Life of David [1 Samuel 20]...

in chapter 20 of 1 samuel we SEE the friendship between jonathon and david playing out in a unique and deep way.

however, it was back in the beginning of chapter 18 that we were TOLD about the beginnings of their friendship. there it says that they "became one in spirit". but what does it mean to be one in spirit?

the hebrew word for "became one" is "qashar" and it means "to be knit together". to become one in spirit is to be knit together. being knit together was what made jonathon and david's friendship unique.

i think it is being "knit together" and "one in spirit" that Jesus is talking about when he is asked, "what is the greatest commandment of them all" and he replies, "love the Lord with everything you've got and love your neighbor as yourself". (Mark 12:28-31 - my paraphrase)

but what is the root of being knit together...of loving your neighbor as yourself.

i believe it goes all the way back to the beginning of everything. in genesis 1, God says, "let US make make man in OUR image", and these words show us that from before the beginning of everything, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit were living out this commandment of loving God and loving neighbor as yourself. perfectly. and it is this image that we, every single person in the world, is created in.

and so what is at the root of being knit together?

it is the way we were created to be. it is shalom. it is rightness, wholeness, completeness. it is the way things were in the garden of eden. it is the way things will be in heaven someday. all knit together on one long scarf.

so how might you change and how might the world change if you started viewing everyone as someone you are knit together with?

Monday Book : The Reason for God...

the reason for God, by timothy keller, is simply a fantastic book! one of our community groups is spending this semester learning from it.

first off, keller is an absolutely fantastic communicator. i don't know that i have encountered many who are better. and more than that, he is an incredible thinker! consequently, there is probably nothing he has written, or said for that matter, that i wouldn't recommend. click here to check out both his writing and teaching.

specifically, the reason for God, is a compelling look into why we believe what we believe. keller takes the tough questions and answers them simply and concisely; yet profoundly and convincingly. if you struggle with tough questions like "why do bad things happen to good people"...or if there are people who surround you that struggle with these questions...or if you have a desire to more fully grasp why you believe what you believe...then this book is for you.

i can almost guarantee, if you pick up a copy, you will not be disappointed.

and in light of thinking about a book like this...

what are some of your toughest questions of faith? what are your most important questions?

Life of David [1 Samuel 19]...

have you ever felt like you are doing what God called you to do and yet everything seems to be going wrong? what are your emotions in these times? how do you typically respond?

david was experiencing one of these times in 1 samuel 19. he is doing what God has called him to do, and saul and his men are repeatedly trying to kill him. the questions had to have been flying, and i think we see some of that in psalm 59 (the psalm david wrote in the midst of this trial).

i think it is important that we notice two things in this time where i would guess david was questioning God's call.

first, where did david "run" to. he ran to samuel. and what does samuel represent for david? someone he was familiar with and who was safe, but most of all...someone who david trusted to speak God's truth. he had done it before (samuel is the one God used to anoint david) and i believe david trusted God to use samuel again.

secondly, God sent his Spirit into the midst of david's situation. i think partly to modify the situation, but mainly to remind david that the Spirit of God was at work and that he didn't need to question God's call, but instead he needed to simply keep the vision.

i wonder how often we are willing to wait patiently for the Spirit of God to show up and affirm God's call in the midst of our questions and uncertainty. we live in such a face-paced, jump-from-one-thing-to-the-next society, that often we simply assume that when the questions start flying it must be time to go somewhere else and do something different.

david waited. the Spirit showed up.

to watch the Spirit of God completely take over...rendering saul helpless, naked, and prophesying...and for this to be the same guy that had been hurling spears at him...had to have been a reassuring moment for David.

do we wait long enough for the Spirit of God to bring his reassurance to us in the midst of our questions and uncertainty?

Monday Book : "M"...

This is a post i am re-posting from a blog i follow...the author is seth godin. the book, and more than that, the concept behind the book is fantastic. i haven't read the book yet, but i have flipped through it and i am intrigued and excited!

more than that, i love the fact that in addition to a great book it is an even greater cause. check it out!!

