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- Written by: Don Goulding
But David replied to the Philistine [Goliath], “You are coming against me with sword and spear and javelin. But I am coming against you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel’s armies, whom you have defied! (1 Samuel 17:45)
David had no delusions of grandeur as King Saul tried to fit him out with armor. He was a boy who watched sheep. But why would he and his flock be delivered from bears and lions, and not from this overlarge man who slandered the one true Jehovah? David was merely slinging stones and trusting God like he always had.
None of us can plan to be a hero. That would only result in false acclaim from an expiring world. True greatness comes, not of commanding leadership or financial prowess, but from the strength of my dependence on Jesus. Humble faith eclipses temporal gain every time.
Like Superman, I have a kryptonite that destroys me. My nemesis is my own sin. That’s the secret darkness that ruins my story. The only remedy is exposure to beams from Jesus, the Son of God. When I clutch him to my core, forgiveness, purpose, and humble greatness radiate into me.
David’s victory did not come because of his skill, but because he trusted God. No one else in Israel’s army had the boyish faith of David. God turned that humble confidence into a giant triumph over a giant man. The kingdom economy works the same today.
Prayer: Lord Christ, living hand in hand with you makes me a superhero.
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- Written by: Don Goulding
Consider how the flowers grow; they do not work or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed like one of these! (Luke 12:27)
I am not a paper-thin flower swaying at the slightest breeze. I will not bloom for a lunar cycle only to molder in decay.
People are like a vapor, their days like a shadow that disappears. (Psalms 144:4)
I am not a vapor, a mist that wafts above the field when droplets form in a chance gathering. I will not swirl off to oblivion at the first shift in weather, without name or future.
Do not be afraid, you worm Jacob, little Israel, do not fear, for I myself will help you,” declares the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. (Isaiah 41:14) (NIV)
I am not a worm writhing underground, blind to the whole of life above me. I will not temp every bird, mole, and fish to make their next meal from me.
I am not a flower, vapor, or worm. I am a child of God. I’m adopted into his holy family, an elevated, eternal being. Co-ownership of all he possesses is bequeathed to me.
Because of who my Father is, fear is not my master. Rather, it bows to me. I breathe that I might never give in to such enemies of Christ—fear, hate, lies, and death.
My Creator planned my existence before the stars were born. I am his dream incarnated.
Prayer: Father of mine, may I stand tall beside you.
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- Written by: Don Goulding
Woe to them! For they have traveled down Cain’s path, and because of greed have abandoned themselves to Balaam’s error; hence, they will certainly perish in Korah’s rebellion. (Jude 1:11)
In their worship of God, Cain, Balaam, and Korah all tried to replace the genuine article with their counterfeit versions.
Cain exchanged offerings approved by God with unsanctioned fruit. Balaam invented a version of God who cursed for hire. Korah decided his approach to God was as good as Moses’s, and his coup of the high priesthood was swallowed into a shortcut to hell.
Inventing God as we imagine him, and worshiping how we choose are reckless lies that reach back to the snake in the garden. The same human pride now prevents some from humbling themselves before Jesus as God’s revealed solution.
As I talk with people around the world about faith, I find an epidemic of those who want to engage the supernatural and end in heaven, but they don’t want to encounter the real God. It’s no surprise because the only path to a holy God takes us through the swamp of our sinfulness, and who wants to wade in that stench?
To avoid the peril of Cain, Balaam, and Korah, I must answer one question—Does my worship originate from human pride, or am I humbly seeking God as he is revealed in the Christian Bible?
Prayer: Jesus, help me genuinely worship the one true God.