Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda

A Series on Living in the Wilderness
 (Click on the link below to read the verses.)
2 Samuel 11:1-5; Psalm 32:1-11

 [In this series, we will be looking at people in the Bible who lived in the wilderness. Not necessarily a wilderness of natural creation, but the metaphorical wilderness of life. In fact, there are times when we all feel like we are living in the wilderness. During those times, it’s important to remember that the Lord is always with you.]

  

Regrets! We all have them. Sometimes they’re small, like when I sold my vintage record
collection for pennies on the dollar; or when I threw away my 1974-76 collection of Michigan State football programs that I had saved for 30 years. Man I wish I wouldn’t have done that! I still regret it!

 

Some regrets though, are more serious. Like acting out on an addiction which results in hurting those you love the most, as well as yourself. You wish you could take it back, but it’s in the past, and you can’t change the past. Not only can you not change it, but the consequences can be life changing.

 

Regrets lead to guilt and shame. They can eat you up on the inside leading into more self-destructive behavior. Regrets can stay with you for years, if not for the rest of your life. David was intimately familiar with regrets.

 

He had an adulterous affair with Bathsheba. Then, to make matters worse, he had her husband Uriah, killed in battle. Even though David recognized his sin and confessed it, there were life changing consequences.

 

The son that David and Bathsheba conceived together… died; David’s son Amnon raped his half-sister Tamar; in retaliation, Absalom, who was Tamar’s brother, killed Amnon; eventually Absalom conspired to overthrow David. On and on it went like ripples in the water. David lived in a wilderness of his own creation.

 

Here’s what David wrote about living in the wilderness, and how the Lord healed him.

 

³ When I kept it all inside,
    my bones turned to powder,
    my words became daylong groans.

⁴ The pressure never let up;
    all the juices of my life dried up.

⁵ Then I let it all out;
    I said, “I’ll come clean about my failures to God.”

Suddenly the pressure was gone—
    my guilt dissolved,
    my sin disappeared.        MSG

 

Woulda, coulda, shoulda. We all feel that way sometimes; like we’re living in a wilderness of our own making. Thankfully, the Lord forgives; the Lord heals; the Lord makes us whole again.

 

Copyright 2021 Joseph B Williams

 

 

 

Bad Things

A Series on Women in the Bible
 (Use the link below to read the verses.)
Genesis 2:23; 3:20

[God worked in and through the lives of countless women in the Bible. These women played significant, if not critical roles in the Lord’s plan of Redemption. In this series, we will look at the faithfulness of some of these God fearing women.]

  

People are often defined by the “bad things” that they do.

 

In the fall, over 106,000 screaming fans cram into Ohio Stadium to worship the Ohio State football team. From 1978-81, Art Schlichter was the starting quarterback for the Buckeyes.

 

He was an All American, three time Heisman trophy candidate, and was the fourth pick in the 1982 NFL draft. He knew what it was like to have everything going his way; to enjoy the celebrity of being a football god; to be at the top of the world.

 

And yet, his life came crashing down. He had a gambling addiction that cost him his NFL career, and landed him in prison for over a decade. Despite all the good that he did while at Ohio State, some might define him only by the bad things he did.

 

The same thing could easily be said about Eve. She was living at the top of the world; in harmony with the Lord God, with nature and with Adam. She couldn’t have asked for a better life.

 

And yet, she threw it all away. She left the Garden of Eden in shame. She is only mentioned two other times in the Bible; both in reference to her being deceived, and in deceiving Adam. Eve could easily be defined by the “bad things” that she did.

 

But, she is also the same person who Adam said this about.

 

²³ “At last, here is one of my own kind—Bone taken from my bone, and flesh from my flesh. ‘Woman’ is her name because she was taken out of man.”    GNT

 

She was named Eve because the name sounds like a Hebrew term which means “to give life”. Think about it. A man can create by designing and building something, but he can’t give life. Adam couldn’t give life. Only Eve could. That’s a phenomenal gift; to give life.

