One of the questions that I have been asked the most goes something like this, "If God is so good why is there so much suffering in the world?"
This is a great question that allows us to explore the depths of of the human condition. We must first remember that the suffering in our world isn't a result of God but the result of human decision.
In the beginning God created everything "good" - see Genesis 1. There was perfect balance and harmony in the universe. There wasn't suffering, pain, disease, heartache, or any of the countless other things that cause suffering in our lives. Suffering began as a result of man's rebellious attitude toward God.
God created man to be in relationship with God and in order to have this relationship, God gave man the free will to chose God or to reject God. The choice was simple. God provided everything man needed to live and the Bible even tells us that God walked in the garden with man. So that man could be free to choose God put a tree in the garden called the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and told man that they could eat from any tree but that one.
Then the day came when the serpent (in Hebrew, the shinning one) came to Eve and tempted her to eat from the forbidden tree. Eve ate and then gave the fruit to Adam to eat also. This is the moment that suffering entered the world. By choosing to be disobedient to God, man brought the curse of sin into the universe. Part of that sin is suffering, pain, death, and disharmony.
As a result, all of the human existence is marred with sin, it is part of our very nature. We are consumed with selfishness, violence, anger and pride. We have brought devastation to the planet, upon people and upon ourselves.
God, however, in His great love, mercy, and wisdom uses this suffering to strengthen, motivate and inspire us to new heights and greater good. He gives us the opportunity to bring others a piece of God's kingdom by reaching out to those who are hurting. He sent Jesus to pay the price for our sins that by trusting in Him our sin debt would be paid in full.
2 Corinthians 5:18-21
All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
May we remember that God loves each and everyone of us and we have the opportunity through Christ Jesus to alleviate some of the suffering in the world.
Friday, January 14, 2011
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
??? Questions ???
One of the greatest joys and challenges we can face as Christians is when we are having deep meaningful discussions with our people who want to learn more about what we believe or new believers. It is during this discussions that we are asked questions that challenge us to look deeper into our faith. We must look beyond what we believe and ask why we believe it.
In 1 Peter 3:15 the Bible says, "but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;"
This simple verse challenges us to to move deeper into the meat of what we believe rather than being content with the milk. To do this we must study and learn. We must spend time with God and God's people.
Over the years, I have had many people ask me questions about my faith and many of those people have been drawn to Christ Jesus as a result of those questions. Now I will say that when you are willing to answer people's questions you will come across the people who just want to see you fail and will ask questions in order to try and trap you so that they can mock you. That is the reason that we need gentleness and reverence in our approach.
What questions have you heard being asked? How did you respond?
Over the next couple of weeks I want to look at some of the questions that I have had to answer and I want to help you answer the questions you have or that people are asking you.
If you would like to join me in this journey please leave your questions in the comments of this blog and we will study and grow together.
In 1 Peter 3:15 the Bible says, "but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;"
This simple verse challenges us to to move deeper into the meat of what we believe rather than being content with the milk. To do this we must study and learn. We must spend time with God and God's people.
Over the years, I have had many people ask me questions about my faith and many of those people have been drawn to Christ Jesus as a result of those questions. Now I will say that when you are willing to answer people's questions you will come across the people who just want to see you fail and will ask questions in order to try and trap you so that they can mock you. That is the reason that we need gentleness and reverence in our approach.
What questions have you heard being asked? How did you respond?
Over the next couple of weeks I want to look at some of the questions that I have had to answer and I want to help you answer the questions you have or that people are asking you.
If you would like to join me in this journey please leave your questions in the comments of this blog and we will study and grow together.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
True Power
With the never ending fascination with superheros it is amazing how many thoughts people have about the power we would like to have. Power is an interesting concept to me. What it looks like and how someone gets it is as varied as the people who crave it.
