by David Scott Robertson
(1 Tim 4:8 NIV) For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.
* * *
I recently completed the 12-week Body For Life Challenge (http://www.bodyforlife.com/). It is an 84-day physical fitness challenge designed to assist participants in achieving positive transformation in their fitness level and body composition (as well as reduce stress and receive emotional strength by establishing healthy disciplines in their lives.)
Motivational author Bill Phillips in his best-selling book "Body For Life" shares his own success story of how he dramatically transformed his health and appearance in 12-weeks of focused effort. He has challenged others to follow his lead and join him in experiencing a higher quality of life. So far tens of thousands from all walks of life have accepted his Challenge, with me among them.
Throughout the Challenge, I carefully planned (in advance) six small but healthy and balanced meals to eat daily as well as six 20-45 minute workouts per week involving cardiovascular exercise and weight training.
I focused on ten muscle areas: chest, shoulders, triceps, back, biceps, quads, hamstrings, calves, abs, and my heart. (Bear with me, I'm going somewhere spiritual with all this!)
I took a "before" and "after" photo and charted my progress in a training journal.
Perhaps the most significant day was "Day 85," the day after I had completed the Challenge. On that day, after my morning devotions, I went to the gym as usual to workout and returned home for a day of eating six small but healthy and balanced meals. To this day, I am continuing to workout six days each week because although I initially accepted a short-term challenge in reality I formed a long-term habit that has created a permanent commitment to a healthy lifestyle.
Now, the reason I believe the Lord allowed me to complete the BFL Challenge was to prepare me for a far greater one which I call "The JFL Challenge."
The "Jesus For Life Challenge (or JFL) will require of me the same dedication, passion, and commitment as the BFL Challenge did but focuses on those areas that are analogous to my Christian life.
I chose ten "spiritual muscle groups" to concentrate on for the next 12 weeks or 84 days. They are: prayer, fasting, worship, Bible reading, personal growth reading, ministry, evangelism, family devotions, journaling, and writing "Thoughts about God" (like this one).
In the BFL Challenge, my goals included improved health, strength, flexibility, energy level, body fat loss, and lean muscle mass gain. I met all those objectives.
In the JFL Challenge, my goals include personal revival, renewal, revelation, revolution, refreshing, recharging, revitalization and reproduction of what I learn and gain into the lives of others.
In the BFL Challenge, there were certain things that I did daily (like eat nutritious meals and use supplements), and some things that I did three times a week (like weightlifting and cardio training.) Sundays were a day of rest.
In the JFL Challenge, I will similarly do some things daily and some things less often.
I'm still praying and meditating on how the Lord wants me to do this, but as an example, it could look something like this:
- 7 seven days a week I will pray, ready my Bible and worship.
- 6 days a week, I will fast TV and secular movies.
- 5 days a week I will concentrate on ministry and reading or viewing resources by godly authors.
- 4 days a week I will attempt to journal.
- 3 days a week I will try to have brief family devotions.
- 2 days a week I will dedicate the evenings to purposely involve myself in evangelism.
- 1 day a week I will share a new Thought about God with family and friends.
With the Holy Spirit's help, I'm not going to fall into legalism in this JFL Challenge, but I am going to purposefully structure and condition myself to shore up these areas of my spiritual life.
Through the JFL Challenge, I want improved spiritual wellness. I want to lay aside every weight that hinders me and strengthen the areas of my life that are weak. I want the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22) to be so dramatically improved that I'm quite literally transformed in my walk with Jesus at the end of this 12-week Challenge.
There are probably some who will read what I've written here and summarily dismiss it as a lofty but ridiculous exercise in futility. I suppose all we have to do is look in the mirror at the condition we've allowed our physical bodies to get into to ascertain whether or not we are qualified to criticize someone else who's trying to do something positive for a change.
I love the ancient oriental proverb: "He who say it cannot be done should get out of the way of him who doing it."
Having just come through 84 consecutive days of the BFL Challenge successfully (and still going strong!) I have the confidence to move on to something I consider of far greater (and eternal) value - my spiritual fitness.
We can't take a "before" and "after" photo of our souls (mind, will, and emotions) and our spirits, but I assure you everyone will be able to tell the difference in my life if I'm able to pull this off.
