Parkwood Baptist Church

“The LORD has sought out a man after His own heart, and the LORD has commanded Him to be prince over His people…” – 1 Samuel 13:14

“Then King David went in and sat before the LORD and said, ‘Who am I, O LORD God, and what is my house that you have brought me thus far? – Because of your promise, and according to your own heart, you have brought about all this greatness…you are great…there is none like you….” – 2 Samuel 7:18-29

“And when He (God) had removed him (Saul), He raised up David to be their king, of whom He testified and said, ‘I have found in David, the son of Jesse, a man after my own heart, who will do all my will.'” – Acts 13:22

Yesterday we saw God raise up a Teacher, Samuel, who would help His people understand that He was interested in being more than a emergency response worker…He wants a relationship with us.  His desire from the beginning is to walk with us always during the good times and the bad.  From this point on, our story always has these “prophets” that God uses to remind us who God is and how much He loves us.  Each of us has personal stories in our experiences of these prophets.  That person on your life journey that introduced you to a fresh perspective on the God who created you.  A parent, a Sunday School teacher, a friend, a grandparent, or all of the above!  They may not have their names recorded in the Scriptures, but their names stand out in the “bible” of your life.

Pause for a moment in today’s meditation and thank the Lord for bringing that person (prophet) into your life.

Meanwhile, back to our story.  After providing these teachers, God also saw that we needed structure in our daily lives…a government of sorts.  Not to separate us from the Lordship of our creator.  He would always be King of Kings!  Not to separate our spiritual lives from our “secular” lives.  This idea is foreign to the Bible.  This leader would guide the people of God in following the direction taught by the prophets.  This, in turn, would empower them to give testimony to other nations of God’s love and desire for reconciliation.

Of course, we the people thought we knew what we needed and using our own criteria chose poorly.  The people chose Saul to become King of Israel…and God let them (that choice thing again).  Then God revealed His choice.  The Bible describes him as a “man after God’s own heart”…David.  Samuel would not have picked him, you and I would not have picked him.  In fact, when God sent Samuel to anoint him the leader of His people, He reminded Samuel that He did not pick leaders the way we would.  He looks at the heart (1 Samuel 16:7).

A shepherd boy named David becomes King.  What?  Not only does he lead God’s people but he sets the framework for the coming of God’s ultimate act of salvation and redemption!  Yes, Jesus is referred to as the Son of David for it is through the lineage of this “man after God’s own heart” that God demonstrated His love for us (Romans 5:8).

David was far from perfect and always struggled with keeping things out of the ditches.  But his story within our story shows us that what is important in God’s evaluation of our life is the condition of the heart.  Our usefulness in God’s plan is not determined by a resume of tasks and abilities.  It is not decided by what other people think or our position.  It is decided in a personal interview with the Savior.  He asks one telling question.  It’s the same question he asked Peter and I’m sure He asked David long ago…”Do you love me?” (John 21:15-17).

Today, in your story, how do you answer Him?

“And Samuel said to all the house of Israel, ‘If you are returning to the LORD with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you and direct your heart to the LORD and serve Him only…” – 1 Samuel 7:3

By now in our story we realize that we need more than a deliverer.  The cycle we are stuck in at this point was most clearly illustrated in the Book of Judges.  We reject God and live our own way until we get into trouble.  Then, we cry out to God and He sends a deliverer to rescue us.  Then, once we are safe, we go back to our ways and reject God’s way and so on…and so on.  This story needs something.  If nothing changes we could be stuck in a tailspin of hopelessness.  There is something missing.  A lack of connection with the rescuer.

Our God knows this.  He knows that there needs to be more to existence than just bailing us out of our situations when we get ourselves into a bad spot.  He desires a relationship with us that is deeper.  One that is based on a mutual love.  God wants to be more than the guy who comes in and cleans up our messes.  God’s people had become satisfied with an “on-call” God who was available in cases of emergency, but that’s all.  In other words, when we are in trouble, we can pull the alarm and the heavenly firetrucks show up.  God has become our 911 response.  But God desires more than that.