Take for example a two year old who wants to exercise power of authority. They will throw themselves on the ground screaming in hope that they will get their way. One the other side of things we can look at a business executive that runs his business as a dictator and his word is law, and no one better dare to question what he says. I have seen people throw their education up as a symbol of power. "I am right because I have a Masters degree." I even once had a Dr. say I was faking my illness because I refused to take narcotics and he couldn't figure out what was causing my problem. And yes I have known pastors who feel that they are greater than other Christians because they are "PASTOR"
The fact is that many people crave power of one form or another. As I was studying the scriptures I was drawn to Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
True Power comes in living in the fullness of the Holy Spirit of God. This type of power is different than the typical power that we crave in our sinful nature. We want power for selfish reasons but true power comes through selfless obedience to God the Father. When we surrender ourselves to the leading and guidance of the Holy Spirit we will find ourselves with the power to change the world. We will touch lives in a way that has meaning not just for this life but for the life to come.
This kind of power isn't controlled by circumstances, emotion, physical limitations. We will be able to endure more than we think possible and effectively change the world around us one life at a time.
I love the fact that this power was first given in a prayer meeting(see Acts 2)yet in churches across the country prayer meetings are the least attended services.
God began the church in a prayer meeting. He gave the gift of the Holy Spirit in a prayer meeting. So why do Christians avoid prayer meetings?
James 5:13-18 says Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.
May we embrace God's plan for power in our lives and submit to the control of the Holy Spirit of God. And may we join together in prayer as the source of God's out pouring of power.
Take for example a two year old who wants to exercise power of authority. They will throw themselves on the ground screaming in hope that they will get their way. One the other side of things we can look at a business executive that runs his business as a dictator and his word is law, and no one better dare to question what he says. I have seen people throw their education up as a symbol of power. "I am right because I have a Masters degree." I even once had a Dr. say I was faking my illness because I refused to take narcotics and he couldn't figure out what was causing my problem. And yes I have known pastors who feel that they are greater than other Christians because they are "PASTOR"
The fact is that many people crave power of one form or another. As I was studying the scriptures I was drawn to Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
True Power comes in living in the fullness of the Holy Spirit of God. This type of power is different than the typical power that we crave in our sinful nature. We want power for selfish reasons but true power comes through selfless obedience to God the Father. When we surrender ourselves to the leading and guidance of the Holy Spirit we will find ourselves with the power to change the world. We will touch lives in a way that has meaning not just for this life but for the life to come.
This kind of power isn't controlled by circumstances, emotion, physical limitations. We will be able to endure more than we think possible and effectively change the world around us one life at a time.
I love the fact that this power was first given in a prayer meeting(see Acts 2)yet in churches across the country prayer meetings are the least attended services.
God began the church in a prayer meeting. He gave the gift of the Holy Spirit in a prayer meeting. So why do Christians avoid prayer meetings?
James 5:13-18 says Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.
May we embrace God's plan for power in our lives and submit to the control of the Holy Spirit of God. And may we join together in prayer as the source of God's out pouring of power.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
A New Focus for a New Year
With 2the New Year rapidly approaching we often begin to ask ourselves what we want to change in our lives in the year to come. As I think about this I wanted to encourage my friends and family to embrace a new focus for the New Year.
So often our life gets caught up in our own little lives that we lose sight of the bigger picture of life. So times we even find ourselves detracted by all the good things we are doing that we fail to see the depth of the vision that God has put in our lives.
In Luke 4:38-44 we find the great illustration in the life of Jesus about the importance of gaining a new focus in our lives. Let's read this passage:
Then He got up and left the synagogue, and entered Simon's home Now Simon's mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Him to help her.
And standing over her, He rebuked the fever, and it left her; and she immediately got up and waited on them.
While the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and laying His hands on each one of them, He was healing them.
Demons also were coming out of many, shouting, "You are the Son of God!" But rebuking them, He would not allow them to speak, because they knew Him to be the Christ.
When day came, Jesus left and went to a secluded place; and the crowds were searching for Him, and came to Him and tried to keep Him from going away from them.
But He said to them, "I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose."
So He kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea.
