Ensign: iDavid

All ye inhabitants of the world, and dwellers on the earth, see ye, when he lifteth up an ensign on the mountains; and when he bloweth a trumpet, hear ye. Isaiah 18:3

AN ENSIGN ON THE MOUNTAINS 10 January 2014

The iPad my wife won at work has become a bit of a status symbol around our house, a status symbol that I contemplate occasionally running over with my car because the fights among my son and daughter (and yes, even my help meet) on who uses it when and how much are getting really annoying. But then I remember how I don't like sleeping in the snow as well as the fact I tend to be online way more than I should be. Why point out the mote in others' eyes as I neglect the beam in my own?

But wait. This is where we get thorny with the whole “Judge not, that ye be not judged” storyline. What could have been a throwaway verse (from Matthew 7:1) in Jesus' Sermon on the Mount has become almost a cultural mantra … because it's comfortable. We're in a society and in a world that's almost afraid to judge in the sense of “have a conviction about” anything. If we don't offer an opinion of our own, and we just say have your own way, then we don't have to defend it.

Was thinking about how to continue with this message today, and after taking a shower it came to me: what if the Ten Commandments (from Exodus 20:1-17) were brought down – or I guess in today's parlance, came through – on our electronic doodads? (Often called “tablets”, aptly enough.) Would “I am the LORD thy God, thou shalt have no other gods before me”, “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy”, “Thou shalt not kill”, and the rest appearing every day when we light up ingrain them in us?

When God reads his iDavid (or iMartha, iSarah, or iJeffrey – that's my family, but feel free to use iYour name) for the day – and make no mistake, He's reading all of us all the time, what's He reading? In my case, certainly NOT an account of a perfect sinless person! Even my namesake David from the Bible (whose name, incidentally, appears more times than any other in Scripture, followed by Moses and Jesus), a man after God's own heart (from 1 Samuel 13:14), you can see is far from perfect.

And not sinless, by any means – but if he was, if any of us were, we would not need a Savior. I expect most of us know, even if we don't believe, John 3:16 (“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”) If that doesn't make sense, keep reading – seriously, keep reading. We have access to a God Who loves us so much that nothing we have done, are doing, or will do is going to take Him away!

But you and I (yes, you and I, no matter how long we've believed for it's a continuous process – we're given salvation in an instant, but we still have the lifetime) have to make the decision to accept Him, to believe Him, for He won't force Himself. God's a Gentleman that way. And you don't NEED every why answered for you to accept this most gracious invitation. Keeping the law – what the commandments three paragraphs above lead into – is not enough because you can't do it all the time.

You can make the effort, certainly, but you can't do it. Oh, maybe you won't murder somebody, but the fact is we've all thought of breaking at least one (and if we're honest, all) of the rules our Creator has set down for us. Perhaps in this way we won't see the Bible as God's Little Instruction Book so much as The Proper Care and Feeding of God's People. Sometimes … we do not follow instruction very well. But we do want to be cared for, we do want to be fed, and for that we need the Author. 

Reading and remarking on His iDavid

P.S. I write this weekly devotional to keep in touch with all of you in my address book, and I hope to be an encourager to action too! If you find that I'm not or you want me to get lost, just let me know -- thank you!

Thank You, Lord, that we can come to you in prayer and that You provide for all our needs, even when we don't know what they are. We pray for the peace of Jerusalem on both sides of the fence there and around the world.

Thank You, Lord, for everyone in leadership and service, both here and abroad. Thank You for the opportunities we have and the promise of new life through You. I pray that we all seek and have a blessed week! Amen.