The Joys and Dangers of Naps

Do you love naps?  I know there are some weirdos out there that say they don’t like naps, but let’s ignore them…J  Naps are awesome!  If you get the chance take one today.  Don’t do it while driving or at work, but if you can find a comfortable couch take advantage and just disappear for an hour or so.  If you get in trouble, don’t blame me, I will deny everything.  Since we are talking about naps have you ever taken a nap and then woken up totally confused on what day it was, what time it was, where you were, etc.  It takes you a few moments to remember you were only taking a nap and you aren’t waking up in the morning to an alarm clock.  Naps are great, but they can be disorienting and they can be ill-timed.  Sometimes we miss some really important life moments when we nap.  We may also miss an opportunity to do something great with our time, energy, and talents.  Tragedies can take place while we nap.  So, I guess naps are good, but they can be dangerous.  Today I want to look a t a short Psalm where the Psalmist declares God to be a “nap-free” God.  I am grateful that God does not take naps.  Let’s read:

Psalm 121

I lift up my eyes to the hills.
    From where does my help come? ² My help comes from the Lord,
    who made heaven and earth.

³ He will not let your foot be moved;
    he who keeps you will not slumber. ⁴ Behold, he who keeps Israel
    will neither slumber nor sleep.

⁵ The Lord is your keeper;
    the Lord is your shade on your right hand. ⁶ The sun shall not strike you by day,
    nor the moon by night.

⁷ The Lord will keep you from all evil;
    he will keep your life. ⁸ The Lord will keep
    your going out and your coming in
    from this time forth and forevermore.

Things to think about:

·         Don’t read too quickly past that first line.  When you look around where does your help come from?  If you say anywhere else except ultimately God Himself – keep looking.  God is the giver of help, the provider of security, the original and ultimate help. 

·         Do you ever feel like God doesn’t help you?  This Psalm almost makes it seem like God does all these great things every time I am personally in trouble or danger.  Is that true?  Does God help me prevent every accident, heal every sickness, help on every test, prevent every temptation?  No, it doesn’t seem like he does.  So, what is this Psalm telling us about ourselves and how we think and what it means for God to help us?  Is there a help that is eternal, rather than just a temporary help?

·         God created Heaven and Earth – do you think He has the power to help you with your problems?  I think he does!

·         Verse 3 & 4 are the hinge in this Psalm that the whole thing balances on.  God does not disappear, does not hide, does not take a nap and miss out on all that He wants to accomplish.  When you go to him he is not busy in the other room.  He isn’t snoring on the couch.  He is listening intently and he is actively working to keep your foot from being moved and to keep you from evil. 

·         Is verse 6 talking about not getting a sunburn?  I don’t think so.  So, what is it talking about?  Again – think eternally rather than just today.

·         Here is my prayer for today, may it be yours as well– “God help me to look for you when I need help and to know that you are there.  You are helping, even when I don’t see it or feel it, but you are helping me for my eternal good.  Amen”

An Underdog and an Unbeatable Dog

Everyone loves a good underdog story.  The little guy rising up to beat the odds and win the day.  We like it in sports, we like it in life.  The Bible is full of great underdog stories; David and Goliath, Gideon’s army and the huge Midianite army, Jonathan and his armor bearer verses the Philistine army, and the list goes on.  Today I want to look at yet another underdog story, this one maybe a little less well known.  There is a lot to learn from these underdog stories, including the fact that they may not be do “underdog” as we might think.

Background Info:

·         Ahad was the king of Israel for many years.  After the civil war and division of Israel following Solomon’s death there was a string of bad kings in Israel.  Ahab was certainly one of them.  He worshiped false gods, committed wicked acts and generally led the people away from the Lord. 

·         Ahab interacts a lot with Elijah the prophet and don’t even get started with his wife Jezebel.  She was not a nice woman. 

·         Despite Ahab’s sins God did not want the entire nation to be destroyed, not yet anyway.  God still defended Israel against enemies that surrounded it.  Let’s look at one of those stories when God defended Israel.

1 Kings 20:1-4

Ben-hadad the king of Syria gathered all his army together. Thirty-two kings were with him, and horses and chariots. And he went up and closed in on Samaria and fought against it. ² And he sent messengers into the city to Ahab king of Israel and said to him, “Thus says Ben-hadad: ³ ‘Your silver and your gold are mine; your best wives and children also are mine.’” ⁴ And the king of Israel answered, “As you say, my lord, O king, I am yours, and all that I have.”

Things to think about:

·         Ben-hadad must have had a pretty large army to scare Ahab into submitting so quickly.  Notice the terms for peace…give me all your best gold, silver, wives and children.  Think about the trouble at home when Ahab shows up to pick his “best wives” to send to a foreign king.  But he does.

·         Ben-hadad isn’t satisfied with all the gold, silver, and women that Ahab sends to him so the demands get higher.  Eventually Ahab refuses to give in and pay to keep safe.  War is coming!  Let’s see how many people Israel has to defend itself…

1 Kings 20:15

Then he mustered the servants of the governors of the districts, and they were 232. And after them he mustered all the people of Israel, seven thousand.

