strengthen – Praying Pint

34.q. “I will not deny you!”

Matthew 26:30 And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. Then Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away because of me this night. For it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.” Peter answered him, “Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away.” Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” Peter said to him, “Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you!” And all the disciples said the same.

Luke 22:31-32    “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat,  but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”

Job 19:13-16    “He has put my brothers far from me, and those who knew me are wholly estranged from me.  My relatives have failed me, my close friends have forgotten me.

Psalms 69:20     Reproaches have broken my heart, so that I am in despair. I looked for pity, but there was none, and for comforters, but I found none.

Ezekiel 34:5-6     So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd, and they became food for all the wild beasts. My sheep were scattered;  they wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. My sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, with none to search or seek for them.

Exodus 19:8    All the people answered together and said, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do.” And Moses reported the words of the people to the LORD.

1 Corinthians 10:12    Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.

Peter, not convinced of his weakness, or that any temptation could make him guilty of such base conduct so as to deny Christ, claims with great confidence that he will not deny Christ even in the face of death. We are frequently ignorant of our self-confidence which leads us to become over-confident and safe from being tempted away from following, obeying, trusting, and relying on Jesus Christ alone. Those that are least safe are those who in themselves think they are secure.

We never know when or what trial or trouble may fall upon us. We never know how feeble and weak we are until we are tried. Reliance upon our own strength is an act of ignorance of the need for Jesus Christ in all things at all times.

It doesn’t matter what we are engaged in doing, when we go it alone and in our own strength, own ideas, own self-reliance, and own self-interest we expose our lack of reliance on Christ. How many days do we start in our own strength and our own ideas? Can we not ask at the beginning of the day before we are even out of bed for Jesus to guide our thoughts, lead our steps, and keep our hearts and minds free from that which does not honor and glorify Him alone? Can we not ask Him to show us our weaknesses and for His strengthening of our minds? Can we not ask Him to show us where we are being self-reliant? Can we not ask for His protection over the day? Can we not ask Him to continually speak into our hearts and minds? Yes, we can if we would just do it.

33.l. “You have given me relief when I was in distress”

Matthew 15:21 And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

Psalms 4:1  Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have given me relief when I was in distress. Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!

Jeremiah 50:6-7    “My people have been lost sheep. Their shepherds have led them astray, turning them away on the mountains. From mountain to hill they have gone. They have forgotten their fold.  All who found them have devoured them, and their enemies have said, ‘We are not guilty, for they have sinned against the LORD, their habitation of righteousness, the LORD, the hope of their fathers.’

Ezekiel 34:5-6   So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd, and they became food for all the wild beasts. My sheep were scattered;  they wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. My sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, with none to search or seek for them.

Ezekiel 34:16    I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice.

Ezekiel 34:23  And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd.

Acts 13:46    And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles.

The dark corners of the country, the most remote, shall share Christ’s influences; afterwards the ends of the earth shall see his salvation. The distress and trouble of her family brought a woman to Christ; and though it is need that drives us to Christ, yet we shall not therefore be driven from him. She did not limit Christ to any particular instance of mercy, but mercy, mercy, is what she begged for: she pleads not merit, but depends upon mercy. It is the duty of parents to pray for their children, and to be earnest in prayer for them, especially for their souls. Have you a son, a daughter, grievously vexed with a proud devil, an unclean devil, a malicious devil, led captive by him at his will? this is a case more deplorable than that of bodily possession, and you must bring them by faith and prayer to Christ, who alone is able to heal them. (Henry)

This mother speaks as though she herself were the one that needed healing, identifying herself with her oppressed daughter, as though the horrible anguish, distress, and torment lay upon her own spirit and could not be relieved without the cure of her suffering daughter. (Guzik)

But he answered her not a word,…. Not that he did not hear her, or that he despised either her person or petition, or that he was not moved with it; but to continue her importunity, and try her faith, and make it manifest: for like reasons the Lord does not always, and immediately, answer the requests of his people. This giving her no answer, either that he would, or would not help her. (Gill)

But he answered her not a word,…. Not that he did not hear her, or that he despised either her person or petition, or that he was not moved with it; but to continue her importunity, and try her faith, and make it manifest: for like reasons the Lord does not always, and immediately, answer the requests of his people. This giving her no answer, either that he would, or would not help her. (unknown)