What I love about this story in scripture is that Jesus illustrates the ease in which someone can be caught up in the good work they are doing while missing the best that God has called them too. (Not that it happened to Jesus but we can see the point in this narrative.)
When I read this account from Jesus' life it would be very easy to focus in on all the people who Jesus is helping. As the sun was setting people began to line up to bring Jesus all those who needed to encounter the life changing Christ. He healed the sick, cured the diseased, and cast out demonic spirits. All of these thing were good things and Jesus could have spent the rest of His life in that home serving the people brought to Him day and night and would have been seen as a great man of God who cared about all people.
However, the story doesn't end like that. We read that while it was still dark out Jesus got up early and went to a solitary place to pray. When the other people woke up the began to look for Him. There was so many people that needed His help. When Peter found Jesus he tried to persuade Jesus to coming back to the house but after spending time with God, Jesus has to refocus His energy. "But He said to them, "I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose."
Jesus knew that if He stayed there that the true purpose of His mission would never be accomplished. This year we need to ask the serious question about our focus. Following God's plan for your life will not always be easy. In fact it may require us sacrificing good things in our lives but in the end we can state like Paul, "More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death;" ~Philippians 3:8-10
May you gain a New Focus for the New Year as you grow deeper in your relationship to God in this New Year.
So often our life gets caught up in our own little lives that we lose sight of the bigger picture of life. So times we even find ourselves detracted by all the good things we are doing that we fail to see the depth of the vision that God has put in our lives.
In Luke 4:38-44 we find the great illustration in the life of Jesus about the importance of gaining a new focus in our lives. Let's read this passage:
Then He got up and left the synagogue, and entered Simon's home Now Simon's mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Him to help her.
And standing over her, He rebuked the fever, and it left her; and she immediately got up and waited on them.
While the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and laying His hands on each one of them, He was healing them.
Demons also were coming out of many, shouting, "You are the Son of God!" But rebuking them, He would not allow them to speak, because they knew Him to be the Christ.
When day came, Jesus left and went to a secluded place; and the crowds were searching for Him, and came to Him and tried to keep Him from going away from them.
But He said to them, "I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose."
So He kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea.
What I love about this story in scripture is that Jesus illustrates the ease in which someone can be caught up in the good work they are doing while missing the best that God has called them too. (Not that it happened to Jesus but we can see the point in this narrative.)
When I read this account from Jesus' life it would be very easy to focus in on all the people who Jesus is helping. As the sun was setting people began to line up to bring Jesus all those who needed to encounter the life changing Christ. He healed the sick, cured the diseased, and cast out demonic spirits. All of these thing were good things and Jesus could have spent the rest of His life in that home serving the people brought to Him day and night and would have been seen as a great man of God who cared about all people.
However, the story doesn't end like that. We read that while it was still dark out Jesus got up early and went to a solitary place to pray. When the other people woke up the began to look for Him. There was so many people that needed His help. When Peter found Jesus he tried to persuade Jesus to coming back to the house but after spending time with God, Jesus has to refocus His energy. "But He said to them, "I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose."
Jesus knew that if He stayed there that the true purpose of His mission would never be accomplished. This year we need to ask the serious question about our focus. Following God's plan for your life will not always be easy. In fact it may require us sacrificing good things in our lives but in the end we can state like Paul, "More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death;" ~Philippians 3:8-10
May you gain a New Focus for the New Year as you grow deeper in your relationship to God in this New Year.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Christmas Update/December 2010 Newsletter
Merry Christmas!!!!
I want to thank each of you for all of your prayers and support over the last couple of months. It has been amazing to watch God move in powerful ways!
With this being our first Christmas back in Ohio, things have been a little hectic but, as always, God is in full control. We are extremely excited about all the things that God is doing to get things going for LifePoint. God has provided for our family in ways that only He can. We have had loving brothers and sisters provide gifts for us when we needed it, as well as providing a second vehicle for our family. (It needs a battery and we have to get all the registration and insurance taken care of, but we have it!) This is a huge praise because we are putting a lot of miles on our one family van with my current work schedule.