What about you? Are you up for a Challenge? Are you ready to rise above the level of mediocrity and blast past excuses as to why you can't be a more powerful man or woman of God? Are you just going to sit there another day / week / month / year and accept your spiritual condition or are you going to get up and do something about it?
Nike said it first but you may need to say it to yourself at long last: "Just do it!"
DSR
10/25/04
Monday, October 25, 2004
Monday, October 18, 2004
Get a Revelation!
by David Scott Robertson
"I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better" (Ephesians 1:17).
* * *
Every person on planet Earth, I believe, needs to "get a revelation" of at least 5 things:
1. A REVELATION OF THE LOVE OF GOD
Thousands of books have been written, countless sermons preached, and innumerable living examples of the love of God in action exist in the world today. I think every man and woman, boy and girl, needs to know that God loves them.
The fact that there is a God, and He has chosen to allow Himself to be known, is a mystery too great to unravel. Who can grasp how an infinite God and a finite human being can get together?
Not only is God omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent, but He declares of Himself that GOD IS LOVE (1 John 4:8). He could be all-powerful and not loving; He could be all-knowing and not loving; He could be present everywhere at once but not loving. But He's not.
"One thing God has spoken, two things have I heard: that you, O God, are strong, and that you, O Lord, are loving. Surely you will reward each person according to what he has done" (Psalm 62:11-12).
The love of God is as flawless and perfect and unconditional and absolute as God is Himself. God has a message today for those who have an ear to hear it:
"…I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness" (Jeremiah 31:3).
To discern this truth and the four to follow will require what the Apostle Paul wrote about to a group of believers at a church in Ephesus, "the Spirit of wisdom and revelation…" Eph. 1:17).
2. A REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST
God's ultimate expression of His love for mankind is personified in the Lord Jesus Christ.
"The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven" (Hebrews 1:3).
It is only through Christ that we can experience the love of God. Almighty God revealed His heart when His Spirit dictated the following words to the Apostle John as he penned the gospel that bears his name:
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him" (John 3:16-17).
Like Father, like Son.
"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).
The revelation of who Jesus is - literally - determines our salvation and whether or not we qualify for eternal life. To know Christ is to know God, for only through Jesus can we know and experience God's love and plan for our lives.
If we ever truly get a revelation of who Jesus Christ is, and who we are "in Christ," then matters of authority, destiny, calling, purpose, provision, and so on will all fall neatly into place (Matthew 6:33).
To be sure, it is massively important that we get a revelation of Jesus Christ.
3. A REVELATION OF THE CROSS
The third revelation I believe humankind needs is a revelation of the cross. Apart from this revelation, even Christ-followers cannot fully realize their potential in God's plan for the ages.
Mel Gibson went a long way in visually portraying the sufferings of Jesus on the cross in his now famous movie "The Passion of the Christ." But the physical torture associated with Jesus' death is not the full revelation. There's much, much more.
Fewer books have been written and fewer sermons preached on this subject than the love of God, nevertheless, the revelation of the cross is one of the most potent and powerful messages that every citizen of earth must receive.
For it's on the cross of Jesus Christ, and this cross alone, that divine blood was shed. The blood of the thief on the left and the right of Jesus that dark day on Golgotha's hill wouldn't do. The blood of incalculable other poor, unfortunate souls murdered or martyred on crosses throughout history wouldn't do. Only holy blood would do. And Jesus, the One whom the Bible identifies as "the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world" (Revelation 13:8) voluntarily offering His holy blood to God as the perfect sacrifice for our sin. God's Son was dead, accepting the death penalty for the likes of you and me.
Now we can come TO THE CROSS to receive forgiveness of our sins. Next we come THROUGH THE CROSS to receive healing for our damaged emotions and deliverance from our addictions. Then we get ON THE CROSS to crucify our fleshly carnality and begin a process of sanctification whereby we are formed into disciples of Jesus. Finally, we TAKE UP OUR CROSS, denying our earthly agendas, goals, and dreams, and follow Him.
Friends, we need a fresh revelation of the cross in order to apply God's full repair on our sin-warped bodies, souls, and spirits and become refurbished back to the Manufacturer's original specifications.
4. A REVELATION OF THE MULTITUDES
Once we are saved and healed and whole, we need to get a revelation of the multitudes.
"And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things" (Mark 6:34 KJV).
