Jesus Doesn't Get Lost

2019-08-10T19:49:00.001-07:00

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https://jesusdoesntgetlost.com

The New Year and Fresh Starts

2017-01-19T14:26:00.003-08:00

As the sun began to creep over the Cascade mountain range this morning I felt the fresh hope of the new year. The resolutions are in place with the promise of still not having been broken. While I believe in the sovereignty of God, I also believe that somehow, in the midst of his almighty will, I have choices to make. I can choose to serve him today or not. I can choose to live by faith or trust in my own strength. So, I choose to live for Christ again this year. I choose to renew my commitment to him. I choose that even when I fall down, as I'm sure will happen sooner than later, that I will get back up and thank God once again for his amazing grace.

Here is to new year that we can each choose, and by God's please him in the process.

Steps Towards Manhood. (Guest Post by Rebecca Susuico )

2013-07-31T10:48:00.002-07:00

A friend of mine, Rebecca Susuico, posted this on Facebook a few weeks ago and I thought is was worth passing along.

Noah's Mountain Climb: I asked Noah if he would climb the mountain with me about 3 weeks ago. He said yes without hesitation. I knew I was asking a lot of him since he isn't the outdoors type and having done it myself, I know it takes a lot of determination to get to that 10,188 straight up in the snow to Camp Muir. But he didn't know that. It was a perfect Washington day, not a cloud in the sky and he started off strong, even if I had him overdressed, poor kid. But fatigue and burning muscles started to take their toll at about 7,000 feet and he wasn't having fun anymore. He pushed on slowly with me starting to agonize on whether to call it a day and stop his discomfort or push on to our goal. Every time I asked if he wanted to stop he answered with a quick "No" and we pressed on. Until we got to about 9,500. He fell into a heep in the snow in tears and despair. I told him that of course he had already accomplished so much and I was so proud of him. We had been getting the attention of many climbers already and their first question was "How old is he?" You don't see kids do this climb. They all told them how proud they were of him. We had a lot of cheerleaders along the way, which is another thing I love about climbing. There are no strangers on the mountain We sat there just a couple more minutes before heading down. I helped him up but to my surprise he said, "I just want to crest this hill and then we can go back." His heart was broken that we had not reached our goal. I was so proud already and I helped him up and we made it another 30 feet to the top of this hill, very slowly. He saw the camp, that's all it took. He didn't say anything, he didn't have to. I saw it in his face. He wanted to get there. I loaded him up with ibuprofen and he trucked his little hiney up that mountain for another 1 hour and 30 minutes with the camp in sight the whole way. He fell into this heap on the closest rock we came to in the camp and I cried. We had an audience and they were proud too. Now I know the kind of grit and determination my little boy has and my hopes are high and my heart is full of joy. I am so excited for his future because when the going gets tough my son will get tougher, and I pray he gives God the glory every step of the way as I give God the glory for entrusting him to my care for a few short years. The downside is that we made it back to the car at 9:10 p.m., an 11-hour climbing day, a 1 hour 45 minute car ride ahead of us, and a very worried daddy at home with no cell phone service until 1 hour into the drive. But it didn't take long for Daddy to understand that it had to be done. That is the story of Noah's first mountain climb.

When Waiting for God Means Staying Where You Are

2013-05-23T19:17:00.004-07:00

1 Samuel 24

The Philistines may have slowed Saul down from pursuing David for a little while but He’s back at it here in chapter 24. David and his men have been pushed to their physical limits while they have fled from Saul and yet still he has trusted that God would protect him and one day put him on the throne. Now David’s endurance will be tested in another way.

This time Saul isn’t just close to capturing David, but he is unwittingly in the very cave that David and his men are hiding in. However, while David and his men are in the cave in order to hide, Saul has simply sought some privacy in order to relieve himself. You heard right, you couldn’t have made this up if you tried. As you might imagine this leave Saul a bit, umm….vulnerable. Is this David’s chance to kill his nemesis? Is this God directing him to take matters into his own hands? Could this be his chance to stop running for his life and take hold of what God has promised him? If we are honest with ourselves, many of us wouldn’t even hesitate in taking an opportunity like this to benefit ourselves. While David surly is not a perfect man, we see him care far more about God’s timing than his own. Saul is still the king that God put on the throne and David refuses to undercut that authority in this way.

