Throughout the Bible we esteem individuals referred to as heroes of faith., and, as we lift someone as hero, we tend to ignore their flaws and challenges while we elevate their successes. George Washington, Babe Ruth, Martin Luther King, and others are idealized in our culture as people like Abraham, Moses, or David would have been in Jewish culture. None of these people are perfect, though, and the inspiration should not be in a perception of perfection as much as it should be in the realization that these people are heroes despite their faults and shortcomings.

Abraham

In Genesis 12:1, God commands Abram to leave the land of his fathers to migrate to land God will show him. Abraham is cited as one of the examples of faith in Hebrews 11, and the children of Israel held their forefather in high esteem.

We see a chink in Abraham’s character in Genesis 12:12-13 when he asks Sarai to pose as his sister to spare their lives. In contrast, Genesis 15 records God promising Abraham a son, and Abraham trusts God enough to prepare to sacrifice that son in Genesis 22. How did Abraham grow from the point of lying to save his life to being willing to trust God with the life of his only son.

Like us, Abraham is working with a narrow timeline, and he lived in immediate dangers and consequences. He could see evidence where his life might be in danger. He could see evidence that bearing a child by Sarah would be improbable, both even laughing at the idea that they would have a child. He could see the end of the promise in sacrificing Isaac to God. The obstacles set before him are as real and tangible as those we face. However, when Abraham falls, he presses on. He grows in faith with each trial.

Moses

Moses is raised in a comfortable life, and we remember well his leadership of the people, the plagues against Egypt, his role in God’s plan to deliver Israel from Egypt. The Passover in Exodus 12 is initiated through Moses, setting up a sacrifice that would parallel that of Jesus. Moses frees Israel. He is the lawgiver, but he did not start out so strong.

In Exodus 3 and 4, when God appears to Moses on Mount Horeb, Moses makes excuse after excuse to avoid doing God’s will. He is not excited by the prospect of returning to Egypt, facing his brethren, and facing his former household. Even after accomplishing the Exodus, Moses would grow frustrated with the people over whom he shepherded. In Numbers 20:10, Moses defies God in anger when bringing water from a rock and neglects to honor God in the act. Despite the consequences of his action, Moses gets back to work and continues to guide and instruct Israel.

David

We’re familiar with the story of David and Goliath. He trusts God to protect him, not only from Goliath, but from a jealous King Saul as well. Saul continually tries to kill David, but David refuses to kill Saul even when given the opportunity. He is described as a man after God’s own heart.

Unfortunately, David meets Bathsheba – an encounter resulting in adultery, in lies, in subterfuge, and in murder. In contrasts, Psalm 51 illustrates a truly repentant heart, and this repentance is not the result of being caught. Rather, it is the result of someone who realizes he has sinned against his God. He repents, and he continues to press on for God.

Living Like Heroes

Why do we have the bad qualities of these individuals recorded along with the good? It is so we can see the humanity of these individuals and realize we are capable of the same achievements. Where are today’s heroes of faith? Some call modern day heroes “Saints,” and they are on the right track if incorrect in implementation. God’s saints are today’s heroes of faith, and that involves every person who has come to accept Christ in their lives. We are to be the role models and the leaders. We are to be the ones to spread God’s word and share His promises with others.

Each of us have our own unique challenges and obstacles, and, if we want to be the saints we should be, we have to want it bad. We have to willing to be different. What we do gives credibility to what we say. We have to be willing to be singled out. It’s not always going to be easy, and we may falter or stumble. However, like these examples we have studied, we need to be able to place our trust in God, get back up, brush ourselves off, and keep going. Wherever we are, whoever we are around, we should be role models that will make an impact on those around us. We often read of these past heroes of faith. Now it is time for us to be heroes ourselves.

By Steve Barr

Tags: examples, faith, david, moses, abraham

Trials of David

Psalm 27 is one of David’s works, and it concludes on the ideas of patience and fortitude after describing distress in his life and hope in His Lord. Several Psalms put us in wonder of David’s attitude during the trials of his life.

• I Samuel 21 records David meeting with Ahimelech for help but needing to continue to flee. Psalms 34 and 56 reflect on the despair in his life at this time.
• I Samuel 22:3 shows David looking for sanctuary for his parents, but he has to flee again into the forests.
• I Samuel 23 records David rescuing the inhabitants of Keilah from the Philistines, but they prepare to betray him to Solomon.
• II Samuel 15:13 begins recounting David having to flee Jerusalem to avoid an uprising by his own son Absalom.
  

