Life is Fleeting- Psalm 39

Scripture: Psalm 39

"Indeed, You have made my days as handbreadths, and my age is as nothing before You; certainly every man at his best state is but a vapor. Selah" -Psalm 39:5

David was called a man after God's own heart, and- despite the fact that David sinned greatly in regard to Bathsheba and Uriah the Hittite- God loved him. It just goes to show that God loves us in spite of our dumb mistakes. David spent a lot of time with God as a young shepherd in the hills, as a young man fleeing the wrath of a maniacal and angry king, and finally as king over the united kingdoms of Israel and Judah. After all of the things he'd done in his life, it might have been easy to become prideful and arrogant. David could have strutted about like some puffed up peacock, writing psalms and hymns to his own glory. Instead, he spent time with God, asking for Him to put his life in it's proper perspective. David concluded that our time on Earth is fleeting- a vapor, a shadow, mere inches of space in the infinite reality of the universe. He saw people who toiled diligently day after day to accumulate their wealth, only to die and leave that inheritance to one who would squander it all away. He understood that God was his hope and the One Who would protect him and deliver him.

In our lives, we get so caught up in the busyness of the day-to-day meaningless things. A stoplight can put us in a bad mood for the day. We toil on and on, but what is it all for? King Solomon- David's successor- examined life and concluded time and again in his book of Ecclesiastes that everything is vanity and pointless in life, save for what impact we have on the lives of others. Stop wasting time on meaningless and temporal things that are here today and gone tomorrow. How are you living? To what end? Are you living as an heir to the Kingdom of Heaven, a royal ambassador on a mission, or are you living however you choose, without a thought of the eternal? Ask God to help put life in a proper perspective, knowing that our time here serves a purpose and that our life is not our own. We serve the King of Kings, and our lives best reflect that, as we are most certainly and assuredly held accountable for how we represented Him here on this Earth.

Lord, thank You for choosing me to be Yours. Help me to live my life as an example and as an emissary of You. Remind me daily of exactly Who I am serving and what my purpose here is. Help me to be Your servant in how I live the life You've given me. Amen.

Opposition of God's Work- Nehemiah 6

Scripture: Nehemiah 6

"For they all were trying to make us afraid, saying, 'Their hands will be weakened in the work, and it will not be done.' Now therefore, O God, strengthen our hands." -Nehemiah 6:9

Nehemiah was written at a hard time in the history of Jerusalem. During the exile, the Babylonians hadn't taken everyone, but they only took the leaders and the wealthy- anyone who could mount a serious threat to their control, essentially. The people left behind lived in constant fear, and were disheartened and defenseless against the outside marauders. Many years later, after the Babylonian Empire had fallen to the Medes and the Persians, there was a Persian king sitting in the capital. His cupbearer was the Jewish Nehemiah, who talked with some of the Jews who had been to Jerusalem after the Babylonian captivity was over. One such group lamented, reporting that the condition of the once glorious capital was in ruins, without so much as a wall to protect the inhabitants from invaders and brigands. The kings notices the sorrow of Nehemiah, and after learning the report, dispatches Nehemiah with an edict that makes Nehemiah the governor and the man in charge of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. This- of course- is wildly popular with the rulers of the surrounding areas. Time and again they try to thwart God's plans by disheartening the workers and the faithful Nehemiah. In just chapter 6 alone they try to lure him to meet them and compromise, they try to slander him by saying that he is doing it all to be proclaimed the new king of Judah, and then by hiring some prophets in Judah to speak ill of the work of rebuilding the wall. Through it all, God shows Nehemiah exactly what is going on, and Nehemiah keeps praying for God's help in everything, and specifically during times of opposition.

We face opposition frequently when we are being obedient to God's calling. We have people that want us to compromise our values and not be completely going for what God's called us to do. We have people that choose to malign our character and spread rumors and lies about us. We can even have people that claim to serve God that speak falsely in His name against what God is having us do. Recently, I have experienced this in a few different ways. A friend of mine is working on a project with me and several other people to bring more youth and young adults into our church. The project is creating a coffeehouse atmosphere as an outreach of just showing love and giving them something to do that isn't going to bring them down on a Friday night. Not preaching. Not Bible-thumping. Just loving on people with a cup of Joe, some music and a place to be where they don't have to be drunk or stoned or doing junk to have a good time. All three of the kinds of opposition that came against Nehemiah have come against us. There have been people trying to get us to take all the work effort off of the project and apply it to other things that are "more important". They want us to compromise and say, "well, it can wait". There have been people that have been spreading the nastiest slander and gossip about the people involved. Everything from "So-and-So doesn't want you around because they find you annoying" to "Such-and-Such is sleeping with What's-His-Face"... and most everything in between. Then there are people on the inside that are of the genuine (or seemingly genuine) opinion that this is never going to get off the ground and it won't make a cent of difference in anyone's life. It has been a struggle to fend this garbage off, but through God's grace and strength, we can listen to the truth, dispel the lies, and and bond as a group in a common purpose. As long as we are doing what God leads us to do, Satan won't like it, and he will have opposition come against us and the work we do. But through everything, we are reminded by Nehemiah's example to pray. Pray for the success of God's work and for His strength to see it through to completion. Pray God's protection and encouragement in time of opposition. Pray and seek His face above all, and He will come through for you.

Lord, be my Refuge in the time of opposition. Help me to stay strong despite the attacks of my enemies. Help me to continue pressing into You through all things, and be my Protector and Validator when others would seek to harm me. Thank You for allowing me to work alongside You. Amen.

Rejected- Hosea 4

Scripture: Hosea 4

"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you from being priest for Me..." -Hosea 4:6a

In the days of Hosea, things had gotten pretty bleak in the land of Israel. On the outside, there were still some times of good things, but the inside was as spiritually rotten as a bad piece of fruit. Hosea wrote right before the fall of Israel to Assyria (722 BC), which was a judgment of the Lord on the land. The people had turned to worshiping other gods like household gods, the different poles, and even what sounds like a form of Druidism (they were worshiping trees and nature). There was also widespread sexual sin- adultery, harlotry, and general fornication- to the extent that no one could be punished because they were all involved in some sort of sexual sin themselves. God had said time and again that living that way is an abhorrence to Him and will lead to His judgment on the people. Therefore, His judgment- though the wrath of God had been turned away in the past by their repentance- would be coming because of their willful ignorance of Him and His commands. The people knew they were doing wrong and did not care, but continued.

We can be a lot like Israel here in America today. We think that we can call ourselves "Christians", and continue doing things God hates because He has grace on us. He does have grace on us, but just as Paul says in Romans 6:1-2, "What shall we say then? Shall we go on sinning that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?" Instead of rejecting God's instruction of truth and His knowledge, we should rather learn their lesson and seek out those things. By knowing God, we become better equipped to serve Him and make a difference. Matthew 6:33 exhorts us to "Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness", and in doing so, we are shaped more and more into His image. If we spend time growing with God and seeking Him first in our lives, we will be changed, and we will not be destroyed. Israel rejected God's instruction and paid dearly for it. Let us rather embrace His Word and become renewed and shaped into His likeness.

Lord, help me to take the time to grow with You daily. Help me to seek You first in all things and to cherish Your truth and Who You are. Let me embrace Your knowledge and Your understanding more every day. Amen.