Although David lets Saul do his “business” unhindered, he does have the hutzpah to cut a piece off of Saul’s robe so that he can prove that he had ample opportunity to kill Saul if he wished. In fact, when Saul is a safe distance from the entrance of the cave, David calls out and shows the peace of robe that he had taken. David makes it clear by what he says here that although he has shown Saul mercy, he expects God to exact justice on Saul for his wrong doing.

It’s interesting that Saul sounds very contrite for what he has put David through and even acknowledges that God has called David to be king. He even asks David to spare his family when he sets up his kingdom. David agrees and they go their separate ways. This was very counter-cultural to let the family of your opponent live and shows great mercy on David’s part, even further displaying his faith in God to protect not just his present but his future.

Notice that although Saul is sounding repentant, David in no way lets his guard down. In fact he heads strait to a fortified place where he and his men can defend themselves. Saul may warrant some respect because of the position that God has placed him in, but he has lost his right to be trusted. David’s trust in God is not dependent on his trust in Saul.

Lessons:

We should constantly be evaluating our lives in a way that seeks God’s glory in the decisions we make, even as we attempt to do his will. Doing God’s work doesn’t automatically mean that we are doing work for God. We need to humbly and faithful do what God wants from us, even if it might mean waiting where we are at or being faithful in an uncomfortable position. He wants us to be faithful and to trust in Him, not to be comfortable for our own sake.

Follow God Beyond Yourself

2013-05-15T15:10:00.001-07:00

Follow God Beyond Yourself

1 Samuel 23

David seeks the Lord and is successful, even at great risk.

David and his men seem to only barely stay one step ahead of Saul as they roam through the wilderness, hiding from the kind that seeks his life. In the midst of this cat and mouse game David gets word that a Judean city is under attack by the Philistines, the current greatest enemies to Israel. His heart tells him to intervene for the people he loves but his head knows that it would be incredibly risky, exposing him and his men to King Saul. He does the right thing and seeks the Lord’s direction in the matter. Remember David now has a priest tagging along with his band of misfits. The Lord says go and they save the city.

Of course Saul finds out and jumps at the opportunity to pin David in to a fortified city where he can’t escape. David again does the right thing and seeks the Lord for weather to stay for flee. They flee at God’s direction and continue to live a life on the run.

Jonathan encourages David

Even though David knows that he is the promised next king of Israel, his mediate desperate circumstances must have been exhausting and discouraging. The current king was literally pursuing him to kill him and he never knew from day to day how desperately he would need to run. Enter Jonathan once again perhaps his only trusted friend. Jonathan is an amazing friend once again for at least 3 reason. First, he risks his own life by committing an act of treason against his father to seek out David and encourage him. Second, this is literally the son of the King, and by all rights the next legitimate heir to the throne, who loves his friend and his God more than the riches and power that could be his. Lastly he goes to his friend not just to encourage him and renew their friendship, but he strengthens his hand in God. He knows that what David needs more than anything else is the hand of God at work in his life and this is what he seeks to encourage David with.

God is faithful to his promises

Shortly after this the men in the wilderness that David and his men are staying in rat him out and they are once again on the run from Saul. This time Saul is literally on the opposite side of a hill from David and closing in quickly when all of a sudden Saul gets a report that Philistines are attacking the borderlands. David is saved by a hairs breathe. He lives another day by God’s direction, the God who is faithful and will keep His promises.

Lessons:

The safest place we can ever be is in the will of God. David’s story has proven this to us over and over again and we need to hear it and live it out. God might call you to something risky, at least by your perception but really the riskiest thing you could do is ignore our outright deny the voice of God in your life.

We all need godly friends who will be there to encourage us to do the will of God even in the midst of what seems to be a hopeless situation. We also need to be that selfless, loving friend to others. Who can you be a Jonathan to?

