A heart of integrity

Psalm 78:70-72 in the Bible tells us that God chose David the shepherd boy to be the shepherd of his people and David fed them according to the integrity of his heart and with his skillful hands he led them. “Integrity of his heart” – what does that mean? According to Merriam -Wesbster’s, Integrity is defined as the quality or state of being complete (wholesome) or undivided.

David who slew the giant Goliath as a shepherd boy failed to slay the giant of lust within his heart as the king (shepherd) of God’s people and commited the sin of adultery with Uriah’s wife, which displeased God. So how could it be said that David had a heart of integrity? God chose David because he was a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22). So David started out with a heart of integrity. But when David wilfully sinned against God, his heart was divided between the matters of the Spirit of God and the flesh; no longer wholesome, no longer complete. So God sends his prophet Nathan to confront the king and David repents. In his prayer of repentance David prayed that God creates in him a clean heart (Psalm 51:10) and later affirms that God will not despise a contrite (remorseful) heart (Psalm 51:17).

So we learn that a heart of integrity is one that is complete (undivided/wholesome); one after God’s own heart. A heart of integrity is also one that has been washed clean by the blood of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, in response to a penitent prayer that comes from a contrite (remorseful) heart.

Points to ponder:
Jesus answered that the greatest commandment over all is to love the Lord your God, with your WHOLE heart, soul, mind and strength. In other words, we must love God with our COMPLETE heart; with a heart of integrity. Do you/I? A heart of integrity is one that is not only COMPLETE in its allegiance to God, but one that has been CLEANED by Jesus Christ. The cleaning of our heart comes when we believe in him and repent of our wicked ways with a CONTRITE heart, for that is one that God will not despise.

Today if you hear God’s voice, harden not your heart! (Hebrews 3:8). God is willing to take our heart of stone and replace it with a heart of flesh (Ezekiel 11:19); one that is COMPLETE in its devotion to Christ Jesus and CLEANED – one of integrity. Is your/my heart, one of integrity?

Psalm 78: 70-72 (KJV)
⁷⁰ He chose David also his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds:
⁷¹ From following the ewes great with young he brought him to feed Jacob his people, and Israel his inheritance.
⁷² So he fed them according to the integrity of his heart; and guided them by the skilfulness of his hands.

God of the mighty

While learning the song, Agnus Dei, instead of singing “for the Lord God Almighty reigns”, our beloved 5 year old son, Reuben, kept singing “for the God of the mighty reigns.” My loving wife, Sangeetha attempted to correct him, but while she was doing so, it dawned on me that my son, without realizing was proclaiming another truth from the Holy Bible. God, the Most High is not just the Lord God Almighty, but He is also the God of the mighty.

The Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines the word, “mighty” as someone who is possessing “power.” As believers and followers of Jesus Christ, we are not just a peculiar people, but we are a powerful people, for God did not give unto us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7). Just as David, a shepherd boy towered over the mighty trained soldier Goliath, with God in us (not just on our side), we are stronger than the strongest and mightier than the mightiest that the world can raise. We are a mighty people and the Most High, who reigns, is our God. For indeed the Lord God Almighty reigns; For indeed the God of the mighty reigns.

1 John 4:4 (KJV)
⁴ Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

The Armor David Wore :: Powerful Prayer

Though King David is known to have been to be a great warrior and giant killer, he was an even greater warrior of a different kind. He was a prayer warrior. In fact, the Bible has in it various kinds of prayers that David prayed; some of which are the prayer of praises and adoration (1 Chronicles 29:10-13), the prayer of petition (Psalm 70), the prayer of deliverance (Psalm 25), the fasting prayer of intercession (2 Samuel 12:16), and the well known prayer of earnest repentance (Psalm 51).

Though it is not explicitly stated that David prayed before facing the giant Goliath, we can be certain that David faced Goliath not on his own strengths, skills and savvy, but in the name of the Lord, with whom he had an intimate relationship. Such a relationship is only possible when one spends time (and may I say in communication/prayer) with the Lord. David’s one desire was that he would dwell in the house of the Lord and gaze on the beauty of the Lord all the days of his life and to enquire (pray/talk with/seek) Him in His temple (Psalm 27:4). We share the deepest of our feelings and plans with those whom we love and spend time with. It is certainly not far fetched to recognize that David spent so much time with the Lord, talking with Him (in prayer), that God shared his deepest feelings and plans with David, so much so that God was able to testify that David was a man after God’s own heart.

