BrothersOfTheBook.com

Brothers,

Something has corrupted my blog.  It is not any kind of attack.  There appears to be some kind of glitch in one of the bits of software used in this process of delivering the blog.

I’m working with support folks and hope to have things solved in the very near future.  In the mean time the website will have difficulty loading in your browser.  If you are receiving the daily e-mails instead of going to the blog itself then you may not have noticed any problem.

If you don’t receive the e-mail, that may be the best way to ensure you gain access to the daily posts.  If you wish to sign up for the e-mail click on the “Reading Schedule” tab above and look to the right hand navigation panel.  There you will see a place to enter your e-mail address.  This is a double opt in system so you will be sent an e-mail to which you must respond in order to start receiving the daily e-mail.

I’m sorry for the inconvenience brothers.  Your prayers are coveted!

Your brother and servant in Christ,

Bill

A Man After His Own Heart

1 Samuel 13-14

Boy that Saul is a real hothead!  I’m afraid I see a little bit of myself in his impatience.  I want to get things done.  I’m impatient with delay.  I don’t like excuses.  It’s not that I don’t accept excuses, I fully understand that things can slow us down; I’m just impatient with the delay which makes me impatient with the excuse or reason.  When I’ve finally had enough of standing around doing nothing I become a bit of a bull in a china shop.  In a huff I take charge and start giving orders.  “If you won’t do then I will!”  I knock those old excuses aside like so many flies; and if I think I’m about God’s work, well look out!

Do you think this can get me in trouble?  It can.  It has.  It will.  In today’s reading we see that such impatience has a pretty big consequence for Saul and his descendants.  Saul became impatient waiting for Samuel to come and perform the sacrifice; the burnt offering and the peace offering.  Having called the people together to go to war against the Philistines, and seeing them begin to disperse because Samuel is late in coming to make the sacrifice, he decides to take matters into his own hands and offer the sacrifice himself.  Hey, he’s king right?  He can do what he wants right?  Nope.

Saul violated God’s law because he thought his position placed him above the law.  Maybe he thought that since he was God’s anointed king, and he was attempting to show respect by making the sacrifice, that he wasn’t really breaking God’s law.  I wonder if you and I do that sometimes.  After all, we are children of the King and we are no longer under the law, so if we are a bit of a bull in the china shop for God it’s okay.

God is God and we are not.  We don’t get to excuse our own bad behavior because we’ve convinced ourselves that we are “doing it for God”.  When we speak out of self-centeredness instead of love we are not “doing it for God.”  When we ram-rod our agenda through the body of Christ to satisfy our own self-centered desires instead of speaking and acting out of love for our brothers and sisters in Christ, we are not “doing it for God.”  We are doing it for our little mini-me; our little Napoleon inside.

What are the consequences for Saul?

1 Samuel 13:13-14

“And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the command of the Lord your God, with which he commanded you. For then the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever.  But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be prince over his people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.”

Notice that Samuel says “the Lord has sought out a man after His own heart”.  Saul was taking on the world his way not God’s way.  His heart was set on himself not God.  The line of the kings of Israel will not continue through Saul.  I suspect his faithful son Jonathan, would have made a very Godly king but, alas, the deeds of the father have doomed the son.  David will be raised up and it is through his line that the salvation of all mankind will come in the form of Jesus Christ.  As we will see, David will be consistently referred to as a man after God’s own heart.  He will sin, and there will be consequences, but in leading the nation he will obey the Lord.

Brother is your heart set on yourself or are you a man after God’s own heart?  If I had to pick one image to represent the entirety of the Bible I might select the heart, for while it would point to God’s incredible love, it would also point to the need for our hearts to be wholly given to Him.  Where is your heart?  Does it belong to you or does it belong to God?  Remember that your children are watching.  How they see you relate to God will have a major impact on how they relate to Him as well.

No one said it would be ease to be a man, but whether we like or not we all need to man up by surrendering our hearts to God and providing the example God intends us to be.  In your own strength this is impossible but with God all things are possible!

Have a great day brothers!

Your brother and servant in Christ,

Bill

Dying to self, living to serve!

God Gave Him Another Heart

1 Samuel 9-12

When will we learn that God does not judge by human standards?  When Saul learns that God chosen him to be Israel’s first king he says:

1 Samuel 9:21

“Saul answered, ‘Am I not a Benjaminite, from the least of the tribes of Israel? And is not my clan the humblest of all the clans of the tribe of Benjamin? Why then have you spoken to me in this way?’”

