by David Scott Robertson
Exodus 31:18; 32:15-16; 19 (NLT)
"Then as the Lord finished speaking with Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant, written by the finger of God. Then Moses turned and went down the mountain. He held in his hands the two stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant. They were inscribed on both sides, front and back. [16] These stone tablets were God's work; the words on them were written by God himself. When they came near the camp, Moses saw the calf and the dancing. In terrible anger, he threw the stone tablets to the ground, smashing them at the foot of the mountain."
Moses had an anger problem. We see it surface time after time when pressure was applied to his life. When the going got tough, Moses got angry.
Our first glimpse of Moses' uncontrollable anger was when he was still a prince of Egypt. One day, while visiting the Hebrew slaves, he saw an Egyptian beating one of them. The sight made him so upset that his blood boiled to the point of actually committing murder (Exodus 2:11-12).
As we track along with Moses through his experience of leading the children of Israel out of bondage, we come to find out that Moses himself seems to be in bondage to anger. While it is true that by and large the children of Israel were a nation of stiff-necked and unruly people, Moses' fleshly response to them was often anger and resentment instead of the godly qualities of compassion and mercy.
Numbers 16:15 (NLT)
Then Moses became very angry and said to the Lord, "Do not accept their offerings! I have not taken so much as a donkey from them, and I have never hurt a single one of them."
Exodus 16:20 (NLT)
But, of course, some of them didn't listen and kept some of it [manna] until morning. By then it was full of maggots and had a terrible smell. And Moses was very angry with them.
The grand finale of Moses' anger problem manifest at a place called Meribah. It was here that the anger of Moses against the stubborn people apparently so distressed him that it caused him to sin against the Lord through disobedience.
Numbers 20:10-11 (NLT)
Then he and Aaron summoned the people to come and gather at the rock. "Listen, you rebels!" he shouted. "Must we bring you water from this rock?" [11] Then Moses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with the staff, and water gushed out. So all the people and their livestock drank their fill."
While not implicitly stated, we can glean from this passage that in his anger against the "rebels," Moses struck the rock in direct violation of God's command to speak to the rock (Numbers 20:8). In his rage, even his wording was presumptuous: "Must WE bring you water from this rock?" Was the "we" Moses and Aaron or Moses and God? At any rate, this one outburst of Moses caused God to disqualify him from entering the Promised Land.
Moses had a serious anger problem.
It is possible to be angry and not sin. Jesus demonstrated this when, in righteous indignation, He drove out those who were buying and selling in the temple and turned over the tables of the moneychangers and benches of those selling doves (Matthew 21:12-13).
How then, does God prescribe that we manage anger?
"And "don't sin by letting anger gain control over you." Don't let the sun go down while you are still angry, [27] for anger gives a mighty foothold to the Devil" (Ephesians 4:26-27).
And in another place the Bible says:
"Don't sin by letting anger gain control over you. Think about it overnight and remain silent. [5] Offer proper sacrifices, and trust in the Lord" (Psalm 4:4-5).
What are "proper sacrifices"?
"The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise" (Psalm 51:17).
Let's finish our discussion today with a final observation about Moses. God calls Moses a second time to the mountain to receive the Law - again. Only this time, God orders Moses to chisel out the stone tablets that he had broken in a fit of rage earlier!
"The Lord told Moses, "Prepare two stone tablets like the first ones. I will write on them the same words that were on the tablets you smashed. [2] Be ready in the morning to come up Mount Sinai and present yourself to me there on the top of the mountain. So Moses cut two tablets of stone like the first ones. Early in the morning he climbed Mount Sinai as the Lord had told him, carrying the two stone tablets in his hands" (Exodus 34:1-2; 4).
The first time God presented the Law to Moses, He provided the stone tablets. Now we see the Lord giving Moses the assignment of chiseling out tablets made of rock by his own hard labor! Furthermore, God's deadline was by morning! Obviously, Moses spent a sleepless night of hard labor chiseling rock and then he had to carry the heavy tablets up a mountain the next day!
Throughout the long night, perhaps he thought to himself, "Why did I smash the tablets in the first place?" Maybe it seemed like a good idea at the time but now he had to suffer the consequences of his rash behavior. Do you see the principle at work here?
In our anger, we can erupt like a volcano, spewing out hurtful words and committing harmful deeds that often come back to haunt us in the form of sleepless nights, hard labor, and heavy burdens to carry.
Let's learn the principle God is patiently trying to teach us: "in your anger do not sin!" If you allow your anger to go unchecked (or the politically correct terminology today would be, if you don't "manage your anger") you may find yourself disqualified from receiving something profound that God has promised you.
Fortunately, in spite of his anger problem, Moses continued to seek the Lord. In spite of being forced to chastise and discipline Moses, God continued to mold the character of His servant until before the great God Jehovah was through with him, the Bible reports that "…Moses was more humble than any other person on earth" (Numbers 12:3).
Let's determine today to not allow anger to disqualify us from the promises of God and make our way hard. Rather, allow the Holy Spirit to smooth off our rough edges with each encounter with anger until the character of Christ's humility be formed in us.
DSR
2/23/04
Monday, February 23, 2004
Saturday, February 14, 2004
Senator Robertson: America's Most Controversial Politician
by David Scott Robertson
If it had been in God's will and plan for my life to be a United States Senator instead of an ordained minister, I'll bet I would be one of America's most controversial politicians.
Let me give you just one scenario.
The big story in America as I write this is "same-sex marriages." While lawmakers continue to debate the issue, this particular weekend hundreds of homosexual and lesbian "couples" flocked to the city of San Francisco to obtain marriage licenses to sanction their gay union as legal. It remains uncertain whether or not the State of California will ratify the marriage licenses the city has issued. Our nation, once again, has found itself at a moral crossroad.
Now here's where I come in. The media contacts my office for an interview. I consent. The camera crew arrives. The red light comes on.
One question is asked and I give two separate responses.
"Senator Robertson, what do you think of the recent events in San Francisco involving hundreds of homosexuals and lesbians entering into gay marriage?"
Senator Robertson replies: "It's absurd. It's scandalous. It's tragic. It's an abomination. It's a perversion. It's unnatural. It's a direct attack on the American family and strikes at the very heart of our most basic core values, morals, and ethics. Make no mistake, I do not endorse, support, or even acknowledge the viability of same-sex marriage."
And the media takes it from there.
Wire services publish my quote in newspapers from sea to shining sea faster than you can say "right wing, dogmatic, narrow-minded, conservative Christian."
Over the next three days, my secretary walks in messages for me to return from the offices of Barbara Walters, Good Morning America, Larry King, David Letterman, and the O'Reilly Factor. Suddenly, a spot has opened up for me to appear on CNN, CBN, and TBN.
For the last two mornings, as millions of online subscribers logon to America Online to check their email, they see my picture posted on their splash page with the news story hyperlink reading: "Has Senator Robertson gone mad or is he just mad at the gay community?"
Comments begin to surface in various media from my fellow politicians:
Senator Smith, from the State of Confusion, comments while being interviewed in a Fox News exclusive story: "I cannot see eye-to-eye with Senator Robertson on this one. He has gone way over the edge and treats our civil liberties as if they were not important."
Senator Jones, representing the State of Lawlessness, appeared on Prime Time and remarked: "Senator Robertson's views are his own. He in no way represents my views, or indeed the views of the American people. This is why we hold public elections, so we can rid our country of constricting politicians like him."
Congressman Jane Doe, who serves her constituency in the State of Rebellion, in a hastily put together segment on 20/20, says: "I cannot believe Senator Robertson's intolerant viewpoint. It borders on bigotry. It's barbaric, antiquated, and obsolete. If he had his way he'd send us all back to the dark ages under the rule of a tyrant king with no personal freedoms of choice at all!"
Yes, many of my fellow political allies who told me privately that they were "behind me all the way" in my stand to allow the Bible to formulate our moral code on political issues are now publicly so far behind me that I need binoculars to see them!
The emotions and response in America concerning me range from love to hate, from support to threatened violence from radical feminist and gay organizations, from a lawsuit from the American Civil Liberties Union to an offer to defend me in court from the America Center for Law and Justice. A comedy skit portraying me as a blithering idiot appears on Saturday Night Live the following weekend. The monologue writers have a field day with me as Jay Leno brings down the house.
What gets me is that how the media downplayed my second quote to their single question.
"You ask me what I think, but you know, what's more important is what God thinks. God loves the gay person but hates their sin. Jesus Christ, God's Son, died on a cross to free gay people from bondage to sin and prevent the scourge of AIDS from prematurely destroying many of their lives. It was God who invented marriage as the union of one man with one woman in holy matrimony enjoying the security, health, and blessings of a loving, monogamous relationship. To go against God's revealed will and original design is to invite disaster and destruction to a family and a nation."
I guess it was perhaps my third quote that I gave responding to the reporter's final question that got me labeled as one of "America's Most Controversial Politicians."
While the camera rolled, the reporter asked: "Senator Robertson, where do you stand on the topic of abortion?"
DSR
2/14/04
If it had been in God's will and plan for my life to be a United States Senator instead of an ordained minister, I'll bet I would be one of America's most controversial politicians.
Let me give you just one scenario.
The big story in America as I write this is "same-sex marriages." While lawmakers continue to debate the issue, this particular weekend hundreds of homosexual and lesbian "couples" flocked to the city of San Francisco to obtain marriage licenses to sanction their gay union as legal. It remains uncertain whether or not the State of California will ratify the marriage licenses the city has issued. Our nation, once again, has found itself at a moral crossroad.
Now here's where I come in. The media contacts my office for an interview. I consent. The camera crew arrives. The red light comes on.
One question is asked and I give two separate responses.
"Senator Robertson, what do you think of the recent events in San Francisco involving hundreds of homosexuals and lesbians entering into gay marriage?"
Senator Robertson replies: "It's absurd. It's scandalous. It's tragic. It's an abomination. It's a perversion. It's unnatural. It's a direct attack on the American family and strikes at the very heart of our most basic core values, morals, and ethics. Make no mistake, I do not endorse, support, or even acknowledge the viability of same-sex marriage."
And the media takes it from there.
Wire services publish my quote in newspapers from sea to shining sea faster than you can say "right wing, dogmatic, narrow-minded, conservative Christian."
Over the next three days, my secretary walks in messages for me to return from the offices of Barbara Walters, Good Morning America, Larry King, David Letterman, and the O'Reilly Factor. Suddenly, a spot has opened up for me to appear on CNN, CBN, and TBN.
For the last two mornings, as millions of online subscribers logon to America Online to check their email, they see my picture posted on their splash page with the news story hyperlink reading: "Has Senator Robertson gone mad or is he just mad at the gay community?"
Comments begin to surface in various media from my fellow politicians:
Senator Smith, from the State of Confusion, comments while being interviewed in a Fox News exclusive story: "I cannot see eye-to-eye with Senator Robertson on this one. He has gone way over the edge and treats our civil liberties as if they were not important."
Senator Jones, representing the State of Lawlessness, appeared on Prime Time and remarked: "Senator Robertson's views are his own. He in no way represents my views, or indeed the views of the American people. This is why we hold public elections, so we can rid our country of constricting politicians like him."
Congressman Jane Doe, who serves her constituency in the State of Rebellion, in a hastily put together segment on 20/20, says: "I cannot believe Senator Robertson's intolerant viewpoint. It borders on bigotry. It's barbaric, antiquated, and obsolete. If he had his way he'd send us all back to the dark ages under the rule of a tyrant king with no personal freedoms of choice at all!"
Yes, many of my fellow political allies who told me privately that they were "behind me all the way" in my stand to allow the Bible to formulate our moral code on political issues are now publicly so far behind me that I need binoculars to see them!
The emotions and response in America concerning me range from love to hate, from support to threatened violence from radical feminist and gay organizations, from a lawsuit from the American Civil Liberties Union to an offer to defend me in court from the America Center for Law and Justice. A comedy skit portraying me as a blithering idiot appears on Saturday Night Live the following weekend. The monologue writers have a field day with me as Jay Leno brings down the house.
What gets me is that how the media downplayed my second quote to their single question.
"You ask me what I think, but you know, what's more important is what God thinks. God loves the gay person but hates their sin. Jesus Christ, God's Son, died on a cross to free gay people from bondage to sin and prevent the scourge of AIDS from prematurely destroying many of their lives. It was God who invented marriage as the union of one man with one woman in holy matrimony enjoying the security, health, and blessings of a loving, monogamous relationship. To go against God's revealed will and original design is to invite disaster and destruction to a family and a nation."
I guess it was perhaps my third quote that I gave responding to the reporter's final question that got me labeled as one of "America's Most Controversial Politicians."
While the camera rolled, the reporter asked: "Senator Robertson, where do you stand on the topic of abortion?"
DSR
2/14/04
Monday, February 9, 2004
Details, Details...
by David Scott Robertson
"Set up this Tabernacle according
to the design you were shown on the mountain….Be careful to build it just as you were shown on the mountain." (Exodus 28:30; 27:8)
I love my One-Year Bible. I usually read the Bible through each year and have done so for many years. (This year I'm reading the New Living Translation and it is wonderful!)
I'm making my way through Exodus and today's passage describes, in great detail, the dimensions of the tabernacle. On the surface, it may appear to be tedious reading.
Case in point is the book of Exodus which often reads like a technical manual listing exhaustive directions on precisely how to construct things, like the Tabernacle or the Ark of the Covenant.
As a modern-day Gentile reader, the temptation is to "scan" the text and dismiss it as meaningless detail. For example, how does a Christian in the year of our Lord 2004 benefit from knowing the following information:
"So the entire courtyard will be 150 feet long and 75 feet wide, with curtain walls 7 ½ feet high, made from fine linen. The bases supporting its walls will be made of bronze." (Exodus 27:18)
I think I have a hunch as to why this is relevant to you and me.
The overarching principle that I see in God revealing His plans for the Tabernacle (or the Ark of the Covenant, or the three annual Feasts of Israel, or the special clothing worn by Levitical priests, etc.) is that God reveals His plans to man!
This is a magnificent truth! When is the last time you got instructions from God on a project He wants you to work on as detailed as this:
"Across the inside of the Tabernacle hang a special curtain made of fine linen, with cherubim skillfully embroidered into the cloth using blue, purpose, and scarlet yarn." (Exodus 26:31).
The glory of God is embedded in the details! Aren't you glad He paid attention to details when He made your body?
King David knew about details.
"Then David gave his son Solomon the plans for the portico of the temple, its buildings, its storerooms, its upper parts, its inner rooms and the place of atonement. He gave him the plans of all that the Spirit had put in his mind for the courts of the temple of the LORD and all the surrounding rooms, for the treasuries of the temple of God and for the treasuries for the dedicated things. He gave him instructions for the divisions of the priests and Levites, and for all the work of serving in the temple of the LORD, as well as for all the articles to be used in its service." (1 Chronicles 28:11-13)
King David was inspired by God to provide the blueprint for God's temple precisely the way God intended.
Cornelius knew about details.
"Cornelius stared at him in fear. "What is it, Lord?" he asked. The angel answered, "Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God. Now send men to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon who is called Peter. He is staying with Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea." (Acts 10:4-6)
Send who? Some of your servants.
To where? To Joppa.
To do what? Bring back a man.
What man? Simon, who by the way, is also known as Peter
He's staying where? With Simon (who by the way, is a tanner)
Where does Simon live? In a house by the sea.
Let me ask a key question again: When is the last time you got instructions from God on a project He wants you to work on as detailed as this?
If you want to undertake something great for God, don't you want details like Moses, David, and Cornelius received from the Spirit of the Lord?
Again, God's glory is revealed in the details! He is a great Architect. He is a Master Builder. He is an ingenious Planner.
"'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'" (Jeremiah 29:11)
Is God in the business of hiding His plans from hungry hearts desiring to know and do His will?
"Surely the Sovereign LORD does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets." (Amos 3:7)
How, then, do we receive plans from God like Moses, David, and Cornelius did?
"It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings." (Proverbs 25:2)
If we truly want to know the Lord's will concerning a matter, then we can surely obtain it by following the prophet Jeremiah's sound advice:
"Ask me and I will tell you some remarkable secrets about what is going to happen here." (Jeremiah 33:3 NLT)
Conclusion: As you read the Bible and start to get "bogged down" wading your way through descriptive passages about civil laws and dietary regulations and territorial boundaries and sacrificial rituals and so on…consider this:
- The details you are reading were extremely important for those whom God was directing to do it at the time to bring about God's will in heaven to the earth on a matter.
- The details provide necessary "types" and "foreshadows" representing things to come for New Testament believers like the "Passover Lamb" in the Old Testament (Exodus 12:21) being revealed as Jesus the Messiah in the New Testament as "the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world" (John 1:29).
- The details encourage us that God can and will give us explicit instructions of what and how to do something He desires in our lives if we will seek Him for the details.
Finally, and most importantly, know that no detail listed in the entirety of God's Word, no matter how insignificant it may appear, is insignificant. To be sure…
"All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It straightens us out and teaches us to do what is right." (2 Timothy 3:16 NLT)
DSR
2/9/04
"Set up this Tabernacle according
to the design you were shown on the mountain….Be careful to build it just as you were shown on the mountain." (Exodus 28:30; 27:8)
I love my One-Year Bible. I usually read the Bible through each year and have done so for many years. (This year I'm reading the New Living Translation and it is wonderful!)
I'm making my way through Exodus and today's passage describes, in great detail, the dimensions of the tabernacle. On the surface, it may appear to be tedious reading.
Case in point is the book of Exodus which often reads like a technical manual listing exhaustive directions on precisely how to construct things, like the Tabernacle or the Ark of the Covenant.
As a modern-day Gentile reader, the temptation is to "scan" the text and dismiss it as meaningless detail. For example, how does a Christian in the year of our Lord 2004 benefit from knowing the following information:
"So the entire courtyard will be 150 feet long and 75 feet wide, with curtain walls 7 ½ feet high, made from fine linen. The bases supporting its walls will be made of bronze." (Exodus 27:18)
I think I have a hunch as to why this is relevant to you and me.
The overarching principle that I see in God revealing His plans for the Tabernacle (or the Ark of the Covenant, or the three annual Feasts of Israel, or the special clothing worn by Levitical priests, etc.) is that God reveals His plans to man!
