His Faithfulness

Beginning to read through Deuteronomy, I noticed the frequent verses and examples of God's

faithfulness to the Israelites and His covenants with them. His promise was spoken in verses such as this one: 

For the Lord your God is a merciful God. He will not leave you or destroy you or forget the covenant with your fathers that he swore to them (Deuteronomy 4:31, ESV).

And Yahweh demonstrated His faithfulness in these ways, places, times, and manners:

The Lord your God who goes before you will himself fight for you, just as he did for you in Egypt before your eyes, and in the wilderness, where you have seen ho wthe Lord your God carried you, as a man carries his son, all the way that you went until you ame to this place (Deuteronomy 1:30-31, ESV).

For the Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He knows your going through this great wilderness. These forty years the Lord your God has been with you. You have lacked nothing (Deut.2:7, ESV).

...the Lord your God...went before you in the way to seek you out a place to pitch your tents, in fire by night and in the cloud by day, to show you what way you should go (Deut.1:33, ESV).

For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the Lord our God is to us, whenever we call upon him? (Deut.4:7, ESV).

But the Lord has taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be a people of his own inheritance, as you are this day (Deut.4:20, ESV).

His faithfulness was proven to His people over and over again. Yet, when they went astray and worshiped false idols, it was because they did not keep His promises in the forefront of their minds. Forgetting God's covenants leads to false worship.

Did any people ever hear the voice of a god speaking out the midst of the fire, as you have heard, and still live? Or has any god ever attempted to go and take a nation for himself from the midst of another tation, by trials, by signs, by wonders, and by war, and by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and by great deeds of terror, all of which the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? To you it was shown, that you might know that the Lord is God; there is no other besides him. (Deut.4:33-35, ESV)

September Quotes

To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. To love is to be vulnerable. 

-CS Lewis

Christ clothes us with the cloak of His righteousness, covering our nakedness and shame, and says to us, “Neither do I condemn you.

-R.C. Sproul

What makes a warrior is not his ability to escape fear, but to look death in the face absolutely terrified and still move forward. 

-Unknown

We work for a glorious future which we are not destined to see. We are only morning-stars shining in the dark, but the glorious morn will break.

-David Livingstone

If we are not in Christ, we are born losers. If we are in Christ, we are reborn victors.

-R.J. Rushdoony

God wants to bring us to the end of ourselves so that we would see our need for a relationship with him as well as with others. Every painful thing we experience in relationships is meant to remind us of our need for him. And every good thing we experience is meant to be a metaphor of what we can only find in him.

-Timothy Lane and Paul David Tripp

No half-heartedness and no worldly fear must turn us aside from following the light unflinchingly.

-J.R.R. Tolkien

There are endless treasures of grace waiting for those who will make even the most feeble attempts to pray. The weakest prayers yield grace.

-Paul Washer

Treat a man as he is and he will remain as he is. Treat a man as he can and should be and he shall become as he can and should be.

-Johann von Goethe

By judging others we blind ourselves to our own evil and to the grace which others are just as entitled to as we are.

-Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Don’t ignore the Spirit’s attempts to engage you, my friend. The conviction, the stirring, is the call of your Father, drawing you back to Himself, inviting you to put an end to your running, to start what needs to happen for things to get turned back around. 

-Priscilla Shirer

The truth is that the more intimately you know someone, the more clearly you’ll see their flaws. That’s just the way it is. This is why marriages fail, why children are abandoned, why friendships don’t last. You might think you love someone until you see the way they act when they’re out of money or under pressure or hungry, for goodness’ sake. Love is something different. Love is choosing to serve someone and be with someone in spite of their filthy heart. Love is patient and kind, love is deliberate. Love is hard. Love is pain and sacrifice, it’s seeing the darkness in another person and defying the impulse to jump ship. 

-Unknown

The high noon of God’s glory will be the second coming of Christ. And that is where the sun will stay forever. 

-John Piper

Great men are forged in fire. It is the privilege of lesser men to light the flame.

-movie quote, unknown

If you know why you believe what you believe, then leadership is inevitable. 

 -Dr. Jeff Meyers

August Quotes

Those who desire to give up freedom in order to gain security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one.

-Benjamin Franklin 

Arrogance doesn’t come from having convictions; it comes from having the wrong convictions about how to treat people who don’t share them with you. Humility doesn’t come from not having convictions; it comes from having the right convictions about the importance of gentleness and respect.

-Unknown

There must be those among whom we can sit down and weep and still be counted as warriors.

-A. Rich

We live in a culture that exalts human autonomy above God's sovereignty and sets the individual’s freedom of expression above God's law.

-Paul Washer

Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.

-Winston Churchill

Ministry is… 

Giving when you feel like keeping; 

Praying for others when you need to be prayed for; 

Feeding other souls when your own soul is hungry; 

Living truth before people even when you can’t see results; 

Hurting with other people even when your own hurt can’t be spoken; 

Keeping your word even when it’s not convenient; Being faithful when your flesh wants to run away.

-Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth

Trust is earned, respect is given, loyalty is demonstrated. Betrayal of any one of those is to lose all three.

-Unknown

Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.

-Elizabeth Stone

Rest in this—it is His business to lead, command, impel, send, call or whatever you want to call it. It is your business to obey, follow, move, respond, or what have you.

-Jim Elliot

It is sweet to know that our tears are understood, even when words fail. Let us learn to think of tears as liquid prayers, and of weeping as a constant dropping of importunate intercession which will surely wear its way right into the very heart of God's mercy, despite the stony difficulties which obstruct the way. My God, I will "weep" when I cannot plead, for You hear the voice of my weeping! 

-Charles Spurgeon

In the pursuit of joy through suffering, we magnify the all-satisfying worth of the Source of our joy. God himself shines as the brightness at the end of our tunnel of pain. 

-John Piper

Loving one’s enemies leads disciples to the way of the cross and into communion with the crucified one. 

