Archive for year: 2016

Last week we chatted about King David’s sin with Bathsheba. It all began with being in the wrong place at the wrong time. His defenses were down. He wasn’t guarding his heart.

 

After Bathsheba became pregnant, David had her husband (Uriah) killed. We can’t be certain how much time passed, but eventually Nathan the prophet confronted King David. He told him a parable that outlined his sin.

 

David was angry at the guilty man in the parable and didn’t realize it was him until Nathan pointed at him and said, “You’re the one!”

(See 2 Samuel 12:7).

 

David repented, God forgave him and used him in a mighty way.

David was a man of virtue and vice . . . and this tells us something about the complexity of God’s work. God has the ability to transform the sinner into someone special.

 

He makes beauty out of ashes.

He sees the potential in each one of us to fully become who He created us to be!

 

God could constantly point His finger at us and say, “You’re the one!” But instead, He vividly shows us His Cross. He reminds us of His sacrifice for our sins.

 

Instead of accusing, He offers grace, forgiveness and mercy—if we’ll seek His forgiveness and turn away from our sin.

 

What a God!

 

 

Thoughts?

I’m speaking in New Mexico this week. Thanks so much for your prayers. God is so faithful!

King David, though, a mighty warrior, sinned when he lusted after Bathsheba. That sin led to another sin—sleeping with her—and when she became pregnant, David simply continued to dig himself deeper into a pit of sin.

 

You may recall that he brought her husband in from war to sleep with her, so he could deceive Uriah and make him think that Bathsheba became pregnant from her husband.

 

But when Uriah refused the comfort of being with his wife while his men were risking their lives in battle, David had him killed.

 

One sin led to another and another and another.

And it all began with being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Let’s look at Scripture:

 

“In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war . . . David remained in Jerusalem” (2 Samuel 11:1 NIV).

 

Why wasn’t David where he should have been?

Why wasn’t he at war with the rest of his men?

Failing to be where he should have been, got him in trouble.

This is where his downward spiral begins.

 

“One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, and David sent someone to find out about her” (2 Samuel 11:2-3 NIV).

 

Wrong move, David!

Sometimes we can’t help what we see.

We live in a fallen world.

But we can determine how long we continue to view it.

David lingered too long.

 

“The man said, ‘She is Bathsheba . . . then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her”

(2 Samuel 11:3-4 NIV).

 

Right now would be a great time for David to seek forgiveness and repent. (Repent means to walk away from sin; to turn completely away from it.)

 

He knew what he did was wrong. But when he received the news that she was pregnant, he continued to sin by ordering her husband be placed on the front line of battle where he knew Uriah would be killed.

 

And it all began with being at the wrong place at the wrong time.

The Holy Spirit is faithful to guide us on the right path.

 

“Show me the path where I should go, O Lord; point out the right road for me to walk. Lead me; teach me; for you are the God who gives me salvation” (Psalm 25:4-5 LB).

 

Being on the right path—and staying on the right path—begins with asking God to SHOW us and LEAD us.

 

Let’s commit to asking God each morning to show us the right path and empower us to remain on it.

 

 

Thoughts?

I’ll be speaking in New Mexico August 1-6. Please pray for me.

If you didn’t catch the last two weeks of this, please go back and read them. This is a continuation and conclusion.

 

RECAP:

We’ve been discussing an obscure little story found in 1 Kings 13.

God instructed the true prophet to enter the idol-infested city of Bethel and warn King Jeroboam of his sin. God told the true prophet not to eat or drink while there and to return a different way than he’d come.

An old prophet who lived in Bethel invited the true prophet to come home and eat with him. “Oh no, I can’t do that,” the true prophet explained. “God has given me specific instructions.”

But the old prophet convinced him it was OK.

So the true prophet went.

During dinner, however, the old prophet said, “This is what the Lord says: You have defied the word of the Lord and have not kept the command He gave you. You came back and ate bread and drank water in the place where He told you not to eat or drink. Therefore you’re going to die far from home.”

We can learn several things from this story through the red flags that are given.

First Red Flag:
• The true prophet of God stopped to rest under a tree (1 Kings 13:14). When researching this passage, I discovered that the Hebrew language reveals that he wasn’t simply sitting under a tree. He had built a temporary home. He knew to flee—and to flee immediately—but he didn’t. He rationalized it would be OK to rest a while.

• Second Red Flag:
The old prophet deceived this young prophet. When the old prophet said, “God spoke to me through an angel,” the young prophet accepted it as God’s word and went with him.

But God has already specifically spoken to the young prophet. So when does the voice of an angel trump the voice of God Himself?

