Few of us are likely to be a king. The wealth and authority may appeal to us. However, with the wealth and authority come responsibility and challenges. King or not, we do experience life like King David and life is not always easy. We live with the choices that we or others have made. Some of those choices are good. An education usually means a higher income. A wise choice in a spouse means a happy home and family.
Read More rock, suffering, prayer, troubleYears ago Christians used to have things called promise boxes in their homes. They were small containers that held little cards in them on which were written promises from the word of God. Sometimes on the back of the promise card would be a saying or some writing or quote that applied to the promise. Here is what they missed. All of the promises of the Bible are true but God looks for a response from us.
Read More trust, promise, helpDavid is here extolling the greatness of God and the spiritual, emotional and physical energy that this gives him. Many years earlier David stood on the field of battle and faced a giant called Goliath. David did not come against Goliath with an army or weapons of war but as a boy with a sling-shot and in the name of the Lord. Before going to the field of battle David went to a small brook and from the brook took five small, smooth stones.
Read More trust, faith, courageOne of the saddest moments in any life is coming to the end and looking back with moments of regret. This is not about those moments we all remember where we did or said something so embarrassing that we remember with some degree of shame or regret that it happened. No, it is the moments in our lives where if we could we would do them over because of the impact that one moment had on our life and the lives of others who mean something to us. Most of us have some of those moments.
Read More hope, regret, end of life, significanceWe can all think of someone in a position of authority who made a bad decision with disastrous results.
That is David in our text today. David asks some of his leaders to count the people of Israel. It takes 9 months and twenty days. You have to honour the commitment of David’s followers and his leadership in persuading them to do something they did not see any value in doing.
Read More responsibility, influence, décisionsFew people actually go out of their way to deliberately hurt others. That probably cannot be said of liars or gossipers or people who bear false witness. But, most people mean well, and want to do what is best for themselves and for others. The problem is, even good people can do harm. We can make a bad decision or say the wrong thing or say the right thing in the wrong way, or ignore someone who reaches out to us and we don’t see them, or we fail to give a word of encouragement because at that moment we are too self-centered.
Read More restoration, harm, consequences, forgivenessPaul talks about how the kingdom comes when he says that some plant, some water and some harvest, but God makes it grow (1 Corinthians 3:6). In the economy of God it takes more than one person to accomplish his plans and purposes. Sometimes the plans of God are simultaneous and all of us work at the same time. Sometimes they are sequential and can even be separated by a generation or more.
Read More succession, other peopleIn the end, the glory is always and only God’s. But the Bible is clear that honour is appropriate and right among his people. David introduces his son Solomon to the people and lets them know that God has chosen him to build a temple of worship in Jerusalem. There is not one iota of jealousy in David but a recognition that God calls each of us to our own task and we should serve God well in our calling but give honour to those whose call is different and perhaps even greater in some ways than ours.
Read More jealousy, envy, honour, gloryDon’t you love to meet someone who is generous? They never count the cost but simply give out of their abundance – or out of their need or lack – so others can prosper. There is something godly about a heart of generosity. It is the plan of the kingdom of God. It is how God gets his work done on the earth. The early church was encouraged to come individually and give generously. They were all encouraged to participate. This is a call that is both individual and corporate.
Read More wealth, generosityEveryone has a life story. It is interesting that at the end of David’s life story we read the people were happy and they celebrated at the altar of God. Every life story includes the passing of time as it did with David but it is not the years that matter as much as what happened in those years. David, despite his failures, lived a life which was a tribute to the faithfulness of God and his service and obedience to God. If he could have put his own title on his life story, I wonder what it might have been?
Read More repentance, faithfulness, end of life, life story