Love the Lord as a Man

1 Kings 2:4

David's Charge to Solomon

1 When the time drew near for David to die, he gave a charge to Solomon his son. 2 "I am about to go the way of all the earth," he said. "So be strong, show yourself a man, 3 and observe what the LORD your God requires: Walk in his ways, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and requirements, as written in the Law of Moses, so that you may prosperin all you do and wherever you go,

Interesting anecdote. David was a mans man: he was not as tall as saul but he was ruddy (chubby?) and good looking. Not as impressive as Saul. His definition of manhood is what set him apart: He instructed his son to be strong and show himself a man. How? By Observing what the Lord requires ie Walk in His ways. Keep his decrees, commands, laws and requirements. Thats is how to be a man. To be a man is to commit my heart and soul to God and do His will.

The Vine and the Branches

In John 15, Jesus distinguishes three level of Christians. The first, the one that does not bear fruit, is cut out, "taken away". Note that this applies to the vine that also stops bearing fruit. The second that bears some fruit is pruned that it may bear more fruit. It is continually pruned. Not once, not twice. The vinedresser will focuse his efforts and attention to the vine that is productive (like any human would) coninually removing dead or dying leaves and stems, in order to get maximum produce.

The initial qualifier is Jesus: Vs 3 states "As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me." We MUST abide in Him. To abide is to LIVE in Him. Not a single experience; not a once-a-week encounter. A daily walk.

I love vs3 "You are cleansed and pruned already, because of the word which I have given you [the teachings I have discussed with you]." Gods word is the pruning shears. Dividing asunder the soul and spirit, and the bone and marrow. His word have I hid in my heart that I may not sin against him. Psalms 19:11 By your word "is Your servant warned (reminded, illuminated, and instructed); and in keeping them there is great reward."

Vs 5 Whoever lives in Me and I in him bears much (abundant) fruit. However, apart from Me [cut off from vital union with Me] you can do nothing. Remember the fruit is a result of daily union and communion with Jesus, not a result of grand action. The acts of service come AS A RESULT of the fruit. Jesus was moved with compassion, and therefore went ahead to heal and deliver.

Finally, the cornerstone is love. Vs 16 You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you and I have appointed you [I have planted you], that you might go and bear fruit and keep on bearing, and that your fruit may be lasting [that it may remain, abide], so that whatever you ask the Father in My Name [as [b]presenting all that I Am], He may give it to you.
17 This is what I command you: that you love one another.

Paul sets out the fruit of the Spirit as being, first and foremost, Love. Again, of Faith, Hope and Love, Love is the greatest. Without me you can do nothing. God is love. So outside of love, we become unproductive and unfruitful.

Father give me love.
Love for the lost, love for the dying.
Love for the downtrodden and marginalised.
Love for the sick and ailing.
Love for the ignored and despised.

GIMME DAT!

Yup...I know...this song is TIIIGHT! Done by Ambassador (initially of Cross Movement. He is on XIST music now), produced by Cross Movement Records, enjoyed by myself and now you. Try not to kill the replay button OK?


The song did bring up a few thoughts that I have had for the past few months. To try and sum them all up in a phrase: seeking Gods hand, instead of seeking His face.


Let me expound. The prosperity doctrine, although initially extremely educative and faith inspiring (you cannot minister to the poor of you are poor yourself), seems to have devolved into the "gimme dat" syndrome. The focus thereof moved from seeking God first (as in Matthew 6:33) to “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.” (Luke 12:19). Is it any wonder that God called such a man a fool (Luke 12:20), not because of his wealth, but because his sense of security and measure of accomplishment were hinged on what he had in his storehouse. 


Have I fallen prey to the same? The rich young man in Luke 18:18 - 23 confidently told the Lord that he had kept all of Moses' commandments from his youth. For all intents and purposes, judging by the law of Moses, he was righteous. Nothing could be brought against him concerning his conduct, his speech, or his actions. And yet such a simple request from Jesus totally floored him. " Sell all that you have, give the money to the poor, and follow me". Of all the things he was doing, or things he prided himself he had done, this one act he wouldn't. Or maybe he couldn't? Did he posses his wealth, or did his wealth possess him?


To put the issue in context. God does not despise riches per se. In fact, as a show of favor, He liberally bestowed incredible wealth to his servants (Abraham, David, Solomon etc etc). The issue here is, where are my priorities? Who comes first? What is my wealth meant to do? How is it meant to be used?