So God raises up Samuel.  He is not the action hero that we have come to expect.  He does bring the deliverance to the people of Israel but He is more of a Teacher than a Warrior.  The Bible calls this new role in our story a “prophet”.  From this point on God not only rescues His people but calls them into a regular relationship.  He uses these teachers…prophets…to teach the people what God is like and what it means to know Him.  These prophets would help the people see God’s hand working through their daily existence, as well as, the dramatic rescues.

In our Scripture today Samuel reminds the people that calling out to God involves more than dialing 911.  God wants your attention…your loyalty…your heart.  He wants to be more than your deliverer.  He wants to be your Lord…your Father…your Shepherd.

So, Samuel takes them back to the “beginning” when God Created us for fellowship with Him and asked us to trust Him…have faith in Him…love Him.  God uses this Prophet and all who follow, to remind us of the foundation of our story.  That God made us and loves us and wants us to love Him.  Samuel is not only an instrument that God uses to deliver His people but, also, one that helps them…teaches them about what it means to love Him.  It is God helping us to grow and mature.  It is God sticking with us.  The patient Teacher.

How about your personal story?  Is God someone you only turn to in times of trouble?  Is your “relationship” behind a glass marked; “In case of emergency”?  Because, if it is, I want to remind you that there is so much more that God wants for you.  He wants to be a daily part of your life.  He wants you to experience “life abundantly” (John 10:10) and live fully in His presence!

Yes, God will be there to rescue you when you call but the Scripture tells us that He is with us always and He wants you to know that!  I’m no Samuel but allow me to challenge you today with his words, “If you are returning to the LORD…direct your heart to Him and serve Him only!”

Make this your story!

“The LORD is my Shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.” – Psalm 23:1, 2

Have you ever stood beside a rushing river?  It is both exhilarating and unnerving.  There is a certain amount of fear and you become very cautious.  Your heart beats faster and the adrenaline increases because you know that one misstep could cost you an unwanted dunking or worse.  For some of you, this describes your life throughout the week.  Walking next to a raging river of tasks and demands.  You spend days carefully navigating the rocks trying to stay dry and not get swept away.  This is life.  It is both awesome and scary.

God knows this.  That is why His design for the abundant life not only includes living and working…it also includes rest.  Getting worn out and tired after a week of life in this world is natural and healthy.  God wants us to live life to the fullest!  But, just as important, God’s design has always included regular periods of rest.  Yes, we were made to work, but we were also made to rest.  The Sabbath principle of rest was created and modeled by God from the very beginning of time.

Our Good Shepherd, mentioned in today’s well-known Scripture, leads us beside the “quiet waters” as well.  It is a different feeling.  One that calms the soul.  It restores you and you relax.  The body and the spirit are renewed and we are refreshed for another week.

Some cannot enjoy the still waters.  They feel guilty.  I should be doing something.  It’s too quiet.  Something must be wrong.  They cannot relax.  It can be hard to just stop and breathe.  However, you were made for this.  Working…and…resting.

Take an opportunity to rest today.  Read the whole Psalm 23 and let God massage your muscles that are so tight from walking next to the river.  Come into the green pastures today.  Walk with God by the quiet waters and be restored.  This is what you were designed to do.

“Blessed be the LORD, who has not left you this day without a redeemer, and may His name be renowned in Israel. He shall be to you a restorer of life…” – Ruth 4:14, 15

One of the consistent themes in this story of ours is that there is always hope.  No matter the circumstances…no matter how bad things got in our story God offered hope.  When the world ignored God and lived in reckless abandon, God called Noah to build an ark.  When bondage seemed the norm for God’s people, he sent Moses to set them free.  Later when the people were merely giving “lip  service” to God, He spoke these words through Isaiah:

“Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD; though your sins be like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be like wool.” – Isaiah 1:18

In every story, there is hope.  There is always a chance given for redemption.  God never walks away without calling our name.  Even when judgement comes and the consequences of evil are experienced…it never comes without an opportunity to repent…usually many opportunities.  You see, the story of the Bible is a love story.  It is a story about a loving Father wooing His creation to come home and fall in love with Him all over again.

