Christianity

Sharing the spoils of victory

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David had been through many years of struggle. Anointed as king by Samuel and then chased all over Israel by King Saul, he now lived in Philistine territory as an apparent ally to Israel’s most hated enemy. He kept his military skills sharp by going out on raids, but during the absence of David and the men of war, their city, Ziklag, was raided and burned and all the inhabitants were taken captive by the Amalekites. At the Lord’s direction, David and his men pursued the Amalekites and not only recovered all of their own people and possessions, but they got extra because the Amalekites had invaded several areas prior to Ziklag. David could have kept all the spoil for himself, but instead it pleased him to share it with others.

1 Samuel 30:26 Now when David came to Ziklag, he sent some of the spoil to the elders of Judah, to his friends, saying, “Here is a present for you from the spoil of the enemies of the LORD”–

His victory wasn’t just for him. It was for the benefit of the people of God.

Although we don’t fight physical battles, we definitely are in a warfare and there are victories that we win and spoils of those victories that we acquire. And these spoils are not merely for us to celebrate, but they are for the help and benefit and encouragement of the people of God. The battles you have won—share the fruits of it with others. Share your story. Share your failures and share how Jesus brought you through it. Tell the testimonies of His grace and His power at work in your darkest days. And tell how He brought you out of that darkness. Somebody needs to hear it. Your victory wasn’t just for you.

1 Chronicles 26:27 Some of the spoils won in battles they dedicated to maintain the house of the LORD.

This is what your victory is for- to strengthen the people of God and to encourage them.

To tell the story of God’s victory means that you will have to tell the story of your failure. Don’t be ashamed. Everyone else has failed too. They just may be more concerned about protecting their reputation than sharing the spoils. Tell your story as often as you can and watch what God does.

 

Give it all

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James 2:5 Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?

1 Corinthians 1:26-29 For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence.

Luke 21:1-4 And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury, and He saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites. So He said, “Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all; “for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had.”

Some have so much and give so little of it. Some have so little, yet give it all.

Guided by the eye or turned by the bridle

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James 1:26 says that a man’s religion is useless unless he bridles his tongue. Religion is here defined as the ceremonial and external aspects of religion. However, the bridle is not God’s preferred way.

Psalm 32:8-9 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye. Do not be like the horse or like the mule which have no understanding, which must be harnessed with bit and bridle, else they will not come near yet.

The horse and mule are very good workers. They handle heavy burdens and get much done. But when the master wants to direct them in a certain way, he has to pull on the bridle so they know what to do. They cannot be guided by the eye for they are undiscerning and unresponsive to that.   And so the master remains out of their sight, utilizing the only method they will respond to – the pull of the reins from behind them. This is a picture of the religious man. He is busy with many spiritual looking things. He is such a hard worker, getting so much done. But for the master to get his attention and change his direction, he must be turned by the bridle.   He is much too busy to stop and wait to be guided by the eye. The spiritual man however, is busied with this one thing – gazing upon the master, not moving until he perceives that the master is directing him. Although this man may seem to be slothful when his activities are set alongside the feverish pace of the religious man, the things he does, having been uniquely directed by the master’s desire, are highly profitable.

You get to choose if you will be guided by the eye or turned by the bridle.

We don’t understand the whole plan

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Matthew 17:22-23 Now while they were staying in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill Him, and the third day He will be raised up.” And they were exceedingly sorrowful.

To their minds it would have seemed better for Jesus to stay among them. So many were being healed and set free. The truths of the kingdom were being preached to hungry souls. Twenty or thirty more years of this kind of ministry from Jesus would have made such a difference in Israel and the surrounding regions. The thought of Him being taken away was exceedingly grievous to them and seemed like the dashing of their hopes and dreams for the kingship of Jesus. But they didn’t understand that the plan of God was far more than Jesus reigning over a nation — He was to reign over ALL the nations and that could only be accomplished through his death and resurrection. The power to preach and bring healing and deliverance was to be an indwelling reality in multitudes who could take this blessing to the farthest corners of the earth, but the Spirit of God couldn’t come and abide where the blood had not cleansed. Had they understood at that time the scope of what was about to be accomplished, their sorrow would have been overshadowed by hope.

In the same way, we find ourselves in places of discouragement when our life isn’t going as expected. The plans we had for life, family and ministry didn’t go as planned and we look upon our lives as though all that remains is to sorrowfully endure until it’s time to go to heaven. But what if your greatest disappointment is just the precursor to your greatest opportunity? What if today’s rejection ushers you into a greater walk with God, the fruits of which affect the lives of those around you? What if today’s sorrow is about to be swallowed up in tomorrow’s overpowering joy?

The plan of God almost inevitably involves suffering. But it doesn’t end there. His plan is bigger and better than you have even imagined. Today, let your sorrow be overwhelmed by hope.

 

You have saved our lives

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Genesis 47:23-25 Then Joseph said to the people, “Indeed I have bought you and your land this day for Pharaoh. Look, here is seed for you, and you shall sow the land. “And it shall come to pass in the harvest that you shall give one-fifth to Pharaoh. Four-fifths shall be your own, as seed for the field and for your food, for those of your households and as food for your little ones.” So they said, “You have saved our lives; let us find favor in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh’s servants.”

The people of Egypt were well into the seven year famine and had already given all they possessed to buy food from Pharaoh. Left with nothing else, they sold their land and themselves to him as well that they might have food to sustain them through the remainder of the famine. They are given seed to sow in the land and they are allowed to work the land and keep 4/5th of the produce. Pharaoh required 1/5th for himself. And they were happy to give it, acknowledging “you have saved our lives”. They didn’t grumble over the 1/5 that they had to give to Pharaoh. If he hadn’t intervened in their lives they would have 0/5ths.

It reminds me of this passage in the New Testament:

2 Corinthians 9:10-11 Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness, while you are enriched in everything for all liberality, which causes thanksgiving through us to God.

Just like Joseph, the Lord gives seed to the sower and bread for food. And that seed, which He multiplies, is that we may be a people of liberality, generously giving of the increase that God provides, because He has saved our lives.

Must we consider our giving an obligation that we perform grudgingly lest the Lord be angry and our 9/10ths be cursed? Do we really believe God is honored when we give out of fear of what He will do to us if we don’t give? Oh beloved, our very lives and souls have been saved from a fate worse than famine. Let us be the servants of God, acknowledging in the liberality of our giving that all we have indeed is His.

The Prepared Heart

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2 Chronicles 12:14 And he did evil, because he did not prepare his heart to seek the LORD.

Prepare (H3559) – to establish, make firm, make ready, set up, to fix, provide for, to direct toward, arrange

The prepared heart is our defense against entropy. If our heart is not fixed and made firm and directed towards seeking the Lord and our life is not ordered and arranged to make this a priority, it will not happen.

Every morning when I get up I take my thyroid medicine. I know that it provides something that I don’t naturally produce enough of, it is for the benefit of my health, and I have experienced the downgrade in my overall well-being when I don’t take it for a period of time.  I have it in a prominent place on my kitchen table and I have a routine that I follow.  I have learned the importance of making sure that I do this every day by the consequences I experience when I don’t.

I have learned this in my spiritual life as well.

If the heart isn’t fixed to seek the Lord, the Lord will not be sought. Ten thousand things an hour will scream for urgent attention, the tasks of the day will demand our focusing upon them, and the fatigue of our body will cry out for the pillow…thus days, weeks, and years go by spent in pursuits that have no eternal consequence.

The heart must be made firm, determined, that Jesus has preeminence in the life AND in the time, for this will need to be defended frequently from the cares of this life that will attempt to encroach upon it.

Is it possible that the heart is not made firm in these things because the benefit (and the absolute spiritual necessity) isn’t realized?  Oh God, help us to see how much we need You!

Building a life

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Last night I was reading Deuteronomy 11 and I noticed several times the Lord revealed to the people how interrelated things are. Here are some examples of this process:

From Deuteronomy 11:1-9 —— Being aware of the acts of God and His power employed for the good of His people and the judgement He brings to the wicked –> obedience to His commands –> strength to possess and dwell in what has been promised by God.