Most of us never have to flee our home and country to save our lives, to protect ourselves from family members who want to kill us as David’s. Imagine the mortal danger he was in. Saul or Absalom would have gladly killed David. He lived with the responsibility of those who helped him on his shoulders. Many were harmed or killed on his behalf. He moved from place to place. He lived in caves and forests for months on end. Additionally, many psalms demonstrate depressing bordering on his life.

Patience Like David’s

In Psalm 27:3 and verse 8 speak of him avoiding fear, and verse 14 describes his taking courage in the Lord. That same verse speaks of him and us waiting on the Lord. Patience is difficult for us in many settings. Whether we are working with things or with people, we tend to want instant gratification and resolution, but David tells us to wait. The solution is not ours to create. Rather, we should be looking to God.

This patience takes continual communion. We cannot remove ourselves from the Lord’s presence and then expect His intervention. This also takes continual prayer as illustrated in I Thessalonians 5:17, and we have to maintain ourselves in God’s presence. Like the Hebrew author warns, we should be wary of drifting away. Finally, staying in the fight is a necessary element to our spiritual patience. I Kings 18 records Elijah’s confrontation between himself and the prophets of Baal, but, by chapter 19, Jezebel has put a price on Elijah’s head. He is depressed and frightened, and God quietly appears to him on Mount Horeb, telling Elijah He still needs the prophet to work despite the obstacles.

God’s Promise of Strength

We are promised God’s goodness and strength, but He has not promised to remove our trials. Think of the apostles in Acts 5 who stand trial before many of the same men who worked to execute Jesus. They pray for strength to face trials. God has not promised to make our lives easy. In fact, the scriptures promise the opposite to those who follow Him, and nowhere does He promise us an explanation. Remember Job. He never understands the “why” of what he goes through. God delivers him but never offers explanation.

He does promise to strengthen our hearts, however. Trials make us stronger and equip us to help others. They make us grow closer to each other and to God. If we remain in communion with God and stay in His presence, if we stay in the fight and live prayerfully, we need not fear. We can be confident as David was in Psalm 27 as we wait patiently for the Lord.

By Tim Smelser

Tags: david, hope, endurance, examples

Pre-Socratic philosopher Heraclitus of Ephesus is not an individual many of you may be familiar with, but you are probably familiar with his assertion that “change is the only constant.” While there indeed may be “nothing new under the sun” in God’s eyes, we live in a culture that is ever-changing, that is always in motion.

The concept of change has been a prevalent topic this year due to one of our presidential candidates whose campaign platform is built upon the notion of change. Barack Obama uses the slogan: “Change You Can Believe In,” and on February 5, 2008, he made his now famous quote: “We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.” In this statement, he’s combining and paraphrasing calls to action made by other influential leaders. I think Hopi spiritual elder Thomas Banyacya coined the phrase, “We are the one’s we’ve been waiting for,” and Mahatma Mohandas Gandhi said, “We need to be the change we wish to see in the world.”

Creating or Reacting to Change

Too often, we do not live the change we want to see around us. Like Heraclitus says, “Change is the only constant.” The world around us changes day by day whether we want it to or not. It changes in ways we may like or dislike. Albert Einstein, Amelia Earhart, FDR, Martin Luther King, Jr., Winston Churchill, Napoleon Bonaparte, Charles Darwin, Socrates, Pablo Picasso, Herman Melville, Ray Bradbury, Edgar Allen Poe, Gustav Mahler, Francis Crick, Jackson Pollack, Bob Dylan – these and more are the game changers. They are “the crazy ones” as an ad for Apple Computer once put it. Regardless of how you personally feel about any of these individuals, they are world changers. Rather than being shaped by change, they did the shaping.

Unfortunately, we often respond to the idea of change in one of two ways. We might be “tossed to and fro” as the Christians in Ephesians 4:14. In other words, we might be unable to discern between good changes and bad changes and we just go with the flow. Alternatively, we might be more like the children of Israel as Moses was leading them to the promised land – grumbling all the time but effectively doing nothing to help. We are the perpetual armchair quarterbacks, calling shots to people who do not hear us, who will not feel the consequences nor the benefits, but fooling ourselves into believing we’re helping.

One thing all of those individuals named earlier had in common was they didn’t get anything done by sitting around on their couches and griping. Every one of those people changed the landscapes of their specific disciplines and the world because they stood up to be noticed. They took risks. They suffered indignities, ridicule, and some died for their causes, but they made a difference. Can we say the same, or are we content being swept about by change or merely complaining about it to those who already agree with us?

Living Change In the Bible

The Bible, Old Testament and New, is filled with individuals and groups of individuals who stand out as heroes to us because they lived the change they wished to see. Where others shirked, they charged forward. In this lesson, we’re just going to take a look at three isolated examples and some results of their actions.

