Mon.-Cleaned out Assisted Living Room. Everyone came back to Va. but me.
Tues.-Had breakfast with Mom and Dad. Worked on Carriage House with Rosalee. Had lunch with R. and Aunt Esther at Brickerville Restaurant. Spent afternoon with Aunt Esther at her apartment. Met Diane Horan for supper. Great day.
Wed.-Worked at carriage house with Rosalee. Lunch at Naomi's with Bev and Rosa too. Went to Anne and Dave's for supper. Little David gave me a good-bye kiss. Another great Day.
Thurs.-Worked all day and finished cleaning Mother's carriage house. Went to Rosalee's house. Benji, Mother's cat, let me hold him, and he nestled in and began to purr. I think I smelled like Mother after working at her place all day. Had supper with Mom and Dad and recorded a number of stories on the digital hand recorder.
Fri.-Breakfast with Debra. Visited with Dave and Elva and then Pearl and then back at Joe and Karen's to organize everything into my car. Had to cry when I said good-bye to little Jonathan. My little nephews grow up so quickly. Had a good trip and got home in 6 1/2 hours even with 4 stops.
Sat.-Unpacked and did wash most of the day. Freeman and Alli moved. Pig Roast out in Farmville to support African missions. Blogger erased everything I had written for this week so I condensed it and hope it will print now.
Sun.-Glad to be back at church. I have sensed such an urgency. Oh God, what do you want me to do with the life I have left to live? It must count! I must simplify whatever I have in my house, my soul, and my spirit. I must deepen my roots and make Him known. He lives in me and He must be free to express His love to others. Do people know how much He loves them after they've been with me? But I must be Mary in the midst of this urgency. I must sit at His feet and be still or I will chase others away from Him. I must choose the greater thing and He will take care of the rest. I'll stand with arms high and heart abandoned.
The sermon was about loyalty. Would I be loyal to God and serve Him even if He would never answer another prayer? Would I love Him if He never showed me another good thing? It has been asked, "Where is the Lord of Elijah?" But we should ask, "Where are the Elijah's of the Lord?" Where are those who love straight and walk right? Where are those who are filled with the Holy Spirit; whose yes is yes and no is no? Where are those who speech is not a mixture of bitter and sweet; whose words flow with life and godliness? Where are those who would never say, "Don't do as I do; Do what I say?" Would God brag about me like He bragged about Job to Satan,"She is not serving me because I've made her rich. She is serving me because she is righteous and she loves me." Not that I'd want to be tested like Job, mind you.
It is important to be loyal to God and to truth. People can be sincere and loyal to a cause and/or a person and have their loyalty completely misplaced. That's why some people drank poisoned kool-aid. Loyalties to a person can lead to idolatry. And some people want your loyalty like they want to be worshipped. Then, it's time to pull back and regroup and refocus one's loyalty. That doesn't mean people or groups of people have to be perfect in order for us to be loyal to them. God is loyal to us and we're not perfect.
Well, I've gotten side-tracked from the real sermon but I've been thinking about loyalty for quite some time now. It's important to be loyal to God and family and then be very discerning as to who or what you are loyal to and if you stay loyal to God and your family, then you will know what things you should be loyal to.
The sermon was really about this man named Ittai who followed King David when he fled from his son Absolam.(11 Sam. 15) Ittai didn't need to be loyal to David. He was a paid fighter. He had 600 fighting men with him. David was loyal to Ittai as well and told him to take his men and to go back and serve under his son. He told him the truth and said that there would be no benefit from coming with him. But Ittai served the king even though the king was 'going down'.(Perhaps Ittai recognized the benefit of traveling with the ark of the covenant because he was from Gath. Obed-Edom had kept the ark in his house for 3 months and miracles and blessings flowed from the presence of God in his house. Obed-Edom lived in Gath.)
David took the ark with him but later sent it back with Zadok the priest saying, "Carry the ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in the eyes of the LORD, He will bring me back and show me both it and His dwelling place. But if He says thus: 'I have no delight in you,' here I am, let Him do to me as seems good to Him."Ittai showed loyalty to David. But David also showed loyalty to Ittai and his men. But what I love most is David's loyalty to God as seen in his words, "..let Him do to me as seems good to Him." That is trust. Loyalty is rooted in trust. To trust, one must know the object of trust. One must be worthy of another's trust. If I can trust you, I will be loyal to you.And it's generally a two-way street. Don't ask me to be loyal to you if you're not going to be loyal to me.
Jonathan's armor bearer was loyal to Jonathan, even though he could have died. But Jonathan was worthy of defense. Jonathan and his armor bearer had a relationship of trust. J's armor bearer trusted J's relationship with God. And J. had asked God for very clear direction. Jonathan was loyal to his armor bearer and his armor bearer knew it. Jonathan protected his armor bearer with his sword and his armor bearer shielded him with an armor. What kind of marriages would we have if we defended and shielded one another like this? What kind of relationships would we have in the body of Christ? What are the conditions of our agreements to loyalty?
Loyalties have to do with making a commitment. We can't give loyalty for the sake of loyalty alone or else it would be empty. Loyalty that is not reciprocal becomes slavery. You get beaten if you don't obey. Loyalty must be voluntary. It must be something you want to do. Being trapped, being ensnared, being manipulated, and allowing yourself to be so, is not loyalty.
David wrote about God's loyalty in the Psalms. God's faithfulness endures from generation to generation. What an example of loyalty and faithfulness to us. God is faithful to us even though we are not faithful to Him. This is part of His unchanging character. Loyalty can become a part of our character. Let not loyalty and faithfulness forsake us. Bind them around our neck and write them in the tablets of our heart.
Webster's definition of the word 'loyal' is the following: 1-faithful to one's sovereign, government,or state. 2. faithful to one's oath or obligations. 3-faithful to any person or thing conceived as deserving fidelity. 4-characterized by or showing faithfulness.
Like I said earlier, I've been thinking about loyalty for quite some time now. I feel guilty when I let a friendship go. I feel disloyal. I hate that feeling. But I also am loyal to my personal health. And some relationships become toxic and unhealthy. That's why truth must be the foundation of our loyalties. Because truth remains. People change. We change. We have to be careful about who or what receives our loyalty. Some people have been loyal and have had their wallet, faith,free-will, and/or personality stolen. You start talking about loyalty and they think they are going to be misused. Again.So, I think, if we want to have an armor bearer, we too, should be an armor bearer. If we want people to be loyal to us, we must be loyal to them also. Perhaps, I am wrong about this. Perhaps, I am not.
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David wrote in the Psalms that the LORD GOD is our shield. God is our armor. And He bears us up on eagle's wings.
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