Little Chats With God

 “… You will be king over Israel, and I will be second to you …” 1 Samuel 23:171 Samuel 23:17
English: World English Bible - WEB
17 He said to him, Don’t be afraid; for the hand of Saul my father shall not find you; and you shall be king over Israel, and I shall be next to you; and that also Saul my father knows.

 Lord, how sad this verse is in the light of what was to follow! Here were two young men with such enormous potential. And not only did they each have that potential, but they could recognize it in each other. They could have been such a strong team, each building on the other’s strengths and compensating for his weaknesses. As David’s right-hand man, Jonathan would surely have come into greatness himself; whilst he, in turn, might have been able to deflect David from some of his more foolish decisions.

 Of course, David went on to greatness anyway. Even though he never dishonored his family or his background, he managed to separate himself from them and become his own person; to find his own identity and destiny.

 Jonathan never quite managed to do that. In spite of his recognition of Your anointing on David’s life, and in spite of his personal love for David, he clung to his loyalty to his father and the old order of things. Never able to make the break and stand firm in his new loyalty to David, he instead remained with his father and suffered the same fate as him.

 I find that sad, Lord - how much more sad must You find it? But then, I think of so many people that I know today, and wonder whether they are really much different from Jonathan … people who can see clearly the kind of things that You want for Your Church, but hold back from moving into them … people who have such enormous potential, but choose to cling to the past and the old ways rather than growing into that potential.

 Lord, teach me when to hold on and when to let go. Help me to grow in a loyalty to You that overrides all other loyalties.

 

Do you like Little Chats With God? Buy the book at http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback_book/my_little_chats_with_god/6099303.

This blog is © copyright Lynn Fowler.

There is one God, and one mediator between God and people, the man Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 2:51 Timothy 2:5
English: World English Bible - WEB
5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,

)in Whom all the fullness of the Godhead dwells in bodily form (Colossians 2:9Colossians 2:9
English: World English Bible - WEB
9 For in him all the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily,

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)and Whom God the Father has exalted to the highest place, giving Him the Name which is above every name, that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:9-11Philippians 2:9-11
English: World English Bible - WEB
9 Therefore God also highly exalted him, and gave to him the name which is above every name; ¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, those on earth, and those under the earth, ¹¹ and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

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 They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say we shall be set free?” John 8:33John 8:33
English: World English Bible - WEB
33 They answered him, “We are Abraham’s seed, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How do you say, ‘You will be made free?’”

(NIV)

 

Um, ’scuse me, Lord, but wasn’t someone missing something here? Weren’t these descendants of Abraham the same race that had been in Egypt for four hundred years? Sure, they started out there as honored guests, but that’s certainly no how they ended their time there. I seem to recall something about slaves being forced to make bricks for the Egyptians, and being flogged if they didn’t produce enough.

 

And weren’t they the same ones that had been carried into captivity in Babylon? As I remember, You had become fed up with calling them back to Yourself, and had handed them over to the nation whose gods they had chosen to worship. They were forced out of their homes and marched off to Babylon, away from both their country and the Temple. Sure sounds like slavery to me!

 

Wait a minute - weren’t they the same ones who, at the very time they were uttering these words, were very firmly under the heel of Rome? Let’s see … governed under Roman law, enforced by Roman Governors; forced to pay Roman taxes; policed by Roman soldiers … maybe not quite slavery, but definitely not freedom!

 

And that’s before we even begin to consider their spiritual bondage …

 

It seems to me, Lord, that they were so totally caught up in pride because of their status as descendants of Abraham - a status that they only had because of Your grace in the first place - that they were blinded to the truth of their condition.

 

Lord, do I do that? Do I allow my relationship with You, or Your goodness to me, to become a pride issue that blinds me to my true condition? I don’t think I do … but if You ever think that I’m doing so, Lord, please give me a swift kick!

 

This blog is © copyright Lynn Fowler.

There is one God, and one mediator between God and people, the man Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 2:51 Timothy 2:5
English: World English Bible - WEB
5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,

)in Whom all the fullness of the Godhead dwells in bodily form (Colossians 2:9Colossians 2:9
English: World English Bible - WEB
9 For in him all the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily,

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)and Whom God the Father has exalted to the highest place, giving Him the Name which is above every name, that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:9-11Philippians 2:9-11
English: World English Bible - WEB
9 Therefore God also highly exalted him, and gave to him the name which is above every name; ¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, those on earth, and those under the earth, ¹¹ and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

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)

My times are in Your hands …

Psalm 31:15Psalm 31:15
English: World English Bible - WEB
15 My times are in your hand. Deliver me from the hand of my enemies, and from those who persecute me.