When was the last time you were at the mall's food court and looked around at all the people and were "moved with compassion?" The sea of people you and I swim with may look good, smell good, and boast of many material possessions - but apart from God they are all spiritually wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked (Revelation 3:17).
We need a revelation of the "depth of lost-ness" of the human race. If you are a Christian, you are outnumbered by vast hordes of people who don't know and cannot experience the love of God.
Larry Stockstill, pastor of one of the largest cell churches in America, says that if the number of lost people in the world were to form a single file line (so close that you could barely get a piece of paper between them) the number of unsaved people would stretch forty times around the earth!
We need a revelation of the multitudes! It will take such a revelation to move us out of our comfort zones and into the harvest fields! It will take such a revelation to get us past our fear of rejection and offending someone. It will take such a revelation for us to believe that God actually wants to use us (yeah, I'm talking to you)!
YOU are the one He's after to make a difference at your workplace! YOU are the one He's after to become a change-agent at your school! YOU are the one He's after to become a world-changer through your church! But unless you receive this truth by revelation you will never be moved to compassion enough to do something about it.
One time, one Man, the God-Man, Jesus Christ, made such a difference that all time is now measured by His appearance on the earth (B.C. / A.D.). Now, God desires to use you and me, filled with the love of God, born-again by the Spirit through Jesus, restored through the power of the cross, and sent out by the Great Commission to "win souls and make disciples" (Matthew 28:19-20).
Everything has been provided, the only question is: Will you do your part?
5. A REVELATION OF THE JUDGMENT OF GOD OF SIN
Lastly, I think, everybody needs a revelation of sin and the coming judgment.
Gentlemen, you may know which teams are playing in Monday Night Football this coming week but did you know that judgment is coming on the world? Ladies, you may know which stores are having their annual half-off sale this week, but did you know that judgment is coming on the world? You and I may know a lot of things that don't really matter in the scope of eternity, but do we realize that "it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment" (Hebrews 9:27)?
All sin requires payment. Nobody gets away with anything. Everybody at some point will have to deal with every sinful thought they've ever thought, every sinful word they've ever said, and everything sinful deed they've ever done. If you are reading this and you have yet to get a revelation of who Jesus is, may I tell you that He is God's only provision for dealing with your sin problem? On the cross Jesus dealt with it so effectively that you will actually be excused from God's righteous judgment against it if you place your trust and faith in Christ (Ephesians 2:8-9).
Just like a coin has two sides, so God's character is multi-faceted. While it is true that His attributes include loving kindness and tender mercy, patience and long suffering, grace and gentleness, the sobering fact remains that there is the other side of the coin. That is, one day when God sees fit, He will execute judgment on the ungodly.
"Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men: "See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones to judge everyone, and to convict all the ungodly of all the ungodly acts they have done in the ungodly way, and of all the harsh words ungodly sinners have spoken against him" (Jude 1:14-15).
Hell is as real as heaven. Hell is as bad and undesirable as heaven is good and desirable. Both are beyond our ability to comprehend and precisely the reason we need a revelation to get it.
This is one of the reasons I believe God wrote in His love letter to mankind, the Bible, "…I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation" (2 Corinthians 6:2).
From cradle to grave there is no more important decision that we can make than to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of our lives. In so doing, we can rest assured that the five revelations that I mentioned here (and many more to be sure) will be made known to you at the proper time.
I have observed, though, that revelations usually go hand in hand with your desire to obtain them. As hungry people seek out food, so spiritually hungry people seek out God. Revelation is not far from any of us for it is God's pleasure to give revelation even to the children who play at our feet.
Personally, I would love to have a revelation of what heaven will be like in greater detail than the Bible describes or to have revelation knowledge of how angels serve as ministering spirits to those that will inherit salvation. These would be great but not at the expense of knowing these five basic revelations that I described today.
My encouragement to you is to ask God to make this all real to you and to show you through the Spirit of wisdom and revelation where you can find yourself in these points. As you do, I believe that God will reveal more truths to you!
"However, as it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him"--but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God" (1 Corinthians 2:9-10).
DSR
10/18/04
"I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better" (Ephesians 1:17).
