EmmDev 2017-11-09 [Lessons from 1 Samuel] In the eye of a perfect storm #4 - Kindness

In the eye of a perfect storm #4 - Kindness

David and the six hundred men with him came to the Besor Ravine, where some stayed behind, 10 for two hundred men were too exhausted to cross the ravine. But David and four hundred men continued the pursuit. ... (After the rescue) 21 Then David came to the two hundred men who had been too exhausted to follow him and who were left behind at the Besor Ravine. They came out to meet David and the people with him. As David and his men approached, he greeted them. 22 But all the evil men and troublemakers among David's followers said, "Because they did not go out with us, we will not share with them the plunder we recovered. However, each man may take his wife and children and go." 23 David replied, "No, my brothers, you must not do that with what the LORD has given us. He has protected us and handed over to us the forces that came against us. 24 Who will listen to what you say? The share of the man who stayed with the supplies is to be the same as that of him who went down to the battle. All will share alike."      (1Samuel30:9-23)

When we're in a storm - and even in the eye of the storm we can often become very sharp and focussed. We become 'efficient', 'effective' and oft-times intolerant of weakness. And that's putting it kindly... Sometimes we become rude, obnoxious and unkind.

David doesn't fall into this trap. Of his posse of 600 men, a third were just not able to keep up. Maybe some of them were youngsters who had not yet developed the stamina that comes with experience. Maybe some of them were on the other end of the spectrum, just a little too old to manage the relentless pace David was setting. Maybe some of them had injuries that limited them. And so David leaves them with the supplies, and, thus lightened of load, they continue the pursuit.

Once they have pounced on the Amalekites and rescued their kin, they return to the 200 who couldn't keep up. Some of David's men stirred up trouble - their greed speaking loudly - they could get 50% more plunder if they could exclude the group that stayed behind. Their proposal was hard-hearted, demeaning and divisive. You can hear their arguments: "We did the hard work, we took the risks, we rescued their families - they don't get their stuff back and they don't share in the plunder. They can take their families and go."

David intervenes decisively and wisely. He points out that the 200 had guarded the supplies (which helped the 400 go faster). He makes a rule - a principle - that protects everyone's dignity and prevents the abuse of power in the storm in this moment and in the future.

Most importantly, in the eye of the storm, David is kind.
He builds his team and protects the weak.

This is good leadership.

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EmmDev 2017-11-08 [Lessons from 1 Samuel] In the eye of a perfect storm#3

In the eye of a perfect storm#3

Then David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, "Bring me the ephod." Abiathar brought it to him, 8 and David inquired of the LORD, "Shall I pursue this raiding party? Will I overtake them?" "Pursue them," he answered. "You will certainly overtake them and succeed in the rescue."       (1Samuel30:7-8)

As we noted yesterday, David chose not to try and face the disaster in his own strength. He not only handed the problem over to God, but he allowed God to strengthen him with divine grace and provision. And God did it!

The next step that David takes in the eye of the storm is to ask for guidance.

David asked for the ephod (a priestly garment with gems that glowed when you asked yes-no questions) which helped him as he sought God's will.
We don't have anything like the ephod today and so we have to ask ourselves what the ephod represented. The ephod was part of the regular disciplined structured corporate worship of the Hebrews. It also represented the corporate nature of the faith as it was studded with jewels that represented the 12 tribes.

One of the best places to seek guidance is in the regular structured disciplined worship structures in our lives - reading the scriptures, our daily devotions, our fellowship group, our worship in church and the counsel of wise Christians. These are the familiar spaces that God uses to reveal his will to us.

Put yourself in David's shoes: His relatives, and the relatives of all his men, were hostages of the Amelekites. Pursuing the Amelekites could be very risky for the hostages but doing nothing could be as disastrous. What must he do? Pursue or wait for ransom demands? Before David does anything else - he seeks God's will.

Now the ephod could only indicate "Yes" or "No". But David got two messages: "Yes - Pursue them" and "You will certainly overtake them and succeed in the rescue." Where did the second message come from? Was it words that God put in Abiathar the priest's mouth, or was it just a feeling (a conviction or whisper) that David had in his heart?
We don't know for certain, but I think it was just one of those whispers that God drops in our hearts.

But David took the "yes" and the "whisper" and stepped out in obedient faith...

