Listening and obeying God’s commands

In the book of Judges, we meet Deborah, a woman described as a prophet, the wife of Lappidoth, a judge who led Israel at her time‭‭ (Judges‬ ‭4:4‬). At the instruction of God, Deborah invited Barak to lead the army of Israel against the army of Jabin, king of Canaan. Jabin’s army commander was Sisera. However, Barak responded “If you go with me, I will go; but if you don’t go with me, I won’t go.” (‭‭Judges‬ ‭4:8‬). You would have expected Deborah to run away from the battle field, afterall she wasn’t chosen by God to lead the army. Yet, this brave woman agreed to go to war with Barak. She knew that God had already given the Israelites victory. Deborah’s response was this: “Certainly I will go with you. But because of the course you are taking, the honour will not be yours, for the Lord will deliver Sisera into the hands of a woman.” So Deborah went with Barak to Kedesh. (‭‭Judges‬ ‭4:9‬). Let’s consider some lessons from Deborah’s story‬‬.

“Certainly I will go with you,” said Deborah. “But because of the course you are taking, the honour will not be yours, for the Lord will deliver Sisera into the hands of a woman.” So Deborah went with Barak to Kedesh. ‭‭(Judges‬ ‭4:9‬)

Faith in God: Deborah had faith in God concerning the outcome of the battle. She knew the nature of the army Sisera commanded; he had nine hundred chariots fitted with iron and had cruelly oppressed the Israelites for twenty years (Judges‬ ‭4:3‬). By strength and logistics, the Canaanite army was far ahead of the Israelites but the battle was determined by faith not fear. Hebrews‬ ‭11:1‬ ‭(AMPC‬‬) defines faith as this: NOW FAITH is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses]. Deborah had an assurance of victory even when she was yet to see it. In our walk with God, faith is the currency that silences our fears. Have faith in God and trust Him 24/7.

Obedience to the Lord: Obedience is the key to show that we have faith in God. Deborah demonstrated her obedience by conveying the message of the battle to Barak. She even went ahead and followed Barak to the battle. She obeyed the Lord to the  latter. Our obedience should not be pegged on our whims and caprice. We don’t have to obey only when it is favourable to us. Our obedience to the Lord is seen in how we live and follow God’s commands. Fear can hinder obedience to the Lord. Barak was afraid of the Canaanite army and his obedience to the instructions from God was tied to Deborah’s response to follow him to the battle. He said, “If you go with me, I will go; but if you don’t go with me, I won’t go.” (‭‭Judges‬ ‭4:8‬). Because of course Barak took, the glory of the battle was given to another woman (Jael).

Servant Leadership: Deborah was a woman with many responsibilities. She was the wife of Lappidoth,  which meant she managed her home. She was a prophet and also a judge. In Deborah’s days, Judges were powerful people. Yet, Deborah was ready to follow Barak to the battle. She wasn’t just pleased to lead, she was also pleased to serve in the army (possibly giving spiritual guidance). Good leaders are servant leaders. They serve their people and are committed to ensuring their safety and well-being. Jesus taught His disciples this servant leadership mindset by stooping low to wash their feet (John 13:12-17). Washing of the feet was the task of the lowliest servant of the house.

Give praise: After the Lord gave the Israelites a resounding victory, they gave praise to the Lord. Deborah acknowledged that the victory was from God but not based on their strength or tactics. Judges 5 is a celebration of the faithfulness of God. Thanksgiving or giving praise to God should be our natural response to the blessings we receive from God. Each day, we receive the gift of life, and the abundance of God’s grace. Praise should be our lifestyle each day. An attitude of gratitude is a ladder to the next altitude of God’s grace. We should give thanks with a grateful heart. When Jesus healed the ten lepers,  He expected all of them to give thanks but only one returned to give thanks. Jesus said, “Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger.” Then Jesus said to the man who returned to give thanks; “Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.” (‭‭Luke‬ ‭17:17‭-‬19‬ ‭KJV‬‬). The next level of our victory is the level of wholeness and this only comes from the attitude of gratitude.

Deborah teaches us that with God on our side, victory is assured even in the most unlikely situations. But, we are not passive actors in this victory. God expects us to demonstrate our faith through our obedience, our leadership and even in our praise. Our active faith will make us whole in Jesus’ name.
After the resounding victory, the land had peace for forty years (Judges‬ ‭5:31) because Deborah chose to listen and obey God’s commands.

Michal’s disapproval of David’s approach to worship

We all have different approaches to praise and worship. While some people choose to stand and raise their hands, others just nod their heads to follow the rhythm. Some choose to just tap their feet  and others choose to clap. However, there is another group of praisers and worshippers, who combine all the other approaches. Their approach is to glorify God with all of themselves. They sing, dance, raise their hands, tap their feet, clap, turn around etc. These deep praises and worshippers, care less about the people around but are focused on raising to God a sacrifice of praise and worship. If your approach to worship is different from them you might tend to conclude that they are overdoing it. The truth is, so far as they have God’s approval, the disapproval of men does not nullify their action. Our attitude towards the things we do are mostly as a result of our temperaments. Your temperament affects your behaviour. It is important that you know your temperament so that you don’t become very critical of other people’s actions.

As we identified in the previous post, Michal  was taken from Paltiel and restored to David. They seemed to be doing well. Michal joined the other wives of David and everything was going well. David’s goal was to bring the ark of God to Jerusalem,  the capital city of his new kingdom. The first attempt failed and a man called Uzzah died in the process. “When they came to the threshing floor of Nakon, Uzzah reached out and took hold of the ark of God, because the oxen stumbled. The Lord’s anger burned against Uzzah because of his irreverent act; therefore God struck him down, and he died there beside the ark of God.” (2 Samuel 6:6‭-‬7). David was angry and afraid at the same time (2 Samuel 6: 8-9). After three months, David tried again and this time, he was successful. Imagine the joy that would bring him. All that he wanted was to have the ark in Jerusalem and that became a reality. David was a praiser and a worshipper. According to 2 Samuel 6;14-15, David wore a linen ephod, and danced before the Lord with all his might, while he and all Israel were bringing up the ark of the Lord with shouts and the sound of trumpets.

When David returned home to bless his household, Michal daughter of Saul came out to meet him and said, “How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, going around half-naked in full view of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!” And Michal daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death. (2 Samuel 6:20‭, ‬23)

David was not just clapping, tapping or raising hands, he danced with all his might. “When David returned home to bless his household, Michal, daughter of Saul came out to meet him and said, “How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, going around half-naked in full view of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!” (2 Samuel 6:20). Michal’s disapproval of David’s approach to worship might have stemmed from different reasons. First it could be as a result of temperamental differences. Second, Michal’s father Saul was also a king of Israel and he might have not openly danced like the way David danced before the Lord. Thirdly, Michal might have disapproved of David dancing before the commoners (the ordinary people). The best explanation to this is the second part of 2 Samuel 6:20. Michal complained that David was going round half-naked in the full view of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would. This accusation is quite deep, noting that it is coming from the first wife of the king. Michal did not just show her disapproval of David, she demonstrated that the people are mere servants and their children are slaves. She utterly brought up a class system in the society. 

What Michal might not have considered was that her own father was part of the same society until God appointed him as king. She forgot that David himself was a shepherd boy before he became a giant slayer. She missed the fact that when we come before God in praise and worship, king’s and servants alike have a mandate to worship in spirit and truth. How we do that depends on our approach to praise and worship. Michal fixed her eyes on power and authority over praise and worship to God. Her father Saul demonstrated a similar attitude throughout his life to the extent of taking the role of the prophet Samuel and offering sacrifices to God. Michal loved David by all standards but she hated his way of worship. She failed to appreciate their individual differences to worship, and accept that in praise and worship, kings and servants alike have the same mandate. 

The words of Michal to David shows the lack of dignity David demonstrated when he danced together with the people. In reply, “David said to Michal, “It was before the Lord, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the Lord’s people Israel—I will celebrate before the Lord. I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in honor.” And Michal daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death.” (2 Samuel 6:21‭-‬23).

Many people across the world act like Michal. They are quite critical and condemning when prominent people demonstrate their love for God publicly. Michal knew God. She might have loved God but her understanding of praise and worship was flawed. 

“Praise the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens. Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness. Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre, praise him with timbrel and dancing, praise him with the strings and pipe, praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord.” (Psalms 150:1‭-‬6)

Naomi has a son: Praise the Lord!

Have you ever encountered people who had nothing and suddenly had their lives changed? It may sound surreal but they are people who move from grass to grace in no time because they encountered their destiny helpers. Anyway, if you have not met one of such people yet, I believe I am one. God in His mercies called me out of my little community and led me to a place of grace. Left to my parents alone, I would still be living somewhere managing my life. But God’s mercy pulled me out and connected me to the right institutions and the right people. Over the years, I have come to understand that all these systems I have encountered were God’s ways to take me to where I have to be. Obviously, it didn’t happen overnight; it has been years but God is still leading me. 

If you ever wondered why God has not done anything spectacular for you, just know that living, having food to eat and clothes to wear is a daily provision of God we take for granted. You will appreciate all these better if you ever come across someone with a life-threatening issue. Naomi and her family experienced famine and as a means of escape, moved to Moab. By the time Naomi returned, she had lost her husband and her children. In her sadness, Naomi wanted people to call her Mara (bitter) instead of Naomi (pleasant). As we have seen, God didn’t leave Naomi alone. When Boaz accepted the challenge to buy out Naomi’s family possessions, he agreed to redeem Naomi and Ruth from every debt and be their provider.  

The women said to Naomi: “Praise be to the Lord, who this day has not left you without a guardian-redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel! The women living there said, “Naomi has a son!” And they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David. (Ruth 4:14‭, ‬17)

The people in Naomi’s community testified to the massive change this made to Naomi. Ultimately, Boaz and Ruth gave Naomi a reason to rejoice. In Ruth 4:14, “[t]he women said to Naomi: “Praise be to the Lord, who this day has not left you without a guardian-redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel!” God was gracious to Naomi and enabled Ruth to conceive. In Moab, while Ruth was married to Mahlon, she had no child. But when the guardian-redeemer married Ruth, a child was born. Once again, “[t]he women living there said, “Naomi has a son!” And they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.” (Ruth 4:17).

These women were probably the same people who exclaimed when Naomi returned. They saw her face, her appearance and the sadness around her.
“So the two women went on until they came to Bethlehem. When they arrived in Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them, and the women exclaimed, “Can this be Naomi?” (Ruth 1:19)
But, when God’s mercy made a way for Naomi to be redeemed and then have a son, the same women praised God and named the son Obed meaning servant of God/worshipper. What the women didn’t know was that the name given to the son was going to go beyond Bethlehem. Obed was the father of Jesse and the grandfather of king David. As we know, David was a man after God’s own heart. He was a servant of God and a great worshipper. Most of the Psalms were composed by David.

God was not done with Naomi, through the genealogy of David, the ultimate redeemer of the world was born. Our Lord Jesus Christ, the lamb of God who takes away the sins of men redeemed humanity from the clutches of sin and death.

Naomi’s restoration should remind us that God’s plans are bigger than ours. Whenever we need to make any move, we should consider this, “is this God’s plan for me?” Ask God to show you His perfect plan for you. 
As we lay our hearts before God, may he take away any form of Mara (bitterness) in our lives and give us Obed (worship)… Yes, we shall praise, worship and serve God for the rest of our lives. 

Dance with all your might

I love pressing the praise button once in a while. Sometimes, we get so involved with many things and we tend to lose sight of praise. All work and no play, they say, makes Jack a dull boy. I believe a Christian lifestyle without praise makes one a dull person. God’s praise should be part of our lifestyle including our health and well-being. Dancing is one way we praise God. Dancing itself is a form of aerobic exercise as it improves our flexibility and raises our heart rate. The higher the dance tempo, the better. 

Wearing a linen ephod, David was dancing before the Lord with all his might (2 Samuel 6:14)

In 2 Samuel 6:14, David shows his praise moves with dance. The verse states that, “Wearing a linen ephod, David was dancing before the Lord with all his might.” David was indeed moving all his body including hands and legs. To dance with all of one’s might will not be nodding just the head, or tapping the feet. It would be all-encompassing. His dance was so spectacular that his wife Michal, despised him for dancing like any vulgar fellow: “As the ark of the Lord was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she despised him in her heart” (2 Samuel 6:16). David was a praiser and dancing was one of the ways in which he praised the Lord. 

When we praise the Lord by dancing with all our might, God gets the praise and we get our bodies active. Why don’t we try to press the praise button this weekend with a dance unto the Lord.

