David

You want me to give what? (Prayer Devotional for the week of July 20, 2014)

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I recall plenty of sermons on stewardship over the years, but I couldn’t tell you of a lightbulb moment when it dawned on me that my personal giving mattered. Giving—and tithing, in particular—is just something that I grew up doing. It never seemed odd to me; it was just what you did. I didn’t realize how weird I was.

The Bible focuses a lot (more than we’d probably like to admit) on finances and giving. In 1 Chronicles 29, King David announced to the assembly of Israelites that he had committed an extraordinary sum to building the Lord’s temple. Following his example, the leaders and community members gave generously (and joyfully!), as well. David offered a prayer of thanks and told God, “Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand” (v. 14). He went on to ask the Lord to bless the givers and “keep these desires and thoughts in the hearts of your people forever, and keep their hearts loyal to you” (v. 18).

Don’t get me wrong; Americans tend to be pretty generous. Young adults in “Generation Y” give an average of $341/year, according to a 2010 survey by Convio. Gen Xers and Baby Boomers give incrementally more, while The Great Generation gives the most, on average, at $1,066/year. The numbers vary from source to source, but a common estimate is that Americans give about 3% of their earnings to charity, on average. That certainly isn’t chump change, and it adds up to billions of philanthropic dollars each year. Yet, do we give from the same attitude of selfless abandon that King David did, when he offered “personal treasures of gold and silver … over and above everything [that David had already] provided” (v. 3)? Do we give because there is joy in it, or because we feel obligated … or do we not bother to give at all? God calls us to be weird for him in many ways, and one of those ways should be our generosity.

Originally posted August 28, 2011 (revised)

Look for Wisdom (Prayer Devotional for the week of April 6, 2014)

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I have a t-shirt that reads: “The book was better.” I love it, because with few exceptions (like The Princess Bride), I think it’s a true statement. Don’t get me wrong; I enjoy movies a lot, but books can go into so much more depth on plot and character development. I develop an image in my mind of how the character looks, and one of the most frustrating things to me about watching a movie based on a book is when the actors don’t look the way I pictured the characters to be when I read the story.

We are visual creatures, and if you don’t believe me, then try wearing a t-shirt & sweatpants to your next job interview or go out in public with bed-head. We make snap judgments about people based on appearance every day. Even the church isn’t immune from first impressions. Take the prophet Samuel, for example. When he met each of Jesse’s sons to determine which one would be the next king (as God had instructed him to do … see the full story in 1 Samuel), he assumed that the eldest, tallest, and/or most physically attractive would be God’s chosen one.

Boy, did God throw Samuel a curveball! Samuel didn’t even voice his thoughts aloud as he was introduced to Jesse’s first son, but God knew what he was thinking and said to him in 1 Samuel 16:7 (NIV), “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” After Solomon sized up seven older brothers, Jesse’s youngest son, David, was anointed as king.

A generation later, God appeared to Jesse’s grandson/David’s son, King Solomon, in a dream and invited him to ask for something (1 Kings 3). Instead of long life, revenge, or wealth, Solomon asked for wisdom. God was so pleased with his selfless request that he also gave him the worldly things that he did not ask for. Solomon would later write in Ecclesiastes 8:1b (MSG), “Wisdom puts light in the eyes, and gives gentleness to words and manners.”

Does having wisdom mean that Solomon was perfect? Of course not, yet I can’t help but wonder if he remembered hearing a thing or two about his dad’s experience with Samuel as he was growing up, and Solomon seemed to understand that what’s inside (our character traits and relationship with the Lord) matters more than what’s outside (mere appearances).

Is Jesus Just Enough? (Prayer Devotional for the week of December 22, 2013)

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I read a comic recently about a man asking his wife to pick up something at the grocery store, except he spoke to her in the way that a lot of us Christians pray nowadays. The conversation went something like: “Honey, if you could just, you know, maybe just pick up some milk, Honey. I want to just thank you, Honey, if you would, for just getting the milk.”

It sounds silly in that context, but isn’t that what our prayers sound like more often than not? We hem and haw to try to get the words right, instead of speaking our hearts. We box God in (maybe without meaning to) with our “ifs” and “justs.” We cut to the chase about what we need (perhaps more often, what we want) and gloss over praise, thanks, and confession.

What if we spent a day talking to God in prayer about how awesome and wonderful he is, without asking for a thing? In Psalm 103:20-22, David described how he wanted his soul to praise God like the angels in heaven. We could learn a lot by reading how the angels worship God. There are some very beautiful examples in the book of Revelation. In Revelation 7:12 (NIV), the Bible describes how heavenly hosts fall down in worship before God, exclaiming: “Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!” Earlier in Ch. 4, we read about heavenly creatures who repeat day and night: “‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,’ who was, and is, and is to come.”

24/7, these heavenly citizens praise God. I don’t know about you, but it’s hard for me to find 24 minutes to pause and pray. As we go through this week with the hustle & bustle of Christmas, let’s ask ourselves: Is Jesus “just” a feel-good story to think about once a year? Is he “just” the one you go to when you need something? Or, is he your all in all? Instead of getting caught up in the distractions of the season, let’s find time to reflect on God’s glory, wisdom, honor, power and strength, and praise him as the angels do.