2 Samuel 12:1-7 “There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him. Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him… Then Nathan said to David, ‘You are the man!’ ”
What did it take to stand up to David? It took loyalty to God before David. Nathan was willing to risk his relationship with David, even his life. I would say the story of the lamb is not only to demonstrate the sins that David committed, but also what Nathan had to understand in order to correct David. Like Nathan, we need to trust God for insight and discernment when it comes to discipling each other. Often, like David when one has committed sin and it goes unchecked, he/she can become blind to it. If sin is left unchecked in one’s life, it can destroy a person’s relationship with God.
Jason & Susan Bond were appointed deacons! May God bless them in this calling!
Hebrews 3:12-13 “See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.”
We absolutely need to “see to it” that we are committed to discipling one another when they are in sin. The Bible makes it very clear that sin is deceitful. That means that when one is in sin, he or she may be deceived and not be aware of it like David. (more…)