We completed our Church Planters Assessment back in November, and we are excited to share that it went very well! After the first of year, we will begin the paperwork process so that we may begin to receive support from the SBC. That is a BIG praise and we are VERY thankful to have the partnership of the SBC as we begin this new church work in the area!
We are also excited to have our brothers and sisters at First Baptist Church of Miamisburg joining us this week of Christmas in a Christmas Light Prayer Drive. We are picking a night of the week to load up the car, drive around the city, looking at lights and praying over the city. Our hope is that God will prepare the hearts of this city to encounter our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
As many of you know, my (Brad) Grandmother passed away earlier this month. This has been a season of mourning and remembrance for us. I would like to encourage each of you by sharing that we had at least 10 people accept Jesus as their personal savior at her memorial service. Thanks be to God for His faithfulness in the midst of times of pain!
I am also very excited to be preaching on Sunday, December 26th during the evening service at First Baptist Church of Miamisburg. This will be my first time preaching since October, as you can imagine, I have a lot to say!
Prayer Requests:
Please continue to pray for God to open up job opportunities for me. I am currently looking at two jobs that could work very well for us. One as a Special Education Teachers Aide in Miamisburg City School District and the other is with MRDD doing nearly the same thing I did in PA. Also continue to pray for Jess and her new home business with Lia Sophia. It is going well, and she really enjoys it!
Pray that God will provide the words I need on the 26th when I preach at FBC. Pray that His spirit will move in a powerful way to move people into a deeper relationship with Him.
Pray that God will move in a mighty way when we start up our Bible Study in the New Year. We plan to start off meeting in First Baptist and then moving it to a home study once we get our own home, or to another home if God puts it on someones heart to host the group.
Also pray that God will open up opportunities for us to share our vision, our passion and most importantly the hope we have in Jesus Christ.
We thank our Lord Jesus Christ for each and every one of you,
Thanks,
Brad and Jessica Herbst & family
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Embracing The Unexpected Plan of God
As we are all preparing to celebrate the birth of our savior Jesus Christ, I wanted to spend a little time looking at a few elements of the Christmas story. Today, I want to think about a young teenage girl probably between 13 and 15 years old. (This story kind of hits home for me because my daughter is 14.)
As we examine this girl I am amazed by the depth of her faith. At a time in her life when everything was going well she embraced God's unexpected plan for her life. This all started one day when she was visited by an unexpected visitor.
In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called[a] the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.”
“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her. ~Luke 1:26-38
At the moment when Gabriel showed up, Mary's life was changed forever. By agreeing to God's plan for her life she risked it all. Her family would disown her. In the worst case, her fiance could have her put to death; at best case, she would be shunned by her community as a loose woman. Knowing this, this young girl agreed to accept God's plan.
Take some time this Christmas season to remember the faithfulness of a teenage girl who risked it all to bring us a savior. This took place to fulfill what was prophesied by the prophet Isaiah. "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel." ~Isaiah 7:14
Because this young woman embraced the unexpected plan of God, we can experience the Immanuel, the God with us. Jesus came into this world to be the sacrificial lamb of God.
During this Christmas will you accept God's plan for your life by accepting the free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ? Make this Christmas the most important of your life by embracing the greatest gift of all, the sacrifice of the Christ.
As we examine this girl I am amazed by the depth of her faith. At a time in her life when everything was going well she embraced God's unexpected plan for her life. This all started one day when she was visited by an unexpected visitor.
In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called[a] the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.”
“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her. ~Luke 1:26-38
At the moment when Gabriel showed up, Mary's life was changed forever. By agreeing to God's plan for her life she risked it all. Her family would disown her. In the worst case, her fiance could have her put to death; at best case, she would be shunned by her community as a loose woman. Knowing this, this young girl agreed to accept God's plan.