-Dietrich Bonhoeffer

We should learn to look at the blemishes and faults of others--only through the eyes of love, with sympathy, patience, and compassion. We do not know the secret history of the lives of others around us. We do not know what piercing sorrows have produced the scars we see in people's lives. We do not know the pains and trials which make life hard, to many with whom we are tempted to be impatient. If we knew all the secret burdens and the heart-wounds which many keep hidden beneath their smiling faces--we would be patient and gentle with all people.

 -J. R. Miller

Faith is neither a trust nor a belief in the unknown, but the firm knowledge that God is God, that He is true to His word, and, that what He has promised He will bring to pass.

R.J. Rushdoony

I have learned that breezes are always the precursors to wind. And winds usually push in storms. And we all know Who can calm storms. 

-D. Harrison

Reminders to Live By

It's not often that we pull out the book of Ecclesiastes and quote from it, yet it carries some deep wisdom from a man who desired and gained it early in life, but maybe should have applied it (a little) more to himself.

What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again, there is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which one can say, "Look! This is something new"? It was here already, long ago; it was here before our time (Eccl. 1:9-10, NIV).

Here is stated the theme of Ecclesiastes and the heart-cry of the author, King Solomon. Perhaps many of us could relate to the same thoughts today. There truly is nothing new, whether good or bad, that has not already existed beforehand. Our lives are just a dash on the timeline of eternity, so there is no way we would end up seeing something new that has not already been. Whether a heinous sin or the mountain-top joy, mankind and God have seen it already. Do not be surprised at God's greatest blessings, for He gave them to others long before you. Don't be shocked by the revelation of the depth of man's depravity. God's mercy began in the Garden and has been forgiving ever since.

There is a time for everything... (Eccl.3:1)

There really is, you know. Each event is appointed by God, and in some ways regardless of your integrity or folly, His events will unfold until the end of time. Not all good follows one another, and neither does the bad. But it is interspersed throughout our life as He sees fit to grow us. We wonder how the blessings could get any better, or we wonder when the darkness ends, but both do, each in their own time.

I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil--this is the gift of God (Eccl.3:12-13).

Nothing better. Those are strong words. But do balance them out with the rest of Scripture, too. ;) The principle remains. God desires us to find pleasure and happiness and good in our work. In fact, that's His blessing--His gift to us. He desires that our prospering should lead to happiness and the doing of good, and personal satisfaction. Yet that personal satisfaction is based on the God who gave it, so the glory is His.

If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken (Eccl.4:10, 12).

Companionship is necessary for thriving as a Christian. To survive as a Christian, friendship is not necessary, but God did not mean for us to survive. We were made to thrive, and we imitate the Trinity when we desire friendship. The help, defense, and loyalty of a friend cannot quickly be repaid. How easy it is to be loyal to one's own flesh and blood, but the real test comes when we stand not just with those who are our own flesh, but also with those who are washed in the blood of the Lamb.

I have seen something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all (Eccl.9:11).

Your swiftness, strength, resources, wisdom, or intelligence do not guarantee success or good outcomes. God is sovereign, and life has it's own rewards and consequences, so do not think that just because you are wise that you will be prosperous. Life does not always happen that way.

God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil (Eccl.12:14). 

Death is promised to all who are here before the Lord returns. It is certain and no man can reverse it, regardless of how they try. The Lord commands the souls of men, and He takes them when He will. For believers, their works will be tried by fire, but their is no judgment to their souls. That has been paid by Christ. For those outside of Him, they will suffer the second death. Solomon ends his book with a warning, but with a hope, as well. Fear God and reverence His word. So no matter which direction life takes you, you have God by your side.

July Quotes

Jesus is coming back for HIS church, not yours.

-Unknown

In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.

-Martin Luther King Jr.

We are who we are, not because we are who we are, but we are who we are because we live in Christ.

-Unknown

God is always doing 10,000 things in your life, and you may be aware of three of them.

-John Piper

God's training is for NOW, not presently. 

His purpose is for THIS MINUTE, not for something in the future. 

We have nothing to do with the afterwards of obedience; 

we get it wrong when we think of the afterwards. 

What men call training and preparation, God calls the end... 

If we realize that obedience is the end, 

then EACH MOMENT IS PRECIOUS. 

-Oswald Chambers

If you remove the snow from the hillside in the late winter, you will find sweet flowers growing there, beneath the cold drifts, unhurt by the storm and by the snowy blankets that have covered them. Just so, should we keep our hearts tender and sensitive beneath life's fiercest winter blasts, and through the longest years of suffering, and even of injustice and wrong treatment. That is true, victorious living.

-J.R. Miller

Those who worry about the loss of time entailed by such small, external acts of helpfulness are usually taking their own work too seriously. We must be ready to allow ourselves to be interrupted by God, who will thwart our plans and frustrate our ways time and again, even daily, by sending people across our path with their demands and requests. 

-Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Cheerfully and gratefully I lay myself and all I am or own at the feet of Him who redeemed me with His precious blood, engaging to follow Him, bearing the cross He lays upon me. This is the least I can do, and I do it while my heart lies broken and bleeding at His feet. 

-Elizabeth Prentiss

Wherever we see the Word of God purely preached and heard, there a church of God exists, even if it swarms with many faults.

-John Calvin

Becoming a mentor has got to be something that comes up within you—it’s got to be God’s work. It can’t be our work because we’ll give answers that aren’t God’s answers.

-Patty Webb

In my many years of pastoring, counseling, and traveling, I’ve found an all-too-common and dangerous theme among Christians: no one lays down the law better than the one who thinks they’re keeping it themselves.

-Paul Tripp

Ah, I have kept Him waiting when I ought not, but He has waited even then. Always waiting – so patient with my foolishness, my weakness, my fear. Our fellowship is with God, and fellowship is friendship, and friendship means that partnership which, on His part, is the accommodating of His strength to my weakness. 

