Today I was sitting on the bus, and I happened to look up at the sky. It was dark and I noticed that I didn't see any stars. I hadn't spent very much time noticing this since we had been here, but tonight I realized that I really missed seeing the stars in the sky. They are just such a fun little glimmer of hope and a very beautiful reminder of God's intricacies.... So naturally I started thinking and God gave me a thought. ( I am starting to realize that God uses the bus time to talk to me)
The past couple of days I have been reading in 1 Chronicles. I really don't know if I have ever spent time reading in this book before now, but let me tell you that I am LOVING IT. (Since I have come to Peru, God has given me a new thirst for scripture!) Anyways... back to the point.. I have been reading about David. Once I got past the 9 billion chapters of genelogy, I got to the part about David. I am so impressed with David. I know he made mistakes, but he was a great king. The desire that he had to please God was so intense. He desired so much that every move he made would be honoring to God. He wasn't satisfied just being normal or neutral. He had a fervor that surpassed anything else that he wanted for his life. He was a star, and he shined really bright.
Lima is a very cloudy city, and at night I guess there is just so much smog that you can't see the stars. I know that they are there, but they just aren't quite as magical when you can not see them. This is the same way in our lives as Christians. I know there are shining stars, but so often they just get covered up by all the people who say their lives belong to Christ, yet nothing about their lives resemble the call that Christ has given to us. Sometimes I get weary, and I just want to be refreshed. I wonder sometimes if I am crazy. Sometimes I have those thoughts when I think about the ways that Jesus is changing my life, and I am like.. woah.. this is crazy. I feel so abnormal. However, the last couple of days, as I have been reading about David, I have been reminded that there have been many others who have walked before me living crazy abnormal lives for Jesus. I wanted to share some of the things that I have learned and I hope that you are encouraged by this. I have been reminded so many times just how MIGHTY and POWERFUL Jesus was and still is!!!!!
So here I go :
1) 1 Chronicles 12:22 " For from day to day men came to David to help him, until there was a great army like an army of God." I really loved this verse. If you read the verses before this one it talks about all of these people just coming to join David, and it was not just some people. It was A LOT of people, and I just kept thinking about how God orchestrated that. God was working in each of their lives to bring them to David. I think about how God does things in our lives today and orchestrates things in our lives that we are so dumbfounded by, yet they are so much smaller than this. The last part of the verse says it was a great army.. like an army of God.. They knew that only God could have done this. I would have liked to have been there just to experience this huge gathering of people who longed to be a part of what David was doing, because they knew how BIG his God was.
2) This leads me to my second point. In 12:33 it says" ...Equipped for battle with all the weapons of war to help David with singleness of purpose" David had one purpose... many military purposes, but one overall purpose. He was there to be an agent. An agent for God to display his power through! It was so important to be united. I can only imagine if all of these hundreds of thousands of people had come and just started to wage war on different areas.. I have a feeling that they would have all been conquered very quickly by the militaries that were organized, but when they went as one strong force they were able to overcome so much more. So many times in our lives we forget to unite ourselves with the believers around us. When I say unite.. I don't just mean to fellowship, I mean to really unite our hearts with one spirit and purpose. Think about how unstoppable we would be if we united our hearts together and committed to make Jesus our number one priority regardless of all the things in our lives that seem to divide us.... Unstoppable right?.... Just like David's Army. Not just because we are great, but because we have the unstoppable one on our side!
"All these men of war, arrayed in battle order, came to Hebron with full intent to make David King over all Israel. Likewise, all the rest of Israel were of a single mind to make David king."- 1 Chronicles 12:38
3) 1 Chronicles 14:12 " And they left their gods there, David gave command and they were burned." David was after God's glory alone. I am sure those statues were valuable.. They may have had some gold or bronze or something that David could have used for building the temple later on. However, David knew that he had to be focused on the the main thing! There was not anything that could remain that had taken the worship away from the one HOLY god.
4)1 Chronicles 14:14 "And when David again inquired of God... " I loved this... There has been so many times that I have failed to consult God about something for a second time. David had just been given the go ahead to fight a battle by God, and God gave them victory. If I was in charge I probably would have just assumed that since God allowed me to win the last battle that he was going to let me win the next one. However, David wasn't so presumptuous. He understood the responsibility that he has be given by God to lead God's people, and he continually took each decision to God asking for guidance in every situation. James 1:5 " If anyone lacks wisdom let him ask God who gives generously to all without reproach and it will be given to him " David didn't assume that he knew God's plan for his people. David understood the importance of continually giving back to God what God had allowed David to a be a steward of.
