The challenges of a righteous man….(part 1)

Good day friends!

I will be doing a four part series on David the man after God’s

heart. David loved God with all of his heart but it wasn’t easy.

He went through a lot and his relationship with God was tested

immensely! I want to talk about some of the challenges he faced.

There is no doubt God had an amazing plan for David’s life but

we need to realise that the enemy didn’t sit back and let it be. he

fought and at times he seemed to be victorious BUT

God was with David and saved him from all of his trials! I hope

and pray this series is a blessing to you. Let’s get started….

 

“Then the Jebusites said to David, You shall not come in here.

But David took the stronghold of Zion, that is, the City of David.

And David said, whosoever smites the Jebusites first shall be

chief and commander. Joab son of Zeruiah [David’s half sister]

went up first, and so he was made the chief.

1 Chronicles 11:5, 6

 

This was one of David’s worst decisions. This decision would

impact his life in a way he would never expect. Instead of

seeking the Lord like he always did he turned to his flesh!

He left the decision of who would be his chief and commander

to a test of physical strength! Now get me right, there are a

few things Joab did right but the bad things far outweigh the

good.

You might think I am over exaggerating but look at the

consequences of David’s decision:

 

Joab murders Abner against David’s wishes.

(Read 2 Samuel 3:21-30)

Okay fair enough, Abner had killed Joab’s brother Asahel but

Joab still went against David’s wishes.

 

Joab kills Absalom, David’s son (Read 2 Samuel 18:14, 15)

Yes, Absalom took over David’s kingdom and even sought

to kill him but after being instructed by David (2 Samuel 18:5)

to not kill Absalom, Joab still went ahead and killed him.

 

Not convinced Joab was the wrong choice? Let me share a

few more incidents that will convince you otherwise:

 

Joab kills Amasa (Read 2 Samuel 9:10)

 

Joab betrays David by supporting Adonjah rather than Solomon

the promised king. (1 Kings 1: 7)

 

To conclude read 2 Samuel 23:8-39

All of David’s mighty men are mentioned but Joab’s name

is not there.

 

Look at how one decision made in the flesh impacted David’s

life. David always sought the Lord in his decision making.

But this one decision made in the flesh cost him much.

We need to always seek the Lord when making decisions. And

please understand,

I am not talking about deciding between drinking coffee

or tea tonight. 🙂  That’s not the kind of decision making I am

talking about. I hope you get the gist of what I mean.

David made a mistake. He made a really important decision

without seeking God and he paid a hefty price for it.

May we always seek the Lord in everything we do.

As we seek the Lord for His direction and guidance in the

decisions we have to make know it pleases Him.

It shows Him our faith in Him.

So as I end the lesson is this,

 

Seek the Lord! Things go horribly wrong when God is taken

out of the decision making process. Seek the Lord in every decision

you make!

Bless you….

 

Rolain

 

 

 

 

Looking out at the Red Sea…..

 

They needed You Lord…….

The enemy was not far behind…..

Not just any army, but one of the best armies in the world….

Death, murder was on their minds….

As the people turned away they were faced with the Red Sea…..

Dead end…..

All hope was lost, we are doomed they cried out….

“Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have

taken us away to die in the wilderness?” Exodus 14:11

“There is no where to run to” they thought….

“We are trapped” they thought…..

“God has abandoned us” they thought…..

As they looked out at the Red Sea that is all they saw….

They failed to see the deliverance of God as they looked out…

 

We know the story well. We know God came through. He

parted the Red Sea and the Egyptians all died!

But I want to show you something I saw the other day.

The Israelites looked at the Red Sea and saw a dead end but

this is what the word says:

 

Your way [in delivering Your people] was through the sea, and Your paths through the great waters, yet Your footsteps were not traceable, but were obliterated. (‭Psalm‬ ‭77‬:‭19‬ AMP)

 

God’s deliverance was through the Red Sea!!!

What does that mean?

 

You may be in a hard place with no way out but God will

make a way for you.

You may think you are doomed and the enemy has won

but God will make a way for you!

He will part a Red Sea if He needs to…..!

You may feel trapped but He will free you…..

The enemy may seem strong and powerful but against

God they are powerless to do anything to us……

 

As you look out at the Red Sea see the deliverance of God!!

He will come through for you…..

The way may seem closed, like the enemy has won but

that is not true!!!! There is a way!

We serve a mighty God indeed…..

He is our Deliverer!

Look out across your Red Sea and see the deliverance of God!

Rolain

 

 

 

 

 

 

God is not racist…..??!!!!

After this, I saw a large crowd with more people than could be counted. They were from every race, tribe, nation, and language, and they stood before the throne and before the Lamb. They wore white robes and held palm branches in their hands, (‭Revelation‬ ‭7‬:‭9‬ CEVUK00)
Two things come to mind when I read this scripture:

God is not racist. God loves all races, nations and tribes! There is no nation that is superior to another. There is no superior race. God has a plan for you whoever you are. It doesn’t matter where you were born, what colour you are, what tribe you are from, He has called you!!!!
It’s people that place limitations on us, not God.
God is the One who breaks the limitations!

The other thing that came to mind was, The gospel is for everyone! It’s not for a select few! It’s a one size fits all kind of gospel. God wants you, whoever you are. You may think you are not redeemable but you are. God’s spirit is roaming the earth and He is calling everyone to Him! Did you hear me, EVERYONE!!!!
The gospel is for everyone! Turn and repent.
He is calling the poor, the rich, the lost, the hopeless, the murderer, the fearful, the weak, the ignorant, to Him.

This is the God we serve! He is amazing in the things He does! Amen!

Rolain

They truly missed it……….

Then they brought Jesus from Caiaphas into the Praetorium (judgement hall, governor’s palace). And it was early. They themselves did not enter the Praetorium, that they might not be defiled (become ceremonially unclean), but might be fit to eat the Passover [supper].
John 18: 28

I was reading this verse when it occurred to me how far off the mark the pharisees were. They did not enter the Praetorium because they didn’t want to defile themselves!! If they defiled themselves they would not be able to partake of the Passover meal. Are you serious???!!!!  Didn’t they know the Passover was a shadow of Christ? They had the Messiah with them, the sacrificial Passover lamb but they didn’t realize it!!!!

That got me thinking about the Pharisees. How did they get so blind? We can learn a lot from them for sure. The one thing that came to mind was law and tradition. To the pharisees everything was about law and tradition. You had to do this and do that. Wash your hands in this way, pray this way, you have to, you have to……
And because of that attitude their hearts became hardened. Grace was not part of their vocabulary.
We need to be careful. Are we living by law or by grace?

Now a great crowd of the Jews heard that He was in Bethany, and they came there, not only because of Jesus but that they also might see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead.
So the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death also,  John 12:9, 10

The Pharisees were out of control and they were supposed to be spiritual leaders!!!
Another attitude that contributed to their crazy behavior was the fact that they thought works was enough! They relied on their own strength to get them to heaven. They thought by doing, they could obtain salvation. They prayed, tithed, went to church, memorized scripture, fasted, all because they thought it would impress God…..How wrong they were. Our works in the sight of God, are like filthy rags! Works are not enough.

Something else to notice about is this, to the pharisees everything was about what you could see. They focused all their attention on the external instead of what was on the inside. They measured themselves and other people on outward appearances!!! They ignored the heart. They never searched their own hearts. They never realized their hearts and become hardened. What a shame.

All these things blinded them. They blinded them and hardened their hearts. Let us be careful how we walk. Ask God for wisdom. Let us not be like the Pharisees who missed God. We can easily be misguided just like the them. Let us be aware of the enemies devices…….

Rolain