11/08/2012 - Learning with David

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Then David and all Israel played music before God with all their might, with singing, on harps, on stringed instruments, on tambourines, on cymbals, and with trumpets.

I Chronicles 13: 8

David was a first rank warrior. In his ruling, Israel was never defeated and the land lived peacefully. With all our strength, we also have to be warriors of The Lord on behalf of those who are by us, our family and whoever might need our assistance. The Kingdom of God was handed out to us, and for that reason, we must not serve The Most High recklessly, but with all our love.

As we read the writings of David we find directions on what steps we must take to do the divine work the right way; those who do it the way that king did will undoubtedly experience a great deal of good deeds from The Lord. That is the reason why God said He had found in him a man after His heart (Acts 13: 22). That is the kind of person that The Most High wants to find in you and me.

Today, The Almighty One wishes His children to give themselves to Him. His work will be much greater among us provided we consecrate ourselves to His service with all our strength. There is no other way to serve our Father unless we do so with all our soul and all our heart. There is a reward for those who serve Him that way.

Our strength is our understanding of the very essence of The Lord, of what we can do in Him and of what He wishes us to do. If you are not aware of those things yet you ought to get to learn them, otherwise your spiritual life will never be victorious. It is awfully sad to see some children of God being carried away by the enemy. Now, The Most High has called us up to be victorious over all things; after all, nothing less than victory is expected amongst the children of the Lord.

As King David went for The Ark of The Lord, he did not do it without telling others, quite the opposite; he invited all his people for that enterprise. He was respectful of the divine issues and then, because of that, he took the divine ordinances very seriously. We must not do the work of God recklessly; it has to be the very reason of our life! By the way, what about organising a thanksgiving service in a friend’s birthday party instead of a barbecue?

When the people of God brought the Ark, David rejoiced before The Most High with all of his strength. The king did not do so to impress anybody, but to honour The One who had done so much for him. We need to address the issues of our God with the same attention. Look, a miracle that occurs among us must cause us to rejoice even though we may not really be acquainted with the person that received such Grace.

The lost are to see that we really love our God, that we worship Him with all our faith, strength and capability. David took along with him musicians; singers and the other levites because he wanted to turn into a feast to the Lord the fact that they had the Ark of the Covenant back amongst them. May that kind of attitude exist in your life as well!

In Christ, with love,

R. R. Soares

 

 

12/03/2011 - Learning with David

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\”Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” (Psalm 51. 10)
David faced a terrible moment once, and he realized how serious his sin was when reprimanded by Prophet Nathan. Yet, though he had repented, it turns out he had to pay a high price for his attitude, so he called upon the Most High from his inner soul to be delivered from that temptation. His fall must serve us as an example; it teaches us we mustn’t give the devil a foothold.
That King of Israel was led to go through a dreadful experience due to his lack of judgement. Had he knew what was ahead due to his reckless attitude he’d have undoubtedly prayed to the Almighty God and asked Him to be delivered from that temptation. Yet, because he sinned once getting involved with Bath-Sheba, Uriah’s wife, his name was written in the adulterous and criminals list (II Samuel 11). Just like it reads in the story narrated by Prophet Nathan (II Samuel 12: 1- 4) in which a wealthy man took a little lamb from a poor man to serve as food instead of taking one out of his flock – David was tempted into having a sexual relationship with a woman who didn’t belong to him. Nobody should be carried away by the enemy to dishonour someone else’s household, whoever they might be. Now, every sin brings a penalty in itself; so the best thing to do is not to get involved with it.
Apparently nothing would happen to that King; yet, the Word of the Lord states that an error will always point out its author (Genesis 4: 10). So, on the great Day, the unveiled transgression in this life will not be overlooked by the eyes of flames of fire of the Lord. The good news is that God always sends for a Prophet to reveal their error to the fallen sinner; this way they can convert to Christ. On the other hand, those who go deaf to the voice of the Holy Spirit and don’t repent will march on towards eternal doom after the Judgment, when everything will be unveiled, where they’ll go through such suffering, from centuries to centuries, that can’t be compared to any other one seen on Earth, however they might’ve been.
A repented King of Israel then confessed his sin and paid a high price for his error. Those who’ve fallen; yet, they’re not brave enough to confess their sin have got no idea on how foolish they’re being; though they’ll have to take responsibility by facing the consequences here on Earth, the price will be infinitely smaller that the one they’ll pay in eternity. Those who were brave enough to commit an error should be as brave as before and confess their flaw. Suppose there was no eternal punishment; the fact of having their conscience being constantly hammered due to the transgression committed would be enough by itself for men to think of not sinning.
A repented David realized that that spirit of temptation would never leave him if he didn’t cry out with all his heart for a fresh start. He cried out with all of his strength as he asked for the divine Grace to have a new, pure, respectful and sensitive heart to the Spirit of God – in some cases, fasting is required indeed.
The sad experience of our beloved King of Israel should serve as example for all those who are playing with fire. Those who give the enemy a foothold don’t know they’re signing their letter of defeat; after all, they’ll never have peace either in this life or in the next if they don’t truly seek forgiveness. Take note: old sin doesn’t necessarily mean undone or forgiven sin.
My brother, God’s always keen on making His children feel good. Error is condemned by Him so we won’t be seized in the enemy’s hands; He’s a true Father and He wants us to be happy and free. So, we must always obey the voice of the Spirit of God!
In Christ, with love,
R. R. Soares