Man After GOD’s Own Heart
I’ve been pondering of late what it means to be a man after GOD’s own heart. What is it that really sets a person apart? Are there tangibles that one can acquire that would lead to their becoming a man or woman… "after GOD’s own heart"?!
GOD says in 1 Samuel 13 that HE had sought out a man after HIS own heart to lead HIS people. This man turned out to be the shepherd boy David. A deeper look in to the life of David will reveal that the man after GOD’s own heart in no way was deemed so resulting from having a life all put together! David was no model of perfection!
Gary Greenberg, a student of Biblical history and specifically the account of David’s life, wrote that one could make the argument that, "David was a corrupt and ambitious mercenary who committed treason against Israel by working with its enemies to seize the throne from King Saul; an ambitious and ruthless politician who initiated, sanctioned, or condoned murder and assassination as a way to eliminate political rivals, royal or otherwise; a Philistine vassal who used an army of malcontents to terrorize and conquer the Kingdom of Judah while Saul was still on the throne; a usurper who went to war against Israel after Saul’s death and imposed himself as king over the nation of Israel by military force; a cruel and unjust tyrant who used foreign mercenaries to centralize power under his direct control and who oppressed the people of Israel with high taxes and forced labor; a military imperialist who waged wars of conquest against his neighbors and exposed the peaceful Israelites to military counter-attacks that left many dead, wounded, or widowed; and the beneficiary of tales and legends that made him the doer of other peoples’ heroic deeds."
In this light, David doesn’t seem all that impressive—and scripture confirms—David was no white-as-snow-pristine saintly man of GOD. But, if David was such a despicable guy, what in the world set him apart and led GOD to say of him, "I have sought out and found David to be a man after MY own heart"?
A further look into David’s life will demonstrate a consistent pattern in his life with regards to how he responded to his own sins. Time after time you will find that David was quick to run to GOD after he screwed up.
The one after GOD’s own heart is the one who after tripping, stumbling and falling, gets up and runs as fast as they can back to GOD. How we deal with our sin says a great deal about who we are. David would run to GOD and cling to HIM knowing that his true source of LIFE was GOD. The same is true of all who cling to GOD as their true source of life. A man after GOD’s own heart is not a man perfectly sinless—but, when they do fail, they run for their lives back to GOD—clinging to HIM as their only source of LIFE, HOPE, and FORGIVENESS!
the cover-up-and-hide method
There is also the more favored example set by our father Adam—the method of sinning followed by running and hiding from GOD. Adam after disobeying GOD in the garden ran together with Eve to hide from GOD. Many try to hide from GOD and deny sin in hopes of avoiding shame, guilt, and the admission of wrongdoing.
Just take a look at a couple of examples from today’s current headlines: Lindsay Lohan attempting and failing to convince a Judge in California that the Lohan version of reality was legit. Steve Jobs and Apple working hard to deny and cover up a widely proven flaw in the iPhone 4’s antenna design. The handling of BP's spill in the Gulf... and, let’s don’t’ even get started with all the mess of Washington Politics!
Truth is, examples of Adam’s cover-up-and-hide methodology abound. BUT... make no mistake... the cover-up-and-hide method of dealing with sin cannot bring a person true peace or abundant life.
There is a way to experience peace… it is the way of the man after GOD’s own heart! The way of bolting towards GOD after a screw-up! This is a way of life that results from a deep seated belief in GOD’s goodness and HIS good intentions towards us! It's also the way of a life freely admitting dependence to GOD.
Are you experiencing peace in your life? Do you feel it could be said of you that you were a man or a woman after GOD’s own heart? The key to living a life of peace and being known as such is all in how you deal with your sin. You’ll either live by the cover-up-and hide method denying your failure and denying GOD’s goodness—or, you’ll cling to GOD and run straight to HIM freely admitting your inability to attain a sinless perfection.
When's the last time you ran to GOD and admitted your need of HIM? If it's been a while, might I suggest you stop what you're doing now and go spend some time with your heavenly FATHER?! And, let’s all be quicker to run for dear life to GOD!