* * *
Every person on planet Earth, I believe, needs to "get a revelation" of at least 5 things:
1. A REVELATION OF THE LOVE OF GOD
Thousands of books have been written, countless sermons preached, and innumerable living examples of the love of God in action exist in the world today. I think every man and woman, boy and girl, needs to know that God loves them.
The fact that there is a God, and He has chosen to allow Himself to be known, is a mystery too great to unravel. Who can grasp how an infinite God and a finite human being can get together?
Not only is God omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent, but He declares of Himself that GOD IS LOVE (1 John 4:8). He could be all-powerful and not loving; He could be all-knowing and not loving; He could be present everywhere at once but not loving. But He's not.
"One thing God has spoken, two things have I heard: that you, O God, are strong, and that you, O Lord, are loving. Surely you will reward each person according to what he has done" (Psalm 62:11-12).
The love of God is as flawless and perfect and unconditional and absolute as God is Himself. God has a message today for those who have an ear to hear it:
"…I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness" (Jeremiah 31:3).
To discern this truth and the four to follow will require what the Apostle Paul wrote about to a group of believers at a church in Ephesus, "the Spirit of wisdom and revelation…" Eph. 1:17).
2. A REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST
God's ultimate expression of His love for mankind is personified in the Lord Jesus Christ.
"The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven" (Hebrews 1:3).
It is only through Christ that we can experience the love of God. Almighty God revealed His heart when His Spirit dictated the following words to the Apostle John as he penned the gospel that bears his name:
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him" (John 3:16-17).
Like Father, like Son.
"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).
The revelation of who Jesus is - literally - determines our salvation and whether or not we qualify for eternal life. To know Christ is to know God, for only through Jesus can we know and experience God's love and plan for our lives.
If we ever truly get a revelation of who Jesus Christ is, and who we are "in Christ," then matters of authority, destiny, calling, purpose, provision, and so on will all fall neatly into place (Matthew 6:33).
To be sure, it is massively important that we get a revelation of Jesus Christ.
3. A REVELATION OF THE CROSS
The third revelation I believe humankind needs is a revelation of the cross. Apart from this revelation, even Christ-followers cannot fully realize their potential in God's plan for the ages.
Mel Gibson went a long way in visually portraying the sufferings of Jesus on the cross in his now famous movie "The Passion of the Christ." But the physical torture associated with Jesus' death is not the full revelation. There's much, much more.
Fewer books have been written and fewer sermons preached on this subject than the love of God, nevertheless, the revelation of the cross is one of the most potent and powerful messages that every citizen of earth must receive.
For it's on the cross of Jesus Christ, and this cross alone, that divine blood was shed. The blood of the thief on the left and the right of Jesus that dark day on Golgotha's hill wouldn't do. The blood of incalculable other poor, unfortunate souls murdered or martyred on crosses throughout history wouldn't do. Only holy blood would do. And Jesus, the One whom the Bible identifies as "the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world" (Revelation 13:8) voluntarily offering His holy blood to God as the perfect sacrifice for our sin. God's Son was dead, accepting the death penalty for the likes of you and me.
Now we can come TO THE CROSS to receive forgiveness of our sins. Next we come THROUGH THE CROSS to receive healing for our damaged emotions and deliverance from our addictions. Then we get ON THE CROSS to crucify our fleshly carnality and begin a process of sanctification whereby we are formed into disciples of Jesus. Finally, we TAKE UP OUR CROSS, denying our earthly agendas, goals, and dreams, and follow Him.
Friends, we need a fresh revelation of the cross in order to apply God's full repair on our sin-warped bodies, souls, and spirits and become refurbished back to the Manufacturer's original specifications.
4. A REVELATION OF THE MULTITUDES
Once we are saved and healed and whole, we need to get a revelation of the multitudes.
"And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things" (Mark 6:34 KJV).
When was the last time you were at the mall's food court and looked around at all the people and were "moved with compassion?" The sea of people you and I swim with may look good, smell good, and boast of many material possessions - but apart from God they are all spiritually wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked (Revelation 3:17).
We need a revelation of the "depth of lost-ness" of the human race. If you are a Christian, you are outnumbered by vast hordes of people who don't know and cannot experience the love of God.
Larry Stockstill, pastor of one of the largest cell churches in America, says that if the number of lost people in the world were to form a single file line (so close that you could barely get a piece of paper between them) the number of unsaved people would stretch forty times around the earth!
