365 Reflections

Sometimes you and your enemies need a reminder of who your God is. That is what happens for Hezekiah when Isaiah sends word that the threat posed by Sennecharib is nothing at all and he needn't fear. The language is poetic, grand, and devastating for the threatening potentate considered by many in the world to be the most powerful man on Earth.  God has a different perspective. 2 Kings 19:20–22 (ESV) Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Your prayer to me   about  Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard. 21 This is the word that the LORD has spoken concerning him:       “She despises you, she scorns you— the virgin daughter of Zion;       she wags her head behind you— the daughter of Jerusalem.       22 “Whom have you mocked and reviled?       Against whom have you raised your voice and lifted your eyes to the heights?   ...

We are one chapter away from the infamous moment of David and Bathsheba. For all the ink that has been spilled over that moment, we do well to look at the preceding experience David has in 2 Samuel 10. 2 Samuel 10:1–4 (ESV) After this the king of the Ammonites died, and Hanun his son reigned in his place. 2 And David said, “I will deal loyally with Hanun the son of Nahash, as his father dealt loyally with me.” So David sent by his servants to console him concerning his father. And David’s servants came into the land of the Ammonites. 3 But the princes of the Ammonites said to Hanun their lord, “Do you think, because David has sent comforters to you, that he is honoring your father? Has not David sent his servants to you to search the city and to spy it out and to overthrow it?” 4 So Hanun took David’s servants and shaved off half the beard of each and cut off their garments in the middle, at their hips, and sent them away. David has shown kindness to as many as he can find...

Exodus 22:26–27 (ESV)   If ever you take your neighbor’s cloak in pledge, you shall return it to him before the sun goes down, 27 for that is his only covering, and it is his cloak for his body; in what else shall he sleep? And if he cries to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate. Exodus 23:4 (ESV) “If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey going astray, you shall bring it back to him. When you read through the list of moral precepts in Exodus 22-23 you become convinced of the Holy Spirit inspiration of these words. Consider the two laws mentioned here. Returning a cloak before dark and returning your enemy's ox/donkey who has strayed? There is not a legal system that would prosecute a soul for disobeying these laws. The human courts can only go so far in restraining evil. God calls His people to a far more generous and positive way of life toward our communities. One may wonder, why should Israel care for things such as these? Why should their moral code be so h...

One of the things Christians have to realize is that although we are called to love even our enemies, not everyone is someone who will be our friend. We will not be able to be "liked" or appreciated by a lot of people. This has been the record of the Bible since Abel spilled his blood. Genesis 31 begins with an attitude that Laban has for Jacob and ends with an official accord for them to go their separate ways. Jacob learned, there are times to walk away. Genesis 31:2–3 (ESV) And Jacob saw that Laban did not regard him with favor as before. 3 Then the Lord said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your fathers and to your kindred, and I will be with you.” There are a number of factors that lead to this disassociation.  1. Though Jacob's presence only prospered Laban, Laban eventually resented him. 2. Even Jacob's wives (daughters of Laban) saw their father's greed realizing they were given no inheritance and in basically sold (as slaved) to Jacob for his ...

We will all have detractors and attackers. We will all have someone not like us or despise us. The Psalmist did in Psalm 139. The interesting thing about this Psalm is that it's so beautiful we lose the context. The Psalm was sung while the author was facing adversarial animosity. He cries out toward the end: Psalm 139:19 (ESV)   Oh that you would slay the wicked, O God! O men of blood, depart from me! Here's the power of the Truth of this Psalm. In the face of his enemies, what is his confidence? The fact that God made him, knows all about him, and will always be with him. Note the following very familiar passages: Psalm 139:1–2 (ESV) O Lord , you have searched me and known me! 2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. Psalm 139:5 (ESV) You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Psalm 139:7–8 (ESV)  Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? 8 If I ascend to...

Psalm 83 reminds us that enemies of God's people always abound. The opening verses mention 10 nations gathered around Israel to attack and destory them. These are their enemies. Child of God, we will always have enemies... 1 John 3:13 (ESV)   Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you. The world throughout history has hated this ancient family of the Jews. God's chosen people have been the rejected ones in society down through the ages, from Egypt to Nazi Germany. Yet God's blessing has been upon them to this day. For Christians it will be no different. Men will hate us. Yet we are to regard this  as blessing! Luke 6:22–23 (ESV) “Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! 23 Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets. The Psalmist readily acknowledges the adversary. He then ...

