Does He Know My Name?

What was it like for Mephibosheth to live in fear and hiding for so many years?
And what is he thinking when David’s men show up at the door?

“David is the reason we had to run away! That’s how I became crippled!”
“How did he FIND me?”
“Does he still want to kill me?”
“What am I going to do?!”
****
Why did the sinless, perfect, and all-powerful Creator(!!) of the Universe reach out to the lowest of the low?

Why did He want to know them?
What did He have to gain?
What could they offer Him?
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What do I have to offer Him?
Does He know MY name?
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John 10:2-3,14
The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice.

He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

"I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me."

****

Isaiah 43:1
But now, this is what the LORD says - he who created you: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine."

--from Wednesday's Sept 26 class

"Your Grace Still Amazes Me"

My faithful Father, enduring Friend,
Your tender mercy’s like a river with no end (Ps 36:7-9)
It overwhelms me, covers my sin
Each time I come into Your presence
I stand in wonder once again (Heb 10:19-22)

Your grace still amazes me,
Your love is still a mystery (2 Cor 4:7)
Each day I fall on my knees
Your grace still amazes me (2 Cor 9:15)
‘Cause Your grace still amazes me (Eph 2:7)

Oh, patient Savior, You make me whole
You are the Author and the Healer of my soul (Heb 12:2, I Pet 2:24)
What can I give You, what can I say
I know there’s no way to repay You
Only to offer You my praise (Heb 13:15)

Your grace still amazes me
Your love is still a mystery (Eph 3:8)
Each day I fall on my knees
Your grace still amazes me
‘Cause Your grace still amazes me (Col 1:27)

It’s deeper, it’s wider
It’s stronger, it’s higher
It’s deeper it’s wider
It’s stronger, it’s higher (Eph 3:17b-19)
Than anything my eyes can see (1 Cor 2:9)

Your grace still amazes me
Your love is still a mystery (Eph 3:14-17a)
Each day I fall on my knees
Your grace still amazes me
‘Cause Your grace still amazes me (Rev 1:17-18)

--from Wednesday's Sept 26 class

A Man After God’s Own Heart

When Samuel told Saul he was being replaced, he stated “the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him leader of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command.” (1 Samuel 13:14)

I’ve often wondered what it was to have a heart like God’s. What does that mean?

Was it his great courage and fearlessness in facing the giant, Goliath? (1 Samuel 17)
Was it a childlike wonder which caused him to dance “before the Lord with all his might” when the ark was finally brought to Jerusalem? (2 Samuel 6:14)
Was it his kindness and loyalty toward his friends, especially Jonathan and his family? “But show me unfailing kindness like that of the Lord as long as I live, so that I may not be killed, and do not ever cut off your kindness from my family—not even when the Lord has cut off every one of David’s enemies from the face of the earth.” (1 Samuel 20:14–15)

Was it his faithfulness to God that stayed his hand when he could have taken Saul’s life? (1 Samuel 24:5–7)
Was it his submission to God when he prayed, “How great you are, O Sovereign Lord! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears.” (2 Samuel 7:22).

But the days of praise and blessings would soon be over.

These examples of David’s character were pre-Bathsheba. It’s not that he wasn’t forgiven. It’s not that God didn’t keep His promises, but David’s professional and personal life both went downhill from that point.

Was he still a man after God’s own heart? I think that his Psalms and songs testify on his behalf. “The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior….” (2 Samuel 22:2–4)

He knew that a pagan (Goliath) shouldn’t be allowed to defy God, no matter how big he was. He knew how to celebrate and honor God. (2 Samuel 6:21–22) He knew it was right to show kindness to his friend’s family. He knew that Saul was God’s anointed and did not dare to raise a hand against him. He knew how to truly repent and meant it when he said simply, “I have sinned against the Lord.” (2 Samuel 12:13)

--Brenda W.

Just Ordinary?

Ever feel like you were made to be just ordinary?
Does God use just ordinary people?
Absolutely!

What kind of difference can one ordinary person make?

An ordinary family man saved his family from a worldwide flood.
Noah. Genesis 7.

A run-away led an entire nation to freedom.
Moses. Exodus.

A slave led a band of wanderers to battle the most fortified city in the world AND won!!!
Joshua. Chapter 6.

A day-dreaming teenager saved the world from hunger.
Joseph. Genesis.

A shepherd boy fought the fiercest warrior in the land with a sling and 5 rocks and won.
David. 1 Samuel 17.

And later became king of Israel.

A teenager changed the national religion.
Daniel. Chapter 6.

Ordinary. What extra_ordinary_thing has God created for you?
You for?

A carpenter—well, you know…
Jesus, the Bible.

He has an extraordinary imagination.
Take a step of faith and be surprised.

--from Wednesday's Sept 19 class

Plan to Pray

Thursday, Sept 20: Pray for understanding that we're on a mission.

Friday, Sept 21: Pray to let God use us ordinary people.

Saturday, Sept 22: Pray that we will support each other as family.

Sunday, Sept 23: Pray that we will be confident in God's strength.

Monday, Sept 24: Pray thankfully for resurrection life.

