A Revelation of David's

Then David again gathered all the elite troops in Israel, 30,000 in all. ² He led them to Baalah of Judah to bring back the Ark of God, which bears the name of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, who is enthroned between the cherubim. ³ They placed the Ark of God on a new cart and brought it from Abinadab’s house, which was on a hill. Uzzah and Ahio, Abinadab’s sons, were guiding the cart as it left the house, ⁴ carrying the Ark of God. Ahio walked in front of the Ark. ⁵ David and all the people of Israel were celebrating before the Lord, singing songs and playing all kinds of musical instruments—lyres, harps, tambourines, castanets, and cymbals.
⁶ But when they arrived at the threshing floor of Nacon, the oxen stumbled, and Uzzah reached out his hand and steadied the Ark of God. ⁷ Then the Lord’s anger was aroused against Uzzah, and God struck him dead because of this. So Uzzah died right there beside the Ark of God.
⁸ David was angry because the Lord’s anger had burst out against Uzzah. He named that place Perez-uzzah (which means “to burst out against Uzzah”), as it is still called today.
⁹ David was now afraid of the Lord, and he asked, “How can I ever bring the Ark of the Lord back into my care?” ¹⁰ So David decided not to move the Ark of the Lord into the City of David. Instead, he took it to the house of Obed-edom of Gath. ¹¹ The Ark of the Lord remained there in Obed-edom’s house for three months, and the Lord blessed Obed-edom and his entire household.
¹² Then King David was told, “The Lord has blessed Obed-edom’s household and everything he has because of the Ark of God.” So David went there and brought the Ark of God from the house of Obed-edom to the City of David with a great celebration. ¹³ After the men who were carrying the Ark of the Lord had gone six steps, David sacrificed a bull and a fattened calf. ¹⁴ And David danced before the Lord with all his might, wearing a priestly garment. ¹⁵ So David and all the people of Israel brought up the Ark of the Lord with shouts of joy and the blowing of rams’ horns.

 ―2 Samuel 6:1-15

Wow... there's so much here...
I've had this story in my bible memory banks for a long time. When I first read it, I was struck with confusion. "God, I don't understand.... You're a God of love. Why would You not show mercy to Uzzah? Sure, he disobeyed your holy law that said that even those specific Levites designated to handle the ark and other holy materials were never to directly touch them. But his heart seemed to be in the right place..." Confusion can sometimes be the best grounds for growth because, at times, the LORD will tear down old thoughts to build up new ones. In my case, my perceptions of God were being challenged. Over time I had no choice but to accept that this is who the LORD is. "It's in His word. It's what He did. Yes, He is love, but He is also holy and to be respected. And even if the sons of Abinadab were set apart by the LORD to do this type of holy work this close to the LORD's presence, even they had restrictions. And point blank, Uzzah didn't follow them." What do we do when God does something we don't expect Him to do? Do we honor it? Do we ask Him about it? Do we pretend like it never happened? Or do we hold it against Him?

How did David react to this?
He reacted similarly to the way most of us would initially. The text says two things. It says he was angry which can be translated as furious, kindled, or heated. It also says he was afraid which can be translated as in awe, reverencing, or respecting. After reading this passage recently, I got some new revelation about how David handled things afterward that we can learn a lot from.

For his entire life David knew the LORD to be a God of protection. 
God protects His people. God protected the Israelites through David when battling Goliath who defied the "armies of the living God." God protected David while he was on the run from the kingdom of Saul. David knew God as protector, so seeing Uzzah perish at the hand of the LORD's judgment may have shaken this foundation of his understanding. While the truth of God "the protector" never stopped being true, what David had not seen yet was how God holds His holy people Israel accountable to a holy standard (at this time the law of Moses). It was not until David's promotion to king that he began to see these new facets of God that would test him and stretch his perception.