When I am afraid, I tend to call people, search google for answers or something very similarly stupid. I tend to obsess and stress. I tend to not sleep well and think about all the possibilities of what may or may not come about. I heard somewhere that 80% of what we worry about never actually happens. That's a lot of wasted thoughts. The Psalmist has a better idea: Psalm 56:3–4 (ESV) When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. 4 In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me? Why? Because God is closely watching over his life. Psalm 56:8–11 (ESV) You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book? 9 Then my enemies will turn back in the day when I call. This I know, that God is for me. 10 In God, whose word I praise, in the Lord , whose word I praise, 11 in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me? Where did he get that idea? He got it from the Word... he says, ...

Psalm 54 doesn't sound very "Christian." In it, David prays for God to destroy his enemies. What could be Christian about that? Psalm 54:4–5 (ESV) Behold, God is my helper; the Lord is the upholder of my life. 5 He will return the evil to my enemies; in your faithfulness put an end to them . But context matters. This Psalm is in response to the two separate occasions in which the Ziphites betrayed David by letting Saul know where he was while Saul was out to kill him. They told Saul in 1 Samuel 23 and then 1 Samuel 26 that they would betray David to him if they would simply go get him. How would you feel? The interesting thing about both instances of betrayal is that David has opportunity to kill Saul. Both times David doesn't do it. He instead honors the King by not laying a hand on him. He refuses to take out the Lord's anointed. Taking that into account, swe see the Psalm from the original context. David who could have taken his enemies ...

Today I read Psalm 39. In it, an adversary must be taunting David. He wants to lash out, and the more he tries to restrain himself, the worse it gets... Psalm 39:2–3 (ESV) I was mute and silent; I held my peace to no avail, and my distress grew worse. 3 My heart became hot within me. As I mused, the fire burned; then I spoke with my tongue: When he finally spoke, instead of lashing out toward his enemy, he prayed for perspective... Psalm 39:4 (ESV) “O LORD, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am! And later... Psalm 39:7 (ESV) “And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you. We American Christians tend to live without a great deal of perspective. While we have a ton of knowledge and technological advancement, our souls lack wisdom and insight. Those without perspective tend to let the small stuff bother them way too much. And they are the ones who ultimately pay the price.  We need to understand who...

Psalm 17 provides a pattern for prayer whenever you are facing an hostile enemy. The Psalmist calls out to God and puts his hope purely in God's just ways, saying in verse 2 "let your eyes behold the right!" How confident are we when praying about a difficult relational issue that God will vindicate us? This Psalmist makes certain to check himself first and opens himself to God's own examination. Verses 3-5 are the Psalmist self-examining statements. He truly feels he is in the right and even seeks God's agreement. How we need to make sure we do the same! Sometimes a relationship is difficult because we are the ones in the wrong. Before you pray for God to change your enemies, make sure God doesn't have to first change you. The Psalmist then praise the faithful love of His God. Psalm 17:6–7 (ESV)  I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God; incline your ear to me; hear my words. 7 Wondrously show your steadfast love, O Savior of those who seek re...

Psalm 3 was written by David when he fled from his son Absalom who undermined David's authority and throne turning the hearts of the people after himself.  How hard it is to be turned on.  How especially hard when it's your own son. This had to be a dark dark time for David. He cries out to God about his enemies and the many who are coming against him. They are scary, they are vast, they are treacherous. But David doesn't let what other people say to him stop him from reminding himself who God is to him. Psalm 3:3–4 (ESV) But you, O LORD, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head. 4 I cried aloud to the LORD, and he answered me from his holy hill. Selah We need to learn who God is for us and then we need to learn how to remind ourselves who God is for us.  Then David says in verse 4 that God answered him. How? How did God chose to care for David from this dark time? One answer: Sleep. Notice the next verse. Psalm 3:5–6  (ESV)...

Acts 23:12–14 (ESV) When it was day, the Jews made a plot and bound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink till they had killed Paul. 13 There were more than forty who made this conspiracy. 14 They went to the chief priests and elders and said, “We have strictly bound ourselves by an oath to taste no food till we have killed Paul. Paul had a full share of enemies. The prophecy at his conversion from Christ Himself to Ananias is unfolded in the book of Acts in great detail. From the beginning of Paul's life in Christ, people sought to kill him. Once again in Acts 23, it's the familiar script for Paul. This time 40 men bound by an oath not to eat or drink until he's dead. Paul was right in his farewell address to the Ephesians, prisons and hardships awaited him in every city. He later wrote to the Thessalonians: 1 Thessalonians 2:14–16 (ESV) For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea. For you suffered the same ...