--from Wednesday's Sept 19 class

A Prayer...Because You Know

Dear Father who knows all:

You know me fully.
Intimately.
Thank you for loving me anyway.

Because You know,
I have peace.
I have joy.

Because You know, all is well.

--from Wednesday's Sept. 12 class

After God's Own Heart

Story: Samuel Anointing David, 1 Samuel 16

The story of David that has had the most impact on my life and spiritual growth is the story of Samuel going to Jesse to anoint one of his sons as the next king. The verse (and the context) that has resonated continually and given me strength to overcome an addiction I have had is 1 Samuel 16:7: But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him [referring to one of David’s brother’s Eliab]. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

For many years I was addicted to working out and worrying about my appearance. I wouldn’t miss a workout for anything and was obsessive about eating healthy (to the point it wasn’t really healthy!). I thought I had low self-esteem—and I did, but what that really means is I was constantly focusing on myself.

When I finally came to realize that God is more concerned about my heart than my outward appearance, I developed the desire to want to please Him first before myself or others (especially men, as I was single at that time). I wanted God to be pleased when He looked at my heart. I wanted Him to see a heart that was focused on Him and not on myself.

It certainly wasn’t an overnight transition. I remember running and thinking, “When I stand before God, He isn’t going to tell me, ‘Selwyn, I wish you had worked out more; you are looking a little chunky or flabby’”. He would be more likely to say, “Why did you love yourself more than you loved me?”

It took me quite a few years to learn how to say NO to the constant barrage of thoughts in my head telling me I NEEDED to work out, that I was fat and unattractive. Of course, Satan worked overtime to fill my head with these thoughts. The thoughts still come into my head but not nearly as often, and now, when they do, I ask myself, have I given time to God today? If so, then I can workout; if not, I try to spend the time focusing solely on Him in prayer and/or in His Word.

I can honestly say I am more concerned with my relationship with God now than I am with how I look. It is very freeing. When I look back at that time in my life I do see it as bondage and feel I have been set free—and remember how bad it felt so I NEVER want to go back to that place.

I want to please God as David did. I want God to be able to say that I am a woman after God’s own heart as He said about David in 1 Samuel 13:14 “…the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him leader of his people…” when Samuel told Saul that his kingdom would not endure because he had disobeyed God.

I’ve learned through this process that my life is infinitely better when I submit to what God wants for me and not what I want for myself. I know of the abundant life Jesus offers and remember vividly the futility and sorrow of life not lived in submission to Him.

Selwyn

You're Vulnerable. Comfortable?

Vulnerable.
That’s what I am before God.
It makes me uncomfortable.

Vulnerable to other people? I’m not too comfortable with that either. If everyone knew all my thoughts, what would they think of me? If I knew all their thoughts, what would I think of them?

We can’t handle knowing everything. We don’t need to know everything. We wouldn’t know what to do with all the information, and would hurt each other worse with it.

But God can handle it.
He knows what to do with all knowledge about me and about you.
Because He knows where my vulnerable spots are, He knows what people to put in my life; what situations I can bear up under; what words of His that I most need to hear.

Because He’s all-good and all-love, my inside stuff is safe with Him. Because He’s all-holy and I’m not, He knows how desperately I need Jesus and graciously provides coverage.

Vulnerable to God. I’m still a bit uncomfortable with it.
But the more I know of Him, the more grateful I am that he knows all about me.

--from Wednesday's Sept. 12 class

He Knows...

He knows...

…my heart (1 Samuel 16:7)
…my thoughts (Psalm 94:11)
…my ways (Job 23:10)
…my sitting down (Psalm 139:2)
…my rising up (Psalm 139:2)
…my path (Psalm 139:3)
…my words (Psalm 139:4)
…my inward parts (Psalm 139:13)
…my days (Psalm 139:16)
…my number of hairs (Luke 12:7)
…my mind (Ezekiel 11:5)
…my hidden things (Daniel 2:22)
…my secret sins (Psalm 90:8)
…my love (John 21:17)
…everything (1 John 3:20

He knows…me.

"For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance,
but the LORD looks on the heart." 1 Samuel 16:7

Set Us Free

After watching the video last week of the girl unloading her "burdens" from her suitcase, Darryl was reminded of this song. Read the lyrics, look up the scriptures, and praise God that we, too, are free indeed.

FREE by Steven Curtis Chapman

[Isaiah 42:6-7, John 8:31-36, Rom 8:38-39]

The sun was beating down inside the walls of stone and razor wire
As we made our way across the prison yard
I felt my heart begin to race as we drew nearer to the place
Where they say that death is waiting in the dark
The slamming doors of iron echoed through the halls
Where despair holds life within its cruel claws
But then I met a man who's face seemed so strangely out of place
A blinding light of hope was shining in his eyes
And with repentance in his voice he told me of his tragic choice
That led him to this place where he must pay the price
But then his voice grew strong as he began to tell
About the One he said had rescued him from hell, he said...

