Do you think of God like St. Nick? You may have a different answer to that question after watching this video.
Resource
Anti-Santy Ranty from 10ofthose.com on Vimeo.
A Man After God’s Own Heart: Connecting the Cross to 1 Samuel
I have been reading through 1 Samuel this last week. When I came to chapter 13, something struck me while reading the discourse between Samuel and Saul. Let me give you some background information before jumping into their discourse.
Narrative
Saul was set to again fight against the Philistines after Jonathan had initial defeated them at Geba. After their defeat, the Philistines came out strong with thirty thousand chariots and six thousand horsemen and troops. The text says, “They were like the sand on the seashore in multitude” (1 Samuel 13:5). This caused the Hebrews to be afraid, some crossed over the Jordan, others hid, and the men who were Saul at Gilgal trembled. This was obviously a tense time for the nation of Israel and their leader Saul. There newly installed king had won a military victory once against the Ammonites and his son Jonathan had defeated the Philistines, but Jonathan’s victory seemed only to anger the Philistines, causing them to come out against the Israelites even stronger.
Apparently, Samuel had told Saul to wait at Gilgal for seven days (1 Samuel 10:8), but Samuel did not show up in the allotted time (1 Samuel 13:8). As a result, the people following Saul began to leave. Instead of waiting for Samuel, the prophet of God, Saul decides to proceed without him in offering sacrifices to the Lord. Just as Saul had finished offering burnt offerings, Samuel shows up and asks, “What have you done?” Sauls response is telling of his heart. He says,
“When I saw that the people were scattering from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines had mustered at Michmash, I said, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal and I have not sought the favor of the Lord.’ So I forced myself, and offered the burnt offering” (1 Samuel 13:11-12).
Samuel responds by telling Saul that he has not obeyed the commandments of the Lord, and, as a result, the kingdom will be taken from him. Immediately afterward he tells him,
“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” (1 Samuel 13:14).
Later on in Chapter 15 we read about another instance when Saul rejected the commandments of the Lord and did what the people wanted. There he did not kill all the Amalekites or destroy all their livestock, instead he spared their king, Agag, and sought to sacrifice the livestock to God because that is what the people wanted to do.
Common Thread
The common thread that is running through these narratives is Saul’s lack of obedience to the Lord and his desire to please his people.
- Instead of waiting for Samuel to come to Gilgal, he offered sacrifices to the Lord when the people started to leave.
- Instead of killing all the Amalekites and devoting all their livestock to destruction like he was commanded by the Lord, he listened to the people and kept the livestock to offer as a sacrifice to the Lord.
The result, is that Saul was to be removed as king over Israel (1 Samuel 13:14), and God regretted making him a king (1 Samuel 15:10-11).
Man After God’s Own Heart
Saul was not a man after God’s own heart; rather, he sought his own fame and glory by pleasing those he was ruling over. As I read about Saul, I saw a little of myself in him, but I also learned a valuable lesson.
If I want to be a man after God’s own heart, I need to obey God’s commandments even when it is not popular. Even when others will shun me, walk away from my leadership, or outright persecute me, I need to obey the commandments of the Lord because that is to what I have been called.
A man after God’s own heart obeys the Lord rather than people. He seeks the will of God rather than his own will.
Our Example
David becomes our immediate example of a man after God’s own heart, but he failed from time to time, seeking his own will instead of God’s.
Even though he represents a man after God’s own heart in the immediate context, it is not until we get to Jesus do we see someone who perfectly exhibits what that means. Jesus lived a perfect life and was even obedient to the point of death, accomplishing the Father’s will instead of seeking to glorify Himself (Philippians 2: 6-11).
Salvation Before Obedience
Jesus is our example, but He must be our Savior first. Try as we might, we can never hope to live as Jesus did without first being raised from the dead. We are inherently sinful people, who want nothing more than to accomplish our own will and please ourselves.
If we ever hope to obey God’s commandments and live an obedient life like Christ, a life we will never fully live this side of eternity, we must believe that Christ is our Savior. When we do, will be made a child of God, given a new heart, and the Holy Spirit will indwell us. With our new heart and the indwelling work of the Holy Spirit, we will be better able to obey the commandments of the Lord.
Questions for Reflection
- Can you restate what it means to be a man/woman after God’s own heart?
- Do you understand why you must be regenerated before you can live as a person after God’s own heart?
- Do you ever seek others approval rather than living for the Lord?
- What is the chief end of man?
What is Does it Mean to Repent?
If someone where to ask you, what is true repentance, how would you answer?
You might say, “True Repentance is being grieved over our sin so much that we turn away from sin and turn toward God.”
You might continue by saying what one commentator has said, “True repentance is to return to God, to His covenant, and to loyalty and obedience.”
That is a pretty heavy definition, so let’s break it down into manageable parts.
True Repentance Means we are Grieved Over Sin
We see in the first place that repentance is more than just being sorry for what we have done. It is to be grieved over our sin.
