Reading 2 Sam. 16 and 17 today and discovered an amazing visual of what the Enemy tries to do to us. The story line is that of King David running away from Absalom, his son, who has taken his father's kingdom as his own. As David and his company are running away, a man who was family of King Saul, ( the previous King,whom God dethroned and replaces with David), came out of his house and began to curse David and throw rocks at him. One of David's men wanted to decapitate the guy, but David said 'No' and that God had told this man to curse him. As they began to travel again, this same man followed their company from a close by hill and all the while he was cursing them and throwing rocks and dirt. It actually says that the result of this hounding was that, "The King and all who were with him grew weary along the way, so they rested when they reached the Jordan River." Doesn't that sound just like our enemy, we're on the run and then to add to it all, we are taunted and reviled along the way. We are wearied physically and spiritually as well. Kick 'em while they're down, right? Then several verses later we see some supposedly wise counsel from one of Absalom's advisors. The counsel is to immediately take a small army of ready soldiers and chase down David and his men while they are weary and discouraged, (Chap. 17:1,2). So, again, the Enemy is aware of when we are vulnerable, but here's what's great; There was another advisor, who was actually a friend of David, sent to be Absalom's advisor to counter-advise the plans against David. He came up with a plan that sounded better than the first man's plan and because God wanted to protect David and deal with Ahithophel,( the ungodly counsel) Absalom and his followers went with the second plan,( which included waiting to attain a larger army). So then, messengers were sent to David to hurry and cross the Jordan because a large army would soon be after them. They were not going to be attacked at their weakest moment because God's plan prevailed. Of course, David did not know all of these things that the Lord was working out, but He knew that his God was in control and gave himself up to whatever God's will was. I love the Old Testament because of these passages that are such treasures.

I sometimes wonder about those 'Christians' that we are always hearing about on the news...the one's being dragged away by the police for being in some kind of a protest with yelling and shouting and fighting. Well, here is something I think is neat...I've always known that those people have the wrong idea, but here it is, written in the Word as plain as day. Matthew 12: 15-21 says " Look at my Servant whom I have chosen...I will put my Spirit on Him, and he will proclaim justice to the nation. He will NOT FIGHT OR SHOUT OR RAISE HIS VOICE in public....". We know that even though Jesus may have gotten angry at different things, he never staged a protest, or screamed his will at others, he didn't fight the people who did wrong, but He constantly brought the Truth to light. However, Jesus had no problem speaking bluntly to the hypocrites, or speaking powerfully against sin, but He also didn't resort to the ugly tactics that are so often used in His name.

Doing things God's way

1 Chronicles 13: 9,10 speak of David and his followers bringing the Ark of God back to Jerusalem. However, what started out as a happy occasion ended up with the death of Uzzah,( one of the men who were walking next to the cart that carried the Ark. When the oxen that pulled the cart stumbled, and the Ark began to fall, Uzzah stuck out his hand to steady it and the Lord struck him down for doing so. David was angry at God,( verse 11). I was angry too all the different times I read this, because it just didn't make sense. But, while searching the next passages, I found the answer and couldn't believe that I hadn't seen this before. In 1 Chron. 15:13 it says, "Because you Levites did not carry the Ark the first time, the anger of the Lord our God burst out against us." Wow. How simple is that? David simply chose to do things his way the first time and not the way God had set it up to be. Earlier in the verses of chap. 15 David tells the Levites to carry the Ark because they and only they were the ones God had chosen to serve Him in all things of the Temple. And He admonished them to make sure they had purified themselves before dealing with the Ark. We cannot do something that God has not designed for us to do and expect to be blessed. I love that I now understand this part of the Word. I hope that you all will share your thoughts on this passage and maybe shed even more light on it.

Welcome to my new blog site. I have been thinking about doing this for quite awhile. The purpose of this blog is to share Scripture passages and what they have spoken into my life, and also to divide the Word of God rightly. I want to engage everyone of you to learn to study and research and really seek out what God meant when He inspired special men to write all of these things that we read. We want to share any knowledge that we have with each other and be the iron sharpening iron to each other. I do not want to go the route of offensive debates or opinionated arguments though. I want this site to encourage, and refresh each one of us. I want it to challenge and bless us. So, I hope as you read my future posts on God's Word, that you will share what you know and what you have discovered with the rest of us. May this be a beautiful blessing to God's Body and to any of you who have not yet decided to serve Jesus and who are curious to understand what the Christian walk is all about.