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United in the Park
Come join us this Saturday, July 10, at United in the Park, a free Christian Benefit Concert at the Trinity Park Amphitheatre in Fort Worth, Texas.
My band will be doing a worship set to kick off, anoint, and pray over the day’s activities with volunteers and event planners at 10:30am.
Then, the official United in the Park festivities are set to begin at 6pm. On tap for the evening are opening acts My Hearts Cry, Gravity Liberation Front, and the Chris Clayton Band. At around 7:50pm, Shane Gray (pastor at Hopeworks in Fort Worth) will present the Gospel message. Following, at around 8:25pm, my band will provide a time of worship and response to the Gospel message. Then, at around 9pm, Decyfr Down will wrap up the evening with a bang!
United in the Park is a free Christian Concert where donations will be accepted and merchandise will be sold. ALL proceeds will go to benefit the Burleson Pregnancy Aid Center and Feed By Grace ministry.
You don’t want to miss this evening! It promises to be a great time celebrating GOD, fun fellowship, community outreach, and rocking entertainment from a talented lineup of bands! So, plan on coming out and showing your support by joining us for United in the Park!
Invite a friend, coworkers, neighbors, and family. Pray with us that many who attend will embrace the message of hope and a life abundant United in CHRIST!
Hope to see you there!
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The Glory of GOD is Man Fully Alive
This weekend I had a wonderful time reconnected with family and friends at the Cozart Family Reunion. The Cozart family gathers together every summer around the last weekend in June at Possum Kingdom Lake—they’ve been doing so since 1971!
I love hanging out with these friends and family. It’s a time I look forward to each summer. I’ve only missed a couple of reunions in the twenty years I’ve been attending (and Dawnita has only missed two in her entire life!).
This weekend while thanking FATHER for these relationships and this time of family fun—I was reminded of how short life is—and, of the need to count as precious every moment we have together.
In James 4 we are compared to, “a wisp of fog, catching a bit of sun before disappearing.” This year I have experienced loss in ways that brings home the truth of this scripture in profound ways. Maybe you have experienced loss in similar ways. The bottom line is we are not guaranteed tomorrow.
We have this moment; we need to make the best use of each breath we are given!
The Speed Of Life
Sometimes life just happens around us. We don’t even realize we’re missing out on the beauty of blessings GOD has poured in to our lives. It’s not on purpose. It just happens. It’s almost like we are stumbling around, half-awake, not fully conscious enough to truly experience life. That’s no way to live!
The same is true spiritually. We are aware of spiritual things—just, not cognoscente of how these things impact our daily lives. Paul in 1 Corinthians 13 says, “We don’t yet see things clearly. We’re squinting in a fog, peering through a mist.” I believe this is in part the plan of the enemy; his attempt to keep us paralyzed in a fog of confusion.
GOD Intends More Than A Comatose Life For Us
JESUS said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10). “Come to me to have life” (John 5:40). “I am the bread of life” (John 6:48). “In HIM was life, and that life was the light of men” (John 1:4). And, Acts 5:20 instructs, “Tell the people the full Message of this new life.”
It’s clear GOD offers us life through JESUS. HE intends for us to live fully alive. And, more… that we are to share the Message of this new, fully alive life with everyone we meet! We are to take full advantage of every moment, making the most of each.
Friend, don’t let another day slip by… each day is a precious commodity! Each moment is a treasure to be savored and enjoyed to its fullest.
I have made a commitment to never miss another family gathering if at all possible! I don’t want to take for granted these moments that are passing by—to assume I’ll have opportunity to see family at a later date! I want to make every second count—to enjoy each and every opportunity we have with family, friends, and dear loved ones.
If you feel the same, make this your prayer today: “JESUS, take away the fog and the clouds and the veil, and help me to see… give me eyes to really see! I want to make the most of every moment YOU have given me. I want to love and be loved, to enjoy deep spirited friendships, and truly belong to the rich community of friends, family, and loved ones YOU have given me.”
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Adventure Ahead!
