Christians: The Lord’s mighty men

“…they [David’s mighty men], together with all Israel gave his [David’s] kingship strong support to extend it over the whole land, as the Lord has promised.”

-1 Chronicles 11:10, NIV

In 1 Chronicles 11:10-47, some of the remarkable exploits of the chiefs of David’s mighty men were mentioned. Those who were mentioned there are Jashobeam, who killed 300 men in one encounter, Eleazar who was with David when they struck the Philistines in the middle of the field at Pas Dammum, Abishai who also killed 300 men and became the commander of the three mighty men, and Abishai who killed 2 of Moab’s best men, a lion, a an Egyptian who stands 7½ feet tall. It was also said that when David was longing to drink water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem to get water, three of the chiefs risked their lives to get it, but David did not drink it as his men risked their lives to get it. In verse 10, it was also said that these chiefs of David’s mighty men (and all those who were not mentioned) played a very vital role for David to extend his kingship over the whole land of Israel as they became a strong support to him.

When I was observing this, it was revealed to me that like King David who has his mighty men, the King of Kings, our Lord Jesus Christ also has His mighty men – and that us, Christians. And like the mighty men who became a very strong support for King David to extend his kingship throughout the land of Israel, we too should become a strong support to the Lord Jesus Christ and help Him extend His kingship all throughout the world. And we must know as Christians that this is what we are called for– we are called to win the whole world and make disciples for Him.

Another thing that was revealed to me in here was that David’s mighty men were known for overcoming their enemies in their own exploits. Now as the Lord Jesus Christ’s mighty men, we, too, should become overcomers. We Christians are facing our own journeys and are fighting against different enemies, but as mighty men, we should overcome these enemies in order for us to help the Lord Jesus Christ extend His kingship all throughout the world. We could not serve our purpose as mighty men if we don’t overcome our enemies in our own exploits. We could never win the world for our Lord if we live as lose against the enemies we have in our spiritual lives!

Now, if we really want to become a great support to our King, the Lord Jesus Christ, then we should be known as overcomers like David’s mighty men. “Losing”, “backsliding” or “stopping” should never be in our vocabulary. We must know that we could never become overcomers if our minds set on losing. We should have a mindset of a winner and an overcomer. As mighty men, we should know that there are no other ways for us but to move forward and continue to win and overcome! This is how we Christians should be. This how we could become a great support in order for the Lord Jesus Christ to extend His kingship to the whole world. This how to become one of the Lord’s mighty men.

Now the question for us Christians is – are we now living like one of the mighty men of the Lord Jesus Christ? Are we helping our Lord in extending His kingship? Are we overcoming all our enemies in our spiritual life? If not, then we should better start moving like real mighty men.

Original link for the photo: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LFU0rs_XgCU/TvkWx_XePzI/AAAAAAAABd8/w2jbrJPT6_E/s1600/david+mighty+men.jpg

Giving to God: The test of heart and integrity

“I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity. All these things have I given willingly and with honest intent. And now I have seen with joy how willingly your people who are here have given to you.”

-1 Chronicles 29:17, NIV

In Chapter 29 of 1 Chronicles, David gave all of his resources for building the temple of God – even his own personal treasures (1 Chronicles 29-2-3). David also asked the whole assembly of Israel, “Who are willing to consecrate themselves with the Lord?” – Then the family leaders, officers of Israel, commanders, and the king’s officials also gave willingly for building the temple of God. Now, because the leaders had given willingly, the people greatly rejoiced. And after this, David prayed in front of the assembly.

In David’s prayer, he said that everything that they gave only came from God. That everything they have provided for building the temple of God also came from the very hand of God. David also said in his prayer that God tests the heart and is pleased with integrity – but what is the connection between here between “giving to God”, “testing of heart”, and “integrity”?

