Busyness Can Be Like Quicksand

Busyness Can Be Like Quicksand

That day was the Preparation, and the Sabbath drew near -- Luke 23:54; New King James Version

Do not mistake activity for achievement. I was digging a ditch to install a drain pipe. The area in which I worked was on the Albemarle Sound; one needed only dig a couple of feet before hitting ground water. I was digging like a weighted man in quicksand! I looked like a hyper gopher! The problem was that I wasn’t getting anywhere. The boss came around, saw that I was sweating hard, but little seemed to have been done. He said, “Why don’t you pump the water off as you dig? It’ll stop caving in that way.” DUH! Why didn’t I know that? Busyness was not the answer. Doing things the right way was the answer.

Today’s Scripture is one that is a hidden treasure. Jesus had just died on the cross (23:46). Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus (23:52). Pilate consented, Jesus’ body was wrapped in linen, and placed it in the tomb (23:53). Those precious women who had followed Jesus went home to prepare the usual things for Jewish burial (23:55). They couldn’t come back and properly honor Jesus’ body and prepare it for proper burial because time ran out. You see, it was the time of the day to prepare for Sabbath. By Jewish law, they were no longer able to do anything.

For some reason, I think this is strange. Their Master had just died! I mean, really! Jesus’ followers were so bound up by rules that they missed the point of them; they are to draw us closer to God, not make us so busy that we can’t see Him.

It’s easy to get overly busy, especially for church folks. The sold out, “want-to-serve-the-Lord-with-all-I-got” Christian usually has a hard time saying no when asked to do something. There is nothing wrong with that, however we need constant refreshing. For those in small congregations, often there is the need to wear many hats and do many ministries, so this danger is much greater.

Martha could well understand what I am talking about. Read these Scripture from Luke 10; “As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a village where a woman named Martha welcomed them into her home. Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord's feet, listening to what he taught. But Martha was worrying over the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, ‘Lord, doesn't it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.’ But the Lord said to her, ‘My dear Martha, you are so upset over all these details! There is really only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it – and I won't take it away from her.’” (verses 38-42 – NLT).

Let’s not get too busy to sit at Jesus’ feet. Be careful, it’ll happen before one realizes it. Don’t get caught up in rushing around (especially on Sabbath day), and miss out on an encounter with God. Make sure that the main thing stays the main thing!

Attractive Employees

Attractive Employees

“Slaves must obey their masters and do their best to please them. They must not talk back or steal, but they must show themselves to be entirely trustworthy and good. Then they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive in every way” (Titus 2:9-10 New Living Translation).

Replace the word “slaves” with “employees,” and the word “masters” with “employers.” Read it again.

Do you ever think, “I hate my job!” I bet we all have. I’m sure that the vast majority of people wish they enjoyed their jobs more. They say that if you enjoy what you do, it doesn’t seem like work.

That is the key to work; enjoy what you do! Jesus understood the importance of everyday tasks. In the time and place that He spent His earthly ministry; a Roman soldier could make a private citizen carry their equipment for a mile. Jesus told His disciples, “And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two” (Matthew 5:41 NKJV). Jesus advised His followers to serve above and beyond what was required of them. The idea was that the person would be impressed by the servant’s attitude. The servant, then, would have a softened heart and an open platform for a presentation of the Gospel.

This attitude can transform simple, mundane, or hated tasks into service for the Lord! What a testimony it would make if we performed every task with the thought in mind, “I want people to know that Jesus has changed every aspect of my life, even my attitude at work!” People may then respond by saying, “Wow, there is something to this Jesus!” Enjoy your work by enjoying the Lord at work!

Your dedicated service in your work place may be the very way to win co-workers and employers to Christ. You see, Christian, our Sovereign Lord has placed us right where we are so we can be lighthouses of His grace and love.

You letting Christ be in your workplace will serve Him and give proof of His transforming power. Work just got better!

Love Him Back

I would think that as soon as someone says "February" we think of Valentine's Day. That may cause us to think of our sweethearts or be sad because we don't have one! Romance is nice. I certainly enjoy being married and cannot get enough of spending time with my wife. We have been together, either dating or married, for over ten years and I still love being with her.

Love from people often comes with strings attached. Whether we mean to or not, we usually want something in return for our love. We want special favor, kindness, and attention. We want excitement! We want flowers and candy; poetry and songs! Even love between parents and kids is often loaded with expectations. Kids want parents to let them do whatever they want. Parents want kids to obey and stay out of trouble.