We need a revelation of the multitudes! It will take such a revelation to move us out of our comfort zones and into the harvest fields! It will take such a revelation to get us past our fear of rejection and offending someone. It will take such a revelation for us to believe that God actually wants to use us (yeah, I'm talking to you)!
YOU are the one He's after to make a difference at your workplace! YOU are the one He's after to become a change-agent at your school! YOU are the one He's after to become a world-changer through your church! But unless you receive this truth by revelation you will never be moved to compassion enough to do something about it.
One time, one Man, the God-Man, Jesus Christ, made such a difference that all time is now measured by His appearance on the earth (B.C. / A.D.). Now, God desires to use you and me, filled with the love of God, born-again by the Spirit through Jesus, restored through the power of the cross, and sent out by the Great Commission to "win souls and make disciples" (Matthew 28:19-20).
Everything has been provided, the only question is: Will you do your part?
5. A REVELATION OF THE JUDGMENT OF GOD OF SIN
Lastly, I think, everybody needs a revelation of sin and the coming judgment.
Gentlemen, you may know which teams are playing in Monday Night Football this coming week but did you know that judgment is coming on the world? Ladies, you may know which stores are having their annual half-off sale this week, but did you know that judgment is coming on the world? You and I may know a lot of things that don't really matter in the scope of eternity, but do we realize that "it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment" (Hebrews 9:27)?
All sin requires payment. Nobody gets away with anything. Everybody at some point will have to deal with every sinful thought they've ever thought, every sinful word they've ever said, and everything sinful deed they've ever done. If you are reading this and you have yet to get a revelation of who Jesus is, may I tell you that He is God's only provision for dealing with your sin problem? On the cross Jesus dealt with it so effectively that you will actually be excused from God's righteous judgment against it if you place your trust and faith in Christ (Ephesians 2:8-9).
Just like a coin has two sides, so God's character is multi-faceted. While it is true that His attributes include loving kindness and tender mercy, patience and long suffering, grace and gentleness, the sobering fact remains that there is the other side of the coin. That is, one day when God sees fit, He will execute judgment on the ungodly.
"Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men: "See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones to judge everyone, and to convict all the ungodly of all the ungodly acts they have done in the ungodly way, and of all the harsh words ungodly sinners have spoken against him" (Jude 1:14-15).
Hell is as real as heaven. Hell is as bad and undesirable as heaven is good and desirable. Both are beyond our ability to comprehend and precisely the reason we need a revelation to get it.
This is one of the reasons I believe God wrote in His love letter to mankind, the Bible, "…I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation" (2 Corinthians 6:2).
From cradle to grave there is no more important decision that we can make than to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of our lives. In so doing, we can rest assured that the five revelations that I mentioned here (and many more to be sure) will be made known to you at the proper time.
I have observed, though, that revelations usually go hand in hand with your desire to obtain them. As hungry people seek out food, so spiritually hungry people seek out God. Revelation is not far from any of us for it is God's pleasure to give revelation even to the children who play at our feet.
Personally, I would love to have a revelation of what heaven will be like in greater detail than the Bible describes or to have revelation knowledge of how angels serve as ministering spirits to those that will inherit salvation. These would be great but not at the expense of knowing these five basic revelations that I described today.
My encouragement to you is to ask God to make this all real to you and to show you through the Spirit of wisdom and revelation where you can find yourself in these points. As you do, I believe that God will reveal more truths to you!
"However, as it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him"--but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God" (1 Corinthians 2:9-10).
DSR
10/18/04
Monday, October 11, 2004
Doeg the Edomite
by David Scott Robertson
1 Samuel 21:7 (NLT)
Now Doeg the Edomite, Saul's chief herdsman, was there that day for ceremonial purification.
* * *
In my writings, I usually refrain from saying anything derogatory about anyone, but in the case of Doeg the Edomite, I'm willing to make an exception. I don't like Doeg. I dislike him so much that instead of referring to him as "Doeg the Edomite", I'm going to call him, "Doeg the Termite," because I don't like termites either.
If you knew the full story of Doeg, then you would understand my disdain. There was another David that disliked Doeg - King David. Let me explain.