Send her away; for she cries after us.—It appears that after no response from Jesus the mother turned to the disciples. The disciples words, as interpreted by our Lord’s answer, were, in some sense, a plea in favor of the woman. They wished Him to grant what she asked for, and so to dismiss her. And yet we feel that their words were far harsher than their Master’s silence. They wanted only to be rid of her presence, which had followed them from the streets into the house, to be freed from the loud eager cries which vexed them. (Elliot)

I am not sent, but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel; as a priest, or as a Saviour and Redeemer, he was sent to make satisfaction and atonement for the sins of all God’s elect, and to obtain eternal redemption and salvation for all of them, whether Jews or Gentiles; but as a prophet, in the discharge of his own personal ministry, he was sent by his Father only to the Jews; he was the “minister of the circumcision”, Romans 15:8 that is, a minister to the circumcised Jews; he was sent only to preach the Gospel to them, and work miracles among them, in proof of his Messiahship; and upon their rejection of him, then his apostles were to be sent among the Gentiles; but he himself was sent only to the Jews, here styled “the lost sheep of the house of Israel”: by “the house of Israel”, is meant the whole body of the Jewish nation, so called from Israel, the name of Jacob their father, from whom they sprung; and by the “lost sheep” of that house, are more especially designed the elect of God among them: for though all the individuals of that house were “lost” persons, considered in Adam, and in themselves, as the rest of mankind, and Christ, in the external ministry of the word, was sent to preach to them all; yet the elect of God are only “sheep”: they are the sheep of Christ, of his pasture, and of his hand, whom he has the particular care and charge of; and who, in their natural state, are lost and straying, and could never find their way, or recover themselves from their lost state in Adam, and by their own transgressions; but he came to seek, and to save them, and to these his ministry was powerful and efficacious. (Gill)

28.d. ““Be strong; fear not!”

Ephesians 6:10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.

Deuteronomy 20:3-4    and shall say to them, ‘Hear, O Israel, today you are drawing near for battle against your enemies: let not your heart faint. Do not fear or panic or be in dread of them,  for the LORD your God is he who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory.’

Joshua 1:6-7    Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them.  Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go.

1 Chronicles 28:20   Then David said to Solomon his son, “Be strong and courageous and do it. Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed, for the LORD God, even my God, is with you. He will not leave you or forsake you, until all the work for the service of the house of the LORD is finished.

Isaiah 35:3-4   Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees.  Say to those who have an anxious heart, “Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.”

Isaiah 40:31    but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength

1 Corinthians 16:13   Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.

Philippians 4:13    I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

Colossians 1:11    being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy;

Be strong, let not your heart faint, be courageous, do not be afraid, fear not, He will come and save you, wait for the Lord, stand firm, Him who strengthens me ….. in what, for what reason, and why does scripture remind and exhort us continually? It is common for every one of us, no matter how mentally and physically strong we are to become weakened by a single event or over time by life’s endless way of burdening us. We are going through life with strength and purpose and then all of a sudden we notice that strength we once had, that faithful hope we once relied upon, and that solid foundation we stood upon, is severely weakened or absent and we no longer find peace, joy, strength, and courage. This happens and I am not sure what is worse, getting blindsided with a punch in the gut or just slowly losing all strength and courage. When blindsided at least there is an event we can put things into perspective but when there is a continually wearing down of our foundational strength it seems this is worse. Life has a way of, abruptly or over time, lessening our resolve, strength, confidence, and courage. Battles we easily overcame now seem to be defeating us. Could it be we are strong in many areas of our life and God is just showing us and leading us and teaching us that there is still more refining in us that needs to be done? Could it be we have become neglectful or complacent? Could it be we have chosen to follow worldly passions over Godly pursuits? Could it be we have hardened our hearts and minds to the things of God? Whatever the reason our eyes need to focus on Jesus and our hope strengthened in Him alone. When our hope is in His strength, power, and love, and we have surrendered all hope and trust in ourselves, it is then we will become strengthened, encouraged, and full of hope. When we are weak He is strong.

26.r. “I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed”

Galatians 5:1 Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.

Romans 14:1   As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions.

Romans 8:6     For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.

Romans 15:1   We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves.

1 Corinthians 3:1    But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ.

Ezekiel 34:16    I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice.

James 5:19-20    My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back,  let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

Jude 1:22-23     And have mercy on those who doubt;  save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.

