What up people. Today has been LONG. Work meant an early get up followed by slogging my guts out in the rain. Then I was in the pub with some chums before more rain and a good night with other chums which included getting punched repeatedly by a child. Oh and Youth Alpha tomorrow so still mildly bricking it! Onto business then,
Today’s readings
2 Samuel 11:1-12:31
Acts 4:1-22
Psalm 71:1-8
Lots to consider today. Lust is obviously a theme with David's roving eye being the cause of all sorts of hurt and pain. So many people get hurt because of his actions. Now I think one thing immediately that is important is to see how Nathan again condemns David from God saying that his family will be infighting forever. Well this is certainly true for a time but also from David's family comes and end to fighting in Jesus. Admittedly people still try and fight about Jesus but the man Himself was preaching peace and love first and foremost. I think this shows again that we can't always or even often get the complete picture of God's plan and that we can only go by His actions in our lives.
So David's lusty ways though. I think a real tragedy of this story is the fact that it tends to get boiled down to Uriah being the tragic figure but notice that as well as him, 18 other men were killed for no reason and then an infant was taken to be back with God due to David's mistake and not just the mistake but the devious and premeditated way he tried to cover it up. We see in fact that when he recognises his mistake, God is waiting to forgive him. It's just that by the time he bother to tell God, things have developed to a much more complicated degree. Also David's attacks here against the Ammonites build on yesterday's reading of the rejected peace and ineffective resistance by the Ammonites. However, God hasn't told David that he needs to attack them and the relish that David takes in basking in glory and looting the town of Rabbah shows a lack of closeness to God. Subsequently his family begin the infight to end all infights in the next chapter.
Finally I just wanted to point out David's pleading with God. He does everything he can to try and get God to change his mind but is fast to accept God's decision and he goes straight to worshipping Him. That's a model for us. Pray till you can't pray anymore but have the grace to recognise your blessings if the answer is a no.
Into the New Testament we surge and we have some fall out from Peter and John. Here we see though the difference in their behaviour from David. Rather than serve their own interest and running from the confrontaton and controversy they would attract (and publically praising a convicted criminal could have got them in BIG trouble with the Roman authorty), they instead are proud to acknowledge Jesus and the place that He has in all people's lives if they will accept Him. How inspiring this is! We should be more appreciative of when we do feel filled by the Holy Spirit and then use that power to witness for God and make a difference in the world; free from fear.
Finally our Psalm begins with a familiar plea for aid from God in stopping the hard times and the scary times. Well God doesn't work like that and sometimes being scared and uncomfortable can really open you up to the spirit and challenge you to do something different.
So what have we got from today's readings? Well apart from the obvious one of don't sleep with married people unless they're married to you still! I think we've seen that God respects and blesses those who treat their position as His disciple as seriously as we ought to treat ruling a country.
And that's your lot. Yesterday's song is here. As always, any questions or comments can go below or on Facebook,
Jon
www.facebook.com/british.hedgehog
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