Going Forward

One of the great dangers for anyone is taking on too much. We can allow ourselves to become like Titan and try to carry the world. For myself, I never see myself as having done enough, which can keep me from being lazy but can also force me into a frame of mind that doesn't allow me to rest as God commands.

Balance in life is not the old-fashioned scales, where we add to one side or another. Balance isn't equality in our lives. I say that because we are people and not measuring devices. Balance for people is often more nuanced.

Balance is often something we talk about, but in understanding it, we create something it isn't. Balance for a pregnant woman isn't the same as a teenage boy, or an unemployed steelworker, or a pastor. Balance is adding the right amount of force to the right areas of our lives to keep us from falling over or falling into error. It means turning off the TV or going home early from work to take care of a sick wife or child. It may mean taking an extra job to pay off debt. It may mean not watching TV or reading fiction to finish the master’s Program. It may mean doing nothing so that your body can recover.

To say it another way, balance for an introvert may mean only a few hours or less around people who drain you. For an extrovert, your balance is to be intact with more stimuli. For a cactus, balance is only a little water and lots of sun, but an impatiens needs lots of water and shade. As a Christian, you always need God and His word. For an infant or someone who is older, balance might mean taking a nap. Balance for you won’t be the same as for others.

Find the balance that God wants you to have and live into it, but remember to let God be your instructor in this.

PERSONAL APPLICATION: This is where it comes to me. I need to keep a balance. Currently, I am starting to work with a Bible scholar on reviewing the Bible Reflections Series. This is something due to our schedules that will take a lot of time. We will begin with Bible Reflections 5 and continue so that the book and the blog, https://biblereflections4you.blogspot.com will be as accurate as I can make them. To do this and not become overloaded, I will not be continuing to add more comments as we go through Bible Reflections, even though I am still doing the readings.

 

For the few who follow here, thanks for your understanding. I will still be posting, but less frequently and not about Bible Reflections. See you in 2026.

REMEMBER: Balance is adding the right amount of force to the right areas of our lives to keep us from falling over or falling into error.

Jeremiah 37

 

Don’t think this reprieve means you're getting off. There are times when it appears that people who are doing wrong are going to get away with consequences. The truth is that everyone will face judgment. Here, it seems they'll be okay, but God warns them they won't. What Judah should have done is take this time to call for people to repent and call out to God. What do we see? They arrest the prophet on trumped-up charges. Instead of seeking the prophet to return to God, they beat him and might have killed him if the king hadn't stepped in. The king, though protecting Isaiah, shows no sign of calling for repentance either. How sad.  

Photo by the blowup on Unsplash

Romans 16

 

Paul and Romans Chapter 16 has a list of people that are just one after another of people who are in Christ or are working for Christ or have helped in the work of Christ and it's amazing to see these names listed one after another, some of which are new people we haven't heard of before, some of which we can read about it in the Book of Acts. But it's amazing to see the number of people who came beside Paul and were working for the gospel.

Yet in the middle of all this, Paul says, greet them and do wonderful things to them and treat them right. Paul warns 16 and verse 17 to watch out for those who cause divisions, obstacles, and keep away from them. After saying "greet these people," do nice things. There's this warning: watch out for those who are causing division. Watch out for those who are causing trouble and serving themselves. And why? Because God wants us to be innocent about what is evil. Don't get caught up in those things that cause divisions that cause problems with those people who do that. But serve God faithfully. And as Paul says, "God of peace will crush Satan." You don't have to. I don't have to. And to me, that is a relief. I have things to do, you have things to do, but God will have the victory.

Photo by Hanri Meades on Unsplash

Romans 15

 

As we look at Romans Chapter 15, Paul starts out in verse 14, 15, that he understands that the people in Rome are, they're doing good, they have knowledge, they have competence, they can instruct one another, but he says that he's, because of his ministry, he's spoken boldly on some points to remind them. And I'm reminded that the reason we go sometimes to church isn't just to help other people, which we should. It isn't just to hear new things. Sometimes we do. Sometimes it's good to be reminded. That's the ministry sometimes for our pastor. Just to remind people of what they already know.

Also, I found it interesting that at the end of this chapter, Paul asks for prayer. He asks him, he says, "Pray for me." Now, if anyone was good enough, it would have been Paul, we would think. But yet Paul the Apostle says, "I want you to pray for me." He realized that the prayers of others would help him in the things he was about to face.

Finally, if I may, verse 13 sounds like a great conclusion. "May the God of Hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Amen. Go with God today.