Paul’s wording here speaks not of a determined and hardened sinner. Instead, the idea is of someone who has fallen into sin, finding themselves trapped in a place they never thought they would be. Overtaken “Contains the idea of falling. It is not the deliberate, the planned, aspect of sin that is stressed here, but rather the unwitting element. Mistake rather than misdeed is the force of the word, though without absolution of responsibility.” (Ridderbos)

When a person is overtaken through the weakness of the flesh, the seduction of the worldly, or temptations of Satan, the outcome is a time in a person’s life where the quiet whispers of the Holy Spirit are being hushed and Jesus Christ is not being honored or glorified. Restore them. This job of restoration is often neglected in the church. We have a tendency to either pretend the sin never happened, or we tend to react too harshly towards the one who has sinned. The balance between these two extremes can only be negotiated by the spiritual. It should be normal to do what God says here, but it isn’t. It is all too easy to respond to someone’s sin with gossip, harsh judgment, or undiscerning approval. (Guzik)

“Let the ministers of the Gospel learn from Paul how to deal with those who have sinned. ‘Brethren,’ he says, ‘if any man is overtaken with a fault, do not aggravate his grief, do not scold him, do not condemn him, but lift him up and gently restore his faith.” (Luther)

Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches. Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have the opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.

We are not to turn a blind eye to a wandering brother. We are not to neglect a brother fallen to temptations of the flesh. We should recognize it but not embrace it. We should, with love, patience, gentleness, and kindness walk alongside them and through the Holy Spirit’s leading, guide them away from their wandering. How many times have you heard parents tell you about how their teenage child has seeming rejected all of what they had taught them? They do not abandon their child, they still love them, they are patient with them, and they pray for them. Parents who have gone through this will tell you more often than not that their adult child later came to them and apologized for how they acted. Very similar to the parable about the prodigal son.

Where there is spiritual weakness, knowledge, understanding, and true brotherly fellowship in the things of God, in the body of the church, more than likely the ability to recognize yet alone guide that person back. Neglect and complacency in God’s Word will hinder your walk with Him and will always put you on paths that do not honor or glorify Jesus Christ.

21.n. “The mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints.”

Romans 16:25 Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith— to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.

Amos 3:7   “For the Lord GOD does nothing without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets.

Matthew 13:17    For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

1 Peter 1:20    He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you

Luke 10:23-24   Then turning to the disciples he said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see!  For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.”

Ephesians 3:9    and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things,

Colossians 1:26  the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints.

Once the mystery has been revealed, people will look at it in a host of different ways. Some will see it clearly and welcome the revelation with open arms. They see their sin, redemption through Christ, and firmly take hold of it by faith. Some take hold of it by faith because of what was written in the past about a coming messiah, the coming of Jesus Christ fulfilling these past prophecies, and assurance of eternity. The mystery was revealed and they believed. They believed in the grace, mercy, and love of God through Jesus Christ our redeemer.

There are those who have seen the mystery revealed and reject it. They mock, deny, and reject it as not a mystery but a fairy tale told by weak-minded people and believed by the simple-minded followers. They not only deny the revealed mystery but they deny God. Paul makes it very clear that God has revealed himself to everyone and that no man is without excuse. (Romans 1:18 “because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them, For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools”)

Think about how gentiles were grafted into the redemption plan of God. This is truly a mystery. Prior to the rejection of Jesus Christ by the Jews, gentiles were, as it were, separated and without hope. They knew nothing about the prophetic writings from old but surely some of them heard of the God of the Jews. I wonder if this is the reason they came up with their own gods. The fact that God, in His wisdom, grace, mercy, and love, chose to reveal the mystery of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to gentiles, and continues to open their hearts and minds up to their sin and the need of redemption, and be able to clearly see not only Jesus Christ but the need for Him. This is truly the revealed mystery of grace, mercy, and love of God.

18.i. “His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

John 14:1 “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.

Revelation 21:22-23     And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb.  And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.

Hebrews 12:12-13   Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees,  and make straight paths for your feet,

Lamentations 3:17-23    my soul is bereft of peace; I have forgotten what happiness is;  so I say, “My endurance has perished; so has my hope from the LORD.”  Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall!  My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me.  But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope:  The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end;  they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

1 Thessalonians 5:9   For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,

Jesus said, “Don’t let your hearts be troubled.” Believe in God; believe also in Me”. It is not as though He is telling them they won’t have trouble if they believe, but rather that when they are surrounded by troubles they are to cast these cares, worries, fears out of their hearts and place their faith in Him. This is not your home. “In My Father’s house are many rooms.” This is not your final resting place. Your home is with Me and My Father in heaven and I’m preparing a place for you. Do you ever wonder how much time we have lost during our lives with worries, fears, and various cares that are caused in this world? We have to admit that too often we keep our focus on troubles we face in this world rather than on our home eternally in heaven with Jesus Christ.

