Stand Up is not only Comedy

           I have been reading in my Bible lately about this common young shepherd boy who loved God with all his heart, was anointed King of Israel, and was a fearless warrior. If you guessed I was talking about King David, your right. We have all heard the stories of David being chosen out of all his brother to be king, David killing off the lion and the bear protecting his flock, and the famous story David defeating Goliath; but have we ever really taken the time to apply what David did back then to our own lives?
           First Samuel seventeen covers the story of David and Goliath and how one little farm boy was able to beat this mighty Philistine warrior. The story starts out with the armies of the Philistines camping in a region called Ephes-dammim and the Israelites encamping against them to fight. Both armies were encamped on two separate mountains with a valley dividing them. This is the background of the story. Now the Philistines had a mighty warrior named Goliath who towered over nine feet tall, Israel had nobody near  that height. One day this giant came out and proposed to Saul that the battle should take place between two warriors, A warrior from Israel and Goliath himself. Israel was scared into submission.
           One day when David was tending his flock, Jesse, David's father, gave him some bread and cheese to take to his three older brothers who where at the battle. When David came into the camp to deliver the food to his brothers, Goliath came out for the fortieth day and defied Israel's God yet again. The Israelites were too scared to even glance at Goliath. When David heard how Goliath was talking trash about his God he said let me at this uncircumcised Philistine; who is he to defy our God, the only living God. A little later on in the story David goes to King Saul and asks if he can fight the giant. Saul shocked at hearing what David said, told David there was no way that a short young man like you could beat an experienced giant warrior of the Philistines. David then told Saul how he fought off and killed a bear and a lion from his sheep and how he was then ready to take on this giant. After listening to David's experiences fighting, Saul was still not all convinced and had David put on his own armor. The armor was too big, bulky, and heavy for David; so David decided to go with his own staff and sling, was very familiar to him. David then chose five smooth stones from a brook and put them in his satchel. When David approached Goliath, Goliath chuckled and started smack talking on how puny, scrawny, and handsome David was. This is the part I like, David's rebuttal to Goliath's degrading words. He said in 1Samuel 17:45-47(ESV) You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the LORD saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the LORD's, and He will give you into our hand.
             So David slings one small stone right into Goliath's forehead and kills him, shuts him up for good. David then proceeds with what he said he would do and cuts off Goliath's head with Goliath's own sword. So what is the point of telling this story for which a lot of you readers have already heard. If you haven't looked at the title I have given this blog I am emphasizing how David a mere farm boy had the courage to look a giant right in the eye and says, How dare you of all people, a circumcised Philistine defy my God whom you don't even know! Why don't Christians today in America stand up to all these unbelieving people who take Our God's Name in vain as a swear word? Why don't we intervene and say,"That is my God you are defying!"? It is because today, we so proclaimed Christians are too comfortable in this world, fitting in and not standing up for Jesus. If you were convicted with my message or agree with my message, leave a comment or even follow me on Blogger.com. Thanks for reading.

Where Is America Headed?

But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. (2 Timothy 3.1-5) Does this not sound like America today? There are examples of this verse all over America today: Gambling (Lovers of Money), Nagging children in grocery stores (Disobedient to Their Parents), Drunk driving (Without Self Control, Reckless), Having sex before marriage; Getting high on drugs; And Partying (Lovers of Pleasure Rather Than Lovers of God). Those are only a few examples of this verse. Is there any hope for change? To start Christians could start living like Christians and not like the world. Romans 12.1-2 (ESV) I appeal to you therfore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptible to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. This is one of the main problems that America faces; Christians conforming to fit in and not transforming to stand out.