"But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." - 1 Samuel 16:7
My goal in writing devotions and now making podcasts from them is to encourage Christians to be God-aware, to think about things differently - spiritual things that affect how you and I live our natural and supernatural lives. My goal is not to make you feel guilty, although at times you might be convicted by truth – that is not a bad thing by the way - but hopefully I may shed light on a spiritual truth you may not have considered before or maybe had forgotten.
There is a truth that we would not like to be true. When we sin we very often ignore the fact that our sin is first against God and then toward other people. We try to hide our sin from men, but cannot hide our sin from God. He looks at the heart. Men see our behavior and are easily deceived by our lies. Very often we lie about our sin to others because we don't want to suffer the consequences of their finding out the truth.
I was reading in 1 Chronicles 11 about King David's mighty men - those who would lead his army after he was anointed king over Israel and Judah. While reading the list I saw the name "Uriah the Hittite". Does that name sound familiar? It should. That was Bathsheba's first husband. To refresh your memory.
"It happened in the spring of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the people of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem. Then it happened one evening that David arose from his bed and walked on the roof of the king’s house. And from the roof he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful to behold. So David sent and inquired about the woman. And someone said, “Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” Then David sent messengers, and took her; and she came to him, and he lay with her, for she was cleansed from her impurity; and she returned to her house. And the woman conceived; so she sent and told David, and said, “I am with child." - 2 Samuel 11:1-5
So Bathsheba was the wife of one of David's mighty men who had gone off to war. Instead of going with the Army - which was the custom - David had stayed back. You have heard the saying "the heart wants what the heart wants". The urge to sin can be debilitating to all reason. In the face of temptation, we ignore the consequences and are drawn to the sinful acts.
"But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed." - James 1:14
The devil didn't make you do it - your sinful nature yielding to the temptation is what set you feet on that path. David was in a place where he should not have been and let the "bird of temptation" make a nest in his hair. (Recall Pastor Greg Laurie's quote). "You can't keep a bird from flying over your head (speaking of temptation) but you can keep it from making a nest in your hair!)
"Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever." - 1 John 2:15-17
So what did David do? He tried to cover the sin up. When that didn't work - he had Uriah put in the most dangerous place on the battle field where he was killed. Then David was free to marry Bathsheba as if that made his first sin OK. Sin upon Sin. That is the nature of sin - we justify more sin to avoid sin's consequences. As you know, eventually David was confronted by the prophet Nathan and David repented. That repentance was recorded in Psalm 51.
Why share this with you? Because we are no different than David. We face temptations - we yield to the temptation - we forget that we have sinned against God and others - focus on how to hide our sin from others - often because we don't want to disappoint people we care about. And so we stack one sin upon another thinking that we are actually doing a good thing. Protecting others. The truth is - our actions are not for them but for us - for our reputations and relationships. Those consequences that we ignored or minimized when we said yes to the temptation have been waiting at the door. But so have God's grace, mercy and forgiveness.
"If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us." - 1 John 1:8-10
Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory.
By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone
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