This is a magnificent truth! When is the last time you got instructions from God on a project He wants you to work on as detailed as this:
"Across the inside of the Tabernacle hang a special curtain made of fine linen, with cherubim skillfully embroidered into the cloth using blue, purpose, and scarlet yarn." (Exodus 26:31).
The glory of God is embedded in the details! Aren't you glad He paid attention to details when He made your body?
King David knew about details.
"Then David gave his son Solomon the plans for the portico of the temple, its buildings, its storerooms, its upper parts, its inner rooms and the place of atonement. He gave him the plans of all that the Spirit had put in his mind for the courts of the temple of the LORD and all the surrounding rooms, for the treasuries of the temple of God and for the treasuries for the dedicated things. He gave him instructions for the divisions of the priests and Levites, and for all the work of serving in the temple of the LORD, as well as for all the articles to be used in its service." (1 Chronicles 28:11-13)
King David was inspired by God to provide the blueprint for God's temple precisely the way God intended.
Cornelius knew about details.
"Cornelius stared at him in fear. "What is it, Lord?" he asked. The angel answered, "Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God. Now send men to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon who is called Peter. He is staying with Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea." (Acts 10:4-6)
Send who? Some of your servants.
To where? To Joppa.
To do what? Bring back a man.
What man? Simon, who by the way, is also known as Peter
He's staying where? With Simon (who by the way, is a tanner)
Where does Simon live? In a house by the sea.
Let me ask a key question again: When is the last time you got instructions from God on a project He wants you to work on as detailed as this?
If you want to undertake something great for God, don't you want details like Moses, David, and Cornelius received from the Spirit of the Lord?
Again, God's glory is revealed in the details! He is a great Architect. He is a Master Builder. He is an ingenious Planner.
"'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'" (Jeremiah 29:11)
Is God in the business of hiding His plans from hungry hearts desiring to know and do His will?
"Surely the Sovereign LORD does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets." (Amos 3:7)
How, then, do we receive plans from God like Moses, David, and Cornelius did?
"It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings." (Proverbs 25:2)
If we truly want to know the Lord's will concerning a matter, then we can surely obtain it by following the prophet Jeremiah's sound advice:
"Ask me and I will tell you some remarkable secrets about what is going to happen here." (Jeremiah 33:3 NLT)
Conclusion: As you read the Bible and start to get "bogged down" wading your way through descriptive passages about civil laws and dietary regulations and territorial boundaries and sacrificial rituals and so on…consider this:
- The details you are reading were extremely important for those whom God was directing to do it at the time to bring about God's will in heaven to the earth on a matter.
- The details provide necessary "types" and "foreshadows" representing things to come for New Testament believers like the "Passover Lamb" in the Old Testament (Exodus 12:21) being revealed as Jesus the Messiah in the New Testament as "the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world" (John 1:29).
- The details encourage us that God can and will give us explicit instructions of what and how to do something He desires in our lives if we will seek Him for the details.
Finally, and most importantly, know that no detail listed in the entirety of God's Word, no matter how insignificant it may appear, is insignificant. To be sure…
"All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It straightens us out and teaches us to do what is right." (2 Timothy 3:16 NLT)
DSR
2/9/04
Monday, February 2, 2004
The Birth of Thoughts about God
by David Scott Robertson
The year was 1987. It was one of the greatest years of my life. That was the year I married my best friend, Monica Ann Lambert. Seventeen years later, we're still going strong.
Something else that's still going strong is my writing and sharing these "Thoughts About God." 1987 was the year that God used to form in me the desire and discipline to write "Thoughts" like those I share with hundreds on a weekly basis via the internet.
I have never put in writing what I am about to share right now.
It was in 1987 that I felt the irresistable tug of the Holy Spirit to embark on a writing project. In retrospect, I know now that the Lord was teaching me valuable lessons that would last the remainder of my life span. At the time, however, I was a bit overwhelmed at the assignment I felt the Lord had given me. But I did it anyway and God proved His faithfulness and resources are more than enough.
The assignment was to write a "Thought About God" every day for a year. Yes, 365 thoughts at the rate of one a day.
I wrote each day of my honeymoon on a cruise in the Bahamas. I wrote every day I went to work. I wrote one each Sunday I went to church. I wrote one every rainy, snowy, hot day in 1987. I wrote one "Thought About God" every single day without exception. New Year's Eve came and went and the mission was accomplished.
With God's help, we did it! But there's more...
God also impressed on me to do another writing project in 1987. More "thoughts." This time the assignment was to write 365 thoughts in a month's time. I did the math and it was about 12 thoughts per day.
But you know what? It happened! With God's help, we did it! But there's more...
Again God impressed on me to do another writing project in 1987. Still more "thoughts." This time the assignment was to write 365 thoughts in a week's time. I did the math and it was about 52 thoughts per day.
Gasp! Talk about overwhelmed! Talk about stretching your faith! But I know I heard the Lord on this one so I took a week's vacation from work, bought lots of groceries to tide me over and locked myself in my apartment for a week (this was before I married Monica) and began to type on my computer.
But you know what? It happened! With God's help, we did it! But there's more...
By the way, did I mention to you that all three of these assignments were to occur simultaneously?
Here was my writing quota:
January 1-7, 1987- God inspired and enabled me, by His divine power and through the wisdom of His Holy Spirit to write 52 + 12 + 1 = 65 "Thoughts About God" per day for a week.
January 8-31, 1987 - God inspired and enabled me, by His divine power and through the wisdom of His Holy Spirit to write 12 + 1 = 13 "Thoughts About God" per day for the remainder of the month.
February 1 - December 31, 1987- God inspired and enabled me, by His divine power and through the wisdom of His Holy Spirit to write a "Thought About God" per day for a year.
But you know what? It happened! With God's help, we did it! But there's more...
I'm just going to tell you straight out what happened. (I've never written this before nor shared this in a public forum like I'm about to do now.)
In September of 1986, God began dealing with me about writing 365 "Thoughts About God" in a single day. Impossible? It is with man but nothing is impossible with God. After the necessary confirmations that I needed and the word of the Lord on the matter solidly settled in my heart, on September 12, 1986, God walked with me through a miracle.
For 23 hours and 52 minutes straight I sat at the computer to write 365 thoughts about God. No food. No phone. I paused only to use the bathroom. About 10 hours into the writing assignment, I did the math and calculated that I could not possibly finish. I slumped back in my chair in front of the PC and quit. I told God it was too much. I alleged that He had commanded me to do something that was literally and physically impossible. I wouldn't blame God for my failure, I would reckon that I misheard His voice. But that's not what happened.
At the moment I quit and resigned to failure, it started. What "it" was felt like hot oil being poured on my head. It started at the crown of my head and flowed like warm honey down my entire body all the way to my feet. When it reached my feet I felt energy begin pumped into my body and I sat up with renewed strength and a renewed mind and a renewed heart and began to write for another 13 hours or so straight.
When I keyed in Thought #365, my time clock read 23 hours and 52 minutes. God helped me finish early!
That was the day I lived inside a miracle! Nobody and no thing can ever take that experience away from me.
Why did that all happen? Why did God orchestrate these bizarre series of writing assignments? Why am I sharing it with you seventeen years later?
I'm not exactly sure. I have a thought rising up from within my spirit on this subject though. I think that God used the year 1987 and especially 1986 to teach me about faith, discipline, anointing, and miracles. I think He set before me a task so large that both he and I knew it would take divine intervention to pull it off. And that's exactly what happened.
Some day, God willing, my dream is to publish all my thoughts in a book. Would you believe me if I told you that sometimes I have to cry out to God to help me write one unique and freshly inspired thought per week to share with you? Imagine that!
But I am never overwhelmed and never afraid that God won't come through. Why? Because I lived through 1986 and 1987 and God did extraordinary things in that season of my life.
For whatever reason, I share this part of my life with you to encourage you to reach for God always and never fear the impossible. God will always pick up where our strength leaves off.
In the weeks to come and from time to time, I will pull from my archives one of the 1,460 thoughts that I wrote during the '86-'87 season of miracles. It is my hope that they will bless you as much reading them as I was in writing them.
DSR
2/2/04
The year was 1987. It was one of the greatest years of my life. That was the year I married my best friend, Monica Ann Lambert. Seventeen years later, we're still going strong.
Something else that's still going strong is my writing and sharing these "Thoughts About God." 1987 was the year that God used to form in me the desire and discipline to write "Thoughts" like those I share with hundreds on a weekly basis via the internet.
I have never put in writing what I am about to share right now.
It was in 1987 that I felt the irresistable tug of the Holy Spirit to embark on a writing project. In retrospect, I know now that the Lord was teaching me valuable lessons that would last the remainder of my life span. At the time, however, I was a bit overwhelmed at the assignment I felt the Lord had given me. But I did it anyway and God proved His faithfulness and resources are more than enough.
The assignment was to write a "Thought About God" every day for a year. Yes, 365 thoughts at the rate of one a day.
I wrote each day of my honeymoon on a cruise in the Bahamas. I wrote every day I went to work. I wrote one each Sunday I went to church. I wrote one every rainy, snowy, hot day in 1987. I wrote one "Thought About God" every single day without exception. New Year's Eve came and went and the mission was accomplished.
With God's help, we did it! But there's more...
God also impressed on me to do another writing project in 1987. More "thoughts." This time the assignment was to write 365 thoughts in a month's time. I did the math and it was about 12 thoughts per day.
But you know what? It happened! With God's help, we did it! But there's more...
Again God impressed on me to do another writing project in 1987. Still more "thoughts." This time the assignment was to write 365 thoughts in a week's time. I did the math and it was about 52 thoughts per day.
Gasp! Talk about overwhelmed! Talk about stretching your faith! But I know I heard the Lord on this one so I took a week's vacation from work, bought lots of groceries to tide me over and locked myself in my apartment for a week (this was before I married Monica) and began to type on my computer.
But you know what? It happened! With God's help, we did it! But there's more...
By the way, did I mention to you that all three of these assignments were to occur simultaneously?
Here was my writing quota:
January 1-7, 1987- God inspired and enabled me, by His divine power and through the wisdom of His Holy Spirit to write 52 + 12 + 1 = 65 "Thoughts About God" per day for a week.
January 8-31, 1987 - God inspired and enabled me, by His divine power and through the wisdom of His Holy Spirit to write 12 + 1 = 13 "Thoughts About God" per day for the remainder of the month.
February 1 - December 31, 1987- God inspired and enabled me, by His divine power and through the wisdom of His Holy Spirit to write a "Thought About God" per day for a year.
But you know what? It happened! With God's help, we did it! But there's more...
I'm just going to tell you straight out what happened. (I've never written this before nor shared this in a public forum like I'm about to do now.)
In September of 1986, God began dealing with me about writing 365 "Thoughts About God" in a single day. Impossible? It is with man but nothing is impossible with God. After the necessary confirmations that I needed and the word of the Lord on the matter solidly settled in my heart, on September 12, 1986, God walked with me through a miracle.
For 23 hours and 52 minutes straight I sat at the computer to write 365 thoughts about God. No food. No phone. I paused only to use the bathroom. About 10 hours into the writing assignment, I did the math and calculated that I could not possibly finish. I slumped back in my chair in front of the PC and quit. I told God it was too much. I alleged that He had commanded me to do something that was literally and physically impossible. I wouldn't blame God for my failure, I would reckon that I misheard His voice. But that's not what happened.
At the moment I quit and resigned to failure, it started. What "it" was felt like hot oil being poured on my head. It started at the crown of my head and flowed like warm honey down my entire body all the way to my feet. When it reached my feet I felt energy begin pumped into my body and I sat up with renewed strength and a renewed mind and a renewed heart and began to write for another 13 hours or so straight.
When I keyed in Thought #365, my time clock read 23 hours and 52 minutes. God helped me finish early!
That was the day I lived inside a miracle! Nobody and no thing can ever take that experience away from me.
Why did that all happen? Why did God orchestrate these bizarre series of writing assignments? Why am I sharing it with you seventeen years later?
I'm not exactly sure. I have a thought rising up from within my spirit on this subject though. I think that God used the year 1987 and especially 1986 to teach me about faith, discipline, anointing, and miracles. I think He set before me a task so large that both he and I knew it would take divine intervention to pull it off. And that's exactly what happened.
Some day, God willing, my dream is to publish all my thoughts in a book. Would you believe me if I told you that sometimes I have to cry out to God to help me write one unique and freshly inspired thought per week to share with you? Imagine that!
But I am never overwhelmed and never afraid that God won't come through. Why? Because I lived through 1986 and 1987 and God did extraordinary things in that season of my life.
For whatever reason, I share this part of my life with you to encourage you to reach for God always and never fear the impossible. God will always pick up where our strength leaves off.
In the weeks to come and from time to time, I will pull from my archives one of the 1,460 thoughts that I wrote during the '86-'87 season of miracles. It is my hope that they will bless you as much reading them as I was in writing them.
DSR
2/2/04
Monday, January 26, 2004
As Different as Night and Day
by David Scott Robertson
"Then you will again see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, betwen those who serve God and those who do not" (Malachi 3:6).
The difference between the righteous and the wicked is as vast as the difference between daylight and dark. The difference is so profound, that it is almost indescribeable.
The fact that human beings are grouped into one of two camps is a theological certainty. We are not talking about Republican and Democract, conservative or liberal, pro-life or pro-choice, American or foreigner...no, we are talking about the righteous and the wicked, the saved and the lost, those who believe in Jesus Christ as God's remedy for sin and those who do not.
Those who choose to accept God's plan of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ inherit eternal life in heaven. Those who choose to reject God's plan of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ inherit eternal damnation in hell (the lake of fire). That's about as different as it gets.
The paradox here on earth in this present life is that while both the righteous and the wicked occupy the same planet, each live in opposite worlds. Let me explain.
In the world of the righteous, to acquire wealth you give what you have away. To gain a promotion, you humble yourself. To become an excellent leader, you learn to become an excellent servant. To live an abundant life, you deny selfish ambition and shoulder the burden and reproach of the cross. To gain your life, you lose it.
Indeed, the world of the righteous - its ideals, its philosphies, its theology - is catagorically opposite of the wicked person's world. They are as far apart as the east is from the west.
Spouses, children, friends, neighbors, and co-workers can share the same name, address, employer, email account, favorite football team and presidential candidate, but they can be as different as night and day when it comes to the issue of Christ Jesus as Messiah, Savior, Lord, and soon coming King.
Still, it is remarkably interesting that there are times when it seems difficult to distinguish between the righteous and the wicked. Jesus told a parable one time about an enemy sowing "weed seeds" into his wheat crop (Matthew 13:25-30). The farmer instructed his field hands to allow the weeds to grow up along side of the wheat and at harvest time the two would be separated with the wheat being brought into the barn and the weeds being thrown into the fire.
Sometimes in our present day, the lines get blurred a bit when we see the righteous suffer, when bad things happen to good people, when terrorists surface to destroy innocent lives. For those that occupy the place of the uninformed, this enigma breeds doubt, confusion, and an unhealthy and distorted view of God.
But for the righteous person caught up in sometimes impossibly difficult situations who nevertheless holds fast to the profession of their faith in Christ, the mystery of suffering breeds faith, purity, and a healthy and proper fear of God.
Perhaps the most amazing difference of all in the lives of the righteous and the wicked doesn't manifest in this life at all, but only after life on earth is over. Then, think of it you who are saints of God Most High, then comes to pass the saying...
"Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 15:55-57).
Here, at the funeral, in the heart and mind of the persons standing over the casket in grief, grappling with sorrow and bereavement, here is the most astonishing difference between the righteous and the wicked; between those who fear God and those who do not.
It is here, at the point of death, that a believer can rejoice in hope! Hope that their dearly departed loved one has gone from life to greater life! They know in their heart of hearts that they have gone to a better place, safe in the very presence of God. What comfort!
Not so for the wicked! Their brief time on earth, to be sure, is the only taste of "heaven" that they will experience. Those from the camp of the wicked fear death and have no hope or assurance that they will be received into the loving arms of a living Savior when they exit this life.
So while there will always be things that both the righteous and the wicked have in common (like both love their children and can't stand hypocrites), the fact remains that the righteous and the wicked are as different from one another as night and day.
Living life apart from God is really not life at all. It is a poor substitute for what God intended a life span to be. It is a tragic mockery and nothing could be further from the truth.
DSR
1/26/04
"Then you will again see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, betwen those who serve God and those who do not" (Malachi 3:6).
The difference between the righteous and the wicked is as vast as the difference between daylight and dark. The difference is so profound, that it is almost indescribeable.
The fact that human beings are grouped into one of two camps is a theological certainty. We are not talking about Republican and Democract, conservative or liberal, pro-life or pro-choice, American or foreigner...no, we are talking about the righteous and the wicked, the saved and the lost, those who believe in Jesus Christ as God's remedy for sin and those who do not.
Those who choose to accept God's plan of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ inherit eternal life in heaven. Those who choose to reject God's plan of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ inherit eternal damnation in hell (the lake of fire). That's about as different as it gets.
The paradox here on earth in this present life is that while both the righteous and the wicked occupy the same planet, each live in opposite worlds. Let me explain.
In the world of the righteous, to acquire wealth you give what you have away. To gain a promotion, you humble yourself. To become an excellent leader, you learn to become an excellent servant. To live an abundant life, you deny selfish ambition and shoulder the burden and reproach of the cross. To gain your life, you lose it.
Indeed, the world of the righteous - its ideals, its philosphies, its theology - is catagorically opposite of the wicked person's world. They are as far apart as the east is from the west.
Spouses, children, friends, neighbors, and co-workers can share the same name, address, employer, email account, favorite football team and presidential candidate, but they can be as different as night and day when it comes to the issue of Christ Jesus as Messiah, Savior, Lord, and soon coming King.
Still, it is remarkably interesting that there are times when it seems difficult to distinguish between the righteous and the wicked. Jesus told a parable one time about an enemy sowing "weed seeds" into his wheat crop (Matthew 13:25-30). The farmer instructed his field hands to allow the weeds to grow up along side of the wheat and at harvest time the two would be separated with the wheat being brought into the barn and the weeds being thrown into the fire.
Sometimes in our present day, the lines get blurred a bit when we see the righteous suffer, when bad things happen to good people, when terrorists surface to destroy innocent lives. For those that occupy the place of the uninformed, this enigma breeds doubt, confusion, and an unhealthy and distorted view of God.