God keeps his promises even if we have a hard time knowing how He is going to accomplish them. He often will put us in situations where we are forced to trust him because He knows that we wouldn't otherwise. When we trust God and do what he says, even in the midst of scary or difficult circumstances and we see Him deliver us, our faith can be strengthened in ways that it never would be otherwise.

Honoring Your Mother Beyond the Day

2013-05-10T11:52:00.001-07:00

Honoring your mother beyond the day.

Candid interview mash-up about moms.

Mother's Day interviews from Greg Olson on Vimeo.

Good Friday With Plastic Jesus

2013-03-29T15:14:00.002-07:00

All of us will worship this coming Sunday. Music will play, songs will be sung, warm fuzzies will be felt, but will we worship the real Jesus? This Friday should be a sobering reminder to us that even at our best we can be fickle, ignorant and selfish with our adoration. Without even realizing it we shape Jesus into who we want him to be and worship our self-made son instead of the genuine article.

Many of us smugly review the Passion story this time of year, patting ourselves on the back because we would never be like the fickle crowds who shouted “Hosanna!” one day and “Crucify Him!” the next. We are proud of ourselves for not having a taste for blood when it comes to unmet expectations and unwittingly think that this somehow means we are on the right track when it comes to Jesus. The truth for far too many of us however, is that instead of having a taste for blood, we have a taste for candy.

When the real Jesus isn’t exactly what we want him to be we replace him with what I like to call the Santa Jesus, the Rock Star Jesus, or simply the universal Plastic Jesus. The Santa Jesus is the one who only wants to give us the things that we want. When we pray to Santa Jesus about the girl or boy we’re dating he always tells us that we should do what makes us happy. We should by that car, take that vacation, or perhaps even divorce our spouse because they no longer make us happy. This Jesus, conveniently always tells us what we want to hear.

Rock Star Jesus works hard to keep us entertained at all costs. This becomes the most important feature in the churches we choose and even weather we are part of a church at all. Rock Star Jesus lets us party, go to sporting events, or stay home for march madness because he understands the importance of feeling good and having fun above all else.

Plastic Jesus is kind of the catch-all for everything else we would like Jesus to be. Maybe we need Jesus to be our boyfriend, or to tell us that our choices don’t have consequences or any number of other pseudo-realities.

As we worship this Sunday, let look into ourselves while also looking into God’s word and ask him to help us see and worship the true Jesus. May we seek to follow the real Jesus. May we be conformed into his likeness instead of conforming him into ours.

Please help me to live a life that is above the reproach of the watching world.

2012-09-24T10:45:00.000-07:00

Titus, One

Oh Lord, your gospel is precious and mysterious. Thank you that your promises are true, that we can bank our lives on them and proclaim them to the world around us.

Please help me to live a life that is above the reproach of the watching world. Help me to lead my family well. May I practice self-control in my private and public life. Give me a genuine heart for your people and for sound doctrine. May I be able to lead and teach well your commands.

Help me oh Lord to sift through the traditions that creep into moralism. Help me to preach truth in love, expecting and living obedience but not placing my confidence in it. Help me to constantly point to your mercy and grace as the motivations for our obedience. Keep me from the legalism that so easily encroaches toward pride and self-satisfaction. May I lovingly call it what it is, and correctively teach your word rightly. May I guard myself and others against this wayward tendency. Amen.

May I fulfill the ministry you have given me.

2012-09-21T07:31:00.000-07:00

2 Timothy Chapter Four:

Lord, help me to work hard at learning your word and bless my efforts. May I be able to preach and lead well with what you have entrusted to me. Help me to be patient in teaching and in enduring hardships. May I fulfill the ministry you have given me.

May I follow Paul’s example and finish the race strong, looking to Jesus, my Lord and Judge.

Help me to be wise, proactive, and glorifying to you even in the face of trials.

Fill me with your Holy Spirit, give me the grace needed to complete the tasks ahead. You are faithful always. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

May I love you more than anything.

