD, you His saints! there is no want (lack) to those who fear Him.” David’s choices and actions, on the surface, appear to be those of one who completely lacked faith in the LORD’s ability to protect him and deliver him. Yet, when God gives us a glimpse of what was in David’s heart, we see a man who was human, made some mistakes, but whose love for God never wavered. Note also that in all his troubles, we never see him blame Saul for having to run, nor did he blame God for allowing all this to happen in his life. We can learn a lot about what our attitude should be, and what our prayers should be, when we find ourselves in the midst of trials and tribulations. The most important thing to remember is that in all we suffer in this world, we have a God who sees it, and though He may allow us to go through it, even if we make mistakes along the way, He is always better to us than we deserve.

Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His free gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His free gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).

Saturday, July 6, 2019

Devotional Audio Track: It All Belongs to Him

https://clyp.it/z5q0qkfm

It All Belongs to Him

Verse of the Day: 1 Samuel 21:9, So the priest said, “The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the Valley of Elah, there it is, wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you will take that, take it. For there is no other except that one here.” And David said, “There is none like it; give it to me.”

This may seem like an odd place to talk about giving to the LORD, but when we consider what was taking place in David’s life, this is actually a very good place to talk about just that. In chapter 17, verses 50 and 51, the account of how David used Goliath’s own sword to behead him is recorded for us. We know at that time that David fought against Goliath using a slingshot and a few stones. This victory began to elevate David’s popularity in the eyes of the people, much to King Saul’s dismay; who became fiercely jealous of David and the fame he was gaining. In the king’s service David went out to battle and slew many, but we never read anything about what weapon he used. The assumption being that he went to battle armed with a sword and armor. However, here we see that even though David could have kept Goliath’s sword and carried it into battle as a trophy sword and possibly as a token of fame and popularity before the people, he chose instead to give it to the LORD to be displayed in the House of God. In essence, what David did was give honor to whom honor belonged for his victory over Goliath, the LORD God. He took what God provided for him in this life and death battle, and rather than keep it for himself as a treasure and token of his victory, he chose instead to give the honor to God and give back to the LORD what He provided for David in that crucial moment. In this lies a very important principle about what it means to give back to God what belongs to God. In John 3:30 John the Baptist told us that, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” In other words, as we live for God, people should see more of Him than they see of us. One of the ways to do this is to take every opportunity to give God the honor that belongs to Him when He accomplishes both great and small in our lives. Is God jealous in respect to His own glory? The short answer is, “yes”. Acts 12:20-23 we read, “Now Herod had been very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon; but they came to him with one accord, and having made Blastus the king’s personal aide their friend, they asked for peace, because their country was supplied with food by the king’s country. 21 So on a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat on his throne and gave an oration to them. 22 And the people kept shouting, ‘The voice of a god and not of a man!’ 23 Then immediately an angel of the Lord struck him, because he did not give glory to God. And he was eaten by worms and died.” Yet, how often do we take credit for our accomplishments in order to satisfy our own pride, without a second thought about what God thinks about our foolish boasting? Every time we accomplish anything that is acknowledged by others, it is an opportunity to lift up the Name of Jesus before them. Not only did David give honor back to the LORD, but he also gave up something that would have been beneficial in the battles he fought going forward. Now, while he is on the run from Saul and has nothing to defend himself with, God has once again given him the sword that he laid down before the LORD. What are we holding back for ourselves that belongs to the LORD? Before we answer that question, let us be reminded of one thing…everything we have and see around us belongs to God. Deuteronomy 10:14 clearly states, “Indeed heaven and the highest heavens belong to the LORD your God, also the earth with all that is in it.” So I ask again, “What are we holding back for ourselves that belongs to the LORD?” When God has been so good to us in giving us His only begotten Son so that we can have eternal life (John 3:16), how can we deny Him anything He asks of us? Can we in all good conscience hold back our tithes and offerings? Can we hold back our service? Can we hold back our lives? In Romans 12:1-2 the Apostle Paul makes this plea, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” When we freely give back to God what rightfully belongs to Him, beginning with His own glory, we give Him the opportunity to glorify Himself and bless us by blessing others with what we give to Him wholeheartedly and cheerfully. The one thing we can be sure of, as David experienced in that moment, is that when we give to God what is His, He will never forsake us when we are facing our time of need, no matter what the need might be.

Friday, July 5, 2019

Pharisaical Christianity

Verse of the Day: 1 Samuel 21:6, So the priest gave him holy bread; for there was no bread there but the showbread which had been taken from before the Lord, in order to put hot bread in its place on the day when it was taken away.