One day, when I was young I was doing something I should not do with the neighborhood kids. I don’t remember what it was, but I knew my mom did not want me to do it, but I did it anyway. Some how my mom knew I did what she did not want me to do. I don’t know how she knew, or how she found out. Mom’s seem to have that keen ability to just know when their kids disobey.
Later that day, she asked me about it. Instead of telling the truth, I decided I would lie to see if I could get away with it, but my mom knew I was lying. And because I disobeyed her and lied to her, I was punished for it.
I remember as I sat in my room, I was grieved, not just because I had gotten caught, and now I could not go out and play with my friends, but because I offended my mom.
Repentance is similar. It is an understanding that we as sinners offend a Holy God, and in realizing that, we are truly grieved over our sin. Not just because we will be punished one day, but because we offend God.
True Repentance Involves the Entire Person, Loyalty and Obedience to God
We also learn that repentance involves more than just grief. It involves radical transformation of the entire person – our mind, our heart, and our will.
Many of you have seen the movie the Matrix. At the beginning of the movie, the main character, Nero, is offered a choice between two pills, a red pill and a blue pill. The blue pill allows him to carry on life as if he had never even met Morpheus and learned the truth. The red pill allows him to be plunged into the Matrix fully learning all of what Morpheus and his crew know.
As he stares at those two pills he has a choice. Keep living like nothing happened. Or change everything. We all know that Nero chooses the red pill and is plunged into the Matrix with Morpheus‘ and his crew. When he chose that red pill, he turned away from the life he once knew and embarked on a new journey.
That is also apart of what it means to repent of our sins. It is a complete turning away from our old way of life to a new way of life in Christ. We can’t just do this intellectually. When Nero decided to take that red pill, his whole being was involved.
Similarly, when we repent of our sins, we don’t just do so intellectually. Our whole being is involved. Our mind, our will, our heart all turn from sin toward God. When we do that, we submit ourselves to God, to His rule, and to what He wants for our lives, just like Nero submitted himself to the Matrix, it’s rule, and what it wanted for his life.
So when we repent of our sins, we are saying that we will be loyal to God and obedient to Him, and our loyalty involves more than just our mind, it involves our whole being.
Challenge
We have to ask ourselves, given this definition of repentance, have we really repented?
- Are you grieved knowing you have offended a Holy God because you are a sinner?
- Have you turned to God from your sin, allowing Him to be the Lord of your life?
- Are you loyal to God and God alone?
- Are you obedient to God’s commands?
If we are truly repentant, these things will be evident in our life. I pray they are evident in your life.
Resource
Who is Sitting on the Throne in Your Life?
Yesterday, I started a new book I received recently, Gospel-Centered Discipleship by Jonathan Dodson. It is a great book! I would highly recommend it. In the first chapter, Dodson defines discipleship from a gospel-centered perspective. After which, he moves to talk about Jesus being the Lord of our lives.
Jesus is supposed to be our Lord
Have you ever thought about that? Jesus is supposed to be our Lord? Yes, He sure is supposed to be our Lord. But what does that imply about how we are to live? Dodson helps us to think through the implications.
Think, for a moment, about the implications of Jesus’s divine lordship. If Jesus is Lord, then he doesn’t merely rescue sinners from judgment, but he also brings disciples under his divine authority. Translation: when we become Jesus’s disciples, we also become his servants. Disciples are servants who take up their cross and follow him (Luke 9:23). When we turn to Jesus, we turn everything over to him. When we confess Jesus as Lord, we embrace his authority over every aspect of our lives. This is precisely why Bonhoeffer can say: “When Jesus calls a man, he bids him to come and die.”
When Jesus is Lord, we give up on our old life (a sort of death) in order to live a new life. When we put our faith in Jesus as Lord, we surrender self-rule in order to come under God’s wise, gracious, and all-powerful rule. We submit to his reign and join his mission. This life-altering truth forms Jesus’s preface to the Gospel Commission: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (Matt. 28:18). This new, expansive, awe-inspiring authority orders the life of a disciple to learn the gospel, relate in the gospel, and communicate the gospel in glad submission to King Jesus. As a result, we grow in the gospel as his servants, relate in the gospel as part of his family, and communicate the gospel as his ambassador-missionaries
Challenge
Now that Dodson has set us straight, let me ask a few question:
- Is Jesus your Lord?
- Do you submit to His authority over your life?
- Have you turned everything over to Him, even your life?
- Have you joined Jesus’ mission?
These are all questions we need to ask ourselves as we consider what it means for Jesus to be the Lord over our life. I pray that you will give them serious thought, knowing Jesus is not just our Savior who rescues us from the bondage of sin and Satan, giving us eternal life, but He is also our Lord. A Lord who calls us to serve Him and His mission here on this earth.
Resources
Jonathan Dodson, Gospel-Centered Discipleship, 42-43.