Joshua. We are familiar with the events of Numbers 13-14, even if we tend to forget the events belong to this book. This is the initial inspection of Canaan by the spies of Israel, and, in chapter 13:27-33, an overwhelming majority say the land is unconquerable. Caleb tries to persuade the people that they can overcome the odds, but he is quickly shouted down. In chapter 14:6-10, Joshua attempts to rally the people, reminding them the Lord is with them. As a result, he is very nearly stoned.

Joshua has already seen how the people reacted to Caleb. He could have just gone with popular opinion. He could have been caught up in the fear, uncertainty, and doubt all around him. He could have also just kept quiet but complained to Caleb and Moses later about the stubbornness of the people – if only they had faith in God. He could have done these things, but he doesn’t. He tries to make a difference, and he continues this pattern for his whole life. The result? Judges 2:7 records that the people serve the Lord under Joshua and under the elders who outlive him. He makes a difference that impacts a whole generation of God’s followers.

David. I Samuel 17 records David’s confrontation with the Philistine warrior Goliath, a man described in gigantic proportions and armed to the teeth. In verses 8-11, Goliath challenges Israel to send out a champion to challenge him, but King Saul and his soldiers cower in fear. Finally, the young shepherd David answers the call, but his brother ridicules him. The king tries to dissuade him, but David is adamant, and, in verse 37, he states confidently that he believes the Lord will deliver Goliath into his hands and change imminent defeat into victory.

We know David finds success with only the most humble of tools, but would it not have been easier for him to view Goliath as someone else’s problem. After, David is not a soldier. His place is in the fields. He could have just turned around and gone home, trusting that somebody would take care of the problem. Likewise, David could have sat around asking, “Why doesn’t someone do something?” “Why don’t we just throw all of our troops at him. That will end the problem quickly.” He could have done that, but he doesn’t. He put his faith in God and makes a difference. As a result, he is remembered as a man after God’s own heart, he is in the lineage and and a shadow of Christ. He is a hero of the Old testament because he tried to live the change he wanted to see.

The Early Christians and Apostles. We wrap up with a group instead of an individual. These are the people who, in Acts 8:4, continue preaching and teaching even as they flee persecution. These are the people who, like Stephen in Acts 7, stand before the Pharisees and proclaim Christ, even unto their deaths. They are people like Peter in Acts 2, who stands and preaches Christ to the very people who had participated in His crucifixion – a mob that could have quickly turned on him as well. They are the ones praying by rivers, teaching in synagogues, enduring imprisonment, stonings, and torture while continuing their ministry. We know Paul, Peter, Barnabas, Silas, Aquila, Priscilla, Apollos, and others while many remain nameless. All of these, however, persisted in living the change the world needed and still needs.

Any of these could have dropped out at any time. I’m sure some did. I believe Paul and Peter both knew what fates awaited them should they continue to preach Christ. It would have been easier for Stephen to just give up and placate the Jews who accused him of blasphemy. Paul would have avoided many stonings had he just reentered Pharisaical practices. Peter and John could have avoided further imprisonments had they only followed the decree to stop preaching Christ in Acts 4:18. These individuals and more continued to work for change though, and the result is recorded in Acts 17:6 when the rioters cry out that these men “have turned the world upside down.”

Our Life of Change

Our goal should be nothing short of the accomplishment of those early Christians: turning the world upside down. We should be wanting to change the world, but it begins within ourselves. We cannot wait for change to sweep us off our feet, nor can we sit idly by griping about things we allow to be taken out of our hands. We need to take charge of our lives, and be the change we want to see. We can’t wait for others to do it. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. Change is constant. We can either be victims of change, or we can be instruments of change.

By Robert Smelser

Tags: attitude, examples, purpose, my thoughts, david

I Samuel 17 retells the events of David facing Goliath, and, in this conflict, David exhibits four qualities we can emulate when we face giants in our own lives. These giants may not be as obvious or as aggressive, but they provide a threat to our spiritual survival, so let’s look at these qualities and how we can apply them in our own lives.

David Facing the Giant

David displays faith when encountering the threat of Goliath. The military had withdrawn from facing the giant. I Samuel 17:34-37 recounts David making his case to King Saul, and, in this, he expresses his faith in Jehovah. Along with this faith, he demonstrates trust. Instead of trusting in the king’s weapons and armor, David trust’s God to deliver victory. He shows the correct attitude before danger. He doesn’t try to take credit from God when facing Goliath. In his eyes, the victory belongs to God. Finally, David runs out to battle, doing exactly what he said he would do.