But for the righteous person caught up in sometimes impossibly difficult situations who nevertheless holds fast to the profession of their faith in Christ, the mystery of suffering breeds faith, purity, and a healthy and proper fear of God.
Perhaps the most amazing difference of all in the lives of the righteous and the wicked doesn't manifest in this life at all, but only after life on earth is over. Then, think of it you who are saints of God Most High, then comes to pass the saying...
"Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 15:55-57).
Here, at the funeral, in the heart and mind of the persons standing over the casket in grief, grappling with sorrow and bereavement, here is the most astonishing difference between the righteous and the wicked; between those who fear God and those who do not.
It is here, at the point of death, that a believer can rejoice in hope! Hope that their dearly departed loved one has gone from life to greater life! They know in their heart of hearts that they have gone to a better place, safe in the very presence of God. What comfort!
Not so for the wicked! Their brief time on earth, to be sure, is the only taste of "heaven" that they will experience. Those from the camp of the wicked fear death and have no hope or assurance that they will be received into the loving arms of a living Savior when they exit this life.
So while there will always be things that both the righteous and the wicked have in common (like both love their children and can't stand hypocrites), the fact remains that the righteous and the wicked are as different from one another as night and day.
Living life apart from God is really not life at all. It is a poor substitute for what God intended a life span to be. It is a tragic mockery and nothing could be further from the truth.
DSR
1/26/04
Monday, January 19, 2004
Moving On With Jesus
by David Scott Robertson
Lord, I'm ready to MOVE ON!
To move on into the role that you have prepared for me to play in the end time harvest.
Lord, I'm ready to MOVE IN!
To move in the gifts of the Holy Spirit. To move in the direction of separation from wordly carnality and into personal holiness. To move in the power of the anointing of God's Spirit.
Lord, I'm ready to MOVE UP!
To move up from low living. To move up beyond mediocrity and compromise. To move up to the level of abundant life that you have orchestrated for me and my house to enjoy.
Lord, I'm ready to MOVE OVER!
To move over from the land of unfulfilled dreams to the a land flowing with milk and honey.
Lord, I'm ready to MOVE MOUNTAINS!
Mountains of procrastination - mountains of fear - mountains of anything that hinders God's will and plan from operating in my life. (Zec 4:7 NIV) "What are you, O mighty mountain? Before Zerubbabel [and David Scott Robertson] you will become level ground. Then he will bring out the capstone to shouts of 'God bless it! God bless it!'"
DSR
1/19/04
Lord, I'm ready to MOVE ON!
To move on into the role that you have prepared for me to play in the end time harvest.
Lord, I'm ready to MOVE IN!
To move in the gifts of the Holy Spirit. To move in the direction of separation from wordly carnality and into personal holiness. To move in the power of the anointing of God's Spirit.
Lord, I'm ready to MOVE UP!
To move up from low living. To move up beyond mediocrity and compromise. To move up to the level of abundant life that you have orchestrated for me and my house to enjoy.
Lord, I'm ready to MOVE OVER!
To move over from the land of unfulfilled dreams to the a land flowing with milk and honey.
Lord, I'm ready to MOVE MOUNTAINS!
Mountains of procrastination - mountains of fear - mountains of anything that hinders God's will and plan from operating in my life. (Zec 4:7 NIV) "What are you, O mighty mountain? Before Zerubbabel [and David Scott Robertson] you will become level ground. Then he will bring out the capstone to shouts of 'God bless it! God bless it!'"
DSR
1/19/04
Monday, January 5, 2004
The Fate of Satan
by David Scott Robertson
"Then I [John] saw an angel come down from heaven with the key to the bottomless pit and a heavy chain in his hand. He seized the dragon - that old serpent, the Devil, Satan - and bound him in chains for a thousand years. The angel threw him into the bottomless pit, which he then shut and locked so Satan could not deceive the nations anymore until the thousand years were finished" (Revelation 20:1-3).
One angel. One chain. One hand. That's how Almighty God has decreed that the Devil, Satan, that old serpent, should be bound and put away for a Millennium.
In this prophetic preview of coming attractions, we see the Devil put in his place - a place God has reserved for him from the foundation of the world.
Here the prideful arch angel who fell into God's disfavor, who was cast down from heaven to the earth, will eventually fall, fall, fall for a period of thousand years. How low can you go at that rate? Lower than any creature has been in the history of the world.
When a man dies, his physical body is buried "six feet under" ground while his spirit either ascends to heaven or descends to hell. But in this passage from Revelation we see Satan fall far below the underworld of hell. That's a long plunge from the highest place of honor in the angelic hierarchy as an arch angel to the lowest place in existence - the bottomless pit.
What rivets my attention, though, is the manner in which Satan is escorted from the earth. One angel. One chain. One hand. How completely humiliating this will be for the one who aspired to be God. Think of it! One angelic being, single-handedly (literally) takes him out! I can't help but wonder about the identity of this angel who gets to rid the earth of the father of lies. I wonder which angel is it whom God awards the unprecedented honor of binding the creature that bound billions of others created beings?
- Could it be the warrior arch angel, Michael, Lucifer's nemesis?
- Could it be the famous messenger angel, Gabriel, who makes some great announcement as he tosses the Devil into the Abyss?
- Could it be the same angel whom God sent to strengthen Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane as Christ faced the cross?
- Could it be the least senior angel (if that's how it works in heaven) and Satan knows all too well the significance of this particular angel doing the deed?
I suppose we could speculate long and hard on the matter but to no avail since the Bible is silent on the matter. All we do know for sure is that one angel with one chain uses one hand to bind the chief enemy of mankind and rid the earth of him for a thousand years. Very dramatic stuff!
I don't know about you, but if I were an angel, I'd want that job! I'd want to be the one responsible for working with God to render the devil harmless and remove his influence from the world.
I'm not an angel, I'm a man. A born again man. As a Christian believer, God has deputized me with authority to bind the devil here and now (Matthew 16:19; Luke 10:19)! As Christians, we don't have to wait for this epic future event to take place in order to see Satan's power bound and his overpowering influence mislead those we love.
Through faith in Jesus and His awesome Word we can wield spiritual power today to bind the Devil just like that one day, one angel, with one chain, will use one hand to put the Devil away!
DSR
1/5/04
"Then I [John] saw an angel come down from heaven with the key to the bottomless pit and a heavy chain in his hand. He seized the dragon - that old serpent, the Devil, Satan - and bound him in chains for a thousand years. The angel threw him into the bottomless pit, which he then shut and locked so Satan could not deceive the nations anymore until the thousand years were finished" (Revelation 20:1-3).
One angel. One chain. One hand. That's how Almighty God has decreed that the Devil, Satan, that old serpent, should be bound and put away for a Millennium.
In this prophetic preview of coming attractions, we see the Devil put in his place - a place God has reserved for him from the foundation of the world.
Here the prideful arch angel who fell into God's disfavor, who was cast down from heaven to the earth, will eventually fall, fall, fall for a period of thousand years. How low can you go at that rate? Lower than any creature has been in the history of the world.
When a man dies, his physical body is buried "six feet under" ground while his spirit either ascends to heaven or descends to hell. But in this passage from Revelation we see Satan fall far below the underworld of hell. That's a long plunge from the highest place of honor in the angelic hierarchy as an arch angel to the lowest place in existence - the bottomless pit.
What rivets my attention, though, is the manner in which Satan is escorted from the earth. One angel. One chain. One hand. How completely humiliating this will be for the one who aspired to be God. Think of it! One angelic being, single-handedly (literally) takes him out! I can't help but wonder about the identity of this angel who gets to rid the earth of the father of lies. I wonder which angel is it whom God awards the unprecedented honor of binding the creature that bound billions of others created beings?
- Could it be the warrior arch angel, Michael, Lucifer's nemesis?
- Could it be the famous messenger angel, Gabriel, who makes some great announcement as he tosses the Devil into the Abyss?
- Could it be the same angel whom God sent to strengthen Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane as Christ faced the cross?
- Could it be the least senior angel (if that's how it works in heaven) and Satan knows all too well the significance of this particular angel doing the deed?
I suppose we could speculate long and hard on the matter but to no avail since the Bible is silent on the matter. All we do know for sure is that one angel with one chain uses one hand to bind the chief enemy of mankind and rid the earth of him for a thousand years. Very dramatic stuff!
I don't know about you, but if I were an angel, I'd want that job! I'd want to be the one responsible for working with God to render the devil harmless and remove his influence from the world.
I'm not an angel, I'm a man. A born again man. As a Christian believer, God has deputized me with authority to bind the devil here and now (Matthew 16:19; Luke 10:19)! As Christians, we don't have to wait for this epic future event to take place in order to see Satan's power bound and his overpowering influence mislead those we love.
Through faith in Jesus and His awesome Word we can wield spiritual power today to bind the Devil just like that one day, one angel, with one chain, will use one hand to put the Devil away!
DSR
1/5/04
Sunday, December 28, 2003
Twas the Week After Christmas
by David Scott Robertson
Well, here we are...again.
Together we stand at the threshold of another new year.
For me, the week nestled between Christmas Day and New Year's Day has always been unique and special. Typically, I'm off work and on vacation, and this year is no exception. In my household and in my heart, these seven days have traditionally been a brief but important season of reflection and anticipation; an opportunity to evaluate what went right and what went wrong in the year prior - what worked and what didn't - and a chance to make adjustments and tweaks for a better tommorow. It reminds me of insects that hibernate all year and then come out for a week to lay eggs and then die. Then again, maybe that's not a good analogy!
It's the week after Christmas that I get caught up in all sorts of obscure projects. For example, today I cleaned out the glove compartment of my car. Now, it is immaculate. I have an envelope for each important category of paper in my glove compartment: emissions, warranties, insurance, and a miscellaneous envelope to stuff all the documents I didn't know what else to do with.
I polished a pair of boots today that had sat muddy in my garage for the last four months. This is the week I'll clean up my hard drive. I'll organize my closet, my chest and drawers, and I'll go through my junk drawer (you do have a junk drawer, don't you?) And so it goes.
It's funny, but I feel the urge to purge, the need to organize or agonize, and to sit down and "goal-set" so I can "goal-get" what I want to accomplish in the coming year.
Yes sir, the week after Christmas, for me, is an unusual time of organization and inspiration in preparation for the New Year.
As I ramp up for a new year, my excitement builds. It's like a football team starting out a new season with a perfect record with no losses. It's a chance to begin again with a clean slate - at least emotionally.
Although there are countless (unaswerable) questions that could cross my mind about what the future year holds, I balance these with those truths I know to be non-negotiable and firmly established. These rock-solid truths bring stability and courage into my life. For example...
...I know that my Redeemer lives.
...I know God is my Father.
...I know Jesus is my Lord.
...I know the Holy Spirit will be my faithful Guide to help me find my way.
...I know God's Word will not change.
...I know my eternal destination of heaven is settled and fixed.
...I even have my faith to hold on to concerning less stable truths in my life. For example...
...Faith that my marriage will endure another year.
...Faith that my career will continue to provide an income for my family.
...Faith that our health will hold up.
...Faith that my daughter Abigail will continue her trend of excellence.
...Faith that "there shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways" (Psalm 91:10-11).
I know the scriptures say: "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him" (Hebrews 11:6).
To be honest with you, God is not the only One that looks to faith as an indispensible commodity. I need it too. My faith in God, my faith in the love of my wife and family, my faith in the love of my church family and friends, my faith in my country and its ideals, all spur me on to face the New Year with hope.
I'm going to end this thought with a statement that I hope you can mentally and spiritually grab hold of and repeat it out loud as your own.
"THIS NEXT TWELVE MONTHS IS GOING TO BE THE GREATEST YEAR OF MY LIFE."
I dare to believe God for it. How about you? Do you dare? If yes, go ahead and say it out loud as a declaration to God, to the devil, and to yourself.
DSR
12/28/03
Well, here we are...again.
Together we stand at the threshold of another new year.
For me, the week nestled between Christmas Day and New Year's Day has always been unique and special. Typically, I'm off work and on vacation, and this year is no exception. In my household and in my heart, these seven days have traditionally been a brief but important season of reflection and anticipation; an opportunity to evaluate what went right and what went wrong in the year prior - what worked and what didn't - and a chance to make adjustments and tweaks for a better tommorow. It reminds me of insects that hibernate all year and then come out for a week to lay eggs and then die. Then again, maybe that's not a good analogy!
It's the week after Christmas that I get caught up in all sorts of obscure projects. For example, today I cleaned out the glove compartment of my car. Now, it is immaculate. I have an envelope for each important category of paper in my glove compartment: emissions, warranties, insurance, and a miscellaneous envelope to stuff all the documents I didn't know what else to do with.
I polished a pair of boots today that had sat muddy in my garage for the last four months. This is the week I'll clean up my hard drive. I'll organize my closet, my chest and drawers, and I'll go through my junk drawer (you do have a junk drawer, don't you?) And so it goes.
It's funny, but I feel the urge to purge, the need to organize or agonize, and to sit down and "goal-set" so I can "goal-get" what I want to accomplish in the coming year.
Yes sir, the week after Christmas, for me, is an unusual time of organization and inspiration in preparation for the New Year.
As I ramp up for a new year, my excitement builds. It's like a football team starting out a new season with a perfect record with no losses. It's a chance to begin again with a clean slate - at least emotionally.
Although there are countless (unaswerable) questions that could cross my mind about what the future year holds, I balance these with those truths I know to be non-negotiable and firmly established. These rock-solid truths bring stability and courage into my life. For example...
...I know that my Redeemer lives.
...I know God is my Father.
...I know Jesus is my Lord.
...I know the Holy Spirit will be my faithful Guide to help me find my way.
...I know God's Word will not change.
...I know my eternal destination of heaven is settled and fixed.
...I even have my faith to hold on to concerning less stable truths in my life. For example...
...Faith that my marriage will endure another year.
...Faith that my career will continue to provide an income for my family.
...Faith that our health will hold up.
...Faith that my daughter Abigail will continue her trend of excellence.
...Faith that "there shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways" (Psalm 91:10-11).
I know the scriptures say: "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him" (Hebrews 11:6).
To be honest with you, God is not the only One that looks to faith as an indispensible commodity. I need it too. My faith in God, my faith in the love of my wife and family, my faith in the love of my church family and friends, my faith in my country and its ideals, all spur me on to face the New Year with hope.
I'm going to end this thought with a statement that I hope you can mentally and spiritually grab hold of and repeat it out loud as your own.
"THIS NEXT TWELVE MONTHS IS GOING TO BE THE GREATEST YEAR OF MY LIFE."
I dare to believe God for it. How about you? Do you dare? If yes, go ahead and say it out loud as a declaration to God, to the devil, and to yourself.
DSR
12/28/03
Monday, December 22, 2003
Reading a Miracle Between the Lines
by David Scott Robertson
(Josh 2:1 NIV) Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim. "Go, look over the land," he said, "especially Jericho." So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there.
I read something in God's Word the other day that leaped off the page into my heart! I had read the story of the fall of the city of Jericho many times and yet had never seen what I'm about to describe to you. What I discovered may be common knowledge to you, but it was a revelation to me. I believe the Lord opened my eyes to see a "miracle between the lines" in this familiar Old Testament passage.
As our opening verse reveals, Joshua had sent two spies into the land of Canaan to investigate it. Somehow (that's another story for another day) they wound up at the house of Rahab the prostitute, who lived in Jericho.
To be more precise, Rahab's house was located on the wall of the city of Jericho.
(Josh 2:15 NIV) So she let them down by a rope through the window, for the house she lived in was part of the city wall.
I don't exactly know if her house was on top of the wall or embedded into it, whatever the case it is a fact of biblical history that it was part of the wall and included a life-saving window through which the two spies escaped the grasp of the king of Jericho who had dispatched soldiers to find and kill them.
Before escaping to freedom to return to Joshua, the two spies made a covenant with Rahab to save her life and the lives of her family provided that she and her family stayed within the confines of her house when the Lord will have given them the city.
(Josh 2:18 NIV) unless, when we enter the land, you have tied this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and unless you have brought your father and mother, your brothers and all your family into your house.
(Josh 2:19 NIV) If anyone goes outside your house into the street, his blood will be on his own head; we will not be responsible. As for anyone who is in the house with you, his blood will be on our head if a hand is laid on him.
Let's fast forward the story to the fall of Jericho and I'll show you the miracle between the lines.
Before beginning the conquest of Jericho and implementing the bizarre battle strategy that God had given Joshua of marching around the city day after day, Joshua makes this statement concerning Rahab:
(Josh 6:17 NIV) The city and all that is in it are to be devoted to the LORD. Only Rahab the prostitute and all who are with her in her house shall be spared, because she hid the spies we sent.
Here it is again: The explicit statement that all who are in her house will be saved from certain death.
And now we come to "D-Day." God orders to army to march around the city seven times on the seventh day and then it happens - miracle upon miracle! Obvious miracles and hidden miracles! Miracles plainly stated and miracles between the lines!
(Josh 6:20 NIV) When the trumpets sounded, the people shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the people gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed; so every man charged straight in, and they took the city.
(Josh 6:21 NIV) They devoted the city to the LORD and destroyed with the sword every living thing in it--men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep and donkeys.
(Josh 6:22 NIV) Joshua said to the two men who had spied out the land, "Go into the prostitute's house and bring her out and all who belong to her, in accordance with your oath to her."
(Josh 6:23 NIV) So the young men who had done the spying went in and brought out Rahab, her father and mother and brothers and all who belonged to her. They brought out her entire family and put them in a place outside the camp of Israel.
We can plainly see that the walls of Jericho falling at the shout of the people was an undeniable miracle that left the city more or less defenseless against the invading Israeli army. But what is not so plain to see is the miracle of Rahab's house, which scripture says was part of the wall, remained completely intact despite every supporting structure above, beneath, and around it caving in! Can you just picture the sight?
We know that Rahab's house was not at the base of the wall for the two spies needed a rope to descend safely from it and besides the thick wall was there for defensive purposes and a low window would have compromised that objective.
What I think I am reading between the lines is an outstanding miracle of the walls of Jericho completely disintegrating at the shout of the Lord's command and the house of Rahab is supernaturally protected as it falls to the ground safely with its human cargo of Rahab's family!
Talk about a special effect! I'd like to see Hollywood try to portray that miracle in a film adaptation of the fall of Jericho!
But there's more. Joshua allowed Rahab to live outside the camp but that's just it, she was permitted TO LIVE outside the camp and to this day, the Bible says, her descendents live among the people of God.
(Josh 6:25 NIV) But Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute, with her family and all who belonged to her, because she hid the men Joshua had sent as spies to Jericho--and she lives among the Israelites to this day.
Well, this concludes my observation of the astonishing "miracle between the lines" concerning Rahab's house and family. But here's where the grace of God picks up where we leave off. God's kindness to Rahab continues as you can readily see as the great God Jehovah permits her to marry into the lineage of the Messiah, Christ Jesus Himself:
(Mat 1:5 NIV) Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse…
But God is still not done with miraculous kindness to Rahab. When the writer of Hebrews starts to walk the readers through the great "hall of faith," guess who shows up in the list? Rahab!
(Heb 11:31 NIV) By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.
Finally, Jesus' half-brother James even mentions her in Holy Scripture:
(James 2:25 NIV) In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction?
So you see, there are many miracles between the lines of scripture that you can piece together with the help of the Holy Spirit!
DSR
12/22/03
(Josh 2:1 NIV) Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim. "Go, look over the land," he said, "especially Jericho." So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there.
I read something in God's Word the other day that leaped off the page into my heart! I had read the story of the fall of the city of Jericho many times and yet had never seen what I'm about to describe to you. What I discovered may be common knowledge to you, but it was a revelation to me. I believe the Lord opened my eyes to see a "miracle between the lines" in this familiar Old Testament passage.
As our opening verse reveals, Joshua had sent two spies into the land of Canaan to investigate it. Somehow (that's another story for another day) they wound up at the house of Rahab the prostitute, who lived in Jericho.
To be more precise, Rahab's house was located on the wall of the city of Jericho.
(Josh 2:15 NIV) So she let them down by a rope through the window, for the house she lived in was part of the city wall.
I don't exactly know if her house was on top of the wall or embedded into it, whatever the case it is a fact of biblical history that it was part of the wall and included a life-saving window through which the two spies escaped the grasp of the king of Jericho who had dispatched soldiers to find and kill them.
Before escaping to freedom to return to Joshua, the two spies made a covenant with Rahab to save her life and the lives of her family provided that she and her family stayed within the confines of her house when the Lord will have given them the city.
(Josh 2:18 NIV) unless, when we enter the land, you have tied this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and unless you have brought your father and mother, your brothers and all your family into your house.
(Josh 2:19 NIV) If anyone goes outside your house into the street, his blood will be on his own head; we will not be responsible. As for anyone who is in the house with you, his blood will be on our head if a hand is laid on him.
Let's fast forward the story to the fall of Jericho and I'll show you the miracle between the lines.
Before beginning the conquest of Jericho and implementing the bizarre battle strategy that God had given Joshua of marching around the city day after day, Joshua makes this statement concerning Rahab:
(Josh 6:17 NIV) The city and all that is in it are to be devoted to the LORD. Only Rahab the prostitute and all who are with her in her house shall be spared, because she hid the spies we sent.
Here it is again: The explicit statement that all who are in her house will be saved from certain death.
And now we come to "D-Day." God orders to army to march around the city seven times on the seventh day and then it happens - miracle upon miracle! Obvious miracles and hidden miracles! Miracles plainly stated and miracles between the lines!
(Josh 6:20 NIV) When the trumpets sounded, the people shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the people gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed; so every man charged straight in, and they took the city.
(Josh 6:21 NIV) They devoted the city to the LORD and destroyed with the sword every living thing in it--men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep and donkeys.
(Josh 6:22 NIV) Joshua said to the two men who had spied out the land, "Go into the prostitute's house and bring her out and all who belong to her, in accordance with your oath to her."
(Josh 6:23 NIV) So the young men who had done the spying went in and brought out Rahab, her father and mother and brothers and all who belonged to her. They brought out her entire family and put them in a place outside the camp of Israel.
We can plainly see that the walls of Jericho falling at the shout of the people was an undeniable miracle that left the city more or less defenseless against the invading Israeli army. But what is not so plain to see is the miracle of Rahab's house, which scripture says was part of the wall, remained completely intact despite every supporting structure above, beneath, and around it caving in! Can you just picture the sight?
We know that Rahab's house was not at the base of the wall for the two spies needed a rope to descend safely from it and besides the thick wall was there for defensive purposes and a low window would have compromised that objective.
What I think I am reading between the lines is an outstanding miracle of the walls of Jericho completely disintegrating at the shout of the Lord's command and the house of Rahab is supernaturally protected as it falls to the ground safely with its human cargo of Rahab's family!
Talk about a special effect! I'd like to see Hollywood try to portray that miracle in a film adaptation of the fall of Jericho!
But there's more. Joshua allowed Rahab to live outside the camp but that's just it, she was permitted TO LIVE outside the camp and to this day, the Bible says, her descendents live among the people of God.
(Josh 6:25 NIV) But Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute, with her family and all who belonged to her, because she hid the men Joshua had sent as spies to Jericho--and she lives among the Israelites to this day.
Well, this concludes my observation of the astonishing "miracle between the lines" concerning Rahab's house and family. But here's where the grace of God picks up where we leave off. God's kindness to Rahab continues as you can readily see as the great God Jehovah permits her to marry into the lineage of the Messiah, Christ Jesus Himself:
(Mat 1:5 NIV) Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse…
But God is still not done with miraculous kindness to Rahab. When the writer of Hebrews starts to walk the readers through the great "hall of faith," guess who shows up in the list? Rahab!
(Heb 11:31 NIV) By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.
Finally, Jesus' half-brother James even mentions her in Holy Scripture:
(James 2:25 NIV) In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction?
So you see, there are many miracles between the lines of scripture that you can piece together with the help of the Holy Spirit!
DSR
12/22/03
Monday, December 15, 2003
The Dynamic vs. the Demonic
by David Scott Robertson
There are two primary forces at work in our world today.
The DYNAMIC power of God and the DEMONIC power of the devil.
Each are diametrically opposed to the other having opposite objectives in mind for humanity.
God works in partnership with the human spirit while the devil strives to control the fleshly, carnal nature of man.
Capitalizing on man’s natural tendency to sin, the demonic power of the devil seeks to manipulate, control, and influence man to take the pathway of least resistance, the one that builds no spiritual muscle. Satan knows very well that…
> Flesh doesn’t want to read the Bible.
> Flesh doesn’t want to go to church.
> Flesh doesn’t want to pray.
> Flesh doesn’t want to enter into an accountability relationship with another person.
> Flesh doesn’t want to submit to authority.
> Flesh wants what it wants when it wants it and woe to the person who objects.
> Flesh is a self-serving, self-seeking, self-centered aspect of our humanity that the demonic power of the devil leverages to its maximum potential.
The dynamic power of God, on the other hand, works through the agency of His Holy Spirit to conform us into the image of Jesus, and bring us to maturity attaining the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. (Ephesians 4:13).
No surprises in what I’ve said thus far. But the real question is “Where are you in all of this? Where do you fall in the epic battle for your soul?”
Are you allowing the dynamic power of God to dominate your behavior and propel you further and deeper into God’s plan for your life? Or are you allowing the demonic power of the devil to influence you; however subtlety it may be, to drift away from God’s plan for your life?
This is a question that we must ask ourselves and respond to on a daily basis.
“Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test ourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you--unless, of course, you fail the test?” (2 Corinthians 13:5)
DSR
12/15/03
There are two primary forces at work in our world today.
The DYNAMIC power of God and the DEMONIC power of the devil.
Each are diametrically opposed to the other having opposite objectives in mind for humanity.
God works in partnership with the human spirit while the devil strives to control the fleshly, carnal nature of man.
Capitalizing on man’s natural tendency to sin, the demonic power of the devil seeks to manipulate, control, and influence man to take the pathway of least resistance, the one that builds no spiritual muscle. Satan knows very well that…
> Flesh doesn’t want to read the Bible.
> Flesh doesn’t want to go to church.
> Flesh doesn’t want to pray.
> Flesh doesn’t want to enter into an accountability relationship with another person.
> Flesh doesn’t want to submit to authority.
> Flesh wants what it wants when it wants it and woe to the person who objects.
> Flesh is a self-serving, self-seeking, self-centered aspect of our humanity that the demonic power of the devil leverages to its maximum potential.
The dynamic power of God, on the other hand, works through the agency of His Holy Spirit to conform us into the image of Jesus, and bring us to maturity attaining the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. (Ephesians 4:13).
No surprises in what I’ve said thus far. But the real question is “Where are you in all of this? Where do you fall in the epic battle for your soul?”
Are you allowing the dynamic power of God to dominate your behavior and propel you further and deeper into God’s plan for your life? Or are you allowing the demonic power of the devil to influence you; however subtlety it may be, to drift away from God’s plan for your life?
This is a question that we must ask ourselves and respond to on a daily basis.
“Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test ourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you--unless, of course, you fail the test?” (2 Corinthians 13:5)
DSR
12/15/03
Tuesday, December 2, 2003
A Message to Children and Teenagers
by David Scott Robertson
"Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the ways of his father David; he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. For in the eighth year of his reign [he was 16 years old at this time] while he was still young, he began to seek the God of his father David; and in the twelfth year [at this point he was 20 years old], he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the wooden images…he broke down the altars of the Baals…" (2 Chronicles 34:1-4)
And the Bible goes on to describe in detail the exploits and zeal for the Lord of young king Josiah.
My point and word of encouragement to children and teenagers today is this: God has historically used young people for His purpose and plan. I believe he often does this because their faith is so pure and has not yet been soiled by religion.
God will elevate a young person - an 8-year-old, a 16-year-old, a 20-year-old - to positions of influence, so that He can use them, often mightily. You don't have to wait to grow up to become a man or woman of God to be used powerfully by the Lord - you're already there; right now, today.
Young person, you might say, well, "I'm not a king" or "I'm not a queen", or "I'm not the president" or "I'm not a pastor" or "I'm not a whatever...."
That's OK! God is not looking for a person with a position to make an impact on the world, he's looking for a young man or a young woman who is available to stand up for Jesus Christ.
The boy Samuel was groomed to become one of Israel's greatest prophets. The shepherd boy David was used to kill a giant. Jesus Himself, at 12 years old, astonished the teachers of the law because of His wisdom. Even a superficial search of the scriptures would turn up many young people whom God used to advance His cause and kingdom.
If you are reading this and you are twenty years of age or younger, may I challenge you to think outside the box of your paradigm of age limitations? May I suggest that now is the acceptable time for you to seek the Lord and make an impact on your world. Even if you don't yet have a driver's license, still you are the perfect age right now to do exploits for God in your sphere of influence: at your gradeschool, your junior high, or your high school.
I want to share an incredible verse with you about another 8-year-old king. He's found in 2 Chronicles 36:9 - "Jehoiachin was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months and ten days. And he did evil in the sight of the Lord."
You see, it's NOT the position or the power you possess that makes you acceptable before God. I believe the key is your openness, willingness, and availability before the Lord that makes the difference between you earning the reputation as a good king or an evil king; a wise student or a foolish one; a good communicator for Christ or a secret agent Christian who barely confesses he or she knows Jesus at all.
The Apostle Paul wrote in his first letter to his young protégé Timothy: "Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity." (1 Tim 4:12)
When the young person Jeremiah protested to God about being too young to respond to God's call to be His prophet God replied:
"But the LORD said to me, "Do not say, 'I am only a child.' You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you," declares the LORD. Then the LORD reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, "Now, I have put my words in your mouth." (Jeremiah 1:7-9)
When children or teenagers receive Christ as Savior, they do not get indwelt by a miniature version of the Holy Spirit! No, they receive as much of the miracle of "Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27) as an adult.
The main thing, like Jeremiah experienced, is to allow God to put His words in your mouth. Then regardless of your age you can speak with authority.
When that happens, an 8-year-old, 16-year-old, or 20-year-old can do exploits for God just like young king Josiah did. As a matter of fact, all that is necessary is "to believe," in other words, to exercise faith in Jesus and His power. Then any person, regardless of age, can demonstrate the power of Christ operating through them to the point that the following scripture applies to them:
"And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well." (Mark 16:17-18)
DSR
12/2/03
"Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the ways of his father David; he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. For in the eighth year of his reign [he was 16 years old at this time] while he was still young, he began to seek the God of his father David; and in the twelfth year [at this point he was 20 years old], he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the wooden images…he broke down the altars of the Baals…" (2 Chronicles 34:1-4)
And the Bible goes on to describe in detail the exploits and zeal for the Lord of young king Josiah.
My point and word of encouragement to children and teenagers today is this: God has historically used young people for His purpose and plan. I believe he often does this because their faith is so pure and has not yet been soiled by religion.
God will elevate a young person - an 8-year-old, a 16-year-old, a 20-year-old - to positions of influence, so that He can use them, often mightily. You don't have to wait to grow up to become a man or woman of God to be used powerfully by the Lord - you're already there; right now, today.
Young person, you might say, well, "I'm not a king" or "I'm not a queen", or "I'm not the president" or "I'm not a pastor" or "I'm not a whatever...."
That's OK! God is not looking for a person with a position to make an impact on the world, he's looking for a young man or a young woman who is available to stand up for Jesus Christ.
The boy Samuel was groomed to become one of Israel's greatest prophets. The shepherd boy David was used to kill a giant. Jesus Himself, at 12 years old, astonished the teachers of the law because of His wisdom. Even a superficial search of the scriptures would turn up many young people whom God used to advance His cause and kingdom.
If you are reading this and you are twenty years of age or younger, may I challenge you to think outside the box of your paradigm of age limitations? May I suggest that now is the acceptable time for you to seek the Lord and make an impact on your world. Even if you don't yet have a driver's license, still you are the perfect age right now to do exploits for God in your sphere of influence: at your gradeschool, your junior high, or your high school.
I want to share an incredible verse with you about another 8-year-old king. He's found in 2 Chronicles 36:9 - "Jehoiachin was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months and ten days. And he did evil in the sight of the Lord."
You see, it's NOT the position or the power you possess that makes you acceptable before God. I believe the key is your openness, willingness, and availability before the Lord that makes the difference between you earning the reputation as a good king or an evil king; a wise student or a foolish one; a good communicator for Christ or a secret agent Christian who barely confesses he or she knows Jesus at all.
The Apostle Paul wrote in his first letter to his young protégé Timothy: "Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity." (1 Tim 4:12)
When the young person Jeremiah protested to God about being too young to respond to God's call to be His prophet God replied:
"But the LORD said to me, "Do not say, 'I am only a child.' You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you," declares the LORD. Then the LORD reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, "Now, I have put my words in your mouth." (Jeremiah 1:7-9)
When children or teenagers receive Christ as Savior, they do not get indwelt by a miniature version of the Holy Spirit! No, they receive as much of the miracle of "Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27) as an adult.
The main thing, like Jeremiah experienced, is to allow God to put His words in your mouth. Then regardless of your age you can speak with authority.
When that happens, an 8-year-old, 16-year-old, or 20-year-old can do exploits for God just like young king Josiah did. As a matter of fact, all that is necessary is "to believe," in other words, to exercise faith in Jesus and His power. Then any person, regardless of age, can demonstrate the power of Christ operating through them to the point that the following scripture applies to them:
"And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well." (Mark 16:17-18)
DSR
12/2/03
Monday, November 24, 2003
The Awesome Power of Choice
by David Scott Robertson
What to wear.
Where to live.
What to eat.
Whom to marry.
What to read.
What to watch.
What to drive.
What to buy.
Who to admire.
When to go.
When to return.
Go to heaven.
Go to hell.
The awesome power of choice.
DSR
11/24/03
What to wear.
Where to live.
What to eat.
Whom to marry.
What to read.
What to watch.
What to drive.
What to buy.
Who to admire.
When to go.
When to return.
Go to heaven.
Go to hell.
The awesome power of choice.
DSR
11/24/03
Monday, November 17, 2003
Here I Am
by David Scott Robertson
(Exo 3:4 NIV) When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, "Moses! Moses!" And Moses said, "Here I am."
(Gen 22:11 NIV) But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!" "Here I am," he replied.
(Gen 31:11 NIV) The angel of God said to me in the dream, 'Jacob.' I answered, 'Here I am.'
Moses, Abraham, and Jacob, famous biblical and historical figures, each heard God calling their name. But this experience is not unique to biblical patriarchs. These are three among multitudes of people who have at various times heard God call their name throughout history.
What is the proper response when God calls your name? I believe the answer may be found in the responses of Moses, Abraham, and Jacob: "here I am."
You see, God is looking for a man or woman who is willing to be found. The Bible says that
"…the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him" (2 Chronicles 16:9 KJV).
God is on a "search and bless" mission. His desire is to bless and not curse, to build up and not tear down, to establish and not demolish, to freely give abundant life through Christ here and now and eternal life in the hereafter. All we have to do when the Lord calls our name is answer "here I am!"
Some might say: "Well, that was fine for Moses, Abraham, and Jacob but I haven't heard God call my name. He certainly hasn't appeared to me in a burning bush, I've not heard an audible voice from heaven or even had a dream or vision where God called my name. Since that's not the case, therefore I conclude that God may not be calling me at all."
Please note that there is Someone else that is saying "here I am." It's Jesus.
"Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me" (Revelation 3:20 NIV).
God, who is completely impartial and plays no favorites, extends His invitation and call to all men everywhere at all times.
"The Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears say, "Come!" WHOEVER is thirsty, let him come; and WHOEVER wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life" (Revelation 22:17).
God is calling your name today, are you listening?
Don't be like Adam and Eve when God called out to them in the Garden of Eden and because of sin in their life they tried to avoid God's call altogether:
"Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. But the LORD God called to the man, "Where are you?" He answered, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid" (Genesis 3:8-10).
You can run but you cannot hide from God. Don't let fear that you are sinful, unworthy, or unacceptable before God prevent you from answering God's call with "here I am!"
Jesus Christ has made a way for us to have confidence in responding to God's call on our life with "here I am!"
Let's purpose in our hearts, this very day, that the next time we hear God's voice calling to us, we will respond to Him like the prophet Isaiah did:
"Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!" (Isaiah 6:8).
