Sometimes I have a hard time seeing purpose and application behind what is in the Bible. It might be because I don't completely understand the context and customs of how things worked back when many of these books were written. With that said, I am struggling to find a way to apply 2Sam21 in my life. Here's what I got from it.
Israel was in the middle of three years of famine. As the king, David sought the face of the Lord. By this, he did not take the famine into his own hands and try to correct everything himself but humbly came before the Lord and sought His answer. I think it was a way of David's way of acknowledging that even with some grand scheme to provide food for his people, nothing could come to fruition without God.
The Lord responded by stating that the famine was a result of Saul and his actions. I found this a bit strange. Saul died years before this and yet Israel still faced the consequences of his actions. As it says, this was the account of "Saul and his bloodstained house. it is because he put the Gibeonites to death." This shows a side of the Lord that we often overlook. Yes, God loves us. As loving as God is, He is also equally just. In His grace, He may withhold eternal condemnation from His people but there are still consequences for sin.
As in old testament times, God required a sacrifice for sin. The Gibeonites executed seven of Saul's male descendants. This is what I find confusing. I understand that Saul sinned against God and a sacrifice was needed. However, the men that were slain were grandchildren of Saul. They played no role in their grandfather's actions and yet they were the ones that bore the earthly consequences. If anything, reading this makes me even more thankful for the death of our Savior upon the cross. We don't need to go out and sacrifice an animal in repentance for our sins. The only thing that God requires from us is to humbly come before Him and accept His grace.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Sunday, January 24, 2010
I'm back..
After a long hiatus, I am finally back on the blog. With that said, I do it with a bit of hesitation.
I realized over winter break that I am too legalistic when it comes to the blog. If I don't do it, I feel like an incompetent Christian, subjective to many judgmental eyes. When I do it, I feel like a pharisee, pointing the finger at those who don't. I remember last semester, I would look at the sheet at the end of the week and think to myself "Man, I'm so awesome for doing all my blogs this week. Other people haven't done theirs this week so I guess that means..." For this, I am truly sorry. To the other leaders: I am sorry for judging you guys and thinking more highly of myself than I ought.
To God: I'm sorry for making this blog about things that it shouldn't be about. I'm sorry for making my time with you into a public display, used to justify myself as 'superior' to others.
Legalism in the church gets us nowhere. If anything, it creates false tiers of members. It creates an aura of self-righteousness and justification before God. This is something that I need to be wary of as I blog this semester. We are all sinners caught in the unfair mercy and grace of our loving Creator.
I see the good in doing the blogs however. It is a good form of accountability and it somehow gets me to dig deep into God's word each and everyday. As humbled as I am by God's revelations this past break, I need to continue to remain humble before God. I am nothing but my God is capable of anything. My heart needs to come before Him each day and realize that this is for His glory and His glory alone. It's by grace that I am here and by grace that I will continue to live.
I realized over winter break that I am too legalistic when it comes to the blog. If I don't do it, I feel like an incompetent Christian, subjective to many judgmental eyes. When I do it, I feel like a pharisee, pointing the finger at those who don't. I remember last semester, I would look at the sheet at the end of the week and think to myself "Man, I'm so awesome for doing all my blogs this week. Other people haven't done theirs this week so I guess that means..." For this, I am truly sorry. To the other leaders: I am sorry for judging you guys and thinking more highly of myself than I ought.
To God: I'm sorry for making this blog about things that it shouldn't be about. I'm sorry for making my time with you into a public display, used to justify myself as 'superior' to others.
Legalism in the church gets us nowhere. If anything, it creates false tiers of members. It creates an aura of self-righteousness and justification before God. This is something that I need to be wary of as I blog this semester. We are all sinners caught in the unfair mercy and grace of our loving Creator.
I see the good in doing the blogs however. It is a good form of accountability and it somehow gets me to dig deep into God's word each and everyday. As humbled as I am by God's revelations this past break, I need to continue to remain humble before God. I am nothing but my God is capable of anything. My heart needs to come before Him each day and realize that this is for His glory and His glory alone. It's by grace that I am here and by grace that I will continue to live.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Psalm 62
Psalm 62
For the director of music. For Jeduthun. A psalm of David.
1 My soul finds rest in God alone;
my salvation comes from him.
2 He alone is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.
3 How long will you assault a man?
Would all of you throw him down—
this leaning wall, this tottering fence?
4 They fully intend to topple him
from his lofty place;
they take delight in lies.
With their mouths they bless,
but in their hearts they curse.
Selah
5 Find rest, O my soul, in God alone;
my hope comes from him.