 

²⁰ Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living.               NIV

 

Therefore, the next time you find yourself judging someone by defining them according to the bad things they have done; think about Eve. And the next time you judge or define yourself by the bad things you have done; think about Eve. Then look for how the Lord God has worked in your life to bring life to others.

 

Copyright 2021 Joseph B Williams

 

 

Scars

The Life of Jesus Series

How Jesus interacted with others.

John 4:1-26

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%204%3A1-26&version=NIV;NLT

 

Recently a friend of mine had surgery on his hand. The incision was approximately four inches long and required twenty-five stitches. After a week and a half, he was still wearing a large bandage which helps the healing process; but also hides the scar.

 

In his words, “You don’t want to see this scar. It’s not pretty”.

 

The woman at the well had many scars, and she did her best to hide them. She went to the well in the heat of the day when she knew that the other women wouldn’t be there. You see, she had a history of divorce; of broken relationships; and was likely gossiped about as an immoral woman.

 

While trying her best to draw water as an invisible Samaritan woman, she has a “chance” meeting with Jesus, who was also alone. The only reason that Jesus was in the region was because he decided to leave Judea and return to Galilee through Samaria. When he arrived at the well, he was tired, hungry and thirsty; so his disciples went to find food while he waited at the well.

 

This “chance” meeting took place on holy ground. The well was in the shadow of Mount Gerizim. For the Samaritans, there was no place more holy than this. It was where they worshiped God. Going to Mount Gerizim was like the Jews going to Jerusalem for their religious feasts and festivals.

 

The woman at the well met Jesus on holy ground. However, it wasn’t holy ground because of Mount Gerizim. It was holy ground because of Jesus. If it wasn’t for who Jesus was and his scars… her scars would have been in vain. It’s through his suffering, death and resurrection that her sins were forgiven and her scars were healed.

 

Ironically, if it wasn’t for her scars, she may have never met Jesus. Her scars lead her to faith in Jesus as the expected “Messiah, called Christ”.

 

 

Like the woman at the well, we also have scars that we want to hide. But through those scars, we too can come to meet Jesus who promises us forgiveness and healing.

 

Click on the link below to listen to the song “Scars” by I Am They.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=It1XzDf-pFo

 

 

 

 

How Do You Respond: Grace or Judgement?

1 Corinthians 1:4-9

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Corinthians%201%3A4-9&version=NIV;ESV

 

How do you respond when… someone cuts you off in traffic and then puts on their breaks? When you feel like someone has slighted you? When your boss makes a derogatory remark about you? When your spouse doesn’t meet your expectations? Do you respond with grace… or with judgement?

 

During the first century, the Jews were steeped in the law. Grace was a foreign concept to them. As a result, Jesus had numerous confrontations with the religious leaders; Paul was beaten and persecuted multiple times; and the early church struggled with the issue of requiring circumcision.

 

There is something deep within the human heart that doesn’t want to forgive; doesn’t want to show grace; but instead wants to judge and condemn.

 

It’s somewhat surprising that Paul writes in his letter to the believers at Corinth that he gives thanks for the grace shown to them; because they show so little grace to others. The Corinthian church struggled with divisions, immorality, discrimination against the poor and many other serious issues.

 

There’s a need for introspection. The Corinthian church needed it, and we need it.

 

How did you answer the questions in the first paragraph? If you are honest, you could probably add some of your own more pointedly personal questions. But, no matter how deeply imbedded our struggles, God’s grace and His faithfulness will win the day.

 

⁴ I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, ⁵ that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge… ⁷ so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, ⁸ who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.      ESV

 

So the choice is yours. How will you respond to God’s grace and faithfulness? Will you

show grace, or will you show judgement to others? God gave His grace to us so that we might share it, not keep it for ourselves.

 

 

(If God has spoken to you through this blog, please feel free to share the link with others.)

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