-G. Campbell Morgan

If He loved me yesterday, He loves me today. My unmoving mansion of rest is my blessed Lord. Even when prospects are few and hopes are squashed and joy is waning, I have lost nothing of what I have in God. He is "my refuge" to which I continually return. I am a pilgrim in the world, but at home in my God. In the earth I wander, but in God I dwell in a quiet dwelling place.

-Charles Spurgeon

Wherever we see the Word of God purely preached and heard, there a church of God exists, even if it swarms with many faults.

-John Calvin

Friendship is held to be the severest test of character. It is easy, we think, to be loyal to a family and clan, whose blood is in your own veins.

-Charles Alexander Eastman

A man never discloses his own character so clearly as when he describes another's.

-Leo C. Rosten

June Quotes

You feel now that you have no reason to hope. But the night is darkest before sunrise. Christians believe that the dawn will come. Faith can be put in two words: “though” and “yet”. In the Book of Job we read, “Though the Lord slay me, yet I will trust Him.” Many times these words come together in the Bible. They tell us to have faith in the darkest moments.

-Richard Wurmbrand

Have you ever heard the wonderful silence just before the dawn? Or the quiet and calm just as a storm ends? Or perhaps you know the silence when you haven't the answer to a question you've been asked, or the hush of a country road at night, or the expectant pause of a room full of people when someone is just about to speak, or, most beautiful of all, the moment after the door closes and you're alone in the whole house? Each one is different, you know, and all very beautiful if you listen carefully.

-Norton Juster

Discernment is not simply a matter of telling the difference between what is right and wrong; rather it is the difference between right and almost right. 

-Charles Spurgeon

You ever heard that saying 'He's so heavenly minded, he's no earthly good'? Well, most people are so earthly minded, they're no heavenly good.

-Paul Washer

Oh restless heart, that beat against your prison bars of circumstances, yearning for a wider sphere of usefulness, leave God to order all your days. Patience and trust, in the dullness of the routine of life, will be the best preparation for a courageous bearing of the tug and strain of the larger opportunity which God may some time send you.

-Oswald Chambers

What is sin? 

It is the glory of God not honored. 

The holiness of God not reverenced. 

The greatness of God not admired. 

The power of God not praised. 

The truth of God not sought. 

The wisdom of God not esteemed. 

The beauty of God not treasured. 

The goodness of God not savored. 

The faithfulness of God not trusted. 

The commandments of God not obeyed. 

The justice of God not respected. 

The wrath of God not feared. 

The grace of God not cherished. 

The presence of God not prized. 

The person of God not loved. 

That is sin. 

-John Piper

Peace is not absence of conflict; it is the ability to handle conflict by peaceful means. 

-Ronald Reagan

We are all travelers in the wilderness of this world, and the best we can find in our travels is an honest friend. 

-Robert Louis Stevenson

You don’t need to hoard today what you can expect God to supply in his mercy on the morrow. 

-Dr. Bob Jones Jr.

The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotion, spends himself in a worthy cause; who at best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who have never tasted victory or defeat.

-Teddy Roosevelt

For those of us who are in trouble and are trying to keep our eyes on Christ our refuge, a word of encouragement:

The day is coming when we will be in the presence of the Lord. Fully, finally, forever delivered from all trouble. But until then, we have a God who is our refuge, our strength, and a very present help in trouble, amen.

-Nancy Leigh DeMoss

When people are deeply affected by the Word, they tell it to other people. God has willed that we should seek and find God’s living Word in the testimony of other Christians, in the mouths of human beings. Therefore, Christians need other Christians who speak God’s Word to them. They need them again and again when they become uncertain and disheartened. 

-Dietrich Bonhoeffer

God, I pray Thee, light these idle sticks of my life that I may burn for Thee. Consume my life, my God, for it is Thine. I seek not a long life but a full one like You, Lord Jesus. 

-Jim Elliot

The same God which had brought us thus far, would not forsake us even now. 

-John Geddie

Legalism says “what a shame”.

Grace says “that could be me”.

Humility says “that IS me”.

-Unknown

April Quotes

Find updates about my puppies HERE.

Doctrine is important, but to fight over the smallest things as the world perishes without the gospel is tragic; a waste of gifts and strength.

-Paul Washer

The heart set to do the Father's will need never fear defeat. His promises of guidance may be fully counted upon. Does it make sense to believe that the Shepherd would care less about getting His sheep where He wants them to go than they care about getting there?

-Elisabeth Elliot

Friendship is the nearest thing we know to what religion is. God is love. And to make religion akin to Friendship is simply to give it the highest expression conceivable by man. 

-Henry Drummond

No man ever really finds out what he believes in until he begins to instruct his children.

-Unknown

The mills of God grind slowly; yet the grind exceeding small; Though with patience He stands waiting, with exactness grinds he all.

-Fredrick Von Logau

If you do not listen to theology, that will not mean that you have no ideas about God. It will mean that you have a lot of wrong ones! 

-C.S. Lewis

We can stop pleading with God to show us the future, and start living and obeying like we are confident that He holds the future.

-Kevin DeYoung

We are masters of the unsaid words, but slaves of those we let slip out. 

-Winston Churchill

I believe in Christianity as I believe the sun has risen, not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else. 

-C.S. Lewis

There is a vast difference between failing and becoming a failure. We become a failure when we give up—when we stop trying. But as long as we are working on those sinful habits, regardless of how often we fail, we have not become a failure, and we can expect to see progress.

-Jerry Bridges

Christianity preaches the infinite worth of that which is seemingly worthless and the infinite worthlessness of that which is seemingly so valued.

-Dietrich Bonhoeffer

The Bible is of such universal and perennial interest that it will call forth comments and sermons without number, to the end of time. This of itself is sufficient evidence of its divine origin and character. It is now more extensively studied than ever before, and goes on conquering and to conquer in the face of all enemies. It is inexhaustible. It never grows old, but increases in interest and value as time flows on. Human books have their day, but ‘the Word of the Lord endureth forever.’

-Philip Schaff

Either you be governed by God or by God you’ll be governed.

-Benjamin Franklin

In order to give thanks when the sky is falling, you have to remember that it’s Jesus’ sky, and that He never promised it wouldn’t fall. 

-R.C. Sproul

The beginning of anxiety is the end of faith; and the beginning of true faith is the end of anxiety. 

-George Müller

March Quotes

Better suffer anything than do wrong.

-C.H. Spurgeon

Do you want honest, upright, able men to guide our country's future? Those men are sitting in high chairs today in your dining room.

-Jenny Chancy

There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind.

–C.S. Lewis

God never witholds from His child that which His love and wisdom call good. God's refusals are always merciful -- "severe mercies" at times but mercies all the same. God never denies us our hearts desire except to give us something better.

-Elizabeth Elliott

If God is for us, then the opposition, which inevitably comes against us, is ultimately of no account. 

-Alistair Begg

Why would we want fame, when God promises us glory? Why would we be seeking the wealth of the world when the wealth of heaven is ours? Why would we run for a crown that will perish with time, when we're called to win a crown that is imperishable?

 -Paul Washer

He comes to the dry and thirsty land of the human heart in its wild and desperate struggles for survival. He comes to the wilderness of our lives, and a furrow at a time he reclaims the land, restoring something of the Paradise that has been lost. He comes to the weary heart to give it rest. To the lonely heart to give it friendship. To the wounded heart to give it healing. To the sad heart to give it joy. And if no joy, at least the companionship of someone who has known what it's like to be sad, wounded, lonely and weary. 

-Ken Gire

True faith rests upon the character of God and asks no further proof than the moral perfections of the One who cannot lie.

-A.W.Tozer

Lord, I give up all my own purposes and plans, all my own desires and hopes and ambitions, and accept Thy will for my life. I give myself, my life, my all utterly to Thee, to be Thine forever. I hand over to Thy keeping all my friendships; all the people whom I love are to take a second place in my heart. Fill me and seal me with Thy Holy Spirit. Work out Thy whole will in my life, at any cost, now and forever. 

-Betty Stam

Psalm 56:3 says, “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.” 

Notice: it does not say, “I never struggle with fear.” Fear strikes, and the battle begins. So the Bible does not assume that true believers will have no anxieties. Instead, the Bible tells us how to fight when they strike. 

-John Piper

Godly households are the greatest martial assets of the Kingdom of God. Establishing and maintaining them is a matter of spiritual warfare. 

-Andrew C. Romanowitz

The day is gone from us--and is with You. We leave it in Your hands. Whatever we have done that was not according to Your will--may You graciously forgive. The things that pleased You--may You bless. 

-J.R. Miller

Look for yourself and you will find in the long run only hatred, loneliness, despair, rage, ruin and decay. But look for Christ and you will find Him, and with Him everything else thrown in.

-C.S. Lewis

How do you pick up the threads of an old life? How do you go on, when in your heart, you begin to understand, there is no going back? There are some things that time cannot mend.

-J.R.R. Tolkien

May your convictions be deep, your love real, your desires earnest.

-C.H. Spurgeon

January Quotes

We need to stay sound in doctrine, to stay safe in our morals. 

-Unknown

No matter happens, or what someone does to you, God's plan for your life can never be ruined...because God is in control.

-Unknown

When you’re in the furnace, you’re beyond the reach of those who are trying to harm you. You’re tried by fire, but you come out as pure gold.

-Dr. Bob Jones Senior

There is nothing like Christianity to make all men equal, to level such distinctions—but it levels by lifting to a lofty tableland, accessible only to humility. Only he who is humble can rise. 

-George MacDonald

There are some things you can only say to the Lord because he's the only one that can bear that much reality. 

-Jerram Barrs

God created the world out of nothing, and as long as we are nothing, He can make something out of us.

-Martin Luther

We are sinfully lost people and we have a scandalously merciful Savior.

-Unknown

Silence is pure and holy. It draws people together because only those who are comfortable with each other can sit without speaking.

-Nicholas Sparks

Good leaders must first become good servants. 

-Robert Greenleaf

Accountability is more than going to a brother or sister in the Lord and confessing failure. Accountability is going to them in the middle of a battle, before we’ve fallen, and asking for their help. 

-Paul Speed

A true friend unbosoms freely, advises justly, assists readily, adventures boldly, takes all patiently, defends courageously, and continues a friend unchangeably.

-William Penn

As our knowledge of [God] and his infinite, transcendent value increases, we find that our esteem of ourselves as one of his beloved ones will grow as well.

-Johnson

We develop patience as we trust that God denies us what we think is good only because He has something better for us--both now and in the future.

-Joshua Harris

The evidence … the raw-bone, Biblical evidence that there was one time in your life that you repented unto salvation, is that you continue repenting until today, and continue growing in repentance.

-Paul Washer

You do not know what you are going to do; the only thing you know is that God knows what He’s doing.

-Oswald Chambers

Jonathan: "The Lord has given"

[Warning: This is a Very Long Post. ;)]

Jonathan is a character who has often captured my attention, and I have noticed him even moreso in the last two times I've read through the Bible.

One of the first times we're introduced to Jonathan, we find him in the third verse of 1 Samuel 13. After reigning for two years Saul, Jonathan's father--the king over Israel, gathered his men together to fight the Philistines. Saul commanded 2000 men and Jonanathan, 1000. Jonathan and his men raided and defeated one of the groups of Philistines encamping in the area of Geba. Here we see Jonathan old enough to command an army of men, and at the same time courageous enough to actually conquer the Lord's enemies. His father, on the other hand, handled a group of trembling Israelites who were unsure of whether or not to follow him all the way. Saul then offers a sacrifice unlawfully, out of fear of the Philistines, impatience in waiting for Samuel, and fear of losing more of his men; he finds out his "army" has dwindled to 600. Once again Jonathan's name is mentioned in that he and his father faithfully remain with the remaining men in Geba (the area Jonathan conquered). Jonathan is also one of the privileged few (the other being Saul) who owned any sort of weapon, for the Philistines monopolized the metal resources and metal-working craftsmen.

Chapter 14 tells us of Jonathan's initiative to again attack the Philistines and conquer some of the land entrusted to the Israelites through God's covenant of the Promised Land. He takes only his armor-bearer and tells no one of his plans or whereabouts, especially not his father. His companion encourages Jonathan to do all that was in his heart, saying "Behold, I am with you heart and soul" (his armor-bearer made a great companion, too, by the way; what Jonathan received in friendship, he gave back in return to others). Using his strategy and walking in the Lord's victory (the same victory God would have given Saul if he had been obedient), Jonathan and his armor-bearer kill about 20 of the "uncircumcised" [Philistines] while Saul and his men hide in the holes, caves, tombs, and rocks of the land. God intervenes on Jonathan's behalf and sends an earthquake, causing further panic among the Philistines. Saul, finding out the commotion in the Philistine camp and finally noticing that his son and his son's armor-bearer were gone, rallies his men and takes them to battle. The Israelite deserters who were among the Philistines turn and once again follow Saul and Jonathan, and men who had hidden themselves away in the caves and tombs also rejoin their king. The Lord turns the Philistines against each other and saves Israel.

The next scene is written after Jonathan and his armor-bearer's attack, but it fits chronologically after Jonathan leaves the Israelite camp, and perhaps it reveals more about his father than it does him. Saul, vowing revenge on his enemies, lays a curse on anyone who eats food until his enemies are avenged. Jonathan, of course, did not hear this vow, as he was absent, so in his travels through the forest, he finds and eats honeycomb, encouraging the people to do the same as it provided him with much needed strength and energy. The people inform him of his father's curse, and he rightly places the blame of a smaller victory on his father, saying that if the people had eaten of the spoil of the battles, they would not have lacked strength and the victory might have been greater. Later the people sin grievously, taking the spoil of the next Philistine attack and slaughtering the animals on the field and eating them with the blood (eating raw meat without draining the blood was forbidden by God). As a continued consequence of Saul's foolish oath, God does not answer Saul when he attempts to inquire of God as to whether they should attack another group of Philistines. Saul again immediately pronounces a rash oath because God would not answer him, claiming that someone had sinned and whoever it was that person would die, even if it were Jonathan. By casting lots, they find out that it was indeed Jonathan who was "guilty". Saul was committed to fulfilling his vow, too proud to go back on his word, and unable to realize the extent of his own sin, so he says Jonathan must die. However, Jonathan's leadership and faithfulness had won the hearts of the people, and the Israelites step in and ransom him from his father's decision. And they contribute the salvation of Israel to Jonathan, saying that as the Lord lived "not one hair of his head [would] fall to the ground for he has worked with God this day."

Moving ahead several chapters, through the anointing of David for the kingship and his defeat of Goliath, we once again are told of Jonathan in 1 Samuel 18. And here we find the ever familar story of David and Jonathan's friendship. After David kills Goliath, Saul calls him to the court and inquires who his father is. We only have two lines of conversation between Saul and David, and yet chapter 18 verse 1 tells us that "as soon as he [David] had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul." Jonathan's friendship is remarkable, not only because of who he was (a king's son--and David was a shepherd boy from one of the least of the tribes), but because of what it required of him (a recognition that he would not be heir to the throne, and a covenantal loyalty to a man that his father hated). In his covenant with David, which included giving to David his outer robe, armor, sword, bow, and belt, Jonathan demonstrated, either consciously or unconsiously, that he was giving up all right to the throne and reliquishing the position of prince of Israel to the anointed one that God had chosen.

Jonathan, in taking on the friendship of one who would reign in the place of his father, now takes on an even more precarious position. King Saul, unable to destroy David through his own methods for the Lord gave David success wherever he went, tells Jonathan and all his servants to kill David. "But Jonathan, Saul's son, delighted much in David." (1 Samuel 19:1) So rather than obeying his father, he takes on the risk of warning his friend of his father's intentions. Not only does he provide protection for David, but he also creates a plan in order to figure out what his father was thinking about David. Working as an advocate on his friend's behalf, Jonathan reminds Saul of all the good David had done for him in fighting Saul's battles and defeating Saul's enemies. And Saul temporarily listens to the wise rational of his son. So then Jonathan reports back to David and brings David back into his father's court.

Because of the evil spirit that continually haunts Saul, he soon begins his pursuit of David again. David, in hiding, returns to Jonathan pleading to know what he might have done to cause Saul to want to kill him. Again the two friends form a plan together resulting in David remaining in hiding, and Jonathan finding out what Saul's plans are. David and Jonathan once again pledge their loyalty to each other. David, in his complete trust of Jonathan, asked Jonathan to kill David himself if Jonathan thought he was deserving of death. Jonathan vows to David that he will tell David if his father is well-disposed towards him or if Saul is still desiring his death. Jonathan also requests that if everything turns badly, that David would demonstrate steadfast love to Jonathan's descendants. And again, David and Jonathan swear their covenantal love for each other. 1 Samuel 20 recounts Jonathan's use of the feast days, a young boy, and a bow and arrow to demonstrate to David the message he had learned from his father: Saul was indeed still seeking David's death. Not only did Saul demonstrate his hatred of David, but he also cursed his son for having sided with David and tried to kill him. The chapter ends this way after Jonathan brings this message back to David:

David rose from beside the stone heap and fell on his face to the ground and bowed three times. And they kissed one another and wept with one another, David weeping the most. Then Jonathan said to David, "Go in peace, because we have sworn both of us in the name of the Lord, saying, 'The Lord shall be between me and you, and between my offspring and your offspring, forever.'" And he rose and departed, and Jonathan went into the city. 