DSR
11/17/03
Monday, November 3, 2003
A Matter of the Heart
by David Scott Robertson
“Does not my word burn like fire?” asks the Lord. “Is it not like a mighty hammer that smashes rock to pieces?” - Jeremiah 23:29
Have you ever heard the ridiculous question: “Is it possible for God to make a rock so big that He cannot move it?” I believe the answer to this question is “yes.”
God has crafted the human heart after His own heart - with the capacity to love and obey or hate and disobey.
Mankind, through disobedience and sin, has hardened his heart to such a degree that even God, who will not violate man's free will, cannot move it.
The only possible solution of the condition known as “hardness of heart” is the Word of God. “Is [not My word] like a mighty hammer that smashes rock to pieces?” God asked through the prophet Jeremiah.
God's Word to fallen mankind is Jesus.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1 NIV).
“He [Jesus] is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God” (Revelation 19:13 NIV).
Like “plaque” hardens a human body's arteries and constricts the normal flow of blood and leads to heart disease, so sin clogs up the pipeline through which the blood of Jesus flows to bring abundant and eternal life.
What is the solution to reverse the awful effects of sin?
“Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool”
(Isaiah 1:18).
Today if you find yourself in a situation where your have discovered that you have a bad heart - you continually are failing the “stress tests” of life - the "rat race" has totally exasperated you and you are tired of living a poor quality of life - if this describes you, then may I recommend making an appointment with Dr. Jesus?
Jesus Christ can painlessly perform a “heart transplant” (for no cost) and give you a new heart fashioned after His own. He will gladly make you a man (or woman) after God's own heart. Suddenly, miraculously, you will find that your heart transplant was a success, and you have been transformed into a true worshipper, an obedient son or daughter, a healthy Christian.
DSR
11/3/03
“Does not my word burn like fire?” asks the Lord. “Is it not like a mighty hammer that smashes rock to pieces?” - Jeremiah 23:29
Have you ever heard the ridiculous question: “Is it possible for God to make a rock so big that He cannot move it?” I believe the answer to this question is “yes.”
God has crafted the human heart after His own heart - with the capacity to love and obey or hate and disobey.
Mankind, through disobedience and sin, has hardened his heart to such a degree that even God, who will not violate man's free will, cannot move it.
The only possible solution of the condition known as “hardness of heart” is the Word of God. “Is [not My word] like a mighty hammer that smashes rock to pieces?” God asked through the prophet Jeremiah.
God's Word to fallen mankind is Jesus.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1 NIV).
“He [Jesus] is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God” (Revelation 19:13 NIV).
Like “plaque” hardens a human body's arteries and constricts the normal flow of blood and leads to heart disease, so sin clogs up the pipeline through which the blood of Jesus flows to bring abundant and eternal life.
What is the solution to reverse the awful effects of sin?
“Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool”
(Isaiah 1:18).
Today if you find yourself in a situation where your have discovered that you have a bad heart - you continually are failing the “stress tests” of life - the "rat race" has totally exasperated you and you are tired of living a poor quality of life - if this describes you, then may I recommend making an appointment with Dr. Jesus?
Jesus Christ can painlessly perform a “heart transplant” (for no cost) and give you a new heart fashioned after His own. He will gladly make you a man (or woman) after God's own heart. Suddenly, miraculously, you will find that your heart transplant was a success, and you have been transformed into a true worshipper, an obedient son or daughter, a healthy Christian.
DSR
11/3/03
Monday, October 27, 2003
The Real Life
by David Scott Robertson
Col. 3:3-4 (New Living Translation - NLT)
For you died when Christ died, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. [4] And when Christ, who is your real life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.
I was reading the Bible in my usual morning devotions the other day and stumbled across this verse. The words “real life” reached out and grabbed my attention and it’s been days since I’ve read this passage and still I can’t seem to let it go.
The God’s honest truth is plainly stated right there in the text: “…when Christ, who is your real life, is revealed…
To be “in Christ”, then, is to be in “real life.” If that’s the case, then the opposite is also true: To not be in Christ is to live a counterfeit life, a cheap copy of the real thing.
Many people I know “compartmentalize” their lives. That is to say, they divide their whole person up into multiple compartments that make up their life. They have their work life, their family life, their social life, their recreational life, their church life, and so on. That’s fine but we can’t allow one aspect of our lives to be dominate to the point that we imagine that’s who we are.
When asked "who are you?", some respond with phrases like:
“I'm a plumber.”
“I'm a mother of three.”
“I'm a golfer."
“I'm a leader in my church.”
This may be something they do but it isn’t necessarily who they are.
Luke 12:15 (NLT)
Then he said, "Beware! Don't be greedy for what you don't have. Real life is not measured by how much we own."
We can “possess” or enjoy a great work life, family life, social life, recreational life, and church life but still miss entirely experiencing the real life that God has made available to believers through His Son Jesus.
Our real identity is found in Christ. Our real life is found and maintained through
”feeding on Jesus”.
Deut. 8:3 (NLT)
Yes, he humbled you by letting you go hungry and then feeding you with manna, a food previously unknown to you and your ancestors. He did it to teach you that people need more than bread for their life; real life comes by feeding on every word of the Lord.
Again, I think the answer is plainly revealed here. The mystery of how to live a real life is simply to feed on God’s Word. Jesus is the Word (John 1:1), therefore feeding on Jesus, the Bread of Life, on a daily basis is key to experiencing the real life.
1 Tim. 6:19 (NLT)
By doing this they will be storing up their treasure as a good foundation for the future so that they may take hold of real life.
In conclusion, the "real life" we live is not found in the abundance of things we possess, the quality or quantity of our earthly achievements and relationships, or even the good works we do for God and country. The "real life" the Bible describes which leads to "abundant life" during our earthly lives and "eternal life" in the life to come after our death is found only in Jesus Christ.
The Apostle Paul was right on when he penned these words centuries ago under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit: "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain" (Philipians 1:21).
DSR
10/27/03
Col. 3:3-4 (New Living Translation - NLT)
For you died when Christ died, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. [4] And when Christ, who is your real life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.
I was reading the Bible in my usual morning devotions the other day and stumbled across this verse. The words “real life” reached out and grabbed my attention and it’s been days since I’ve read this passage and still I can’t seem to let it go.
The God’s honest truth is plainly stated right there in the text: “…when Christ, who is your real life, is revealed…
To be “in Christ”, then, is to be in “real life.” If that’s the case, then the opposite is also true: To not be in Christ is to live a counterfeit life, a cheap copy of the real thing.
Many people I know “compartmentalize” their lives. That is to say, they divide their whole person up into multiple compartments that make up their life. They have their work life, their family life, their social life, their recreational life, their church life, and so on. That’s fine but we can’t allow one aspect of our lives to be dominate to the point that we imagine that’s who we are.
When asked "who are you?", some respond with phrases like:
“I'm a plumber.”
“I'm a mother of three.”
“I'm a golfer."
“I'm a leader in my church.”
This may be something they do but it isn’t necessarily who they are.
Luke 12:15 (NLT)
Then he said, "Beware! Don't be greedy for what you don't have. Real life is not measured by how much we own."
We can “possess” or enjoy a great work life, family life, social life, recreational life, and church life but still miss entirely experiencing the real life that God has made available to believers through His Son Jesus.
Our real identity is found in Christ. Our real life is found and maintained through
”feeding on Jesus”.
Deut. 8:3 (NLT)
Yes, he humbled you by letting you go hungry and then feeding you with manna, a food previously unknown to you and your ancestors. He did it to teach you that people need more than bread for their life; real life comes by feeding on every word of the Lord.
Again, I think the answer is plainly revealed here. The mystery of how to live a real life is simply to feed on God’s Word. Jesus is the Word (John 1:1), therefore feeding on Jesus, the Bread of Life, on a daily basis is key to experiencing the real life.
1 Tim. 6:19 (NLT)
By doing this they will be storing up their treasure as a good foundation for the future so that they may take hold of real life.
In conclusion, the "real life" we live is not found in the abundance of things we possess, the quality or quantity of our earthly achievements and relationships, or even the good works we do for God and country. The "real life" the Bible describes which leads to "abundant life" during our earthly lives and "eternal life" in the life to come after our death is found only in Jesus Christ.
The Apostle Paul was right on when he penned these words centuries ago under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit: "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain" (Philipians 1:21).
DSR
10/27/03
Sunday, October 19, 2003
The Bible in Three Words
by David Scott Robertson
THE OLD TESTAMENT
Genesis
In the beginning
Exodus
The Passover Lamb
Leviticus
Book of laws
Numbers
Forty years wandering
Deuteronomy
Moses repeats history
Joshua
Conquest of Canaan
Judges
Deliverance through judges
Ruth
The Kinsman Redeemer
1&2 Samuel
Saul and David
1&2 Kings
Elijah and Elisha
1&2 Chronicles
David and Solomon
Ezra
Return from captivity
Nehemiah
Rebuilding the wall
Esther
Queen Esther’s deliverance
Job
Discourse on suffering
Psalms
Praise the Lord!
Proverbs
Wisdom, temperance, justice
Ecclesiastes
All is vanity
Song of Solomon
Love God’s way
Isaiah
Prince of Peace
Jeremiah
The weeping prophet
Lamentations
Afflictions of Israel
Ezekiel
The dry bones
Daniel
The lions’ den
Hosea
Apostasy of Israel
Joel
Blessings of repentance
Amos
A courageous reformer
Obadiah
Doom of Edom
Jonah
The reluctant missionary
Micah
Promise of peace
Nahum
Destruction of Nineveh
Habakkuk
Mysteries of providence
Zephaniah
Future Israeli glory
Haggai
Rebuilding the temple
Zechariah
Motivating the Jews
Malachi
Bring the tithe
THE NEW TESTAMENT
Matthew
Jesus is Messiah
Mark
Jesus is supernatural
Luke
Biography of Jesus
John
Son of God
Acts
The early church
Romans
Grace of God
1&2 Corinthians
Power of love
Galatians
Justification by faith
Ephesians
Way of salvation
Philippians
Paul in prison
Colossians
Abandon worldly philosophy
1&2 Thessalonians
Christ is coming!
1&2 Timothy
A young pastor
Titus
Our Blessed Hope
Philemon
Receive and forgive
Hebrews
A better covenant
James
Faith and works
1&2 Peter
Privileges of believers
1&2&3 John
Warning against heresy
Jude
Warnings against immorality
Revelation
Come Lord Jesus!
DSR
10/19/03
THE OLD TESTAMENT
Genesis
In the beginning
Exodus
The Passover Lamb
Leviticus
Book of laws
Numbers
Forty years wandering
Deuteronomy
Moses repeats history
Joshua
Conquest of Canaan
Judges
Deliverance through judges
Ruth
The Kinsman Redeemer
1&2 Samuel
Saul and David
1&2 Kings
Elijah and Elisha
1&2 Chronicles
David and Solomon
Ezra
Return from captivity
Nehemiah
Rebuilding the wall
Esther
Queen Esther’s deliverance
Job
Discourse on suffering
Psalms
Praise the Lord!
Proverbs
Wisdom, temperance, justice
Ecclesiastes
All is vanity
Song of Solomon
Love God’s way
Isaiah
Prince of Peace
Jeremiah
The weeping prophet
Lamentations
Afflictions of Israel
Ezekiel
The dry bones
Daniel
The lions’ den
Hosea
Apostasy of Israel
Joel
Blessings of repentance
Amos
A courageous reformer
Obadiah
Doom of Edom
Jonah
The reluctant missionary
Micah
Promise of peace
Nahum
Destruction of Nineveh
Habakkuk
Mysteries of providence
Zephaniah
Future Israeli glory
Haggai
Rebuilding the temple
Zechariah
Motivating the Jews
Malachi
Bring the tithe
THE NEW TESTAMENT
Matthew
Jesus is Messiah
Mark
Jesus is supernatural
Luke
Biography of Jesus
John
Son of God
Acts
The early church
Romans
Grace of God
1&2 Corinthians
Power of love
Galatians
Justification by faith
Ephesians
Way of salvation
Philippians
Paul in prison
Colossians
Abandon worldly philosophy
1&2 Thessalonians
Christ is coming!
1&2 Timothy
A young pastor
Titus
Our Blessed Hope
Philemon
Receive and forgive
Hebrews
A better covenant
James
Faith and works
1&2 Peter
Privileges of believers
1&2&3 John
Warning against heresy
Jude
Warnings against immorality
Revelation
Come Lord Jesus!
DSR
10/19/03
Thursday, October 9, 2003
My Wife is Like the Space Shuttle
by David Scott Robertson
I don’t know a lot about aviation and I know even less about women, but I do know a little about both. And as odd as it may sound, there is connection between the two, particularly as it has to do with marriage.
Flying has always fascinated me. I’ll admit that it’s been tough for me to grasp some of the concepts that make air travel possible. How the Air Force’s C-5 cargo plane (which boasts a payload of roughly 10,000 square feet) can fly carrying Abram's tanks and tractor trailer trucks and fire engines and hummers (all at the same time!) is beyond me. But God created the Law of Thermodynamics and gave man permission to comprehend it and harness its potential.
Mankind has come a long way since Wilbur and Orville Wright first flew into the history books. As a matter of fact, the length of the Wright Brothers historic first flight could literally have fit inside the C-5 transport plane!
Airplanes, like women, come in all shapes and sizes (literally and figuratively). And in the context of the marriage relationship, I see some striking similaries as it has to do with a married woman's personality. Let me give you a few examples of what I’m talking about…
Some wives are like hang gliders. A hang glider allows a person to jump off a cliff and “fly” for a while until they eventually drift to earth. Some wives are like that. They possess absolutely no spiritual power. There’s no “motor” in them to sustain the forward motion of spiritual progress in their life (you see, prayer is the engine that drives personal revival, and some wives don't have a prayer life.) Consequently, the men that are married to “glider wives” eventually get dragged down from the destiny. Sometimes what starts off as exhilarating fun ends up in a crash landing resulting in injuries.
Some wives are like a plane simply called a glider. Gliders have to be towed behind a motorized vehicle (some wives rely on someone else' spiritual experience to carry them) and then released to catch the thermals and glide as long as possible. Some wives are just like that. Although they are a bit more sophisticated that a hang glider, they too have no engine to drive them forward spiritually. The men that are married to “glider women” will never reach their potential in God and “go the distance” because their woman continually pulls them down and holds them back. Their wife is always in search of a better high – perhaps a higher income, a higher standard of living, a higher social standing, or maybe even a narcotic or alcoholic high. Men married to “gliders” are always restrained by environmental conditions.
Some wives are like aircraft called “ultra-lights.” (By the way, some men mistakenly think thinness in their woman is a superior factor to her holines and character; not true!) Ultra-lights are usually a single passenger hang-glider with a small engine strapped behind the seat. Husbands married to “ultra-lights” are usually “married singles.” That is, the wife has her life, her friends, and her agenda, and she usually sails off into the wild blue yonder on her own. If the husband of an “ultra-light wife” objects, she usually flies off the handle.
Some wives are like Lear Jets. They are built to fly the corporate mission. “Lear Jet wives” are married to their careers. They want to prove that they can succeed in a “man’s world” while leaving husband and family standing at the gate.
Other wives remind me of Jumbo Jets (figuratively speaking, of course!). These type of wives are built to fly with the crowd. To their view, the more passengers along for the ride, the better! These are wives that fill their lives and schedules with lots of social activity, even including other male friends. Unfortunately, there’s not much time left over for intimacy with her husband. But she reasons that’s okay because she feels closer to some of her female and male friends at the health club than she does to her husband anyway.
Some wives are like fighter jets. They are armed and dangerous. They are on guard 24/7 against anything that might hurt them, including their husband. They had a mean-spirited attitude toward their spouse that keeps them from flying the friendly skies together.
Then there are wives that I liken to the space shuttle. These are women that can go supersonic. They can go to heights that few others can and sustain speeds that would incinerate other aircraft made of lesser expensive materials. They can actually leave the earth’s atmosphere and view celestial sights beyond description. And they are built to withstand re-entering earth’s unforgiving atmosphere without burning up.
I am very aware of recent national tragedies that have involved NASA’s space shuttle program ending spectacular missions in heartbreaking disaster. And to continue with our analogy, this only shows that no woman (or wife) is perfect. But nevertheless the design of the space shuttle is a modern marvel that personifies creative genius.
To me, my wife is like the space shuttle (and I say that in a respectful and admiring way!) My wife was created by the greatest Genius of all time, God Himself. He designed her for speed and height. One writer put it this way: "God created us to soar with the eagles not scratch dirt with the turkeys!"
My wife is fearfully and wonderfully made and that my soul knows very well. Like the space shuttle, she is a sophisticated and complex mechanism having a multitude of talents and abilities, many of which I have yet to discover. Her potential is unlimited.
Men who are fortunate enough to be are married to “space shuttle wives” are free to explore the vast expanse of the unknown together. They can go far, high, and very, very fast together investigating the mysteries and wonders of God all within the safe context of the secure capsule of married love. Together, this couple can perform rich experiments in the things of God and fly to destinations that only a privileged few will ever see.
God’s will for every married woman is for her to be a “space shuttle wife.” God’s will for every man is to entrust him with a woman of this caliber. This kind of woman is a design after His own heart and He loves her completely. He doesn't hand the keys of her life over to just anyone. No men who will pilot a "space shuttle wife" must be trained.
Fortunately, God has given us His Holy Spirit as our Trainer that daily unstructs us how to operate such a sophisticated and valuable invention from the heart of God. Just like each space shuttle costs millions of dollars so each woman of this caliber is priceless and one-of-a-kind. Only by regular and thorough training from the Bible can a husband receive certification to operate at these unusual levels.
The Lord, in His wisdom, surrounds husbands and wives with an experienced team of scientists (apostles), engineers (prophets), technicians (evangelists), business executives (pastors), and skilled workers (teachers) who all co-labor with God to craft your marriage into the union He intends for it to be.
DSR
10/9/03
I don’t know a lot about aviation and I know even less about women, but I do know a little about both. And as odd as it may sound, there is connection between the two, particularly as it has to do with marriage.