I found a lovely article by Liberty Baptist Church (read the entire document here) from which I will throw a few points that were most helpful to me:

The Right use of wealth
The Pharisees regarded wealth as a sure sign of God’s blessing and proof that the person was righteous and certain of entering heaven. Christ used parables to correct this wrong thinking:
a) The wise use of present opportunities: The unjust steward (Luke 16:1-13).
A righteous person will act wisely, knowing that he must give account to God of his stewardship in the future. He will not misuse his money selfishly thinking only of the present. Christ commended the unjust steward, not for his dishonesty, but for wisely using present opportunities for future gain. Christ applied this truth to our use of wealth in v.8-13. If we are not faithful in handling worldly wealth now, who will entrust us with true riches later in eternity?
b) Material possessions are temporary. The Rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31).
Jesus teaches here that:
* Your wealth cannot save you.
* The beggar was saved because he trusted God for salvation, not because of
his poverty.
* Poverty is not necessarily a sign of God’s displeasure or punishment for sin.
* Poverty is no barrier to gaining true eternal riches.
c) The Result of selfishness and covetousness.
The Rich fool (Luke 12:16-21) parable shows that one’s use of wealth will reveal if he is righteous or unrighteous. This man, already wealthy, found his riches greatly increased by an abundant harvest. This increased wealth gave him an opportunity to show his love for God and fellow man by sharing his wealth with needy people. He refused to do this and instead stored them up for his own use. This wrong use of
wealth showed that he was unrighteous. Christ taught that we must rightly use our wealth now for other’s salvation, for earthly wealth to benefit us in the next life.

So Much More

So there I was...holding a worthless piece of paper after getting conned off my cash!! I was sooo horribly dissapointed! Aarrgghh! I hate losing money. What puzzled me most was that I had actually prayed through the decision, performed due diligence to the best of my ability, prayed again....and STILL got scammed.

Its at this point in time that one is most tempted to ask questions like "Where was God when I was asking for guidance? God knows I wasnt in this to get inordinately rich illegally or immorally, so why did He allow it to happen to me? Does this mean I am not supposed to try my had at business at all? How will I pay back the money I lost? What is the point of it all?".

Soon after though His Holy Spirit got through to me and I repented for not trusting my Father. Honestly! Nothing, absolutely NOTHING happens to the saints without our Fathers consent and approval. Even the devil needed his application rubber stamped in order to torment Job! Ergo, the Father has a plan for EVERYTHING that happens to us, both 'good' and 'bad' (in parenthses simply because if it is us defining events and occurrences as good or bad, then we have already judged our Father of evil, a grave fallacy indeed. I need to blog about that too...).

In hindsight, I have learnt quite a few valuable lessons from the ocurrence, and just when I thot it was over the below devotion came in. I must admit its weird and wonderful the way God wants to make Himself known to me, and the myriad of ways he accomplishes it.

"And Amaziah said to the man of God, But what shall we do for
      the hundred talents which I have given to the army of Israel?
      And the man of God answered, The Lord is able to give thee
      much more than this."
             -- 2 Chronicles 25:9

A very important question this seemed to be to the king of Judah, and
possibly it is of even more weight with the tried and tempted O
Christian. To lose money is at no times pleasant, and when principle
involves it, the flesh is not always ready to make the sacrifice. "Why
lose that which may be so usefully employed? May not the truth itself
be bought too dear? What shall we do without it? Remember the children,
and our small income!" All these things and a thousand more would tempt
the Christian to put forth his hand to unrighteous gain, or stay
himself from carrying out his conscientious convictions, when they
involve serious loss. All men cannot view these matters in the light of
faith; and even with the followers of Jesus, the doctrine of "we must
live" has quite sufficient weight.

