1 Sam. 17:37-39 - And Saul said to David, "Go, and may the LORD be with you." Then Saul clothed David with his garments and put a bronze helmet on his head, and he clothed him with armor. David girded his sword over his armor and tried to walk, for he had not tested them. So David said to Saul, "I cannot go with these, for I have not tested them." NASU
Saul was a very tall man (I Sam.9:2). There was no way his armor was going to fit on David. David respectfully informs King Saul he cannot wear them for he has not had time to test or train in them and off they come. Many times in life people will want us to be someone we are not. It is at times like this we need to be like David and be who we are.
He went as a shepherd who had FAITH in the God of Israel and he was going to be victorious. This is what David says to Goliath, 1 Sam. 17:45-46 - Then David said to the Philistine, "You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have taunted. 46 "This day the LORD will deliver you up into my hands, and I will strike you down and remove your head from you. And I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel,.… David informs Goliath the God of Israel is not only going to deliver him into his hands He is going to deliver the entire Philistine Army into his hands. David was comfortable being a shepherd. David was comfortable sharing his faith in the God of Israel. David knew God was the One who was directing his steps in this life.
We really must learn to be ourselves in this world. Think On This: You Can't Be The Best When You're Trying To Be Like The Rest. Be Yourself. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word
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2 Sam. 11:1 - Then it happened in the spring, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him and all Israel, and they destroyed the sons of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David stayed at Jerusalem. NASU
In most times home is the right place to be but not this time. He is to be leading his army into battle. He doesn't lead his men into battle and because of this one little change, David will find himself in more trouble than he possibly could have imagined. From this one seemingly little insignificant decision his whole world is about to change for the worse. He is going to make one bad decision after another and these bad decisions will cost him dearly. His life will never be the same and all because he was somewhere he shouldn't have been.
He stays home and he goes to bed but he can't sleep. So he gets out of bed and goes to his roof and there he sees a woman taking a bath. It just gets worse from here. He calls for Bathsheba and she is brought to him. Her husband is in the army and is in battle, where David should be. David has a sexual relationship with Bathsheba. She becomes pregnant and informs David. David tries to cover up his sin so he has Bathsheba's husband, Uriah, summoned back to Jerusalem. David is hoping Uriah would go to his house and have sex with his wife and his sin would be covered, but Uriah will not do such a thing. He says it this way: 2 Sam. 11:10-11 -Now when they told David, saying, "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 are staying in temporary shelters, 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? By your life and the life of your soul, I will not do this thing." David will try even harder to hide his sins. He has Uriah stay in Jerusalem with the king and David gets him drunk, thinking that when a man gets drunk he will want to have sex. Uriah got drunk but once again he will not have sex with his wife. David makes another very bad decision. He sends Uriah back to Joab with a message and the message says, to send Uriah into the heat of a battle and then withdraw from him leaving him all alone. David has now planned Uriah's death. The decision to commit adultery with Bathsheba and to kill Uriah all started when David made the decision to hang out in the wrong place.
David was a fool for sure with what he thought would be his little secretive operation of covering up his sins. But this is what God thought of David's action plan: 2 Sam. 11:27 - But the thing that David had done was evil in the sight of the LORD. Do yourself a favor and don't hang out in places that will only lead you into associating with trouble. Think On These: To profit from good advice requires more wisdom than to give it. A wise man learns from the experience of others. An ordinary man learns from his own experience. A fool learns from nobody's experience. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word John 5:36 - "… the very works that I do — testify about Me…" NASU
We strive to be truthful, honest and a person of integrity. No one truly admires a hypocrite. Jesus was the type of person we all strive to be. He was truthful, honest and a man of integrity.
John the Baptist was in prison and he is having some doubts about Jesus being the Messiah so he sends some of his men to ask Jesus if He were the One that was to come or should they be looking for another. Jesus gives them this answer in Luke 7:22-23 - And He answered and said to them, "Go and report to John what you have seen and heard: the BLIND RECEIVE SIGHT, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed , and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the POOR HAVE THE GOSPEL PREACHED TO THEM." NASU Oh yeah, He is the One all right because Isaiah prophesied that the Messiah would be doing exactly what Jesus said He has been doing. His works were testifying that He was the One sent by God.
I was at the bedside of a man who was going in for some major heart surgery. When we were all alone he confessed to me he had not been living his life correctly and he would like to have a second chance to make things right at home, at work and most importantly with the Lord. I prayed that he would come through his surgery successfully and the Lord would allow him time to change his legacy. I learned something really important from that brother that day and it was when you are faced with the possibility that you might die you really want to arrange your life according to those things which are really important.