Flying has always fascinated me. I’ll admit that it’s been tough for me to grasp some of the concepts that make air travel possible. How the Air Force’s C-5 cargo plane (which boasts a payload of roughly 10,000 square feet) can fly carrying Abram's tanks and tractor trailer trucks and fire engines and hummers (all at the same time!) is beyond me. But God created the Law of Thermodynamics and gave man permission to comprehend it and harness its potential.
Mankind has come a long way since Wilbur and Orville Wright first flew into the history books. As a matter of fact, the length of the Wright Brothers historic first flight could literally have fit inside the C-5 transport plane!
Airplanes, like women, come in all shapes and sizes (literally and figuratively). And in the context of the marriage relationship, I see some striking similaries as it has to do with a married woman's personality. Let me give you a few examples of what I’m talking about…
Some wives are like hang gliders. A hang glider allows a person to jump off a cliff and “fly” for a while until they eventually drift to earth. Some wives are like that. They possess absolutely no spiritual power. There’s no “motor” in them to sustain the forward motion of spiritual progress in their life (you see, prayer is the engine that drives personal revival, and some wives don't have a prayer life.) Consequently, the men that are married to “glider wives” eventually get dragged down from the destiny. Sometimes what starts off as exhilarating fun ends up in a crash landing resulting in injuries.
Some wives are like a plane simply called a glider. Gliders have to be towed behind a motorized vehicle (some wives rely on someone else' spiritual experience to carry them) and then released to catch the thermals and glide as long as possible. Some wives are just like that. Although they are a bit more sophisticated that a hang glider, they too have no engine to drive them forward spiritually. The men that are married to “glider women” will never reach their potential in God and “go the distance” because their woman continually pulls them down and holds them back. Their wife is always in search of a better high – perhaps a higher income, a higher standard of living, a higher social standing, or maybe even a narcotic or alcoholic high. Men married to “gliders” are always restrained by environmental conditions.
Some wives are like aircraft called “ultra-lights.” (By the way, some men mistakenly think thinness in their woman is a superior factor to her holines and character; not true!) Ultra-lights are usually a single passenger hang-glider with a small engine strapped behind the seat. Husbands married to “ultra-lights” are usually “married singles.” That is, the wife has her life, her friends, and her agenda, and she usually sails off into the wild blue yonder on her own. If the husband of an “ultra-light wife” objects, she usually flies off the handle.
Some wives are like Lear Jets. They are built to fly the corporate mission. “Lear Jet wives” are married to their careers. They want to prove that they can succeed in a “man’s world” while leaving husband and family standing at the gate.
Other wives remind me of Jumbo Jets (figuratively speaking, of course!). These type of wives are built to fly with the crowd. To their view, the more passengers along for the ride, the better! These are wives that fill their lives and schedules with lots of social activity, even including other male friends. Unfortunately, there’s not much time left over for intimacy with her husband. But she reasons that’s okay because she feels closer to some of her female and male friends at the health club than she does to her husband anyway.
Some wives are like fighter jets. They are armed and dangerous. They are on guard 24/7 against anything that might hurt them, including their husband. They had a mean-spirited attitude toward their spouse that keeps them from flying the friendly skies together.
Then there are wives that I liken to the space shuttle. These are women that can go supersonic. They can go to heights that few others can and sustain speeds that would incinerate other aircraft made of lesser expensive materials. They can actually leave the earth’s atmosphere and view celestial sights beyond description. And they are built to withstand re-entering earth’s unforgiving atmosphere without burning up.
I am very aware of recent national tragedies that have involved NASA’s space shuttle program ending spectacular missions in heartbreaking disaster. And to continue with our analogy, this only shows that no woman (or wife) is perfect. But nevertheless the design of the space shuttle is a modern marvel that personifies creative genius.
To me, my wife is like the space shuttle (and I say that in a respectful and admiring way!) My wife was created by the greatest Genius of all time, God Himself. He designed her for speed and height. One writer put it this way: "God created us to soar with the eagles not scratch dirt with the turkeys!"
My wife is fearfully and wonderfully made and that my soul knows very well. Like the space shuttle, she is a sophisticated and complex mechanism having a multitude of talents and abilities, many of which I have yet to discover. Her potential is unlimited.
Men who are fortunate enough to be are married to “space shuttle wives” are free to explore the vast expanse of the unknown together. They can go far, high, and very, very fast together investigating the mysteries and wonders of God all within the safe context of the secure capsule of married love. Together, this couple can perform rich experiments in the things of God and fly to destinations that only a privileged few will ever see.
God’s will for every married woman is for her to be a “space shuttle wife.” God’s will for every man is to entrust him with a woman of this caliber. This kind of woman is a design after His own heart and He loves her completely. He doesn't hand the keys of her life over to just anyone. No men who will pilot a "space shuttle wife" must be trained.
Fortunately, God has given us His Holy Spirit as our Trainer that daily unstructs us how to operate such a sophisticated and valuable invention from the heart of God. Just like each space shuttle costs millions of dollars so each woman of this caliber is priceless and one-of-a-kind. Only by regular and thorough training from the Bible can a husband receive certification to operate at these unusual levels.
The Lord, in His wisdom, surrounds husbands and wives with an experienced team of scientists (apostles), engineers (prophets), technicians (evangelists), business executives (pastors), and skilled workers (teachers) who all co-labor with God to craft your marriage into the union He intends for it to be.
DSR
10/9/03
Monday, October 6, 2003
The King's Friend
by David Scott Robertson
King David. One of the greatest earthly kings who ever ruled. Chosen by God, anointed by the prophet Samuel, David was destined by God to govern the twelve tribes of Israel.
King David had an unusual ability to surround himself with competent men of excellence to serve in various important capacities.
There were “David’s mighty men” – thirty of the most outstanding warriors in the entire kingdom (1 Chronicles 12:4). The first book of Chronicles (chapter 27) lists other important officials that David conscripted to help him reign effectively:
Azmaveth was in charge of the royal storehouses (v. 25);
Ezri was in charge of the field labor (v. 26);
Shimei was in charge of the vineyards (v. 27);
Baal-Hanan was in charge of the olive trees (v. 28);
Shitrai was in charge of the herds of cattle (v. 29);
Obil was in charge of the camels (v. 30)
Jehdeiah was in charge of the donkeys (v. 30);
Jaziz was in charge of the sheep (v. 31);
Jonathan, David’s uncle, was one of the king’s counselors (v. 32);
And Hushai the Arkite was the king’s friend (v. 33).
All these men (along with others I didn’t list) and their respective positions were vital to King David’s success in administering the affairs of his kingdom.
But I want to key in on one man listed in the Holy Scriptures whose job description is a bit vague – and that man is Hushai the Arkite – the king’s friend.
What does a friend of the king do? I’m sure King David had lots of “friends” who thought it politically correct to be in good standing with the king even thought they may have had no personal passion or investment in the man himself. Why do you suppose Hushai is mentioned by name and His “title” of friend specifically mentioned when listing David’s officials?
Could it be that David realized that he needed a man in his life whose sole purpose was to tell it to him straight? Did Hushai receive his official title as “the king’s friend” AFTER David’s affair with Bathsheba? Did David recognize his need for a man around him who wouldn’t be afraid to look him in the eyes and ask him “What are you doing?”
Hushai had proven his fidelity to David when David’s son Absalom rebelled and tried to usurp the king’s authority. David, on the run and fearing for his life, left the palace and headed up the Mount of Olives. It was here the king encountered his friend:
(2 Sam 15:32 NIV) When David arrived at the summit, where people used to worship God, Hushai the Arkite was there to meet him, his robe torn and dust on his head.
(2 Sam 15:33 NIV) David said to him, "If you go with me, you will be a burden to me.
(2 Sam 15:34 NIV) But if you return to the city and say to Absalom, 'I will be your servant, O king; I was your father's servant in the past, but now I will be your servant,' then you can help me by frustrating Ahithophel's advice.
And that’s exactly what Hushai did even though it put his life at severe risk.
(2 Sam 15:37 NIV) So David's friend Hushai arrived at Jerusalem as Absalom was entering the city.
(2 Sam 16:16 NIV) Then Hushai the Arkite, David's friend, went to Absalom and said to him, "Long live the king! Long live the king!"
(2 Sam 16:17 NIV) Absalom asked Hushai, "Is this the love you show your friend? Why didn't you go with your friend?"
Hushai was willing to die with or for David. It reminds me what Jesus taught when He declared:
(John 15:13 NIV) Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.
Hushai remained faithful to David during all aspects of his reign as King of Israel even when David was temporarily deposed. Apparently, this fidelity and faithfulness was so impressive to him that when God restored the kingdom back to David after Absalom was killed that David apparently installed Hushai the Arkite in the office of friend.
I may not have all the facts right and my insight is limited given the scriptures don’t offer an explanation of David’s peculiar job title.
But there’s something there! The Holy Spirit made certain you and I down the timeline of history would read about Hushai the Arkite – “the king’s friend” – and we would wonder.
All I know is I want to be faithful to all of my friends and most especially to my Friend that sticks closer than a brother, Jesus my Lord. To be called a friend by those I love and respect exceeds the benefits of carrying a lucrative title in any organization.
DSR
10/6/03
King David. One of the greatest earthly kings who ever ruled. Chosen by God, anointed by the prophet Samuel, David was destined by God to govern the twelve tribes of Israel.
King David had an unusual ability to surround himself with competent men of excellence to serve in various important capacities.
There were “David’s mighty men” – thirty of the most outstanding warriors in the entire kingdom (1 Chronicles 12:4). The first book of Chronicles (chapter 27) lists other important officials that David conscripted to help him reign effectively:
Azmaveth was in charge of the royal storehouses (v. 25);
Ezri was in charge of the field labor (v. 26);
Shimei was in charge of the vineyards (v. 27);
Baal-Hanan was in charge of the olive trees (v. 28);
Shitrai was in charge of the herds of cattle (v. 29);
Obil was in charge of the camels (v. 30)
Jehdeiah was in charge of the donkeys (v. 30);
Jaziz was in charge of the sheep (v. 31);
Jonathan, David’s uncle, was one of the king’s counselors (v. 32);
And Hushai the Arkite was the king’s friend (v. 33).
All these men (along with others I didn’t list) and their respective positions were vital to King David’s success in administering the affairs of his kingdom.
But I want to key in on one man listed in the Holy Scriptures whose job description is a bit vague – and that man is Hushai the Arkite – the king’s friend.
What does a friend of the king do? I’m sure King David had lots of “friends” who thought it politically correct to be in good standing with the king even thought they may have had no personal passion or investment in the man himself. Why do you suppose Hushai is mentioned by name and His “title” of friend specifically mentioned when listing David’s officials?
Could it be that David realized that he needed a man in his life whose sole purpose was to tell it to him straight? Did Hushai receive his official title as “the king’s friend” AFTER David’s affair with Bathsheba? Did David recognize his need for a man around him who wouldn’t be afraid to look him in the eyes and ask him “What are you doing?”
Hushai had proven his fidelity to David when David’s son Absalom rebelled and tried to usurp the king’s authority. David, on the run and fearing for his life, left the palace and headed up the Mount of Olives. It was here the king encountered his friend:
(2 Sam 15:32 NIV) When David arrived at the summit, where people used to worship God, Hushai the Arkite was there to meet him, his robe torn and dust on his head.
(2 Sam 15:33 NIV) David said to him, "If you go with me, you will be a burden to me.
(2 Sam 15:34 NIV) But if you return to the city and say to Absalom, 'I will be your servant, O king; I was your father's servant in the past, but now I will be your servant,' then you can help me by frustrating Ahithophel's advice.
And that’s exactly what Hushai did even though it put his life at severe risk.
(2 Sam 15:37 NIV) So David's friend Hushai arrived at Jerusalem as Absalom was entering the city.
(2 Sam 16:16 NIV) Then Hushai the Arkite, David's friend, went to Absalom and said to him, "Long live the king! Long live the king!"
(2 Sam 16:17 NIV) Absalom asked Hushai, "Is this the love you show your friend? Why didn't you go with your friend?"
Hushai was willing to die with or for David. It reminds me what Jesus taught when He declared:
(John 15:13 NIV) Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.
Hushai remained faithful to David during all aspects of his reign as King of Israel even when David was temporarily deposed. Apparently, this fidelity and faithfulness was so impressive to him that when God restored the kingdom back to David after Absalom was killed that David apparently installed Hushai the Arkite in the office of friend.
I may not have all the facts right and my insight is limited given the scriptures don’t offer an explanation of David’s peculiar job title.
But there’s something there! The Holy Spirit made certain you and I down the timeline of history would read about Hushai the Arkite – “the king’s friend” – and we would wonder.
All I know is I want to be faithful to all of my friends and most especially to my Friend that sticks closer than a brother, Jesus my Lord. To be called a friend by those I love and respect exceeds the benefits of carrying a lucrative title in any organization.
DSR
10/6/03
Monday, September 29, 2003
The Strengthening Angel
by David Scott Robertson
We catch up with Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane…
“He [Jesus] withdrew about a stone's throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed,
‘Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.’
An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him” (Luke 24:41-43).
What an interesting thought – an angel strengthening Jesus! I have often wondered about this scene. I would love to know the details and implications of this angelic visit.
(And note it wasn’t the first time Jesus had this kind of visitation. After being tested forty days in the wilderness, angels were commissioned to strengthen Him: “Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him” -- Matthew 4:11)
As is usually the case, there is always more than meets the eye in the events of Jesus’ life.
But concerning “the strengthening angel” as I call him in the Garden of Gethsemane -- I am particularly interested in this character. Most students of the Bible quickly realize that Jesus agonizing over His destiny while battling with His human nature in the Garden of Gethsemane is one of the most emotionally charged moments of Jesus’ earthly life. In fact, scripture records that He was in such emotional turmoil that He sweated great drops of blood. (see Luke 22:44).
God the Father knew this was a crucial time for Jesus and therefore dispatched a special angel to go and strengthen Jesus at this significant time.
Did the angel have a message from the Father that brought tremendous encouragement to Jesus?
Was the manifestation of the angel itself a sign to Christ that was produce courage?
When He was being overwhelmed with His humanity was the supernatural sent to help Him
Bring it into perspective?
God didn’t send angels (plural) to strengthen Christ but God sent only one angel. Who was this one angel? Did it have special meaning that this one specific angel was sent? Is it possible that Jesus was familiar with this particular angel?
Was this angel none other than the Archangel Michael, the mighty warring angel who watches over Israel? Could it have been Gabriel, the very one who announced to the virgin Mary that Jesus would be miraculously conceived? Perhaps it was the angel that in Old Testament times killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers in one night per the command of Jehovah to save King Hezekiah and his people under siege. It’s possible that “the strengthening angel” was the very angel that God has assigned in the future to cast the devil into the bottomless pit for a thousand years!
We could go and on and on speculating the identity of this angel on special assignment to strengthen the Savior of the World during a critical moment but one thing we do know – it worked. Jesus rallied to go on and fulfill His ultimate destiny to die for the sins of the world and redeem mankind.
This is where we can apply a truth to our lives. It is possible that we know someone, either saved or unsaved, who has a great call of God on their lives. He or she may be going through a tough time about now. They may be struggling with doing God’s will or taking the pathway of least resistance.
Today you and I can accept a special assignment from God to be a “strengthening angel” to them to encourage them, to remind them of God’s presence in their life, and to assure them of their destiny in Christ if they persevere and don’t give up.
I’m sure that it was a great honor to “the strengthening angel” to come and minister to the Lord Jesus Christ. Today there is great honor in ministering, serving, and strengthening those who call Him “Lord.”
DSR
9/29/03
We catch up with Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane…
“He [Jesus] withdrew about a stone's throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed,
‘Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.’
An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him” (Luke 24:41-43).
What an interesting thought – an angel strengthening Jesus! I have often wondered about this scene. I would love to know the details and implications of this angelic visit.
(And note it wasn’t the first time Jesus had this kind of visitation. After being tested forty days in the wilderness, angels were commissioned to strengthen Him: “Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him” -- Matthew 4:11)
As is usually the case, there is always more than meets the eye in the events of Jesus’ life.
But concerning “the strengthening angel” as I call him in the Garden of Gethsemane -- I am particularly interested in this character. Most students of the Bible quickly realize that Jesus agonizing over His destiny while battling with His human nature in the Garden of Gethsemane is one of the most emotionally charged moments of Jesus’ earthly life. In fact, scripture records that He was in such emotional turmoil that He sweated great drops of blood. (see Luke 22:44).
God the Father knew this was a crucial time for Jesus and therefore dispatched a special angel to go and strengthen Jesus at this significant time.
Did the angel have a message from the Father that brought tremendous encouragement to Jesus?
Was the manifestation of the angel itself a sign to Christ that was produce courage?
When He was being overwhelmed with His humanity was the supernatural sent to help Him
Bring it into perspective?
God didn’t send angels (plural) to strengthen Christ but God sent only one angel. Who was this one angel? Did it have special meaning that this one specific angel was sent? Is it possible that Jesus was familiar with this particular angel?
Was this angel none other than the Archangel Michael, the mighty warring angel who watches over Israel? Could it have been Gabriel, the very one who announced to the virgin Mary that Jesus would be miraculously conceived? Perhaps it was the angel that in Old Testament times killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers in one night per the command of Jehovah to save King Hezekiah and his people under siege. It’s possible that “the strengthening angel” was the very angel that God has assigned in the future to cast the devil into the bottomless pit for a thousand years!
We could go and on and on speculating the identity of this angel on special assignment to strengthen the Savior of the World during a critical moment but one thing we do know – it worked. Jesus rallied to go on and fulfill His ultimate destiny to die for the sins of the world and redeem mankind.
This is where we can apply a truth to our lives. It is possible that we know someone, either saved or unsaved, who has a great call of God on their lives. He or she may be going through a tough time about now. They may be struggling with doing God’s will or taking the pathway of least resistance.
Today you and I can accept a special assignment from God to be a “strengthening angel” to them to encourage them, to remind them of God’s presence in their life, and to assure them of their destiny in Christ if they persevere and don’t give up.
I’m sure that it was a great honor to “the strengthening angel” to come and minister to the Lord Jesus Christ. Today there is great honor in ministering, serving, and strengthening those who call Him “Lord.”
DSR
9/29/03
Wednesday, August 20, 2003
Standing at the Border
by David Scott Robertson
DEDICATION: Today's thought is dedicated to anyone reading this who is in discouragement, in distress, in sickness, or in big trouble.