2012-09-19T09:42:00.000-07:00

Praying Through the Pastorals:

2 Timothy Chapter Three:

Lord, help me to avoid being entangled with those who love other things more than yourself. May I love you more than anything. Help me to watch out for but also protect others who are susceptible to learning or knowledge without wisdom. May I not be led astray by various passions but rather stay true to your word and your mission.

Help me to be wise in how I handle persecution as it comes my way, may I be able to endure it with patience and love. May I hold fast to the truth from you and your word and be found faithful. Help me to rely on the truth of your word and the power in the scriptures. May I learn it and live it to equip myself and others for every good work. Amen.

Praying Through the Pastorals: 2 Timothy 2

2012-09-18T10:43:00.000-07:00

2 Timothy Chapter Two:

O God, may I receive the grace you have given me. May I remember and put into practice the instruction you have given me and that has been given me by faithful men and women. May I not fear suffering or discipline but may I faithfully focus on the work you have called me to do.

Help me to remember Jesus Christ and those he came to save as motivation to endure through hardships. Help me to remember the glory that is yet to come and the warnings against faithlessness. Thanks you for always being faithful, even when I am not.

Help me to work hard, to handle your word rightly and faithfully. May I teach and practice it well as I also lead others to do the same. May none unnecessarily waver in their faith because of me. Please give me wisdom to deal with those who handle your word carelessly and who leave trouble in their wake. May all of us who are yours depart for wrong doing. Help me to lead myself and others to repentance.

Help me to be used for honorable service to you. Help me to be and remain holy for your work and not for the dishonorable work of others or myself. May I follow those how call on you from a pure heart. May I discipline myself and not simply follow the passions of my flesh but may I pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace.

Please give me the wisdom and insight to avoid foolish controversies that distract and hinder your work. Help me not to engage in them myself and help me to keep others from doing the same.

O God help me to be kind and patient, not someone who fights or causes quarrels. May I be someone who represents you well and brings those who have strayed back to you through my words and conduct. May I be used by you to save others from the power of the Devil and his plans. Amen.

Praying Through the Pastorals: 2 Timothy 1

2012-09-17T08:05:00.000-07:00

2 Timothy Chapter One: a prayer

Thank You Lord for faithful parents who taught me about you, both by their words and the way that they lived. May I continue on and even build on this legacy of faith. Please help me to demonstrate the Spirit that you have given me, one of power, love, and self-control.

Help me to not be ashamed of the gospel or to the calling that you called me to. May my works be because of the grace you have given, remembering Jesus the Messiah and his work. May I follow the wisdom and truth of your word and of those who have gone before me. Help me to pattern my life after them by the power of the Holy Spirit who lives as a deposit within me. Thank you for faithful servants who continue on in the hard times. Please bless them with a special blessing, today and on that final day. Amen

Praying Through the Pastorals: 1 Timothy 6

2012-09-14T08:02:00.001-07:00

1 Timothy Chapter Six:

May I be a good and faithful servant to those who have charge over me. May I do my work gratefully and respectfully, especially in the service of other believers. May my work be conducted in such a way that God is glorified and the teaching of him is not hindered.

Please help me O Lord to be faithful to the words of my Lord Jesus Christ. May I not become self-righteous or arrogant with works or knowledge. May I truly seek your glory and not my own. Help me to be content with true godliness.

May I be able to be content with my basic needs met and nothing more. May the pursuit of wealth and comfort not be something that distracts me from my gospel mission. In success or struggle my I keep you at the front of my ambitions with a thankful and grateful heart.

Help me to pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Help me to proclaim faithfully the gospel by what I say and by the way I live my life. May Jesus receive all the glory and honor and praise from my life forever.

May I be able to teach the wealthy to use their given resources for good works, sharing in the gospel mission and with those in need. Help me to show them that true riches lie in what is eternal, not the temporary things that we might enjoy now. May they learn to build a good foundation now for the true life that is to come.

Keep me true to the faith, faithful to the end. By your grace, Amen.

What if God Required it All?

