May 12, 2010 Bullies in a Battle of Words

We're always going to get tested to see what our true motivations are.  King Saul was tested, and he flunked.  If we look at the story only in the natural we might want to take Saul's part; but if you see what Samuel saw, you'll realize what went wrong, and why the kingdom was to be taken away from him.

The king and his son were the only ones who had swords!  The oppressive enemy had seen to it that the people had none (and they put up with it!)  In the spiritual sense, Saul was the one who had the word of God-- and he disobeyed it.  His explanation sounds plausible, but Samuel says other wise.  Saul was not "a man after God's heart," and therefore his kindgom would not continue.

David, on the other hand was a man after God's heart.  He knew not to fight the enemy without the Lord going before him:  "Give us help from trouble, For the help of man is useless.  Through God we will do valiantly, For it is He who shall tread down our enemies." Psalm 108:12-13  Saul sought his own glory, but David sought the glory of God.

Jesus said, "He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him." John 7:18
Jesus said only what His Father told Him to say.  He only sought the glory of the Father, and now the kingdom of Christ has been established over all.

We get tested when the enemy is there taunting us and making threats, and we think the Lord isn't doing anything about it.  Sometimes He doesn't "show up" fast enough for us.  If we don't have the Word in us, we're going to go run and hide in a cave, and the bully gets a victory.  If we do have the Word, but we don't have God's heart, we will speak and act presumptuously.  We may have been better off running and hiding.  When we speak the Word or do an "obedient" action out of God's time, and with a selfish motivation, we can easily become a weapon in the hands of the enemy.

"A wholesome tongue is a tree of life, But perverseness in it breaks the spirit."
Proverbs 15:4

I think we know, by now, that the perverseness is in the heart (if it were in the physical tongue, we could all cut out our tongues out and be very righteous indeed!).  Words can be swords.  How many times have our rash words broken another's spirit, and, in turn, our own?  I cannot begin to count the times I have done this.  But it happens less often now, because I'm tired of hurting others and suffering the pain of it myself-- and I'm tired of grieving the Holy Spirit. I want a wholesome tongue.  I want a whole heart after God.

Powerlessness is a bad thing, and God wants to deliver us from it.  But power without godly authority is deadly.  We cannot inherit the kingdom of God by walking in power without love and submission to God.  We can't beat the devil with the devil's attitudes.  For one thing, we must realize that Satan is already defeated; but we still must destroy his works.  God will help us destroy the works of the enemy if we have God's heart and are seeking His glory and not our own.

Jesus is the Tree of Life.  The more we yield to the Spirit and allow Him to grow that Tree in our heart, the more life-giving our words will be.  This is God's heart for you, and for all His children.  Some of Satan's strategy would be to irritate you so much that you hack away at the Tree growing in someone else's garden.  Let's be patient with one another, and look for and nourish that Tree.  At this moment, it might be just be a seedling that needs to be nurtured and protected.  Someday, it will be a great Tree that will offer shelter to the lost and dying.

January 15, 2010

This reading seems to hold a great paradox! But as we know there are no real contradictions in Scripture, only apparent ones. Proverbs 3:17 says of wisdom: "Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace."

One of the big issues in the world today is "how can we have peace and stop all the fighting?" We will have to bring heaven to earth.

Jacob's less-than-peaceful situations seem to be related all to family members giving him trouble. David's complaints in the Psalms had to do with enemies causing him sorrow and pain. I think we can safely say that most of our grief is centered in our relationships with other people, often family.

Jesus said, "I have not come to bring peace, but a sword." Matthew 10:34. The whole section has to do with how we respond to others. The sword of truth is cutting us off from the earthly way of relating. Jesus says:
1. Don't be surprised when you're criticized or rejected because of Christ.
2. Don't fear people; fear God.
3. Have your worth in God and you won't worry about people accepting you (which leads to compromise).
4. Don't hold back your testimony: say what He tells you to.
5. If you love Him more than anyone else, you will have life.
6. If you live Him, speak Him, demonstrate Him, others will see Him; if they respond to Him, then they will come into right relationship with Him and with you.

Jacob obeyed God's word and his enemies were compelled to make peace with Him. David trusted in God and prevailed. They were both rooted in the reality of the Kingdom and promises of God rather than in the earthly realm.

The tree of life is rooted in the heavenlies. If we choose that tree, rather than the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which is rooted in the earthly realm (the Word is cutting us off from that), we will have life and peace regardless of our earthly situation.