Our Giants

We face giants in our own lives. They are distractions. They prevent us from moving forward. They blind us to the goal we hold so dear. I John 2:15-17 introduces us to the giant of worldly interests, and, in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus reminds his audience that our priorities reflect the contents of our heart. Luke 12:15 begins the parable of a rich man who places his trust in his possessions. What he is not prepared for is meeting God.

I Peter 2:11 speaks of desires and lusts that battle with our souls. Immorality is always readily available to tear down our spiritual security. Additionally, discouragement can tear us down. Isaiah 35:3 makes a call to strengthen the weak, to comfort the afraid. Acts 11:21-23 and I Thessalonians 5:14 both speak to exhorting and encouraging among the brethren. Discouragement can lead to bitterness and self-justification.

Finally, a lack of direction can be a giant in our lives. Returning to I Samuel 17:25-27, David learns of Goliath and the rewards the king has prepared for the one who defeats him. Verses 28-30 records David reconfirming this goal, verifying the threat Goliath poses and the rewards involved. David sees a goal before him, and then he pursues that goal.

Emulating David

How do we avoid being consumed by these giants of desires, discouragement, worldliness, and lack of focus? Quite simply, we begin by setting a spiritual goal. I John 5:4 reminds us of the power in our faith. Through our faith in God, we can overcome anything, and it sustains us in difficult times. I John 4:4 and Galatians 2:20 both speak of the way we live our lives, trusting in the power of Christ within us. I have to rust God enough to put my faith into action. The first few verses of Philippians 2 reminds us of the attitude we should have, and James 2:17 reminds us that we have to take our faith into obedience and do the right thing.

If we have faith and trust in God, if our attitude is right, and if we are willing to take action, we can face those giants waging war with our souls. We can overcome, striving toward our goal of an eternity with our Father.

By Tim Smelser

Tags: priorities, hope, parallels, david

In studying the Old Testament, one cannot ignore the role of and the importance of the temple. From David’s desire to build a temple, to the temple of Solomon, to its destruction, to the efforts to rebuild that temple. In I Corinthians, the temple is referred to but it is used two different ways: our body as God’s temple and the church as God’s temple of the New Testament.

The Temple of Our Bodies

In I Corinthians 6, Paul reminds those reading of the backgrounds the shared. In verse 12, he appeals to a mindset that anything sanctioned by government must be okay. However, Paul says that just because something is legal does not necessitate that it is spiritually beneficial. In verse 19, Paul refers to our bodies as temples that were purchased by God. This fact should affect how we behave while we live in these bodies.

What does this mean for us. Our bodies belong to God when we choose to serve Him, and “you are not your own.” Romans 6:2 says that those who have died to sin can no longer live in it. The former self has been crucified, and a new self lives – free from sin but belonging to Christ. God gave us our life back, and in this we are joined to the Lord.

Furthermore, this passage claims that my body is a dwelling place of the Spirit. Galatians 2:20 also states that Christ dwells in me, and we’ve read of God’s presence within us. We are not what we see in the mirror. These bodies are temporary shells that contain a soul that God sees. People see who I am externally, but God sees who I am internally because that is where He is present.

Our behavior, influenced by this view as our body as a temple, goes beyond the general view of exercise and eating well. Anything we put into ourselves, the media we consume, the jokes we tell, the people we associate with – these things are spiritually ingested by us and influences our spirituality, and this should have an impact on the choices we make and the way we live.

The Temple of the Church

In I Corinthians 3:16-17, Paul is speaking to the congregation, and he calls them God’s temple. Like our own bodies, this attitude should color how we view coming to worship and the role of our congregation in our lives. The church as an entity should be regarded as sacred and holy, and we should strive to keep it pure just as God wanted His temple pure and free of unclean influences.

Just as God dwells within us, so does God dwell among us as a congregation. In I Corinthians 3:4-5, Paul discourages aligning a congregation with a particular individual, and he goes on to say that the church’s foundation is Christ. Our efforts will determine what kind of congregation will be built on that foundation. In the Old Testament, people brought materials and offered services in the building of the temple. What do I bring to the work of the church?

As we are trying to build our temple, we have one another to build upon. Our strengths can overcome our deficiencies so long as we put God first and we work together. Everybody doing what they can produces a congregation that is strong and united. Do I view the church as something that serves me, or do I ask how I can serve God through it?

Conclusion

The temple is holy and set apart. Do we want to be a temple of wood and hay or a temple of gold and silver – whether we are speaking of ourselves or the church? What do I want my spiritual temple to be? This goal should affect the way we participate in the congregation we belong to and the way we live our lives.

By Tim Smelser

Tags: godly qualities, church, identity, david