A king chosen from the humblest tribe and humblest clan; yep that’s how you and I would have chosen right?  Well we might have chosen him because of his height; he was literally head and shoulders above everyone in Israel.  God chose him specifically because he was of the most humble tribe and clan.  You see the more exalted the individual the less likely they are to follow God’s leading.  Eventually Saul will get too big for his britches but right now he’s just a tall frightened young man.

In fact, when he is publicly chosen by lot to be king he is found hiding behind the luggage.  Why is Saul frightened?  God told him in advance he was chosen.  God then gave him several signs to confirm what was told him was true.  He is even selected by lot before all Israel.  Does he doubt God?  No.  He doubts himself.

I see a lot of Saul in you and me.  God has a plan for each of us and while we don’t really doubt God we doubt ourselves.  When will we get it through our head that to doubt ourselves when God has selected or appointed us is to doubt God?  He deliberately chooses those that must depend upon Him to fulfill their purpose otherwise man would take credit for what God has done.

Now please don’t misunderstand me.  Doubt can be productive if it is part of a process of humbly seeking God’s will.  We don’t want to get out in front of Him, but when God tells you to do something there is no room for doubt that it can be done.  You are absolutely right; you can’t do it.  He can and will do it through you when you step up and obey.

Notice what we are told about Saul as he departs from Samuel:

1 Samuel 10:9

“When he turned his back to leave Samuel, God gave him another heart. And all these signs came to pass that day.”

Isn’t that the same with you and me?  God chose us and He gave us another heart.  Rarely has such a simple sentence said so much!  We’ll hear of God changing hearts again momentarily.

Changing gears; notice what Samuel says to the people of Israel before selecting their king:

1 Samuel 10:18-19

“Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all the kingdoms that were oppressing you.’  But today you have rejected your God, who saves you from all your calamities and your distresses, and you have said to him, ‘Set a king over us.’”

This seems like Bizzaro World to me.  God has done all these great things for us but we acknowledge we don’t want Him; we want some flawed human being to be our king.  They reject the God of all creation who saved them from all their calamities and distress, but accept His selection of a mere mortal as their king.  These folks are “loco en el cabasa!”  Okay, my freshman year high school Spanish is a bit rusty but they really are crazy in the head!

1 Samuel 10:26

“Saul also went to his home at Gibeah, and with him went men of valor whose hearts God had touched.”

Here is God changing and touching hearts again.  Notice as well that God does not abandon Saul who He called to His purpose.  God provided for his safety.  Never doubt that God will do what He said He would do.  If He calls you to a purpose your job is to obey; He’ll take care of the rest.

Toward the end of today’s reading the people of Israel seem to come to their senses at least to a small degree.  Samuel gives them a warning:

1 Samuel 12:14-15

“If you will fear the Lord and serve him and obey his voice and not rebel against the commandment of the Lord, and if both you and the king who reigns over you will follow the Lord your God, it will be well.  But if you will not obey the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then the hand of the Lord will be against you and your king.”

That’s the way it has always been.  They really haven’t changed anything by requesting a king.  This warning is also prophesy for the fortunes of Israel will follow this pattern.  When they follow the Lord things go well.  When they rebel things go horribly wrong.  For you and me it is a different time but the same truth.

At the end they are once again afraid of the consequences of their ill considered choices.  I found Samuel’s response to the people’s request that he pray for them.  He said:

1 Samuel 12:23

“Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you, and I will instruct you in the good and the right way.”

Interesting that; Samuel is clearly disgusted with the people’s choices.  He could certainly justified turning his back on the people if he operated by human standards.  He says however that it would be a sin against God to cease praying for them.  He continues to say that he will instruct them in the good and right way.  Brothers, I get pretty discussed with this lost world.  Sometimes I feel like the lost just have it coming.  Come on Lord let’em have it!  They deserve it!  They have rejected you!  They have turned their back on you!

That is not His way.  God teaches us through Samuel that we are to pray for lost.  We are to care about them.  We are to instruct them in the good and right way.  Remember, “For God so love the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”  How can we hate the lost when God loves them so much; when He love us so much.  “There, but for the grace of God, go I.”  As Samuel says:

1 Samuel 12:24

“Only fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart. For consider what great things he has done for you.”

Have a blessed day brothers!

Your brother and servant in Christ,

Bill

Dying to self, living to serve!