Praise God in Prayer
This last April I attended the Together for the Gospel Conference (T4G). While I was there I picked up several free books and resources. One of which was Ligonier Ministries’ Table Talk. It has been several months since the conference, and I am just now getting around to reviewing all the material I brought back.
This morning I was reading through the April edition of Table Talk. As I did I came across an article on Prayer by Derek W. H. Thomas. What he has to say is challenging, as well as insightful and helpful in teaching us how to pray.
His Challenge
He starts by challenging our current idea of prayer,
We’ve all had those annoying conversations that have been entirely one-sided, showing little or no interest in us. It’s all about them – their interests, desires, needs, and complaints. Prayer can get like that: we pour out our woes, become totally self-absorbed, and show no interest in dialogue that involves “listening” to what God has to say. God is patient and, in His grace, He responds. But it shouldn’t be like that. When Jesus taught us to pray, He showed us that prayer begins (and continues) with God.
I believe he is right. For many, prayer is nothing more than us asking God to do something, and that something usually doesn’t involve building us spiritually either. It typically involves Him healing us of some physical ailment. Now, it is not wrong to pray for our own or others medical needs, but that should not dominate our requests.
Thomas continues by saying,
“At least half of our praying should be addressed to the praise and worship of God.”
Have you ever thought about prayer in that way? Have you ever thought half of your praying should be to praise and worship God? Taking it even further, do you praise and worship God in your prayers at all? I think if we are honest with ourselves, we would find that most of us don’t.
How do we remedy the problem?
Thomas helps by offering some things for us to think about before giving us 5 practical steps.
Person
If we are going to praise and worship God in prayer, we need to know who God is and what He is like. How do we come to find that out? Studying His Word, of course.
When we do, we find that God is self-existent, self-sustaining, self-determining, everywhere present, and always in control. We also learn that He is our Father. What does that tell us? It tells us that we have unhindered access to Him personally. In addition, we learn God is holy, gracious, and merciful in His Word.
How do we connect our knowledge about who God is and what He is like to our prayer life? We praise Him.
Praise
Now that we know more about who God is and what He is like, when we pray, we should praise God for who He is. That is exactly what the Psalmist does, and that is what we should do as well.
Before we leave this section, let me make a distinction. Praising God and thanking God are two different things.
What is the difference?
- Prayers of thanks often focus on us – We thank God for what He has given us.
- Prayers of praise focus on God – We praise Him for who He is and what He is like.
Presence
When we pray, we should not pray like the hypocrite, just seeking outward recognition. Rather, we must recognize prayer for what it is – our entering into the presence of God. This means our prayers should be reverent and not self-seeking.
If we truly want to praise God in our prayer life, we must refrain from praying, just to make ourselves look good, or to check it off of our daily list. We must realize that when we pray we enter into the very throne room of our Almighty Father in Heaven.
Practice
Thomas finishes his article by giving us a five step strategy that will help us keep our prayers God-centered.
(1) Remind Yourself that there is only one God in the universe, and that you are not Him.
(2) Adoration Comes First, before confession, thanksgiving, or supplication. Worship the Lord in your praying.
(3) Read a Psalm before you pray, and attempt to emulate what you find: a preoccupation with God in all His multifacted nature. Find psalms of joy or grief, praise or lament, and note how the psalmist spends time with God, making Him the center of his thoughts and desires.
(4). Learn to Love God’s Names so that saying and repeating them fills you with an inexpressible joy, a reminder of who He is and His covenant faithfulness to you in the gospel of His grace.
(5) Learn to “Wait” upon the Lord. Watch how the psalmist, “fainting” as he thinks of his own troubles, finds relief by deliberately focusing on great things God has done.
Conclusion
I challenge you to become more familiar with who God is and what He is like by making notes as you read through His Word. Ask yourself when you finish your daily devotional: What did I learn about God today? Then praise God for who He is the next time you pray to Him. By doing so, hopefully our prayers will remain God-centered and not man-centered.
Questions for Reflection
- After reading this article, how does your prayer life relate? Do you typically pray about physical needs? Or do you spend time praising God for who He is?
- Would you share how praising God in your prayers has changed your appreciation for who He is and what He has done for you?
Resources
Post adapted from Prayer by Derek W.H. Thomas, Table Talk, April 2012, 14-17.
Book Recommendation: Every Good Endeavor
Just yesterday Timothy Keller’s new book Every Good Endeavor: Connecting Your Work to God’s Work was released. You can pick up a copy here.
Before the release, the guys over at Desiring God had Keller on their podcast Authors on the Line. Here is what they had to say about the interview:
We put Dr. Keller on the line to ask him about the 9 to 5 labors into which we invest so much of our lives. So what is the purpose of our work? What if we get stuck in a job we don’t enjoy? And why does it seem the church has such a hard time getting its arms around vocation in the first place?
Their interview was helpful and informative. I recommend you take the time to listen to their discussion and pick up a copy of Keller’s new book.
God’s Work and Ours: An Interview with Timothy Keller (17 minutes)
Christianity Matters 