God's love is different. The expectations people place on each other does not mean that the love is not real; they just mean that the love is not as pure as God's love. God's love comes with no strings attached. He loved us before we ever knew about Him. He loved us while we were still lost in our sin (Romans 5:8). God loves us when we are whiny, selfish, or unkind. God even loves us when we are unfaithful...He keeps loving us and keeps waiting for us to come back to Him. What jilted boyfriend or girlfriend does that? God even loves us when we ignore Him. God's love is true and absolutely free to us

When Jesus came onto the scene He revolutionized everyone's views about love. In Matthew 5 Jesus talked quite a bit about love. He said "Love those who hate you and do bad things to you." That was a strange thing to say! Those people had been taught that it was an "eye for an eye." Jesus told them not to worry about revenge; love in spite of how others treat you. That was a love revolution! He'd say the same thing to us today. Jesus even said that if we only love the people that love us we have nothing over the lost sinner (Matthew 5:46).

Jesus made some other very strong statements concerning love. He said that if we really love Him we will prove it by our obedience (John 14:5). He also said that that we must truly love one another if we claim we love Him; disciples of Christ prove they are His when they love one another (John 13:35). As a matter of fact, Jesus said "I am giving you a new commandment: love each other" (John 13:34a - NLT). That was NOT a suggestion! In that same verse Jesus said "Just as I have loved you, you should love each other" (John 13:34b - NLT). How did He love us? You've got it...He gave His life on the cross for us! He was talking about that very thing when He said "I command you to love each other in the same way that I love you" (John 15:12 - NLT). Next, Jesus said that the greatest way to prove our love for another is to lay down our life for them (John 15:13). For Jesus that meant that He would die on the cross. Seldom is that measure required of us. What we are challenged to do is to lay down our selfishness and put others before ourselves. The list could go on of the ways Jesus challenged us to think about love.

Perhaps the greatest revolution was of the heart and mind. Jesus said “'You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind'” (Matthew 22:37 - NLT). What was so wild about this was that He challenged us to encounter God with our whole self. He challenged us to lay down our ritual and religion and get personal with the God of the universe.

I think it a very natural response to how deeply God loves us…to love Him back. Human love is fickle and finicky, but it’s still good. Love between people is wonderfully beautiful, but it cannot be compared in fervor, degree, or devotion to the everlasting love of God. God loved you and I so much that He gave is only Son to make a way for us to experience Him fully again. What will we do in response?

But God #10

But God #10

...but God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. -- Romans 5:8; English Standard Version

I just watched End of the Spear. I recommend it. It is the story of Nate Saint's family and their attempt to show God's love to the Waodani people in Ecuador in the 1950's. For their efforts, Nate Saint and three other missionaries were murdered by the people they sought to reach.

In the movie Nate Saint, as he lay dying, to one of the Waodani people said (in the Waodani tongue), "I want to be your sincere friend." As near as anyone knows those were Nate Saint's dying words.

Before leaving on one of his attempts to reach those people Nate Saint's son urged him to defend himself with guns should they be attacked by the Waodani peoples. Nate Saint refused noting that he and his fellow missionaries were prepared to meet God, but the Waodani peoples were not. They did have firearms when they were killed at the ends of spears, but the missionaries did not use them.

Amazing.

What love!

Later on Nate Saint's sister, wife and Jim Elliot's family lead some of the Waodani people to Christ. In 1995 Nate Saint's son moves to Ecuador to continue ministering to the Waodani people, continuing his father's work and his recently deceased Aunt Rachel's work. Nate Saint's son actually forgives and ministers to the very man who murdered his father.

This is the most beautiful of all "But God" devotional thoughts. While we in rebellion against God; while we turned our backs to Him; while we sinned against His holiness...HE LOVED US!

It was not empty talk of love that, but GOD ACTED, giving us Christ's life and paying for our sin. He showed us His love while we were at war with Him.

He didn't wait for us to "straighten up". He didn't wait for us to turn to Him. He didn't wait until we deserved it (we never would).

In the grandest, most tender demonstrations of love the world has ever known, God proved His love to people who could care less; worse, to people who were His enemies.

We, who deserved the end of the spear or the cross' nails, were shown love through Christ Jesus.