Last weekend was a blast—full of activity and ministry! We had Worship Under the Big Top on Saturday evening followed up with Worship services at First Red Oak on Sunday morning. These events were special for a number of reasons. They provided opportunity to simply draw near to GOD and lead folks in worship of the MOST HIGH—always a treat! But also, we were surrounded and embraced by such a wonderful community!
I am so grateful for the community GOD has so blessed us with. A community composed of rich relationships and many deep spirited friends from over the years. And, our community is a continual work in progress. Even as we reconnect with old friends through our ministry opportunities, GOD continues to cultivate fresh new ministry friendships seemingly every day! I love the way GOD is knitting this tapestry of community into our lives.
An Authentic Biblical Community is at the center of the real CHURCH of GOD. People, who are alive in CHRIST, fully surrendered to HIS purposes and plans. Men and women, young and old alike, all surrendered, seeking to become fully developing followers of CHRIST.
ABC is realized when believers embrace the mission JESUS gave HIS CHURCH in Matthew 28. We find our beginnings—our purpose and meaning—in the Great Commission. By GOD’s authority and command, JESUS commissioned HIS CHURCH by saying, “Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: FATHER, SON, and SPIRIT. Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you.”
My future is rooted firmly in this commission. This is my mission… my purpose! To be wholly saturated in the work of my MASTER. To train everyone I meet, both far and near, in the way of this life!
Now, to be sure, much of my life has been devoted to these things already. BUT, over the last few months GOD has been revealing a greater sense of this call on my life—a deeper understanding of the things HE has purposed my life to be about. I’m excited to see how GOD continues to shape my life as HE step-by-step reveals HIS plans for the future.
Adventure Awaits
When was the last time you stepped out on a new adventure with GOD? And, I’m talking about a real adventure! The kind where success relies entirely on GOD accomplishing it?! If it’s been a while—or, if never—let me encourage you to prayerfully seek the adventure GOD wants to lead you on! Begin it today by prayerfully embracing the commission JESUS has already given you!
I’ll further invite you to come along and partner with me in this adventure! Together, in community, we’ll face the adversities and celebrate the victories of the adventure GOD has purposed and planned for our lives!
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The Motives of the Heart Matter
In 1984 I suffered an accidental gunshot would to my heart. I almost died. Technically speaking… I did die, several times! Earlier this week, I identified a number of key individuals whose motivations and actions (regarding the efforts to save my life) were absolutely selfless!
Our lives and the choices we make have an impact. The motives that drive our decisions tip the scales one way or another resulting in either positive or negative impacts. Not only in our own lives and in the lives of our friends and loved ones... but also in the lives of people we may never even have the chance to know personally!
The people identified: my friend’s parents, the EMT’s, doctors, nurses, and the care flight crew... all acted selflessly. Each motivated by the single desire to do what they could, contributing to the efforts to save my life!
But, what if my friend’s parents, instead of acknowledging the severity of the situation, had simply broken out the first aid kit and treated my gunshot wound with ointment and a band-aid? Or, embarrassed at having an accident of this sort happen at their home… what if they had waited just 10 more minutes in making the decision to call for help?
What if the EMT studying to become an ER doctor had bought into the lie that he was just too old to go back to school? Or, a low self esteem had convinced him he just wasn’t smart enough to be a doctor? What dire consequences to me could have resulted if he had put off returning to college and training by even one semester? What if he had decided the attempt to save my life just too risky to gamble his future on?
What if hearing me complain of chest pains and not wanting to be bothered with the stress of a gunshot wound, the team in Roosevelt had given me antacid and waited to see if that worked? Or, the care flight crew, learning I’d never flown in a helicopter before, opted to take me sightseeing instead of straight to the hospital and open heart surgery in Salt Lake City?
All along that path any number of choices motivated by varying conflicts of self interest could have led to a drastically different outcome for me. Had even one person in that team of people been motivated by self interest and consequently made a selfish choice, I likely would not be here today pondering, writing… alive!
I am very thankful to GOD!
