Like David or Saul?

/ Jodie / Leave a comment

1 Samuel 15:10-23

10 Then the Lord said to Samuel, 11 “I am sorry that I ever made Saul king, for he has not been loyal to me and has refused to obey my command.” Samuel was so deeply moved when he heard this that he cried out to the Lord all night.

12 Early the next morning Samuel went to find Saul. Someone told him, “Saul went to the town of Carmel to set up a monument to himself; then he went on to Gilgal.”

13 When Samuel finally found him, Saul greeted him cheerfully. “May the Lord bless you,” he said. “I have carried out the Lord’s command!”

14 “Then what is all the bleating of sheep and goats and the lowing of cattle I hear?” Samuel demanded.

15 “It’s true that the army spared the best of the sheep, goats, and cattle,” Saul admitted. “But they are going to sacrifice them to the Lord your God. We have destroyed everything else.”

16 Then Samuel said to Saul, “Stop! Listen to what the Lord told me last night!”

“What did he tell you?” Saul asked.

17 And Samuel told him, “Although you may think little of yourself, are you not the leader of the tribes of Israel? The Lord has anointed you king of Israel. 18 And the Lord sent you on a mission and told you, ‘Go and completely destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, until they are all dead.’ 19 Why haven’t you obeyed the Lord? Why did you rush for the plunder and do what was evil in the Lord’s sight?”

20 “But I did obey the Lord,” Saul insisted. “I carried out the mission he gave me. I brought back King Agag, but I destroyed everyone else. 21 Then my troops brought in the best of the sheep, goats, cattle, and plunder to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.”

22 But Samuel replied,

“What is more pleasing to the Lord:
    your burnt offerings and sacrifices
    or your obedience to his voice?
Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice,
    and submission is better than offering the fat of rams.
23 Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft,
    and stubbornness as bad as worshiping idols.
So because you have rejected the command of the Lord,
    he has rejected you as king.”

I’ve heard it preached that we, as believers in Jesus, are a lot like David. But I can’t say that I’ve ever heard a message that we, at times, are also a lot like Saul. No surprise there. Heroic tales of anointing and calling and cutting the head off a giant tends to outnumber those that cut to the heart.

Far more times than I care to admit, the Lord has anointed and appointed me to fulfill a mission in His name, and I’ve only done part of what He said. In truth, I simply rebelled and rejected His command. I decided to lead (pride), instead of being led by His Spirit (surrender). And once I got caught, or called out, I covered myself and hid behind shame and a list of excuses.

“I did obey the Lord, BUT…..”

Absolute foolishness.

Bound up in my heart.

God’s Word is very clear: partial obedience is disobedience. And disobedience is rebellion. And, “rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft, and stubbornness as bad as worshipping idols.” (emphasis mine)

Wait.

What?!

Witchcraft?

Idol Worship?

Yes. The Word of God cuts, doesn’t it?

Why?

Because He LOVES us!

He wants us to be like children, like David, who LOVED God with all his heart. Not like an orphan, like Saul, who said in his heart, “you’re not the boss of me,” or “don’t tell me what to do!”

Rebellion always leads to rejection, my friend. When we rebel against the Spirit of God or the Son of God, we reject God. Our heart becomes a divided kingdom. In our Spirit, Jesus is still King. But in our soul, WE ARE KING.

The King of kings, in His Sovereignty, will reject [oppose] our pride until the testimony of Jesus (the Spirit of Prophesy) comes with correction. The Truth- The Living Word- always cuts between soul and Spirit, convicting our heart of sin, and convincing it of righteousness.

And when we are convinced of His LOVE, we will always return to the Father’s house of prayer.

Remembering that the Son was pierced for our rebellion.

Rejoicing that His sacrifice covers all our sin and all our shame.

And THAT, my friend, is Good News!

The Prodigal @ Home

/ Jodie / 2 Comments

Luke 15:11-32

11 To illustrate the point further, Jesus told them this story: “A man had two sons. 12 The younger son told his father, ‘I want my share of your estate now before you die.’ So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons.