2012-09-13T06:30:00.000-07:00

1 Samuel 22

As you might imagine, being on the run from the King can be a pretty tricky thing to do as the King has every resource in the land at his disposal. It’s also not good for your family when the King is unpredictable and crazy. Word gets to David's family that he is hiding out in a cave and they go to him (certainly better than waiting for the King to exploit you or worse). Word also gets around to others where David is and he begins to become like a pre-incarnate Robin Hood who attracts every outlaw or outcast in the area.

Even with this band of misfits however, David still has a problem, his parents are much too old to be gallivanting across the country at a moment’s notice but they also can’t stay within Saul’s grasp. David decides to take them to the land of Moab on the south east side of the Dead Sea and see if the king there will protect them for a while. As you might imagine this is a great opportunity for the king of Moab to get on the good side of the future king of Israel and so the deal is made and David, his family, and his band of misfit men live yet another day. Life is stressful and crazy but God is faithful and continues to provide a way of escape, even if at the last second.

God is always faithful, but others will not be so fortunate to escape with their lives. Remember the guy who saw David at the Tabernacle a few chapters ago? Enter scene with Saul and Doeg the Edomite. Saul continues in his craziness and is blaming everyone around him for being on David’s side (can you blame them for not wanting to rat David out?) when Doeg just so happens to show up and spill the beans. Saul then goes to Nob (where the priests are) and accuses them of conspiring against him with David. They honestly hadn’t heard yet that David was a public enemy but Saul in his craziness doesn’t believe them. He orders them all killed but no one will obey such a heinous request except one person, you guessed it, the Edomite. He kills all the priests, their families, even the livestock, as if the whole town was cursed by God. Only one priest escapes and makes his way to David. Could Saul’s delusion and destruction get any worse?

Lessons:

None of us would ever wish to go through the struggles of David here or even worse, the fate of the Priests and their families, but in both cases God is faithful. Some of us will suffer more in this life than others, but we must all seek the Lord and His strength when those trials come. God wants to be made great in our triumphs and in our trials. He never promises that this life will be easy but he does promise to be with us through it all.

The Continued downfall of Saul is a tragic one as we see his disobedience to God cause those around him to suffer mightily. He could have been a mighty blessing used by God for His glory but instead he sought his own glory and was a might curse. Who will you seek to give glory to?

Praying Through the Pastorals: 1 Timothy 5

2012-09-11T10:35:00.002-07:00

1 Timothy Chapter Five:

Help me, O Lord, to lead, correct, and council with a wise and kind approach. Help me to say and do what is necessary, but not unnecessarily harsh.

Help me to take responsibility for, and care for my own family in a godly way. May I also counsel others to do the same. Help me to watch over the truly needy but also exhort others to do their duty as well.

May I lead others to employ their time well and reach their potential for your glory as I do the same for myself.

Help me to be proactive in recognizing and honoring those who lead well for your service, allowing then to prosper and flourish. Help me to teach them as well as guard their reputations as they lead and influence on your behalf and for your glory. May I take seriously the sins of those who have influence over others and not let them go unaccounted for. Give me eyes to see the truth and act wisely.

In Jesus name, Amen.

Praying Through the Pastorals 1 Timothy 4

2012-09-10T09:42:00.001-07:00

1 Timothy Chapter Four:

Please give me a conscience that can see and hear truth. I pray that I would not be enticed by unbiblical teaching that might distract or warp my mind or worldview. May I not become too narrow or broad minded to go beyond the bounds of the intended practice of your word. May I live by your word both in freedom and constraint.

May I have my hope fixed on you, my savior and the savior of all people. May training in godliness be more important to me than physical well-being. Keep me focused on what is important to you and your mission for me on this earth. Let me not get distracted by minor points that hinder the gospel.

Help me O God to be an example to others on how to live in conduct, love, faith and purity. Help me to teach accurately and effectively from your word. Please fill me with your Spirit to use the gifts you’ve given me as a faithful steward. May I be fully consumed in the life work that you have given me to do. Help me to be consistent and persistent in the teaching and practicing of your word, for my sake and the sake of others. Amen.

