Why The Heathen Rage

Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. Psalm 2:1-4

I find it interesting what the heathen, in this passage, are rebelling against: "bands" and "cords". Apparently even in David's day, people were trying to be "freed" from the "restrictions" of God. Nothing changes. Mankind has always rebelled against following God. No matter how simple it is (don't eat of this ONE tree) or how logical it is (husbands, love your wives), people are going to chafe at being told what to do. They're going to say it's just too restrictive a lifestyle...and God's supposed to be all about love anyway, right? So what I do doesn't matter! And God laughs at their foolishness. He shakes His head as they wander confused and dazed and frustrated through life while those who choose to follow the way He's laid out stride along with purpose and peace even in the darkest night. A winding, wide way and a straight, narrow way. No, nothing ever changes.

One-Sided Wars

And Saul was yet more afraid of David, and Saul became David's enemy continually. 1 Samuel 18:29

This is the official launch of the most frustrating war ever: Saul v. ...well, Saul. See, Saul made himself David's enemy, but his problem was David wasn't playing. This was a one-sided war; and that's just a big headache for everyone. There are people in life who are going to be our enemy no matter what we do. They're going to wage war against us whether we like it or not, and we can't control that. What we can control is whether or not WE are THEIR enemy. We don't have to "play". Let them fight their little one-sided war--they WILL lose.

Who's It Gonna Be?

For he remembered his holy promise, and Abraham his servant. Psalm 105:42 God has a pretty good memory. As in, He never forgets unless He chooses to forget. In this passage we see that God remembered Abraham, and that had some pretty significant impact on many lives...several generations later. I mean, we're talking about hundreds of years from the time God dealt with Abraham to the time that the Israelites crossed into Jordan, yet we're told here He did it because "He remembered His holy promise, and Abraham His servant." An entire generation of Israelites were blessed because of Abraham. So I ask: who is going to be blessed because of me? Whose life is going to be impacted (and in what way) by the things I do--or don't do--for God?

What Are We Missing?

But after that I am risen, I will go before you into Galilee. Mark 14:28 I find it amazing that Christ calmly and clearly announces His resurrection, and Peter promptly ignores it to talk about something else. Why? Because Peter's still on the previous topic. Peter wasn't listening because he was too busy preparing his boast that he would never deny the Lord. We often miss things that God is saying to us, not because it's too complicated or mysterious or beyond our comprehension, but because we're not paying attention. We're too distracted by ourselves and our ideas that we miss something important. God is talking to us. He has something to say to us. Let's not miss it because we're thinking about something else or because we're trying to talk over Him. Just shut up and listen. It might be kinda a big deal.

Better Than I Deserve

He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. Psalm 103:10 Have you ever heard someone say they were doing "better than I deserve"? They were spot on, because we ALL are. Every single day we're doing better than we deserve. It's too easy to forget that, because we have a finite, flawed perspective of fairness and justice. We too easily turn a blind eye to our sins and failures and betrayals, and we convince ourselves that we're "not that bad." Oh, but we are! We are every bit that bad and probably worse. And let us try to never forget what a wonderful, amazing thing it is that God has not dealt with us according to our sins and has not given us what we deserve.

Water-Walks, Sunshiney Days, And Keeping Focused

But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. Matthew 14:30

I was thinking today, what if it hadn't been stormy out on the Sea of Galilee that day? What if it had been a nice, sunshiney day with birds singing and a gentle, cool breeze kissing the face of the water? What if Peter had stepped out to walk on the water and looked away at the gently lapping water, the green hillsides in the distance, the cloud-dotted skies and thought, "What a beautiful day!"? I submit to you that...he would have started to sink.
See, we need faith when things are going well, too. It's not like it's something we just need to turn on when the storms come. And it's not any easier, either. I'm sure you've heard someone say, "It's easy to have faith when things are going well." I've probably said it myself. That's not true. It's easy to SAY we have faith when things are going well. Saying and having...two very different things. We can get distracted by the good just as easily (if not more so) than the bad. Don't forget to keep your eyes on the Master when the seas are calm, too!

I Have Confidence

I rejoice therefore that I have confidence in you in all things. 2 Corinthians 7:16

That's quite a statement, to say you have confidence in someone in everything. But it's an admirable thing to strive towards. We should inspire confidence in others. Our neighbors and co-workers and friends should have confidence in us. They should just know that we're going to do the right thing even as they ask the question. They should feel like they could trust us with anything and in any situation. We're children of God. How can we claim the name of Christ if we're not confidence-inspiring people?