So after the event, David takes the Ark of the LORD to the house of Obed-edom of Gath saying "How can I ever bring the Ark of the Lord back into my care?" But while God's presence rests on the Ark there, God blesses Obed-edom's house. The report David receives about the LORD blessing Obed-edom's house after these 3 months must have reaffirmed to him who he knew his God to be before the incident with Uzzah. David then takes the Ark back with rejoicing just as before, but this time there were some differences. The main thing to note here is that David did not hold so tightly onto what he knew before that he could not embrace the new. He expressed his new reverence for God by:

• having the men of Israel praise specifically "with shouting and with the sound of the trumpet" instead of "all kinds of instruments"
• having the men of Israel sacrifice bulls and calves after six steps of carrying the Ark
• wearing a linen ephod (a priestly garment)

And at the end of the day this new reverence of God blessed his praise. Christians really like that quote that says we should "dance like David danced" when in the presence of the LORD. Well, it turns out that what elevated his praise to that level was what he learned that day at "Perez-uzzah."

The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob

I used to wonder why God would refer to himself as "the God of Jacob" or "the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob"... I mean I guess I knew the bible history behind it, but it always seemed weird for Him to say that generations later. But I'm realizing that that was the whole point.

He was Creator and Sustainer of your father's generation, and HIS father's generation, and HIS father's generation.
He was faithful to your father's generation, and HIS father's generation, and HIS father's generation.
He showed mercy to your father's generation, and His father's generation, and HIS father's generation.

He IS.

He always will BE.

He stands apart from His creation called time, yet He chooses to be a part of it.

He is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Intercession

"We love Him because He first loved us."

―1 John 4:19

The New International Version puts it like this... "We love because He first loved us."

When I started thinking of prayer through this lens, some things started to click. The Lord reminded me that Jesus is always interceding for us.

"Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them."

―Hebrews 7:25

"Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose."

―Romans 8:26-28

It's funny, I've always heard verse 28 by itself, and trust me that verse is quite impactful on it's own. But when the context of verse 27 comes before it, it gives a fuller picture of why I can truly have confidence in this promise. "The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much" (James 5:16b), so when the Spirit of Jesus, the righteousness of God, intercedes for us according to the will of God we can be pretty sure that it's effective. Jesus has never once prayed a prayer that has not been answered.  He is the Word. He is the embodiment of the very words of God that the worlds were framed by in the beginning (Hebrews 11:3). "All things were made through Him [the Word], and without Him nothing was made that was made" (John 1:3). What He says becomes reality because He only speaks out of the authority of the sovereign Father. The Spirit, then acts out the spoken Word and manifests it in the earth with power.

The confidence in my calling can now rise when I remember that the Son of God is always making intercession for the calling of the body of Christ. "There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling" (Ephesians 4:4). Yes! It is most definitely true that "He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ" (Philippians 1:6).

Whew!!...

With that said, how does this affect how I pray for others?
Well for one, I can pray from a place of abundance instead of a place of lack. I know that "the LORD will perfect that which concerns me" and that You will not "forsake the works of Your hands" because "Your mercy, O LORD, endures forever"(Psalm 138:8). It frees me to put my energy into serving the body rather than serving myself because I know He's already got me covered.

Also, because I know that Jesus is interceding for us already, it makes pretty good sense to ask Him how and what to pray for others. This way I'm not alone in prayer, I'm actually partnering with God the Son in prayer.

Another thing personally that I may have been trying to avoid is asking God for, and operating in the gift of tongues for private and personal edification (1 Corinthians 14:1-5), as well as asking for the interpretation when interceding for others. I don't usually go down this road because, like many of us, my faith upbringing has always been for the most part more "conservative" than "charismatic." And of course we've all seen the gift of tongues misused and exploited, so naturally it's damaged our belief in it's biblical application. But I know I can't deny that in it's genuine form, it is a good thing (I know not everyone believes that the gift of tongues is still functioning today. You don't have to agree and at the end of the day this is my personal blog. If you do disagree, take the time to practice brotherly love haha).

Well that's it for now


Grace and Peace,

Ya boi Thaddeus

Well Played, "Playmakers"

First reaction: I'm highly upset that this even happened in any way shape or form...
Second reaction: What do I have the Holy Spirit for? Is this what people think about the church? Self-examination....
Well played Playmakers... well played.

