Alive and Active

In 2nd Samuel 12, David acknowledges his sin of sleeping with Bathsheba and killing Uriah and he pleads that his son would stay alive. When he finds out that his son died, David gets up, washes, eats, and goes to worship the Lord. David recovered quickly and he comforted
Bathsheba. When you understand how much Jesus loves you, you won't want to take advantage of Jesus. When we go out of bounds, we will want to quickly get back in the game. David modeled moving forward in life and the importance of going to the Lord.

In Psalm 139, David asks God to search him and know his heart and to test him and know his anxious thoughts. As believers, we need to continuously go to the Lord and have him search us like David asked in Psalm 139. We know that the end times are near so we must prepare and choose to trust God and His word.  When we let the Lord search our heart, it's like a grand slam because if we confess, The Lord will forgive our sin and that is an incredible Blessing.

Jesus went across enemy lines and shed His blood to cleanse us from all sin. In 2 Samuel 23, David's mighty warriors risked their lives to cross enemy lines and bring back water that David longed for from his hometown of Bethlehem. David refused to drink the water because the water represented the men's blood. There was a culture of love with David and his men. The culture of love starts with Jesus and He gave His life for us, so we should do things for the Lord out of an overflow of the example He set in love.

Brook Berringer, a highly skilled backup quarterback for the Nebraska Huskers was a winner on the field but he also faced incredible adversity. When Brook gave his life to Christ, his definition of success changed and now he offered his circumstances to the Lord. Brook believed in John 3:16, which says, "For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life."

In Matthew 18, the disciples asked Jesus, "who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?" Jesus told his disciples that they must become like children and be humble. Jesus used a young boy to show what reliance on the Father looks like.  It's not where we've been in life, it's where we are going and we can humbly submit to our heavenly Father in all things.

In Daniel 1, Nebuchadnezzar,  King of Babylon,  came to Jerusalem and besieged it. The best of the young men, which included Daniel, were taken to Babylon for the King's service. They tried to change their diets and minds, but Daniel  understood the times and he courageously requested to not defile himself with the food and wine. What seemed like a demotion, quickly turned into a spiritual promotion. One man changed the culture because his mind was on the Lord and God provided favor in the midst of the wicked Babylonian empire.

In Deuteronomy 6, we are told to impart the commandments on our children throughout their entire day. Jesus was fully man and fully God and he went from a boy to a man because he desired to do his Father's work. We can teach our kids about the Father's work and we can set a high bar for our kids so they go from boyhood to being a man of God. Jesus matured and increased in stature and wisdom and He matured and grew in His faith and that's what happens when we engage in the Father's business.

In Luke 22, Peter denied Jesus three times. Jesus looked at Peter with love and pursued him after his resurrection. Peter went back to fishing, but Jesus met Peter on the shore in John 21 and he wanted to challenge  and teach Peter that he no longer needed to be fearful of man. We too can walk in the unconditional love that Jesus alone provides.

In second Samuel 24, David's pride shows itself as he takes a 10-month census to count how many soldiers he had. At the end of the census David realizes the sin he committed and how he had put his hope in the number of fighting men over his trust in the Lord. David owns his sin and falls on his face before the Lord. There were consequences, but David modeled what true repentance looks like and he ran to the Lord. Have you owned your sin and are you running toward or away from the Lord?

In 2 Samuel 21, David asks the Gibeonites how he can atone for Israel's sin against them. David was dealing with the consequences from Saul's sin, but he sought the Lord with courage. There are individual and cultural consequences when we take our eyes off the Lord. We must rise up, put a stake in the ground, and take on the consequences In the name of the Lord.