Sunday, November 26, 2006

giving thanks

Thanksgiving Day is past and gone, and in the wake of near-sinful consumption of food bordering on gluttony, it would be wise to stop and consider the real meaning of thanksgiving.

Though one day designated to express gratitude is past, our life of thanksgiving ought never to end.

Thanksgiving is not a "holiday"; it is a way of life for the child of God.

In 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, the Apostle Paul tells us exactly what "God's will for us is in Christ Jesus" is:

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

Do you know that being thankful is God's will for you?

We tend to be preoccupied with what appears to be more "critical" aspects of our lives such as;

"Is it God's will that I pursue this?"

"Is it God's will that I marry this person?"

But the Bible is very clear on what God's will is - part of it being thankful in all circumstances.

Whether things be good or bad, happy or sad, pleasant or downright infuriating and stressful - in ALL CIRCUMSTANCES - we are called to be thankful to our Faithful Creator.

Even people without Christ know to be thankful when things are going their way, when the outlook is bright, their future assured, their finances settled, their dreams or hopes achieved, etc.

What differentiates a believer from a non-believer is not only what he confesses in his creed; it is his lifestyle and character that saturates and breathes life into that lifestyle.

The only way a Christian can truly obey God's command to fulfill his will by being thankful in all circumstances is if he takes on the perspective of God Himself in every facet of his life.

Be thankful...

1. For Difficult Circumstances, that suffocating trial, hardship that keeps you on your knees before God. King David as we had recently studied fell at the height of prosperity and ease. Your trials are not stumblingblocks to overcome, but a blessing in disguise - a means by which God keeps you in His sight at all times.

2. For Difficult People, that person that is in so many ways a "thorn in your side." She's someone you consider a "fly" in your ointment, one who truly brings out the worst in you. But remember, she cannot bring out what is not already inside of you. God desires to mold and shape you into the image of Christ, and the most powerful with which He accomplishes that is through people.

As Solomon says in Proverbs 27:17(AMP), those difficult people God brings into our lives is the chisel God is using to shape you into the vessel, the image He desires.

And finally, be thankful...

3. that God does not give you everything you want in prayer.

Imagine if God gave you every desire of your heart. I am confident very few of us would even be alive this day if God answered every one of our self-centered, childish, short-sighted prayers.

Are you truly thankful?

Then your heart will beat with the same heartbeat of a man named Horatio Spafford who penned these incredible words the moment he crossed the Atlantic Ocean gazing at the very spot where his four daughters had died previous day in a tragic shipwreck, his wife the sole survivor:

When peace like the river attendeth my way,
When sorrow like sea billow roll,
Whatever my lot Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul!


--from Nakwon EM Sunday Nov. 26 Worship Service

Monday, November 20, 2006

kings & prophets IV: David, the Broken-Hearted

David was hailed as the giant killer because of his unwavering trust and faith in God. Despite the injustice of his circumstances, during his fugitive years, David honored God by honoring a mad king refusing to take his life however justified.

But more than anything else, what made David a man after God's own heart was a broken and a contrite heart.

We cannot know our true state of heart until it is tested.

And David was tested.

And failed.

Self-indulgence that defied God's command for a king to not accumulate many wives led David to sin against God at the epitome of success and prosperity.

David's self-indulgence is also demonstrated in his neglect: the tragic story of David's adultery and murder in 2 Sam 11 begins with a simple yet telling fact:

In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king's men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem. (v.1)

It was a properous time. David had defeated one of two greatest threats to Israel - the Ammonites, and defeat of their western enemy, Philistines, was only a matter of time.

From a practical point of view, David did not need to be out there.

But he should have been.

It was need not for the sake of victory at the battlefield, but for another battle raging in his soul.

By neglecting his duty, lulled by ease and comfort of firmly established kingship, David made a grave error of allowing complacency to dictate his life.

And it cost him everything.

From the moment David ignores his servant's information that the woman Bathsheba was a wife of one of his greatest generals, David dives headlong into sin that is followed by horrific consequences; incest, fratricide, intrigues, rebellion, civil war, disgrace...

As tragic as these repercussions of his sin against God were, David was tormented by far more excruciating pain from his sin: a chasm in the relationship between himself and God.

David's beautiful and poignant Psalm 51 was penned during this time as he wept and broke down before God in contrition and soul-wrenching regret.

More than anything, David knew he had offended God. What made David a man after God's own heart was his clear understanding of what sin was in His eyes. How despicable and unbearable sin was to a holy God.