Are we Pharisaical Christians? Are we more concerned with keeping religious rituals and traditions than we are with being compassionate and showing true love toward others? Have we allowed our religiosity to make us judgmental and arrogant about our so called “faith”? Ahimelech did something that was contrary to God’s ceremonial law, not moral law, and was blameless in his actions. If you just read what I just wrote in the previous sentence and your head exploded because I said he was blameless, then you just might be that Pharisaical Christian. Ahimelech knew that the showbread was to be eaten by Aaron and his sons, according to Leviticus 24:9, but the Law did not state that it could never, under any circumstance, be eaten by anyone else. The Word of God is clear when it reads, “Thou shalt or thou shalt not”. The interpretation will never change, but the application may vary. Ahimelech, before giving David the showbread for him and those he traveled with, who apparently were not present with David during his conversation with Ahimelech, made sure that David was ceremonially clean. Why did Ahimelech do this? He did it because it was not something to be given lightly, since God instructed that it should be for the priests, to be consumed in the house of God. So why was Ahimelech willing to breach part of God’s ceremonial law in this case? Well, I supposed I should let the Giver of the Law explain it Himself. In Matthew 12 the Pharisees were critical of Jesus’ disciples because they plucked heads of grain to eat during the Sabbath. Jesus, in correcting the Pharisees for their judgmental attitude, said this in verses 3-7, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: 4 how he entered the house of God and ate the showbread which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? 5 Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless? 6 Yet I say to you that in this place there is One greater than the temple. 7 But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless.” In essence, Jesus was confirming, many years later, that what Ahimelech did for David was blameless before God. Ahimelech breached ceremonial law to fulfill God’s law of love. Neither David nor Ahimelech breached any moral law by their actions regarding the showbread. They did not sin against God, but instead did exactly what the LORD expects from us when we are dealing with others; that we have enough wisdom to know that rituals and traditions, which do not supersede God’s Word, are to take a backseat to mercy, compassion and goodness towards one another. Far too often, we put more weight and value on our personal convictions than we do on what God says in His Word. We expect others to live in accordance to our convictions, rather than living in accordance to their own convictions that are based on God’s Word. Even if a brother or sister in Christ stumble in their walk or use their liberty in Christ as an occasion to sin, we are to be careful about how we approach them, and be careful about our motivation in confronting them. Galatians 6:1-3 clearly reminds us, “Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. 2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. 3 For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.” There will be those times when we will have the opportunity to show others, who are hurting and in need or have stumbled in their walk, the love of Jesus. Yet, all too often what we end up doing is beating them over the head with our own personal “dos and don’ts”. To add insult to injury, we do it in a mean-spirited manner. Lest we forget, James 1:19-20 commands, “So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; 20 for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” Let us be wise enough to know that when we are dealing with others, if they have done something that is morally wrong before God, we can correct them in love, but if it is a question of violating some religious ritual or personal conviction or preference, then mercy, compassion, and love, must be the priority, just as God made it a priority in forgiving our sinfulness and giving us what we clearly do not deserve, forgiveness and life eternal in Christ Jesus.

Tuesday, July 2, 2019

Devotional Audio Track: He Remains Faithful

https://clyp.it/jr0mgf52

He Remains Faithful

Verse of the Day: 1 Samuel 21:2, So David said to Ahimelech the priest, “The king has ordered me on some business, and said to me, ‘Do not let anyone know anything about the business on which I send you, or what I have commanded you.’ And I have directed my young men to such and such a place.

If we examine the life of David closely, we will see just how amazing God’s grace is in our lives. Here is the “man after God’s own heart”, on the run, as God has allowed it, and one of the first things he does is lie to the man of God, in God’s house. He made the right decision in that his first destination was the house of the LORD, but then he made an unwise decision that would later cost the man who helped him his life (1 Samuel 22). It was obvious from his conversation with Ahimelech that the priest knew nothing of the conflict that existed between King Saul and David. His appearance seemed to raise questions in Ahimelech’s mind, as we see him inquire about David’s solo travels. It would have been unusual for David to travel by himself, especially in service to the king. David’s choice to lie, rather than be honest with the man of God, who could have gone to the LORD on his behalf, demonstrated David’s lack of faith and fear at this moment. However, before we criticize David, many of us would have to admit that we would not have done any better. How often have we resorted to little white lies (which, by the way, are still lies) in order to avoid the consequence of certain situations, or lied in order to avoid admitting responsibility for our actions or failed decisions? The Lord may allow us, at times, to find ourselves in situations where telling the truth may be very difficult. When we find ourselves in these situations, our tendency to want to control the outcome, and not trust God with the it, can lead us down that path that begins with a little white lie, but then will require more lies to cover up the first one. As Christians, we must remember what we are told in Colossians 3:9-10, “Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, 10 and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him”. The bottom line is that trying times and difficult circumstances can tempt us to stray from being honest or cause us to live, for the moment, as that world lives, without giving much thought to what the consequences of our dishonesty will be. Hebrews 11:6 clearly states, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” In spite of David wavering in his faith, God did not see him any less a man after God’s own heart because He knew David’s heart and knew that this was not David’s norm in his relationship with the LORD. The truth of the matter is that not one of us will walk perfectly with the LORD. Many of us truly have a desire to walk before Him in righteousness, but these are the moments when we are reminded that it is only by Jesus righteousness that we will ever be accepted by the Father, who is holy and perfect. It is moments like these that make us realize how much we need Jesus, His love, His grace, and His forgiveness. In spite of David’s actions at that moment, it was not who David normally was as a man of God. This was the exception and not the rule. God saw beyond David’s fear, and momentary lack of trust, and never forsook him. Although God has recorded David’s weaknesses for us to see throughout his life, this is not about David. David’s life is about who God was in his life and who He is in ours. We must do all we can to not falter in our faith and walk with Jesus, but in those moments when we do, let us not measure God’s faithfulness to us by our unfaithfulness to Him. God is God, no matter what, and nothing will separate us from His love, as we are told in Romans 8:38-39, “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”