Things to think about:

·         I am not the best at math, but I think even I can do this one…do you count 7,232 people that can fight?  A good fighting force, but what were they facing?

·         There isn’t an exact number given for the size of the Syrian army but here is how it is described: Thirty two kings with their horses and chariots and armies, a great multitude, the Syrians “filled the country”…Probably a much larger force than 7,232!  So, how did the battle go for Israel?

1 Kings 20:19-21

 So these went out of the city, the servants of the governors of the districts and the army that followed them. ²⁰ And each struck down his man. The Syrians fled, and Israel pursued them, but Ben-hadad king of Syria escaped on a horse with horsemen. ²¹ And the king of Israel went out and struck the horses and chariots, and struck the Syrians with a great blow.

Things to think about:

·         Go Israel!  Go Ahab!  Hooray for the underdog!  But wait, why did they win?  How did they win?  Let’s read a little more of the story…

1 Kings 20:13-14. 26-30

 And behold, a prophet came near to Ahab king of Israel and said, “Thus says the Lord, Have you seen all this great multitude? Behold, I will give it into your hand this day, and you shall know that I am the Lord.” ¹⁴ And Ahab said, “By whom?” He said, “Thus says the Lord, By the servants of the governors of the districts.” Then he said, “Who shall begin the battle?” He answered, “You.”

In the spring, Ben-hadad mustered the Syrians and went up to Aphek to fight against Israel. ²⁷ And the people of Israel were mustered and were provisioned and went against them. The people of Israel encamped before them like two little flocks of goats, but the Syrians filled the country. ²⁸ And a man of God came near and said to the king of Israel, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Because the Syrians have said, “The Lord is a god of the hills but he is not a god of the valleys,” therefore I will give all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am the Lord.’” ²⁹ And they encamped opposite one another seven days. Then on the seventh day the battle was joined. And the people of Israel struck down of the Syrians 100,000 foot soldiers in one day. ³⁰ And the rest fled into the city of Aphek, and the wall fell upon 27,000 men who were left.

Things to think about:

·         Wow, did you see those numbers?  Over 100,000 soldiers were killed by that small Israelite army?  How can that be?  I guess when God is fighting on your side it doesn’t matter how big the enemy is, they are never bigger than God!  King David said basically the same thing, “The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine…”

·         If God is on your side – you win – simple as that.  Now think about this in your own life.  What are the giants you face, the armies that seem too big to conquer?  If God is fighting on your side to defeat those enemies, you win!  If might be hard, it may take a long time, but in the end if God is fighting for you victory is just around the corner.

·         Don’t get this wrong – God does not fight for all of your battles.  He isn’t going to fight for you to sin.  He won’t help you worship false gods or seek after selfish gains.  But he does promise to fight for us in one area of our lives…the fight against sin and death.  Think about this passage for the week and remember that if God is on your side you will never be the underdog!

1 Corinthians 15:54-56

Death is swallowed up in victory.  O death, where is your victory?  O death, where is your sting?  The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.  But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

I Will Pray For You

“I will pray for you.”  Sometimes those words seem callous and empty, almost patronizing.  But, at other times that simple phrase can bring comfort and peace to your troubled heart.  If they are offered up in sincerity and you know the person who said them will actually pray for you, and will mean their prayer, and will fervently bring your needs to a loving Father in Heaven there is a sense of peace that can push through even the darkest of nights.  Today, I want you to hear the words, “I will pray for you” from the most trustworthy, reliable, and faithful man that ever walked the earth; Jesus Christ.  Did you know Jesus prays for you?  Did you know he prayed for you with an earnestness and intensity that showed his passionate desire for your good?  Listen to the prayer of Jesus and let the peace of God wash over you knowing that our Father in Heaven hears all prayers, especially those of His Son!  Let’s listen to part of the conversation between God the Son and God the Father.

John 17:20-26

²⁰ “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, ²¹ that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. ²² The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, ²³ I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. ²⁴ Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. ²⁵ O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. ²⁶ I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”

Things to think about:

·         In verse 21 we may read right on through without thinking about what it really means to “be in us”…so, think about it; what does it mean when Jesus prays for us to be in the Son and in the Father?  How are we “in”…if we are “in” what does that do for us?

·         What is the glory that Jesus has given to us that he received from his Father? 

·         I think Jesus is praying for more than just our earthly unity where we get along with other people…what else does it mean to be “one?”

·         Notice Jesus’ prayer for us to know the love of God.  Do you know this love?  I am sure you have heard it before, you may have felt it once or twice, but do you truly know this love?  I think we will spend eternity learning about this love never finding the end or limit to its depth.  If we will never fully know it, I am confident then, to tell you that there is still more to learn today.  Take a few minutes and contemplate the love of God.  Answer the prayer of Jesus and know God’s love better today than you did yesterday.  For he does love you.  He loves you with an immense, never ending, awe inspiring, jaw dropping, love that is unmatched in all of creation.  “The love with which you have loved me may be in them…”  God’s love for Jesus is His love for you!