"Six weeks ago, at midnight, I found myself awake but wiped out from jet lag. I was in a lumpy bed, in the dark, in an obscure, $20 a night, John-Waters'-esque former country club. I was in Kitale, Kenya, near the Ugandan border.

A mosquito was buzzing in my ear. (Why do they buzz in your ear?). I had meds, of course, but what if I didn't? What if, like so many who live here, I had kids and no money for medicine?

Try to imagine that for a second before you click onto the next thing you've got on your agenda for today.

Today is End Malaria Day.

Right this minute, right now, please do three things:

1. Buy two copies of End Malaria, an astonishing new book by more than sixty of your favorite authors. In a minute, I will explain why this might be the most important book you buy this year (not the best book, of course, just the most important one). You should buy one in paperback too so you can evangelize a copy to a colleague.
2. Tweet or like this post, or email it to ten friends (It only takes a second.)
3. And, visit the End Malaria Day website and share it as well.

What would happen if you did that? What would happen if you stepped up and spent a few dollars?

Here's what would happen: someone wouldn't die.

A child wouldn't die from malaria, a disease that causes more childhood death than HIV/AIDS.

It's that direct. Malaria bednets are simple nets that hang over a window or a bed. They're treated with a chemical that mosquitos hate. The mosquitos fly away, they don't bite, people don't get malaria.

Every single penny spent on the Kindle edition goes to Malaria No More, giving them enough money to buy one or two bednets and to deliver them and be sure they're used properly. Low overhead, no graft, no waste. Just effectiveness. And if you buy the beautiful paperback edition, you can easily give it away when you're done and the same $20 donation gets made. None of the authors or anyone at the Domino Project sees your money, there's no ulterior motive, just the fact that a kid won't die.

Wait, there is one ulterior motive: You might be inspired. One of the sixty plus contributors might share a gem or spark an idea.

And I guess there's a second motive: Stepping up feels right. It's a few clicks to buy a book, one you might be able to afford. And for the rest of the day, or even a week, you'll remember how it felt to save someone's life.

Please.

And if you could, after you buy a copy, please tweet or post or email your friends. It matters. Thanks."

Life of David [1 Samuel 18]...

commitment...

that's what we looked at last night...

specifically two commitments...jonathon's commitment to david and david's commitment to saul.

the commitment of jonathon to david is fascinating. it is a fast-formed friendship. they click instantly. it seems at least, without the need for approval or affirmation. and it seems to be a one-directional relationship...from jonathon to david. and it centers around a "berith" covenant. (berith is the hebrew word used here for covenant) the covenant that jonathon gives to david.

the most fascinating piece of this commitment is the beautiful parallel that it forms with the covenantal commitment that God makes with us. i believe we cannot encounter the beginnings of the relationship between jonathon and david, without being pointed directly to God's commitment to us through the blood of Jesus shed on the cross.

david's commitment to saul is a fascinating one as well. david would have been completely justified in cursing saul and running the other way, after two spears had gone whizzing by his ear. he instead chooses a different way.

he remains committed to saul, in what i believe was a makrothumia spirit. makrothumia is this great greek word that means: "the spirit that never loses patience with, belief in and hope for others". david doesn't lose patience with, belief in or hope for saul...and i believe that was because he believed that saul could still be the king God wanted him to be. david didn't give up on saul, and i think that is because david believed that God hadn't given up on saul.

looking at the commitment of david to saul should inspire us to this makrothumia spirit as well.

and it wasn't until i was praying to close last night, that it really hit me, that it isn't until we truly grasp the covenant and commitment of God to us, that is shown metaphorically in jonathon's commitment to david, that we can then truly have a commitment like david's toward others.

in some senses the words of 1 john 4:10 seem so simple:

"This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins."

and yet, truly grasping these words, changes everything.

do you grasp these words in your daily life? how might grasping them more change you?