This is the power of the Bible.  It is the story of real people with real struggles.  It tells of the victories but also the failures.  The Bible doesn’t sugar coat things like some fairy tale.  It’s about life…the good, the bad, and the ugly.  It’s about a God who gets down in the weeds with us and feels our pain and sees our tears.  This is the message in a nutshell of the small Book of Ruth which is hidden in the middle of the Old Testament.  It is about one family in crisis.  A woman named Naomi loses all she has.  Her husband dies and leaves her in a foreign country as a widow.  She loses two sons and is left with two daughter-in-laws as widows.  She returns to her homeland with one of them where she becomes dependent on the kindness of others.  In other words…she is poor.

It is a story that gets our attention and seems hopeless.  Where is God?  How could He allow so much tragedy to come into one person’s life?

But God…

Unknown to Naomi and her daughter-in-law Ruth, God is active and has a plan that will bring redemption.  HOPE.  As dark as things may seem…HOPE.  The story of Ruth doesn’t try to answer all our questions about evil in this world or “Why does bad stuff happen to good people?”  These things, although important, can distract us from the most important message…HOPE.

The message is that God is with us and He knows our pain.  He hears our cries.  He senses your struggle…and He is with you and longs to comfort you and take care of you and redeem you…and your situation.  That is the real meaning behind a favorite promise in the Bible:

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.” – Romans 8:28

This verse doesn’t mean that everything goes well and good for those who are Christian.  It means that God is with them in all situations and can redeem even the worst tragedies that may invade our lives.  It is a promise of hope!  That no matter what the circumstances around us we can trust…believe…have faith in our God who created us, loves us and wants to take care of us.  This is the message of the Bible all the way to the cross and to your life today.  Because of the cross…

…this can be your story.

“In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” – Judges 17:6

“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way…” – Isaiah 53:6

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” -Romans 3:23

“For the wages of sin is death” – Romans 6:23

As we move on through our story, we acknowledge the Book of Joshua which speaks about the conquering of the promised land and God urging His people to be “strong and courageous” in their faith, even when confronted with other options.  Joshua was always reminding the people that they had a choice of who to trust and that they should choose to trust the LORD.

Today we pick up the story after the time of Joshua.  There was a void in leadership and without direction, the people had begun to wander and, as our verse tells us, they chose to do what they thought was best.  The problem with that philosophy of life is that we don’t know what is best.  We are a very self-centered people and, therefore, doing what is best usually means…doing what is best for ME.

This is one of the simplest descriptions of sin in the Scriptures.  We choose to do what we want to do and we do not follow the design that God has set before us.  We say with our actions and sometimes with our words…”You’re not the boss of me!”…and we go our own way.  This always ends in disaster.

The book of Judges is filled with illustrations of God’s people getting into trouble by following their own way.  Then, when things got unbearable they would cry out to their Maker and ask for relief.  God would respond by raising up a deliverer who would rescue them.  But, once the relief came and the crisis was over, they would slide back into the pattern we have seen since the garden of Eden…choosing to go their way…choosing not to trust God’s way.  Over and over throughout the Book, Israel would rebel and God would rescue and they would rebel again.  A carousel of what it looks like when we try to do things our own way.

Can you relate to that?  How many times have you followed your own way rather than God’s and found yourself in trouble.  Isaiah states in the verse above that this is a problem everyone has.  The Bible calls it sin.  It is a serious problem brought into our world by our decision to distrust our loving Father and resist His leading and walk away from His care.  Wait…it gets worse…Sin is a terminal illness.  Everyone who has it will die.  More bad news, the test results are back and you have it.