The Lord is able to give thee much more than this is a very
satisfactory answer to the anxious question. Our Father holds the
purse-strings, and what we lose for his sake he can repay a
thousand-fold. It is ours to obey his will, and we may rest assured
that he will provide for us. The Lord will be no man's debtor at the
last. Saints know that a grain of heart's-ease is of more value than a
ton of gold. He who wraps a threadbare coat about a good conscience has
gained a spiritual wealth far more desirable than any he has lost.
God's smile and a dungeon are enough for a true heart; his frown and a
palace would be hell to a gracious spirit. Let the worst come to the
worst, let all the talents go, we have not lost our treasure, for that
is above, where Christ sitteth at the right hand of God. Meanwhile,
even now, the Lord maketh the meek to inherit the earth, and no good
thing doth he withhold from them that walk uprightly

From spurgeons Morning and evening. You can subscribe to these daily devotions here

PS Where your treasure is, there your heart is also (Matthew 6:21)

Step Out Into the Deep

For about two weeks now I have been struggling with a business situation: some goods I was expecting seem to be lost or delayed in transit. Potential customers are already asking questions and begining to doubt that they will get the goods they requested. Now a new avenue has opened up and it will take a large financial risk to begin a new business relationship. I have done as much due diligence as I am able to so now the onus is on me: should I step out into the deep?

I guess it is just me trying to stay within earshop of safe harbours. However, that is NOT where God dwells. He does business in the deep; where one totally and completely trusts Him, and Him alone.

Oh, and just to make things better, a pal sends me this devotion here below:

It takes no effort or faith to live in the familiar!
That’s why many are comfortable in the known...If Abraham never left he would have died unknown and unrecognized. The price of greatness is moving, going, risking and forsaking the past to lay hold on the future.

So there you have it. Amazing how GOd gives a loving, gentle nudge in the direction He wants you to go.

Here I am Lord; send me.

On Sibling Rivalry

I have been following Pastor Jon Coursons through-the-Bible teachings for a while now. I find his teachings extremely witty and yet "deep" and real, and best of all, totally applicable for day-to-day living.

This week he has been teaching from Matthew 18 (you can listen to it free here) and just happened to put the spotlight on something that my wife had brought up very recently.

Perhaps a bit of background will help here: my family is "special" (myself included!). Due to historical events that I really am not too sure about, weighty issues never get discussed. In fact, so much is swept under the rug i suspect there is more under there than there is above it! Unfortunately we (as the kids) tend to have picked it up: elephants in the room are politely requested to keep to the corners, everyone has full medieval armour so no toes are stepped on, and a special resin has been invented that keeps everything below the carpet.

You can see now that no deep, meaningful interraction ever took place. In fact, when I got married, I could not understand why my wife fought so hard with her siblings, and yet at the end of the day they still loved each other to bits! In our house, people hardly ever fought. An atmosphere of "tolerance" (read "emotional constipation") was the order of the day. Sadly, my mum was chief in ensuring the status quo remained, perhaps in an effort to have a peaceful household, but in the process creating an unreal atmosphere, a domestic utopia if you will, that, in hindsight, must have taken ALOT just to hold together.

So now here I am. My sisters are not talking to me because they were involved in a car accident (dont worry they are ok: just a badly dented rear) and I have been unable to go see them due to issues upon issues at my home. One of them sent me a text to tell me so. That got me wondering: where were they when I had a full head-on collision with a chap so drunk he couldnt even get out of his car? Or the time a truck almost took out the entire right side of my car?

And that is where God steps in. Here are a few scanty notes on Pastor Jons sermon:

-Humility: Humility is not thinking lowly of ourselves (that actually is a form of pride). Humility is not thinkng of ourselves at all. Being "other-people-centric" as opposed to ego-centric.
-Honesty: Speaking the truth in love. Remember: Truth without love is brutality, but love without truth is false (the latter is exactly where I am).
-Forgiveness: The pharisees taught that you had to forgive two, maybe three times. Peter must have thought he was pretty hot advocating for seven times. But no. Christ lovingly told him "seventy times seven" or (as in another gospel) as many times as you want to be forgiven.

So Lord please help me. Broaching issues is very difficult but I cant expect it to start with someone else. The change begins with me.

I do not know what to do but my eyes are on you (2 Chronicles 20:12)

Random Rhymes

Yes I know...I havent posted a thing in AGES! AEONS! Millenia even! So here goes. The below is a rhyme that came to mind when listening to my fave radio station - radio316. It was a country song about Noah singing in the rain. I found that an intriguing concept and decided to come up with something more...well...me :-)

Like Noah, singing in the rain
Daniel, dancing in the flames
Christ, walking on the waves
Peter, praising in the jails
Lot, watching as they blazed
The pharisees, confused and amazed
stood, abused and dismayed.
Like a fool and his ways
Judas, a fool who surveyed
Gods Tool to betray
But in the end
Jesus! Who rules and who says
"Come one, come all to Me,
All who are subdued and in pain"