Here I am, Lord.
Standing at the very border between the land of impossibility and the land of miracles.
My people, my race, my nationality of humankind says I can't cross over.
Many say I'm not authorized. I don't have the proper identification and paperwork (i.e., a death certificate) to cross over from the realm of the natural to the supernatural.
I disagree.
I've got family on the other side.
I have a Father in the land of miracles.
I have an Elder Brother in the region of the miraculous.
My Mentor and Teacher resides in the domain of the living God and He bids me come.
No earthly agency can issue a border permit or boarding pass to transport me over to the other side.
No, it's a paperless trail I follow and a ticket-less flight whose cost is free.
I don't have to pay because the burden of the price has been born by the One who has invited me over to the other side.
To cross I will need a passport. Fortunately, that detail has been provided as well. My passport is called faith and God has given me the necessary measure of it. My faith is small and compact and fits easily inside the shell of a mustard seed. But it is enough.
Enough to get me from here to there…
From the land of impossibility to the land of miracles -
From the place of hopeless despair to the place of boundless joy -
From the place of captivity to the place of freedom -
From the place of crippling sickness to the place of healing and wholeness.
Faith is the rapid transportation that I need to cross over.
Once I've crossed the border, I will change my citizenship permanently. I will become an inhabitant living in God's country. I have sought political asylum there it has been granted by the government of God. I have sought sanctuary and a haven of rest from my labors has been granted.
So I've got a made up mind, I'm going over; I'm crossing. I'm not going to tolerate or compromise with low living any longer.
My ticket, by the way, is transferable and re-usable. Would you like to have it once I've crossed over? It's made out to "whosoever will let him come."
Would you like to join me? Would you like to cross over to the other side of your problem? Cross over to the other side of your crisis? Your sickness?
Then, in the name of Jesus Christ, let's go now!
DSR
8/20/03
DEDICATION: Today's thought is dedicated to anyone reading this who is in discouragement, in distress, in sickness, or in big trouble.
Here I am, Lord.
Standing at the very border between the land of impossibility and the land of miracles.
My people, my race, my nationality of humankind says I can't cross over.
Many say I'm not authorized. I don't have the proper identification and paperwork (i.e., a death certificate) to cross over from the realm of the natural to the supernatural.
I disagree.
I've got family on the other side.
I have a Father in the land of miracles.
I have an Elder Brother in the region of the miraculous.
My Mentor and Teacher resides in the domain of the living God and He bids me come.
No earthly agency can issue a border permit or boarding pass to transport me over to the other side.
No, it's a paperless trail I follow and a ticket-less flight whose cost is free.
I don't have to pay because the burden of the price has been born by the One who has invited me over to the other side.
To cross I will need a passport. Fortunately, that detail has been provided as well. My passport is called faith and God has given me the necessary measure of it. My faith is small and compact and fits easily inside the shell of a mustard seed. But it is enough.
Enough to get me from here to there…
From the land of impossibility to the land of miracles -
From the place of hopeless despair to the place of boundless joy -
From the place of captivity to the place of freedom -
From the place of crippling sickness to the place of healing and wholeness.
Faith is the rapid transportation that I need to cross over.
Once I've crossed the border, I will change my citizenship permanently. I will become an inhabitant living in God's country. I have sought political asylum there it has been granted by the government of God. I have sought sanctuary and a haven of rest from my labors has been granted.
So I've got a made up mind, I'm going over; I'm crossing. I'm not going to tolerate or compromise with low living any longer.
My ticket, by the way, is transferable and re-usable. Would you like to have it once I've crossed over? It's made out to "whosoever will let him come."
Would you like to join me? Would you like to cross over to the other side of your problem? Cross over to the other side of your crisis? Your sickness?
Then, in the name of Jesus Christ, let's go now!
DSR
8/20/03
WWJD IHWM?
by David Scott Robertson
What would Jesus do (WWJD) if He were me (IHWM)?
That Jesus Christ walked the earth is a historical and theological fact.
There is far more real, conclusive, court-admissible proof that He existed than any other man.
I don’t, however, need to review the evidence, I’ll take it on faith.
But I am curious as to what Jesus would have done if He were me given that presently my physical body doesn’t work right.
WWJD IHWM?
How long would he have tolerated this situation?
Do you suppose He would have said something like “Oh well, I guess it’s just God’s will” that I’m handicapped, disabled, dysfunctional, etc.
Ever wonder if the Boy Jesus had a cold growing up? The flu? Did He ever have the chicken pox? A fever? A fever blister?
I wonder if He ever smashed His thumb with a hammer growing up in Joseph’s carpentry shop? In all those years of working with wood did the young man Jesus ever bleed from a splinter? If so, wouldn’t that blood be as holy as the blood to be shed on the cross?
I’ve had a cold. I’ve had the flu. I had chicken pox when I was a kid complete with a fever. I’ve had a fever blister and blisters on my hands from working with wood and I’ve smashed my thumbs and probably all my fingers besides. I’ve bled like a stuck hog as my mother dug out with a sewing needle wooden splinters buried in the palm of my hands.
WWJD IHWM?
Knowing what He knew – or more importantly, knowing Who He knew – my thought is that Jesus were in my shoes would have taken the need to His Father right away.
And whatever Father said about the matter was the way it would be.
If it had pleased the Father to subject Jesus to all sorts of childhood diseases, accidents, bumps and bruises, cuts and scrapes, then that’s what would have happened.
If Jesus were like me, He would have suffered through it and made it to adulthood anyway.
But Jesus was unlike me and the rest of us.
It pleased the Father to have Jesus be…
Born of a virgin,
Born a male Jew,
Born into a culture that would by an large ignore and reject Him,
Born to die to redeem a lost race,
Born to die in the worst way possible in the era of history – brutally and cursed on a cross.
It pleased the Father to strike Him,
To turn His back on Him as Jesus became sin for a people who without Him would die in their sins without hope.
WWJD IHWM?
Good thing He wasn’t.
DSR
8/20/03
What would Jesus do (WWJD) if He were me (IHWM)?
That Jesus Christ walked the earth is a historical and theological fact.
There is far more real, conclusive, court-admissible proof that He existed than any other man.
I don’t, however, need to review the evidence, I’ll take it on faith.
But I am curious as to what Jesus would have done if He were me given that presently my physical body doesn’t work right.
WWJD IHWM?
How long would he have tolerated this situation?
Do you suppose He would have said something like “Oh well, I guess it’s just God’s will” that I’m handicapped, disabled, dysfunctional, etc.
Ever wonder if the Boy Jesus had a cold growing up? The flu? Did He ever have the chicken pox? A fever? A fever blister?
I wonder if He ever smashed His thumb with a hammer growing up in Joseph’s carpentry shop? In all those years of working with wood did the young man Jesus ever bleed from a splinter? If so, wouldn’t that blood be as holy as the blood to be shed on the cross?
I’ve had a cold. I’ve had the flu. I had chicken pox when I was a kid complete with a fever. I’ve had a fever blister and blisters on my hands from working with wood and I’ve smashed my thumbs and probably all my fingers besides. I’ve bled like a stuck hog as my mother dug out with a sewing needle wooden splinters buried in the palm of my hands.
WWJD IHWM?
Knowing what He knew – or more importantly, knowing Who He knew – my thought is that Jesus were in my shoes would have taken the need to His Father right away.
And whatever Father said about the matter was the way it would be.
If it had pleased the Father to subject Jesus to all sorts of childhood diseases, accidents, bumps and bruises, cuts and scrapes, then that’s what would have happened.
If Jesus were like me, He would have suffered through it and made it to adulthood anyway.
But Jesus was unlike me and the rest of us.
It pleased the Father to have Jesus be…
Born of a virgin,
Born a male Jew,
Born into a culture that would by an large ignore and reject Him,
Born to die to redeem a lost race,
Born to die in the worst way possible in the era of history – brutally and cursed on a cross.
It pleased the Father to strike Him,
To turn His back on Him as Jesus became sin for a people who without Him would die in their sins without hope.
WWJD IHWM?
Good thing He wasn’t.
DSR
8/20/03
Receiving Your Miracle
by David Scott Robertson
Anybody out there like me?
You’re in a jam! You’re in such a pickle that nobody, but nobody, can help you!
Like me, your situation requires either a medical breakthrough or a divine miracle - one or the other and either is fine by us!
We're what the medical community calls “untreatable, incurable, and inoperable.”
They don’t call us “terminal” because whatever physical disorder we’re dealing with won’t kill us. They just tell us, “I’m sorry, you’re just going to have to learn to live with it.”
Anybody out there ever heard a negative, pessimistic report like that? Well, don’t you buy it! It ain’t over yet! You and I may be having “technical difficulties” with our bodies but I wouldn’t count us down and out just yet.
Now for me, my deal is a pesky little problem called Retinitis Pigmentosa (R.P. for short). Total night blindness, tunnel vision, that sort of thing. (You’re deal is probably worse than mine but we each have our own cross to bear, right?)
Well, I wrote all that to set the stage for where I’m at and what’s going on right now.
As I write this, I’m in a cabin, alone, on top of a mountain. I’ve come up here to seek the Lord about this very matter.
I’ve only been here a couple a days and boy oh boy have I run the gamut in emotions..
I’ve cried out loud and I've cried in silence.I’ve shouted bold declarations of healing and I’ve prayed quietly to myself. I’ve danced, I’ve worshipped, I’ve lifted my hands to the Lord, and I’ve laid prostrate before Him. I’ve tried to be humble and contrite;
I’ve tried to be courageous and bold; I’ve told the devil where he can go and I’ve asked God to do what only He can do. I’ve read the Word, prayed the scriptures and fasted and feasted before the Lord.
I laid down on the couch one afternoon and closed my eyes and asked the Lord to either call me up to heaven where He was or come down here to when I am so I can talk to Him directly about this issue (I wasn't trying to be beligerant, I was just desperate!)
I asked Him to show me what I have done (or not done) that was standing in the way of me receiving the manifestation of my healing (I know that according to the Bible I’m already healed by faith through grace by the stripes of Jesus - 1 Peter 2:24).
Well, I did all that and guess what? I woke up this morning with R.P. in my eyeballs.
What do you think about that?
Can we conclude, then, that God does not heal?
No. He’s a Healer whether you or I ever receive our healing.
Can we conclude, then, that God’s Word is not true (or just a little bit off)?
No. Let God be true and every man a liar (Romans 3:4). His Word is so true that all truth is judged by it.
Can we conclude, then, that it is not God’s will to heal me?
No. It’s not over yet. Just because God won’t do a “dog and pony show” for me when I kick up and scream and holler and bellow out the way I think spiritual folks should do to get some mighty miracle from God doesn’t mean that it’s not His will to heal me.
You want to know what I think? (Well, it’s my thought and I’m going to tell you what I think whether you like it or not! After all, you don’t have to read it!) Here’s what I think…
I think there is a very, very, very strong possibility that I will receive a complete manifestation of my healing very, very, very soon.
I also think there is a very, very, very remote possibility that I may have to wait a while to receive a complete manifestation of my healing.
Aha! That’s where Christians from the “faith camp” may have a problem with me! They may say I’m just trying to “save face” by saying it or believing it in such a way that it could work out either way.
You know what? I’m not going to argue the point with anybody. All is know is that I’m not going to “lose the victory” and give up on God and discount His holy Word just because I don’t get what I want when I want it.
You know what I discovered in my time with Christ? God has given me nearly every single thing I ever needed (even wanted) but rarely has He given it to me WHEN I wanted it!
I choose to think that the manifestation of my healing is kind of the same way. I’m going to continue to work as hard as I can doing kingdom work and be about my "Father's business” of winning souls and making disciples until Jesus returns. My hope is that He catches me in the very act of serving Him when He returns to rapture the church away.
In the meantime, I’m going to walk by faith and not by sight until the day that I walk by sight and not by faith.
My encouragement to you who are reading this today and suffering through some awful something is to continue on, press on toward the high call of God on your life and don’t let anything stop you no matter what.
Don’t let disease, sickness, a handicap, or any other disability prevent you from doing all that you can, to whomever you can, whenever you can with the help of God for the glory of God.
I assure you, therein you will find little time to feel sorry for yourself and who knows when God will slip up on you and surprise you with the manifestation of your healing while you’re busily at work for Him?
Ralph Waldo Emerson was quoted as saying: “The Moravian symbol was a bull, standing in between an altar and a plow, below which were the words: ‘Ready for either.’”
How about you and I, who are waiting patiently (or impatiently) for the manifestation of our miracle, be ready for either as well?
DSR
8/20/03
Anybody out there like me?
You’re in a jam! You’re in such a pickle that nobody, but nobody, can help you!
Like me, your situation requires either a medical breakthrough or a divine miracle - one or the other and either is fine by us!
We're what the medical community calls “untreatable, incurable, and inoperable.”
They don’t call us “terminal” because whatever physical disorder we’re dealing with won’t kill us. They just tell us, “I’m sorry, you’re just going to have to learn to live with it.”
Anybody out there ever heard a negative, pessimistic report like that? Well, don’t you buy it! It ain’t over yet! You and I may be having “technical difficulties” with our bodies but I wouldn’t count us down and out just yet.
Now for me, my deal is a pesky little problem called Retinitis Pigmentosa (R.P. for short). Total night blindness, tunnel vision, that sort of thing. (You’re deal is probably worse than mine but we each have our own cross to bear, right?)
Well, I wrote all that to set the stage for where I’m at and what’s going on right now.
As I write this, I’m in a cabin, alone, on top of a mountain. I’ve come up here to seek the Lord about this very matter.
I’ve only been here a couple a days and boy oh boy have I run the gamut in emotions..
I’ve cried out loud and I've cried in silence.I’ve shouted bold declarations of healing and I’ve prayed quietly to myself. I’ve danced, I’ve worshipped, I’ve lifted my hands to the Lord, and I’ve laid prostrate before Him. I’ve tried to be humble and contrite;
I’ve tried to be courageous and bold; I’ve told the devil where he can go and I’ve asked God to do what only He can do. I’ve read the Word, prayed the scriptures and fasted and feasted before the Lord.
I laid down on the couch one afternoon and closed my eyes and asked the Lord to either call me up to heaven where He was or come down here to when I am so I can talk to Him directly about this issue (I wasn't trying to be beligerant, I was just desperate!)
I asked Him to show me what I have done (or not done) that was standing in the way of me receiving the manifestation of my healing (I know that according to the Bible I’m already healed by faith through grace by the stripes of Jesus - 1 Peter 2:24).
Well, I did all that and guess what? I woke up this morning with R.P. in my eyeballs.
What do you think about that?
Can we conclude, then, that God does not heal?
No. He’s a Healer whether you or I ever receive our healing.
Can we conclude, then, that God’s Word is not true (or just a little bit off)?
No. Let God be true and every man a liar (Romans 3:4). His Word is so true that all truth is judged by it.
Can we conclude, then, that it is not God’s will to heal me?
No. It’s not over yet. Just because God won’t do a “dog and pony show” for me when I kick up and scream and holler and bellow out the way I think spiritual folks should do to get some mighty miracle from God doesn’t mean that it’s not His will to heal me.
You want to know what I think? (Well, it’s my thought and I’m going to tell you what I think whether you like it or not! After all, you don’t have to read it!) Here’s what I think…
I think there is a very, very, very strong possibility that I will receive a complete manifestation of my healing very, very, very soon.
I also think there is a very, very, very remote possibility that I may have to wait a while to receive a complete manifestation of my healing.
Aha! That’s where Christians from the “faith camp” may have a problem with me! They may say I’m just trying to “save face” by saying it or believing it in such a way that it could work out either way.
You know what? I’m not going to argue the point with anybody. All is know is that I’m not going to “lose the victory” and give up on God and discount His holy Word just because I don’t get what I want when I want it.
You know what I discovered in my time with Christ? God has given me nearly every single thing I ever needed (even wanted) but rarely has He given it to me WHEN I wanted it!
I choose to think that the manifestation of my healing is kind of the same way. I’m going to continue to work as hard as I can doing kingdom work and be about my "Father's business” of winning souls and making disciples until Jesus returns. My hope is that He catches me in the very act of serving Him when He returns to rapture the church away.
In the meantime, I’m going to walk by faith and not by sight until the day that I walk by sight and not by faith.
My encouragement to you who are reading this today and suffering through some awful something is to continue on, press on toward the high call of God on your life and don’t let anything stop you no matter what.
Don’t let disease, sickness, a handicap, or any other disability prevent you from doing all that you can, to whomever you can, whenever you can with the help of God for the glory of God.
I assure you, therein you will find little time to feel sorry for yourself and who knows when God will slip up on you and surprise you with the manifestation of your healing while you’re busily at work for Him?
Ralph Waldo Emerson was quoted as saying: “The Moravian symbol was a bull, standing in between an altar and a plow, below which were the words: ‘Ready for either.’”
How about you and I, who are waiting patiently (or impatiently) for the manifestation of our miracle, be ready for either as well?
DSR
8/20/03
Monday, August 11, 2003
The Well Dressed Christian
by David Scott Robertson
Are you a well-dressed Christian? Do you dress properly before going out into the world? Have you “put on” the right outfit before leaving the house dressed as as disciple of Christ?
What you wear as a believer in Jesus does make a difference. It makes a HUGE difference in your effectiveness as a Christian.
Now don’t worry, I’m not going to meddle in your business about dress length for ladies and length of hair for men. I’m fishing for a deeper truth than preference. In my view, to be a “well-dressed Christian” you must follow the Bible’s dress code for believers found in Ephesians 6:10-17:
[11] “Put on all of God's armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies and tricks of the Devil. [12] For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against the evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against those mighty powers of darkness who rule this world, and against wicked spirits in the heavenly realms.
[13] Use every piece of God's armor to resist the enemy in the time of evil, so that after the battle you will still be standing firm. [14] Stand your ground, putting on the sturdy belt of truth and the body armor of God's righteousness. [15] For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News, so that you will be fully prepared. [16] In every battle you will need faith as your shield to stop the fiery arrows aimed at you by Satan. [17] Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (New Living Translation).
The armor of God is so important that we must “put it on” every day of our lives. This may sound silly, but my daily habit after I take a shower each morning is to verbally (yes, I say it out loud) to put on the full armor of God as specified in the passage of scripture above.
