II Samuel 11-13
Never let your guard down, and never get lazy, or you’ll get into trouble. That’s the root of the lowest point in David’s life.
After all of those years of running from Saul, and still honoring him, and after all those years of fighting with his men, David takes a rest. He takes a rest from fighting, but it seems that he also takes a rest from his honor. He must have taken a rest from attention to his God.
Not only does he violate Uriah’s wife, but he has the man killed. Unbelievable evil coming from our man, David.
Yet, he recovers his honesty and decency when Nathan the prophet brings David the word from the Lord.
So often, when people are caught in violations, they harden their hearts against any kind of repentance. They deny any wrong doing.
Not David. When Nathan says to him, “You are the man,”(12:7) David snaps to his senses and takes responsibility. He says, “I have sinned against the Lord,”(12:13) and begins fasting and praying.
So David recovers – even from that horrible sin – but sin runs rampant through his house. His sons are out of control as one rapes a sister and then gets killed by another.
Shame comes to the house of David. Shame and sorrow.
When David opens the gate of his house to the devil by committing his sin, demonic forces try to take over. His sin is adultery and murder; his sons’ sins are incest and murder. Not things which we would expect from David’s house.
David’s repentance closes the gate for himself, but the sons continue on their lawless paths.
I want to have a holy life – not only for myself and for my God, but for my children and grandchildren. I want them to have lives free from the heartache that comes with sin. I will keep that gate closed to Satan and his imps.
How about you?
Luke 16
Jesus continues to pound away at the deceitfulness of riches. There are other passages which show that our Father wants to bless us with finances, but the true blessing of God adds no sorrow. Worshiping Mammon brings great sorrow.
When men worship their money instead of God, they become very self-centered and proud. Instead of allowing the Lord to lead them in the handling of their finances, they lavish themselves with their riches. Or sometimes, they hoard the finances, worshiping their treasure.
People whose hearts are allowed to go in that direction are in for a big surprise. They may think that they are on top of things, but not so. This life on earth is only a dot compared to eternity. To live selfishly here is a big mistake. It only leads to sorrow in the end.
Consider the beggar, Lazarus, in the parable. His poor condition is not what allows him into heaven; there is no glory in being poor. His heart must be right before God. He must have tried to live according to God’s plan as much as possible. His life after death is the greater.
At the end of this parable, Jesus makes a very poignant statement. He says, “If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they listen if someone rises from the dead.”(v.37)
What is He saying? He is saying that if the Jews don’t believe the Word they have from God, they won’t believe another Word from Him. The same applies today. If we don’t believe the Word which we have in hand, we can’t believe other Words which may be spoken to us from God.
The Word, the Bible, is the basis for everything we believe. If we hear something else, another gospel, and we can’t see it in the Word, then it isn’t so. We must reject it.
My prayer is that we – and others of our generation – will rise up to be keepers of the truth. We will not only listen to the Word, but we will believe it and hold that higher than any other word we hear.