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EmmDev 2017-11-07 [Lessons from 1 Samuel] In the eye of a perfect storm#2

In the eye of a perfect storm#2

6 David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the LORD his God.        (1Samuel30:6)

We have seen the extent of the storm David was in. If we tally up the knocks that he has taken in what many would consider a "brutal war of attrition", with the final straw being his men turning on him, we would completely understand it if David simply cracked at this point.

But, at a point where he would have been physically and emotionally exhausted (If you've wept until there are no tears left you know what that's like) and where he must have been caught completely on the back foot, David doesn't crack, but finds strength in the Lord.

What does this look like? How does it work?
If we were making a movie we might see David standing the middle of the wrecked and burnt out village wild-eyed and ready to crack when he pauses and says "God help me" at which point a shaft of light shines down on him and inspirational music crescendos in the background. David's face becomes peaceful and he rouses his men with a "William Wallace speech."
But this is not a movie...

How does "finding strength in God" look in real life??
I'm not David, but I've faced some challenges and walked with others who are going through raging rivers.
I've learned that finding strength in God is not melodramatic and doesn't involve hours of prayer, church, or Bible reading.
"Finding strength in God" involves two things: reaching out for God and taking the next step.

Reaching out for God is an instinctive gut thing. "Lord I'm at the end of my tether. I don't understand what you are doing and this pain is beyond what I can bear. So I just know I need your help." It's not a prayer as much as it is simply handing over.

Taking the next step may mean getting up when you want to hide under your duvet. It may mean eating some food and going back to the books. It may mean grabbing a few hours of sleep and then going to care for your loved one. It may mean resting up and going slowly before your next round of chemo. It may mean just plodding on, but knowing you are not alone.

I watched a friend go through a series of heartbreaks. It threw him into a deep depression and, for a while, it looked like he might get stuck there. But, at his lowest ebb one afternoon, he put on some shoes and went for a walk. He told me that, as he walked, he prayed a very very eloquent prayer: "Please help me". He prayed that prayer over and over for the whole walk. The next day he went for a walk again and prayed the same prayer again. He walked again the day after that and the day after that. His prayers got longer and he got stronger in body, soul and spirit. He looks back on that first walk and his "cry of the heart" and says "That's where I found strength in the Lord my God."

Finding strength isn't often accompanied with bright light, music and instant triumphant faith. It's often just the dogged courage to take one more step and know that God will be there with us.

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EmmDev 2017-11-03 [Lessons from 1 Samuel] In the eye of a perfect storm#1

In the eye of a perfect storm#1

When David and his men came to Ziklag, they found it destroyed by fire and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive. 4 So David and his men wept aloud until they had no strength left to weep. 5 David's two wives had been captured--Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal of Carmel. 6 David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the LORD his God.       (1Samuel30:3-6)

We all know about the eye of the storm - that quiet centre in the midst of the swirling turbulence of a hurricane or a tornado. It is often the moment that makes the difference between death and life, between destruction and survival. David is in a perfect storm. Can you imagine the horror of the moment? He's been playing the very dangerous "double-agent" game. He's been under constant pressure, just one slip, one loose tongue and it would have been "game over" for him. Then he and his faithful warriors found themselves in the middle of the massive Philistine army, being regarded with suspicion by four out of five kings and they could have been snuffed out with the snap of a king's fingers. Then a supernatural reprieve comes and they're heading home!
You can imagine how much they were looking forward to a timeout in their haven with their loved ones. Husbands and dads were imagining holding their loved ones and being able let their constant vigilance down for a bit...
And then there's smoke on the horizon - too much to just be cooking fires... Imagine the adrenaline starting to churn in their systems... Blood pressure rising and pulses increasing... They get to their village and it's burnt to the ground and their loved ones are gone - not dead, but gone!
Imagine the horror and the raw outpouring of grief as they process the utter violation of what has happened. The author is eloquent: they "wept aloud until they had no strength left to weep." And then the anger begins to fester and boil:
"I knew we were taking too many chances"
"We made too many enemies"
"He let the success go to his head"
"He should have known better..."
"It's his fault!!!"
In their grief and pain, David's faithful band of warriors are ready to stone him. Their pain is so raw and overwhelming that they are on the verge of doing something completely irrational.
It's a perfect storm - they have lost everything.
But David finds the eye of the storm.
He finds strength in the Lord His God.
And it changes everything.