Psalm 86

 

There are two prayers in the chapter that have me thinking today. The first is that God would guard our lives, and the second is that God would give us an undivided heart. When I consider it, these aren’t two prayers but one; if our lives are going to be all that they need to be for God, our hearts can’t be divided. We have to be fully committed to God and his ways. James gives the warning that a divided heart won’t receive anything from God, so this is a real concern. The great thing is God knows our weakness and will help us when we find our heart divided between what He says and other desires that come up within us. God will if we let him give us undivided hearts, and in that He is guarding our lives.

2 Samuel 14

  

As I look into 2 Samuel 14, I see something that I see as a reflection of 2 Samuel 13. Jonadab gave advice to his brother. And now Joab is giving advice through someone else to David to try to make them feel better about themselves and about what's going on in their life. The problem is that both of these choices led to disaster, which is a reminder to me that we need to make sure to pick wise counselors and not just people who will tell us what we want to hear. 

If I'm on a diet, I don't need to ask the bakery owner, "Should I buy a donut?" Of course, he's going to say "yes." "He's going to say, one's not going to hurt you. It's okay". If I have a friend who just wants me to feel better, he'll say, "Yes, eat it." My doctor? Well, he's not going to say that. And real, honest, good advisors tell us what we don't want to hear, not just what we want to hear. 

Choose wisely.

Photo by James Lee on Unsplash

2 Samuel 13

  

Second Samuel Chapter 13, we find the story of Amon and Tamar, and then of Absalom's hatred toward his brother, and then the murder of his brother. The one thing that comes out to me in this is the fact that Absalon, it says, never said a word to Amon. In fact, we don't see that Absalom said anything to anyone. Not to David, not to Amon. He let this hatred simmer in his heart. And it simmered, and it simmered. And two years later, it came out. This is a reminder that if you hold on to bitterness and anger, it eventually leads to evil. Yes, you may never kill your enemy or the person you hate. But Jesus says if we hold on to hatred and bitterness in our heart, then we've already committed the sin of murder. Why is that? Because of our trajectory, our heart is already bent that way. And given enough time, without dealing with it, and without some sort of restraining influence, we too will follow in the steps of Absalon and murder those who have offended us. Now we might say Absalom was justified because the king, David, did nothing. And in one sense, yes. Ammon should have been killed according to the law. But ultimately, it wasn't in Absalom's hands. He was not the judge. He was not the government; his father, David, was. And we don't see that he even went to David and pleaded with him. He just held on to it until he finally worked it out in his life. Be careful what you let stay in your life. And remember this. God says we're to love our enemies, to pray for them. Why? Because ultimately, those actions, those attitudes, I should say, will destroy you, not just those people you hate.

Photo by Hannah Xu on Unsplash

Jeremiah 36

 

The words Jeremiah had spoken hadn't caused the people to change, so perhaps a scroll written would? God is giving another way for people to hear his message, but what I see is that even when hearing this, the people didn't change. The elders were afraid, but other than telling Baruch and Jeremiah to hide (which was good), there is nothing that says they repented of their ways. They just took it to the king. My thought on this is that if someone's heart is turned against God, it doesn't matter what God does; he could speak from the mountain his commands (He did at Sinai), but the rebellious will not listen. As the old saying goes, "No one is so blind as the one who refuses to see."

Photo by David Underland on Unsplash

2 Samuel 12

  

In Second Samuel Chapter 12, several things caught my attention that I really hadn't noticed before. First was God's word to David. "I gave you all this. And if you wanted more, I would have given it to you." In verse number eight, God would have given David more. But no, David wanted what he wanted, and it was wrong.

Also, God's promise that what is done in secret will be shown openly. By the way, this is manifest again in the New Testament, where Jesus says that what is done in secret will be publicly acknowledged. So don't think you're hiding it. That's why it's so important to ask for forgiveness and have God come into you. He can give you the grace to accept it.

Also, David's acceptance of God's will when it came to the death of his child. He prayed and he prayed, he grieved in a very true way. But it wasn't grieving that was happening when the child was sick. It was calling out to God. And he stopped calling out to God when he saw that God wasn't going to heal his child. He accepted it. I'm sure he was. But he had come to understand now wasn't the time to try to call out to God to beg because God said no.

The amazing thing is that this relationship, which should not have taken place between David and Bathsheba. There was a son finally born named Solomon, whom Nathan, the prophet, told him to name Jedediah, meaning beloved. Is it amazing that God can bring forth the beloved from something sinful? Like God brings us, sinners broken from the actions of our Adam and Eve and our parents, all the way down to our own disobedience. When we call out forgiveness, he takes and creates one who is beloved. I just think that's a man we see.

And then finally, the last chapter, when Job tells David, "You need to get down here and take credit for this, or I will." And it just hits me, if Joab had done this early on, told David, "Hey David, you need to get down here and not stay in Jerusalem," there wouldn't have been any of this problem with Bethsheba.

