Extremes

Extremes often mold our characters when they shouldn’t if our energies are misplaced. Sin and the hold it once had on our lives is an extreme that drives us from God. It is the pinnacle of self-destruction personified and prior to our relationship with Christ it certainly ruled our lives.

Fellowship is one of God’s great gifts to the struggling pilgrim and without it we would stand alone. I spent last night with a great friend but sadly circumstances have somehow had a way of separating what was once an unbreakable friendship. Not that our friendship is a thing of the past, but we certainly do not spend time together around God’s word like we once did. Fellowship is different to friendship; friendship is when two people support one another through the throws of life and use any means possible to further that relationship whereas fellowship is a tool used around the Lord Jesus Christ. It carries far greater substance than friendship. We must make every effort to cherish these types of companionships. It edifies us around God’s Word revealing His character; the only character worth pursuing if we are to understand the meaning of life. It feeds our faith which in turn drives our hope.

Fellowship always drives us to find the answers of life in and through the Word of God. It is God salve to give us sight especially when life seems difficult. It is God’s way of succoring us and helping us in our time of need.

Sin is what keeps a man from God, unless it eventually brings us to our senses and results with us falling to our knees and calling out for forgiveness. King David learnt this valuable lesson the hard way, God took His son from him, however the debauchery that once left him speechless is what God used to bring him to his senses. It is no different for every one of us. We must understand that the extremities of sin are an enemy of God and revenge needs to be taken against what once kept us from our communion with Him through Christ.

Consider the brilliance of God; here was a man drawn away by his own lust to the detriment of those closest to Him and yet God chose to use Solomon, David’s son, which was the result of gross sin to be a part of the genealogy of Christ. Fascinating!  Along life’s journey we make many bad choices in life and we then bear the brunt of those decisions. However God is not bound by them, and He often shows his brilliance through a man’s foolish actions. It is only God who has it in His ability to accomplish such genius.

Let us consider the story I have referred to…

King David had everything at his fingertips and yet He was drawn away by his own sin. He saw a woman bathing from his rooftop while those closest to him were at war fighting for his kingdom. David saw a beautiful naked woman causing him to enquire after her, which in turn resulted in an unlawful sexual union leaving the woman with child. To cover up his sin he had one of his friends, a great warrior with amazing scruples when it came to the loyalty of those he went into battle with, and instead of confessing his transgression David had the man killed. And we learn from scripture that David was a man after God’s own heart; how can that be? We need to explore a little deeper if we are to learn from his blunder and then apply the same principles to our slip-ups. I speak for those who have already understood the call of God upon their lives. At this time in David’s life he had learnt to walk by faith and call upon his God for assistance when the need arose. He had killed lions, bears and even the giant Goliath in the name and power of his God. And yet He now blundered terribly, on the surface of it, it was a travesty; no differently to the caricatures of my life, with so many bad choices along the way. However the story does not end here, praise the name of Jesus now and forever more, God’s brilliance comes to the rescue. Sin had separated David from fellowship with God, but once his error had been visualized it brought about a change of heart with repentance soon to follow. If we willfully continue in sin that grace may abound we haven’t understood a thing about the call of God on our lives. But when we realize our sin as an action against Gods love in our lives it will bring about change. God in His brilliance is the only wise God who can turn those situations around exposing His brilliance and in turn enable the Apostle Paul to make a statement like this to bring glory to the only wise God; “but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” (1Corinthians 1:25-26) – The point is this; only God has the aptitude to use a man’s folly into bringing glory to His name. Repentance is the catalyst used to accomplish this.

Signing off

Tyrone