“But, isn’t there anything we can do?”  No.

But God…the God of love and mercy would not stand by and watch His beloved creation die.  He came to the rescue!  He Himself came!  What the human deliverers in the Book of Judges could only do temporarily and imperfectly, God came to do permanently and righteously.  Again, we see that the stories of the Judges are just a shadow of the salvation to come through the cross of Jesus.  Paul said,

“For in Him (Jesus) all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of His cross.” – Colossians 1:19, 20

“God demonstrated His love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died FOR us!” – Romans 5:8

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” – Romans 8:1

So, you have been saved…if you choose to accept it.  There’s that LOVE showing up again…a choice.  Have you chosen to take advantage of this wonderful salvation?  Or will you continue to follow what is “right in your own eyes”?

Make the right choice.  Make this your story.

“Hear, O Israel; The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” (The Hebrew Shema) – Deuteronomy 6:4-9

When God delivers us, He delivers us into relationship.  In other words, God rescues us for a reason!  Once the people of Israel experienced God’s amazing deliverance, they were ready to begin afresh with a relationship to the One who had set them free.  You see, God is not only our Creator…He is our Sustainer.  He is not only the Author of our faith…He is the finisher.  He did not create the world and walk “away”…He created the world to “walk with”.   So, all of this wondrous work of God happens in the context of relationship.  It is something that we have seen from the beginning when God walked in the garden with Adam and Eve.  Fellowship…communion…beautiful.

Throughout the Scriptures, God used the people of Israel to illustrate this relationship.  He chose them for the purpose of blessing the whole world (we read in Genesis 12) with this picture of what He is like and to unveil His plan for all of us.

Today we see that once we have been set free, God also provides guiding principles to healthy relationships to God and to each other.  For example, He gives them the ten commandments which are the basic foundation of respect, loyalty, and commitment.  The first four commandments are about our relationship with God and the last 6 guide our relationships with others.

In the Scripture above, Moses tells the people at the edge of the promised land that it is all about being in love with God.  This involves trusting Him and His Word.  By the way, this is not new.  God has not changed.  We are still given the choice to “trust” God and what He has said…and we are still tempted to be suspicious and doubt His design and direction.  “Did God really say…?”

Love and trust have always been inseparable.  If we love God, we trust Him and what He says.  We follow His lead.  We obey His commands.  Not because we have to, but because we want to.  Loving God shows itself in walking by “faith” in the God who loves us!  Jesus says simply,

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” – John 14:15

How important is this?  Moses says to the people that knowing God’s desires and design for us, His Word, is so important that it should always be on our thoughts.  To know who we are and why we are here is key for us to experience the life we were made for.  This guidance from God…these commandments are not burdensome to us because we are madly in love with the God who gives them to us!  Nothing gives us greater joy and peace than being right with our heavenly Father.

We find ourselves talking about it more and more.  When we are sitting around…when we are walking down the road…when we talk to our kids…constantly!  Why?  We love Him!  And we know…believe…have faith that God loves us.  Therefore, we follow His lead.  We can trust Him.

Is this your story?  It can be.

“The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt.” – Exodus 12:1

“Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the doorposts and the lintel of the houses…” – Exodus 12:7

“The blood will be a sign for you, on the houses where you are.  And when I see the blood, I will pass over you…” – Exodus 12:13

As we begin this second week of Lent, let me remind you that we are on a journey that has a destination.  As we are making our way through the greatest story ever told, we have realized that it is our story.  The story of our beginnings and the God who created us, loves us, and has provided for us.  It is the story of our wandering away in a desperate attempt to “find ourselves” and the relentless pursuit of a determined Shepherd to bring His lost sheep home.  It is the story of our rescue from the bondage of sin and our reconciliation with our loving Father.  The destination…this rescue…this reconciliation is brought about by the death and resurrection of Jesus.  This is the center of the story!  It is the center of your story.

