Twenty-Secon Day of Lent - Thursday - Mar 27
HealthFitNow
Posts: 1,205 Member
Meditation
The Twenty-First Day of Lent puts people on the hot seat. King Saul in the Old Testament lesson in Samuel attempts to cover up his disobedience. He clearly read his press reports and believed in them more than the words of the prophet. Tall, handsome, regal Saul. Loved by David and so many. Yet, he did the very thing that God despises. Disobeyed, with an unrelenting heart.
God calls us to obedience. We’ve seen the difficulties arising out of disobedience from Adam and Eve forward. The Bible is full of flawed individuals who fail to do what God asks. The Westminster catechism says, “Sin is any want of conformity unto or transgression of the law of God.” Q14. Disobedience to God is sin.
But everyone sins. Everyone disobeys. So why does King Saul anger God so much? Why is the prophet so upset? Because when Samuel confronts Saul with the truth, Saul says that he defeated the King of Amalekites just as instructed. Then he went to Gilgal and built a monument—to himself. He was honoring himself. Furthermore, when Samuel challenged his ‘following instructions’ (which were to destroy the whole of them, animals and all), he asked Saul, “What is it that I hear—sheep and cattle sounds?”
Saul FBF—fixes blame fast—on his ‘soldiers.’ It reminds me of the movie, A Few Good Men, where the General lies about having a ‘code Red’ ordered on a young Marine, leading to his death. Cover up. Never admit your mistake. Cover up.
I’ve been following politics a lot lately. Scandals? Too many to count. But almost all of them say that the original ‘mistake’ doesn’t bring people down. It’s the cover up. President Nixon might have walked away with a blight, but not disgrace, had he admitted to the break-ins of the Watergate etc. instead of trying to cover it up. All those, who were convicted, were involved in covering it up.
Saul tried to cover up his failure to do what God asked. He took credit and built a monument to himself. And he lied to his prophet, Samuel. As a chaplain, many, many, MANY people have lied to me. “It’s not my fault.” “I didn’t do it.” “Those drugs weren’t mine.”
I was never more ashamed of the U.S. Navy as when the “Tailhook” scandal broke. I sat with several naval officers after the 1991 scandal and investigation said RADM Kelso, who was Chief of Naval Operations, was not there for inappropriate treatment of women. They laughed about being across from Kelso, with a woman between them, while shaving her legs. The admiral claimed he had nothing to do with any of it and the good ole network supported him.
I was never more proud of the U.S. Navy as when, Commander Scott Waddle, skipper of the USS Greenville (SSN-772) took full responsibility for his mistake. His sub surfaced and struck a Japanese fishing ship, Ehime Maru, killing a nine crew (including 4 high school students). A subordinate had made a mistake and not given him the information he needed. But he took responsibility and said, if his crew failed to give him the correct information, then he had failed to train the crew properly. His fault, not the kid’s. CDR Waddle apologized formally and personally to the Japanese. They respected his humility and integrity—even at a certain loss of his status on the fast track to becoming an Admiral.
The New Testament lesson in Ephesians states it simply, Tell the “truth to your neighbor.” Treat each other with respect. Be kind. Be loving. Do good. Allow the Holy Spirit to work through you, so there isn’t maliciousness, and harm in your words. Otherwise, the Holy Spirit would be ‘sad.’
King Saul disappointed God by disobeying (failure to kill all the animals). King David disappointed God by disobeying (adultery and murder) but David was loved by God and Saul lost that affection. The difference? Cover-up versus no-cover up. When God confronts us, we are to say “I’m sorry.” Confess our sins. God forgives. Saul didn’t confess. He blamed. David tried to cover things up, but when Nathan confronted him, he confessed and put on external garments of sorrow and confession—sack cloth. King Saul built himself a monument.
We must self-examine. We can’t change politicians (except by voting them out of office), but we can change ourselves. When that nudge in the conscience says, “Wrong!” –what do we do? Confess.
And we are to treat others as God treats us. Just as God forgives us, we must forgive others. Very tough. A former colleague, Lew Smedes, wrote one of the best books on forgiveness, Forgive and Forget, Healing the Hurts We Don’t Deserve says that no one ever forgets, but forgiveness can change our own history, by changing the way we look at others. We no longer hold an infraction against someone.
Christians are supposed to forgive—it is an act of love and kindness, resembling God’s treatment of us. If we make the Holy Spirit sad, we must ask forgiveness. And when others ask forgiveness of us, we are asked to forgive. That doesn’t make it easy, but with time and effort, it is doable. Especially when we call upon the help of the Holy Spirit to fill in the areas that we fail. We can fail. We must confess (sincerely) or else we would be like King Saul—with everything going for him—but his actions and attitude resulted in God withdrawing the blessing.