Praying Through the Pastorals: 1 Timothy 3

2012-09-08T11:27:00.001-07:00

1 Timothy Chapter Three:

I aspire to lead well, may I do so for your glory, may I take the proper steps, choosing to be above reproach, faithful to my wife, of a clear mind and self-controlled. Help me Lord to be gentle, hospitable, and someone who is respected and respects others. Please keep me from letting money rule my decisions.

O Lord may I lead my family well. May I teach them well as I also teach others. Whatever success I have may I give you all the glory and honor for all of it comes from you who enables me.

Help me to proclaim the truth about you well. How Jesus, the Son of God, came to earth, died a sacrificial death, and rose again as our hope and salvation. In Jesus name, Amen

Praying Through the Pastorals: 1 Timothy 2

2012-09-07T11:31:00.000-07:00

Praying Through the Pastorals: 1 Timothy 2

How do I pray for all people Lord? Help me to have a heart for all that they may find you and find peace. That those in positions of power and influence my rule well and be forces for good in this world.

May I desire as you do, that all might be saved and find truth. May we all understand the truth about Jesus.

I pray that I would be the man you intend me to be. That I might be a spiritual leader who is not a bully but a loving shepherd.

Help me to teach men to live well as men and women to live well as women as you see fit.

May those who claim your name, male or female, live and worship together in such a way that honors you and gives you glory. In Jesus name, Amen

Praying Through the Pastorals: 1 Timothy 1

2012-09-06T12:00:00.000-07:00

For the next few weeks I'll be writing very short posts that are actually prayers based on a chapter from each of the Pastoral letters that the Apostle Paul wrote.
We'll start with 1 Timothy and work our way through. My heart's desire is not that you would see me as pious or anything like that but that this might be a practical example for you to try and do the same thing. There really isn't anything complicated about it. I'm simply taking the scripture and asking God to help me apply it to my own life. Hopefully you'll see that it's really not that hard and try it yourself.
Let me know your thoughts along the way!

1 Timothy Chapter One: a prayer

Dear God, give me a love from a pure heart, a good conscience and a sincere faith. Help me to be true to your word and value what you value.

Help me to not sin. Help me to not do that which is contrary to sound doctrine. Help me to stay true to the gospel.

Please be merciful and gracious and may I have the faith that is in Christ Jesus.

O Lord help me to battle for the faith and hold true. Please keep me from being rejected. In Jesus name, Amen

The Real King of Perfection

2012-08-24T10:24:00.003-07:00

Last Wednesday night we talked about who the true King of Perfection is and why he deserves our allegiance and obedience. Take a look and please tell me what you think!

Be like Christ in Humility on Prezi

Eternal Life Will Cost You Everything.

2012-08-13T09:36:00.003-07:00

Here is my sermon on the Rich Young Ruler from Mark 10:17-31.

The sane conditions apply: the culture in which I minister expects a sermon of at least 50 minutes.

Your feedback is most welcome!

Eternal Life Will Cost You Everything

It's Never Right to do the Wrong Thing

2012-06-12T12:59:00.003-07:00

Samuel Chapter 21

David is now on the run and truly alone. He can’t go to Samuel the prophet, he can’t go to Jonathan his friend and ally, he feels the weight of fending for himself, by himself. He has felt the bloodlust from his enemies in battle before but now he also feels it from his own countrymen. A price is on his head, the king’s men are everywhere, the walls are closing in.

In his desperate flight, provisions are basically nonexistent as he comes to the city where the tabernacle and priests are. David is resourceful, cunning and desperate and in this moment his faith in his God falters, he lies to try and save his own neck. He tells the priest that he is on king’s business (information traveled a bit slower than CNN or a twitter feed back then) and that he needs some food. The only bread available is the holy bread which only priest were allowed to eat. The priest Ahimelech decides to follow the spirit of the Law instead of the letter of it and feeds the man in his desperate need (latter endorsed by Jesus). Oh ya, and he gives David Goliath’s sword which they just so happened to have on hand. (What?)

