Abortion is Not Okay

Then Nathan departed to his house. And the Lord struck the child that Uriah’s wife bore to David, and it became ill. David therefore pleaded with God for the child, and David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground. So the elders of his house arose and went to him, to raise him up from the ground. But he would not, nor did he eat food with them. Then on the seventh day it came to pass that the child died. And the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead. For they said, “Indeed, while the child was alive, we spoke to him, and he would not heed our voice. How can we tell him that the child is dead? He may do some harm!” When David saw that his servants were whispering, David perceived that the child was dead. Therefore David said to his servants, “Is the child dead?” And they said, “He is dead.” So David arose from the ground, washed and anointed himself, and changed his clothes; and he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. 2 Samuel 12:15-20

Today’s blog is not about abortion, but I need to say up front that abortion is wrong. I need to say that because today’s blog is on the matter of letting your perversion die, and considering the text, somebody’s liable to come away with the erroneous conclusion that abortion is okay when it is not. As a matter of fact ~and~ as it pertains to the baby in this story, we must take note that God took him and that he was not brutally murdered by the hands of men.

For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. Romans 8:13

The deeds of our body refers of course to our sinful nature and the byproducts of our aberrant existence. Our Father has taken this historical event and used it to effectively illustrate that these things must be put away, as if dead and this dying child is a picture of David’s perverted lifestyle. The text is not suggesting that children born out of wedlock are evil things that must be destroyed, but rather that this baby is a type representing the evil deeds we do. I hope this is clear.

And they said, “He is dead.” So David arose from the ground, washed and anointed himself, and changed his clothes; and he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. 2 Samuel 12:20

Prior to the baby’s death, David was emotionally distressed and his heartache is a picture of our grief when we struggled to give up our favorite sin(s). Now that the child has died, many are perplexed to see this turn around in David’s life, but hopefully not those who have reckoned their own flesh dead. Formerly, David was pleading to hold onto his sinful past, but now he’s worshipping. How come? Because when sin dies there is freedom! Perhaps you remember when this happened to you; when you finally realized that perverted thing in your life was dead. Remember the cleansing, the anointing, and the changed life? Remember how you went into the house of the Lord and worshiped?

Letting Go

That’s the message of the text. With David as our example we can see how difficult and painful a process it can be, but more importantly we can see that it doesn’t have to be that way. Example is the best teacher, but God has not mandated that it be our example; we can learn from others and in so doing bring honor, and glory, and blessing to Jesus Christ.

Read Full Post »

Persistent Prayer, Unbounded Perception

Therefore David inquired of the Lord, and He said, “You shall not go up; circle around behind them, and come upon them in front of the mulberry trees. And it shall be, when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, then you shall advance quickly. For then the Lord will go out before you to strike the camp of the Philistines.” 2 Samuel 5:23-24

David is poised to battle his adversaries again. The Philistines had attacked once previously, but David was victorious because he dropped to his knees to pray before he stood up to fight. Wisely, David returns to his knees before taking further action. David could have marched into battle without making inquiry of the Lord, but fortunately he perceived that yesterday’s divine strategy was for yesterday. The lesson of course is for us to bring every matter before the Lord never assuming that divine tactics are etched in tablets of stone. The bonus, as it were, is that persistent prayer improves perception.

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. James 1:17

Both non-believers and biblical scholars have scrutinized the passage, “When you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees,’ and have theorized that the breeze-in-the-trees was merely some kind of natural phenomenon. Some have even speculated that the marching column of Philistine soldiers was enough to rattle the branches of the delicate Mulberry. Perhaps. They can choose to look at the incident like that if they want, but oh boy, are they missing out on something truly spectacular. Personally, I prefer to see the rushing wind as the Holy Spirit for which it is.

For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Romans 1:20-21

The fact of the matter is that the disconnected aren’t able to see God’s hand in these things because they aren’t willing to. Self-disabled, they regard things as naturally occurring rather for the supernatural occurrences they are. In contrast, and as the detractors shake their collective heads in astonished disbelief, the purposed Christian can look at any component of God’s good creation and rightfully proclaim, “I see God’s handiwork.”

“Oh well,” we rejoin, “their loss!”

The reality is that bringing this to their attention will probably not influence them to abandon their skepticism, but I’m not writing this them…I’m writing this for me (and maybe you). The truth is that I occasionally forget that ‘Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above;’ I am the one who needs the reminder. When I step outside the refuge of Christ Jesus and neglect the components of my faith, I run the risk of seeing things as the world sees them—pleasing, but nevertheless catastrophes of nature; accidental pleasantries if you will. Oh how sad it is to miss the gargantuan quantity of blessings God has bestowed upon us. The resolute know that standing close to Jesus improves our vision.

“God will not be behind-hand in love to us: for our drop, we shall receive an ocean. Thomas Watson

Follow me on Twitter HERE

Read Full Post »

Dying Foolishly

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Psalm 46:1

David is about to be anointed king, but in chapter four of second Samuel we witness an ugly little turn of events. Abner, the former commander of King Saul’s army is murdered by David’s nephew Joab.