5) 1 Chronicles17:18-20, "And what more can David say to you for honoring your servant? For you know your servant. For your servant's sake, O Lord and according to your own heart you have done all this greatness, in making known all these great things. There is none like you O lord and there is no God besides you according to all that we have heard with our ears."
David has yet to forget who God really is! David has had so much success so quickly. He has made huge strides, yet he has continued to give God all the glory. I struggle with this so much. I feel like it is a never ending battle dying to myself and letting God take the glory in every situation. This is such a great reminder that we are defined by Christ. We are not defined in our winning or losing efforts, but solely in our identity as a child of God. I don't have to take pride in my efforts when I am found securely in the arms of Christ. Remember this next time you begin to boast in your own arrogance.
6) Last thing 1 Chronicles 21:17 ".....Please O'LORD my God, be against me and against my father's house. But do not let the plague be on your people." David messed up and I know this isn't the first time or the last, but that isn't what I want to dwell on. In this chapter, it seems like after David sinned, he almost immediately turned to God and asked for forgiveness. I think this is such a important reminder as well. How many times do we mess and we let it sit for days and days, because we are afraid to go to God ? The longer that we delay this process the more the space is wedged between you and God. Deal with your sin quickly and honestly. This is the best way to correct your path and continue to walk the path that He has laid out for you! Be vigilant when dealing with your sin. Last of all, remember that your sin does not only affect you, but it always has an effect on someone else. Many men of Israel lost their lives because David lied, and in this verse you can see the remorse that David had for his sin. It was a lesson learned the hard way, but thankfully we have the opportunity to make a different choice.
I would encourage you to go through and read this book, when you read it all together you really get the whole picture of who God is and how mighty HE is. I am sure that I have not given it justice, but go read it for yourself and let God reveal his greatness to you!
The Lord was with David, and the Lord gave David so many victories. Be Encouraged to live extravagantly for Jesus. We may be weird, but we are called to be shining stars. It is worth it. You never know the encouragement that your life may be to another believer who is pondering if Jesus is worth living extravagantly for. .. Jesus is worth it. You aren't crazy in the eyes of Jesus. Give him EVERYTHING you have.. EVERY MOMENT of EVERY DAY.
-CR
The past couple of days I have been reading in 1 Chronicles. I really don't know if I have ever spent time reading in this book before now, but let me tell you that I am LOVING IT. (Since I have come to Peru, God has given me a new thirst for scripture!) Anyways... back to the point.. I have been reading about David. Once I got past the 9 billion chapters of genelogy, I got to the part about David. I am so impressed with David. I know he made mistakes, but he was a great king. The desire that he had to please God was so intense. He desired so much that every move he made would be honoring to God. He wasn't satisfied just being normal or neutral. He had a fervor that surpassed anything else that he wanted for his life. He was a star, and he shined really bright.
Lima is a very cloudy city, and at night I guess there is just so much smog that you can't see the stars. I know that they are there, but they just aren't quite as magical when you can not see them. This is the same way in our lives as Christians. I know there are shining stars, but so often they just get covered up by all the people who say their lives belong to Christ, yet nothing about their lives resemble the call that Christ has given to us. Sometimes I get weary, and I just want to be refreshed. I wonder sometimes if I am crazy. Sometimes I have those thoughts when I think about the ways that Jesus is changing my life, and I am like.. woah.. this is crazy. I feel so abnormal. However, the last couple of days, as I have been reading about David, I have been reminded that there have been many others who have walked before me living crazy abnormal lives for Jesus. I wanted to share some of the things that I have learned and I hope that you are encouraged by this. I have been reminded so many times just how MIGHTY and POWERFUL Jesus was and still is!!!!!
So here I go :
1) 1 Chronicles 12:22 " For from day to day men came to David to help him, until there was a great army like an army of God." I really loved this verse. If you read the verses before this one it talks about all of these people just coming to join David, and it was not just some people. It was A LOT of people, and I just kept thinking about how God orchestrated that. God was working in each of their lives to bring them to David. I think about how God does things in our lives today and orchestrates things in our lives that we are so dumbfounded by, yet they are so much smaller than this. The last part of the verse says it was a great army.. like an army of God.. They knew that only God could have done this. I would have liked to have been there just to experience this huge gathering of people who longed to be a part of what David was doing, because they knew how BIG his God was.