Photo by Omar:. Lopez-Rincon on Unsplash

Romans 14

 

As we turn to Romans Chapter 14, the key to this chapter is verse 8, where it says, "if we live, we live for the Lord, and if we die, we die for the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord." Everything in our lives needs to revolve around the fact that it belongs to God. 

What would Jesus do? Which is a real question. What would Jesus do in my life when it comes to these things that are vague or unclear in scripture? Like food sacrifice to idols or celebrating certain days. Some people want to get really bent out of shape. But Paul actually is saying we need to consider our brother higher than ourselves. If it's going to offend them, if it's going to drive them away from God, then it would be better for us not to do it.  I am a teetotler, just to tell you. Years ago, I was sitting with someone at a table, and there was a small bottle of wine available, but none of us were touching it. And there was a discussion about a communion service that was going to have wine. And I just made the statement that I could not partake of that because I am a teetotaler. I did not feel that it was good for me to partake of wine because of the alcoholic tendencies in my life and the alcoholic history in my family. The person across from me said, "Well, it's no big deal," and to prove their point, they poured themselves a glass of wine and drank it, then explained how good it tasted. Thankfully, though that hurt, because this was someone I respected, I let go of it and said, "She can do what she wants, I have to do what I believe God wants." And I don't want to judge this person's actions, but in light of scripture, I've got to ask myself or tell myself, I need to do better than that. I don't need to stand over someone else and say, I don't have a problem and do what would offend them. I need to consider their soul. This is not just if somebody's being petty, but if this is a sincere issue, then I need to let it go. I don't need to flaunt it in their face. Why? Because my life isn't my own. My life is Christ, and Christ would not hurt my brother or sister. As G. Campbell Morgan put it, "the test of which we are to judge is the welfare of our brother." And I think it's not just judging. It's in all that we do.

Psalm 51

I appreciate G. Campbell Morgan in his book, "An
Expository Exposition of the whole Bible," when he said that "the
penitent soul cried for forgiveness on the basis of confession." And he's
right. If we're going to get right with God, looking at David's example, we
have to be able to confess, be willing to admit, "Hey, I did wrong." 

Also, the progression that J. Campbell Morgan pointed
out was, first, David asked for pardon, for purity, for cleansing of his heart,
and finally a renewal of his spirit. And when I look at the work that Christ is
to do in our lives as Christians, it matches. We come to him and ask for
forgiveness. He imputes his righteousness to us. He begins cleansing our hearts
and renews our spirit by His Spirit coming in and renewing us and making us
more like him. That's the plan. The plan isn't that we are just to be forgiven,
but that we are supposed to have pure hearts and a new spirit. That's what God
wants for His people. And we see that in the heart of David in Psalm 51.

2 Samuel 11

 

When we look at Second Samuel Chapter 11, I can't help but think about Matthew Chapter 5 when Jesus said, "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." We see in Second Samuel chapter 11 that Uriah the Hittite did the right thing. Like Joseph, who refused to sleep with Potipher's wife, Uriah refused to lower his integrity and spend a comfortable time with his wife while his men were out to war. And what did Uriah get for his faithfulness to his men? For doing what is right? David killed him.

This is a reminder that when we look at what Jesus says and other places in the Old Testament, like the story of Joseph, doing the right thing sometimes has horrible consequences. You can do the right thing, and nothing goes right. This doesn't mean that God is against you. In fact, looking at the scriptures, God is blessed by those who suffer for righteousness’ sake. But that doesn't make it easy.

Photo by Nathan Lemon on Unsplash

2 Samuel 10

 

Second Samuel Chapter 10 reminds me that there are times we should not listen to our advisors. Hanun was asking what's going on, and his advisors, his princes said, "No, David's a bad guy, my paraphrase, watch out," and he responded, This is why it's so important to have good advisors. Because bad advisors will get you into a world of trouble. Just as they did, Hanun here. First of all, by telling him, "David's bad," treating his advisors or comforts badly, and then by preparing for war. When they should have just apologized. 

Choose advisors carefully.

Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash

Jeremiah 35

 

God's reward to the Rechabits, to always have someone in their household who will serve God, can be contrasted with what God is promising is coming on Jerusalem, destruction. God is reinforcing the teaching that obedience brings blessing. We may not like it and want to argue that God isn't fair, but that is about as foolish as saying gravity isn't fair when you jump off a building. If you do something wrong, there are consequences whether you like it or not. 

Photo by Kelsey Knight on Unsplash

2 Samuel 9

 

In the midst of Second Samuel 9 and David's actions toward Jonathan's son, we see something interesting, not in the fact that Jonathan's son was taken care of, that is kind of expected, understanding David's character. But what I've noticed in this chapter is what Mephibosheth named his son. Names often tell what the parent is thinking and feeling or what they believe. And Micah means who is like God. For a man who was crippled, who was part of a royal family but is not now, for him to name his son, who is like God, shows me that Mephibosheth must have had great faith like his father.

