I aspire to lead well, may I do so for your glory, may I take the proper
steps, choosing to be above reproach, faithful to my wife, of a clear mind and
self-controlled. Help me Lord to be gentle, hospitable, and someone who is
respected and respects others. Please keep me from letting money rule my
decisions.
O Lord may I lead my family well. May I teach them well as I
also teach others. Whatever success I have may I give you all the glory and
honor for all of it comes from you who enables me.
Help me to proclaim the truth about you well. How Jesus, the
Son of God, came to earth, died a sacrificial death, and rose again as our hope
and salvation. In Jesus name, Amen
How do I pray for all people Lord? Help me to have a heart
for all that they may find you and find peace. That those in positions of power
and influence my rule well and be forces for good in this world.
May I desire as you do, that all might be saved and find
truth. May we all understand the truth about Jesus.
I pray that I would be the man you intend me to be. That I
might be a spiritual leader who is not a bully but a loving shepherd.
Help me to teach men to live well as men and women to live
well as women as you see fit.
May those who claim your name, male or female, live and
worship together in such a way that honors you and gives you glory. In Jesus
name, Amen
For the next few weeks I'll be writing very short posts that are actually prayers based on a chapter from each of the Pastoral letters that the Apostle Paul wrote. We'll start with 1 Timothy and work our way through. My heart's desire is not that you would see me as pious or anything like that but that this might be a practical example for you to try and do the same thing. There really isn't anything complicated about it. I'm simply taking the scripture and asking God to help me apply it to my own life. Hopefully you'll see that it's really not that hard and try it yourself. Let me know your thoughts along the way! 1 Timothy Chapter One: a prayer
Dear God, give me a love from a pure heart, a good
conscience and a sincere faith. Help me to be true to your word and value what
you value.
Help me to not sin. Help me to not do that which is contrary
to sound doctrine. Help me to stay true to the gospel.
Please be merciful and gracious and may I have the faith
that is in Christ Jesus.
O Lord help me to battle for the faith and hold true. Please
keep me from being rejected. In Jesus name, Amen
Last Wednesday night we talked about who the true King of Perfection is and why he deserves our allegiance and obedience. Take a look and please tell me what you think!
David is now on the run and truly alone. He can’t go to
Samuel the prophet, he can’t go to Jonathan his friend and ally, he feels the
weight of fending for himself, by himself. He has felt the bloodlust from his
enemies in battle before but now he also feels it from his own countrymen. A
price is on his head, the king’s men are everywhere, the walls are closing in.
In his desperate flight, provisions are basically
nonexistent as he comes to the city where the tabernacle and priests are. David
is resourceful, cunning and desperate and in this moment his faith in his God
falters, he lies to try and save his own neck. He tells the priest that he is
on king’s business (information traveled a bit slower than CNN or a twitter
feed back then) and that he needs some food. The only bread available is the
holy bread which only priest were allowed to eat. The priest Ahimelech decides
to follow the spirit of the Law instead of the letter of it and feeds the man
in his desperate need (latter endorsed by Jesus). Oh ya, and he gives David Goliath’s sword
which they just so happened to have on hand. (What?)
So where would you go if the king was seeking your life from
every side? Right, over to Gath, the enemy city that was the home of the giant
Goliath who you famously killed a while back…and you are carrying his huge,
unmistakable sword with you just to rub a little more salt in that wound. How
desperate do you have to be to run to your hated enemy? Anyway, people
recognize David and tell the king of Gath. So now what? Again, in his
desperation, instead of trusting God, David deceives. He pretends like he is a
mad man and gives an Oscar winning performance as he slobbers all over his
beard and scribbles on the city gates. It works, and he escapes.
Question:
What would
have happened if David would have sought the Lord’s help instead of lying in
these situations? God was gracious to
David even though he didn’t handle these situations exactly as he should have.
He still spared his life and will still use him to do great things. David’s
actions were wrong and they will get him into trouble, but God still has a plan
for David, He will protect him and keep His promises.
Lessons:
It’s never right to do the wrong thing, no matter how
desperate we are. None of us are perfect, we all sin but that’s not a good
excuse. Still, our God is gracious and merciful and still chooses to use us
despite our mistakes and poor choices at times. This won’t be the last time
that David sins, and his some of his sins will have drastic consequences.
Sometimes our sins have drastic, even lifelong consequences as well, but God
will always take back the truly repentant. God will always use the willing and
repentant. So, when you sin, or make a mistake, don’t let it prevent you from
getting back up and continuing to pursue God and his word. Let God’s glory
shine even in your desperate need. It’s never right to do the wrong thing.
Remember Jesus doesn’t get lost.
David is desperate, “a step away
from death”, but God has given him perhaps the greatest friend of all time.
Despite the dangers of meeting, they find each other and through the dangers
and complexities of the situation, their friendship is strengthened. They even
make a covenant before the Lord.
Jonathan demonstrates uncommon faith.
He puts God’s plan before his own, security, before his own family, before his
own honor even before his own life. All things his father was not willing to
do. This is the last time we will see Jonathan for a while but he leaves the
narrative as an amazingly loyal and loving friend.
They devise a plan where Jonathan
will try one last time to see if there is any chance that Saul has changed his
mind killing David. Unfortunately, the outcome only proves Saul’s resolve and demonstrates
that he knows David is going to be the next chosen king. Saul can’t understand
why Jonathan would let someone take the kingdom from him, Jonathan can’t
understand why Saul would try and stand in the way of God’s plan.
In the end, Jonathan and David
secretly meet one last time and grieve over the situation. Sin has broken every
relationship in this story but not everyone has sinned, only Saul. Saul’s sin
has broken the relationship between himself and his son, David, his daughter Michal,
and certainly with God. Jonathan and David will be separated because of Saul’s
sin. They depart in sorrow.
Lessons:
God’s plan
is always the best plan and we are foolish to think that we can change it or
subvert it. We need to be humble enough to repent of our own sin, and live by
God’s plan even when we don’t understand why. Jonathan followed God even when
it was confusing or difficult, we can do the same.
Sin breaks
relationships, and sometimes we suffer the effects even when we are not at
fault. We should be quick to repent and reconcile with others, realizing that
our sin extends far beyond our personal relationship with God but also to those
around us.