Let us do good. Be kind. Be loving. Be fair and confess when we fail and forgive others when they fail. As Christians, we are to unite in a common love for each other, coming out of God’s love for us.
Thanks be to God.
All Scriptures printed below are in King James Version for copyright purposes. However, clicking on the verse locations will take you to Biblegateway.com where the text is linked to more contemporary versions.
Prayer: Almighty God, Open my eyes that I might see. Open my mind that I might understand. Open my heart that I might make your words a part of me. May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight. Amen
Season of Lent Bible Readings
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm 23;1 Samuel 15:10-21;Ephesians 4:25-32&version=KJV;ERV;GNT;NCV;NIV (multiple versions)
Twenty-Second Day of Lent
Psalm 23
1 Samuel 15:10-21
Ephesians 4:25-32
Daily Bible Verses to Memorize for Meditating
The “Shepherd’s Psalm” is worth memorizing in its whole, but at least verses 1 -3.
Psalm 23
King James Version (KJV)
23 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
Single Bible Study chapter to study
Ephesians 4:25-32
King James Version (KJV)
25 Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.
26 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:
27 Neither give place to the devil.
28 Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.
29 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.
30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:
32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.
OBSERVE:
Take a moment and write three observations of the verses. What strikes you? An observation is an observable fact from the Word.
1.
2.
3.
INTERPRETATION:
What do you interpret these verses to mean for you today?
APPLY:
Today, I learned _____________________________________and apply it to my life.
Prayer of Encouragement
Dear God, we thank you for your forgiveness and love that covers all our sins. Help us to do good, be kind, be loving and fair in all we do. We ask forgiveness for our sins and failures; help us to be forgiving. In Jesus name. Amen.
Conclusion
The Twenty-Second Day of Lent shines the light on our attempts to ‘cover up’ our sins. We can’t escape God seeing our actions any more than King Saul or King David did. We are to be truthful and fair to each other. We are to exemplify the way Christ showed us. Be loving. Do good and be generous with our forgiveness, even as God has forgiven us. That brings a freedom that can’t be matched. God empowers.
Go out and be ready for God to do mighty things in your life.*
Thank you for visiting ChapLynne’s Daily Encouragement and Bible Study. God bless you.
*If you do not know the Lord as your personal Savior and you are seeking, please contact me. A genuine and simple prayer, asking God into your heart for the forgiveness of your sins will also do.
The Twenty-First Day of Lent puts people on the hot seat. King Saul in the Old Testament lesson in Samuel attempts to cover up his disobedience. He clearly read his press reports and believed in them more than the words of the prophet. Tall, handsome, regal Saul. Loved by David and so many. Yet, he did the very thing that God despises. Disobeyed, with an unrelenting heart.
God calls us to obedience. We’ve seen the difficulties arising out of disobedience from Adam and Eve forward. The Bible is full of flawed individuals who fail to do what God asks. The Westminster catechism says, “Sin is any want of conformity unto or transgression of the law of God.” Q14. Disobedience to God is sin.
But everyone sins. Everyone disobeys. So why does King Saul anger God so much? Why is the prophet so upset? Because when Samuel confronts Saul with the truth, Saul says that he defeated the King of Amalekites just as instructed. Then he went to Gilgal and built a monument—to himself. He was honoring himself. Furthermore, when Samuel challenged his ‘following instructions’ (which were to destroy the whole of them, animals and all), he asked Saul, “What is it that I hear—sheep and cattle sounds?”
Saul FBF—fixes blame fast—on his ‘soldiers.’ It reminds me of the movie, A Few Good Men, where the General lies about having a ‘code Red’ ordered on a young Marine, leading to his death. Cover up. Never admit your mistake. Cover up.
I’ve been following politics a lot lately. Scandals? Too many to count. But almost all of them say that the original ‘mistake’ doesn’t bring people down. It’s the cover up. President Nixon might have walked away with a blight, but not disgrace, had he admitted to the break-ins of the Watergate etc. instead of trying to cover it up. All those, who were convicted, were involved in covering it up.
Saul tried to cover up his failure to do what God asked. He took credit and built a monument to himself. And he lied to his prophet, Samuel. As a chaplain, many, many, MANY people have lied to me. “It’s not my fault.” “I didn’t do it.” “Those drugs weren’t mine.”
