Take Goliath Down!

Max Lucado- Goliaths still roam our world. Debt. Disaster. Dialysis. Danger. Deceit. Disease. Depression. Super-size challenges still swagger and strut, still pilfer sleep and embezzle peace and liposuction joy. But they can't dominate you. You know how to deal with them. You face giants by facing God first. Focus on giants—you stumble. Focus on God—your giants tumble. (Google image, David verses Goliath).  You know what David knew, and you do what David did. You pick up five stones, and you make five decisions. Ever wonder why David took five stones into battle? Why not two or twenty? Rereading his story reveals five answers. Use your five fingers to remind you of the five stones you need to face down your Goliath. Let your thumb remind you of … 1. THE STONE OF THE PAST Goliath jogged David's memory. Elah was a déjà vu. While everyone else quivered, David remembered. God had given him strength to wrestle a lion and strong-arm a bear. Wouldn't he do the same with the giant? A good memory makes heroes. "Remember His marvelous works which He has done" (1 Chronicles 16:12). Catalog God's successes. Keep a list of his world records. Has he not walked you through high waters? Proven to be faithful? Have you not known his provision? How many nights have you gone to bed hungry? Mornings awakened in the cold? He has made roadkill out of your enemies. Write today's worries in sand. Chisel yesterday's victories in stone. Pick up the stone of the past. Then select … 2. THE STONE OF PRAYER Note the valley between your thumb and finger. To pass from one to the next you must go through it. Let it remind you of David's descent. Before going high, David went low; before ascending to fight, David descended to prepare. Don't face your giant without first doing the same. Dedicate time to prayer. Paul, the apostle, wrote, "Prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long" (Eph. 6:18 MSG). Prayer spawned David's successes. His Brook Besor wisdom grew out of the moment he "strengthened himself in the Lord his God" (1 Sam. 30:6). When Saul's soldiers tried to capture him, David turned toward God: "You have been my defense and refuge in the day of my trouble" (Ps. 59:16). Invite God's help. Pick up the stone of prayer. And don't neglect … 3. THE STONE OF PRIORITY Let your tallest finger remind you of your highest priority: God's reputation. David jealously guarded it. No one was going to defame his Lord. David fought so that "all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord's" (1 Sam. 17:46-47). David saw Goliath as a chance for God to show off! Did David know he would exit the battle alive? No. But he was willing to give his life for the reputation of God. What if you saw your giant in the same manner? Rather than begrudge him, welcome him. Your cancer is God's chance to flex his healing muscles. Your sin is God's opportunity to showcase grace. Your struggling marriage can billboard God's power. See your struggle as God's canvas. On it he will paint his multicolored supremacy. Announce God's name and then reach for … 4. THE STONE OF PASSION David ran, not away from, but toward his giant. On one side of the battlefield, Saul and his cowardly army gulped. On the other, Goliath and his skull-splitters scoffed. In the middle, the shepherd boy ran on his spindly legs. Who bet on David? Who put money on the kid from Bethlehem? Not the Philistines. Not the Hebrews. Not David's siblings or David's king. But God did. And since God did, and since David knew God did, the skinny runt became a blur of pumping knees and a swirling sling. He ran toward his giant. Do the same! Let your ring finger remind you to take up the stone of passion. One more stone, and finger, remains: 5. THE STONE OF PERSISTENCE David didn't think one rock would do. He knew Goliath had four behemoth relatives. For all David knew, they'd come running over the hill to defend their kin. David was ready to empty the chamber if that's what it took. Imitate him. Never give up. One prayer might not be enough. One apology might not do it. One day or month of resolve might not suffice. You may get knocked down a time or two … but don't quit. Keep loading the rocks. Keep swinging the sling. David took five stones. He made five decisions. Do likewise. Past. Prayer. Priority. Passion. And persistence. Next time Goliath wakes you up, reach for a stone. Odds are, he'll be out of the room before you can load your sling. Take Goliath Down by Max Lucado From Facing Your Giants Copyright (Thomas Nelson, 2005)  (Used by permission, emphasis added) Listen to UpWords with Max Lucado at OnePlace.com and find resources at MaxLucado.com GET MORE BIBLICAL ADVICE FROM MAX ABOUT... Anxiety  Prayer  Healing  Hope amid Despair Let's pray- Child praying    Father, because there are times we have  challenges that can cause our hearts to deal with; through debt, disasters, dialysis, danger, deceit and disease, we ask that You help us remember the lesson of the 5 stones.    May we recall the times You've helped us in the past; how praying has made a difference in what concerned us; how we must make choices as to our priorities; how we need to have true passion for what our needs are, and to be persistent in coming to You for Your guidance and the help needed.    We ask for Your favor in our determination to keep You foremost in our thoughts, decisions and prayers. We pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.   Today's Bible verses-                Prov. 4:5, 7 (NKJV) "Get wisdom! Get understanding!        Do not forget, nor turn away from the words of my         mouth. (v. 7) Wisdom is the principal thing; Therefore         get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding."           Prov. 3:5, 6 (NKJV) "Trust in the LORD with all your       heart, and lean not on your own understanding;       (v. 6) In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall       direct your paths."        Hab. 2:1 (NKJV) "I will stand my watch and set         myself on the rampart, and watch to see what He        will say to me, and what I will answer when I am        reproved." Today's quote- ~ Charles H. Spurgeon- "The manifestation of grace is preparing us for the manifestation of glory. What the law could not do, grace is doing. This grace of God entering into us shows us what was evil even more clearly than the commandment does.    As soon as we come under the conscious enjoyment of the free grace of God, we find it to be a holy rule, a fatherly government, a heavenly training. We find, not self-indulgence, much less licentiousness*.     But on the contrary, the grace of God both restrains and constrains us; it makes us free to holiness, and delivers us from the law of sin and death by 'the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus' (Rom. 8:2).   *morally unrestrained [Taken from Herald of His Coming newspaper, Vol 77, No 9 (921), p. 1. Used by permission.] Today's question-      Does walking in the Light mean we are walking sinlessly?    Walking in the light Jesus gives us does not mean we walk in sinless perfection. When we see we have sinned, agree with God that we have, repent, and ask for forgiveness, we'll keep a good relationship with Him.  1 John 1:9 says that "If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." With Jesus as our advocate, we have the confidence that He intercedes for us when we repent of sins. He speaks on our behalf, when we do. The relationship that Jesus had with His Father, was an awesome humble example for us. May our desire be to relate to the Father like Jesus did, and to walk in humility in His grace extended to us. List of recent sermons of CFC ministers. CFC Potsdam church has a live service at 10 am Sunday's for shut-ins. If for some reason you can't make it to the church you usually attend, click on the above link, and still get fed! Upcoming posts-      #97 Integrity in Personal Ethics 6th- Tuesday's post by Dr. Wesley L. Duewel     # 98 Integrity in Finances 8th- Thursday's post by Dr. Wesley L. Duewel           Sky Garden 10th-Saturday's post by Bill Crowder      #99 Integrity in Ministerial Ethics 13th- Tuesday's post by Dr. Wesley L. Duewel Jean's blog (Click to see snippets of the 7 recent posts) Healing Thoughts and Prayers Jean's Craft Brochure Samples of Jean's crafts http://twitter.com/jeanoathout http://facebook.com/jean.oathout Granny's Guide to Marriage in Verse  Helpful ways the Lord helped me in my marriage.