In the verse I opened with, Doeg, who was King Saul's chief shepherd, had gone to a place called Nob to go through a ceremony of purification. Apparently he had "defiled" himself according to the Law of Moses and had become ceremonially unclean. Per the Law, Doeg had to present himself (and more than likely an offering) before the Lord with the assistance of a Levitcal priest to become ceremonially clean again. But Doeg was far from clean when his "purification ceremony" was complete.
Here we have an ancient example of a man full of the devil going to church to soothe his religious conscience. The same thing happens every Sunday in thousands of churches across America. Hypocrites, liars, and murderers attend Sunday services every week, perform some religious duty, toss a piece of paper with a dead president's picture on it in the offering plate, and then go out the door to live the devil for another week. Doeg was that kind of man.
NOT ONLY WAS DOEG A HYPOCRITE, BUT HE WAS ALSO A LIAR.
1 Samuel 22:9-10 (NLT)
Then Doeg the Edomite, who was standing there with Saul's men, spoke up. "When I was at Nob," he said, "I saw David talking to Ahimelech the priest. [10] Ahimelech consulted the Lord to find out what David should do. Then he gave David food and the sword of Goliath the Philistine."
Doeg embellished the facts that he knew by relating to King Saul that Ahimelech had inquired of the Lord on David's behalf when in fact the scriptures don't mention that fact.
NOT ONLY WAS DOEG A LIAR, BUT HE ALSO HAD NO FEAR OF GOD.
King Saul, driven by insatiable envy against David, returned with a detachment of his troops along with Doeg to Nob to pay Ahimelech the priest a visit. Accusing the old priest of betraying the kingdom, Saul ordered Ahimelech to be murdered along with all the other priests who happened to be on duty. Saul's soldiers refused to obey the insane and blasphemous order. But Doeg, who had no fear of God, gladly obeyed.
1 Samuel 22:18 (NLT)
Then the king said to Doeg, "You do it." So Doeg turned on them and killed them, eighty-five priests in all, all still wearing their priestly tunics.
NOT ONLY WAS DOEG IRREVERENT TO GOD, HE WAS ALSO A MASS MURDERER
1 Samuel 22:19 (NLT)
Then he went to Nob, the city of the priests, and killed the priests' families-men and women, children and babies, and all the cattle, donkeys, and sheep.
Doeg was merciless in his lust for blood and hunger for favor in the eyes of the deranged King Saul. Doeg had killed the very priest that had served him in the ceremony of purification. Doeg had betrayed David, a fellow shepherd, to the hands of his enemy. Doeg possessed neither professional ethics nor spiritual values.
David, while still on the run from Saul, composed the following psalm about Doeg immortalized in Holy Scripture:
Psalm 52:1-7 (NLT)
For the choir director: A psalm of David, regarding the time Doeg the Edomite told Saul that Ahimelech had given refuge to David.
You call yourself a hero, do you? Why boast about this crime of yours, you who have disgraced God's people? 2 All day long you plot destruction. Your tongue cuts like a sharp razor; you're an expert at telling lies. 3 You love evil more than good and lies more than truth. 4You love to say things that harm others, you liar! 5But God will strike you down once and for all. He will pull you from your home and drag you from the land of the living. 6The righteous will see it and be amazed. They will laugh and say, 7"Look what happens to mighty warriors who do not trust in God. They trust their wealth instead and grow more and more bold in their wickedness."
According to King David's description here, Doeg was a proud warrior, a hero in his own eyes who had gained wealth, position, and property through wickedness, evil, and murder.
Okay, so we have built the case that Doeg was a bad boy, a real bad boy. And your point is…?
The point is that Doeg was a "church-going" man who in our opening verse was found at "church" involved in religious activity - becoming "ceremonially pure." We need to take note that being a faithful church attendee does not have the power to purify.
Never associate your purity, wholeness, or spiritual success with religious activities, ceremonies, or rites. Only the blood of Jesus can accomplish the necessary "heart transplant" in a person's life needed to bring about salvation, clean hands, and a pure heart.
Titus 1:15 (NLT)
Everything is pure to those whose hearts are pure. But nothing is pure to those who are corrupt and unbelieving, because their minds and consciences are defiled.
DSR
10/11/04
1 Samuel 21:7 (NLT)
Now Doeg the Edomite, Saul's chief herdsman, was there that day for ceremonial purification.