We'll look at the details of how David found strength next week.
But for now - simply consider the fact that we can find the eye of every storm when we find strength in the Lord...

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EmmDev 2017-11-02 [Lessons from 1 Samuel] Faithful God #2

Faithful God #2

David and his men reached Ziklag on the third day. Now the Amalekites had raided the Negev and Ziklag. They had attacked Ziklag and burned it, 2 and had taken captive the women and all who were in it, both young and old. They killed none of them, but carried them off as they went on their way.       (1Samuel30:1-2)

Yesterday we saw how God delivered David from a difficult predicament, where, in the midst of the massive Philistine army, he would have had to fight against his own people. But there is another predicament, and, unknown to David, a crisis.
The predicament is that the Philistines are attacking Israel and, in the battle, Saul and Jonathan will be killed. David and his men would have done nothing -- while they had not fought against their own people, they had also not fought for their own people.
The crisis is that, while they were at the battle line, Israel's other enemies, the Amelekites, had attacked David's home city, Ziklag, and carried women, children and plunder off into captivity.
If David had not been delivered from fighting in the Philistine-Israelite war, it would have been many days after the attack on Ziklag, but now it was just afterwards and David is in a position to rescue them.
But not only does their "early discharge" from the Philistine army resolve the crisis of the "Ziklag kidnapees" but it resolves David's predicament too, because now, instead of being passive while the Israelites are fighting Philistines, David is now fighting Israel's other enemy, the Amelekites.
"Ah it's all coincidence!" say the scoffers, but one cannot deny the perfect timing of all these intricate events and it's actually easier to believe that it was God's faithful hand in all this than to believe that it was random coincidence.

So too we find God mysteriously at work in the crises and predicaments of our lives.

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EmmDev 2017-11-01 [Lessons from 1 Samuel] Faithful God #1

After a lovely Month of Mission we're back to Tue-Fri EmmDevs....
We pick up at the tail-end of our series on 1 Samuel....

Faithful God #1

The Philistines gathered all their forces at Aphek, and Israel camped by the spring in Jezreel. 2 As the Philistine rulers marched with their units of hundreds and thousands, David and his men were marching at the rear with Achish. 3 The commanders of the Philistines asked, "What about these Hebrews?" Achish replied, "Is this not David, who was an officer of Saul king of Israel? He has already been with me for over a year, and from the day he left Saul until now, I have found no fault in him." 4 But the Philistine commanders were angry with him and said, "Send the man back, that he may return to the place you assigned him. He must not go with us into battle, or he will turn against us during the fighting. How better could he regain his master's favour than by taking the heads of our own men? 5 Isn't this the David they sang about in their dances: "Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands?"      (1Samuel29:1-4)

After David had spared Saul's life a second time, Saul resolved to leave him alone. But David was not comfortable with staying in Israel and so he went to Gath to live with the Philistines under king Achish. This move meant that Saul stopped pursuing David and King Achish gave David the town of Ziklag to live in. David's time in Ziklag was a very dangerous time: David pretended to be conducting raids into Israel, but he was actually attacking foreign nations who were enemies of Israel. David managed to get away with this "double-agent" life for quite some time, but it would all come to a head when the Philistines decided to attack Israel.
The Philistine army was a confederacy of five kings of which Achish was one. He summoned David to fight with him as his personal body-guard. He believed that David had burnt all his bridges with all the raids he reported to have conducted in Israel. This placed David in a very difficult spot: He would have to fight against his own people...(and thus disqualify himself as their future king)
But the other four kings weren't so sure about David. They instructed Achish to send Saul home, quoting the same song that started Saul's jealousy years ago:
"Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands."
It's such a delicious irony. The folk song that made Saul want to kill David is now the song that gets David out of having to fight his own people.
Put yourself in David's shoes for a moment... There he is, merged in with the armies of five Philistine kings expected to kill his own people. Can you imagine the stress? Imagine the looks he and his men are getting from the Philistines... Imagine how one false move could spell disaster...
And then king Achish comes, reluctantly sending them home. Apologising to David and David struggling to suppress a smile.
God had rescued them!!!
And He still rescues us today!