GOD orchestrated these events and I’m so thankful for each individual who contributed to giving me the opportunity to survive my accident. GOD used the hands and feet of these selfless individuals to give me a second chance at life.
What an awesome thing to be used of GOD in such miraculous ways!
When is the last time GOD used you to be a miracle in someone else’s life? Our motives have great bearing on our decisions... and in turn, the ability or inability for GOD to use us in HIS work! HE has invited us to be participants… but, we have to submit to doing it HIS way.
Oh, we can (and do) try to force participation via means of our own making! Any number of "things" can drive our lives and our decisions. Sometimes, even being driven by bad motive, we can accomplish seemingly great things. BUT, apart from CHRIST, we can have no part in the FATHER’s work. The end product cannot and does not justify the means.
Either you are fully surrendered to the FATHER, motivated and moved by HIS love alone—or you are not, and whatever fruit produced is not of HIS doing or power.
JESUS is our example. In all things, HE lived a totally surrendered life to the FATHER. There were no actions HE took without first the FATHER directing it. We are called to that same life. JESUS has made the way possible for us to be dead to our old self-centered nature and fully alive in HIM.
And, JESUS wants to live HIS life in you, through you, AS YOU! But, we must surrender our life before HE can give HIS life for us to live it.
A great resource for discovering this truth more deeply is the book The Rest of the Gospel by Dan Stone and David Gregory.
How are you doing?
We all must continually check the motives of the heart. It's easy to be motivated by self-centeredness and selfish gain. And, once thusly motivated, we easily find ways to justify our self-centeredness.
Take some time with FATHER today to do a bit of diagnosis! Is your life and ministry motivated by anything other than FATHER’s love? Are you busy doing anything FATHER has not directed you to be doing? Are miracles a common occurrence in and around you… or, are they few and far between—or worse, only stories that you've heard about in others lives?
Whatever you discover, talk it over with FATHER. Commit anew to the surrendering of the old nature to the grave—and to allowing JESUS to inhabit you fully and in every area and corner of your life.
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Living… Leading… Fully Surrendered to JESUS
Henry Ford is credited with saying, “Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.”
We really are a people created for community. The Ford model demonstrates well that where we are able to come together in harmony, there is no end to what can be accomplished! Doing life and co-laboring together within the framework of team divides our tasks and multiplies our successes!
JESUS in Mark 6 sent the disciples out in pairs—to do the work of ministry in community. JESUS spent three years pouring in to HIS team of 12. The idea of doing work together in community was tremendously important to JESUS. The FATHER, SON, and SPIRIT live in community as one.
But, in every area of life (work, school, parenting, even in many marriages!) there are those who stubbornly deny the need for partnership and refuse to embrace the benefits of working together in community as team.
Why do so many leaders ignore the benefits of partnership and team? The answer is that many leaders are motivated by self interest—a self-centeredness that poisons the soul and corrupts the heart. Self-centeredness is the first, and perhaps most important hurdle to clear for the would-be leader.
Failure is often experienced due to the self-centeredness of leadership.
Godly leaders are ones who have learned the daily art of dying to self and surrendering their whole selves to GOD. This means tuning ones heart and ear to hear the voice of the SPIRIT; seeking HIS will, HIS agenda… rather than focusing on manipulating the world around to further ones own little kingdom objectives!
A godly leader is one who is a fully developing follower of CHRIST, fully surrendered. It is an individual who has fully embraced the instruction JESUS gave to the rich young ruler.
In Luke 18:18-23, a rich man inquired of JESUS, “How can I obtain the life?”
This was a guy already doing everything outwardly required of him by religion—yet, he was still empty… still had no life! He was doing all the “right” things. But, a leader can do all the right things and still be dead, self-centered and agenda driven.
JESUS is the LIFE. We only experience the life in HIM. It’s not an imitation of JESUS—but rather, JESUS inhabiting us! HIS life in me, through me, AS ME! Its life that can only happen after one has fully surrendered to JESUS. Dead to self is requisite.
“Sell everything you own and give it all away to the poor,” JESUS said. “Then come, follow me.”