Could you imagine if this was the extent of evangelism....? lol. We're quick to talk about how to change the methods of reaching the lost, but if we're aiming to walk in integrity, as Christians, inside and outside the four walls of the church for sake of being Christ's witnesses, then what would need to change on the inside first?

The biggest one that comes to my mind is, "So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples." (John 13:34)
...and also

"Yes, there are many parts, but only one body. The eye can never say to the hand, “I don’t need you.” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.”
In fact, some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary. And the parts we regard as less honorable are those we clothe with the greatest care. So we carefully protect those parts that should not be seen, while the more honorable parts do not require this special care. So God has put the body together such that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity. This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other. If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad.
All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it. Here are some of the parts God has appointed for the church:

first are apostles,
second are prophets,
third are teachers,
then those who do miracles,
those who have the gift of healing,
those who can help others,
those who have the gift of leadership,
those who speak in unknown languages.

Are we all apostles? Are we all prophets? Are we all teachers? Do we all have the power to do miracles? Do we all have the gift of healing? Do we all have the ability to speak in unknown languages? Do we all have the ability to interpret unknown languages? Of course not! So you should earnestly desire the most helpful gifts.

But now let me show you a way of life that is best of all. If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing."

 (1 Corinthians 13:1-3)

Here's a somewhat related song that comes to mind....

And yes, "the Kingdom of God is not just a lot of talk; it IS living by God's power" (2 Corinthians 4:20) so reflection and self-examination are for the purpose of repentance and appropriating Jesus' authority in the dry places of our walks.

Seekers of His Will: Thoughts Regarding the Zimmerman Trial

I'm sure everyone by now knows about the Trayvon Martin, George Zimmerman incident last year as well as the trial that ensued and recently came to a close this week. I found myself during the media coverage of this trial criticizing and condemning the hypocrisy and inconsistencies of what I was witnessing. But lo and behold, every time I went to social media to "righteously-vent" I felt the Lord pressing me to self examine myself with the very sin issues I placed on others: entitlement, hatred, false testimony, fear... At the root of every single one of these I have at one point found myself attached. Now, I believe that by faith in Jesus Christ those ties are severed, but the indwelling imprint of my association with them remains. So instead of letting me post in frustration and confusion under the guise of promoting His kingdom, the Lord led me to self reflection. Here are some things that I feel I've gained from the process thus far:

Be careful that when you speak for the Lord, that you are speaking from the fullness of His heart, not just from a part of His heart that validates your perspective in a given moment or situation.
As His people today, we can't afford to give anything less because by doing so we limit the perception of His interaction with humanity to that of an imaginary friend who thinks just like us and exists to validate our emotional inconsistencies, fleshly inclinations, and self-centeredness. I think the world's seen enough of that already, don't you?

He lives in you, but He also lives outside of this fallen world and is the only One with a viewpoint without blemish.
Compare your vision to His and you may find that you have your ducks in order; you may find that you were on the right track but missed something along the way; you may find that you are completely off. So hold your perceptions loosely, and whatever they may be in your eyes, right or wrong, make it your effort and life mission to seek and share His so that we may see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. This is where unity is birthed, under the mind of One, that is Christ (Philippians 2:2 & Romans 15:5-6).

Some good ways to tell if you are truly speaking for the Lord in a given situation:

• Do your words have hope in them?

• Do your words resemble Christ's character?

• Do your words seem impossible to fulfill without the aid of God's Holy Spirit (are your words super-natural)?

• Do your words advance the kingdom of God?

If you answered yes to all of these, you may be on the right track.

