“With upright heart he shepherded them and guided them with his skillful hand.” Psalm 78:72 (ESV) Does the tongue in your mouth line up with the tongue in your shoe? Is your talk in alignment with your walk? If so, that’s integrity! Honesty and truthfulness are garments that every child of God should feature. To be a person of integrity is to be honest about who you are and truthful in your conversation and your conduct. Perhaps you know of people who are loaded with talent, but lack integrity. In many cases, their talent took them farther than their character could sustain them. We have watched countless talented men and women fall into grave immorality due to the lack of integrity. In God’s economy, talent and skill are insufficient without integrity. God wants us to use the gifts and abilities He has blessed us with through the avenue of integrity. The level of our integrity determines the veracity of our testimony. Purity, honesty, and authenticity are vital components for the person God uses. King David was not perfect. He made some poor choices and leveraged his position to indulge his sinful appetite. Yet, in brokenness and humility, he confessed his sin and received God’s forgiveness. David shepherded the people with integrity. He led the people with skillful hands. God’s grace was more than sufficient for the race. David learned to depend upon God and to trust in His daily provision. If God can make someone like King David into a man after God’s own heart, then there’s hope for us. We can walk in integrity through our daily dependence upon God. Without His ample supply of grace, we have no chance of living a life of integrity. Let’s surrender completely to the Lord’s control and allow Him to live His life of integrity through us. Chronological Bible Reading Plan: (Day 116: Psalms 73, 77-78) Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell
Category: David
“And the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah.” 2 Samuel 2:4 (ESV) God’s will cannot be thwarted. God will accomplish His purposes and God will fulfill His plan. God’s timing is not always easy for us to understand with our human limitations. God is infinite and we are finite. There is a tremendous gap that our intellect cannot fill. God is omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent. In His grace and mercy, God chooses to use us in His master plan. From a human perspective, David seemed to be the least likely candidate to be anointed as king. In fact, his father Jesse did not even include him in the lineup when Samuel showed up. After Samuel examined the sons of Jesse, he inquired if Jesse had anymore. Jesse revealed to Samuel that he had his youngest son out in the field tending sheep. “And he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome. And the Lord said, ‘Arise, anoint him, for this is he.’ 13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward. And Samuel rose up and went to Ramah.” 1 Samuel 16:12-13 (ESV) God affirmed His selection by telling Samuel to anoint David. Many years passed from that moment of affirmation to the moment when the men of Judah came to anoint David king over the house of Judah. David had experienced major battles, heartbreak, and mourning the death of King Saul and Jonathan. Now it was time for David to reign as king. Wait for God’s timing. His timing is impeccable. God is working all things together for your good and His glory. Chronological Bible Reading Plan: (Day 111: 2 Samuel 1-4) Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell
“And David answered and said, ‘Here is the spear, O king! Let one of the young men come over and take it. 23 The Lord rewards every man for his righteousness and his faithfulness, for the Lord gave you into my hand today, and I would not put out my hand against the Lord’s anointed. 24 Behold, as your life was precious this day in my sight, so may my life be precious in the sight of the Lord, and may he deliver me out of all tribulation.‘” 1 Samuel 26:22-24 (ESV) David showed immense restraint a second time. He had the perfect opportunity to bring Saul’s evil pursuit to an end by killing Saul while he slept among his soldiers within the encampment. Saul’s spear was stuck in the ground at his head and could have easily been used by David to bring forth death. “And David said, ‘As the Lord lives, the Lord will strike him, or his day will come to die, or he will go down into battle and perish. 11 The Lord forbid that I should put out my hand against the Lord’s anointed. But take now the spear that is at his head and the jar of water, and let us go.’” 1 Samuel 26:10-11 (ESV) Instead of taking matters into his own hands, David entrusted Saul to God’s care. Instead of inflicting the just vengeance on his enemy, David allowed God to have His rightful place in executing justice in His own time. David showed tremendous restraint. If he were to interpret the circumstances before him, David would have quickly concluded that God had given Saul into his hands. David wisely looked beyond his immediate circumstances and viewed his opportunity through the grid of God’s sovereignty. What do you need to entrust to God’s sovereign care? Show restraint in your circumstances. Trust God! Chronological Bible Reading Plan: (Day 107: 1 Samuel 25-27) Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell
“Saul sent messengers to David’s house to watch him, that he might kill him in the morning. But Michal, David’s wife, told him, ‘If you do not escape with your life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed.’ 12 So Michal let David down through the window, and he fled away and escaped.” 1 Samuel 19:11-12 (ESV) God gave David tremendous favor as he stood before Goliath with his sling and smooth stone and defeated the giant in front of the army of Israel. God’s favor was upon David as he went into battle and as he sought to soothe Saul by playing the lyre. Saul hurled a spear at David seeking to pin hm to the wall, but David evaded him twice. David was now on the run in response to Saul’s evil pursuit and inflamed jealousy. David had married Saul’s daughter, Micah, and she found out that her dad was scheming to take David’s life. Wisely, she warned David and let him down through the window so that he could flee and escape Saul’s wrath. “But I will sing of your strength; I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning. For you have been to me a fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress. 17 O my Strength, I will sing praises to you, for you, O God, are my fortress, the God who shows me steadfast love.” Psalm 59:16-17 (ESV) In one of David’s darkest moments, he wrote this song to affirm his trust in God’s steadfast love. He acknowledge that God was his fortress and refuge. David sang praise to God and affirmed his dependency upon the Lord. How do you respond to unfair treatment? How do you respond to adversity? Rest in God’s steadfast love. Find refuge in the Lord and affirm Him as your fortress. In your weakness, He is strong! Chronological Bible Reading Plan: (Day 103: 1 Samuel 18-20; Psalms 11,59 ) Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell
Categories
Removing Saul’s Armor
“Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head.” 1 Sam 17:38 (NIV) As you can imagine, King Saul had the latest in warfare technology. His armor was the best of the best and fit for a king. Yet, Saul tried to shroud the shepherd boy, David, with this state of the art technology and it just didn’t fit. The armor that was to enhance David’s ability to combat and defeat Goliath actually became a major hindrance. Technology has a way of enhancing our lives doesn’t it? We have more technology at our fingertips than at any other time in history. We are in the fast lane when it comes to our technology. Yet, it seems that over the years we have not really had technology; technology has had us. Instead of technology enhancing our lives, it has the potential of hindering us from the living the life God has given us. Maybe it’s time to go back to the One who Created us and ask Him to show us our five smooth stones and sling. God created us to fulfill His agenda in His power with the technology of His choosing. Perhaps we have replaced our dependency upon God with an obsessive dependency upon technology. Can we really make it without email, cell phones, text messaging, and the Internet? We often equate a spiritual fast with giving up food for a season. What if we sought to realign our lives with God’s agenda through a disciplined technology fast? It is possible that we may create more space for doing life God’s way? Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell
Categories
Space Invaders (4)
“Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head.” 1 Sam 17:38 (NIV) Technology can become a space invader. As you can imagine, King Saul had the latest in warfare technology. His armor was the best of the best and fit for a king. Yet, Saul tried to shroud the shepherd boy, David, with this state of the art technology and it just didn’t fit. The armor that was to enhance David’s ability to combat and defeat Goliath actually became a major hindrance. “David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them. ‘I cannot go in these,’ he said to Saul, ‘because I am not used to them.’ So he took them off.” 1 Sam 17:39 (NIV) “Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine.” 1 Sam 17:40 (NIV) Technology has a way of enhancing our lives doesn’t it? We have more technology at our fingertips than at any other time in history. We are in the fast lane when it comes to our technology. Yet, it seems that over the years we have not really had technology; technology has had us. Instead of technology enhancing our lives, it has the potential of hindering us from the living the life God has given us. Maybe we need to find ourselves once again. Maybe it’s time to go back to the One who Created us and ask Him to show us our five smooth stones and sling. God created us to fulfill His agenda in His power with the technology of His choosing. Could it be that we have replaced our dependency upon God with an obsessive dependency upon technology. Instead of allowing technology to help us fulfill the Great Commission in our generation, maybe we have become distracted by the technology to the point of losing our focus and sacrificing our passion. What if God called us to a technology fast? Can we really make it without email, cell phones, text messaging, and the internet? Will we stop breathing? Can life continue if we aren’t connected to our technology? We always equate a spiritual fast with giving up food for a season. What if we sought to realign our lives with God’s agenda through a disciplined technology fast? It is possible that we may create more space for doing life God’s way… Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor