Max Lucado (21 page)

3. Read 1 Peter 5:6.

A. What command are believers given in this verse?

B. What promise is given to those who heed the command?

C. When will God fulfill this promise?

Battle Lines

Time after time in the Bible we are told to humble ourselves. In what area of life do you most need to humble yourself ? Spend some time thinking about this, and then lay out a plan with specifics of how you can actually do it. Determine some practical, concrete steps you can take
this week
to humble yourself in this area. Then take them.

16

COLOSSAL COLLAPSES

Reconnaissance

1. David seduces—no mention of God. David plots—no mention of God. Uriah buried, Bathsheba married—no mention of God. God is not spoken to and does not speak.

A. Do you think this absence of God is the cause or the result of what happened in David's life? Explain.

B. Why do you think God does not speak to David during all this evil activity? Why is he silent?

2. God's words reflect hurt, not hate; bewilderment, not belittlement. Your flock fills the hills. Why rob? Beauty populates your palace. Why take from someone else?

A. What do you think hurt God the most about David's sin?

B. What do you think hurts God the most about your sin?

3. Colossal collapses won't leave us alone. They surface like a boil on the skin.

A. Why do colossal collapses not leave us alone? Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Explain.

B. Have you ever suffered a colossal collapse? If so, what steps did you take to recover from it?

4. You think my mom was tough . . . Try the hands of God. Unconfessed sins sit on our hearts like festering boils, poison-ing, expanding. And God, with gracious thumbs, applies the pressure.

A. If God knows everything, then why is it so tough some-times to confess our sins to him?

B. How can grace sometimes cause such deep suffering? How can pain ever be a gracious thing?

5. God did with David's sin what he does with yours and mine—he put it away. It's time for you to put your “third week of March 1987” to rest. Assemble a meeting of three parties: you, God, and your memory. Place the mistake before the judgment seat of God. Let him condemn it, let him par-don it, and let him put it away.

A. How does God's putting away a sin differ from merely forgetting it?

B. Have you asked God to put away your sins—all of them? Explain.

Marching Orders

1. Read 2 Samuel 11:27–12:25.

A. Name all the elements of David's behavior in this passage that displeased the Lord.

B. How did the prophecy of 12:10 reach its culmination in the life of Jesus Christ?

C. What was the first thing David did right after many months of willful rebellion (12:13)? How did God respond to him?

2. Read Psalm 32:3–5.

A. How did David feel during the time he tried to cover up his sin?

B. How did God deal with David during the time he refused to admit his sin?

C. How did God react when David finally confessed his sin?

3. Read Psalm 103:11–13.

A. For whom does the Lord have great love, according to verse 11? What does it mean to fear God?

B. State the point of verse 12 in your own words.

C. On whom does the Lord shower great compassion, according to verse 13?

Battle Lines

Is there some sin in your recent past that you have yet to name, con-fess, and abandon? If there is, take time right now to get before the Lord and name that sin for what it is—spiritual rebellion, a slap in God's face, a dark stain on the holy person God has made you to be. Thank God that he has removed your guilt as far as the east is from the west, and ask him for strength not only to avoid that sin in the future but to gladly obey his counsel and his Word.

17

FAMILY MATTERS

Reconnaissance

1. Going AWOL on his family was David's greatest failure. His passive parenting and widespread philandering were not sins of a slothful afternoon or the deranged reactions of self-defense. David's family foul-up was a lifelong stupor that cost him dearly.

A. Do you agree that going AWOL on his family was David's greatest failure? Why or why not?

B. What, if anything, does David's handling of his family have in common with the way you handle your family?

2. David succeeded everywhere except at home. And if you don't succeed at home, do you succeed at all?

A. How would you answer Max's question above?

B. How does succeeding at home honor God?

3. On your wedding day, God loaned you his work of art: an intricately crafted, precisely formed masterpiece. He entrusted you with a one-of-a-kind creation. Value her. Honor him.

A. If you are married, describe the work of art that God loaned you on your wedding day.

B. How can you value your wife in practical, obvious ways? How can you honor your husband in concrete, satisfying ways?

4. Moms and dads, more valuable than all the executives and lawmakers west of the Mississippi, quietly hold the world together.

A. Do you agree with the sentiment expressed above? If so, why? If not, why not?

B. Describe the influence your mom and dad had on you.

5. I suspect that David would have traded all his conquered crowns for the tender arms of a wife. But it was too late. He died in the care of a stranger, because he made strangers out of his family. But it's not too late for you.

A. What areas of your home would you like to see improve over the next year?

B. What specific things can you do to encourage those improvements?

Marching Orders

1. Read 2 Samuel 13:21, 37–38; 14:28; 15:1–37; 1 Kings 1:6.

A. What kind of father did David appear to be, based on the information in these verses?

B. How did David fail as a husband?

C. What could David have done differently to spare him the family troubles he faced?

2. Read Proverbs 25:28; 29:11; Acts 24:25.

A. Why is a man who lacks self-control like a city whose walls are broken down?

B. What is the biblical name for someone who refuses to control his or her temper?

C. Would you have expected Paul to include self-control as a topic along with righteousness and final judgment? Explain.

3. Read Ephesians 6:4 and Titus 2:4–5.

A. Why do you think fathers (as opposed to mothers) are given the instruction of Ephesians 6:4?

B. Who is given the responsibility of teaching young mothers how to build a strong, godly home (Titus 2:4)?

C. What is the rationale behind this instruction (Titus 2:5)?

Battle Lines

Do you really want to know how healthy your family life is? Then start by taking a poll of your family members. Ask all of them individually how they feel about the way you treat them, the way you lead them, the way you care for them. Take these conversations seriously, make any corrections that seem necessary, offer any apologies that are needed, and commit to God to build the strongest family possible.

18

DASHED HOPES

Reconnaissance

1. I had intended . . . I had made preparations . . .
But
God . . .

A. What does this story of David's desire to build the temple say to those who think that personal dreams are always the pathway to God's best?

B. What plans have you made and prepared for that God altered somehow?

2. What do you do with the “but God” moments in life? When God interrupts your good plans, how do you respond?

A. How do you answer the two questions above?

B. Do you see these “but God” moments as good or bad? Explain.

3. When you are given an ice cream sundae, you don't complain over a missing cherry. David faced the behemoth of disappointment with “yet God.” David trusted.

A. Why do we often complain over a missing cherry when God gives us an ice cream sundae? Have you ever done this? If so, describe what happened.

B. How have you trusted God in the disappointing moments of your life?

4. His “but God” became a “yet God.” Who's to say yours won't become the same?

A. What explains the transition from “but God” to “yet God”? What makes the difference?

B. What “yet God” would you like to see overrun a “but God”? Describe it.

Marching Orders

1. Read 1 Chronicles 28:2–19.

A. What did David desire to do? Was this a good desire (see 2 Chronicles 6:8)?

B. Why did God not allow David to see his desire fulfilled?

C. What did God give David instead?

2. Read Acts 16:6–10.

A. Describe Paul's original travel plans. Was it good for him to have a plan?

B. How did God alter Paul's ministry plans? Why did he do this?

C. What happened when Paul allowed God to alter his plans?

3. Read Job 42:2; Proverbs 21:30; Jeremiah 29:11.

A. Why can we have confidence in God's plans for us?

B. Why do we not have to fear that someone else's plans will derail the future God has planned for us?

C. What kind of plan does God have for us, according to Jeremiah 29:11?

Battle Lines

Too often we make our plans and ask God to bless them rather than asking God to help us build our plans in a way that pleases him. Have you submitted your plans to God? If not, do so today. Pray something like this: “Father, I don't want to run in my own direction. I want to be where you want me to be, doing what you want me to do. So forgive me for making my plans without you, and help me to get on track with you. Show me your plans for my life, and then give me the courage and the wisdom to follow them. And, Lord, when I run into a ‘but God,' help me to immediately start looking for the ‘yet God.' In Jesus's name, Amen.”

19

TAKE GOLIATH DOWN!

Reconnaissance

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

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? . . . Write today's worries in sand. Chisel yesterday's victories in stone.

A. In the past year, what successes has God given you? Throughout your Christian life, what high waters has he walked you through?

B. Think about the last month. Which worries that occu-pied your time never materialized?

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.

A. What sorts of things do you normally pray about? What sorts of things seem to escape your notice in prayer?

B. When is the best time for you to pray? Why?

3. The stone of priority

Let your tallest finger remind you of your highest priority: God's reputation.

A. If God's reputation were based solely on your behavior, what kind of reputation would God have?

B. If you were to live all of life for God's glory—including your family life, your work life, your recreational life, etc.—what would need to change?

4. The stone of passion

David ran, not away from, but toward his giant. . . . Do the same! What good has problem pondering gotten you? You've stared so long you can number the hairs on Goliath's chest. Has it helped? No. Listing hurts won't heal them. Itemizing problems won't solve them. Categorizing rejections won't remove them. David lobotomized the giant because he emphasized the Lord.

A. What are you most passionate about? Would you say you are passionate about God? Explain.

B. How could you increase your passion for God? What could you do to move him toward the top spot in your life?

5. The stone of persistence

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.

A. How has a lack of persistence hurt you in the past? How has a commitment to persistence paid off so far?

B. Who is the most persistent person you know? What gives him or her this quality? What can you learn from this person to increase your own persistence?

Marching Orders

1. Read 1 Chronicles 16:7–36.

A. Why is it so important to speak of what God has done?

B. Why is it so important to remember the covenant oaths God has made?

C. Why is it so important to worship God with a grateful and exuberant heart?

2. Read Ephesians 6:18–20.

A. What does it mean to pray “in the Spirit”?

B. For whom are we instructed to pray? How often?

C. Why is it important to stay alert in our prayers?

3. Read Colossians 3:23–24.

A. Regardless of your employer, whom do you really work for? Why is this important to remember?

B. Why does God consider it so important that we go about our business with all our hearts?

C. What reward is promised to those who comply with this command?

Battle Lines

Throughout the Bible, and still today, God is looking for those who will be wholehearted about whatever they do, as they pursue it for his glory. Do a self-inventory. In what areas of life are you whole-hearted? In what areas of life are you less than wholehearted? How can you submit all of life to the lordship of Christ and live passionately in every arena?

AFTERWORD

WHAT BEGAN IN BETHLEHEM

Reconnaissance

1. Seems you, like David, have much in common with Jesus. Big deal? I think so. Jesus understands you. He understands small-town anonymity and big-city pressure. He's walked pastures of sheep and palaces of kings. He's faced hunger, sorrow, and death and wants to face them with you.