Monday Book : I Once Was Lost...

on wednesday, i was talking with a new student who is on the baseball team here at ucm. he is a relatively new follower of Christ and is fired up about sharing this new-found relationship with his teammates. his passion is awesome and his heart is undoubtedly pure, but i was encouraging him to strive to not turn his teammates into projects.

that he needs to see them and value them as people, and realize that if they are going to come to relationship with Christ, it will be through a journey and a process. (and if they don't ever come to a relationship with Christ, he should be friends with them just the same...their coming to faith is God's job not his) and that if their journey is going to start with him, it is going to be through his simply being their friends. Because likely, for many of them, they are at the stage of simply needing to trust a Christian.

this reminded me of the best book i have read, (as a matter of fact, the only book i have not wanted to throw across the room) on evangelism (sharing Christ with others). the author, don everts, does a fantastic job of keeping the reader from feeling riddled with guilt, and instead embraces the process that God is working in and around people.

the book is called I Once Was Lost. you can check it out here.

if you feel lost when it comes to evangelism, and maybe more than that, if you have been left feeling infuriated by the guilty feeling other books of this sort have left on your spirit, you will not be disappointed with this fresh perspective!

Life of David [1 Samuel 17]...

last night we continued in our study of the Life of David. we looked at what is probably the most well-known and recognizable story of david's life. david and goliath. our hope was to see fresh application of the core foundational truths of an age-old story.

we talked about that the story is less about a battle with a giant and more about the battle with the mind. about the fact that david won this battle because he had a God-dominated imagination.

there is no doubt in my mind that a God-dominated imagination changes everything. that if God dominated our imaginations, God's shalom would enter this world in ways it has never been seen before.

what would it look like for you to have a more God-dominated imagination? how might God bring His shalom into the world through your God-dominated imagination?

here's a great quote by eugene peterson that we used last night:

"The moment we permit evil to control our imaginations, dictate the way we think, and shape our responses, we at the same time become incapable of seeing the good and the true and the beautiful."

how does an evil-dominated imagination creep in to your life and keep you from seeing what is good and true and beautiful?

Monday Book : Outliers...

wednesday we looked at the anointing of david. one of the major take home messages was that david had been practicing for what was to come by embracing the training grounds of the ordinary and normal. for him it was shepherding.

we talked specifically about his logging his 10,000 hours of practice.

this concept comes from a fascinating book called Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. it is a great, intriguing read. it will get you thinking in many different, outside-the-box kinds of ways. the book tries to answer the question: what creates an outlier (which they define as someone who is "elite" at something).

the general conclusion is that it is not innate talent, but rather 10,000 hours of practice that creates an outlier. the fascinating part is seeing the progression from question to answer.

check out the book here. enjoy!!

Life of David [1 Samuel 16]...

last night we officially began our journey of entering in to the story of david.

we looked at the fact that david, as the underdog, is anointed by God. this gives me great comfort and excitement...because i often feel like the underdog. what a great realization it is that God can and will call and anoint us even when we are the underdog.

we also looked at david's preparation. that david was prepared to be king through the everyday and ordinary. through being a shepherd. while shepherding, david was putting in his 10,000 hours of practice.

10,000 hours of practice is what it takes to make us elite at something...to make us an outlier.

so, out of the life of david, we asked the question: what are the everyday, ordinary things that God is placing in front of you to give you the chance to practice for 10,000 hours? are you aware of those things? are you simply allowing those things to pass by you? what are you practicing right now?

to listen to the entire teaching, click here.


there is also an interesting and potentially confusing detail that we read in the words of 1 Samuel 16. it comes in verse 14 where it says:

"Now the Spirit of the Lord had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him."

for many, it seems confusing that the Lord would send an evil spirit to torment someone. how can God send an "evil" spirit?

the word "evil" may mislead us a bit here. here is what the commentator john goldingay says about it:

"the Hebrew word in this story is more like the English word bad than the English word wicked. While it can suggest something morally bad, it can also suggest that the thing we experience is bad, something that brings trouble or suffering to us."

this may still seem challenging to some who struggle with the thought that God could be the initiator of anything bad. however, i believe that if God is sovereign (and i believe that He absolutely is), then we must be accepting of the fact that for some people the most loving thing God can do for them is to send them a "bad" thing in an attempt to get their attention and bring them back to Him.

i believe that God is in the business of helping people find their way back to Him...no matter what it takes.

what are your thoughts? how do you process 1 Samuel 16:14?