In my opinion this is one of the greatest acts of faith that David ever exhibited. Saul, who was seeking to kill David, was definitely within David’s ability to dispatch him. And David chooses not to have one of his men slit Saul’s throat. He wouldn’t have to do the dastardly deed himself. All he had to do was say the words, “Kill him,” and the deed would have been done. He probably was already in a part of the cave where he would not have to see or hear any part of the act. His nightmare of being the constant fugitive of the king would be over. Indeed he probably would be made king himself. Two little words was all it would take. No, he would not utter them. He would not allow his men to touch Saul. Why?
Yesterday we read where David’s was continually given information by the Lord on a need to know basis. David had learned to see the glory of the Lord in his awful situation. He had learned by experience that there is no safer place to be than to be where the Lord has told you to go. To harm someone anointed of the Lord would be to betray that experiential knowledge. To resort to his own means to accomplish a goal would be to reject the glory of the Lord to claim his own glory. He learned that we rally have no glory except when we permit the glory of the Lord to shine through us. Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
PSALM 61
We took a hike to the lake near the top of the mountain. All around the lake were cliffs that led to an even higher summit. We were a group of FCA high school students who had gone to Colorado for a national conference. One of the guys’ parents owned a cabin in the mountains. We stayed awhile in the cabin before going to the conference. We had taken a hike to the lake. A couple of the guys were not satisfied with the view. They decided to scale the cliffs to the summit. I started to go up but decided it was too dangerous for me without climbing equipment. I slowly went back down after going about 12 feet. Two of our crew made it about half-way up. At that point they regretted having gone, but they felt it was safer to go on up rather than come back down the face of the cliff without equipment. They were gone quite a while. We began to worry about them. Eventually they showed up coming from a different direction. They had indeed made it to the top, but they knew that they could not come down the way they went up. They came down a less formidable slope and walked around the base to us. They said that it was snowing on the top (it was August). It was quite a rock. It was one higher than I wanted or maybe was able to safely scale. If I were being pursued, it would have been a great place to climb for safety.
In the adventures of life we sometimes need a place that is unscaleable to which we can climb for safety. Sometimes the reason that the place of safety is safe is because it is unscaleable. We need help to get to the top. We need someone to lead us to the top. The events of David’s life were crushing down upon him. He needed to be led to that rock that was higher than he. He needed that place of safety. He knew the Lord was the One who could lead him. He knew that there was only One place of shelter. It was the wings of the Almighty. I am reminded this morning that he is my place of safety. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor John
EZEKIEL 30
It was one of those scenes that will be embedded in my mind until I die. I exited church as quickly as it was over and walked home. I was not home more than 5 or 10 minutes when mom drove partially into our driveway, got out went inside and got my dad. My older brother was sitting in the car crying. Walking over to find out what was wrong, I observed that his arm was in an unnaturally curved shape. He had fallen on the church steps and broken both bones of his forearm. It ran shivers up and down my spine to look at it. My parents took him to Stillwater to have the doctor tend to it. The doctor thought it was beyond his ability and wanted to send him on to Tulsa to have a specialist take care of it, but mom talked him in to setting it rather than causing him to ride two more hours in pain to Tulsa. Over the next few months his arm healed, but it sure limited the things he could do.
When God says that He will break the arms of Egypt, and He will break the broken one twice, I cringe. I remember the unnatural curvature of my brother’s arm. I remember the cry of pain. I remember the months of limited mobility. Egypt, the past military power of the world, God says that He will break his arms. He will scatter Egypt among the nations. Today that would be like saying, “I will break the arms of the USA and scatter him throughout the nations.” Could anyone of that day have believed it? Do you think anyone cringed at the word of the Lord through Ezekiel? Yet, He did it. Nebuchadnezzar defeated Egypt. Egypt has never been the top world power since. God does what He says He will do! That is His glory! Indeed, we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
1 CORINTHIANS 11:17-34
Nothing should demonstrate the glory of our Lord so clearly as communion. What do we see in communion? First, we see the sacrifice of His body and blood. He gave them for us! He purchased our pardon with His death. Second, we see His death inaugurated (but not completed) the New Covenant. What is the New Covenant? His Law will be written on our minds and hearts. He will be our God and we His people. We will know Him. Our iniquities and sins, He will remember no more. Third, we see His victory over sin and death in His resurrection. No one but Jesus has or will defeat sin and death. Of all the billions of beings in existence, only He alone defeated sin and death. Fourth, we see that He is coming again to receive us to Himself. This time He will come as King of kings and Lord of lords. He will not come as a suffering servant. His suffering accomplished our redemption. His ruling will accomplish our obedience. Fifth, we see His healing. His body was broken for our healing. Consequently, when we approach the table in an unworthy manner, sickness sometimes ensues. Conversely, sometimes we see healing. He is our redeeming, empowering, risen, coming, healing King! Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
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