6 He alone is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.
7 My salvation and my honor depend on God [a] ;
he is my mighty rock, my refuge.
8 Trust in him at all times, O people;
pour out your hearts to him,
for God is our refuge.
Selah
9 Lowborn men are but a breath,
the highborn are but a lie;
if weighed on a balance, they are nothing;
together they are only a breath.
10 Do not trust in extortion
or take pride in stolen goods;
though your riches increase,
do not set your heart on them.
11 One thing God has spoken,
two things have I heard:
that you, O God, are strong,
12 and that you, O Lord, are loving.
Surely you will reward each person
according to what he has done.
For the director of music. For Jeduthun. A psalm of David.
1 My soul finds rest in God alone;
my salvation comes from him.
2 He alone is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.
3 How long will you assault a man?
Would all of you throw him down—
this leaning wall, this tottering fence?
4 They fully intend to topple him
from his lofty place;
they take delight in lies.
With their mouths they bless,
but in their hearts they curse.
Selah
5 Find rest, O my soul, in God alone;
my hope comes from him.
6 He alone is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.
7 My salvation and my honor depend on God [a] ;
he is my mighty rock, my refuge.
8 Trust in him at all times, O people;
pour out your hearts to him,
for God is our refuge.
Selah
9 Lowborn men are but a breath,
the highborn are but a lie;
if weighed on a balance, they are nothing;
together they are only a breath.
10 Do not trust in extortion
or take pride in stolen goods;
though your riches increase,
do not set your heart on them.
11 One thing God has spoken,
two things have I heard:
that you, O God, are strong,
12 and that you, O Lord, are loving.
Surely you will reward each person
according to what he has done.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
My mind feels like its about to explode. Everything, even the simplest of concepts, is way over my head right now. Nothing is sticking. I have a final in a hour and one tomorrow at 10:20 AM. I feel like my back is up against the wall. I know that the Lord will give me strength to get through this but physically, it body is telling my mind that it may be impossible.
I'm beginning to think that my focus is off. I'm sitting here, desperately studying for all of the wrong reasons. I'm sitting here, worrying about my grade point average, pharmacy school, and implications of getting a C in a class and such has become my motive for studying. Out went the desire the glorify God through it and in became this idol: pharmacy school.
I'm not saying that I'm about to throw in the towel but I'm raising a white flag in this very moment. It's one of surrender, not to my exams, but to God. I'm living for myself right now. Looking down this road, I already see that it is one of brokenness and emptiness.
Philippians 3:12-14
Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Pressing forward for my Savior's glory through His provision.
I'm beginning to think that my focus is off. I'm sitting here, desperately studying for all of the wrong reasons. I'm sitting here, worrying about my grade point average, pharmacy school, and implications of getting a C in a class and such has become my motive for studying. Out went the desire the glorify God through it and in became this idol: pharmacy school.
I'm not saying that I'm about to throw in the towel but I'm raising a white flag in this very moment. It's one of surrender, not to my exams, but to God. I'm living for myself right now. Looking down this road, I already see that it is one of brokenness and emptiness.
Philippians 3:12-14
Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Pressing forward for my Savior's glory through His provision.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Food For Thought
Grades are important to us. Duh. You can observe this by going to any given library at Purdue at the moment. All of them are at full capacity, with people searching endlessly for a quiet place to study. As students, even us Christians go through this madness.
What would it look like if we put such a priority on God's word in our life, if we longed so much to read it that we would be willing to search for a quiet place just to sit down and study His word? What if our hearts were as devoted to knowing God as they are to knowing the material that's on the final exam? It's a bit of a paradox. Here we are, trying to learn something that is completely useless and will most likely not help us the rest of our lives. We will probably forget what we learned in a mere week from now. However, God's word is living and active. It does not change. It does not fade. It lasts forever. So why then, given the magnitude of the reality and importance of each, do we place so much more weight on our textbooks and notes?
I am equally guilty of this. When exams come, my bible usually goes down. I hope to make this finals week different, actually quite opposite than the usually. Instead of putting my bible down and picking up my textbooks, I hope to put everything else down, no matter what final is next, what grade I need, and spend quality time with my Lord and Savior.
What would it look like if we put such a priority on God's word in our life, if we longed so much to read it that we would be willing to search for a quiet place just to sit down and study His word? What if our hearts were as devoted to knowing God as they are to knowing the material that's on the final exam? It's a bit of a paradox. Here we are, trying to learn something that is completely useless and will most likely not help us the rest of our lives. We will probably forget what we learned in a mere week from now. However, God's word is living and active. It does not change. It does not fade. It lasts forever. So why then, given the magnitude of the reality and importance of each, do we place so much more weight on our textbooks and notes?