Everything before that event in our narrative points to that moment and everything after refers back to it.  Yes, cover to cover, the Bible is about Jesus.

Today we are reminded of that while we are still very early in the story…thousands of years before the cross, Israel experiences an incredible rescue of epic proportions.  It is the most prolific story of the Bible and has been told more than any other.  The deliverance of the people of Israel from their 400 years of bondage in Egypt.  It is a BIG deal!  It is the stuff movies are made of…and have been.  This part of our story has been remembered and told on a regular basis for thousands of years.  It has been intimately woven into the religious history of Jews and Christians.  God directed the nation of Israel to establish an annual feast to celebrate and commemorate it…Passover.  For Christians, it was during the Passover that Jesus revealed Himself most clearly to His disciples.  In fact, the Seder meal  was the last supper of our Lord.  Therefore, the church observes the Holy Communion on a regular basis.

It was during that “Last Supper” that Jesus connected the dots for His disciples and for us. He basically told them that this major event was a foreshadowing of His coming and what He was about to do.  He said that the blood of the lamb in the ceremony represented His blood.  The bread represented His sacrifice for us.  He was the Lamb of God.  It is His blood that takes away our sin and makes possible our reconciliation.  John the Baptist said this when he saw Jesus,

“Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” – John 1:29

In this ancient story of deliverance we are presented with a God who rescues and provides the means for forgiveness and restoration.  Notice in the Scripture today that this rescue is initiated by God because of His love for His people.  It is not that Israel was sinless, quite the contrary, they were “saved” or passed over because they were covered by the blood.  This act was a foreshadowing of things to come.  It was a taste of what God was going to ultimately provide for us once and for all.

The Bible tells us that we are helplessly lost, in bondage to our sin, and condemned to die.  But God so loved the world that He came to rescue us and provide the sacrifice that would forgive us.  If we will trust…believe…have faith, we can experience life in all its fullness…with Him.

This is the story of our salvation.

“Now Moses was keeping the flock…he looked and behold, the bush was burning…when the LORD saw that he had turned aside to see He called to him ‘Moses’…Come, I will send you to Pharaoh and bring the children out of Egypt.” – Exodus 3:1-10

The rest of this first chapter, or “Book” (Genesis), of our story chronicles the work of God in the lives of Issac, Jacob, Rachel, Tamar, Joseph, and others.  These examples illustrate how God, the Author of this story, interacts with those He created.  We see them in their strengths and weaknesses.  As we read we are drawn into the story because we see ourselves and some of our own struggles in this life.  We realize that we are not the only ones…that we are not the first to wrestle with angels…or our personal doubts and failures.  We are reminded that God is always there…that He is always rescuing…that our failures are not final.  He didn’t give up on them and He won’t give up on you!

That brings us to our Scripture today in Exodus.  There has been a change of scenery.  The people of God have found themselves in unpleasant circumstances.  They are in bondage in Egypt.  They have cried out to God for help and He has heard their cry and, again, is coming to the rescue.  We are now introduced to Moses.

We learned earlier in our journey that God speaks His story through those who know the story and “believe” the story.  Now we learn that God uses those in the story as instruments to bring about His mighty work.

Several things to notice for our meditation today.  First, Moses was doing his daily work when the LORD called him.  He wasn’t at the Temple.  He wasn’t at a revival service or a weekend retreat.  God came to him in his everyday routine.  Believer, God comes to you…speaks to you…calls you in your daily walk.

Second, Moses turned aside to see, or listen to, the LORD.   When God speaks to us, it is still up to us to “turn aside”, to pay attention.  When God saw that Moses was ready to listen, He spoke.  Are you listening?