I'm free, yeah, oh, I have been forgiven
God's love has taken off my chains and given me these wings
And I'm free, yeah, yeah, and the freedom I've been given
Is something that not even death can take away from me
Because I'm free
Jesus set me free

We said a prayer and said goodbye and tears began to fill my eyes
As I stepped back out into the blinding sun
And even as I drove away I found that I could not escape
The way he spoke of what the grace of God had done
I thought about how sin had sentenced us to die
And how God gave His only Son so you and I could say...

And if the Son has set you free,
Oh, if the Son has set you free
Then you are free indeed,
Oh, you are really free
If the Son has set you free,
Oh, if the Son has set you free
Then you are free, really, really, free

Oh, we're free, yeah, oh, we have been forgiven
God's grace has broken every chain and given us these wings
And we're free, yeah, yeah, and the freedom we've been given
Is something that not even death can take from you and me
Because we're free, yeah, the freedom we've been given
Is something that not even death can take from you and me
Because we're free, oh, we're free
We are free, we are free
The Son has set us free

If the Son has set you free
You are free indeed

I NEED Him to Know

When I’m sick, I want my doctor to know everything he can—all my symptoms—so he can diagnose my ailment correctly, and give me the right medicine in the right dosage. I want to be cured. I want to be healthy. I want to live.

Well, I am sick.

So are you. And it’s ugly.

If I want the right cure for my specific strain of sin, I need the Great Physician to know everything about me. I need all my sinful ways exposed if I want healing for my wounds and from my fatal disease of sin.

I NEED Him to know.

My salvation depends on it. I want to be cured. I want to be healthy. I want to live.

And, miracle of miracles, He does know.
His cure? A holy blood transfusion.

Perfect Healer: perfect healing.

--from Wednesday's Sept 12 class

Give Me Yourself

“God, of your goodness, give me yourself; for you are sufficient for me.

I cannot properly ask anything less, to be worthy of you.

If I were to ask less, I should always be in want. In you alone do I have all.”

--Julian of Norwich (1342-1416)

What's My Price?

Story: "David's Census Brings Pestilence"

After David sins by calling for a census, God is displeased and punishes the people. David repents and is instructed by God to build an altar on the threshing floor belonging to a man named Orman.

Orman says that David can have the threshing floor for free, but David replies, "No, I insist on paying full price. I will not take for the Lord what is yours, or sacrifice a burnt offering that cost me nothing".

There are a few things that I like about David's reply. I like that David so often sticks to his principles in these types of situations and does the right thing, despite also doing the wrong thing on many occasions. I like to watch him thinking out loud this way about why he is choosing what he is choosing.

I also like to be reminded on a personal basis that a sacrifice isn't a sacrifice if it costs me nothing and I wonder what I am willing to sacrifice - how high a price am I willing to pay- in service to God?

And then, in a bigger way, I also like the reminder that Jesus' sacrifice for me came at the ultimate price- his own life and separation from God.

Brenda N.

His "Forever" House

Psalm 23:6
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

“Dwell in the house of the Lord forever” – sounds kind-of permanent, like forever-ish. I am homesick for His “forever” house. He is OK with me carrying that burden.

This world is not my home, I am just passing through. That, folks, is called “goodness” – His goodness, and “mercy” – His mercy.

I am going to His “forever” house and don’t you ever doubt it!

A message from Abba. “Come home!”

--from Wednesday's Sept 5 class

At the Table

Psalm 23:5
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

I am sitting at supper (communion) with my Creator. The devil has to watch as He pats (anoints) me on my head and as He fills my cup. The devil hates it.

My Creator knows everything about me, warts and all, and the devil knows that, too. Shame, disappointment, and envy cannot be used against me.

--from Wednesday's Sept 5 class

His Comfort

Psalm 23:4
"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me."

He is with me! Lonely? Nope!

He comforts me! What’s to be afraid of?

It may hurt when I die and that is nervous making, but the other side is worth it. Go ahead, put me in a grave!

I may grieve when I put someone I love in the grave – He comforts me.

--from Wednesday's Sept 5 class

Restored Soul

Psalm 23:3
"He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake."

He has made me righteous – hopelessness is gone and there can be no arrogance. He did it; I didn’t.

My soul is restored.

--from Wednesday's Sept 5 class

Rested?

Psalm 23:2
"He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters."

He, my Shepherd, makes it so I can rest from my weariness. “If creation didn’t crash when He rested, it won’t crash when I rest.” (Max Lucado)

He is leading where I need to be going. He will make what I need happen when I need it. I can leave tomorrow’s problems for tomorrow. I don’t have to worry.

--from Wednesday's Sept 5 class

I Shall Not....

Psalm 23:1
“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.”

He is BIG and I need Him to be BIG.

Forget self-reliance—I need a leader, a Good Shepherd.

It’s not about what I “own” because I don’t really own anything. The cemetery proves that. What I have in my Shepherd is way greater than what I don’t have in this life. I have salvation - I shall not want.

--from Wednesday's Sept 5 class

Our Plans vs. God's Plans

Story: 2 Samuel 7
When God told David that Solomon, not him, would build the temple.

Our “noble” plans are not always what God has in mind. David must have been disappointed when he found he was not the one to fulfill this dream, but he praised God for His promises and blessings and we should do the same in disappointments.

Julia