Search and Rescue (2 Sam 14-18)

This passed Sunday Pastor Chris delivered a message that was title (I think) "Search and Rescue". This message was based on the parables in Luke 15. We are all familiar with these parables. I wonder though, how familiar are we with the notion of Search and Rescue? What about the times when God may send us out to search for those who wronged us, or even less drastic, being OK with God sending out the search party to look for those who have wronged us?


"Like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be recovered, so we must die. But that is not what God desires; rather, he devises ways so that a banished person does not remain banished from him."

 In today's reading King David finds out that one of his sons has murdered his brother and is hiding in a foreign land. Joab set David up by sending a wise woman to him to tell him that his actions in his personal life were not in line with the ruling he made on behalf of her son in a separate situation. This story was fabricated by Joab to help King David see his error. Absalom returns home and is a bigger headache then it was worth, but that is not the point of the story.  The point is Search and Rescue: But God does not take away life; instead,, he devises ways so that a banished person may not remain estranged from him.

Sometimes it may be difficult to see that God loves those who have wronged you and I. Not only does He love them, but He has a desire to bring them into the "family". I understand that there are times when this may be harder then anyone could imagine but it must happen. King David allowed for the Search and Rescue team to find a son that not only killed a member of the family but who will eventually wage an all out attack on his father. God doesn't need our permission to send out a search party but He does want us to have a heart that is in line with His. This heart needs to guide us to forgiveness as well as a desire to see the lost found and rescued by our Father in heaven.

How many times do I have to tell you? (1 Sam 24-26)

Have you ever felt like God is telling you the same thing over and over again? Without fail we realize the error in our ways, turn from our sin and inevitably we return to it. God rebukes us again and we are almost surprised that we were caught sinning in the same way again.

In today’s reading David spares 2 men’s lives. The first is King Saul. Not only does he spare his life once but also actually he lets him live twice. David also forgives the harsh words of a man named Nabal. David first spares Saul’s life in a cave while “Saul reliefs himself”. (Pause for laughter) After he lets Saul know that he did not kill him, Saul repents and leaves David be. David then sends word to a man named Nabal and asks for food rations. Not only does Nabal refuse to help, he insults David and his men. On the way to kill Nabal, David meets Nabal’s wife Abigail who pleads for her husband’s life. David turns Nabal over to God and returns back to his camp. Right about this time Saul forgets that David spared his life and pursued him again. Once again David prevails as the righteous man and Saul leaves him be.

What does all of this have to do with us? The first thing that we need to see is that we are in a relationship with a forgiving God. We are regularly given second, third, fourth and even hundredth chances to repent and turn from our sin. This may be the case but lets not take advantage of God’s grace and mercy. Secondly we need to see that even if someone is trying to chase us down and kill us, it is not our place to seek revenge. “Vengeance is mine says the Lord.” As easy as it is for us to identify the wrong doings of others, it is not our place to bring them to justice. This may be difficult in some cases but as we see in today’s reading, God will handle the situation and do so fairly.

Act Right (Lev. 24-27)

 ¹ “‘Do not make idols or set up an image or a sacred stone for yourselves, and do not place a carved stone in your land to bow down before it. I am the LORD your God.
 ² “‘Observe my Sabbaths and have reverence for my sanctuary. I am the LORD. 

Back in the day there were many issues with idol worship and the worship of other Gods. God makes it very clear that this is not acceptable in His sight and He is a very jealous God. Later on in this section we see what happens when one is disobedient to God. Although the idols and ornate stones are not as common today, we have created our own idols. Nothing has changed in the human race and the view God has on how He feels about us worshiping things other then Him. What are these things you ask?

Have you ever thought that maybe your Job is your idol or the relationships you have with the opposite sex or even best friends. What about the addictions you may have in your life? Some very prevalent addictions come to mind like drugs, alcohol or perverse behavior. This does exclude things like cell phones, facebook and even food. Some of these things that are mentioned are not inherently bad. They become bad when they take the place of God in your life. They begin to move in and take the rightful throne of God in your life. We must realize that regardless of the "magnitude" of the idol in our life, God views them all the same.

