What a Cheater

1 Chronicles 14:13-17 (NIV)
¹³ Once more the Philistines raided the valley;
¹⁴ so David inquired of God again, and God answered him, "Do not go straight up, but circle around them and attack them in front of the balsam trees.
¹⁵ As soon as you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, move out to battle, because that will mean God has gone out in front of you to strike the Philistine army."
¹⁶ So David did as God commanded him, and they struck down the Philistine army, all the way from Gibeon to Gezer.
¹⁷ So David's fame spread throughout every land, and the LORD made all the nations fear him.




What a cheater.  I am serious...the Philistines made a totally fair tactical move in attacking, and David decided that he was too good for the most basic rules of dignified warfare.  "so David inquired of God"...I MEAN COME ON.

Um, Mr. Teacher, um...I don't know the answer this question on the test, could you just tell me?

What nerve.  I know David killed Goliath and all but that does not give him the right to be so darn arrogant.  And the worst part is that God TOLD HIM.  God gave David a test to measure his abilities and then just totally caves the first time that David asks for assistance because the situation seems a little "difficult".  God should not facilitate such behavior.  David needed to learn that he could not just come crawling back to God EVERY TIME some foreign power came to destroy his people and family.  Where is the lesson learning?  Tough love?  How is David supposed to work on his battle strategies if God just tells him what to do every time?

Heavenly Daddy's Boy.

It just is not fair.  The rest of us have to go through life without "answers".  We just have to guess if what we are doing is right.  There is no "Almighty Omnipotent Creator" for us to run to whenever life gets hard.  NOOOO...we HAVE to do it OURSELVES.

But I am glad.  I am so much more independent and free and in control.  I can totally take all the credit for all  my achievements and successes because I did with my own two hands.  Sure, I may be more lost at times than "Mr. I Have God to Help Me Out", but I call those learning experiences.  All those emotionally, mentally, and physically scarring experiences just teach me how view and handle the world.  They show people that I AM TOUGH AND STRONG.  I DO NOT NEED ANYONE ELSE BECAUSE I CAN DO IT BY MYSELF...I can do it by myself...I am fine.............I do not need anyone..................I am free..........


Mr. Teacher.....can I have some help?  I do not know how to do this.

Coffee?

Would you like some coffee?

Common enough question with two basic answers: yes or no.  I personally would choose the latter, but for the purpose of this illustration working we are going to have to pretend that the response was yes and thus the ever necessary follow-up question is required:

How do you take it?

Apparently there is more than one form which you can pour "devil juice" into your body, but anyways...coffee comes in many forms.  You can get the frew-frew stuff that is basically caramel, sugar, and syrup with coffee vapors wafted over it and thus called coffee.  Or you can get it so that you might as well be eating moist coffee grounds.  Along there are those that drink everything in between the two extremes; those who drink coffee know exactly what I am referring to.

Now, between the various coffee forms lies a sort of rivalry.  The "frew-frew"ers feel sophisticated and elite due to the prettiness and expense of their coffees.  The "ground"ers look down upon their fellow "coffee" drinkers...wimps.  They don't drink coffee...the drink flavored water.

While we may offer coffee to friends and strangers, we unwittingly offer another source of "life-giving nectar".  The Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ is the ultimate morning, noon, and night pick me up (kind of like how some of you drink your coffee...just get an IV).  Through our lives, actions, and words we offer the Gospel to those that we interact with.  Unconsciously, intentionally, or whatever else, it happens every second of every day.  But along with coffee comes the ever important question:

How do you give it?

Unlike coffee, you are giving the Gospel and not receiving, but the consistency is still important.

John 3:16, Romans 3:23, and the rest of scripture gives us a very strong, bold, flavored existence.  Sins are sins right.  Murder is is murder, rape is rape, and unbelievers go to hell.  Simple, right?  Well, hating your brother is murder (1 John 3:15), lust is adultery (Matthew 5:28), homosexuality is an abomination (Leviticus 20:13)...still simple?

What kind of "coffee" do you offer?  Are you offering a strong, bold, rich example?  Or some watered down wannabe?  Are people actually energized and refreshed by the fullness of what they consume or does just more comfort and pride come?  The strong stuff is often to bitter of most.  It is offensive and hard to swallow.  You do a person a disservice by giving them anything less than what the source provides.  They will only continue to wallow in their own misery and dissatisfaction.

For those who have not figured it out yet, I am not talking about coffee any more.

You offer life to the world (the comparison to coffee works here for some).  Why cheapen it?  Why water it down for political correctness or friends?

What kind of coffee to you serve?  Better yet...

                                                                              how do YOU take it?

Attacks from Within

Chose the written or spoken version.
Spoken Version: Attacks from Within

Failure.  Loser.  Waste of Time.  Waste of Space.  Disappointment.  Child.  Useless.  Inadequate.

These are the words that many of us hear everyday.

It may be from the mouth of a boss or coworker.  Maybe from our children or family.  Possibly even the occasional stranger.  However odds are that most of the time when we hear these words are the whispers from within.

You probably hear the words "Failure" and "Inadequate" uttered in your subconscious more than any other source.  I personally believe that the internal utterance is much more difficult to deal with.  We are our own toughest critic.  If we are told by a boss that we are a waste of space, it is possible to process by realizing "That is his opinion.  I do not like his opinion but I know I can work harder in the future.  His opinion does not affect me."  Now in no way am I ever suggesting that the words and opinions of others do not affect us.  The opinion of society, friends, and others is actually one of the main controlling forces in our lives and is often the reason that find ourselves not doing what we are supposed to be doing in the first place.

What I am saying is this:  when the idea of "inadequacy" comes from within, you perceive it as your own personal opinion.  The blockade of self-esteem is no longer there to protect from incoming attacks.  This assassin is already inside your heart, mind, and soul wearing you down until there is nothing left except, "I am inadequate."  This is the danger of the whispers.  The whispers get projected as the opinions of others as well.  It is no longer just you being hard on you, but every person you pass is now "disgusted" by you.  Nobody can even look you in the eye.  You just know that they talking about you when you not around.  You can feel their disappointment radiating off of them like light from the sun.  There is nothing for you to do; there is no purpose for you to be around.  It would be better if........

Many get caught in this downward spiral because they believe that those whispers are coming from themselves.  They are not.  They come from only one person...Satan.  The Lord of Deceit and Deception.  His job 24/7 is to haunt you and pick at you and nag you and nudge you and whisper lies to you.  And he is very good at his job; world and personal history can attest to that.  "Why are you downcast, O my soul?  Why so disturbed within me?" (Ps 43:5)

But here is the answer:  "Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God" "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" (Ps 43:5, 2 Cor 5:17).

You know what, Satan is right.  We were useless, inadequate, undeserving, and failures, but the old is gone and the new has come.  We are glorious shining lights of God's love.  WE ARE SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF THE LORD OF THE UNIVERSE. Our hope rests in him alone.

So when you hear those whispers, internal or external, it is just Satan trying to get you to forget who you are and your worth.  It is not a joking matter, but it is funny when you compare what we have to what is attacking us.

Hope in the Lord.