"Deepening Your Christian Life" I

Today, St. Luke's and many throughout the Northwest Texas and New Mexico Conferences lost a good friend in Dr. Richard Bales. I ask for your prayers for his wife, Norene and for the entire family.

The blog entries for this week come from the life of David and Psalms that scholars believe were written in connection with them. Our inner life is not separated from the external events that happen around us and to us. David is a good one for us to study as we consider God's call on our lives for ministry. He has an unusually strong faith in God and a passion to know Him. He also is prone to behavior that is far beneath a chosen servant of God. Furthermore, he is devastated at times by the things that happen that are beyond his control: threats from enemies, betrayal by family and friends, and even personal emotional struggles. My guess is that during this week we will look in the mirror and see a little of David.

I Samuel 16:1-23

The story of the anointing of David as the second King of Israel is powerful. We have already studied the call of Samuel at the beginning of this book. But the move to having a king was something Samuel opposed. Samuel was the leader as a prophet/judge of the people (in a theocracy) and he took the people's request for a king personally. God assured Samuel that it was not Samuel who was being rejected, but rather the call for a monarch was a rejection of God as their king. The first king was Saul, who was the prototype of a king:

There was not a man among the people of Israel more hansome htan he; he stood head and shoulders above everyone else. I Samuel 9:2

Yet, Saul, though chosen by God and having all the necessary gifts was disobedient and became ill with his desire for absolute power. We see the same thing all the time with public leaders. In the choice of one of the sons of Jesse in I Samuel 16, Eliab is the obvious choice. But notice God's response to Samuel's suggestion:

"Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the LORD does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart."

In the choice of leadership, do we choose the one that is the best looking, the most charismatic in personality, the best connected or do we choose based on character and competency? If only it were that simple! In the TV-Digital age how do you know which is which?

Samuel keeps going down the line as the choices get younger and younger. It seems that God has rejected them all, so Samuel asks, "Is there anybody else (after all God had sent him there)?" So they bring in the shepherd boy, David. He is described as "ruddy." We would translate "rosy-cheeked", handsome with beautiful eyes, but more of a mama's boy look. Of course, this look would play later in the story as David always did well among the women. Solomon must have carried the same genes! God chooses the non-rugged, non-warrior like David. The rightness of God's choice would show up in the next chapter of I Samuel.

David in the coming months develops into a young warrior and most of all "the LORD is with him." Saul develops a mental illness and interestingly enough, David (his anointed successor) becomes the harpist who is employed to calm the king's anxiety and rage. David eventually becomes the king's armor bearer and beloved confidant. All is well...not quite.

Psalm 138-139

The Psalms shared here are intimate and beautiful. David is unique in the Old Testament in his ability to sense the emotional closeness of God. In this day when adoration is the theme of your prayer journal, note the adoration in this passage. Notice the attributes of God that are lifted up: steadfast love (138:2), the answerer of prayer and the strengthener of the soul (138:3), the greatness of God's glory (138:5), the protector and perserver (138:7) and the keeper of promises (138:8), the high knowledge of the LORD (139:1-4), the constancy of the LORD's presence (139:7-12), the creator from conception to now (139:13-16).

In other Psalms, David says "Let us magnify the LORD together." In these Psalms he lifts up who the LORD is and it strengthens him for the challenges of the day. He knows that he is not alone. This alone is reason for our prayers of adoration. It is a way in which God and us "link up" for what each day and even each moment holds.

Make sure as you read these Psalms that you treat them as hymns. Read them aloud like you would poetry or song lyrics, for that is what they are. Have a great day in our Lord Jesus Christ.