What are some of the idols in your life that should not be taking the place of God?
How can you change your behaviors to put the Lord first in your life?

Slavery Over Freedom (Ex. 13-15)

I regularly find myself scared of the unknown. Human nature is to stick with what we know rather then head of into the unknown. We would rather continue a life of misery then try something new. We regularly retreat to the slavery of sin rather then the freedom of the unknown life without it and with God.


 ¹⁰ As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the LORD. ¹¹ They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? ¹² Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!” 

How could it be that human nature leads us to want to live as a slave with no future or freedom? As believers we have had the opportunity to cast of the chains of our slavery (sin) and travel off into the unknown land of seeking God. The problem for most though, is that God is unknown. They can wrap their minds around the known, no matter how rough it is. They can't seem to understand Christ and salvation. Our jobs as a Christian is to take the place of Moses in our friends lives, helping them navigate out of slavery into the freedom that can be found in a relationship with Christ. The question is, will you work to the front and lead in a new direction or fall to back and complain about not being comfortable?

No Compromise (Ex. 7-10)

Today's scripture is extremely convicting for me. Today we see Moses and Aaron stand strong against Pharaoh. Moses makes it very clear what the Lord is asking of Pharaoh.


 ²⁵ Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Go, sacrifice to your God here in the land.”
 ²⁶ But Moses said, “That would not be right. The sacrifices we offer the LORD our God would be detestable to the Egyptians. And if we offer sacrifices that are detestable in their eyes, will they not stone us? ²⁷ We must take a three-day journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the LORD our God, as he commands us.” 

What I have found to be convicting in today's scripture is the fact that we are all quick to compromise the will of God. Moses made it very clear to Pharaoh what God had asked of him and would except nothing less. We regularly sell the Lord short with little or no expectancy of what great things He wants to do and can do. I urge you to consider what it is in your life you are compromising on. Do you expect the best from the Lord or are you compromising? Better yet, are you compromising in your walk with God? Meaning, are you giving God your best or are you sitting on the side lines not fully devoted?

I Told You So (Gen. 40-50)

Last post we talked about Joseph and his brothers selling him into slavery. Today we are gonna finish the story. Joseph went from living in a Captain of the Guards home, to jail, to be in charge of all of the land of Egypt.



 ³⁹ Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. ⁴⁰ You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you.”

Joseph in Charge of Egypt

 ⁴¹ So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I hereby put you in charge of the whole land of Egypt.” ⁴² Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his finger and put it on Joseph’s finger. He dressed him in robes of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck. ⁴³ He had him ride in a chariot as his second-in-command,^[b] and people shouted before him, “Make way^[c]!” Thus he put him in charge of the whole land of Egypt. 

Once upon a time God gave Joseph a dream that he would do something great. It took a long time and some sick twists but got accomplished what He wanted to through Joseph. If Joseph had given up or gotten distracted he would not have reached his full potential.

One of my biggest problems is that I am not a very patient person. I want it done yesterday and this obviously does not work out well for me being that I am on God's timing. I regularly get distracted and start doing something else if it doesn't happen in my time frame. The question is though, what if I waited? What if I trusted God to do what He said He would? I may have had the opportunity to see some amazing things happen. We must realize that God wants to do something in our lives that is great, but it is not going to be our way or our timing.

Family Drama (Genesis 36-40)

Have you ever had an experience in your life with a sibling where you were just sick of them being the favorite or the center of attention? My sister and I would trade of being this sibling. During her volleyball  season, which was all the time, she was the focus. Mom and Dad were always at her games and I was sick of her being the center of attention. During football season we would switch roles and she would feel this harsh feelings about me. We see that this has been happening for a while now between siblings.

Joseph has a dream that he interprets to mean that  will rule over and lead his brothers.

5 Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. 6 He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: 7 We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.”

8 His brothers said to him, “Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?” And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said.

His brothers have had enough of the favorite mentality. They lure him out to the woods and push him into a cistern. After some conversation they decide to sell him into slavery. From there the story continues to take some crazy twists. I am not going to ruin it for you but I want you to think about what crazy twist are occurring in your life? are you cursing God or are you coming to grips with the fact that this maybe the only way He can get you where He wants you.