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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The Impact of a Life
A few days back, I wrote about Happy Alive Day—a day I recognize and celebrate every April 30th!
I woke up this morning thinking about the events and the people involved that led to this annual celebration. It truly was an incredible team of people who contributed to the efforts to save my life back in 1984!
Starting at the friend’s house where the accident took place—his parents had just the previous weekend taken a first aid course and knew exactly how to render aid for this situation.
Then there was the ambulance crew. One of the EMTs was training to become a paramedic and hoped one day to become an ER doctor. Uncertified and unauthorized to perform procedures that kept me alive, this man risked everything to give me a chance at surviving! Without his courage to take action, my life surely would have expired during transport from the house to the hospital in Roosevelt.
Next, the ER staff at the hospital in Roosevelt worked feverishly to stabilize me for the care flight transport. The care flight staff did everything right getting me from Roosevelt to Salt Lake City.
Concluding with the open heart surgery performed by the staff at the Salt Lake City hospital.
There are numerous leadership and team lessons to be explored and drawn out regarding the events surrounding my accident in 1984. And, I will be discussing some of these lessons in a series of future posts.
But, this morning as I pondered these events, my mind turned to what would have happened if any one of those individuals along the way had acted differently—or, misdiagnosed the true cause of what had put my life in such jeopardy?
What if their actions had been motivated by guilt, or selfishness, greed, or fear?
It's important to recognize that our choices and the focus of our lives have consequences and do greatly impact the people who occupy the spaces of our lives all around us. That's why it is so crucially important to choose each day… to live and to lead from a life fully surrendered to JESUS!
What are you motivated by today? Where will your life have it's greatest impact? Will it be on things that pass away—or, on things that have eternal consequence?
We must be honest with ourselves when asking these questions. It's all to easy to justify a self-centered way of living.
Whatever the answer, it's not to late to surrender! Today is the day. Hand the controls for your life back over to GOD and adopt the attitude of a servant: "LORD, YOUR will, not mine!"
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“NO AMIGOS” Directive
I recently posted a tweet inspired by 2 John 1:10-11 (msg) ... my tweet was, "If anyone shows up who doesn't hold true to the teachings of CHRIST—don't become their partner by giving them a platform to perpetuate evil."
A dear friend of mine (@wilandlisa) responded to my tweet and asked, "As Christians, how do we really do this while at the same time helping those who struggle with staying true to Christ's teachings by their un-Christ like actions?"
Her question is not a new one with regards to the instructions given here by John in this scripture. It seems people have been debating over the exact meaning of these instructions for as long as the book of 2 John has been in the Canon of Scripture!
So, ok… well, the statement made from 2 John 1:10-11 (msg) is not necessarily directed at the type of person Lisa was inquiring about in her question. There is a BIG difference between the one she described in her question and the one defined by John in this scripture.
The person Lisa describes is an individual who is immature in their faith. Unfortunately, there are lots and lots of these types of folks populating the church. The failure occurs when leaders neglect teaching people the full gospel MESSAGE! To many focus only on leading people to CHRIST for eternal salvation, but then do little to instruct those babies in CHRIST on how to discover freedom through surrendered daily living!
Our mission as leaders is to foster the opportunities where lives can be transformed through the work of the SPIRIT into fully developing followers of CHRIST!
In an environment absent of that sort of atmosphere, many babes in CHRIST end up going to church for the entertainment value—rather than being challenged to continued transformation into CHRIST-likeness. Or, they go to get propped up by a set of man-centered rules by which they can feel better about their inability to live the life (see the Abundant Life post dated March 2).
The end result is that immature believers remain immature and continue to live out of selfish motives.
BUT sometimes… worse still… immature believers and unbelievers alike can be lulled into a comma by the types of “leader” John speaks of in 2 John 1. John defines this type of leader as a charlatan—an anti-Christ!! Yikes!! That’s pretty extreme language used to define this type of person that we (the church) are to be on the lookout for!
Thus, the reason for John's... Uhm... "NO AMIGOS" Directive! Ok, well... I actually came up with the name there... but, pretty clear instructions by John here nonetheless!
Make no mistake, this is not simply one seeking truth, or one stumbling along due to immaturity. Rather, this is one intent on twisting and distorting truth—a deceiver. Sadly, there are many “religious leaders” in the church today who fall into this category! These Charlatans don’t share the whole MESSAGE of the gospel—and worse, they distort the MESSAGE. They lead people astray. Sometimes those led astray are believers—but, sometimes they are not, stumbling through life believing they are Christians.