David is continually pursued by Saul and his men. He finds food from a priest, but is betrayed by Saul's chief herdsmen, Doeg the Edomite. He flees to Gath and pretends to be insane for fear that the Philistine king would kill him. He resides in a cave and all the distressed and bitter men come to him--he leads them and they follow him. He sought refuge for his father and mother in Moab, and then lives in the forest. Saul discovers where he is and continues the pursuit. He rescues a city from the Philistines but cannot stay there for the Lord reveals to him that the city would give him up to Saul. The Bible tells us that the men who followed him were staunchly faithful to their leader. They went wherever they could go and they went wherever David went.

Pursued continually by Jonathan's father, David finds rest in the wilderness. Not likely physical rest, but mental and emotional rest from one who had pledged his loyalty to him. Jonathan came to him in the wilderness. He met David where he was, and he brought encouragement and refreshment to him.

And Jonathan, Saul's son, rose and went to David at Horesh, and strengthened his hand in God. And he said to him, "Do not fear, for the hand of Saul my father shall not find you. You shall be king over Israel, and I shall be next to you....And the two of them made a covenant before the Lord. David remianed at Horesh, and Jonathan went home. (1 Samuel 23:16-18)

In the desert, David found relief. Jonathan tells David not to fear his father. He reminds him that David will be king, and in that reminder is the humble acknowledgement that the prince of Israel would not be on the throne. Jonathan willingly submitted to God's sovereignty as it had been revealed to him and gave his support to David in the next best way that he could. Jonathan reminded David of God's promises.

That's the last we hear of Jonathan before he dies in battle alongside his brothers and his father. And that's the last we hear of his support and encouragement to one who so desperately needed it. But his loyalty left behind a memory not to be forgotten, and his life left an example completely opposite to that of his father's.

Saul's rebellion and disobedience brought consequences that reached further than he would ever know. King Saul is finally defeated by the Philistines, killing himself in order to avoid death by his enemies. And Jonathan dies, too. A man who walked in integrity, lived in victory, loved through loyalty, and advocated for justice. He provided leadership to the Israelites, brought refreshment to a hunted king, jeopardized his royal position by going against his mentally unstable father, and gave his life (literally) in humble surrender to the Lord's will, paving the way for the next king of Israel to reign--an event he would not even live to see.

And in return for that?

David remembered his covenant with Jonathan and showed kindness and grace to his descendants.

For Jonathan's sake.

September Quotes

Faith is believing you will receive mercy, while knowing you deserve justice.

-Unknown

We did not choose this battle, but it is come.

-Pendragon (the movie)

When our will goes hand in hand with God’s then are we fellow workers with him in the affairs of the universe—not mere discoverers of his ways, watching at the outskirts of things, but laborers with him at the heart of them.

-George McDonald

I have a great need for Christ: I have a great Christ for my need. 

-Charles Spurgeon

There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but he must take it because conscience tells him it is right. 

-Martin Luther King Jr.

The path you take with your feet should never contradict the conviction of your heart.

-Joshua Harris

Captain, my religious belief teaches me to feel as safe in battle as in bed. God has fixed the time for my death. I do not concern myself about that, but to be always ready, no matter when it may overtake me....That is the way all men should live, and then all would be equally brave. 

-Stonewall Jackson

...there is only one thing that can wash the blood from our hands, the blood from His. 

-R.C. Sproul Jr.

Forgiveness is the oil that keeps the machinery of the Christian home and church running smoothly. In a world where even those who have been declared perfect in Christ sin, there is much to forgive. Christians who must work together closely find themselves denting each others' fenders, now and then taking out a taillight or two, and at times even having head-on collisions. Under such conditions, forgiveness is what keeps things from breaking down completely.

-Jay Adams

A thorough knowledge of the Bible is worth more than a college education.

-Theodore Roosevelt

Christ went more willingly to the cross than we do to the throne of grace. 

-Thomas Watson

Living becomes an awesome business when you realise that you spend every moment of your life in the sight and company of an omniscient, omnipresent Creator. 

-J.I. Packer

The Five Women of Matthew 1

I began reading Matthew yesterday, and the first chapter opens with the geneology of Christ. (Joseph's side of the geneology, anyway. Mary's line can be found in Luke 3.) Sometimes I think we forget to really read geneologies because they can be a bit tedious to get through, but Matthew's account includes five people--five women, to be exact--who aren't always remembered.

Tamar is the first mentioned in Matthew 1:3. Her story is told in Genesis 38, where she attempted to take her future and inheritance into her own hands by living immorally. But regardless of a Canaanite woman's sin and deception, she and her twin sons are listed in the line of Christ.

Rahab is listed next by Matthew. Many of us are familar with her story: a prostitute who cares for two of Israel's spies, and is later brought into the nation of Israel for her faithfulness to guard God's people. It is likely that she also learned to love and serve the one true God. She, too, is listed in the Davidic and Messianic line.

Ruth's story takes a whole book of our Bible, and in it we find the account of a Moabitess woman who forsakes her past life--one that included serving false gods. Leaving behind all she's ever known, she embraces the land, people, customs, culture, and God of the Israelites. And for her faithfulness and loyalty to her people and God, she is blessed to marry into the line of Christ, as well.

Bathsheba is not listed as clearly, for she is only called "the wife of Uriah". Likely we are familiar with her story, as well. While the Bible doesn't tell us how much of a willing participant she was, she exposed herself to and participated in immoral behavior and actions with King David. And because of their sin, Bathsheba's rightful husband was murdered and her first son through David died. But through her second son, Solomon, the Messianic line was continued.

