Friday, August 11, 2006

Trust: Part 3

Part 3 in a continuing look at Trust in God. Click here for part 1 and part 2. You've got some reading to do :)

I've been away for a while. Just haven't had time to write about things really. Plus, not a whole lot of interesting things worth mentioning happened to blog about it every single day. Besides, isn't the antcipation worth the wait?

So, how are things? Well, with the 90-day tithe trust challenge, I realized something quite interesting. I get paid every two weeks and I earmark a certain amount of money to pay half of the mortgage (rent a few months ago), half the car note, and half the auto insurance. When I write the check for my tithe and pay the bills, I'm always, always, always short of that earmarked amount by my tithe, give or take a few dollars. In the two weeks that go by between paychecks, I still have to buy a few things - food, gas and the like - and end up even more short for those bills. Yet, when it comes time to pay them and my other bills, the money is there. Somehow, I'm no longer short on cash. I can't explain it to myself any other way but to say the Lord is finding ways to taking care of me. Feel free to try and explain it another way to me.

There have been many lessons God has taught me in the past month. Lessons on humility, lying, turning the other cheek, but I think the one thing I've been able to latch onto is completely turning my life over to God and trusting Him to see me through the little things that pop up. I don't mean I've been born again... again. I mean I have learned to TRUST God and his plans for me. Believe me, life has gotten a thousand times less stressful knowing God will see me through. It's best not to worry about whatever It is 'cause It will get taken care of by Him.

I've been reading from the Old Testement alot lately. Working my way through the "historical books" and mainly focusing on King David and King Solomon. I started with 1 Samuel and I'm somewhere in 1 Kings and I'm noticing more than ever how history is repeating itself. While David and Solomon are regarded as heroes for various reasons, they committed some really big sins - polygamy, idoltry, adultry, murder.

David lusted after a married woman, Bathsheba, and got her pregnant while her husband was off at war, fighting for the King who knocked his wife up! David had him killed in battle and married Bathsheba, adding her to his many wives. He later was rebuked and repented. Even as he was running from a rebellion, a man was cursing him and David told his men to let the man keep cursing him. For all his sins, he took this as a sign from God to be humble.

For all his (God granted) wisdom, Solomon decided to build a palace for himself approximately three times bigger than a temple God had him build and took three times as long to build it. Something struck me funny about that. You'd thing someone as wise as Solomon would be humble enough not to make his house bigger and better than God's. But, as his wealth and power grew, his love for God began to fade. Isn't it interesting to see how even way back then how greed and power corrupts the wisest of hearts. How ever David and Solomon's morality may have waivered, their faith in God never did. That's really what I'm learning about - what it takes to live a moral life and having faith in God.

When I think about all of the evil in today's world, I can help but think we've (as humans) have dealt with this before. I believe it stems from the loosening of our morals as a society. You see it in the "historical" books of the Bible. Stories of murders, rape, sexual depravity, thieving, adultery, idoltry all ulimately leading to pain. Yet, the people change their ways and regain God's grace. I keep harping on it, but it's the choice of the pain of discipline over the pain of regret. It's the choice to live a moral life as opposed to making immoral and, ultimately, hurtful decisions. It's about controlling our urges that make us slaves to sin. And they can be controlled. We just have to choose to.

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