We war. We hate. We rebel. We sin. We ignore.

But God...

But God #9

But God #9

And he said to them, You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or to visit anyone of another nation, but God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean. -- Acts 10:28; English Standard Version

I am going to tell you something about myself that I absolutely HATE to admit. I used to be a racist. You might think that, being a Caucasian man from the "Old South", I was racist towards black people. Nope. I was often misunderstood as such because of my former wearing of a Confederate kepi most of my way through high school and a few years beyond; that was completely due to my personal, historical affinity to the styles of the nineteenth century. Nope; I was racist towards peoples of Asian heritage. Now, I could "justify" my racism in the fact that many men in my family served in horrible wars against the Vietnamese, Koreans and Japanese. I was constantly bombarded by racist thoughts and comments about Asian peoples.

I was never really comfortable with it. I could clearly see my own hypocrisy, but I learned to live with it; even to embrace my racist attitude. I would pass by an Asian person and suggest something to them, such as "GO HOME!" (Funny thing I realized...I bet there are a great many Native Americans that would like to tell my Western-European hind-parts the same thing!)

A "strange" thing happened while I was in the army in South Korea. A fellow soldier--a kind, Korean Christian gentleman--became my roommate in the barracks. His family had been led to Christ by missionaries from the "Old South." Added to that irony, he thought those missionaries had come from North Carolina, my home state.

Hmmmm....

I began to think rather deeply about my racist convictions. This was even before I surrendered to Christ.

One of the very first things I came under deep conviction about when I did surrender to Christ was those racist attitudes. God broke me and healed me and I will forever be thankful.

Here lies the "But God" thought of the day...

We all have these social, familial, historical, cultural, experiential, religious, and self-created ideas about a lot of things...BUT GOD.

The Apostle Peter was raised as a "good Jew". He didn't mingle with any persons but other "good Jews". Messing around with Gentiles was bad juju! (Yes, pun intended!)

But, here, in today's verse, that is precisely what Peter is doing. He is mingling with Gentiles. Oooooo! Do you know what it took to break all that Peter had been taught about Gentiles? It took a vision from God!

We MIGHT have a vision from God. I have certainly had a couple of dreams in which God confronted me! Most likely a good dose of God's word will serve as proper confrontational material.

I could spend all night typing examples of stuff we believe, think or do that we could find ample "justification" for. There is really no need for that. We KNOW we believe some things that run contrary to what God would have us believe. And, we will probably be discovering more things as long as we have breath.

The question is not "if" we disagree with God on certain issues. The question is will we change when we realize it?

Racism is wrong. Divorce is not in God's will. Gossip is a sin. Pornography is iniquity. Gambling is a sin. Drunkenness is a sin. Selfishness, adultery, greed, laziness, waste, pride, arrogance...

Need I go on?

All of these are socially acceptable in our society. Some of these things are even mistakenly believed to be commendable.

But God...

But God #8

But God #8

But God turned away and gave them over to worship the host of heaven... -- Acts 7:42a; English Standard Version

I don't recommend the following, but it is funny.

My brother used to do that thing that older siblings are known to do where they don't actually touch you, but they put their hand or finger near you and say, "I'm not touching you! I'm not touching you!" Honestly, it bugged me to no end, but I didn't want to let him know it. I put up with it for quite a while. One day while he was doing that, quite unexpectedly, I hit him in the face! He never saw it coming! (Of course, for the record, my brother kicked my butt for that, but I felt better.)

This is another of the sobering variety in the "But God" family of devotions. It's point, which I want to state up front, is very simple. Just because someone has ignored something for a little while does not mean they will ignore it forever.

My brother picked on me a lot growing up and I ignored him much of the time, but every once in a while I would erupt. Usually I would do something he never saw coming. I could tell you all kinds of stories that would keep you in stitches. Usually he whipped me royally afterwards.

The verse above is taken from Deacon Stephen's testimony that he offered before being martyred. In that sermon / testimony Stephen reminded his countrymen, who were about to kill him for believing in Jesus as Messiah, of their very long history with God. The verse above recounts the time in the Wilderness when the Nation turned away from God. Stephen had reminded them of how uniquely called they were and how God had delivered them from Egypt and how they had turned from God in spite of His goodness toward them.

This is one of those "But God" moments that I never want to hear in my life for as long as I live. This is the type of "But God" that indicates that God had gotten tired of the people's foolishness and turned them over to their own devices. The people were offering their worship to creation rather than the Creator.