So where would you go if the king was seeking your life from every side? Right, over to Gath, the enemy city that was the home of the giant Goliath who you famously killed a while back…and you are carrying his huge, unmistakable sword with you just to rub a little more salt in that wound. How desperate do you have to be to run to your hated enemy? Anyway, people recognize David and tell the king of Gath. So now what? Again, in his desperation, instead of trusting God, David deceives. He pretends like he is a mad man and gives an Oscar winning performance as he slobbers all over his beard and scribbles on the city gates. It works, and he escapes.

Question:

What would have happened if David would have sought the Lord’s help instead of lying in these situations? God was gracious to David even though he didn’t handle these situations exactly as he should have. He still spared his life and will still use him to do great things. David’s actions were wrong and they will get him into trouble, but God still has a plan for David, He will protect him and keep His promises.

Lessons:

It’s never right to do the wrong thing, no matter how desperate we are. None of us are perfect, we all sin but that’s not a good excuse. Still, our God is gracious and merciful and still chooses to use us despite our mistakes and poor choices at times. This won’t be the last time that David sins, and his some of his sins will have drastic consequences. Sometimes our sins have drastic, even lifelong consequences as well, but God will always take back the truly repentant. God will always use the willing and repentant. So, when you sin, or make a mistake, don’t let it prevent you from getting back up and continuing to pursue God and his word. Let God’s glory shine even in your desperate need. It’s never right to do the wrong thing. Remember Jesus doesn’t get lost.

God’s plan is always the best plan, isn't it?

2012-05-25T13:31:00.001-07:00

1 Samuel Chapter 20

David is desperate, “a step away from death”, but God has given him perhaps the greatest friend of all time. Despite the dangers of meeting, they find each other and through the dangers and complexities of the situation, their friendship is strengthened. They even make a covenant before the Lord.

Jonathan demonstrates uncommon faith. He puts God’s plan before his own, security, before his own family, before his own honor even before his own life. All things his father was not willing to do. This is the last time we will see Jonathan for a while but he leaves the narrative as an amazingly loyal and loving friend.

They devise a plan where Jonathan will try one last time to see if there is any chance that Saul has changed his mind killing David. Unfortunately, the outcome only proves Saul’s resolve and demonstrates that he knows David is going to be the next chosen king. Saul can’t understand why Jonathan would let someone take the kingdom from him, Jonathan can’t understand why Saul would try and stand in the way of God’s plan.

In the end, Jonathan and David secretly meet one last time and grieve over the situation. Sin has broken every relationship in this story but not everyone has sinned, only Saul. Saul’s sin has broken the relationship between himself and his son, David, his daughter Michal, and certainly with God. Jonathan and David will be separated because of Saul’s sin. They depart in sorrow.

Lessons:

God’s plan is always the best plan and we are foolish to think that we can change it or subvert it. We need to be humble enough to repent of our own sin, and live by God’s plan even when we don’t understand why. Jonathan followed God even when it was confusing or difficult, we can do the same.

Sin breaks relationships, and sometimes we suffer the effects even when we are not at fault. We should be quick to repent and reconcile with others, realizing that our sin extends far beyond our personal relationship with God but also to those around us.

We Wouldn't Choose the Long Road, but It's Best in the End.

2012-04-24T12:35:00.002-07:00

We Wouldn't Choose the Long Road, but It's Best in the End.

1 Samuel chapter 19

David’s life is not taking the course that we would expect, from a human perspective anyway. One would think that after being anointed as the future king, killing the Giant, and marrying the king’s daughter that life would be pretty good. As we saw in chapter 18, life has, instead, gotten a lot more complicated for David. Now in Chapter 19, his life even gets perilous.

Divided Loyalties:

Jonathan, Saul’s son, but David’s friend hears from his fathers own mouth (Jonathan is a leader privy to such things and trusted by his father) that he wants David dead. Jonathan does the right, but I’m sure not easy thing and chooses God’s will over his fathers by warning David and helping him hide. Siding with the enemy was a risk to himself as well, however, Jonathan has never been afraid to do the right thing, even if the consequences are high. He trusts God more than the circumstances around him. Eventually he reasons with his father and gets him to promise not to kill David, even to acknowledge that David has actually been a tremendous blessing to him and the kingdom. So David returns…

Can you imagine being David back in Saul’s court at this point? Can you imagine the pressure of having to constantly watch your back, constantly watching the words and actions of those around you and wondering how they might affect your mortality? David doesn’t have to wonder for long and Saul’s penchant for wanting to kill David will no longer be subtle. He actually tries to pin David to wall with the spear next to his throne while David is playing music for him.