Take some time this Christmas season to remember the faithfulness of a teenage girl who risked it all to bring us a savior. This took place to fulfill what was prophesied by the prophet Isaiah. "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel." ~Isaiah 7:14
Because this young woman embraced the unexpected plan of God, we can experience the Immanuel, the God with us. Jesus came into this world to be the sacrificial lamb of God.
During this Christmas will you accept God's plan for your life by accepting the free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ? Make this Christmas the most important of your life by embracing the greatest gift of all, the sacrifice of the Christ.
Friday, December 10, 2010
The Other Man
I was thinking about this passage in 2 Samuel 12 last night while I was at work and I wanted to share it with you today.
1 The LORD sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, “There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, 3 but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him.
4 “Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him.”
5 David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, “As surely as the LORD lives, the man who did this must die! 6 He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity.”
7 Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul.
As I was thinking about this passage, my mind was drawn to verse 4 where it says, "Now a traveler came to the rich man..." I began to focus on this line because as we read about David's sin with Bathsheba the only other person we read about is Uriah, who is represented by the poor man in Nathan's story. So who is this other guy?
The traveler in this story is a personified representation on David's sinful lust and desire. A traveler that so often wants to visit each of us. In this story we find David, the man after God's own heart, welcoming the traveler in and desiring to fill this guy's appetite. David then had a choice. He could do the right thing and resist the urges of the traveler and could satisfy his desires with his own wife or he could give in to the passions of his sinful nature and progress in a downward spiral of sin. It started simple enough with a lustful longing that quickly turned into a covetousness of his neighbors wife, then progressed to a rebellious decision to act upon the lust in his heart, and then David moved to the physical act of adultery. After this he began to lie and scheme to cover up his sin and finally ended with him having Uriah killed.
The fact is each and every one of us has a traveler that comes to call. This traveler can come in many shapes and sizes but each and every time we are faced with an opportunity to appease the traveler or be obedient to God. In 1 Corinthians 10:13 we have this promise, No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.
It is great to know that we have a Savior who is greater than our darkest temptation and has the power to provide the way out if we would just turn to Him.
I don't know what you are battling today but I know this, "You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world." ~ 1 John 4:4 So what ever it is that is pulling at you today rest assured that you need not worry, just lean not in your own understanding but trust in Him who has already gained the victory.
1 The LORD sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, “There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, 3 but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him.
4 “Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him.”
5 David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, “As surely as the LORD lives, the man who did this must die! 6 He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity.”
7 Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul.
As I was thinking about this passage, my mind was drawn to verse 4 where it says, "Now a traveler came to the rich man..." I began to focus on this line because as we read about David's sin with Bathsheba the only other person we read about is Uriah, who is represented by the poor man in Nathan's story. So who is this other guy?
The traveler in this story is a personified representation on David's sinful lust and desire. A traveler that so often wants to visit each of us. In this story we find David, the man after God's own heart, welcoming the traveler in and desiring to fill this guy's appetite. David then had a choice. He could do the right thing and resist the urges of the traveler and could satisfy his desires with his own wife or he could give in to the passions of his sinful nature and progress in a downward spiral of sin. It started simple enough with a lustful longing that quickly turned into a covetousness of his neighbors wife, then progressed to a rebellious decision to act upon the lust in his heart, and then David moved to the physical act of adultery. After this he began to lie and scheme to cover up his sin and finally ended with him having Uriah killed.
The fact is each and every one of us has a traveler that comes to call. This traveler can come in many shapes and sizes but each and every time we are faced with an opportunity to appease the traveler or be obedient to God. In 1 Corinthians 10:13 we have this promise, No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.
It is great to know that we have a Savior who is greater than our darkest temptation and has the power to provide the way out if we would just turn to Him.
I don't know what you are battling today but I know this, "You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world." ~ 1 John 4:4 So what ever it is that is pulling at you today rest assured that you need not worry, just lean not in your own understanding but trust in Him who has already gained the victory.
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