We think we are immune to this kind of thing these days. Surely no person, here in the sophisticated confines of America, will worship a pole, a golden calf, or a statue, would they? Sure, they would. Worse than that are the masses that play with God on a daily basis, offering Him lip-service for devotion, but truly giving their lives to _________. You fill it in; the possibilities are endless. It is far more subtle than bowing down to a golden statue and ten times more dangerous.

The most frightening thing to me is the possibility that God will remove His presence from me. I can still remember life without Him and it stunk!

People who think they can do "whatever" and that God will ignore them forever are sadly mistaken. Sooner or later God will do something! He will not act like a petty human. Far worse than a butt kicking, at least in my mind, is that God will just leave me to do whatever I want to do. That He might remove His favor from my life is enough to terrify me, but to remove His presence? Wow! I don't even want to consider that!

There is some urgency here. We CAN continue to deny God. He MIGHT let it go on for years. He MIGHT not. Just because He doesn't immediately punish sin does not mean that He never will. For me, that is eerily sobering.

We might go on for years ignoring God, giving Him lip-service, playing religious games, giving our first and best to other things or _______.

But God...

But God #7

But God #7

And He said to them, You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God. -- Luke 16:15; English Standard Bible

I've always heard it said that you can't judge a book by its cover. I could tell you a thousand stories of how I've seen this proved true. Some have been very disturbing.

Let me tell you a funny one though. I used to dabble in the fight game a bit. I was scheduled to spar with this little gentleman. I took one look at him and thought, I am going to pound this guy! Let me tell you something...the bell sounded and that little guy hit and kicked me about seven hundred and eighteen times before I could say "Good luck!" Yep, I got fooled by that cover!

There is absolutely nothing funny about today's "But God" devotion. It's about seeing the "real you", just as God sees you.

There are a great many people today who put on a religious act that is an "abomination" to God. I want to be as straight and sincere with you dear people as I possibly can. The people who put on a fake life to impress others are like bad books with pretty covers. The substance of what's inside will come out, and even if it never does to people the Great Reviewer in heaven will open it and reveal all one day. Such a life can be filled with all the frills grammar can afford and say nothing of interest to Him who sees through the fancy language and into empty appearances of importance.

I long for people to just be real with me. I want people to simply be themselves. Lost people are easier to deal with sometimes because they are just being lost. Lying, selfishness, hiding their real identities are all "normal" things.

I cannot imagine how God must feel about such things. You see, people can fool me. I am pretty gullible. Most anyone can pull the wool over my eyes. It's not that way with God.

When Jesus confronted those religious leaders He called them out big-time! Particularly, He scolded them about their attitude toward money, but the principle applied to many things. At one point Jesus issued this scathing indictment: Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and all uncleanness (Matthew 23:27; ESV). What a incriminating statement for those that play at religion and holiness!

God knows the hearts and motives of every single person's acts and thoughts. That is a sobering truth.

Let's play dress up, go to church and smile and let the world think everything is okay. Let's pretend to love God and honor every ritual known to man. Let's find some kind of justification for every sin we enjoy.

Or let's just get real.

Sure, we can pull off the game with our church members, friends, coworkers, and even most of our family (though we only THINK we are fooling many of them). We can do it, at least for a while. We can fool the world and even ourselves.

But God...

But God #6

But God #6

But God said to him, Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be? -- Luke 12:20; English Standard Version

In MY best estimation, there are three things that will cause a person to look seriously at their lives: (1) A traumatic experience, such as a near-death experience, or an unexpected, dramatic change in one's circumstances, such as one losing one's employment and not being able to secure new employment or any of many other traumatic possibilities. (2) A BRUTALLY honest life inventory; this is a time when we look with complete, open honesty at what we have done in and with our lives. I know there are many people who have sought help through Alcoholics Anonymous who have done this. (3) An encounter with the Living God.

The third is the most productive and I have heard many testimonies that the first two listed above were simply circumstances that God used to cause the third.

Personally, by way of testimony, I went through all three at once and KNOW it was God getting my attention turned to Him.

Today's "But God" moment is taken from a parable that Jesus told in Luke 12:16-21. Jesus told a parable of a farmer who was very self-centered and thought of God but very little. Here is the whole passage: And He told them a parable, saying, The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops? And he said, I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry. But God said to him, Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be? So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God (ESV - emphasis mine). Note all of the personal possessive pronouns the man used. I call it the "I-me-mine-complex". The only time the farmer said "you" was when he was talking to himself!