You will find that this method may cause you to lean on the side of silence rather than speech because the very words you would speak that are from God go against your own flesh as well. Is this not what the prophets of the Old Testament suffered? The messenger Isaiah, in the presence of the Lord bursts out in lamentation of his filthy lips (Isaiah 6). Ezekiel, when receiving instruction for his ministry is charged by the Lord to not only speak the word of the Lord, but to first eat it himself (Ezekiel 2-3). Jonah, in rebellion of the Lord knew the will and word of God so well that he ran from being a part of it because the ideals he held from his own perspective were not met (Jonah 4:1-3). If he got his way, the entire city of Nineveh would have been destroyed in judgment. Now I'm not saying that we should keep silent in the face of injustice. I'm saying that it is always better to speak from a place of humility and obedience rather than self-righteousness. I know times are rough for many of us but please do not lose the kingdom perspective, and if you've never had it, now's a better time than ever to get it.

"For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin."

―(Hebrews 12:3-4)

With the Love of Christ,

One that is also completely dependent on the work and power of the Holy Spirit to be obedient to this word,

Ya boi Thaddeus.

I Got You Covered

Or do you not know, brethren (for I speak to those who know the law), that the law has dominion over a man as long as he lives? ² For the woman who has a husband is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives. But if the husband dies, she is released from the law of her husband. ³ So then if, while her husband lives, she marries another man, she will be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from that law, so that she is no adulteress, though she has married another man. ⁴ Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another—to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God. ⁵ For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death. ⁶ But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.

― (Romans 7:1-6)

This passage is very good, haha. No really, Saint Paul used a really descriptive metaphor to unpack what really happens to us in the spiritual plane when we surrender to Jesus Christ as Lord and savior. But first, let's look at a word.

Dominion | kyrieuō |
verb

1) to be lord of, to rule, have dominion over

2) of things and forces

      a) to exercise influence upon, to have power over

I show the greek word and the Strong's translation, not just to show off (though I do think it's kinda cool), but to get to the root of what's being said in the passage. When it says "the law has dominion(kyrieuō) over a man as long as he lives" it means that the law is lord of a man, the law rules a man, the law exercises influence upon a man (please excuse "man," the male specific sounding term. I assure you the greek can be translated as an all inclusive gender noun, though if I were a woman reading this I'd wish it wasn't because it's not good news). That's a pretty bleak statement considering how in Romans 3 it basically says that the law is established so that "all the world may become guilty before God" (Romans 3:19).

Well wait a minute, maybe we need to take a second pit stop before looking at this marriage metaphor. Sorry reader, but I do want this to be clear for you as well as for me.

¹⁹ Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. ²⁰ Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. ²¹ But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, ²² even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; ²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God

 ― (Romans 3:19-23)

Cool stuff bro.
Yeah, at first glance, it's pretty condemning. Well, it is the law... But peep this definition of the word "says":

Say | legō |
verb

1) to say, to speak

    a) affirm over, maintain

    b) to teach

    c) to exhort, advise, to command, direct

    d) to point out with words, intend, mean, mean to say

    e) to call by name, to call, name

    f) to speak out, speak of, mention

That means when the passage says "whatever the law says(legō), it says to those who are under the law" it's really saying "if you are under the law, then the law affirms over you, teaches you, exhorts, advises... etc." The one that stands out to me most is that the law "calls by name" those who are under it. So if that's the state of the man under the law, then what is the state of the man not under the law? I'm glad I asked, here's the good part. If someone's no longer under the law then that means the law does not speak(legō) to them. It doesn't call them by name, it doesn't command us, direct us, exhort us, it doesn't even teach us. WHOA. Hold up. What does that mean? And if the law doesn't teach us and command us then what does? That very thing that we are to be married to: "the righteousness of God apart from the law," "the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe."

Well... what if this word "legō" just had a broader use in the greek and isn't being used in such a specific way as I claim? That's not even a valid argument because the greek uses two different words for "says" in the same sentence, the second one being more general(laleō). I believe Paul meant legō when he said legō.

                                                *   *   *

Ok, now let's check out that passage in chapter 7. Read it again at the top if you need a refresher. Paul is basically saying:

"Imagine that you're a woman married to a man. The law of marriage is 'til death do us part.' So if you marry someone else while both of you are still alive and married, that's adultery. But, if one of you dies, the other is freed from the law of marriage ('til death do us part') because that law was fulfilled. The living spouse may now marry again freely without judgment of the law."