Remember the wolf devouring his own blood gushing from his own sliced tongue as he hungrily licks on the sharp knife, impaled on its hilt on the ground, once covered with frozen blood to cover its deadly blade in the cold artic night by a shrewd Eskimo...

Sin is consuming and deceiving.

It will attract the eyes, deceive the mind, lure the unwary, and in the end, there is only one goal - it kills.

But we have hope in Christ, through the Holy Spirit who gently prods us to turn from sin, to walk away, to refuse to yield to what is often seemingly harmless entertainment or means of relaxation.

Be sure your satisfaction in life comes solely from God, through God, and in God alone, because you may discover that all this time, you had taken pleasure from sin at the cost of your own very soul, the dawn finding you dead beside a sharp blade.

-- from Nakwon EM Nov 19th Sunday Worship Service

Sunday, November 12, 2006

kings & prophets III: David, the Fugitive

Although anointed at about 15 years of age, it is not until after another 15 years that David takes the throne of Israel as her next king.

During those 15 years, David is hailed as hero after his defeat of Goliath, loved by the people and the army, as well as the king's own son and his daughter, but also becomes a fugitive when King Saul through jealousy and fear seeks to kill the young hero.

David's life as a fugitive molded him into the king he needed to be, but as Gene Edwards in his book, "A Tale of Three Kings" points out, during those years he spent on the run from the mad King Saul, when he was hiding in caves, "These were David's darkest hours. We know them as his pre-king days, but he didn't, He may have assumed this was his lot forever. Suffering was giving birth, humility was being born. By earthly measures he was a shattered man; by heavenly measures, a broken one." (emphasis mine)

David had justifiable motive, opportunity and means to kill Saul twice, but he does not.

Why was David called a man after God's own heart?

It wasn't his victories that caused him to be so loved and chosen by God.

It was his heart, or more accurately, the state of his heart.

David chose to honor God by honoring a king - even one as mad as Saul - God had placed upon the throne through his anointing.

We often face or witness injustice in our lives toward us or toward those around us. We are tempted to "help God out" by taking action to right the wrong, defend the wronged, let justice be demonstrated.

But Paul reminds us in Romans 12:19-21:

Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord. On the contrary: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head." Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Nothing in our lives happen by coincidence. To acknowledge His hand in every facet of our lives - whether good or bad - is to demonstrate our faith and trust in Him who is in control.

Do you desire a heart like David's?

Then let God be God.

Let Him be your Defender. Let the days in the cave of your hardship brought on by another be a moment to mold and shape your heart so that it will be just like His.

And from such heart, praise as this can be lifted up to God in His honor and glory.

--from Nov. 12, 2006 Sunday worship service

Monday, November 06, 2006

kings & prophets II: David, the Giant Killer

How do you fight and defeat a Giant?

We all face "giants" like young David did. The giants in our lives come in two forms: the visible & the invisible. The first is not difficult to detect. It is apparent. That giant of a financial problem, that person (be it a family member or friend) who is a burden or concern or is at enmity with my peace of mind, that annoying boss who has the compassion of a mad dictator.

The latter is not so obvious: it is the enemy within. It is the Goliath that comes in the form much like that of David's oldest brother Eliab and King Saul, one outright attacked the newly anointed young boy for shallow recklessness, and the other used factual reasons to discourage him.

But neither took into account the God of Israel on whom young David based his confidence for victory.

Ultimately, the battle was won before David ever faced the Giant in the valley.

Three important aspects of David's character prepared him to defeat his giant, the giant of his people, the giant who defied God:

1. Faithfulness - David never slacked in his duty as a shephered - the lowliest, the most tedious and painstaking job for any young man in Israel. It was his faithfulness to his work that prepared him for the battle to come.

2. Perspective - only David (who at the time was too young to join the army of Israel) understood the real issue at hand during this war with the Philistines. Goliath's insult of the armies of the living God was essentially insult of the Living God Himself. (1 Sam 17:26, 36, 47).

3. Trust - David's confidence in God's deliverance is demonstrated by his repetitious use of the word "will" when he addresses King Saul and Goliath.

How do you stand against your Goliath?

Do you cower before it like the entire army of Israel did, seeing only with the eye, never with the heart of faith in God to whom all battles belong?

Or do you make a stand with a full assurance of faith that He who promised is faithful?

moments

Happy moments, Praise God.
Difficult moments, Seek God.
Quiet moments, Worship God.
Painful moments, Trust God.
Every moment, Thank God.