Friends in Christ Weekly Message
July 22, 2006

     Before long, the king made himself at home and God gave him peace from all his enemies. Then one day King David said to Nathan the prophet, “Look at this: Here I am, comfortable in a luxurious house of cedar, and the Chest of God sits in a plain tent.”
     Nathan told the king, “Whatever is on your heart, go and do it. God is with you.”
     But that night, the word of God came to Nathan saying, “Go and tell my servant David: This is God's word on the matter: You're going to build a 'house' for me to live in? Why, I haven't lived in a 'house' from the time I brought the children of Israel up from Egypt till now. All that time I've moved about with nothing but a tent. And in all my travels with Israel, did I ever say to any of the leaders I commanded to shepherd Israel, 'Why haven't you built me a house of cedar?'”
2 Samuel 7:1-7 (Message*)

I can identify with David here. How easy it is to want to do something to show my love for God, and to come up with something out of my own mind. But what we want to do out of the purest of motives may not be what God has in mind for us.

So we have here a lesson about not being too quick to show our love for God through what seems good to us, but to really listen as to what God has in mind for us to do. And there is a second lesson as well. We do this in community. God used Nathan in David's discernment. Likewise, we need to listen to others of faith because God may speak to us through them.

Bill Samuel

* The Message version ©2002 by Eugene H. Peterson.

Go to previous message

Chronological list of messages List of messages by scriptural references

Go to next message

Friends in Christ
11445 Neelsville Church Road
Germantown, MD 20876-4145
E-mail fic@friendsinchrist.net

Home  Weekly Message  Bible Study groups  Site Map
Values  Who We Are  What People Say About Us
Open Worship  Using the Bible Silence
Jesus Prayer  St. Patrick's Breastplate
Contact Us  Support Us

	Web www.friendsinchrist.net