• Third Red Flag:
The old prophet was living in Bethel. This tells us a lot!
The fact that he had chosen to live in the forbidden city of idols shows us he wasn’t living in God’s will.

 

Conclusion:

The young prophet was killed by a lion when he left the old prophet’s home. The young prophet tried to get back to where he should be, but he would never get home again. His ministry was over, and in fact, his walk with God in this world had come to an end. That seems pretty harsh to us, but remember, God isn’t playing games. Though He is long-suffering, there will come a point when He will no longer tolerate sin and disobedience.

The young prophet of God was very sincere, but he made the mistake of believing the wrong message which he was told was from God. But it wasn’t. He knew for a fact what God had told him—he didn’t know for a fact what God had told the old prophet.

We must be guarded and stick like glue to the message of the Bible. Don’t let anyone or anything draw you away—even someone you deeply love. If you do get drawn away, you’ll be deceived and deception can be deadly.

The young prophet of God was a good man who was deceived into disobedience. We don’t need to look for external voices and supernatural encounters with audible voices. We just need to know God’s Word. That’s how Jesus rebuked and refuted the devil during His temptation in the wilderness. Without being anchored on the Word of God, we’ll easily be deceived.

You are battling for eternity.
Be very guarded and test everything.

Bottom line:

The Word of God doesn’t change.
Man may alter it,
lie about it,
and add to it,
but God’s Word will endure forever.
So . . . how well do you know God’s Word?
Do you read the Bible consistently?

I’d love to hear from you!

If you didn’t catch last week’s blog, please go back and read it. This is a continuation.

 

RECAP:

We’re diving inside an obscure little story found in 1 Kings 13.
The two main characters we’re looking at are simply known as “the true prophet of God” and “the old prophet.”

You’ll remember from last week that God instructed the true prophet to enter the idol-infested city of Bethel and warn King Jeroboam of his sin. God told the true prophet not to eat or drink while there and to return a different way than he’d come.

An old prophet who lived in Bethel (the city of idols) invited the true prophet to come home and eat with him. “Oh no, I can’t do that,” the true prophet explained. “God has given me specific instructions.”

But the old prophet said, “I, too, am a prophet and God told me through an angel that it’s OK if you come home with me.”

So the true prophet went.
During dinner, however, the old prophet said, “This is what the Lord says: You have defied the word of the Lord and have not kept the command He gave you. You came back and ate bread and drank water in the place where He told you not to eat or drink. Therefore you’re going to die far from home.”

We can learn several things from this story through the red flags that are given.
• First Red Flag:
The true prophet of God stopped to rest under a tree (1 Kings 13:14). He was actually doing much more than resting. He had built a temporary home and had made himself comfortable right outside the city of idols instead of fleeing. Bad move!

• Second Red Flag:
This young prophet was deceived by the old prophet. When the old prophet said, “God spoke to me through an angel,” the young prophet accepted it as God’s word and went with him.

But God had already specifically spoken to the young prophet. So when does the voice of an angel trump the voice of God Himself?
The old prophet was actually lying to the young prophet, but the younger one failed to discern.

If God wanted the young prophet to accompany the old prophet, God Himself would have told him.

Simply because someone says he has heard from God, doesn’t always mean he actually has, and it certainly doesn’t mean it’s a message for YOU.

Paul told Timothy that in the last days it would be easy to be deceived by people in the church who have stopped listening to the Truth.
• Third Red Flag:
The old prophet was living in Bethel. This tells us a lot!

Maybe at one time He was obediently prophesying in God’s name, but the fact that he had chosen to live in the forbidden city of idols shows us he wasn’t living in God’s will.

I wish the young prophet had recognized this. When the old prophet said, “I, too, am a prophet of the Lord,” why didn’t the young prophet question his actions. “Really? Then why are you living where God has forbidden us to live?” would have been a great question!

And when the old prophet said, “God spoke to me through an angel,” I wish the young prophet had questioned that as well. “Really? That’s interesting, because God doesn’t need to use an angel to speak to us. He speaks directly to us. I’ve already been given specific instructions from Him, and they’re the exact opposite of what you’re telling me.”
I’ll conclude this next week, but meanwhile, here are a few questions to chew on:

—Do you find yourself easily deceived?

—Oftentimes we simply accept what we hear as truth if it comes from one who claims to be a Christian. But God never contradicts Himself. So if His Word can’t back up what you’re hearing, it’s not truth. Do you struggle with this?

—Like the old prophet, do you sometimes find yourself living in a place where God has instructed you to leave?

—Is it easier for you to believe that God speaks to other Christians more than He speaks to you?