Photo by Jill Sauve on Unsplash

Romans 13

 

We should consider the first and last verses of Romans Chapter 13. The first part says "everyone must submit himself." I'll pause there and then go to the last verse: "Rather, clothe yourself with the Lord Jesus Christ and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature". These two points of this chapter are important and nearly sum it up.

We have to remember that Paul's world, the Roman authorities, were not the good guys. They weren't nice, yet Paul was saying submit. Now, how much we should submit and how much we shouldn't, and if we have a dictator like Hitler, is it right to oppose him or to do something against them? Were the Founding Fathers right or wrong in what they did? That's a discussion for another day. 

What I wanted to point out is that everyone must submit. That's part of the problem with humanity. We don't want to submit to the authority that God has placed around us and through us. We don't want to submit to our parents, we don't want to submit to the government, we don't want to submit to our bosses or our coworkers (If they've got a good idea). We want to be the guy in charge. If we're going to be Christians, we have to be willing to submit. And part of that submitting is loving our neighbors, which is what's mentioned in the middle of the chapter. Paul wraps up this thought by saying, clothe ourselves. Part of submitting to God means we need to put on Christ and not think about how we gratify the desires of the sinful nature. In other words, we need to be focusing on serving Christ and clothing ourselves (allowing us to be more like him), rather than planning to do those things that aren't right.

This is the thing I've noticed in life. Sometimes, we aren't doing the thing that's wrong, but we're thinking about it. The problem with thinking about it is clear. Jesus says thoughts will become your actions. Where you're thoughts go, you will go. Thoughts will produce those sins. If you lust after a woman in your heart, in your mind, that is, you've already committed adultery. Why? Because you're on that trajectory. However, if we're going to follow Christ, if we're going to submit to Christ, we have to stop thinking and planning how we're going to indulge. But instead, clothe ourselves in Jesus Christ and love our neighbor. Because that's part of what Jesus calls us to do. 

What do you see in this chapter?

Photo by Liza Zhukovska on Unsplash

Psalms 60

 

In verse four, God has given those who fear God a banner. Banners in war were set so that troops would have a rallying point or a place they should be. One of the most dangerous times in a battle that I have read is when a group or a person isn't where they are supposed to be during a battle. Equally dangerous, and goes along with that, is when you can't tell where you are supposed to be. I remember reading somewhere that someone got lost and found themselves surrounded by the enemy, and they just kept marching with them until they found their own forces. God, however, has offered us a banner, a sign, to those who fear him, and I would say that rallying point is God himself. He is the one we need when we are in danger. 

Photo by Garry T on Unsplash

2 Samuel 8

  

When we come to Second Samuel Chapter 8, there's an interesting thing that happens. David defeats the Moabites, who had previously given sanctuary to his parents. But once he defeats them in the battle, because evidently something changed, he made them lie on the ground, measured them off of the cord, and cut off two lengths of them, putting two-thirds to death and one-third were left alive. The reason this happened was not clear. According to tradition, the Moabites turned against David, or maybe a portion of the Moabites turned together against David. According to tradition, David's parents were killed. Possibly, this is why David took such actions against captured soldiers. By the way, having people who had committed horrible crimes lie down to be killed was a cultural thing in the East. Typically, it was not seen in the people of God, but here it seems David did it. Again, we're not explained why in the Bible, but tradition seems to say David was correct. Or at least it seems to be.

At the end of the day, we should always do to others as God would have us, not according to the cultures of the day, or because of anger or vengeance. But that's a subject for another day.

Photo by Mick Haupt on Unsplash

2 Samuel 7

 

In Second Samuel Chapter 7, we see Nathan starting off thinking, "It's good what you're thinking, David," and telling David to go about. God, however, corrected Nathan. This shows you that sometimes what may seem like a good idea and a godly thing, God may say no to. Not every great and good idea is good for you or for me.

The other thing I notice in this chapter is that when David gets the news that his family line is going to be blessed, he accepts it. He praises God, saying that God is like no other, that God is going to confirm his word. He takes it by faith, in a sense saying, This has happened. David is praising God like he already has the answer in front of him, like he already sees it. But he can't see it. He doesn't know what the future will hold, but he knows God. And therefore, he can praise God because he knows he will fulfill it.

It's like for us in the New Testament when we are told to give God thanks in all things, not necessarily for all things, but in all things. Why? Looking back to Romans 8, because “God can work and will work all things to good for those who love him, for those who are called according to his purpose.” So let's praise God, because he's got it.

Photo by Samuel Regan-Asante on Unsplash