 

Lord, it seems we spend a lot of time thinking about the future. On a personal level, we think about what the future holds, whether our jobs will remain secure, whether we will be able to pass exams or to live reasonably comfortably in our retirement. On a global level, we think about things like global warming, Middle-East peace (an oxymoron, if there ever was one!) and the nuclear threat. These days the global economic crisis is added to the mix.

 

Of course, not all our thinking about the future is worry. Sometimes we are simply planning ahead, casting visions and setting goals. Things that are good and necessary if we are going to achieve anything in life.

 

Yet all our visions, all our plans, cannot guarantee us anything. A disaster could sweep them all away in an instant. Not only can we not see tomorrow, we have no guarantee that we will ever see tomorrow. If fact, we are not even guaranteed our next breath.

 

So, Lord, it’s good to know that even though the future is hidden from us, it is an open book to You. You have seen every one of our days. Nothing that happens tomorrow, next year, or a hundred years from now, will take you by surprise.

 

It’s good to know that even though I make plans, my future security does not depend on my plans. My times are in Your hands. Thank You, Lord.

 

Do you like Little Chats With God? Buy the book at http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback_book/my_little_chats_with_god/6099303.

This blog is © copyright Lynn Fowler.

There is one God, and one mediator between God and people, the man Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 2:51 Timothy 2:5
English: World English Bible - WEB
5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,

)in Whom all the fullness of the Godhead dwells in bodily form (Colossians 2:9Colossians 2:9
English: World English Bible - WEB
9 For in him all the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily,

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)and Whom God the Father has exalted to the highest place, giving Him the Name which is above every name, that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:9-11Philippians 2:9-11
English: World English Bible - WEB
9 Therefore God also highly exalted him, and gave to him the name which is above every name; ¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, those on earth, and those under the earth, ¹¹ and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

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)

 Nothing can hinder the Lord from saving, whether by many or by few. 1 Sam 14:61 Sam 14:6
English: World English Bible - WEB
6 Jonathan said to the young man who bore his armor, Come, and let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised: it may be that Yahweh will work for us; for there is no restraint to Yahweh to save by many or by few.

(b) NIV.

 

Lord, this episode had to be one of the craziest schemes of all time. Two blokes, Johnathan and his armor bearer, decide to take on a whole detachment of Philistine warriors. Not only that, but they warn them that they’re coming. What’s more, they have to climb up hand-and-foot to get there. Their only possible advantage - at least in the natural - was that the Philistines were probably too busy rolling around on the ground laughing at the whole idea to be able to defend themselves.

 

Yet, Lord, it seems that throughout Your Word, You like to make the point that one plus You is a majority. I think of Gideon’s army, which You deliberately reduced from 32,000rom 32,000
English: World English Bible - WEB
Izbrano poglavje ne obstaja! Štetje svetopisemskih vrstic se za?ne z ¹! Vrstica ⁰ ne obstaja!

to just 300, specifically to demonstrate that victory doesn’t come from human numbers, strength or ability, but only from You.

 

And, in the New Testament, I think of the little band of 120, empowered by Your Spirit on the day of Pentecost, who went on to “turn the world upside down.”

 

Lord, in my own life it often feels like I’m fighting on a dozen fronts at once. Sometimes I feel totally outnumbered. Yet, Lord, when I look at those things in the light of these Scriptures, one thing becomes obvious - no matter how big and daunting the things that come against me might be, as long as I am in Your will, You are with me - and we are the majority.

 

Stretching my vision to the bigger picture, I think of all the things that come against Your Kingdom - false religions, militant atheism, spiraling immorality, rampant injustice, endemic materialism. Sometimes they all seem so big, we wonder how we can ever effectively stand against them. Help us - help me - to remember that You always win, no matter how many are on Your side.

 

This blog is © copyright Lynn Fowler.

There is one God, and one mediator between God and people, the man Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 2:51 Timothy 2:5
English: World English Bible - WEB
5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,

)in Whom all the fullness of the Godhead dwells in bodily form (Colossians 2:9Colossians 2:9
English: World English Bible - WEB
9 For in him all the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily,

WP-Bible plugin

)and Whom God the Father has exalted to the highest place, giving Him the Name which is above every name, that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:9-11Philippians 2:9-11
English: World English Bible - WEB
9 Therefore God also highly exalted him, and gave to him the name which is above every name; ¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, those on earth, and those under the earth, ¹¹ and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

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)

Great News! My Little Chats With God  is now available as a print book. Find it at http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback_book/my_little_chats_with_god/6099303

I’m really excited about this! I pray that many people will be blessed and inspired by this little book. If you have someone with a birthday coming up, this would be a great present for them.