Mary, the mother of Jesus, is the last woman to be listed in the geneology. Another familiar character and story, she was the virgin chosen of God to usher in His one and only Son. She bore the shame and disgrace that was placed on her for appearing to have a child out of wedlock. Yet, as a Jewish girl, a redeemed sinner, she bore the One who would become the Savior of the world.

This list is comprised of many opposites: immorality and purity, Gentiles and Jews, prostitutes and virgins, idolatry and singlehearted service to God, reputable and unreputable, false gods and the one true God, rich and poor. But each one (including all the others listed in this geneology) was evidence of the divine grace of God, the working of God's mercy--even before He had sent the One who would be the fulfillment of that grace and mercy.

And when He came--the Messiah, the greater David, the last Adam, the Son of God yet Son of Man--He did not despise His lowly beginnings, even though He was despised of His own town. No, He came to be the Savior of them all. The Savior of those past, present, and future. "Of the four mentioned two—Rahab and Ruth—are foreigners, and three—Thamar, Rahab and Bathsheba—were stained with sin. The purpose of the Evangelist in recording their names may be to shew that He who came to save “that which was lost,” the Friend of sinners, does not scorn such descent" (Cambridge Bible Commentary).

He was born of sinners, was the Friend of sinners, and died among sinners. He saved the immoral and redeemed the pure. He was sent to His lost sheep of Israel, yet witnessed to the Gentiles. He ate meals with the unreputable, and stood before those of noble birth. He called the rich to follow Him, yet blessed the poor for giving Him all they had. He was born of a virgin, but brought redemption to the immoral.

None of the five women mentioned in Matthew's geneology were perfect, far from it, but God chose to take them, broken and sinful as they were, and use them to bring about the Righteousness they all needed. The first four listed for us all lived with the unfulfilled promise of a Messiah, the God-Man who would fulfill the sacrificial system with with one sacrifice. It took hundreds of years of waiting--never seeing that promise fulfilled, never seeing the hope of Israel, never seeing complete justice and redemption offered to a sick land, never knowing the perfect satisfaction of a Holy God--until one day, Immanuel, "God with us", was born to the fifth woman listed.

The Savior who emptied Himself for us by shedding His blood on the cross is now that same Savior who is seated in exaltation and glory at the right hand of His Father. One day, perhaps alongside all of these women and the rest of the saints who have passed on before us, we too will bow before the name of Jesus, confessing that He is Lord, praising Him for reconciling all things to Himself, and living in the peace brought about by the blood of His cross.

June Quotes

Once more, Never think that you can live to God by your own power or strength; but always look to and rely on him for assistance, yea, for all strength and grace. 

-David Brainerd

There is nothing you can do to make God love you more, and there is nothing you can do to make Him love you less.

-Unknown

I am not what I ought to be, I am not what I want to be, I am not what I hope to be in another world; but still I am not what I once used to be, and by the grace of God I am what I am. 

-John Newton

Elijah was a man who walked by faith and not by sight, and walking by faith is not a mystical or nebulous thing but an intensely practical experience. Faith does more than rest upon the bare letter of Scripture: it brings the living God into a scene of death, and enables its possessor to endure by ‘seeing His who is invisible.’ Where faith is really in exercise, it looks beyond distressing and distracting circumstances and is occupied with Him who regulates all circumstances. …Faith looks beyond the promise to the Promiser, and God never fails those who trust alone in Him and rely fully upon Him.

-A.W. Pink

A servant of God has but one Master. 

-George Mueller

It is not powerful men, strong men, valiant men who make headway in the kingdom. It is desperate men who have nothing and only hope is in Christ.

-Paul Washer

The human heart doesn’t like taking orders from the mind. The time will come for all of us when we won’t feel like doing the godly, responsible thing we’ve resolved to do. The question is, how will we respond when our hearts lead a full-scale rebellion? If we don’t prepare ourselves for an uprising, we’ll feel tempted to abandon our principles and standards.

-Joshua Harris

A faithful friend is a strong defense; And he that hath found him hath found a treasure. 

 -Louisa May Alcott

As I went down from the present peak into the valley between the mountains, I was often shadowed by the very peak I had been enjoying. This I interpreted in a sense of failure and this often led to despair. I felt I was going down into the ‘slough of despond’. I see now that I was wrong in this ‘feeling’. The going down was merely an initial moving forward towards the next higher ground, never a going back to base level. The shadow was only relative after the brightness of the sun; the valley could provide rest for working out the experiences previously learnt, a time for refreshment before the next hard climb. Had I understood this meaning of the sunshine and shadow in my life rather than interpreting my experiences along life’s ways as ‘up’ and ‘down’, I might have saved myself many deep heartaches. 

-Helen Roseveare

I shall rise from the dead...I shall see the Son of God, the Sun of Glory, and shine myself as that sun shines. I shall be united to the Ancient of Days, to God Himself, who had no morning, never began...No man ever saw God and lived. And yet, I shall not live till I see God; and when I have seen Him, I shall never die. 

-John Donne

There are four things that we ought to do with the Word of God - admit it as the Word of God, commit it to our hearts and minds, submit to it, and transmit it to the world.

-William Wilberforce

I will charge my soul to believe and wait for Him, and will follow His providence, and not go before it, nor stay behind it.

-Samuel Rutherford

Verses from David's Prayers

David knew how to pray. From being hunted constantly by enemies, falling into sin, and reaching the heights of joy, David's life provided just about every experience for prayer. And he took the opportunities to cry out to God. Perhaps some of the most well-known words of David come from the Psalms, and they are words Christians still read today. But this week in my devotions I read through 1 Chronicles and this book also includes a few of David's prayers as well.

Perhaps these verses can help direct us in how we should pray, as well.

Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far? 

(1 Chron.17:16)

Awe over what God has done and the knowledge that he (David) is nothing in comparison to God's greatness.