Abner had just negotiated a peace accord with David paving the way for him to become ruler over all of Israel, but this didn’t sit well with Joab. We would recall that Abner had killed Joab’s brother Asahel in the civil war that preceded this episode.

However, he refused to turn aside. Therefore Abner struck him in the stomach with the blunt end of the spear, so that the spear came out of his back; and he fell down there and died on the spot. 2 Samuel 2:23

So working behind his Uncle David’s back, Joab lures Abner back to Hebron. Abner likely thinks nothing of it since he had made peace with King David, so he meets Joab outside the city gate. It was there we are told that Joab took him aside privately and killed him so that he would die for the blood of Asahel.

King David is enraged by Joab’s deed, but he is also grieved by Abner’s death, so much so he composes a funeral dirge for him. Odd as it may seem, in the lament King David implies that Abner, this man he loved, honored, and respected, died as a fool dies. Why would David insinuate such a thing? I submit to you that David did so as a warning for us!

“Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘Appoint for yourselves cities of refuge…And when he flees to one of those cities, and stands at the entrance of the gate of the city, and declares his case in the hearing of the elders of that city, they shall take him into the city as one of them, and give him a place, that he may dwell among them. Then if the avenger of blood pursues him, they shall not deliver the slayer into his hand, because he struck his neighbor unintentionally, but did not hate him beforehand. And he shall dwell in that city until he stands before the congregation for judgment, and until the death of the one who is high priest in those days. Then the slayer may return and come to his own city and his own house, to the city from which he fled.’ ” Joshua 20:2a, 4-6

Why was Abner a fool? He was a fool because Hebron was a city of refuge and the moment he left the confines of the city wall, he was fair game to any avenger of blood; in this case Joab. David’s hands were tied: Joab had the right to avenge and Abner forfeited his protection. In that respect, Abner was indeed a fool.

The Question is, “Are You a Fool?”

What we need to know is that in typology these cities of refuge illustrate the safety and security that is afforded the Christian when they abide in Christ Jesus. When we choose to step outside of this sphere of protection, we run the risk of subjecting ourselves to satan’s fury. Clearly stated, Christian’s who step out-of-bounds are fools.

C. H. Spurgeon wrote,

“By nature I am in myself, and in sin and I am, therefore, condemned; but when the grace of God awakens me up to know my ruined state, then I fly to Christ. I trust alone in His blood and righteousness, and He becomes to me the cleft of the rock, whereas I hide myself from the storm of vengeance justly due to me for my many offences. The Lord Jesus is typified by the city of refuge.”

The question that often arises is, “If a Christian steps outside Christ’s loving arms and dies as a result, is that foolish person now doomed?”

We can only answer that question by first proclaiming that only God know if a person was or is truly saved. However, if a true born-again believer wanders beyond Christ’s refuge, and dies, his or her salvation is not necessarily lost. I will tell you what does occur—that person now becomes an example for the rest of us of what not to do. In essence, dying a fool becomes that person’s ministry and we can all thank them when we get to Heaven.

Read Full Post »

Why God Doesn’t Talk to You

It happened after this that David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I go up to any of the cities of Judah?” And the Lord said to him, “Go up.” David said, “Where shall I go up?” And He said, “To Hebron.” So David went up there, and his two wives also, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite. 2 Samuel 2:1-2

There might be scores of reasons why God isn’t talking to you and I don’t want to explore them all right here right now. I simply want to say that perhaps one reason God isn’t talking to you is because you aren’t talking to Him.

When I read the Bible passage above, one thing that leaps off the page is that God’s response to David’s first prayer is extraordinarily concise. Why, when David asks the question, “Shall I go up to any of the cities of Judah?” doesn’t God simply give him the entire answer at once? Why doesn’t God respond, “Yes David, go up and specifically I want you to go to Hebron.” It’s almost as if God is making David ask more questions.

I submit to you that is exactly what God is doing with David. In the same way a parent draws out conversation from a child, our Father in Heaven elicits prayerful exchanges with us. Our Father calls for more than communication; He desires communion. The reality is that He loves us so much He wants to converse with us continually and the deeper those conversations are, the better they are. Consider the inferences revealed in these quotes:

“Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire.” Corrie Ten Boom

“I have so much to do that I spend several hours in prayer before I am able to do it.” John Wesley

“Is the Son of God praying in me, or am I dictating to Him…Prayer is not simply getting things from God, that is a most initial form of prayer; prayer is getting into perfect communion with God. If the Son of God is formed in us by regeneration, He will press forward in front of our common sense and change our attitude to the things about which we pray…Prayer does not fit us for the greater work, prayer is the greater work.” Oswald Chambers

“Why is it so important that you are with God and God alone on the mountain top? It’s important because it’s the place in which you can listen to the voice of the One who calls you the beloved. To pray is to listen to the One who calls you “my beloved daughter,” “my beloved son,” “my beloved child.” To pray is to let that voice speak to the center of your being, to your guts, and let that voice resound in your whole being.” Henri Nouwen

Our Father seeks our intimacy, our honesty and our accessibility and wants nothing more than any parent desires from their adored child – an authentic relationship.

Read Full Post »