WEEK 39, Day 6, Saturday, 1 October 2022

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Observations from today’s readings and today’s S-WOD, Saturday, 1 October 2022:

2 Samuel 5:10 — And David became greater and greater, for the LORD, the God of hosts, was with him.

David was successful because the LORD enabled it. Success is in the hands of God.

2 Samuel 5:12 — David knew that the LORD had established him king over Israel, and that he had exalted his kingdom for the sake of his people Israel.

It’s not about you. Success is glorifying God in service to others. Jesus said that His disciples, those who are truly connected to Him as a branch is connected to a vine (the same body), would bear fruit. A branch gets nothing from the fruit it produces other than the opportunity to fulfill its purpose. Fruitfulness is a complete sacrifice which produces life in abundance to the world.

2 Samuel 5:20 — The Lord has broken through my enemies before me like a breaking flood.

David was successful while he was going to the LORD for instruction and following God’s lead. God even gave David specific details as to how to be successful. (2 Samuel 5:17:25) During that time, David publicly gave God the credit for his successes. Remain in God’s word; obey God’s word; proclaim God’s word; and give God all the Glory.

Psalm 112:6-9 – For the righteous will never be moved; he will be remembered forever. He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord. His heart is steady; he will not be afraid, until he looks in triumph on his adversaries. He has distributed freely; he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.

True faith makes you resolute, confident in hard times, steady, fearless, forgiving, and giving. What does how you handle challenges, how you forgive others, and how you give to others say about your faith? Does your confidence, forgiveness, and giving serve as a visible testimony to others of the truth of the Gospel?

From the above verses, why is the righteous person firm hearted, steady, and unafraid of what has happened, what is happening, what will happen, and what might happen? Because he or she trusts God. The “righteous” person trusts they are in ‘right’ relationship with God through Christ, growing in righteousness, mercy, grace, and love while they abide in God’s righteousness, mercy, grace and love. The righteous person understands that when the Sovereign Almighty Father loves you enough to give up His Son for you and loves you so intimately that He counts every hair on your head, you have nothing to fear and every reason to be uncontrollably joyful (see Romans 8). The righteous person has faith (trusting God in the here and now), hope (trusting God with the future – faith projected forward), and love (abiding in God’s love and bearing fruit in God’s love) because God is perfectly faithful and loving and in control of all things, bringing all things together for a perfect outcome for His precious children.

• Romans 5:1 — Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
• 2 Corinthians 3:4 — Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God.
• Proverbs 14:26 — In the fear of the Lord one has strong confidence, and his children will have a refuge.
• 2 Timothy 1:7 — For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.
• Romans 15:13 — May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
• Hebrews 13:6 — So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”

“He has distributed freely; he has given to the poor.” Today’s Psalms point out that those who trust in the Lord give abundantly. It takes genuine faith to give and forgive. Your level of giving is based on how much you believe you have abundantly received and will receive in Christ; it is a question of whether you think you need to provide for your every need or God will provide for your every need and more than you could possibly imagine. Likewise, forgiveness is not about what you think you deserve from others or about defending your rights; it is based on how much grace you feel you have received from God, whether or not you trust God to be your Defender, and whether or not you trust God to obey His command to forgive others as He has forgiven you while you serve as His ambassador and messenger of reconciliation. “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6) Again, how much you give and forgive reveals what you really think about God.

• Luke 6:38 — Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.
• 2 Corinthians 9:7 — Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
• 2 Corinthians 8:3-5 — For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints— and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us.
• Ephesians 4:32 — Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
• Mark 11:25 — And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.
• Colossians 3:13 — Bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.
• Matthew 6:14-15 — For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
• Colossians 3:13 — Bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.

Psalm 112:10 – The wicked man sees it and is angry; he gnashes his teeth and melts away; the desire of the wicked will perish!

Those who are ungodly can’t help but despise who you are in Jesus, but they are no factor:

• Romans 8:31-39 — What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Proverbs 1:1-7 – To know wisdom and instruction, to understand words of insight, to receive instruction in wise dealing, in righteousness, justice, and equity; to give prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the youth— Let the wise hear and increase in learning…. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.