This is how Christ coming to "fulfill the law" is a valid statement. This is how Christ serves in this exchange. We get the benefit of dying according to the law(fulfilling it's penalty) without actually dying. And now we're free to marry into new rulership, under new dominion(kyrieuō). "Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another."

So now those who identify with the Son of God's death by believing in Him become spiritually dead to the law just like He did, by physically being dead. And the good news that comes out of this is that by identifying with His journey through death, we also identify with His journey back to life through His resurrection. Now, we also get to walk in newness of life (Romans 6:4).

Now let's look at something interesting. Thanks for reading this far, I promise we're almost done.

⁵ For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death. ⁶ But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.

― (Romans 7:5-6)

So if we're not in the flesh (under the law), then let's stop acting like it. A lot of times I live my life like I'm trying to meet a standard or reach some goal of moral purity to be accepted by God, or even to accept myself. That way of thinking, that lifestyle of being under the dominion of the law, arouses sinful passions the passage says. By the very extra effort we put out to meet a standard that we've already been freely given, we fall into temptation more easily. You can take the word's word for it for sure, but what might be even more helpful is to make that personal connection with your own story. When has this been true for you?

Believers, if we live like the law has no power over us, which it doesn't, then we can truly "serve in the newness of the Spirit," not under a fear of rejection, but with the aim of worship. I love how the passage says "For when we were in the flesh." That's past tense, and the truth is no matter how much you feel bound by the law or are even working to be perfect under the law, if you believe in Christ He's already got you covered. Falling short is no longer a present reality. That's how much He loves you.

"evoL: We Got It Backwards" Mixtape

For anyone that follows my blog but missed the release of my mixtape, here it is (yeah, I'm calling it a mixtape. My generation wouldn't know how to categorize it any other way if I didn't). It's a lyrical collection of mine, processing through a lot of faith-based spiritual revelations and lessons. And I want to share it.

Enjoy!

The Will of the Father

It is in the heart of God to bring heaven to earth, but without conviction of this truth, christian escapism surely makes sense. We say we believe it, but what does it actually mean? Jesus performed it. Jesus prayed it. Jesus proclaimed it. What did He say before He left?

Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father 

―John 14:12

Help us Lord Jesus,

"Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit," says the LORD of hosts 

―Zechariah 4:6

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

―John 1:12-13

Think of your personal salvation as a microcosm of the good that the Father desires to do in the world. First, He speaks the word to you that says you are clean. But He doesn't give up on you or simply put up with you until you're made perfect in an instant once you're resurrected. No, He brings the kingdom of God into your sinful members bit by bit as you surrender to His power and authority, and as a result, you are made more into the image of His Son. This is what He wants to do to the earth. This is what He wants US to do to the earth. This is what the earth wants us to do to it as well (Romans 8:19-25). Let that truth become your reality. He LOVES us.

A New Song

Psalm 96:1

"Oh, sing to the Lord a new song!

Sing to the Lord, all the earth."

Have you been singing the same song to The Lord for weeks? Months? Years?

Sing a new song to Him!

Is sitting in His presence becoming dull?

Sing a new song to Him!

Is the knowledge of the infinite character of God not enough to entertain your worship?

Sing a NEW song to Him!

There's always something more to sing; and with each new song, with each new declaration of who He is, there is a new blessing waiting for you, Christian. If He truly lives in you then you are not only speaking of Him who is able, but of Him who lives in you. Worship creates an interesting bi-product when you truly believe that "He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world" (1 John 4:4).

With a new song comes revelation

With revelation comes faith

And with faith comes deliverance and freedom.

So what songs are you singing? The songs of The Lord or the songs of the world?

Are You Listening?

And so, dear brothers and sisters who belong to God and are partners with those called to heaven, think carefully about this Jesus whom we declare to be God’s messenger and High Priest. 2 For he was faithful to God, who appointed him, just as Moses served faithfully when he was entrusted with God’s entire house.

3 But Jesus deserves far more glory than Moses, just as a person who builds a house deserves more praise than the house itself. 4 For every house has a builder, but the one who built everything is God.

