Take some good advice

1 Kings 12:11, “My father laid on you a heavy yoke; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions.' "

I’ve been thinking about Rehoboam all week. After he said these words, he lost 4/5 of his country, they rebelled against him. Rehoboam was the son of King Solomon and grandson of King David. No doubt, Rehoboam even knew David. Solomon was the wisest man in all the earth. David was “a man after God’s own heart”. How did Rehoboam turn out like this?

The answer lies three verses back in vs 8, “But Rehoboam rejected the advice the elders gave him and consulted the young men who had grown up with him and were serving him.”

He rejected the wisdom of his fathers. Good advice is of no use to the proud. I don’t think I can count the number of times I have heard good advice, or even Godly direction and due to the pride of my life, and rejected it. I did my own thing, to my detriment.

One of satan’s (not capitalized on purpose) greatest weapons is to get me to believe God’s laws are only there to make me unhappy.

I think of it like this: Suppose I buy a car and the guy at the dealership tells me, “Change the oil every 3000 miles.” Well after 3000 miles, I don’t feel like changing the oil – it’s expensive, I don’t have the time and off I go. I keep driving. I get out to 5000 miles, 6000 miles, nothing bad has happened? I get to 10,000 miles. Other people tell me, “you really need to change your oil.” What? Why do I need to take YOUR advice? Nothing bad has happened at all, “all you want to do is make me unhappy!”

I might even get to 20,000 miles. One day, however, I will have to pay the piper. One day, my engine will seize up. The cost of the repair will be well more than the five oil changes I missed. It will be half the price of the car. It will be too expensive to pay.
Lord, help me to trust your Laws are for my benefit. Help me to be humble enough to take your advice.

Whom do you Trust

The question of the day is: Do I trust me or do I trust Him? The answer should be obvious. But to me, it isn’t always perfectly clear. God wants me to trust HIM, to trust HIS heart, to trust He will do what He wants to do. He wants me to be okay with His methods, His timing, His patience, His gifts, or His judgment. God does not prefer me to get an idea in my head and then run with it.

Sometimes, my ideas do “come from God”. By that I mean, even though they are smeared with my own prejudices, God initiated them. Example: God led me to my wife. God initiated it, but just because He set it up, doesn’t mean that I will treat her perfectly or she will do likewise.

This is where I stumble often: The attitude of trying to accomplish things (no matter how godly or great) in my own strength just because I think God is leading me to do it.

I have realized I have an over-emphasis in MY ability to follow God rather than on God’s ability to lead me. He’s the Good Shepherd. That means, NOT ONLY is he a loving, caring shepherd, but that Jesus is very GOOD at leading.

When a sheep is lost, it’s LOST. That means it cannot find it’s way back. That is the time the sheep needs a good shepherd to find it. The humble heart sees itself in this light. Most of the time I am lost in one way or another and I am dependent on God to reach me and get me back to His will and His ways.

See, one attitude says, “I’m going to follow God and do right.” And the other says, “I’m lost without Him, I’m going to trust that He can find a way to lead me and get me to his will.” Both want to do God’s best but the second is not confused about the source of that ability.

Putting Myself on the Altar

Romans 12.1 , “ Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your reasonable act of worship.”

There are a lot of things I do which I would consider “not sin” or “no big deal” but they are things I like to do. What if some of those things I do are actually separating me from God and His best for me? Again, these are not sinful things, just things I fill up my time with (God give us all things for our enjoyment, right?)

My own personal example is the XBOX.

What if all my playing of XBOX (or eating out at dinner, or this certain hobby, or reading the sports page) was taking me away from God? I think this is where the “Living Sacrifice” thing comes in. I’m not going to earn more of God’s love if I give up more things but I ask myself again: Am doing God’s best thing right now? This is a difficult discipline to maintain.

As a Living Sacrifice, I put myself on that Altar.

I’m not one of these people who things that to please God you have to be on a street corner preaching. Indeed this may be the worst thing depending on the circumstances, in my opinion. We go where we are led.

The question I am driving towards is this: Am I open to not doing the things I want to do, so I can do the things He wants me to do?

I might also aks: Am I open to not NUMBING myself (on all the good things of life) so I can feel a little of God’s pain for this world?

Lord help me to stop and listen. Help me to not just do the “next thing”. Help me to be open to your interruptions.