THE WAITING

"Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD."

Psalm 27:14 (NLT)

Waiting: a virtue I aspire to obtain but often fail to achieve. How about you?


In our hurry up, need it, gotta-have-it-now culture, we have been brain-washed into thinking there is something wrong with waiting and we shouldn't have to do it. Within seconds we can know the weather in southern Mongolia, order a cute blouse from a trendy store, or Skype a conversation with a friend on the opposite side of the country. We can instant message a friend or send a tweet to thousands in the blink of an eye; no wonder we believe waiting is hard to do.


The author of today's key verse was no stranger to waiting and knew full well of its difficulties. Out of nowhere, the prophet Samuel showed up at his home to anoint the next king of Israel who was to be chosen from his family. Only one of Jesse's sons would be anointed as God's chosen king for His beloved Israel. The son chosen was David. Scripture tell us the Spirit of God rushed over David and was with him the remainder of his days (1 Samuel 16:13, ESV). With such an anointing one would expect David to run to take his seat on the throne, but the only running David did was back to the pasture to do his job. Thus his wait began.


In the wait, God prepared David for his seat on the throne. The only vocation David knew was shepherding. He did not know the ends and outs of kingly protocol or the rules of royal deity. David did not have the support of the people or armies to defend him as king. He was only a lowly shepherd boy. Instead of taking the position he was promised David waited for God to move him from the pasture to the palace. In the wait, God made David ready for the move.


David learned many lessons about waiting. By examining and applying these truths we can find hope in the difficulty of waiting and determine that waiting in the present is beneficial to our future.


1. Even though we are anointed and appointed we may still have to wait. David waited fifteen years to be king of Judah and even longer to be king of all Israel.
2. God's ways are not our ways; His thoughts are not our thoughts. After being anointed and appointed David was called to serve Saul, the king who was sitting on "his" throne.
3. God doesn't waste time; He holds it in His hands. He redeems it by using our experiences to prosper us in each season of life.
4. If we allow it, our waiting will bring us to an intimate knowledge of the Savior that we would not other wise have. Most of David's beautiful and poetic psalms were written while in caves, caverns, and the wilderness, waiting on God.
5. God does not ignore the cries of His children. David cried out, and at times begged God for help, invention, and defense. God never let David down. He did eventually take the throne, didn't he?
6. Our waiting has a purpose for someone other that ourselves. It is not all about us. Just think of how rich our lives are today because of the wait David endured. We have the comfort, compassion, hope, and healing of his amazing poetry.


What awesome instructions David gives for waiting! Waiting is less difficult and the future is brighter when we let God to do His work in our waiting season. When we let our guard and defenses down He proves Himself faithful to bring His plans for our lives to fullness.


Dear Lord, help me wait. Help me wait well. I want to be still and allow You to bring Your plan in my life to its fullness. I can't do this without You. In Jesus' Name, Amen

SEX AND THE WORLD

A few years ago a pastor named Dale Kuehne took some college students to work in a farming village in Costa Rica-a poor village that lacked electricity and running water. The locals did have a generator, however; once a week, they fired it up to watch a raunchy American television program-Beverly Hills 90210.

Kuehne was shocked to see village teenagers mimicking the behavior of the characters in the show. And he was floored when village men asked him what was wrong with the women who'd come on the trip. "Why don't they want to have sex?" they asked. "We thought all American women want to have sex."

Kuehne relates the story in his new book, Sex and the iWorld: Rethinking Relationships beyond an Age of Individualism. What happened in Costa Rica, he writes, shows how far iWorld messages have spread-and how little the Church has done to engage the iWorld culture.

Kuehne says that we are witnessing in the West the collapse of the Judeo-Christian worldview. Replacing it is a worldview that some call "postmodern individualism," but Kuehne calls it "iWorld."

iWorlders are dissolving long-established boundaries because they believe that people are happiest making their own moral and relational choices-outside of the family, community, and faith traditions into which they were born. And the iWorld promotes a desire for immediate gratification-as illustrated in the huge levels of consumer debt and the tendency to become sexually involved at the very outset of a romantic relationship.

Sadly, iWorlders often unwittingly sacrifice what they want, in the long run-contentment and fulfillment-by succumbing to their immediate desires, especially when it comes to sexual relationships.

Perhaps even more sadly, the Church has done precious little to present to iWorlders a vision of true fulfillment. That's partly because the Church itself has turned a "blind eye" to sexual immorality within the body of Christ. Even worse, writes Kuehne, "is the degree to which the historic orthodox understanding of sexual morality and marriage is being ignored or revised by clergy and laypeople alike."

This has enormous consequences for the Church's ability to be salt and light in a culture suffering from the after-effects and social ills of the sexual revolution. The Church needs to be reminded-and needs to make the case-that "the biblical teaching that limits sexual relations to a marriage relationship between a man and a woman is actually beneficial to all."

And that's exactly what Kuehne does in his book, in a direct, challenging, but ultimately compassionate way. Every human, he says, is on a "never-ending quest for acceptance, love, and fulfillment." But these things can never be found in the iWorld-by asking, "What's in it for me?"

So instead of being subsumed by the iWorld culture, the Church has the "rWorld" to offer. The rWorld understands that God created people for relationships-and that we find our deepest fulfillment in relationship with Him, and in living a life rich in self-giving, not self-satisfying relationships.

BE WISE.

THE GREATEST LOVE

The Bible says, "God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life" 

The problem is that... 
All of us have done, said or thought things that are wrong. This is called sin, and our sins have separated us from God. 

The Bible says “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” God is perfect and holy, and our sins separate us from God forever. The Bible says “The wages of sin is death.” 

The good news is that, about 2,000 years ago 
God sent His only Son Jesus Christ to die for our sins. 

Jesus is the Son of God. He lived a sinless life and then died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins. “God demonstrates His own love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.” 

Jesus rose from the dead and now He lives in heaven with God His Father. He offers us the gift of eternal life -- of living forever with Him in heaven if we accept Him as our Lord and Savior. Jesus said "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except by Me." 

God reaches out in love to you and wants you to be His child. "As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe on His name." You can choose to ask Jesus Christ to forgive your sins and come in to your life as your Lord and Savior. 
If you want to accept Christ as Savior and turn from your sins, you can ask Him to be your Savior and Lord by praying a prayer like this: 

"Lord Jesus, I believe you are the Son of God. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. Please forgive my sins and give me the gift of eternal life. I ask you in to my life and heart to be my Lord and Savior. I want to follow you always." 
Did you pray this prayer?