I was never more ashamed of the U.S. Navy as when the “Tailhook” scandal broke. I sat with several naval officers after the 1991 scandal and investigation said RADM Kelso, who was Chief of Naval Operations, was not there for inappropriate treatment of women. They laughed about being across from Kelso, with a woman between them, while shaving her legs. The admiral claimed he had nothing to do with any of it and the good ole network supported him.
I was never more proud of the U.S. Navy as when, Commander Scott Waddle, skipper of the USS Greenville (SSN-772) took full responsibility for his mistake. His sub surfaced and struck a Japanese fishing ship, Ehime Maru, killing a nine crew (including 4 high school students). A subordinate had made a mistake and not given him the information he needed. But he took responsibility and said, if his crew failed to give him the correct information, then he had failed to train the crew properly. His fault, not the kid’s. CDR Waddle apologized formally and personally to the Japanese. They respected his humility and integrity—even at a certain loss of his status on the fast track to becoming an Admiral.
The New Testament lesson in Ephesians states it simply, Tell the “truth to your neighbor.” Treat each other with respect. Be kind. Be loving. Do good. Allow the Holy Spirit to work through you, so there isn’t maliciousness, and harm in your words. Otherwise, the Holy Spirit would be ‘sad.’
King Saul disappointed God by disobeying (failure to kill all the animals). King David disappointed God by disobeying (adultery and murder) but David was loved by God and Saul lost that affection. The difference? Cover-up versus no-cover up. When God confronts us, we are to say “I’m sorry.” Confess our sins. God forgives. Saul didn’t confess. He blamed. David tried to cover things up, but when Nathan confronted him, he confessed and put on external garments of sorrow and confession—sack cloth. King Saul built himself a monument.
We must self-examine. We can’t change politicians (except by voting them out of office), but we can change ourselves. When that nudge in the conscience says, “Wrong!” –what do we do? Confess.
And we are to treat others as God treats us. Just as God forgives us, we must forgive others. Very tough. A former colleague, Lew Smedes, wrote one of the best books on forgiveness, Forgive and Forget, Healing the Hurts We Don’t Deserve says that no one ever forgets, but forgiveness can change our own history, by changing the way we look at others. We no longer hold an infraction against someone.
Christians are supposed to forgive—it is an act of love and kindness, resembling God’s treatment of us. If we make the Holy Spirit sad, we must ask forgiveness. And when others ask forgiveness of us, we are asked to forgive. That doesn’t make it easy, but with time and effort, it is doable. Especially when we call upon the help of the Holy Spirit to fill in the areas that we fail. We can fail. We must confess (sincerely) or else we would be like King Saul—with everything going for him—but his actions and attitude resulted in God withdrawing the blessing.
Let us do good. Be kind. Be loving. Be fair and confess when we fail and forgive others when they fail. As Christians, we are to unite in a common love for each other, coming out of God’s love for us.
Thanks be to God.
All Scriptures printed below are in King James Version for copyright purposes. However, clicking on the verse locations will take you to Biblegateway.com where the text is linked to more contemporary versions.
Prayer: Almighty God, Open my eyes that I might see. Open my mind that I might understand. Open my heart that I might make your words a part of me. May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight. Amen
Season of Lent Bible Readings
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm 23;1 Samuel 15:10-21;Ephesians 4:25-32&version=KJV;ERV;GNT;NCV;NIV (multiple versions)
Twenty-Second Day of Lent
Psalm 23
1 Samuel 15:10-21
Ephesians 4:25-32
Daily Bible Verses to Memorize for Meditating
The “Shepherd’s Psalm” is worth memorizing in its whole, but at least verses 1 -3.
Psalm 23
King James Version (KJV)
23 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
Single Bible Study chapter to study
Ephesians 4:25-32
King James Version (KJV)
25 Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.
26 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:
27 Neither give place to the devil.
28 Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.
29 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.
30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:
32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.
OBSERVE:
Take a moment and write three observations of the verses. What strikes you? An observation is an observable fact from the Word.
1.
2.
3.
INTERPRETATION:
What do you interpret these verses to mean for you today?
APPLY:
Today, I learned _____________________________________and apply it to my life.
Prayer of Encouragement
Dear God, we thank you for your forgiveness and love that covers all our sins. Help us to do good, be kind, be loving and fair in all we do. We ask forgiveness for our sins and failures; help us to be forgiving. In Jesus name. Amen.