“Lift up your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees”, “The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Though the battle in this world seems to rage on, we are victorious in Jesus Christ. Our God is in control and knows that our time on this earth is but for a moment when compared to eternity. Whatever we are facing, God is in control. Whatever trouble comes at us, God is in control. Whatever heart stabbing, brain-numbing, and soul-wrenching thunderous blow come our way, God is in Control.

Don’t let your hearts be troubled!!!!!

5.u. For the Lord GOD does nothing without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets

Revelation 1:1-3 The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.

Daniel 2:28-29    but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your dream and the visions of your head as you lay in bed are these:  To you, O king, as you lay in bed came thoughts of what would be after this, and he who reveals mysteries made known to you what is to be.

Amos 3:7     “For the Lord GOD does nothing without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets.

Romans 16:25     Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages

Galatians 1:12    For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.

2 Peter 3:8   But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

Romans 13:11    Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed.

James 5:8-9    You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.  Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door.

1 Peter 4:7    The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers.

At the right time, God reveals His mysteries (what has been hidden for ages) to us. A day is coming and has been foretold when the end of this world and life as we know it will cease. The book of revelation is not some rambling of a weirdo imagination but rather the words of God Himself given to man so that we might know that the end time is at hand. God makes these revelations known to reveal His all-knowing, all-powerful, and supreme control over His creation. He makes it known to reveal His love. He makes it known knowing that it will harden some hearts more and other hearts will be softened and come to saving grace knowledge of Jesus Christ. He makes it known to give people warning. He makes it known to give people hope. Just because some of this revelation seems hard to understand and the full mystery of it has not been made clear does not make it less certain. Man will choose to believe it or not but the fact remains the end of the world will come. To some, they do not believe there is life after death or that there is a judgment after death. They do not believe in heaven or hell. They do not believe in God. Oh that their heart would soften, the scales would fall off their eyes and they see, and their deaf ears made to hear of the Love of God through Jesus Christ and be saved.

3.k. “Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.”

Ezra 4:1 Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the returned exiles were building a temple to the Lord, the God of Israel, they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of fathers’ houses and said to them, “Let us build with you, for we worship your God as you do, and we have been sacrificing to him ever since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria who brought us here.” But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of fathers’ houses in Israel said to them, “You have nothing to do with us in building a house to our God; but we alone will build to the Lord, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us.”

Then the people of the land discouraged the people of Judah and made them afraid to build and bribed counselors against them to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.

And in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.

Nehemiah 6:9    For they all wanted to frighten us, thinking, “Their hands will drop from the work, and it will not be done.” But now, O God, strengthen my hands.

Isaiah 35:3-4    Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees.  Say to those who have an anxious heart, “Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.”

Jeremiah 38:4   “for he is weakening the hands of the soldiers who are left in this city, and the hands of all the people, by speaking such words to them. For this man is not seeking the welfare of this people, but their harm.”

The people came together and first built the altar for sacrifice to God. When this was completed they laid the foundation for the temple and people shouted with joy, though some wept, because of this great coming together with one purpose – to honor, glorify, and seek God in building His temple. People of the land heard of this and acted as though they wanted to help build but after being rejected they were malicious in discouraging and frustrating the people.

Not much has changed with mankind. We still see this happening, people with clear direction and leading from God are being criticized, challenged, and blasted from almost every angle. We shouldn’t think this is an attack on us but an attack on God’s plans and purposes. If we give any room to thoughts that these attacks are against us we will certainly become weary, afraid, confused, and without motivation. However, if we see this as God’s plans and purposes being attacked we can take comfort, strength, and courage because the battle is His. We know that He will always accomplish what He speaks and how He leads us in service to Him.

Keep your eyes on the task and do not become sidetracked by those in opposition. God is in control. No one can stop what God has put in place. Remain strong, remain faithful, remain obedient.

121. The time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab

2 Samuel 11:1 In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel. And they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.

It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful. And David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, “Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” So David sent messengers and took her, and she came to him, and he lay with her. (Now she had been purifying herself from her uncleanness.) Then she returned to her house. And the woman conceived, and she sent and told David, “I am pregnant.”