I am equally guilty of this. When exams come, my bible usually goes down. I hope to make this finals week different, actually quite opposite than the usually. Instead of putting my bible down and picking up my textbooks, I hope to put everything else down, no matter what final is next, what grade I need, and spend quality time with my Lord and Savior.
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Lifehouse - Everything
I don't know how many times I've seen this video but it brings me to tears every time. We start off the video by viewing God's original intent, a world with just us and Him, and nothing else. Then we see the next phase of history of humanity: the fall. The lure of the world, the things that cause use to act in such a way that violates the very nature and perfection of God. Throughout the video, the girls trials and challenges pull her farther away from God. When she tries to get back to God, she can't because the weight of our sin is simply too much for a mere man to overcome. Enter Jesus.
Thank you Jesus, for everything. I'm sorry for continually being that girl in video, the one that insists on filling my life with the things that are in conflict with who you are. Thank you for not giving up on me. Thank you for loving me, in every season, in everyone of my failures. Thank you for your death, life, and resurrection. Thank you for being who you are.
Thank you Jesus, for everything. I'm sorry for continually being that girl in video, the one that insists on filling my life with the things that are in conflict with who you are. Thank you for not giving up on me. Thank you for loving me, in every season, in everyone of my failures. Thank you for your death, life, and resurrection. Thank you for being who you are.
Friday, December 11, 2009
Present Struggles and Future Glory
The purpose of this blog entry is not to glorify myself but to show how my heart has been changed by God's continual love, grace, and mercy.
In college, I have yet to get a B on my report card, let alone a C. At the moment, I'm staring in the face of a big fat C in one of my classes. Such has caused great distress in my life over the course of the past few weeks. On the bright side, I currently have a B in the class. On the downside? I need a B on the final to keep my B from falling to a B-. Even as we speak, typing this blog up was preceded by anatomy reading and will be followed by more anatomy reading.
Recently, a friend of mine offered what many would think to get a sigh of relief: old exams. Our professor recycles old exam questions and over the course of 4 years, recycles a majority of the questions. My friend sent me two years worth. With those as a study aid, I'm pretty much guaranteed a B in the class. However, God has placed it upon my heart that such a thing would be a violation of academic integrity. Faced with the dilemma, I sat in front of my e-mail inbox for several minutes with my cursor over the "Delete" button. Get an easy B or do the right thing? By God's grace, I was able to do the right thing.
I found it interesting that I read Romans 8:18 today.
"I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us."
No matter how great our present struggles, what God has to offer is so much greater. As Paul wrote here in Romans, present issues aren't even comparable to what is ahead of us as believers. Getting a B in anatomy while doing things in a way that violates the character and nature of God cannot even be compared to getting a C and bringing a smile to God's face. By living and surrendering to the Lord, we live by His standards, His will, and for His glory. Even if that means pain, sacrifice, and ridicule on our parts, rest assured. There is nothing greater than the glory of our Creator. As it says in the beginning of Psalm 115, "Not to us, O LORD, not to us but to your name be the glory"
In college, I have yet to get a B on my report card, let alone a C. At the moment, I'm staring in the face of a big fat C in one of my classes. Such has caused great distress in my life over the course of the past few weeks. On the bright side, I currently have a B in the class. On the downside? I need a B on the final to keep my B from falling to a B-. Even as we speak, typing this blog up was preceded by anatomy reading and will be followed by more anatomy reading.
Recently, a friend of mine offered what many would think to get a sigh of relief: old exams. Our professor recycles old exam questions and over the course of 4 years, recycles a majority of the questions. My friend sent me two years worth. With those as a study aid, I'm pretty much guaranteed a B in the class. However, God has placed it upon my heart that such a thing would be a violation of academic integrity. Faced with the dilemma, I sat in front of my e-mail inbox for several minutes with my cursor over the "Delete" button. Get an easy B or do the right thing? By God's grace, I was able to do the right thing.
I found it interesting that I read Romans 8:18 today.
"I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us."
No matter how great our present struggles, what God has to offer is so much greater. As Paul wrote here in Romans, present issues aren't even comparable to what is ahead of us as believers. Getting a B in anatomy while doing things in a way that violates the character and nature of God cannot even be compared to getting a C and bringing a smile to God's face. By living and surrendering to the Lord, we live by His standards, His will, and for His glory. Even if that means pain, sacrifice, and ridicule on our parts, rest assured. There is nothing greater than the glory of our Creator. As it says in the beginning of Psalm 115, "Not to us, O LORD, not to us but to your name be the glory"
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