Here is the blunt truth of this "but God" devotion; we can live our lives as we wish, "BUT GOD" will have us give an account of how we have lived. The question will be simple: Have we lived in respect of Him?

The man in Jesus' parable lived for himself and gave no thought to God.

Many of us do no differently today. We build. We tear down. We plant. We reap. We buy. We sell. We pursue riches. We enjoy them. We inventory our stuff and get more. It's all about self.

But God...

This is perhaps one of the simplest AND most challenging thoughts one could have; whether we live to self or give thought to God.

Sure, we can do whatever we want, that's a fact. One day the books of our lives will be opened and fearless audit will ensue.

One who is "rich toward God" is one who puts God first in their affections. When that happens, those affections will drive one's actions. Such a one will store up riches in heaven and do much good to others between now and the day God calls them home. Such a person gives ALL into the hand of God and trusts God for the keeping of such.

Yes, we CAN do whatever we want. We can spend every moment of our lives figuring how we might please ourselves. It doesn't have to be that dramatic; we can spend the majority of our time on ourselves. Even more subtle, we can just ignore God. We can consciously or unconsciously pretend He doesn't know or care what we are doing. We can simply not intentionally seek Him.

I don't want to wait for another traumatic experience. I want to continually encounter the Living God and be completely, brutally honest with Him and myself. I never want to come to the end of my rope again before I look to Him.

The farmer never sought God. Till his dying breath the farmer's thought was "Me!"

But God...

But God #5

But God #5

When my soul was embittered, when I was pricked in heart, I was brutish and ignorant; I was like a beast toward You. Nevertheless, I am continually with You; You hold my right hand. You guide me with Your counsel, and afterward You will receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides You. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. For behold, those who are far from You shall perish; You put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to You. But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord God my refuge, that I may tell of all Your works. -- Psalm 73:21-28; English Standard Version (emphasis mine)

Please, go back and slowly soak in those verses above; they are simply beautiful.

My two-year-old, Rachel, does this really cute thing all the time; she will say, "I'm a girl. You are a boy, Daddy." I don't know why she does it, but it's cute! She'll also call someone's name out and indicate their gender as well. For example, she'll say, "Katie's a girl. Mommy's a girl. Daddy's a boy." None of this is relevant to today's devotion; I'm just a dad that loves his little girl.

Perhaps I thought of that because I was thinking of people that knew who and what they were. Rachel is very petite for her age. Just as she notes gender differences she will also indicate size differences. She will say, "I'm little, but I'm a big girl. You big, Daddy!" She also reminds me that, "You got a big belly, Daddy." (Then she'll slap me on my belly! GREAT FUN!)

I love it when Rachel grabs my finger to lead me somewhere (jabbering all along the way). My finger fills her entire little hand. The other night Rachel came into my office, led me into Katie's room, and said, "I need the stool." It's a little stool, so I said, "You can move that. You don't need me!" To wit, Rachel replied, "You big, Daddy. You can do it."

I love moments like that! It's not that Rachel necessarily needed me, it's that she wanted me. She was strong enough, but preferred my ability over her own. (Conversely, I hate it when I KNOW she is just being lazy!)

All of that may just be "daddy talk", but my kids get me to thinking about my heavenly Father a lot of the time. It's a comforting thought to think at times: "You are God. I am not." Also, I often think, "I just need You, Dad...I just need You." I want to get to the point that Rachel is; she calls on me as much when she WANTS me as when she NEEDS me. To the average little girl her dad represents much of her world. I want to come to the point when my Dad is ALL of my world.
That's the sentiment I see in today's passage. The average little girl is often surprised to find out that her dad can't do some things. The average little Christian (like me) seems to be surprised when they realize God CAN do something! Dads, like me, are VERY limited. My heavenly Dad is not!

So, where does this fit in with the "But God" theme we have been pursuing? It is the very comforting realization that the exact moment that every thing that makes up all that we are becomes exhausted is the same moment that we just begin to realize where God begins. The Psalmist was saying, "I may run out of energy; I may run out of good health; I may run out of ideas; I may run out...BUT GOD never will!"