So David sent word to Joab, “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” And Joab sent Uriah to David. When Uriah came to him, David asked how Joab was doing and how the people were doing and how the war was going. Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” And Uriah went out of the king’s house, and there followed him a present from the king. But Uriah slept at the door of the king’s house with all the servants of his lord, and did not go down to his house. When they told David, “Uriah did not go down to his house,” David said to Uriah, “Have you not come from a journey? Why did you not go down to your house?” Uriah said to David, “The ark and Israel and Judah dwell in booths, and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are camping in the open field. Shall I then go to my house, to eat and to drink and to lie with my wife? As you live, and as your soul lives, I will not do this thing.” Then David said to Uriah, “Remain here today also, and tomorrow I will send you back.” So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next. And David invited him, and he ate in his presence and drank, so that he made him drunk. And in the evening he went out to lie on his couch with the servants of his lord, but he did not go down to his house.

In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah. In the letter he wrote, “Set Uriah in the forefront of the hardest fighting, and then draw back from him, that he may be struck down, and die.” And as Joab was besieging the city, he assigned Uriah to the place where he knew there were valiant men. And the men of the city came out and fought with Joab, and some of the servants of David among the people fell. Uriah the Hittite also died. Then Joab sent and told David all the news about the fighting. And he instructed the messenger, “When you have finished telling all the news about the fighting to the king, then, if the king’s anger rises, and if he says to you, ‘Why did you go so near the city to fight? Did you not know that they would shoot from the wall? Who killed Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? Did not a woman cast an upper millstone on him from the wall, so that he died at Thebez? Why did you go so near the wall?’ then you shall say, ‘Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.’”

So the messenger went and came and told David all that Joab had sent him to tell. The messenger said to David, “The men gained an advantage over us and came out against us in the field, but we drove them back to the entrance of the gate. Then the archers shot at your servants from the wall. Some of the king’s servants are dead, and your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.” David said to the messenger, “Thus shall you say to Joab, ‘Do not let this matter displease you, for the sword devours now one and now another. Strengthen your attack against the city and overthrow it.’ And encourage him.

Note; In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel. David did not go as was accustom of all kings. He stayed back. He became complacent and neglecting of his role in God’s purpose for him. He made a decision, a choice, to neglect what God had called him to do. Remember what God said about David. “A man after God’s own heart”. If such a man can fall into sin through neglect and complacency, do we think we are not capable or need to be mindful of our sinful nature and how easily it can overtake our want and desire to humbly serve God? It will dilute our view of God, our ability to honor Him, and our want to follow and obey Him. We will no longer cling to Him, rely on Him, or trust in Him.

Joni Eareckson Tada – “We can’t afford to be complacent about God’s glory. The fact is that putting your Christian life on autopilot is the same thing as “walking in the flesh.” When we become unaware, when we take something so precious for granted, our prayers become tedious, witnessing becomes dry, jobs become lackluster, and relationships sag under the weight of selfishness. What’s worse, our communion with our Savior and best friend turns into a chore. The Lord Himself seems to lose vitality in our estimation; He becomes little more than a wooden icon in our hearts, a mere measuring rod for our behavior—someone who purchased our salvation once upon a time, someone in whom we believe in a general, distracted sort of way.”

Take a review of your life. Take all of your thoughts captive and place them in the light of God’s word. Expose each nerve ending to His word and become sensitive to sinful desires that want to make you walk apart from Him. Complacency and neglect are satan’s fruit and though it looks beautiful and tastes sweet it will rob you of the bread of life, the water of life, and the very breath of God in your life.

If His word is not in your life every day beware.

60. I did not speak in secret

Deuteronomy 30:11 “For this commandment that I command you today is not too hard for you, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend to heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it.

“See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you today, by loving the Lord your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish. You shall not live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess. I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.”

Isaiah 45:19    I did not speak in secret, in a land of darkness; I did not say to the offspring of Jacob, ‘Seek me in vain.’ I the LORD speak the truth; I declare what is right.

Romans 16:25-26     Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages  but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith—

Colossians 1:26-27     the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints.  To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Can His word be so close to our heart and so familiar to our soul that it can not be understood or not be put into practice? NO! I wonder how it is possible to spend day after day, and week after week, and possibly month after month without more than a glance at His word when we know of the blessings and curses that come from either obedience or neglect. Have we watered down His word so much that following it only requires a showing up in Church a few times per month and speaking to God is dialed back to only when something troubling is happening.

His word would tell us that we can comprehend it, we can understand it, it is revealed to us, it is not far off, and it is brought to the very door of our heart, mind, and soul. However, it does no good in the heart, soul, and mind of anyone who does not cherish it or read it, or seek it, or desire it, or want to obey it. Neglects and complacency are not excuses, they are a choice.