5 Moses was certainly faithful in God’s house as a servant. His work was an illustration of the truths God would reveal later. 6 But Christ, as the Son, is in charge of God’s entire house. And we are God’s house, if we keep our courage and remain confident in our hope in Christ.

7 That is why the Holy Spirit says,

“Today when you hear his voice,

8 don’t harden your hearts

as Israel did when they rebelled,

when they tested me in the wilderness.

9 There your ancestors tested and tried my patience,

even though they saw my miracles for forty years.

10 So I was angry with them, and I said,

‘Their hearts always turn away from me.

They refuse to do what I tell them.’

11 So in my anger I took an oath:

‘They will never enter my place of rest.’

12 Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters. Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God. 13 You must warn each other every day, while it is still “today,” so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God. 14 For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ. 15 Remember what it says:

“Today when you hear his voice,

don’t harden your hearts

as Israel did when they rebelled.”

 ―Hebrews 3:1-15

So what does this passage tell me? It tells me that our calling, "dear brothers and sisters who belong to God," involves some sort of action, some sort of response. There is something for us to do. Now this does not mean that we are defined by what we do. We have already been defined in Christ so that we can first, be with our Lord, and second, do His work (Mark 3:13-15). But before I continue, I want to expound on something.

God is a covenant God. A covenant is by definition mutual, not one sided. Another way of describing a covenant is an alliance between two parties based on an agreement. Therefore, our part in God's covenant with us is to position ourselves in a place of agreement with God. We can't do this on our own, but because Christ's sacrifice and resurrection has spiritually positioned us into a place of agreement with God, we are able to partner with Him and maintain our side of the covenant, despite our inclination to rebellion. Yet even in this deliverance, we can limit our ability to walk in His gifts, simply by disagreeing with them. The blessings that you are ordained to receive in a covenant with God are based on being in agreement with Him. In other words, the unlimited pool of resources that is designated for your use is connected to the goals, plans, and purposes of God. So that means if you ask God for something to advance your goals that conflict with His, you won't get what you're looking for (James 4:1-3). The result is a lack of rest in not getting what we want which creates wars and fights among us. This is not rest, this is rebellion.

Now I'm not saying this is always so cut and dry. Sometimes, once you think you have God figured out, He goes and does something completely out of left field, lol. Sometimes He'll give us the things we ask for just because we want them. But it does not mean that they are the best for us. Israel asked God for an earthly king. They wanted to be just like every other nation. They chose to define themselves in a way that they wanted, rather than to listen to God in his eternal wisdom to define them. That is rebellion. Where there is an unwillingness to be in agreement with God's plans, there is a growth in our rebellion. Our way may sound right, it may feel good, and chances are it's what we are used to and comfortable with, but surprisingly enough it never brings true rest.

So what does he want from us? What is that thing that we are to do? He wants us to have hearts to listen! “This is why the Holy Spirit says, 'Today when you hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts as Israel did when they rebelled.' ” Living a life of open communication with God keeps us in alignment with His goals and His will for everything in our lives. Don't become apathetic to hearing His voice; there's no rest in that! "But let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect" (Romans 12:2). Communing with His person grows us in the "knowledge of his will [...] to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better" (Colossians 1:9-10). There's always something to hear from Him. Rest comes from surrender, but surrender comes from hearing. So in order to surrender, take time to open your ears and expect to hear from God, because He is speaking. Are you listening?

01/01/13

I want to go into this new year, not with a temporal optimism that fades around mid-January, but with a heart that trusts and believes that in all things, God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.

I want to go into this new year, not putting my hope into building towers I have not patiently laid the foundation for because of zealousness without knowledge, but instead putting my hope in the God who leads me with vision to estimate the costs and plans for His purposes.

I want to go into this new year, not with a paralyzing fear of the unknown that breeds inactivity, but with a heart and mind willing to bring my plans and vision into action through faith and hard labor.

I want to go into this new year expectant and victorious, as wise as a serpent and as innocent as a dove.

Happy New Year! Hello 2013, Pleased to meet you :)