Conclusion
The Twenty-Second Day of Lent shines the light on our attempts to ‘cover up’ our sins. We can’t escape God seeing our actions any more than King Saul or King David did. We are to be truthful and fair to each other. We are to exemplify the way Christ showed us. Be loving. Do good and be generous with our forgiveness, even as God has forgiven us. That brings a freedom that can’t be matched. God empowers.
Go out and be ready for God to do mighty things in your life.*
Thank you for visiting ChapLynne’s Daily Encouragement and Bible Study. God bless you.
*If you do not know the Lord as your personal Savior and you are seeking, please contact me. A genuine and simple prayer, asking God into your heart for the forgiveness of your sins will also do.
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Replies
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It's so easy to take credit and feel puffed up when people say, Great job! And it's much harder to take responsibility when something goes wrong. When I was secretary to a property management company, it was my responsibility to fedex a check to Chicago to pay for a group of property manager's hotel room while there for a conference. Instead, I asked one of the girls in the office if they thought it would be okay to simply mail it since it was only going to Chicago from where we were in Michigan. She said, "Sure." First, I should never have consulted another employee. Secondly, I should have done what I was asked to do. The check didn't arrive when I had hoped it would and the partner in charge of finance came to my office to inquire about the check. He stated that because it had not arrived, one of the managers used his credit card to pay for it.
It was clear to me that he thought I had done something illicit with the check. The company had been burned with a previous secretary in my position stealing and cashing checks. I panicked and tried to cover my tracks by saying that I didn't know why it hadn't gotten there, the FedEx people had picked it up right at the office. Yes, I am ashamed to say that I lied. Of course, I knew that Bob would find out that it hadn't been Fedexed eventually! He was curious as to why someone would come to the office when it normally would have to be taken to a FedEx office. Another day went by; and it still hadn't arrived in Chicago. Bob was clearly no longer believing my story. I was caught in my own lies. Bob came into my office the following day and bluntly said, "What's going on? That check has not arrived at the hotel! What did you do with it?"
Instead of owning up and taking responsibility, I further exacerbated my situation by blurting out, "I asked Karen what I should do with the check; and she told me to just mail it since it was just going to Chicago!" His face turned red with anger, and he turned on his heel and walked out. I sat at my desk in misery. I was young and inexperienced and had landed this huge position as Executive Administrative Assistant to the President right out of business college. I was going to lose the first and most prestigious job I had ever had at that point because of incompetency, lying and then not taking responsibility for my actions! I sat there with a huge lump in my throat.
Finally, God put His hand in the situation. I felt a nudge to go into Bob's office and come completely clean; and take sole responsibility. I went in his office, shut the door and sat across from him. I said, "I have been taught my whole life to always tell the truth, do what is right and take responsibility for your own actions. I utterly failed in every way in this matter. The truth is I simply didn't know how to FedEx anything; and so it seemed easier to simply mail it." He asked, "Did Karen advise you that you should mail it after you told her that I specifically gave you instructions to FedEx it?"
I nodded, "She did, Bob, but it was MY job ... MY responsibility to do it exactly the way you wanted me to do it. I don't know why the check didn't get there. But I did mail it. I can't take back the lie that I told. But I apologize to you for making this situation worse by compounding it with a lie. I am the only one at fault here."
He sat across from me silently for a few minutes and then said, "I appreciate that you came in here to take responsibility. But, the check did not arrive. We had to reimburse the property manager; and now, it appears that we are out of luck with that check."
I said, "I will repay it myself out of my check."
He said, "Let's wait and see if this check shows up."
I went back to my desk almost in tears. How horrible I felt. I lied, then tried to cover that up; and I was sure that once Bob discussed the issue with my superior, I would be out of a job. Two more days went by without any word. Every time Bob went into my superior's office, I was sure he was telling her about that check. Finally, Bob came into my office to say that the check had arrived at the hotel ... A full eight days after it had been mailed to a city less than four hours away! The hotel was mailing the check back; and I was finally able to breathe.
I learned a valuable lesson about keeping my integrity intact. Being honest and taking responsibility should have been first and foremost. I pray that God will always keep me honest and responsible! Thank You, Lord for the example You set for us when You came in the flesh!0 -
Such a powerful example. Thank you for sharing. I'm sure everyone has had a moment we've tried to cover up.
That's what makes the Bible so interesting--all those flawed people. We can relate so well.
I have found the more mistakes I have made, the more compassionate I become. When I was younger and hadn't done so many things wrong, I was more like Saul--full of myself.
I am less confident I know all the answers now. LOL
Great story to share. Thank you, Sharon.0