2) This leads me to my second point. In 12:33 it says" ...Equipped for battle with all the weapons of war to help David with singleness of purpose" David had one purpose... many military purposes, but one overall purpose. He was there to be an agent. An agent for God to display his power through! It was so important to be united. I can only imagine if all of these hundreds of thousands of people had come and just started to wage war on different areas.. I have a feeling that they would have all been conquered very quickly by the militaries that were organized, but when they went as one strong force they were able to overcome so much more. So many times in our lives we forget to unite ourselves with the believers around us. When I say unite.. I don't just mean to fellowship, I mean to really unite our hearts with one spirit and purpose. Think about how unstoppable we would be if we united our hearts together and committed to make Jesus our number one priority regardless of all the things in our lives that seem to divide us.... Unstoppable right?.... Just like David's Army. Not just because we are great, but because we have the unstoppable one on our side!
"All these men of war, arrayed in battle order, came to Hebron with full intent to make David King over all Israel. Likewise, all the rest of Israel were of a single mind to make David king."- 1 Chronicles 12:38
3) 1 Chronicles 14:12 " And they left their gods there, David gave command and they were burned." David was after God's glory alone. I am sure those statues were valuable.. They may have had some gold or bronze or something that David could have used for building the temple later on. However, David knew that he had to be focused on the the main thing! There was not anything that could remain that had taken the worship away from the one HOLY god.
4)1 Chronicles 14:14 "And when David again inquired of God... " I loved this... There has been so many times that I have failed to consult God about something for a second time. David had just been given the go ahead to fight a battle by God, and God gave them victory. If I was in charge I probably would have just assumed that since God allowed me to win the last battle that he was going to let me win the next one. However, David wasn't so presumptuous. He understood the responsibility that he has be given by God to lead God's people, and he continually took each decision to God asking for guidance in every situation. James 1:5 " If anyone lacks wisdom let him ask God who gives generously to all without reproach and it will be given to him " David didn't assume that he knew God's plan for his people. David understood the importance of continually giving back to God what God had allowed David to a be a steward of.
5) 1 Chronicles17:18-20, "And what more can David say to you for honoring your servant? For you know your servant. For your servant's sake, O Lord and according to your own heart you have done all this greatness, in making known all these great things. There is none like you O lord and there is no God besides you according to all that we have heard with our ears."
David has yet to forget who God really is! David has had so much success so quickly. He has made huge strides, yet he has continued to give God all the glory. I struggle with this so much. I feel like it is a never ending battle dying to myself and letting God take the glory in every situation. This is such a great reminder that we are defined by Christ. We are not defined in our winning or losing efforts, but solely in our identity as a child of God. I don't have to take pride in my efforts when I am found securely in the arms of Christ. Remember this next time you begin to boast in your own arrogance.
6) Last thing 1 Chronicles 21:17 ".....Please O'LORD my God, be against me and against my father's house. But do not let the plague be on your people." David messed up and I know this isn't the first time or the last, but that isn't what I want to dwell on. In this chapter, it seems like after David sinned, he almost immediately turned to God and asked for forgiveness. I think this is such a important reminder as well. How many times do we mess and we let it sit for days and days, because we are afraid to go to God ? The longer that we delay this process the more the space is wedged between you and God. Deal with your sin quickly and honestly. This is the best way to correct your path and continue to walk the path that He has laid out for you! Be vigilant when dealing with your sin. Last of all, remember that your sin does not only affect you, but it always has an effect on someone else. Many men of Israel lost their lives because David lied, and in this verse you can see the remorse that David had for his sin. It was a lesson learned the hard way, but thankfully we have the opportunity to make a different choice.
I would encourage you to go through and read this book, when you read it all together you really get the whole picture of who God is and how mighty HE is. I am sure that I have not given it justice, but go read it for yourself and let God reveal his greatness to you!
The Lord was with David, and the Lord gave David so many victories. Be Encouraged to live extravagantly for Jesus. We may be weird, but we are called to be shining stars. It is worth it. You never know the encouragement that your life may be to another believer who is pondering if Jesus is worth living extravagantly for. .. Jesus is worth it. You aren't crazy in the eyes of Jesus. Give him EVERYTHING you have.. EVERY MOMENT of EVERY DAY.
-CR
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