I especially love the “helmet of salvation”. I envision this helmet to be a full-face helmet like the ones the Knights of the Round Table might have worn. You know, the kind that covers the entire head so that you cannot see who is wearing it.
As I put on my helmet, I say words to this effect: “I put on the helmet of salvation to guard my mind in Christ Jesus today, to shield me from the stormy blast of sexual lust and sin, to keep my mind in perfect peace, and to prevent me from fearing man which is a snare.
Thank you for the helmet covering my ears – to prevent me from hearing faith-crushing words that can discourage me, especially words from my own mouth.
Thank you for the helmet covering my eyes – help me, Lord, to make a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a woman or gaze at things I should not be meditating on.
Thank you for the helmet covering my mouth – set a guard over my mouth and keep watch over the door of my lips.”
And from that point, I put on the rest of the armor of God piece by piece as is described in Ephesians. Then and only then do I consider myself dressed for the day; dressed for the work of a Christian; dressed for battle.
Are you of a mind to take some advice today?
How about each morning, when you put on your blue jeans, your shirt, your make up, whatever you do to get ready for work, school, or life – try putting on the full armor of God at that time when you’re getting ready. Commit to memory the passage in Ephesians describing what God has made available to you for your own protection as you walk out each day into spiritual warfare with the devil.
And finally, once you have adorned yourself with the full armor of God, don’t neglect to do what the Apostle Paul admonishes us to do once we have “suited up”:
“Pray at all times and on every occasion in the power of the Holy Spirit. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all Christians everywhere” (Ephesians 6:18 NLT).
When you’ve done all that, now you are a well-dressed Christian!
DSR
8/11/03
Are you a well-dressed Christian? Do you dress properly before going out into the world? Have you “put on” the right outfit before leaving the house dressed as as disciple of Christ?
What you wear as a believer in Jesus does make a difference. It makes a HUGE difference in your effectiveness as a Christian.
Now don’t worry, I’m not going to meddle in your business about dress length for ladies and length of hair for men. I’m fishing for a deeper truth than preference. In my view, to be a “well-dressed Christian” you must follow the Bible’s dress code for believers found in Ephesians 6:10-17:
[11] “Put on all of God's armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies and tricks of the Devil. [12] For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against the evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against those mighty powers of darkness who rule this world, and against wicked spirits in the heavenly realms.
[13] Use every piece of God's armor to resist the enemy in the time of evil, so that after the battle you will still be standing firm. [14] Stand your ground, putting on the sturdy belt of truth and the body armor of God's righteousness. [15] For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News, so that you will be fully prepared. [16] In every battle you will need faith as your shield to stop the fiery arrows aimed at you by Satan. [17] Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (New Living Translation).
The armor of God is so important that we must “put it on” every day of our lives. This may sound silly, but my daily habit after I take a shower each morning is to verbally (yes, I say it out loud) to put on the full armor of God as specified in the passage of scripture above.
I especially love the “helmet of salvation”. I envision this helmet to be a full-face helmet like the ones the Knights of the Round Table might have worn. You know, the kind that covers the entire head so that you cannot see who is wearing it.
As I put on my helmet, I say words to this effect: “I put on the helmet of salvation to guard my mind in Christ Jesus today, to shield me from the stormy blast of sexual lust and sin, to keep my mind in perfect peace, and to prevent me from fearing man which is a snare.
Thank you for the helmet covering my ears – to prevent me from hearing faith-crushing words that can discourage me, especially words from my own mouth.
Thank you for the helmet covering my eyes – help me, Lord, to make a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a woman or gaze at things I should not be meditating on.
Thank you for the helmet covering my mouth – set a guard over my mouth and keep watch over the door of my lips.”
And from that point, I put on the rest of the armor of God piece by piece as is described in Ephesians. Then and only then do I consider myself dressed for the day; dressed for the work of a Christian; dressed for battle.
Are you of a mind to take some advice today?
How about each morning, when you put on your blue jeans, your shirt, your make up, whatever you do to get ready for work, school, or life – try putting on the full armor of God at that time when you’re getting ready. Commit to memory the passage in Ephesians describing what God has made available to you for your own protection as you walk out each day into spiritual warfare with the devil.
And finally, once you have adorned yourself with the full armor of God, don’t neglect to do what the Apostle Paul admonishes us to do once we have “suited up”:
“Pray at all times and on every occasion in the power of the Holy Spirit. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all Christians everywhere” (Ephesians 6:18 NLT).
When you’ve done all that, now you are a well-dressed Christian!
DSR
8/11/03
Monday, August 4, 2003
Reach Out for the Cross
by David Scott Robertson
Have you ever awakened from a deep sleep and found yourself disoriented in your own bedroom? You’re still a little groggy as you get up out of the bed trying to stumble your way through the pitch black darkness to the bathroom (stubbing your toe along the way) running into furniture?
I’ve had that experience before where I’ve found myself standing in my very own bedroom in the darkness with zero visibility not knowing which way was up. As a matter of fact, I have had that happen on more than one occasion. But I want to tell you that even in that awkward situation God has taught me a great lesson.
You see, on the end of our bed there are tall wooden poles. The decorative poles complement the headboard and make for a lovely bed. But the wooden poles on the end of the bed serve another purpose for me.
Whenever I can’t see anything at all in the darkness of the room, I reach out for a wooden pole at the end of my bed. And the moment my fingers locate the pole, instantly I know where every single piece of furniture is in the room. I can’t see it with my eyes, but I can now see it in my mind’s eye. I’ve memorized where everything is in relation to the bed and now I can safely navigate my way through the darkness because the wooden pole on my bed has suddenly put everything into perspective.
And the thought that the Holy Spirit etched in my heart was that this is how the cross works. As we stumble our way through a world darkened by sin, often disoriented (even afraid) because we don’t exactly know which way to go to find relief, we can reach out for the cross of Jesus Christ.
And the moment we come in contact with the cross, instantly we know the way home. Although we can’t see the cross of Christ with our natural eyes, through the eyes of faith we can experience His sin-forgiving sacrifice, and the illumination of the truth of God’s love drives away the darkness. Suddenly, the cross has put everything in perspective.
Today if you are having difficulty navigating your way through a specific problem or through life in general, reach out for the cross. Touch it and be touched by it and you’ll see life in a whole new light.
DSR
8/4/03
Have you ever awakened from a deep sleep and found yourself disoriented in your own bedroom? You’re still a little groggy as you get up out of the bed trying to stumble your way through the pitch black darkness to the bathroom (stubbing your toe along the way) running into furniture?
I’ve had that experience before where I’ve found myself standing in my very own bedroom in the darkness with zero visibility not knowing which way was up. As a matter of fact, I have had that happen on more than one occasion. But I want to tell you that even in that awkward situation God has taught me a great lesson.
You see, on the end of our bed there are tall wooden poles. The decorative poles complement the headboard and make for a lovely bed. But the wooden poles on the end of the bed serve another purpose for me.
Whenever I can’t see anything at all in the darkness of the room, I reach out for a wooden pole at the end of my bed. And the moment my fingers locate the pole, instantly I know where every single piece of furniture is in the room. I can’t see it with my eyes, but I can now see it in my mind’s eye. I’ve memorized where everything is in relation to the bed and now I can safely navigate my way through the darkness because the wooden pole on my bed has suddenly put everything into perspective.
And the thought that the Holy Spirit etched in my heart was that this is how the cross works. As we stumble our way through a world darkened by sin, often disoriented (even afraid) because we don’t exactly know which way to go to find relief, we can reach out for the cross of Jesus Christ.
And the moment we come in contact with the cross, instantly we know the way home. Although we can’t see the cross of Christ with our natural eyes, through the eyes of faith we can experience His sin-forgiving sacrifice, and the illumination of the truth of God’s love drives away the darkness. Suddenly, the cross has put everything in perspective.
Today if you are having difficulty navigating your way through a specific problem or through life in general, reach out for the cross. Touch it and be touched by it and you’ll see life in a whole new light.
DSR
8/4/03
Wednesday, July 30, 2003
I'm Ready
by David Scott Robertson
I'm ready.
I'm ready to let go of control of my life.
I'm ready to abandon myself to the Lord Jesus Christ.
At long last I'm ready.
It's taken a lifetime, but I'm ready.
I'm ready to release my future and destiny to God.
I'm ready to yield and submit fully to the lordship of Christ Jesus.
I'm ready to get radical and fanatical.
I'm ready to be politically incorrect.
I'm ready to get crazy for Jesus.
I'm ready to get buck wild for the vision to win souls and make disciples (Matthew 28:19-20).
I'm ready to allow the Holy Spirit free reign in me to be His witness (Acts 1:8).
I'm ready to walk in the power of a New Testament believer.
I'm ready to lay hands on the sick and see them recover.
I'm ready to forsake sin, resist temptation and take my own thoughts captive for the praise of His glory.
I'm ready to be fully delivered so I can work with the Holy Spirit to get others delivered fully.
I'm ready to bear the cost of being a disciple.
I'm ready to pray the price of being a man of prayer.
I'm ready to be a man full of God's Holy Spirit.
I'm ready to study to show myself approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed rightly dividing the Word of Truth.
I'm ready to take the promises of the Bible and walk them out in daily life.
I'm ready to preach, teach, and prophesy whenever, wherever, to whomever as the Spirit leads.
I'm ready to open my heart to Jesus, open my life to sinners, and open the way of life to persons lost and alone on life's highway wandering aimlessly.
I'm ready to receive the impartation of the anointing of the Holy Spirit for works of service for it is given only to those who will not squander it or sit idly by.
I'm ready to believe God for the supernatural to work in and through my life.
I'm ready to be like Jesus.
I'm ready to walk in the authority of a deputized follower of Christ who will do even greater works than Jesus because He said so.
I'm ready to fulfill those good works that God has prepared in advance for me to do (Eph. 2:10).
I'm ready to rise up and conquer, to be an overcomer and not overcome; to be a victor and not a victim; to walk in abundance and not lack; to be prosperous and in good health even as my soul prospers (1 John 3:2).
I'm ready to be about my Father's business and occupy until Jesus returns to earth in power and great glory.
Are you ready?
Ready or not, here I come!
DSR
7/30/03
I'm ready.
I'm ready to let go of control of my life.
I'm ready to abandon myself to the Lord Jesus Christ.
At long last I'm ready.
It's taken a lifetime, but I'm ready.
I'm ready to release my future and destiny to God.
I'm ready to yield and submit fully to the lordship of Christ Jesus.
I'm ready to get radical and fanatical.
I'm ready to be politically incorrect.
I'm ready to get crazy for Jesus.
I'm ready to get buck wild for the vision to win souls and make disciples (Matthew 28:19-20).
I'm ready to allow the Holy Spirit free reign in me to be His witness (Acts 1:8).
I'm ready to walk in the power of a New Testament believer.
I'm ready to lay hands on the sick and see them recover.
I'm ready to forsake sin, resist temptation and take my own thoughts captive for the praise of His glory.
I'm ready to be fully delivered so I can work with the Holy Spirit to get others delivered fully.
I'm ready to bear the cost of being a disciple.
I'm ready to pray the price of being a man of prayer.
I'm ready to be a man full of God's Holy Spirit.
I'm ready to study to show myself approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed rightly dividing the Word of Truth.
I'm ready to take the promises of the Bible and walk them out in daily life.
I'm ready to preach, teach, and prophesy whenever, wherever, to whomever as the Spirit leads.
I'm ready to open my heart to Jesus, open my life to sinners, and open the way of life to persons lost and alone on life's highway wandering aimlessly.
I'm ready to receive the impartation of the anointing of the Holy Spirit for works of service for it is given only to those who will not squander it or sit idly by.
I'm ready to believe God for the supernatural to work in and through my life.
I'm ready to be like Jesus.
I'm ready to walk in the authority of a deputized follower of Christ who will do even greater works than Jesus because He said so.
I'm ready to fulfill those good works that God has prepared in advance for me to do (Eph. 2:10).
I'm ready to rise up and conquer, to be an overcomer and not overcome; to be a victor and not a victim; to walk in abundance and not lack; to be prosperous and in good health even as my soul prospers (1 John 3:2).
I'm ready to be about my Father's business and occupy until Jesus returns to earth in power and great glory.
Are you ready?
Ready or not, here I come!
DSR
7/30/03
Monday, July 28, 2003
Priceless
by David Scott Robertson
So you didn't win $20,000,000 in the lottery.
At least you had enough money to feed your family this week.
So you don't drive a Lexus.
At least you know the joy of reliable transportation.
So you don't live in what some would call a mansion.
At least you live in America where you can freely choose to live anywhere you want.
So you don't wear the finest and most fashionable clothes.
At least you own a coat to keep you cozy warm on a chilly winter morning.
So you don't have a big, lucrative position in a ultra successful career.
At least you work hard and honest and earn a decent living.
I suppose the comparisons in standards of living could go on endlessly but we don't need to in order to make the point.
The point is that wherever we happen to fall on the socio-economic scale, there are far more things of priceless value that money CANNOT buy than money CAN buy.
If you had $1,000,000 in the bank right now, would it affect the taste of your food?
Think about it.
You don't need taste buds to live but my oh my don't they increase the enjoyment of eating? If you can eat, that means you're alive. If you can eat, that means you have teeth, an appetite, and food readily available, and more than likely friends or family to socially enjoy the meal with. Once the food is eaten, your body uses if for energy. The energy gained from eating allows you to accomplish all sorts of things.
Finally, your body digests the food and eliminates it. All this happens without you even thinking about it. The only time you think about it is when these bodily functions don't work and then you'd gladly spend all the money you had in your bank account to get them to work properly if it were possible.
The joy and benefits of eating and tasting your food is just one example among thousands of simple pleasures that we take for granted that money CANNOT buy like…
Peace of mind, contentment, personal satisfaction, accomplishment, integrity and character, favor and a good name, the love of a committed spouse, the admiration of a child, the enduring fellowship of a faithful friend, the respect of a peer. Abilities, capabilities, faculties, opportunities, giftedness, talents, intelligence, reasoning, are but a few examples among innumerable privileges that money CANNOT buy. Money may be able to rent happiness but it CANNOT buy most things of TRUE value. (How you define "true value" will determine what kind of man or woman you are.)
The most profound expression of "true value", to my view, is found in the context of the spiritual realm. It's in the spiritual realm where things that on earth are perceived as "in-valuable" become "un-valuable".
For example, money can't buy salvation.
Money can't buy right standing with God.
Money can't buy access to heaven.
Money can't buy eternal life.
Money can't buy what the Bible calls "abundant life" (John 10:10).
Money can't bribe the devil to leave you alone or garner the favor of God to bless you.
Money is amoral -- neither good nor bad. How it is used and enjoyed or abused and misused is what we have to give a stewardship accounting to God for one day. It's been said that money makes a good servant but a terrible master. True indeed.
Therefore, my advice, for the reader today in this short thought is to not to worry about what you don't have nor boast in what you do possess. Simply be content with what you have, where you're at, whom you are with, and what you are while at the same time balancing that contentment with a continual dissatisfaction with status quo and perpetually pressing on to be all you can be for God.
The Apostle Paul wrote it much better than I ever could:
(Phil 4:11 KJV) Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.
(Phil 4:12 KJV) I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.
(Phil 4:13 KJV) I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
DSR
7/28/03
So you didn't win $20,000,000 in the lottery.
At least you had enough money to feed your family this week.
So you don't drive a Lexus.
At least you know the joy of reliable transportation.
So you don't live in what some would call a mansion.
At least you live in America where you can freely choose to live anywhere you want.
So you don't wear the finest and most fashionable clothes.
At least you own a coat to keep you cozy warm on a chilly winter morning.
So you don't have a big, lucrative position in a ultra successful career.
At least you work hard and honest and earn a decent living.
I suppose the comparisons in standards of living could go on endlessly but we don't need to in order to make the point.
The point is that wherever we happen to fall on the socio-economic scale, there are far more things of priceless value that money CANNOT buy than money CAN buy.
If you had $1,000,000 in the bank right now, would it affect the taste of your food?
Think about it.
You don't need taste buds to live but my oh my don't they increase the enjoyment of eating? If you can eat, that means you're alive. If you can eat, that means you have teeth, an appetite, and food readily available, and more than likely friends or family to socially enjoy the meal with. Once the food is eaten, your body uses if for energy. The energy gained from eating allows you to accomplish all sorts of things.
Finally, your body digests the food and eliminates it. All this happens without you even thinking about it. The only time you think about it is when these bodily functions don't work and then you'd gladly spend all the money you had in your bank account to get them to work properly if it were possible.
The joy and benefits of eating and tasting your food is just one example among thousands of simple pleasures that we take for granted that money CANNOT buy like…
Peace of mind, contentment, personal satisfaction, accomplishment, integrity and character, favor and a good name, the love of a committed spouse, the admiration of a child, the enduring fellowship of a faithful friend, the respect of a peer. Abilities, capabilities, faculties, opportunities, giftedness, talents, intelligence, reasoning, are but a few examples among innumerable privileges that money CANNOT buy. Money may be able to rent happiness but it CANNOT buy most things of TRUE value. (How you define "true value" will determine what kind of man or woman you are.)
The most profound expression of "true value", to my view, is found in the context of the spiritual realm. It's in the spiritual realm where things that on earth are perceived as "in-valuable" become "un-valuable".
For example, money can't buy salvation.
Money can't buy right standing with God.
Money can't buy access to heaven.
Money can't buy eternal life.
Money can't buy what the Bible calls "abundant life" (John 10:10).
Money can't bribe the devil to leave you alone or garner the favor of God to bless you.
Money is amoral -- neither good nor bad. How it is used and enjoyed or abused and misused is what we have to give a stewardship accounting to God for one day. It's been said that money makes a good servant but a terrible master. True indeed.
Therefore, my advice, for the reader today in this short thought is to not to worry about what you don't have nor boast in what you do possess. Simply be content with what you have, where you're at, whom you are with, and what you are while at the same time balancing that contentment with a continual dissatisfaction with status quo and perpetually pressing on to be all you can be for God.
The Apostle Paul wrote it much better than I ever could:
(Phil 4:11 KJV) Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.
(Phil 4:12 KJV) I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.
(Phil 4:13 KJV) I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
DSR
7/28/03
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