If you said, "My family, my job or the Lord is important to me." Then your works should be your proof that your family, job or the Lord is really important to you. Don't say something is important to you and then have no works to support your statement because that will make you a hypocrite and this is certainly not what you're interested in accomplishing. It was really important for Jesus to stay focused on His goals and we see Him doing exactly that staying focused on His purpose for coming to earth. This is why He says His works testify about Him. So ask yourself this question: "What do your works say about you?" Think on These: The plain fact is that human beings are happy only when they are striving for something worthwhile. This will be a better world when the power of love replaces the love of power. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word John 3:16 - "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son,..."
God loved and He gave. If you are in love with someone you will give. You will give compliments, you will give your time, you will give affection, you will give your commitment, and you will give all kinds of gifts. These gifts might be made by you personally or they might be bought. These gifts can be inexpensive or very expensive it doesn't really matter.
Why, because I loved my mom. Just like other sons have loved their moms. If you are in Love you will Give. Can you remember when you first fell in love?
So my question was this, "When did you stop giving or Why did you stop giving?" When you answer either one or both of those two questions you will know why you are not in love with that person any longer. Some have stopped giving to the one they were married to and started giving to someone else. This union is on its way to an end if it continues down this path. You can't give gifts to one and be in love with another. The one who receives the gifts is the one you love. When you stop giving to someone you stop loving them. John says, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son…." God gave us a pattern of how to tell others you love them and it is by giving to them. God loves you and me because His gift is amazing. He continues to give to us exactly what we need. How can you tell you are in love? You will give gifts to them. When you are in love you will give. It is up to you what the gift is going to be. (Guys, I wouldn't try giving dandelions to your wife or girlfriend. Just Saying!) Think On This: Where there is no interest, there is no investment. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Luke 13:6-9 - And He began telling this parable:
“A man had a fig tree which had been planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and did not find any. “And he said to the vineyard-keeper, ‘Behold, for three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree without finding any. Cut it down! Why does it even use up the ground?’ “And he answered and said to him, ‘Let it alone, sir, for this year too, until I dig around it and put in fertilizer; and if it bears fruit next year, fine; but if not, cut it down.’ ”
So he being a good businessman who is interested in his bottom line says, “Cut it down!” If you don’t produce you are not going to take up space in my vineyard. The owner is interested in production from his trees and land. You believe you are able to make a difference in this person's life. You want the owner to trust you and your abilities for one year to make a difference. · Giving A Second Chance Tests Your Abilities The vinedresser or supervisor of the vineyard makes a suggestion to the owner. He says, “Let me invest some time and material into this tree.” In other words, he was going to take responsibility for the tree. The manager is interested in displaying patience and producing fruit. It was up to the manager to give the tree a second chance. Have you ever invested some time into someone that everyone else said, “Don’t do it, you are wasting your time that person is a loser”? If you have given someone a second chance, I hope they produced some fruit after you invested your time in them. This happened for Barry Davis, the head wrestling coach at the University of Wisconsin. He had a wrestler named, Kevin Wilmot, who quit the team. Coach Davis gave him a second chance. Kevin rewarded Coach Davis by winning the 167 pound Big Ten Championship and placing fourth at the NCAA's in 1997. Sometimes all that is needed in life is a second chance. It tells the person you believe in them. Today Kevin is a successful Chiropractor in Montana. Not everyone will take advantage of a second chance when given to them so you must be wise enough to know who is trying and who isn't trying. · Set Some Parameters When Giving The 2nd Chance 1. Set a Time Frame – the keeper of the vineyard asked for a one-year time frame from the owner. If you are going to work with someone to help them to grow and produce it is definitely a good idea to have a prearranged time frame. If you look at a college coach they know they have about 4-5 years to be able to work with their athlete to improve as long as the athlete stays in college. 2. Set an Agenda – the supervisor was going to dig around the tree and fertilize it. What is your plan to help this person become better and bear fruit? 3. Prepare to cut your losses – if the fig tree didn’t produce the farmer was willing to allow it to be cut down. If the person you are trying to help doesn't produce fruit then prepare yourself to cut ties with that person and move on to another one. One thing about this life, there are plenty of people who are in need of a second chance. What about you? Are you in need of a second chance? Or are you the one who needs to give someone a second chance? Think on These: Criticism should always leave a person with a feeling he has been helped. It is better to keep a friend from falling than to help him up after he falls. Offering good advice may be noble and grand, but it isn't the same as a helping hand. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word |
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