People often confuse knowledge with wisdom. Wisdom is knowledge rightly applied, and knowledge cannot be rightly applied without the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Our society is full of extremely knowledgeable people, but wisdom is harder and harder to find as society moves farther and farther away from God and people do what seems right in their own eyes rather than what God says is right. God is the only source of wisdom, and He is the only source of justice. As society drifts from God, it not only loses wisdom, it loses justice, not to mention mercy, peace, love, and hope.

Proverbs 1:8 — Hear, my son, your father’s instruction, and forsake not your mother’s teaching.

God intended for children to be raised by a father and a mother.

Proverbs 1:19 — Such are the ways of everyone who is greedy for unjust gain; it takes away the life of its possessors.

Jesus said that he who seeks his own life will lose it. Self-centeredness will destroy you. Jesus said that the first step for those who would follow Him is to deny self. At the root of every sin is selfishness and self-centeredness. Pay attention to how you attitude, mood, words, and behavior changes for the worse when everything becomes about you. You might say, “Well, I’m not greed for unjust gain; I only want what is fair, what I deserve.” However, you definitely don’t want what you deserve. If you are a Christian, you understand you live solely by God’s grace and, therefore, have not justification to anything but respond to everyone around you with equal grace, and everything God gives you is not only unmerited, it is also perfect for you. When you understand how to truly rejoice in all things and walk in continual gratitude through all circumstances, you will have life to its fullest.

Proverbs 1:20, 21 — Wisdom cries aloud in the street, in the markets she raises her voice; at the head of the noisy streets she cries out.

The voice of wisdom competes with the noise of the world. Have you ever noticed that the scoffer has to shout their views, interrupting and shutting down any opposing views without listening? The world’s counter to wisdom is to drown it out, to shut it out, to subvert it, to create a false narrative that becomes a mantra. Since wisdom comes from the source of Truth, it must be countered with a lie repeated loudly and continuously until it is accepted.

Proverbs 1:23-25 — If you turn at my reproof, behold, I will pour out my spirit to you; I will make my words known to you. Because I have called and you refused to listen, have stretched out my hand and no one has heeded, because you have ignored all my counsel.

Spiritual growth involves continual humility and repentance. To grow in spirit, we must be willing and eager to listen to and obey the Holy Spirit.

Proverbs 1:7, 28-31 — The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction…. Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently but will not find me. Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the LORD, would have none of my counsel and despised all my reproof, therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way, and have their fill of their own devices.

Again, true wisdom and knowledge are not obtainable apart from God, nor is self-control, which is fruit that is of the Spirit. The godless “seek” wisdom, knowledge, and self-control “diligently,” but it will elude them because they lack “fear of the LORD.” Therefore, they will condemn themselves by choice. People cannot create wisdom and knowledge; they can only be filled with it. The Bible says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (John 1:1-5) The Greek word used in these verses for “Word” is “Logos.” Concerning logos, R.C. Sproul says, the Greeks used this word to describe the cause of purpose and order in the universe, the source of logic: “All attempts to translate the word Logos have suffered from some degree of inadequacy. No English word is able to capture the fullness of John’s Logos when he declared that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Attempts have been made by philosophers to translate Logos as logic, act, or deed—all of which are inadequate definitions.”

Only through Christ can anyone be filled with wisdom, knowledge, and self-control. Christians are to reveal, reflect, and project wisdom in the world by virtue of their connection with Christ as “branches” connected to the “vine.” We should not cheapen logos by attempting to package it in a worldly fashion, by dumbing it down to make it more acceptable to the sinner. Logos is holy – “I wash my hands in innocence and go around your altar, O LORD, proclaiming thanksgiving aloud, and telling all your wondrous deeds.” (Psalm 26:6, 7)

“Cross” Fit S-WOD (Spiritual Workout of the Day) – 1 October 2022: Pray that God will give you the faith to deal with circumstances and other people in a way the brings glory to His Name to the benefit of everyone around you.