And, as we'll see tomorrow, there's another set of good things that come out of this...

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2017-10-31 [Month of Mission 2017] Greatness in the Kingdom

Greatness in the Kingdom

At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"2 He called a little child and had him stand among them. 3 And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.      (Matthew18:1-4)

I've been asked to write a daily devotion on this passage but to stick to certain guidelines such as "What does the passage say about the church being missional?", "What Reformation for our own souls is suggested (or demanded) by this passage?

I think these are nice questions but I don't want to answer them so directly because I think the passage is more about Jesus wanting us to have a spontaneous and uncomplicated relationship with him.

A relationship that doesn't consist of obligations, of ticking the boxes, of doing this or that to please him. He got up the nose of the Pharisees precisely because of this kind of interaction over the kingdom of God or, in this instance, who was the greatest in the kingdom. In a legalistic world, especially of Judaic Pharisaism being able to tick boxes was a sign of holiness, while your heart could be stone cold hard and dead.

Against that horrible image, of a life of obedience but with no love for the one you are claiming to obey; Jesus puts a child in the middle of the group and says, be like this one: children who wear their heart on their sleeve, who cannot hide when they feel love and when they give love and are happy to show their spontaneous joy to those around them, and their innate fear of things that will harm them.

So I'd like to leave you with a few other questions about being like a child with God: when last did you do something quite spontaneous, and for no other reason than the love of God had made you do it? When did you give and not count the cost in some action? When last did you cry before God or with God about some of the horrible things in the world, the evil that makes us unsafe? How often do you express spontaneous and abundant joy in worship, like a child would innocently dance at the sound of music, not being too conscious of what others may think?
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Rod Botsis is the minister at Belville Presby, husband to Mandy and dad to Hannah and Rachel.
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This brings us to the end of the Month of Mission Devotions.
We hope that they have been a blessing to you.

Here's a final dedication from Chris Judelsohn, convener of the Mission and Discipleship Committee:
It was a shock to receive the news of the sudden passing of the Rev Abraham Nkhata on the 9th of September this year. Abraham was a faithful and hard-working member of the UPCSA's Mission and Discipleship Committee. He also served as the Convener of M&D for the Synod of Zambia and always attended to his tasks as Convener with diligence and excellence.

He was the minister at John Knox Presbyterian Church, Ndola, in the Copperbelt Presbytery and he will be sorely missed by the UPCSA.

On behalf of the Assembly M&D Committee, I would like to dedicate this past month's readings and devotions to Abraham's memory. His wife, Rhoda, and children remain in our prayers. "Well done, good and faithful servant."
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2017-10-30 [Month of Mission 2017] A different Kingdom...

A different Kingdom...

For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, 18 because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by people.      (Romans14:17-18)

Paul wrote his letter to the church in Rome to convince them to support him on his proposed missionary endeavour to Spain. His letter was not his CV, but his manifesto - a picture of the gospel he preached.

This was the gospel of which he was "not ashamed" because it was the "power of God for salvation" (1:16). He has excited because "a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known"(3:21), because "at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly" (5:6) and "while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (5:8). He could triumphantly proclaim "you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of heir-ship."

This gospel, this Kingdom, is not like earthly kingdoms...
Earthly Kingdoms are about power, wealth and greed. When it comes to earthly kingdoms, Darwin's survival of the fittest becomes the survival of the fattest! In earthly kingdoms greed, self-enrichment, abuse of power and self-aggrandisement are the order of the day.

But if God's kingdom is not about power, wealth, appetite or greed, then what is it about?

• It is about lives changed by the transforming power of the Holy Spirit.
  - Jesus' righteousness imputed on us.
  - Peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ
  - Joy - because our names are in the Book of life
• It's about serving Christ and not ourselves or anyone else.
  It's not our church or our denomination. It is about Him!
• It's about doing things God's way (pleasing Him), and, in so doing, impacting our communities (being approved by people). (Think of the Church in Acts 2 "praising God and enjoying the favour of all the people").

A missional church is a kingdom community and this is what you and I are called to...