There is none like you, O Lord, and there is no God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears. (1 Chron.17:20)

Recognition of God's supremacy and sovereignty.

And you made your people Israel to be your people forever, and you, O Lord, became their God. 

(1 Chron.17:22)

Recounting the history of God's greatness and faithfulness to a wayward nation.

And now, O Lord, let the word that you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house be established forever, and do as you have spoken, and your name will be established and magnified forever, saying, 'The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, is Israel's God,' and the house of your servant David will be established before you.

(1 Chron.17:23-24)

Pleading that God would fulfill His promises like He said he would, in order that His name would be glorified and that the house of David would remain established in the Lord.

Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours in the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all.

(1 Chron.29:11)

Acknowledging God's control and power over all the earth using words similar to what Jude later uses. "To the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen." (Jude 1:25) And also Jesus uses similar words in the Lord's Prayer. "And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent." (Colossians 1:18)

But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able thus to offer willingly? For all things come from you, and of your own have we given you. (1 Chron.29:14)

Realizing, in humility, that what he and his nation gave back to God only belonged to God in the first place. 

I know, my God, that you test the heart and have pleasure in uprightness. (1 Chron.29:17)

God searches the heart and knows it completely, and David later goes into more detail in Psalm 139 about this. Nothing can be hidden from God, and our actions, motives, and thoughts that result from the Holy Spirit's working in us are pleasing to God.

Then David said to all the assembly, "Bless the Lord your God." And all the assembly blessed the Lord, the God of their fathers, and bowed their heads and paid homage to the Lord and to the king.

(1 Chron.29:20)

The people demonstrated the Lordship of Christ by worshiping Him as the God of their forefathers, and loyalty and obedience to David as their earthly king.

Say also: "Save us, O God of our salvation, and gather and deliver us from among the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name and glory in your praise. 

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting!"

(1 Chronicles 16:35-36)

The Courage and Faith of Caleb

I actually forgot to write a blog post yesterday. 

And I don't think I have ever done before. 

I finished reading Numbers, Deuteronomy, and Joshua this week. These books include very familiar territory for me, as I've taught through them all  in my Sunday school within the past year.

I noticed Caleb's story more this time as I taught his story and as I read about him when I started into Judges. Once of the first times he is mentioned is when the 12 spies are commissioned by Moses to search out the land of Canaan (Numbers 13). We know Caleb's from the tribe of Judah--the tribe from which Christ would later come--and he's the son of Jephunneh. Moses sent out the spies, and the majority of them came back terrified. Ten of them were sure they'd be devoured by the inhabitants. Two men had faith and clung to the promise that God would give them their Promised Land immediately, but they were rejected by their fellow Israelites. One of those two was Caleb. He tried to calm the people and persuade them to trust God, but they just decided to try and stone him (and Joshua) instead, thus sealing their consequence of wandering for 40 years in the desert. Caleb had faith in the yet-to-be-fulfilled promises. 

Because of his faith, he was one of the only two who were allowed in the Promised Land from that generation. "But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed me fully, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it." (Numbers 14:24) He feared and trusted the Lord fully. His fear was the opposite of the terrified fright of the Israelites, rather it was a reverence and courage in the God he had followed for so long. 

And now after the initial conquest of Canaan, we find Caleb again in Joshua 6. He steps out in faith to ask Joshua for his inheritance. He reviews the history of his life so far, reminding Joshua and the Israelites that though the previous generation had lacked faith in God, he had fully followed the Lord. He tells them that he has remained strong physically and spiritually, and that the Lord has kept him alive because of his faithfulness. So, before Joshua divides the rest of the land between the tribes, Caleb asks Joshua for the hill country called Hebron. Hebron was the first city they spied out, and it was later captured by Joshua. This place held much history for the Israelite nation, for Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob, and Leah were buried here. But not only were their forefathers buried here, but this place was now home to the Anakim's--a generation of "giants" known for their height and greatness, along with their intimidating presence. But Caleb wasn't afraid. He said, "give me this hill country...It may be that the Lord will be with me, and I shall drive them out just as the Lord said" (Joshua 14:12). And he says this at 85 years of age.

And because of Caleb's courage, and because of God's promise to provide Caleb an inheritance for him and his children, the Lord granted him this land through Joshua. Joshua divided the land among the rest of the tribes and commanded them to destroy the remaining Canaanites, but most of them didn't. The Canaanites remain in the land in certain areas and plagued the Israelites and led them into false worship time and time again. But Caleb obeyed. He drove out the Anakim's and their descendants, just as he said he could because God was with him.

Caleb's faith, courage, and boldness was passed on to the next generation, for his daughter, Achsah, also exercised these traits when she asked her father for a portion of land. Caleb blessed her and gave her the land. Like father, like daughter. Caleb had chosen that his house would serve the Lord, and he lived it out, causing it to be passed on to the next generation. [Caleb's younger brother eventually became one of the judges who brought temporary peace to the Israelites (Judges 3:7-11).]

And though the writer of Hebrews "ran out of time" to list all those who lived by faith, I think Caleb is indirectly included in the Hall of Faith (Hebrews 11:27-40). He left Egypt by faith. He would have celebrated the first Passover, watched the Egyptians drown in the Red Sea, wandered the deserts and mountains, seen the walls of Jericho fall, and acknowledged Rahab's faith. He would have crossed the Jordan on dry land, and he would have been there when the sun stood still. He helped to conquer the kingdom of Israel. He enforced justice. He was a mighty man of war, and he put foreign armies to flight. And he obtained promises. The promise of the land of Canaan, and the promise of his inheritance. And he lived with the knowledge of a future Savior, a promise that he would not see fulfilled. But he was saved by faith. A faith that is assured of things hoped for, and has the conviction of things not seen. Caleb walked by faith, literally and figuratively.