Becoming a Man/Woman After God's Own Heart: Goliath Pt. 2

Why do the nations rage, And the people plot a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, And the rulers take counsel together, Against the LORD and against His Anointed,

"I will declare the decree: The LORD has said to Me, 'You [are] My Son, Today I have begotten You. Ask of Me, and I will give [You] The nations [for] Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth [for] Your possession. Now therefore, be wise, O kings; Be instructed, you judges of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, And rejoice with trembling. Blessed [are] all those who put their trust in Him.

Psalm 2:1-2; 7-8; 10-12

This is really cool! I had thought I would continue on going from Psalm to Psalm regardless if it flowed with what the rest of the blog would be about, but this Psalm is AWESOME for the prayer on my heart today.

Being Weighed Down With Someone Else's Armor

(The Verses Below are taken from 1st Samuel 17, the story of David and Goliath.)

VS. 28 Now Eliab his oldest brother heard when he spoke to the men; and Eliab's anger was aroused against David, and he said, "Why did you come down here? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride and the insolence of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle."

VS. 33 And Saul said to David, "You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you [are] a youth, and he a man of war from his youth."

Sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are the same" That's a line from a song by the Fray, I thought I would add it because when we choose to stand for what is right, it is usually harder than going with the flow, isn't it? When David decided to stand up against the blaspheming Goliath you would think all would rally around him, and be so proud he made a brave choice, Instead he faces more "giants". So even when we are on the right track and making right choices conquering giants left and right, we face more "giants" in our own tents.

When Satan sees us moving for the glory of God, he does all he can to pull the rug out from under our feet. For me the greatest sucker punch comes from when he uses our closest of kin, maybe a brother or sister like David's oldest brother Eliab, or a highly respected peer like King Saul.

That hurts doesn't it? When even our family says "You can't", "You're wrong/ignorant", or even "You're too much of a Jesus freak". I know I have failed many battles because I couldn't/wouldn't even leave the camp. There is no easy way to get around this obstacle, this is the most defining moment as a Christian, can we show God's love to someone persecuting us, while still following God's will?

YES!!! But only if our every strength comes from God. We need to accept opinions or even criticism without lashing back in vengeance, but we need to still press on to what God is telling us to do. This is where I fail, I am not good at getting served up some good ol' criticism...I lash right back with self-righteousness, and "I'm more holy than you, nah nah nah!". It's hard, being a Christian isn't cookie cutter perfect, or easy, but showing love where it is not deserved is what defines a Christian from any other religion, that is what God did for us!

What we need to remember is that God's is the only opinion we need to worry about, and that our worth in God is just as great as we treat others. And when God stirs in us to do something, I think we all have learned, you had better do it! Jump the hurdle and continue running towards the goal God has given, don't let others around you steal your passion or your purpose.

It is healthy to get a God-fearing opinion from a spiritual leader, but be weary as our greatest spiritual leader should always, and will always be God Himself!

My Prayer: Jehovah-nissi, The Lord my Banner! God I pray we would only boast in You! That when we're in battle we would lift You high, and When we're in the camp, we would raise You up, so that others would know and see Your glory! God I pray we would always look to You, and not dwell on the harmful words of man, that we would see others as You see them, and show them compassion when needed. God I pray we would never turn to the right or to the left, but always march on to the purpose you have given us! Nothing is too big for You God! Whatever You call us to, You will see us through if we abide. God help us to stand firm in our calling! To love as You do! God we pray that in every day, in anything we do, that it would bring glory to Your name! That no matter what the circumstance might be, that You would receive praise from my response to that circumstance. God Our heart is toward the lost, who do not know Your love, help us to share it in the greatest way possible, by practicing it! You are soooooooooo patient with me Lord, and I thank You for helping pin point the areas where I have not given myself fully to You! Thank You for Your servant David and all that we are able to learn from him. You alone are God who sets up kings and nations and also who tears them down, who gives life and who takes it away, help us to follow Your command, we place our hearts in Your hands! It is only because of Jesus that I am able to make known my request to You and it is in Jesus' name we pray. Amen!

Becoming a Man/Woman After God's Own Heart: Goliath Pt. 1

Blessed [is] the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners,

Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight [is] in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper. The ungodly [are] not so, But [are] like the chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the ungodly shall perish.

The 1st Psalm of David

I've been reading on the life story of David, who was a man after God's own heart and king of Israel, is someone we should strive to be like. Not perfect in any way, but always trying to love, serve, and know, a perfect God. I hope to be faithful to write on some of the realizations I have made while reading up on King David, For today, and with any David story, I must start with

David and Goliath

(The Verse Below in taken from 1st Samuel 17, and the story of David and Goliath. if you would like to read all of chapter 17 that would be kosher, but if not this is one verses I wanted to share today, that had never jumped out at me before, but did this time!)

VS. 26 " For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?"

David was able to see Goliath for who and what he was, and also who and what he was not. While other Israelites trembled at his size and strength, they missed the very key thing to see about Goliath, that he was no match for The Living God! That by law he had no inheritance to the kingdom and power of God. While others trembled in fear at the death threats from the "giant" David was outraged, who is this man to threaten what belongs to the Living God??

Sometimes I know I cower at problems, I fear outcomes, instead of seeing how big God truly is in my situation. I often go with the flow of being ridiculed in movies or in the media as a christian,I will laugh at the funny "you might be a christian if" jokes, but I'm starting to feel that I should be outraged, that someone would dare even take my Lords name in vain, or ridiculing the morals and laws of my God such as abortion being old fashioned, and same-sex marriage as normal, or that I could get a referral in school for talking about God or even saying Merry Christmas. David was willing to risk his life to stand for his God. I wish we all could have the same view of God as David did. David knew that God was bigger than any foe he would ever face, He knew that he was in the palm of his Almighty God's hands, and that God would provide.

Why can't I see that when I face superficial giants? Has Satan so deceived us all to believe that he is actually bigger, or stronger than our God, we would be able to refute that lie easily if we only read God's word. Satan is cast forever and a victory is already determined, so there is no way (in hell) that Satan could ever amount to anything in comparison to our God!

My prayer:

Beloved Almighty God,

You alone created the stars in the sky and the ability for muscle's to move in such rhythm so to give life to what would be dead dry bones. I am astonished and amazed and the grandeur of You God! Thank You for leading me through a study on David, Thank you for showing me how to be a child after your own heart, and how being a man/woman after your heart does not mean I will ever be flawless on my own. God I pray tonight that you would give me all boldness along with all reading tonight, or even being stirred by your spirit to stand, Give us boldness and strength, to call our Goliaths for what they are, wretched uncircumcised gentiles, not righteous or deserving of our fear or reverence or even an accepted defeat. Help us to stand against anyone who would defy You The Living God, not in anger, but in love for you. That we would love so much that we would yearn for those persons to come to know your great love and the truth of You! That they would know, Jesus Christ is not a crutch, that abortion and marriage laws are being apposed not because of pride, but because of love and care that You desire the deceived to have. God I am no perfect, I will never be, and God I know I have missed opportunities to be bold, please forgive me! God it is my heart's desire to be a child after You, that all would see and know God! Please don't give up on me, as I know you wont. I want to please you daddy! I pray that I do, until that day when I see you face to face, dear Lord, please give me strength and boldness, encouragement, and perseverance to do as you desire! Help me to see all Goliath for who they are, what they are, and for who they ARE NOT, and What they ARE NOT!

Thank you for Jesus in whom I have the ability to make known my request to you. I pray all this in His name, and desiring your name to always be glorified in any thing I do.

Amen!