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2017-10-29 [Month of Mission 2017] Soli Deo Gloria

Soli Deo Gloria

For the past 4 Sundays we have looked at 4 of the 5 keys to Martin Luther's Reformation teaching:
1) Sola Gratia (Salvation by Grace)
2) Solus Christus (Salvation through Christ alone)
3) Sola Fide (Justification by Faith)
4) Sola Scriptura (Only through the Word in Scripture)

And now today
5) Soli Deo Gloria (Only to God be Glory)

Our text is that glorious doxology in Romans 11: 

Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! 34 "Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?" 35 "Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?" 36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.      (Romans11:33-36)

The Old Testament is filled with the GLORY of God. The word for glory in Hebrew literally means "Heavy". The New Testament, too, is saturated with the GLORY of God.

Over the years I have become increasingly amazed at the way John, in both his Gospel and First Letter again and again speaks of the GLORY of God interchanged with the GLORY of Jesus Christ, His Son.

This GLORY in all its wonder, height and depth is shown most triumphantly -- most gloriously and most surprisingly, in the SACRIFICE of Jesus on the Cross -- the ultimate act of Sacrificial LOVE is the ultimate GLORY of Christ and, therefore, also of the Father.

John 3:16 God so loved the World that He GAVE His only begotten Son ..."

Because of the Love and Obedience of the Son to the Father and their combined LOVE for the World, they are glorified and Jesus prays that as He has been glorified, this GLORY may be passed on to His followers (Disciples) -- those present at that time and all who come after them. He prays and urges His followers to pass on this ultimate GLORY of God by loving one another as He has loved them, and that no greater Love has anyone than that he/she lays down their life for their friends.

Indeed as Paul's Doxology in Romans 11 proclaims:

"O the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable His judgments"

When I was a young man I read a book by JB Phillips entitled Your God is too small.

Again and again we need to realise how GREAT God is - beyond our finite understanding. This is the God who loves each one of us, enough to suffer and die for us on the cruellest Roman gallows, and who asks us not only to love Him with all our heart, mind, soul and strength but to LOVE ONE ANOTHER as He loves us.
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Glen Craig is a retired Minister with an Ecumenical heart, still happily ministering virtually full-time. He is married to Jeanette and they live at Kenton-on-Sea in the Eastern Cape.

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2017-10-28 [Month of Mission 2017] A Kingdom Prayer: Lead us Not into Temptation but Deliver us.

A Kingdom Prayer: Lead us Not into Temptation but Deliver us.

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.      (Matthew6:9-13)

A right view of God leads to a right view of ourselves and a right view of the world. From the moment Jesus Christ set foot upon the earth, the Kingdom of God burst forth into the world and with it a new wave of worship, understanding God's word, and a new way of relating to God.

As we come to the last lines of the Lord's Prayer, we should remember that the first part of the prayer pointed us to God, our eyes are lifted heavenward, and we are reminded what a right view of God looks like. The second part shows us how the right view of God enables us to both relate to the world and to resist the evil one. This is the essence of the last lines of the Lord's Prayer.

We are to ask for God's protection "and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one." God would never tempt the believer, because it is not His nature to tempt us, though He may at times test us to refine our faith. The last lines of the Lord's Prayer are to do with protection from the devil, the Prince of lies. When he comes to tempt us, like he tempted Jesus, we will be given the strength both to endure and to escape his schemes. As believers, we must pray to be led out of temptation, delivered from evil, so that we might not fall short and sin. Through Christ we will be led onto the paths of righteousness.

The Reformers understood that a right view and a right relationship with God would help them to resist the world the flesh and the devil. Today we are still confronted by all sorts of evil and schemes from the Devil. There are temptations by our pride, lust, greed and self-reliance. There are evils of social injustice, corruption, and hate all about us. The Lord's Prayer reminds that when things seem darkest, we can look to heaven, receive strength from our heavenly Father to resist evil and join him in His rescue mission to the world. The reformer, Martin Luther said that when one feels down and overwhelmed, to "say the Lord's Prayer, and tearfully tell God what you need. ... God wants us to pray, and he wants to hear our prayers---not because we are worthy, but because he is merciful." And as the Risen Jesus reminds us, believers triumph over the evil one "by the blood of the lamb by the word of their testimony" Rev 12:11a.
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Douglas Bower is the minister at St. Columba's Church in Hatfield, Pretoria. He enjoys mountain biking, walking the dogs, spending time with his wife Caitlin, and playing with his baby son Joshua.

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