Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Speeding Up the Inevitable

1Samuel 31:4

4 Saul said to his armor-bearer, "Draw your sword and run me through, or these uncircumcised fellows will come and run me through and abuse me." But his armor-bearer was terrified and would not do it, so Saul took his own sword and fell on it.

King Saul had been in battle with one of Israel's nastiest enemies, the Philistines. King Saul was at an  important place of decision for both him and his people but had no clue what to do. He sought the Lord but no matter where he looked, he could not see God. When God was speaking to King Saul previously, he didn't want to listen. God was tired of talking and not being heard and obeyed. So He remained silent. Do you ever want to be in a place where you cannot hear from God? The Philistines were known for their vicious and tortuous ways. King Saul was already warned that he and his entire family would be defeated at the hands of the Philistines and would die.  At the time King Saul was struck during battle, he already knew his end was near. Instead of dying at the hands of the enemy, Saul was prepared to speed up his own death. He charged his armor-bearer, one sworn to protect the king, even to the point of death, to kill him. But how could his armor-bearer kill the one he swore to protect? The only way out from being humiliated by the Philistines was to do the job himself. King Saul opted for self-destruction rather than the unsightly acts he would endure from the enemy. King Saul refused to give his enemies more of the upper hand than they already had. So Saul decided to speed up the inevitable. God wanted Saul off the throne and Saul did all he could initially to keep it from happening including attempts on David's life. His disobedience set that in motion.

When God has made up His mind that your actions will cause a definite end, what would you do? Would you fight God's choice even at the hands of harming the innocent? Or would you do what God desires of you that will still cause an end to what God wanted you to end? Either way, God will cause an end to what he wants ended. It will be done the easy way or the hard way. The choice of which way is always put in your hands.

P.S.
Remember to checkout my girl Stubbs of the Leap of Faith Show Mon-Fri from 6am-9am ET on the Leap of Faith Network at www.leapoffaithshow.com and listen for the Get Your JOY In The Morning segment!

Monday, November 5, 2012

The Stakes Are High

John 11:49-50

49Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was a high priest that year, spoke up, 'You know nothing at all! 50You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish."

The high priests were the final decision makers in the plot to kill Jesus. Just a few short verses above, the high priests admitted to Jesus performing the miraculous signs. But the fear was that everyone would believe in Jesus and then they would lose their good standing with the Romans. Rome was the ruling government of the area the Jews occupied. Per the Zondervan NIV Study Bible, Caiaphas had no concern for Jesus' innocence. His main quest was to get the group to see that Jesus needed to be scapegoat to keep their own agenda afloat. But Caiaphas really didn't not understand the words which he spoke. Yes, Jesus was indeed to be sacrificed so that no one else would perish but not for the reasons he assumed. The agenda of the high priests was to keep their political standing and position. The stakes were high for the high priests. They were high because to go on with their charade of "power" someone had to look guilty. But later, scripture says Jesus withdrew.  Jesus still went to death on the time frame that God had designated, not man.

Many people have agendas but when an agenda consists of finding a scapegoat for the sake of saving face like the high priests, it's a dangerous mission. Especially if the scapegoat is innocent. How many times have missions such as this backfired? The high priests' own greed for power led them to do what they did. But in the end, they still lost. One's own agenda of power at the cost of others is not only setting the stakes high but also a sure way to fall.


P.S.
Remember to check out my man V of the Artist to Artist Show Mondays on www.Qliveone.com and listen for the Get Your JOY In The Morning segment!