As you will see in the next sections, it has been quite a week. It appears I may be going to both Vietnam and Rwanda this summer. Vietnam is taking some hoop-jumping to get there as this is an Asian School ONLY tournament and we are not that. However, the tournament coordinator is sending us the name of a school in Vietnam who would allow us to compete under their school if our students enroll in one class. God is opening up doors for us we weren’t sure could be opened. But with God, all things are possible. Please be in prayer for Vietnam and Rwanda.
I finished 2 Samuel and am in 1 Kings now, so I have gone through David’s reign and am firmly into Solomon. For all of the problems David had, he was still called a man after God’s heart. David had two really big problems, women, and lying. And Solomon is following very hard after the problem with women. Not that women are the problem, but the king’s attitude toward them. While God allowed for them and others to have multiple wives back then, this was never the way it was supposed to be from the beginning, and we see that this was a huge stumbling block for them both.
In fact, when you look at the three strongest men in their respective areas, they all had major consequences as a result of the women in their lives.
Samson, the strongest physically, gave in to the prodding of Delilah and lost his strength and ultimately his life as w result. So, if you think you are strong enough, you are not.
David, who was the strongest in the area of worship, who wrote many Psalms and led Israel into the best of all times in worshiping God, lusted after Bathsheba, and as a result, lost the first son they had, and David would never see peace in the kingdom. So, if you think your ability to worship, your position in the church, etc. can keep you from stumbling in this area, it won’t
And Solomon, the wisest and richest person ever, had over 1000 women as wives and concubines. When they would whine and grumble, Solomon would build them a temple to their god, and this became a stumbling block, and as a result, the kingdom was divided after he died. So, if you think your wisdom and riches can keep you from the sin of lust, you are wrong.
We are weak, we are fallen creatures in a fallen world. And the sooner you come to that realization, the better. We cannot rely on our strength, our ability to worship, or our knowledge. We MUST rely only on God alone. In our weakness, His strength is made perfect. And men, we need each other. We need good friends that can keep us to account.
I remember a number of years ago my wife had been meeting with some of her friends on a regular basis; going for walks, talking about family issues, etc. Her and I were talking about how she really enjoyed these times with the others, and how beneficial these meetings were. Then she asked me, “Who are your close friends that you can talk to?” I thought for a moment, and realized that I had a lot of acquaintances, but no one in the area that I felt I could talk to. She said very firmly, “You need to find some.”
Since then, I have developed relationships with a few guys that I feel I can talk to. One is my pastor, Josh. We met monthly for a while, and that was refreshing. I recently met with another friend, Alan, for about four hours at a coffee shop. We will be doing that as regularly as possible. And while I have some great friends that live in other cities and states, Jeff, Brian, Kenny, Kevin, Kris, Joseph, and others, being able to meet face-to-face should never be sacrificed. It is much more personal, as well as a bit more threatening. You are expected to respond to questions right then and there. Texts and emails are fine for getting certain things accomplished, but that is not a substitute for getting together in person.
Men, we need each other. If you do not have any close personal friends that you can meet face-to-face, find some. I know I get so busy sometimes that this can very easily slip through the cracks, but we need to be intentional about this. If Samson, David, and Solomon couldn’t handle it, we cannot either. Just go through some recent history and look at those men who we held to a high level of respect for their biblical knowledge who ended up falling into sin.
Even once a month is better than nothing. Which reminds me, I need to call Alan and get something set up.
Amen
If you enjoyed this content, you can sign up to receive this and more to your inbox every Monday by becoming a Monument Member. Learn more here.