When Times Are Good, God Is Forgotten

1 Samuel 5-8

Yesterday, the Israelites looked to the Arch of the Covenant to save them from the Philistines.  As a result of trusting the Creator they trusted the created.  They were soundly defeated and the Philistines took the Arch of the Covenant as a spoil of war.  Since the time the Israelites took possession of the Promised Land until now they have behaved as a yo-yo.  God blesses them and times are good so they forget about Him and wander away.  Times get hard and they remember God and return to Him.  God blesses them, times are good and they wander away.  This is a never ending cycle.

Years ago I went through Henry Blackaby and Claude King’s multi-week study entitled “Experiencing God” with my wife.  One of the things that struck me was their model of how we tend to walk with God.  God is always active.  He never changes.  His will and purpose remain on course.  God’s people tend to depart from Him by accepting substitutes for Him, His purposes, and His ways.  This departure always leads to trouble and God allows the difficulty as a means of disciplining His people so they might return to Him.  As His discipline intensifies, His people finally turn to Him, repent and cry out for relief.  Those that repent experience revival through a restored right relationship with Him and they walk with Him for a time.  Unfortunately we tend to repeat this process over and over again just as we see Israel do in the Bible.

Times are good; we don’t really think we need God – “I got this!”  Things get bad; we cry out – “God!  Where are you?”  That’s what we see in Israel.  Things have finally gotten bad enough that they are ready to admit their need for Him.  They turn to Him in true repentance.  They no longer call on the created to help them.  They call on the Creator.

1 Samuel 7:3-6

“And Samuel said to all the house of Israel, “If you are returning to the Lord with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you and direct your heart to the Lord and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.” So the people of Israel put away the Baals and the Ashtaroth, and they served the Lord only.  Then Samuel said, “Gather all Israel at Mizpah, and I will pray to the Lord for you.” So they gathered at Mizpah and drew water and poured it out before the Lord and fasted on that day and said there, “We have sinned against the Lord.” And Samuel judged the people of Israel at Mizpah.”

They returned with all their heart.  They confessed their sin and repented.  They fasted and prayed.  God heard them and restored them and saved them from their sin and the consequences of that sin; the Philistines.  He gave them peace.

It didn’t last.  They went their own way again.  They decided they wanted to be like other nations following the dictates of a man rather than those of God.  The demanded a king.  God knows what’s going on.

1 Samuel 8:7

“And the Lord said to Samuel, “Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them.”

There it is.  That’s been the problem from day 1.  Adam and Eve rejected God from being king over them, the Israelites rejected God from being King over them, and you and I brother rejected God from being King over us.  Now as Christians we have turned to Him, confessed our sin, repented and excepted the gift of Christ to return us to right relationship with God.  Why is it, however, that as His chosen people, we can see His power and faithfulness in our own lives and act like the Israelites and wander away when times are good?

As Christians we no longer reject his Kingship, but I’m afraid we continue to wander away from His path only to come back crying to our Father for our wayward ways.  Brothers, my hope for you is that you will wander less and less.  My hope for you is that you will stand firm in the presence of the Lord.  Don’t let anything else be your king.  God is your only King!

Have a blessed day brothers!

Your brother and servant in Christ,

Bill

Dying to self, living to serve!

Men,

I’m afraid I had some technology problems that prevented today’s post from being delivered at its usual time.  I hope it was not an inconvenience for any of you.

I hope I am through my challenges but won’t know for sure until the next post.

Thank you for your patience with me as I attempt to get things back on track.

Your brother and servant in Christ,

Bill

Not By Might Shall A Man Prevail

1 Samuel 2-4

Yesterday we read that Hannah, the wife of Elkanah, was barren.  She went to the Lord in prayer vowing to dedicate any son given her to Him.  The text leads me to believe that she was consistent in her pursuit of God.  She came consistently in faith and humility, and God granted her request.  Samuel was born, and, as soon as he was weaned, he was taken to the tabernacle and given to the priest Eli.

Hannah was in right relationship with God as her prayer, at the beginning of today’s reading, illustrates.  In that prayer is the line taken as the title of today’s post; “not by might shall a man prevail”.  Hannah, in right relationship, requested a son to dedicate to the glory of God.  Having granted that prayer, He blessed her further giving her three more sons and two daughters.  Be sure to understand that Hannah was not granted her prayer request because she made a deal with the Lord.  She was granted her request because she was in right relationship with God and it served His purpose to do so.  She did not manipulate God into granting her request.  She prevailed in her desire to have children not in her own might but by God’s.

Now consider Eli’s sons and the rest of Israel.  Eli’s sons were priests.  They were priests by right of their birth not their piety.  They used their “birth right” to steal from the people and, more tragically, from God.  They would come into a home and say something like “I am God’s priest so give me what I want or I’ll take it from you.”  They used the authority of God to indulge their self-centeredness and abuse others.  How long do you think God would allow something like that to continue?