Ephesians 6:11-18 teaches us about the items that make the Armor of God, and often many of us stop with the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God, but the Scripture continues to inform us that we must continuously (unceasingly) “Pray always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watch thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;“. For us to be victorious in spiritual warfare, we must fight on our knees with ceaseless prayer from our hearts and lips. One thing the devil and his demons dread is to see a sinner on his knees praying for the Salvation of his/her soul or a saint on his/her knees in prayer and supplication in the Spirit for themselves and other saints.

When the disciples asked Jesus as to why they were unable to cast a demon out of a possessed boy, Jesus’ response was that such a kind can be cast out only by prayer and fasting (Matthew 17:14-21). Without prayer (and fasting), some of the demonic strongholds cannot be broken. To hold the sword of the Spirit (word of God) and not be in prayer is akin to having a sheathed sword; it would not be optimal in spiritual battle (against demonic strongholds). The breaking of chains and the bringing down of giants is possible by prayer (communion with God).

Are/Am you/I a prayer warrior? In fact, to pray is to engage in battle.

Ephesians 6:18 (KJV)
¹⁸ Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

The Armor David Wore :: Helmet of Salvation

The Bible records that David, the shepherd boy chose not to wear the armor of a soldier, that King Saul armed him with, when he averred to fight the giant, Goliath (1 Samuel 17:38-39). But David did wear another kind of armor, an armor that was more effective than the physical armor that he chose not to wear, against an armored foe. It was a spiritual armor that He wore.

The helmet is part of an armor that protects the head literally and figuratively the mind. The Bible says that He [God] will keep in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed [fixed] on Him [God] (Isaiah 26:3). The Psalmist (David) avers that the Lord is my light and my Salvation, whom shall I fear? (Psalm 27:1). Those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, are assured of Salvation and they can be in perfect peace without any fear. They are assured of eternal life and even death cannot drive fear into their hearts and mind. David recognized that he had no reason to fear the giant Goliath, because he knew that the Lord was his Salvation. He in fact states that boldly to the giant that it will be the Lord who would deliver the giant into his hands; in other words, it will be the Lord who will save him.  He had armed himself with the helmet of Salvation and there was nothing for him to fear.

Do you/I have perfect peace as did David? Are you/I armed with the helmet of Salvation that drives out fear?

Psalm 27:1 (KJV)
¹ The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

The Armor David Wore :: Shoes of Peace

The Bible records that David, the shepherd boy chose not to wear the armor of a soldier, that King Saul armed him with, when he averred to fight the giant, Goliath (1 Samuel 17:38-39). But David did wear another kind of armor, an armor that was more effective than the physical armor that he chose not to wear, against an armored foe. It was a spiritual armor that He wore.

The Bible records that when David faced Goliath, he RAN towards the army of the Philistines (1 Samuel 17:48) and downed him with a stone from his slingshot. The Bible also records that once Goliath fell with his face to the ground, David RAN again to slay and behead the giant Goliath. Revelation 6:4 informs us that war takes away peace and when Goliath the Philistine warrior,  stole the peace of the Israelites by defying them and the Lord who was their Captain (1 Samuel 18:51), David’s feet ran with readiness to restore peace. To run is indicative of readiness; readiness to engage in battle.

Our feet must be fitted with readiness of the gospel of peace, as was David’s. When the giants of this world (pleasure, prosperity, power, popularity, etc) deny and defy Christ Jesus, the Lord of Peace, we must run and engage with readiness to restore the Peace of the gospel in their heart.

1 Samuel 17:48, 51 (KJV)
⁴⁸ And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came, and drew nigh to meet David, that David hastened, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine.
⁵¹ Therefore David ran, and stood upon the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and cut off his head therewith. And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled.

Ephesians 6:15 (KJV)
¹⁵ And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

The Armor David Wore :: Belt of Truth

The Bible records that David, the shepherd boy chose not to wear the armor of a soldier, that King Saul armed him with, when he averred to fight the giant, Goliath (1 Samuel 17:38-39). But David did wear another kind of armor, an armor that was more effective than the physical armor that he chose not to wear, against an armored foe. It was a spiritual armor that He wore.

When Goliath defiantly disdained David by asking him as to why he came after him with sticks, David responded that He came to this battle in the Name of the Lord. In the Revelation of Jesus Christ, we learn that the name of the Lord is Faithful and True (Revelation 19:11). Jesus said, “I am the Way, the TRUTH and the Life” (John 14:6). David faced Goliath in the Name of the one that is Faithful and True. David girded Himself with the belt of TRUTH; The Truth that not only set Him free from fear (unlike his fellowmen), but also The Truth that set the Israelites free from being taunted and mocked.

