David's Bible Blog

Proverbs 13:10 (NIV)

Pride only breeds quarrels, but wisdom is found in those who take advice.

It is part of all of us. Pride, it makes defensive and argumentative when others question and advise us on our ideas and actions. They may be wrong but they may be right, even if only partially. At the very least there is value in understanding the different perspective. The bible tells us to be wise, and take such advice as a time to learn something.

I need to heed this myself!

Luke 13:34 (NKJV)

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing!

Here is Jesus praying and lamenting over the people of Jerusalem. He desired them to come to God as would be demonstrated by their acceptance of God's prophets. Sadly however, because of their freedom of will given by God, they rejected God and His prophets and Jesus too.

This is a mind boggling thought that the sovereign God would not achieve his desire but He has a higher, more important desire, and that is to allow man freedom to choose Him or not. The necessary consequence of this is the possibility of sin, wickedness, evil in the world. A coerced choice for God is no choice at all.

Joshua 24:15 (NKJV)

... choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve... But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

Psalm 78:72 (NIV)

And David shepherded them with integrity of heart; with skillful hands he led them.

King David had a whole heart for God. Yes, he faltered and sinned terribly in the situation with Bathsheba. But he sincerely repented of that and received God's forgiveness. David was weak in the flesh as we all are. But when it came to his relationship with God, David was clearly devoted to and in love with his Lord. That is my heart's desire that I might be like David, having a heart completely dependent upon and devoted to God.

Luke 9:58,60,62 (NKJV)

And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head."

Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God."

But Jesus said to him, "No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."

I don't think Jesus is talking about salvation here but rather being called to full-time ministry for Christ. The first answer was to a person who had not received a call from Jesus to follow but was expressing a desire to do so. Jesus in essence discouraged him by telling him what the costs were. The second and third times, Jesus had given a clear call to follow but the person was half-hearted in his commitment. Jesus makes it clear; commitment to Him comes before any other desire.

Becoming a full-time minister for Christ will be miserable if you have not received the call from God to do so. To do so would be to attempt it with your own power dooming the mission to failure without God. It is also a miserable life for the one who has received a call but wavers in his commitment. Blessed is the one who receives a call from Jesus and follows Him with his whole heart.