Remember this is just another example of the “lostness” of Israel.  Almost all of the people are doing what seems right in their own eyes as we read in Judges.  As a nation they have wandered an extreme distance from God.  In essence they have lost God.  1 Samuel 4 tells us that Israel went out to war against the Philistines.  It does not tell us that they sought God’s leadership in this pursuit.  When they experienced defeat, they vaguely remember that the Arch of the Covenant was part of ancient Israelite many victories so they decided to use this tool to defeat their enemy and obtain the victory they desired.

They viewed the Arch as the potential source of their salvation instead of God Himself.  “Let us bring the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord here from Shiloh, that it may come among us and save us from the power of our enemies” (1 Samuel 4:3).  Again, did they turn to God in contrition, faithfulness, and humility to seek His guidance and blessing?  It was God who directed the battles and worked through His people to provide ancient Israel its victories.  The current crop of Israelites seems to have only vague memories of God.  When God doesn’t bless one scheme they concoct another assuming that God will do their bidding if they just use the right tool.

The Israelites could not defeat the Philistines in their own power and they couldn’t manipulate God into doing their bidding either; “not by might shall a man prevail”.  It was right relationship that mattered, and they had no understanding of this.  Defeat was inevitable as was the death of Eli’s sons.  At this point they have lost everything.  Even the Arch of the Covenant, which was a symbol of God’s presence in Israel, and which contained a copy of the law, departed Israel.  Please note that God did not leave Israel.  Israel left God.  The sudden loss, or departure, of the Arch was just a final symbolic occurrence that echoed what had already occurred in reality.  The Israelites had lost sight of God.

My friends, when we allow our self-centered, secular impulses to rule, and we pursue our own desires, we go further and further from God, just as Israel did so long ago.  The outcome for our lives can be no different than theirs.  How often do you pursue what seems right in your own eyes only to turn to God in an attempt to manipulate Him into granting your desire when things finally go wrong?  When you finally turn and cry out does He seem far from you?  God did not leave you my fellow prodigal son.  You left Him.

I have experienced this very phenomenon in my own walk as a Christian.  I have been on the mountaintop.  I have had a right relationship with God and experienced incredible joy and peace only to allow the cares of the world and the desires for other things intrude and distract me; leading me down  off the mountain.  Inevitably I discovered I was living as if I were a slave to sin even though I had been set free.  God felt very far from me but He hadn’t left me.  I had wandered away from Him.  His Holy Spirit within me cried out every step of the way but I was too focused on myself to hear.

Like the prodigal son, I had to turn around and run back to my Father.  He had been watching all along and embraced me upon my return.  I’m back where I belong now.  My Father is still raising me to be the man He intended.  I still get disciplined, but I welcome it now.  Every day I look to Him, for I have no intention of ever losing sight of Him again.

How about you brothers?  Have you lost sight of God?  Or are you like Eli?  Have you let your children lose sight of God?

1 Samuel 3:12-13

“On that day I will fulfill against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end.  And I declare to him that I am about to punish his house forever, for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming God, and he did not restrain them.”

It is not enough for us to simply keep our eyes on Jesus Christ.  As the spiritual leaders of our families we have a responsibility to call and guide our children and spouse to do the same.  Eli’s sons were grown men but the verse above shows that he still had an obligation to at least attempt to “restrain them”.  Even if your children are out of the house you can call them back to right relationship with God.  You can set a good example by how you lead your own life.  You can pray for them.  You can invite them to go to church with you.  What you can’t do is give up.  Do your part and place your trust in God.

We cannot control the actions of other people.  We can control our own actions.  As I re-read my list of things you can do in calling grown children back to the Lord, I’m struck by a memory of a deficient view I once held of prayer.  I have been known to say “All we can do is pray”, as if that were a weak little shoulder shrug of a final flickering hope.  I’m grateful to Pastor Jim Cross who during a sermon stated that prayer was not a last resort or feeble hope; it was the best thing we could do.  It is only when we understand our poverty of strength and turn to God in prayer and place all in His capable hands that we have incredible power.  Prayer is a first, second, third, and last resort.  We are to pray without ceasing.  It is not by might that any of us will prevail.  It is only when, like Hannah, we come consistently, faithfully, and in humility before the one true God, and pursue His will in prayer, that all things become possible.

Brothers, as the hymn says:

Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face and the things of Earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.

Stay focused!

Have a great day!

Your brother and servant in Christ,

Bill

Dying to self, living to serve!