* * *
In my writings, I usually refrain from saying anything derogatory about anyone, but in the case of Doeg the Edomite, I'm willing to make an exception. I don't like Doeg. I dislike him so much that instead of referring to him as "Doeg the Edomite", I'm going to call him, "Doeg the Termite," because I don't like termites either.
If you knew the full story of Doeg, then you would understand my disdain. There was another David that disliked Doeg - King David. Let me explain.
In the verse I opened with, Doeg, who was King Saul's chief shepherd, had gone to a place called Nob to go through a ceremony of purification. Apparently he had "defiled" himself according to the Law of Moses and had become ceremonially unclean. Per the Law, Doeg had to present himself (and more than likely an offering) before the Lord with the assistance of a Levitcal priest to become ceremonially clean again. But Doeg was far from clean when his "purification ceremony" was complete.
Here we have an ancient example of a man full of the devil going to church to soothe his religious conscience. The same thing happens every Sunday in thousands of churches across America. Hypocrites, liars, and murderers attend Sunday services every week, perform some religious duty, toss a piece of paper with a dead president's picture on it in the offering plate, and then go out the door to live the devil for another week. Doeg was that kind of man.
NOT ONLY WAS DOEG A HYPOCRITE, BUT HE WAS ALSO A LIAR.
1 Samuel 22:9-10 (NLT)
Then Doeg the Edomite, who was standing there with Saul's men, spoke up. "When I was at Nob," he said, "I saw David talking to Ahimelech the priest. [10] Ahimelech consulted the Lord to find out what David should do. Then he gave David food and the sword of Goliath the Philistine."
Doeg embellished the facts that he knew by relating to King Saul that Ahimelech had inquired of the Lord on David's behalf when in fact the scriptures don't mention that fact.
NOT ONLY WAS DOEG A LIAR, BUT HE ALSO HAD NO FEAR OF GOD.
King Saul, driven by insatiable envy against David, returned with a detachment of his troops along with Doeg to Nob to pay Ahimelech the priest a visit. Accusing the old priest of betraying the kingdom, Saul ordered Ahimelech to be murdered along with all the other priests who happened to be on duty. Saul's soldiers refused to obey the insane and blasphemous order. But Doeg, who had no fear of God, gladly obeyed.
1 Samuel 22:18 (NLT)
Then the king said to Doeg, "You do it." So Doeg turned on them and killed them, eighty-five priests in all, all still wearing their priestly tunics.
NOT ONLY WAS DOEG IRREVERENT TO GOD, HE WAS ALSO A MASS MURDERER
1 Samuel 22:19 (NLT)
Then he went to Nob, the city of the priests, and killed the priests' families-men and women, children and babies, and all the cattle, donkeys, and sheep.
Doeg was merciless in his lust for blood and hunger for favor in the eyes of the deranged King Saul. Doeg had killed the very priest that had served him in the ceremony of purification. Doeg had betrayed David, a fellow shepherd, to the hands of his enemy. Doeg possessed neither professional ethics nor spiritual values.
David, while still on the run from Saul, composed the following psalm about Doeg immortalized in Holy Scripture:
Psalm 52:1-7 (NLT)
For the choir director: A psalm of David, regarding the time Doeg the Edomite told Saul that Ahimelech had given refuge to David.
You call yourself a hero, do you? Why boast about this crime of yours, you who have disgraced God's people? 2 All day long you plot destruction. Your tongue cuts like a sharp razor; you're an expert at telling lies. 3 You love evil more than good and lies more than truth. 4You love to say things that harm others, you liar! 5But God will strike you down once and for all. He will pull you from your home and drag you from the land of the living. 6The righteous will see it and be amazed. They will laugh and say, 7"Look what happens to mighty warriors who do not trust in God. They trust their wealth instead and grow more and more bold in their wickedness."
According to King David's description here, Doeg was a proud warrior, a hero in his own eyes who had gained wealth, position, and property through wickedness, evil, and murder.
Okay, so we have built the case that Doeg was a bad boy, a real bad boy. And your point is…?
The point is that Doeg was a "church-going" man who in our opening verse was found at "church" involved in religious activity - becoming "ceremonially pure." We need to take note that being a faithful church attendee does not have the power to purify.