Do not take His glory!

A few years ago, I heard a preacher say, “Give all thanks to God and give me the fans.” The truth is, whatever we have, do, receive, give and produce as workers of God, we should give all glory and “fans” to God. Definitely, we will surely be praised by men for achieving a feat but we should let God be glorified in our victories. It is easier to accept that we have achieved something and deserve to receive praise. As servants of God, we should be aware that whatever we are blessed with, or we are able to do, God made it possible. He works through us for His own glory. Therefore, He deserves the praise, worship and the fans.

Not to us, Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness.(Psalms 115:1)

When we get to understand that we are vessels of God’s grace and that His light shines through our lives to bring salvation to all men, it should make us humble and hungry for more of His presence. Whenever it feels like men are ascribing the praise meant to God to us, we should be quick to return the praise back to God. In fact, we should constantly remind ourselves of Psalms 115:1, “Not to us, Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness.” We have been endured with virtues from God for His praise of His glory. God works through us but we do not work through God. He gives us grace to excel in our lives and ministry. 

We should understand that we are not on our own. We are connected to a divine source that powers us for victory. Just as the light bulb needs electricity or a battery to shine forth, we should know that when we shine out to the world, we have been powered by a source. We have received from God those virtues that have brought us to the limelight and we need to stay connected to our source. If the light bulb sees itself as a powerful illumination tool, it will soon fade out if the source of its shine is taken away. We are products of love and faithfulness and we should let the world know that our God deserves all the praise, glory, honour etc.

Praise the Lord: Sing to the Lord a new song

Psalm 96 is a famous psalm of praise that invites all the earth to sing a new song to the Lord: “Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth.”

The theme of worshipping or praising God with a new song runs throughout the Bible. Sometimes all that we need is to make a melody to the Lord, sing of His goodness, mercy, love, compassion, holiness, glory, splendor, fame, strength etc. 

Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise from the ends of the earth. (Isaiah 42:10a)

Today’s verse focused on the same theme of praising God with a new song. Isaiah 42:10a invites us to: “Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise from the ends of the earth.” Sometimes, the only thing we need is to sing praise from within our Spirit. The Lord is good and He is Lord over all things. 

What is your praise song for today?

Sing to the Lord, all the earth

One of the biggest weapons of praise is music. In fact, whenever we sing the praises of God, we invoke the presence of God. I  have come to realize that God does not judge us based on our voices. We tend to be very critical about the quality and the nature of our voices. God is interested when we sing praise from a grateful heart. The songs of praise, worship and adoration ascend to heaven as a testimony for us. 

Sing to the Lord, all the earth; proclaim his salvation day after day. (1 Chronicles 16:23)

Today, let’s continue with our atmosphere of praise and sing songs of praise to our God. People from all nations, tribes and tongues are invited to sing to the Lord. It is a universal call! We have been called to proclaim his salvation day after day. This repetitive process should be our way of life. On a daily basis,  we should declare the salvation of the Lord. If you are just like me and doubt the quality of your voice, let this assure you: God is not judging us for the way we sing. He is interested in hearing us pour out songs of praise to Him. He understands all languages and you do not necessarily have to present songs of praise in English if you are not comfortable with English. It is better to praise in a language you are comfortable with. 

Remember  we have been called to praise and worship and, singing is one of the ways we do that. Let’s us join the Psalmist to sing to the Lord:

“Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth. Sing to the Lord, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples. For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the Lord made the heavens. Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and glory are in his sanctuary. Ascribe to the Lord, all you families of nations, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering and come into his courts. Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness; tremble before him, all the earth. Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns.” The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity. Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it. Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them; let all the trees of the forest sing for joy. Let all creation rejoice before the Lord, for he comes, he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in his faithfulness.” (Psalms 96:1‭-‬13 NIV)

Joyful praise

Imagine a church meeting with people from all nations, and people groups praising and worshipping God. This may sound too surreal but not impossible. At the end of the age, we will all gather before the throne of God and present our worship (Revelation 15:4). This awesome day will not be a one time event. It will be an eternal experience for those who spend eternity with God. Must we not practice thus on earth? Sure we can! So let us give it a try. 

Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy. (Psalms 47:1)

The Psalmist states in Psalms 47:1 that “Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy.” This psalm presents two ways all nations can praise God: clapping our hands and shouting for joy. Of course these are part of the many ways we can praise God. Let’s call these two strategies a joyful praise. Today, in your own space, practice giving a joyful praise to the Lord. Clap your hands in praise and adorable and shout with cries of joy. Imagine if people from different nationalities take part in this exercise today, we will be practicing what we will be doing in eternity. We may not gather in one place, but we share one goal: that is to praise the Lord with joyful praise. 

When we understand the way of worship in eternity, we will always encourage cross-cultural worship. Remember that the neighbour you do not want to be close to because of linguistic barriers could be probably a member of the heavenly choir. So, we better get used to each other on earth as we will be together for eternity. Irrespective of the praise pattern for your church, never look down on other denominations. Together, we are raising a joyful praise to the Lord. Imagine bringing all the melodies together, we create a joyful shout of praise to the Lord. Let’s keep praising and let’s encourage one another to praise. We are raising a heavenly chorus.

God demonstrates his own love for us- Be a praiser!

Over the weekend, our dining table accidentally broke and fell on my leg. The pain was excruciating and I screamed in pain. My two daughters were waiting for their snack which was on the table but also fell and poured on the floor. I was in so much pain but I was grateful to God that the table fell on me rather than the girls. On the other hand, the girls started to cry. I was confused whether they were crying because I was in pain or they were crying for their snack that just poured down. This just reminded me of the fact God sent Son to take our place. If only the accusers knew that Jesus willingly took their place, maybe they would have been grateful. God’s love for us caused Him to send His only Son to take our place (John 3:16). We were guilty as charged but our punishment was meted on Jesus so we can be free from the power of sin and death.

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)

As I was glad that I took the pain instead of my daughters, God did not just assign pain unto Jesus but death on the cross. A humiliating death assigned to criminals. The Bible says that, “Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand” (Isaiah 53:10). We were undeserving of this great sacrifice but, “but God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). This ultimate sacrifice of God paid for our salvation, our debt was paid for, we were declared free and we ultimately became the children of God. 

Our understanding of this leads to a higher praise and worship. When we see how undeserving we were and the fact that God’s love caused us to be moved from darkness to light, it set the pace for our worship. Sometimes, situations may cause us to worry about the temporary concerns and forget about the permanent sacrifice we have received. It is so possible that the worries and cares of this world could deter us from seeing the bigger picture. Like the scenario I gave, we could either focus on the fallen snack or be grateful that someone else was afflicted so we were not. Afterall, the whole world is the Lord and nothing is too difficult for Him. Be a praiser and the worries of the world would grow dim when the light of God’s grace shines on you. Remain blessed.

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!

Few days ago, I found a letter I wrote to God about 10 years ago. As funny as this sounds, I used to write letters to God and would hide it in my suitcase for a year and then bring it out to read. The last letter was written about 10 years ago and while reading the letter, I was in awe. I was just counting the things I have received from God, the answered prayers, and the character change in me. I was amazed by the great transformation and the way God channeled my letters to Him into books and blogs about Him. Indeed, the Lord is good and what we entrust in His hands is secured.

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. (Psalms 107:1)

As we are in the week of praise and thanksgiving, I want you to look back into your life and note down the changes that have taken place since you met the Lord. The Psalmist reminds us to “give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever” (Psalms 107:1). Many of us have encountered strange situations and the Lord miraculously saved us. The Psalmist encourages us to testify about our redemption: “Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story— those he redeemed from the hand of the foe” (Psalms 107:2). From the verses 4-43 of Psalm 107, different scenarios of God’s redemption are mentioned. Whenever we receive something good from good, we should not forget to give thanks. I call it the attitude of gratitude. 

Remember, God does not need our thanksgiving to survive, we need to give thanks so we can receive more from the Lord. God’s love to us endures forever, but when the Israelites only murmured severally upon all the great things God did for them, they received the reward for murmuring (they were denied access to the promised land). On the other hand, Joshua and Caleb stood for God and testified of God’s victory in the past and what He could do in the present. Joshua and Caleb had a praise report and they were rewarded. Don’t ignore the blessings of God, if you want to receive more, be a person who shows gratitude, thankfulness and have your praise button pressed all the time. 

“Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind. Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people and praise him in the council of the elders.” (Psalms 107:31‭-‬32)