Followers of CHRIST are called to die to self. Paul said, “for me to live is CHRIST.” Not, for me to live is to be CHRIST-like… or, for me to live is to read my Bible… or, for me to live is to tithe! For me to live IS CHRIST. That means no agenda of our own. That means a total surrender of every area of our lives. The old life—that self-centered, live for myself life—is gone. It was buried in the grave the moment I received CHRIST as my SAVIOR. My new life IS CHRIST—a wholly surrendered, CHRIST-centered life. One that allows JESUS to live HIS life in us, through us, AS US!! That means I’m no longer agenda driven by selfish motive or by a misguided attempt to impress GOD.
My whole life is open for GOD to direct me in whatever way HE chooses to lead.
JESUS was the first to live that life perfectly. HE was not driven by HIS own self-centered motives either! You’ll find over and over in the GOSPEL accounts, JESUS saying, “I’m not doing any of these things of my own accord—I’m doing the will of my FATHER!”
JESUS was totally surrendered—HIS whole life, open for GOD the FATHER to direct in whatever way HE chose to lead HIS SON.
We are to live that same life! Let’s live lives wholly surrendered to the MASTER! AND, be willing as JESUS was to overturn tables, rebuke religious leaders, and wash the feet of doubters… every time HE leads us to do so, no matter how uncomfortable those activities can be to us personally!
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Bad decisions sometimes make us…
I’m pumped!! Football season has arrived! I spent my Sunday afternoon watching the Cowboys defeat the Bucs with wife (@nerdopansey) and friends (@byronmax and @emaxfield). It was great fun!
Watching a highly conditioned and highly trained athlete play the game is pretty entertaining stuff! Especially as a game gets tight! Remember “the shot” Michael Jordan put up in Game 5 vs the Cavs in 1989? The pressure on, in the clutch, Jordan made the split second decision to put up the buzzer beating shot that resulted in the Bulls winning and moving past the Cavilers! The end result... Jordan = epic hero!
BUT, sometimes split second decisions lead to catastrophic and EPIC failure!
There is an old adage known by military aviators that says, "… the catastrophe has already happened, we're now just waiting for the plane to arrive at the crash site!" What that means is that a catastrophic decision WAS made at some point that WILL result in a wreck... and although the impending crash is still moments away from being fully realized, there is nothing that can be done to alter the trajectory and change the outcome.
Decisions have consequences.
Serena Williams is an athlete who is accustomed to making split second decisions. However, Williams on Saturday night in her US Open match against Kim Clijsters, lost her temper after the line judge called a foot fault, resulting in a double-fault. The result of the call moved Clijsters one point from victory. Williams upset, made a split second bad decision to verbally express her disappointment with the double-fault call. Williams was then penalized a point for her outburst; because it happened to come on match point, it ended the semi-final with Clijsters winning 6-4, 7-5. The end result... Williams = epic failure!
Proverbs 3:5-6 (msg) says, “…trust GOD from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for HIS voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; HE is the ONE who will keep you on track. Don’t assume that you know it all. Run to GOD! Run from evil! You will glow with health and vibrate with life! Honor GOD in all you do!"
How do you go about making your decisions? Whether they are of the split second variety or whether you have time to consider your options, what process do you go through in making your decisions? Are you totally reliant on your own wisdom and ability to make decisions? Or, do you follow the advice of Solomon, trusting in GOD from the bottom of your heart as you contemplate your decisions?
GOD wants to be involved in and cares about every detail of your daily life. If you have never asked HIM for help in making your decisions, give it a try. I promise, HE won’t disappoint!
Relying on GOD to guide you, make your decisions rather than allowing decisions to make you!
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- Celebrating 18th birthday party for @elinelson — pool party at the home of @larrymnelson and @gaylanelson! http://twitpic.com/2laxgv
- Anyone tried Atomic Sports Grill at Fielder & Park Row yet? Just curious if it's any good?!
- Well, Colts Homecoming not going so swell—20 to 42, 11 minutes to go in the 4th—can't help but feel they're calling wrong defensive package!
- Incredible day... love the cool temps, overcast skies! :) http://twitpic.com/2kulm1
- What we believe is what leads our hopes... our hearts... our lives.
- Woohoo!! Colts win!! :) Great job Colts!! And Aaron (@aaronelson) looked awesome!! :)
- 4 minutes left, Colts 17, Cowboys 13... Colts are on O!! Let's go boys!
- Oh shoot!! Cowboys are up by 2 now... 10 minutes left in the 4th. We gotta have some offense! Come on let's go Colts!!
- Halftime, Cowboys Stadium, Colts up by 7! Proud of my boy (@aaronelson), he's rocking the center—good snaps, blocks, and opening big holes!
- Birthday breakfast!! http://twitpic.com/2ki5ax