It is the realization that we should come to, NOT when we have become exhausted, but BEFORE! We all know our weaknesses; that's no secret. Do we always realize our strengths? When we count those strengths (or if we count them), where do we number God in them?

I love John Gill's commentary on verse 26: "when overwhelmed with distress through outward trouble, or in the lowest condition with respect to spiritual things; when grace is weak, corruptions strong, temptations prevail, and afflictions are many; then does the Lord support and sustain His people, and strengthens them with strength in their souls; and in the moment of death, by showing them that its sting is taken away, and its curse removed; that their souls are going to their Lord, and about to enter into His joy; and that their bodies will rise again glorious and incorruptible". When all is lost there is always the "But God" factor!

When I face poverty I won't fear; though I may see no provision I can victoriously say, "But God!" When I face weakness, and see no strength dawning, I may securely say, "BUT GOD!" When the chips are down, when the white flag is being unfurled, when my knees buckle and my heart faints I may say with faith-filled confidence "BUT GOD".

Likewise, when my energy abounds, when the bank account is full, when life's sails are full of wind and no storm is in sight I can lovingly say "BUT GOD!"

I tell you friends, I get to the end of myself and the cable of hope from which I securely hang is the "But God" of His infinite ability. It is necessary for me to draw near God in my need. It is better to draw near Him in my abundance. That is to say, I want to depend on God even when my resources have not been spent! I want to depend on Him more than ANY OTHER THING ON THE FACE OF THIS PLANET! I want to testify with the Psalmist, And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides You. What praise it must bring God when we cling to Him because of "desire" just as much as we cling in times of desperation.

I have made Him my refuge, even before danger comes. I have made Him my all, because my own all is nothing compared to Him and useless without Him.

Like Rachel wants her dad, though her ability is enough, I want to want my Father to be a part of all that I do. Even when I can, I want to consider how much more I could be if I would consider and involve "But God".

It is in the moments of fellowship we enjoy with Him when we have strength and resources that we become sure of Him when we don't. That way, when all seems lost (and at some point it will seem that way, if only in the valley of the shadow of death) we can grab hope and say...

BUT GOD!

But God #4

But God #4

But God said to me, "You may not build a house for My name, for you are a man of war and have shed blood." -- 1 Chronicles 28:3; English Standard Version (emphasis mine)

Have you ever seen (or been) a kid that tried to play one parent against another? I tried it a couple of times growing up, but never got far, so I quit. I remember asking my mom if I could go swimming once and she immediately asked, "What did your daddy say?" MAN!

Now my kids try to do it. My wife and I don't fall for it. We immediately will ask our children what the other said. Sometimes our kids will rebelliously try to press on with their plans. My wife will ask, "What did you daddy say?" I can hear Katie say, "I just wanna..." My wife will sternly break in, asking, "But what did your daddy say?"

That's what kind of "But God" this is. This can be a humbling kind of thing. This "But God" is the type where we want to do something, but God says something else.

We can take any example...imagine yourself getting out of a tight spot with your boss or parent by telling a "little white lie"...BUT GOD said, "you shall not lie" (Leviticus 19:11; ESV). Think about the far ranging effects of this type of "But God". Here's another...think of a person who believes they can live a "good" life and go to heaven, BUT GOD says, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but through Me" (John 14:6; my paraphrase).

This is deep and far reaching...man makes plans, has ideas, proffers solutions, etc...BUT GOD has something to say about all of this.

Today's Scripture is a prime example. King David had built himself a wonderful palace and he realized that the Ark of the Covenant still abode in a temporary dwelling. David thought it only fitting that God's presence have a proper place, so he decided to build the Temple for the presence of God among the people. Good plan; nothing inherently evil about that, "But God said..."

This brought David's plans to a screeching halt! David's reaction to his very own "But God" is exactly how we should react. David stopped his plans and followed God's.

There are a lot of subtleties in this kind of "But God". There is a need to recognize God's authority and wisdom over our desires and limited views. There is a constant questioning of whether our desires match God's or do we need to repent and obey. There is a continual seeking to know if we should follow ours or the world's advice or consider the "But God" factor of determining what to do or think. And, of course, there is the great question of attitude upon realizing that a "But God" moment ruins our personal course.

It boils down to the same decision every little kid faces at some point: will we follow the "I just wanna..." or submit to the "What did your Daddy say?" There are always our plans, desires, and will to consider...

But God...