Never associate your purity, wholeness, or spiritual success with religious activities, ceremonies, or rites. Only the blood of Jesus can accomplish the necessary "heart transplant" in a person's life needed to bring about salvation, clean hands, and a pure heart.
Titus 1:15 (NLT)
Everything is pure to those whose hearts are pure. But nothing is pure to those who are corrupt and unbelieving, because their minds and consciences are defiled.
DSR
10/11/04
Monday, October 4, 2004
A Morning Prayer
by David Scott Robertson
Good morning, Lord. Good morning, Holy Spirit. Good morning, Father God. Forgive me - forgive me - forgive me. Fill me with your holy power that I might bring glory to your holy name today.
I just want to say thanks this morning. Thanks for another day of life. Thank you for the privilege of knowing you. Thank you that my name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life. I rejoice in this fact more so than the fact that demons are subject to believers in your name.
Thank you that I'm on my way to heaven. Thank you that the worst day I'll ever have as a Christian is infinitely better than the best day I ever had as a sinner.
Thank you that my liver works today. Thank you for taste buds. Thank you for my inner ear working well and keeping everything in balance. Thank you that all my senses work. Thank you for common sense operating in my life. Thank you for a brain that is so sophisticated that all the computing power in the world can't compare.
Thank you for the privilege of living in the United States of America. Thank you that my president prays. Thank you that recession is better than depression and you alone empower the righteous to reap a harvest in famine.
Thank you for good weather. Thank you for ozone. Thank you for seasons. Thank you that Earth is no nearer or farther away from the sun than it is, but is stationed precisely where you placed it a long time ago.
Thank you for my pets that add value to my life. Thank you for my wife, daughter, family, and friends that have so improved the quality of my life that I literally don't know what I do without them.
Thank you that I can type these words without looking at the keyboard. Thank you that I am gainfully employed. Thank you that I am employable. Thank you for every dime I earn and for the ethic to obediently return ten percent of every dime I make to its rightful owner - you.
Thank you that I have so much to give thanks for that I can't. It is with that in mind that you grant us another day of life to live tomorrow. With one more day to work with, I can continue the cycle of daily thanksgiving, praise, worship, and service to my Lord King.
Lord, I understand that an attitude of gratitude leads to longevity in our relationship. I want to practice being faithful in prayer and praise now, for when you see fit to transition me from this world to the next I want to be prepared to join the multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests" (Luke 2:14).
DSR
10/4/04
Good morning, Lord. Good morning, Holy Spirit. Good morning, Father God. Forgive me - forgive me - forgive me. Fill me with your holy power that I might bring glory to your holy name today.
I just want to say thanks this morning. Thanks for another day of life. Thank you for the privilege of knowing you. Thank you that my name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life. I rejoice in this fact more so than the fact that demons are subject to believers in your name.
Thank you that I'm on my way to heaven. Thank you that the worst day I'll ever have as a Christian is infinitely better than the best day I ever had as a sinner.
Thank you that my liver works today. Thank you for taste buds. Thank you for my inner ear working well and keeping everything in balance. Thank you that all my senses work. Thank you for common sense operating in my life. Thank you for a brain that is so sophisticated that all the computing power in the world can't compare.
Thank you for the privilege of living in the United States of America. Thank you that my president prays. Thank you that recession is better than depression and you alone empower the righteous to reap a harvest in famine.
Thank you for good weather. Thank you for ozone. Thank you for seasons. Thank you that Earth is no nearer or farther away from the sun than it is, but is stationed precisely where you placed it a long time ago.
Thank you for my pets that add value to my life. Thank you for my wife, daughter, family, and friends that have so improved the quality of my life that I literally don't know what I do without them.
Thank you that I can type these words without looking at the keyboard. Thank you that I am gainfully employed. Thank you that I am employable. Thank you for every dime I earn and for the ethic to obediently return ten percent of every dime I make to its rightful owner - you.
Thank you that I have so much to give thanks for that I can't. It is with that in mind that you grant us another day of life to live tomorrow. With one more day to work with, I can continue the cycle of daily thanksgiving, praise, worship, and service to my Lord King.
Lord, I understand that an attitude of gratitude leads to longevity in our relationship. I want to practice being faithful in prayer and praise now, for when you see fit to transition me from this world to the next I want to be prepared to join the multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests" (Luke 2:14).
DSR
10/4/04
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