Are we girded with the belt of Truth as was David? Without it, it would be impossible to bring down the giants that taunt, defy and scare us.

The belt of Truth when worn, shall make you free (indeed). The truth when known, shall make you free (John 8:32).

The opposite of fear is …

Contrary to popular belief and definitions, the opposite of fear in Christian life is not courage. In fact, none of the antonyms in the Thesaurus indicate what the Holy Bible tells us as to what the opposite of fear is. When Jesus calmed the sea, he questioned the disciples in the boat, “Why are you so fearful?” and then instead of asking them “How is it that you have no courage?”, He instead asked them, “How is it that you have no faith?” The opposite of fear is not courage but faith, which is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 12:1). David was not just a young man, when He faced Goliath, the giant over nine feet tall (1 Samuel 17:4). While Goliath may have been a physical giant, David was a spiritual giant, because of his faith in the LORD, in whose name he went to face his giant (1 Samuel 17:45). It was David faith and not his courage that landed him in the hall of Heroes of Faith (Hebrews 12:32). David with his eyes of faith must have seen the invisible victory promised against those who defied God’s people (Deuteronomy 28:7) even before he engaged in battle.

What are the winds and waves in your life that threaten to drown you today? When we recognize by faith that nothing is impossible with Jesus Christ, the LORD Almighty who is with us always (Isaiah 41:10), there is no reason to be fearful. The question that remains is, “Can we have faith in the one who is the slayer of giants, the calmer of storms and the LORD Almighty; in Jesus Christ?” Next time when you are fearful, rather than praying for courage, pray for faith; faith that makes us confident that God is with us, that He is our God, that He will strengthen us, that He will help us and that He will uphold us (Isaiah 41:10) over the stormy situations of our life. Fear Not! Have Faith!

Mark 4:39-30 (KJV)
³⁹ And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
⁴⁰ And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?

Isaiah 41:10 (KJV)
¹⁰ Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

No matter what – I will fight

Many decisions that ought to be taken are not taken due to one of the following reasons:
1. we try to rationalize the situation assuming that our finite and limited human minds has infinite comprehension and abilities or
2. we think of the consequences of the decision and are paralyzed for fear of life or fear of being ridiculed.

In today’s text, taken from 1 Samuel 17, we will look at David, who chose to fight for God NO MATTER WHAT.

Many are probably familiar with the story of David and Goliath, but for the benefit of those who aren’t, as a backdrop to this character, David is summoned by his father Jesse to take food for his brothers who are at war with the Philistines. Upon arriving at the scene of the battle, he is troubled to hear the taunts of an over nine foot giant, name Goliath, who was hurling insults and defying the armies of God; the Israelite army. David confidently avers to fight the Philistine and in the conversation that ensues between him and Saul, the then king of Israel, David narrates his life experience of victory against a lion and a bear that had stolen one of his father’s sheep from the flock. He tells the king, how he went after the lion and the bear and smote it and delivered the sheep out of the mouth of the beast and when it arose against it, he caught it by its mane (beard) and slew it. He then tells the king that it was the Lord’s doing that delivered him from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear, and now it was time to witness God continuing to do his work of deliverance from the Philistine giant Goliath. The consequences of David’s action meant that his life was in jeopardy from being killed by Goliath. David nonetheless chose to risk his life recognizing that he would emerge victoriously because his reliance was not on himself or his abilities, but on the Lord. David chose to fight for God NO MATTER WHAT the consequences would be. Long story short, David goes in the name of the Lord and fights the giant, defeating Goliath with a single sling shot to the giant’s head, and emerging victoriously.

David could have gone with a heart puffed with pride from his victories against the lion and the bear. He did not go to fight with the heart of a lion or the strength of a bear, but instead with a humble heart that trusted in the name of the Lord. David in short can be considered to be the giant in the duel, because he had God on his side, despite his relatively smaller size. If David had rationalized or thought of the consequences, he would have probably ended up being like one of the soldiers in Saul’s army – sore afraid, terrified and paralyzed in fear of fighting the giant. His act of courage not only did it deliver him and Saul’s army from those who defied God, but also earned him an entry into the Hall of Faith (Hebrews 11:32), an eventually established him as a king over all Israel (2 Samuel 7:8). Our acts of courage to fight for God, relying on His name, will deliver us from all the giants that taunt and try to enslave us and will establish us to reign with Him in God’s indestructible kingdom (Revelation 5:10) .

Points to ponder:

1. What is God asking you and me to fight for?
2. Can we take the step to fight for God, without rationalizing or thinking of the consequences, NO MATTER WHAT?