13 “A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money in wild living. 14 About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve. 15 He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and the man sent him into his fields to feed the pigs. 16 The young man became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything.

17 “When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger! 18 I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, 19 and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.”’

20 “So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. 21 His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.[a]’

22 “But his father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. 23 And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, 24 for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began.

25 “Meanwhile, the older son was in the fields working. When he returned home, he heard music and dancing in the house, 26 and he asked one of the servants what was going on. 27 ‘Your brother is back,’ he was told, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf. We are celebrating because of his safe return.’

28 “The older brother was angry and wouldn’t go in. His father came out and begged him, 29 but he replied, ‘All these years I’ve slaved for you and never once refused to do a single thing you told me to. And in all that time you never gave me even one young goat for a feast with my friends. 30 Yet when this son of yours comes back after squandering your money on prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the fattened calf!’

31 “His father said to him, ‘Look, dear son, you have always stayed by me, and everything I have is yours. 32 We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!’”

Like that prodigal in the parable, I also left my Father’s house as a young child. Blind to sin because of the desire to be my own god, I spent decades wasting my inheritance on immoral living. I ate and drank and wallowed in the mud & muck, just like a pig. Until one day, praise GOD- when I came to my senses, by the power of His Spirit! Conviction cut straight to the heart, piercing between my soul & spirit. I confessed, repented and returned to my Father, where He welcomed me home with open arms.

But my story doesn’t end there.

Since being adopted into God’s family, I’ve also played the part of the older child. The prodigal at home. Distracted by the demands of being about my Father’s business, I inadvertently become disconnected from His heart. As a result, the pouting begins; grumbling and complaining about the pigs who get to party, while I do ALL the work of the ministry! Forgetting about the grace given me, I become self-righteousness and angry. Angry that they seem to be getting all the attention and affection and applause, as if they are my Father’s favorite. Over time, if I ignore that anger long enough, it grows into a root of bitterness that defiles and deceives my own soul.

But, praise the LORD!!!

There’s still good news for that prodigal stuck in the pig trough.

When we:

Get HONEST with Him, ourselves and others (confess)

HONOR our Father (repent, forgive)

He will:

HEAL our prodigal heart

DELIVER us from the pig trough

My fellow prodigals, I believe it’s time to come to our senses again. LOVE must be our highest goal! We’ve become too distracted by the work of the ministry. It’s time to repent and return to our Father’s house- and the heart of the Father. It’s time to confess our sins to Him and one another so that we may be healed. It’s time to humble ourselves, get honest, and ask others in the body of Christ for help. It’s time to submit and surrender to His Word and Spirit as He cuts through our emotions, our minds and our wills.

It’s time for prodigals to come home. It’s time for prodigals at home to come to Him. He’s waiting for all of us with open arms.

Image

/ Jodie / 2 Comments

Psalm 51:10-12: “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit”

Father,

Forgive us. We don’t know what we are doing. You say that we are made in Your image…  being conformed into the image of Your Son. But we’ve exchanged the Truth for a lie! We’re convinced that the way to be known is found staring at a screen.

We took the bait! And now we’re trapped in a world wide web of witchcraft. Complaining, criticizing and competing against those You’ve created in Your image. We doom scroll day after day, idolizing ourselves and others while worshipping at the temple of followers and friends. Our eyes and ears are fixed on man instead of You. Help us, Holy Spirit! We’ve traded our birthright for a bowl of stew. We confess and repent for wasting our inheritance; seeking our kingdom instead of Yours. Forgive us for acting like the father of lies on earth, instead of reflecting You, our Father in heaven. Create in us a clean heart, oh God, that we might not sin against You. Come into every room, every closet, bathroom and basement of our heart. Shine Your light on anything that’s hiding and covering itself in shame. Heal our mind, will and emotions. Deliver us from the idolatry of image (and give us the courage to pluck out our eye and cut off our hand!).

Amen.