Third, God revealed His intention (a dramatic rescue) to Moses.  Moses gets a special preview of where the story is going…and, to the surprise of Moses, unveiled his part in this plan.  You see, when God reveals His plans to us He is also inviting us to be a part of it.

“Hey Moses” (yes) “Here’s what I am about to do.  I would like you to help me.” (Not me Lord.  I can’t do it) “Yes, you can because I will work with you” (But, I am afraid) “Don’t worry.  I will be with you.” (What if I mess up?) “It will be OK.  Trust me.”

God is working around you right now.  Today He is ready to reveal Himself to you.  Probably not a burning bush.  As far as we know, that only happened once.  But, if we watch and pray…open our eyes and look around…and pay attention, He will speak to your heart and make Himself known to you.  Maybe it will give you some insight into your part of the story and how you can work with the Father in His plan to redeem this world.

You can take part in the story!

“Now the LORD said to Abram, ‘Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those that bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.'” – Genesis 12:1-3

God’s love for us and pursuit of us is consistent in our story.  He continues to reach out to us, but sometimes it’s hard to wrap our minds around something so big and so magnificent.  To believe in a God that is holy, all powerful, and above all things, can be overwhelming.  So…throughout our story, we find that God continually raises up those who will share His love in ways that we can understand.

In today’s Scripture, we find the call of Abram.  A man who knew the story and had a grasp on the foundations that were established from the “beginning”.  The Bible is filled with examples of God using people to communicate His love to His created ones.  In other words, He puts His message in a container that we can handle.  He puts it on the bottom shelf so we can reach it.  Accessible…something our size…another human.

God continues this from cover to cover in His Word and even today.  He speaks the Gospel…the Good News that He loves us…through people who know the story.  The recruitment of Abram reveals to us that God is committed to get His point across in words that we can hear and hands that we can see.  This is more than the beginning of a nation (Israel) it is God “making it real”.  He is getting down on our level…looking at us eye to eye…speaking our language and saying “I want to bless you!”

This is God’s way.  We will be seeing this over and over again in our Lenten review of the One story.  At every turn we find illustrations of God’s mercy and grace.  People being transformed by the Truth of the story and then brought into the story by telling it…and so on…and so on.  Therefore, we are all called to be God’s sorytellers.  Like Abram, God has issued us the invitation to be a part of spreading the Good News…to be a blessing.

This, however, does require a decision…an answer.  It’s something that requires belief and trust.  In the case of Abram, he is asked to leave what he knows to step out.  He is asked to trust and obey.  To go on to something greater.  It is a matter of being willing to do whatever God directs you to do.  The Book of Hebrews describes this moment for Abram like this:

“By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance.  He went out not knowing where he was going.  By faith he went…for he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.”               – Hebrews 11:8-10.

So today, let us rejoice in the fact that God has spoken to us in a way that we can understand and continues to speak to us.  Let us also consider that God has given us the privilege to participate in telling this wonderful story and that this responsibity will require us to follow His lead…to trust Him with the details…to believe in His ability to take care of us…to have faith enough to step out and become what we were created to be.  Will you answer the call today?

You can be a part of the story.

The Lenten season consists of 40 days and six Sabbath days. The Sabbath days remind us that there is wisdom in resting in everything we do including our Lenten commitments.  A spiritual pause in the story of our life.  A quiet moment to take a deep breath before getting back into the ring.  So, today take a moment to pause before the Lord.  Here are a few verses to think about.

“Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies.  Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the great deep.  O LORD, you preserve both man and beast.  How priceless is your unfailing love!  Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings.  They feast on the abundance of your house; you give them drink from your river of delights.  For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light.  Continue your love to those who know you, your righteousness to the upright in heart.” – Psalm 36:5-10

“Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.  Delight yourself in the LORD and He will give you the desires of your heart.  Commit your way to the LORD; trust in Him and He will do this;  He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.  Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for Him…” – Psalm 37:3-7

May the Lord who created you, loves you, and provides for you bless you this day and give you rest.