David is not the only one caught in the wake of Saul’s destructive behavior however. Michal, David’s wife and Saul’s daughter, puts a fake body in his bed while David climbs out the window and runs to Samuel. Saul in forcing his own children to side against him and puts them in very difficult political positions.

God works in ways we don't always understand:

But God is always with David in this section of the narrative. The difficulties that David finds himself in only magnify the fact that God is with him, keeping him save despite the circumstances. His faith and reliance on God grow stronger through the difficulties because God puts him in situations where he has no where to turn but up. God helps David when he is week and helpless. He even works in strange ways that we would never think of. When Saul and his troops come to get David from Samuel’s house they are forced by God to prophesy. Even Saul himself is incapacitated and forced to worship God. He is even humiliated by taking his cloths off. David is delivered in the unlikely, by unlikely means. God gets the glory.

Lessons: We pretty much never like to go through trials in our lives, and we sometimes have no clue why God works the way he does, but we can always know that he is in control. Growth is never easy, knowing God more requires struggle. Faith that is tested becomes even stronger. God puts us in situations where he gets the glory, we should be quick to give it to him and to even see him working in the ways we would not expect. He is God and we are not, after all.

Sometimes even those who are close to us will challenge our faith in negative way. We need to choose to do what is right and trust God. We need to be more concerned with following God than the fallout we might have with friends or family. Following God is always the right choice regardless of the consequences we may face her on earth. Trust him, believe him, and watch how he works in the unlikely, watch how he works in you.

Living After the Mountain Top

2012-04-17T12:05:00.001-07:00

Living After the Mountain Top

1 Samuel 18:6-30

In the fairy tales, after the hero slays the dragon, he is supposed to marry the princess and live happily ever after right? David discovers in this section that, while slaying the giant was an amazing feat that God accomplished through him, it wasn’t exactly his ticket to the good life. While he was now rich and famous, his life was also perilous. David continues to have success in battle and everyone in the kingdom loves him. The text makes it clear that this success is from the Lord, the Lord who was with David and not with Saul. This makes Saul, the king, very, very jealous. Because David is so beloved, however, he can’t just kill him, so Saul plots other ways to get rid of David.

Saul hated David because the Lord was with him, and not with Saul. He decides to follow the time honored mobster tradition of keeping “your friends close and your enemies closer” by trying to get David married off to his daughter. David shows some political savvy by not considering himself worthy of such an honor but eventually Saul comes up with a bride price that makes it hard for David to refuse. Again we see that God is with David as he brings a hundred Philistine foreskins to Saul in exchange for his daughter Michal.

The political intrigue here is messy and in the end no one really wins. Michal is used as a pawn by her father and, even though she loves David, the text never says that David loves her back. She will live a very lonely and tragic life treated more like property than a person. Even though David wins battles and wins the girl, he does so like jumping through the flame only to be rewarded by having to walk through a mine field. He faces enemies on the battle field and on the home front and can trust almost no one.

Lessons:

David’s reward for faithfulness so far is further trial and testing but this time the enemies are more confusing and the right choices are less obvious. We too often find ourselves in situations where the mountain top spiritual experience leads to a disappointing, and even uncertain aftermath. We need to choose to remain faithful to God in these murky times, even when we can’t see the way through, even though we don’t know why God is working the way that he is. Following God will always lead to ultimate blessing but often not immediate blessing. This life is filled with the weedy, messiness of a sinful world, even our own hearts. So we must trust in God and his word to see us through when we can’t see for ourselves.

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1 Samuel chapter 19

Living After the Mountain Top

Follow me now over at

https://jesusdoesntgetlost.com