JESUS cut to the heart of the matter. “In order to live MY life, you have to surrender yours—including everything that is precious to you—surrender your wealth.”
Self-centeredness destroys life. Results in failed leadership. Kills team!
WARNING!! Understand this clearly: a self-centered leader might be able to accomplish some great things in their life and ministry. BUT, those accomplishments will be entirely the results of human effort… NOT the work of the FATHER!
What has JESUS asked you to surrender?
Is there anything that currently stands in the way of your ability to truly live fully surrendered to HIS purposes?
If there is, JESUS would still cut to the heart of the matter with us today. “Abandon your wealth, your plans, your little kingdoms… Surrender your whole life to ME—including everything that is precious to you—giving yourself away with no regard to how you might benefit. Then come, follow me.”
It’s only after we’ve surrendered everything to FATHER that we are able to come, follow JESUS. Any variation on that order results in failure.
The only true way to lead healthy teams is to truly be healthy yourself! Choose you this day… to live and to lead from a life fully surrendered to JESUS!
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The Abundant Life
Paul calls the New Testament life a walk. What is the sustenance, the life, of that walk? It isn't us trying to walk for GOD. It may look like that on the outside, but we have taken the LAMB of GOD into us! HE is not only the forgiveness of sins. HE is also the life within us, from WHOM we make the journey. We can walk around for years with a sense of forgiveness, but no sense of life. We have the life in us, but we don't know it. We try to generate the life ourselves, but we are doomed to failure, because it's impossible for us to generate the life. GOD is telling us, "I will share MY glory with no man. Only I can live MY life. But I will impart the life to you. I will give you the life. I will live it through you."
That's why there isn't anything beyond the grace of GOD, completely understood, that is necessary for living the Christian life.
In John 6 JESUS said, "I am the bread of life… Unless you eat the flesh of the SON of MAN and drink HIS blood, you have no life in yourselves. He who eats MY flesh and drinks MY blood has eternal life." We have eternal life in us—GOD's life. It's the life without beginning and without end. It's the uncreated life. JESUS is telling us, "I am all a person needs for living the life. It isn't ME plus something. It isn't ME plus your prayer life. It isn't ME plus your Bible study. It isn't ME plus your good service. It isn't ME plus the sum of everything you can do, because you will never produce a life that pleases ME. I am the only life that pleases ME."
Nobody is offended as long as we are down here and GOD is up there, and HE does something for us—that's OK. But when you start talking about JESUS living HIS life in you, through you, AS YOU, that raises eyebrows. In John 6, the people were perfectly satisfied with JESUS as long as HE produced bread. The offense came when HE said HE was the bread. "How can this MAN give us HIS flesh to eat?" they asked.
JESUS was telling the Jews, "You're doing all of these external things, but there isn't any life in that." The opposite of life is death. If we are not operating out of the life, we're operating out of death. But it doesn't look like death, because often we get results. Church programs get results. Our personal programs get results. On the seen and temporal level we are getting results. JESUS has a word for people about that: "There's your reward. You're getting your results. So there's your reward. Go ahead with it. But it isn't of ME. It is not MY life flowing through You."
Paul revealed the secret of CHRIST in us. To the Galatians he said, "I live, but no, I don't. CHRIST lives in me. It looks like me, but it's CHRIST." To the Colossians he wrote, "It's CHRIST in you that's your hope of glory." To the Philippians he proclaimed: "For me, to live is CHRIST." Who was doing the living? CHRIST. But if you looked right at him, who would it look like? Paul. Paul illustrated this in 2 Corinthians 5:20: "We are ambassadors for CHRIST, as though GOD were making an appeal through us." These ambassadors for CHRIST were pleading with the Gentiles. But who was really pleading? GOD was making HIS plea through them. The words and the works came through Paul. But Paul knew that he wasn't working up this concern for Gentiles. GOD was in him making that appeal. It looked like Paul, but it was the indwelling JESUS.
Friends, if you want to discover more about the Abundant Life, read the book called The Rest of the Gospel by Dan Stone and David Gregory Smith!
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