Who's In Charge Here?

Yesterday I was reading I Kings chapters 1 thru 4. It's about the death of David and Solomon becoming King. But it's also about one of the biggest mistakes that I think a lot of believers make, myself included.

The book starts our with Adonijah, another son of David, setting himself up as king while David was still alive. In a nutshell, he thought, well, one of David's sons will be king, might as well be me. He met with some of David's spiritual, political and military advisors and friends. They all agreed with him. And so away he went. Planning and moving ahead with his idea of what he should do, what only seemed right to him, and after all, he had the "go-ahead" from some very important people.

Only one little mistake.

He neglected to check with the one who was in charge.

He didn't check with David.

In the end, this mistake would cost him his life.

How different his life might have turned out if he had gone to David first. If he had sought the advice and direction from his father. He then might have had a place in the kingdom, under his brother Solomon and lived a long life.

But he forgot who was in charge.

Don't we do the same thing? We seek counsel from friends, from family, and from our brothers and sisters in the Lord. Don't get me wrong....this is good and we should do this......but......

Don't forget to go to the one who is in charge.

Don't forget to go to God and His Word for the final "say-so".

Al counsel and advice from outside God and His Word needs to match up to what God & His Word says. Even brothers and sisters in Christ can give us wrong/bad advice.

For example, years ago, when my wife and I were experiencing rough times in our marriage, one sister in Christ reccomended to my wife that she leave me. Man, I'm glad my wife listened to the Lord and His Word instead of that sister!

So, the next time we have a decision to make....let's remember to take it to the One who is in charge.

Ok, so there's that.
Pastor Dave

The Future's So Bright I Gotta Wear Shades

Anyone else remember that one hit wonder from the group Timbuk 3?

I thought of that song when I read this in the Word today:

Exodus 34:29-30 (New International Version)
29 When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the LORD. 30 When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant...

I thought this was sooooo cool!

Here Moses had spent time with the Lord and people could tell it just by looking at him!

I couldn't help but wonder if that ever happens today. I thought of a few people in our church, and I realized that every time I see them, the love of the Lord shines through them. I'm sure they have their "off" times and "down" times, but every time I see them, I can see the Lord in their face...in their words....in their laugh.

Then I wonder, does anyone see the Lord when they look at me.

Do they see the Lord in me when I am:

Driving down the freeway.
Working on cases at work.
Talking with my children.
Being a customer at a store (where the clerk cares more about talking on the phone to their friends than waiting on the person who ultimately is responsible for paying their salary and allowing them to keep their little minimum wage job!.....ooops....guess we know the answer to that one don't we)

I want people to see the Lord when they look at me.
Not for me. But for Him.

I have received my fair share of compliments and criticisms as a preacher, but one of the ones that has meant the most to me was when someone came up to me afterwards and said, "You know what I enjoy about your sermons? I can tell you have spent time with God."

Wow.

That moved me.

But as a preacher that should be the norm for every message I preach.

But is it the norm for me once I leave the pulpit and walk out the church doors?

I don't know. But I do know that I am going to strive for that.

Exodus 34:29-30 (New International Version)
29 When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the LORD. 30 When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant...

How cool is that!

Ok, so there's that.
Pastor Dave

Happy Mothers Day

Wow....it's been over a month since I posted a blog!

I wonder if anyone will even read this one, considering it has been so long.

I have a lot of reasons why I have gone so long.

Here's a partial list:

Not enough time; felt like I had nothing to say; didn't think it made any difference anyway; and on and on and on.

But the biggest reason when I faced it today was this.

My daughter.

My oldest daughter that my wife and I have.

My oldest daughter that is in the middle of rebellion against God.

My oldest daughter that is in the middle of rebellion against God and had me feeling like a complete failure as a Dad, christian, and a human being.

But today, on Mothers Day, I thought about my Mom in the middle of my sermon this morning.

While preaching the "traditional" Mothers Day message (which if you don't know me, is unusual in itself), I thought of what my Mom must have thought all during my years of rebellion. You see my Mom went to be with the Lord 13 years ago. She never got to see my youngest child (he was born the day after she passed away), and she never saw me become the pastor of the biggest little church there ever was (Loma Rica Baptist Church). She never saw just what all her years of prayer and commitment to the Lord finally brought about in her oldest son.

I told the church this morning, "When you pray to God, ask Him to tell your Mom, "I love you." Ask Him to tell her, "Yes, it took. I know you must have wondered, but the commitment I made to Jesus was real. I'm living for Jesus now. Thanks for praying for me all those years."

So, I will not focus on what I often think of as my failure in the life of my daughter. I wondered away from God and spent a good ten years in the wilderness before I crossed over into the promised land of a life lived for Jesus.

I don't know how long my daughter will be where she is.

But I do know that God answers prayers.

I will keep praying for her.

I will never stop praying for her.

And I will focus on Jesus and what He has done for me.

In the process, I just might blog a bit more.

If anyone is reading this blog still....let me know what you think.

Ok, so there's that.
Pastor Dave