When I was pondering on this, God revealed to me that in “giving”, He is testing both our “hearts” and our “integrity”. How? Well first, let’s look at the connection between “giving” and our “hearts”. We, being humans, have our own personal lives. We use the resources/money we have buying things that will satisfy our wants and needs, and we are not reluctant when we do this – that is because we value our own satisfaction. But when giving tithes and offerings for the work of the church, what is the condition of our heart? Are we willing to give like when we are willing to spend our money and resources just to satisfy our cravings? If we are not as willing, then there is a problem with our heart. We may say that we love God, but when we are reluctant in giving, we are just lying to ourselves.

Second is the test of our “integrity”. Now how is our integrity being tested in giving? Let’s define integrity first. Integrity is found on a man who holds on into a principle, giving his whole self and heart into it, and without compromising. Our integrity is being seen depending on how much we give, and on how whole our heart is when we give, because in this, we could know if we are giving our all or not. Once we are reluctant in giving, we don’t give our all – we start to compromise. Our heart then feels heavy because of guilt of not giving our all. But if we give our all, we wouldn’t feel guilt, but joy instead, like what the people of Israel felt when the leaders gave to the Lord wholeheartedly.

So as Christians, if we really want to say that “we love God”, then we must show it in giving. And in giving, we must always remember that we should give wholeheartedly – giving our all to the Lord and for His kingdom.

Shalom!

Original link for the photo: http://vecto.rs/600/vector-of-a-cartoon-man-reluctantly-giving-away-american-money-outlined-coloring-page-by-ron-leishman-25050.jpg

In times of persecution…

 
“Therefore this is what the Lord says concerning the king of Assyria: He will not enter this city or shoot am arrow here. He will not come before it with shield or build a siege camp against it. By the way that he came he will return; he will not enter this city, declares the Lord. I will defend this city and save it, for my sake and for the sake of David my servant.”

-2 Kings 19:32-34, NIV

In 2 Kings Chapter 18, King Sennacherib of Assyria sent 3 of his men to King Hezekiah to ridicule his confidence, the whole army of Jerusalem, and even blaspheme the power of the Lord, the real living God when the field commander said that “the gods of the nations Assyria has destroyed could not deliver them from Assyria’s hand, so how will the Lord, the God of Israel deliver Jerusalem from the hands of Assyria?” They persecuted King Hezekiah and the whole of the kingdom of Judah, but King Hezekiah, still, didn’t lose his trust in the Lord. He knows that all the nations that Assyria has destroyed have worshiped false gods and idols, unlike Judah who worships the real living God. And so, King Hezekiah prayed to the Lord for deliverance in order to show that the Lord alone is God. And through prophet Isaiah, God answered King Hezekiah’s prayer and said that He, Himself will defend the city of Judah against Assyria. And God fulfilled it when He sent an angel to kill 185,000 men in the Assyrian camp, and when the sons of King Sennacherib killed him while he was worshiping.

From this event, God revealed to me that even in the times of persecution, He will never leave us and He will always be there, and that He will fulfil His promise. Like King Hezekiah whose trust and confidence in the Lord was ridiculed by the men of the king of Assyria but was delivered from their hands, God will never let down all of those who are being persecuted because of their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

In Matthew 5:11-12, the Lord Jesus Christ said that all of those who are being persecuted because of Him are blessed – and that they should rejoice because they have a great reward in heaven for they were being persecuted the same way as the prophets were persecuted! The Lord Jesus Christ has given us this promise for us to hold on to, and He will not let us down and He will fulfil this promise just like what the Lord did when He rescued King Hezekiah and the whole city of Judah from the hands of Assyria – and He will do this to show that He is the real living God!

What the Lord wants us to know here is that in times of persecution, it will all be God’s work – for the fulfilment of His promise and for His own glory. Like King Hezekiah, the only thing we could do is pray for our deliverance from these persecutions and never lose our trust to the Lord. We should continue to hold on into our faith, endure all persecutions until the end, and never doubt on the power of the real living God – for He has already proved His faithfulness all throughout our lives. We should continue to hold on to the truth of God’s word for He will surely fulfil it. And also, the Lord Jesus Christ told us to rejoice in the times of persecution, for we are blessed and we have a great reward in heaven.

Original link for the photo: http://www.ellenwhite.info/images/chapt-illus/GC/PP-EarlyPersecutionOfChristians_JS_0027.jpg