From Deuteronomy 11:13-15 —— Loving the LORD your God and serving Him with all your heart and with all your soul –> provision for growth and satisfaction is given

From Deuteronomy 11:16-17 ——- You forget the Lord and serve and worship other things –> the blessing is withheld –> everything you once enjoyed withers up

I was thinking about these three examples and the progression that was involved in each. None of these happens in a single moment, but they come about through the process of time. But here’s the thing to keep in mind: the decisions we make and our obedience or disobedience to God today sets things in motion that we may not see the fruit of (whether good or bad) for days, months, or even years.

The things I desire in my spiritual life won’t be the result of a moment, but of a process. This is why every day matters, consistency matters, endurance matters. At the moment we begin the ascent to a closer place of intimacy with Jesus we may not sense anything has changed, but things are set in motion, the fruits of which may not be visible for some time.

My life is a continual sowing. It is being built one moment, one decision at a time. That which is not spiritual isn’t necessarily morally wicked. It could merely be carnal. In which case it just dies a quiet death, but brings forth nothing life-giving. And what is lost in the accumulation of those carnal sowings is the benefit that could have been brought if those sowings had rather been spiritual in nature.

I am reminded of this verse:

For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Galatians 6:8-9

The current situation in our world could possibly be a time of re-evaluation of our lives, what we are giving ourselves to, and what we are sowing into our future. Sow now what you desire to reap later.

Go deep in God

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Today I was watching as a large bird was flying over the water, so close to the water that it seemed to be barely above it at times.  This bird was on a mission, searching for it’s next meal. The victim would be a fish that was swimming close to the surface and easy to snatch up. The bird can’t go into the fish’s environment to get it so it has to wait until the fish is close enough to the bird’s own environment. And the unsuspecting fish hanging out in the shallows becomes dinner.

Shallow living is dangerous for the fish in water and the Christian on earth. We have an enemy who walks about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.  For the believer safely abiding in Christ, the devil may not. But the believer who plays around in the shallows of this life rather than plunging deeply into intimacy with the Saviour, makes themselves an easy target as they live their lives on the fence called compromise.  They venture so close to the enemy’s environment that he snatches them up in an unsuspecting moment and they find themselves a captive to some sin or other…never knowing they had been so vulnerable.

Go deep in God, believer. And then go deeper still.

Portraits of passionate pursuit – You

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The final portrait is your own and it remains unfinished. Each day it is being painted, moment by moment and choice by choice. With each rising of the sun you are given another opportunity to pour your life out for Jesus, to forsake all to follow Him, to count your life as not dear to yourself and to live boldly for the glory of Jesus alone. As His purchased possession, do we dare live unto ourselves? As His bride, why would we even want to?

 So now… what will we do? Will we be satisfied with the safe and comfortable life, with church attendance, with a good work here and there? Can that possibly be enough? Or perhaps we will hear through these portraits from the past, the call to a passionate pursuit of Jesus – a pursuit that disregards the opinion of man, religious tradition and our own reputation. A pursuit that will no doubt lead us to the foot of the cross again and again and to a very real forsaking of all to follow Him. Oh that we might hear the call to run after Him with all our hearts and let our lives be poured out at His feet. Listen carefully… do you hear it now?

 My soul follows hard after thee…Psalm 63:8

 

Portraits of passionate pursuit – Paul

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The apostle Paul was a man selected by Jesus to take the gospel to the Gentiles. Incredible miracles were performed through this man. He wrote two thirds of the New Testament, had visions of heaven and made disciples of Jesus everywhere he went. He threw away a respectable future in religion for the sake of a gospel that was hated by those whose favor he had once courted. And he never looked back. He was a man that walked with God. Yet as intimately as Paul knew the Lord, as he approached the end of his life his cry was “that I may know him.” His life had become a constant pursuit. His gaze was fixed upon One infinitely more glorious, more desirable, then anything he had known before and a glimpse of His glory had ignited a hunger and thirst within his soul that could not be quenched. And for the remainder of his life he was willing to suffer the greatest of hardships for the name of Jesus Christ and for the sake of His gospel.