Pastor Bob DuPar
May 27, 2008
Journal Entry
Scripture
2 Samuel 12:1-31; John 16:1-33; Psalm 119:65-80; Proverbs 16:4-5.
Observation
It’s shocking that the same man who treated Saul and his family with such respect and godliness could steal a man’s wife and then heartlessly have him killed in battle. David seems to be lacking a conscience until Nathan issues the famous words: “You are the man!”
I give David credit for receiving Nathan’s words with humility and understanding that ultimately he had sinned against God (2 Samuel 12:13). David expresses this fact more clearly in Psalm 51:4:
“Against Thee, Thee only, I have sinned, and done what is evil in Thy sight, so that Thou art justified when Thou dost speak, and blameless when Thou dost judge.”
Nathan reminds David that his sin has given God’s enemies the opportunity to talk trash (12:14). I believe that David’s words in 12:23 “I will go to him, but he will not return to me,” are more than a statement of resignation over the reality that he will one day die as well; his words affirm a strong belief in an afterlife and they support the principle that children who die before the age of accountability go to be with the Lord.
Finally, I love Jesus’ words in John 16:27 because He says that God does not act merely because of the prayers and wishes of Son. Rather, Jesus affirms: “No, the Father Himself loves you!”
Application
Not one of us is immune to sin or it’s tempting snare. Any one of us can fall. And, if we are disobedient to God (living outside of His will & Word) we can count on this happening sooner rather than later. The mark of a leader and godly person is how they respond to correction, whether they repent, and how willingly they submit to discipline.
Prayer
“God, help me to avoid the heartache of sin. Protect me from self-destruction and inflicting hurt on those I love. Wash me in Your Word. Protect me through Your power. Surround me with others who passionately seek Your face.”
posted by Bob DuPar @ 9:19 PM
6 Comments
6 Comments:
I think it is funny that you think you are leader and talk about sin in your world but you have proven that you are not a leader but a judge on others who are weaker then you.
You also have failed to realize the complexity and depth of devastation sin brings to humanity in your inability to deal with it, what happens to the drunk homeless person who has no strength but is severely bound? You have no ability to deal with it, nor do any other "christians" because christianity has become an institution for those who do not need a physician but instead have gotten fat off the good things they believe they have blessed with.
You also fail to realize or understand what Jesus said when you must forgive your brother 7 times 70.
You have failed in every aspect of the word and yet you claim to be a leader.
Lets see you go out of your "church" and start seeing what can be done to get healing to the helpless and hopeless, because so far all I have seen is a desire to judge them. Have you not realized that YOU are no different then them?
Do you not understand that you deserve the same judgment and condemnation that so many christians routinely give out?
ALL of mankind is deserving of death, both spiritually and physically, and none of you, especially YOU are deserving of the grace that God the father has allowed.
In fact, if you are well, and you have not walked away from your possessions and "church" to go out into the street to do whatever you can to help these people, many of whom claim to know Christ, then you are worst then the worst sinner.
You are the last person who should ever have their own church.
This comment has been removed by the author.
Ouch!! J.R.'s comments remind me of the Keith Green song entitled
"Asleep In The Light". The thought provoking lyrics are at the link:
http://www.delusionresistance.org/christian/keith/k37.html
JR, your points about the horrific state of the world around us are well taken. But to blame all that you've written in your post on a certain person is to fail to take responsibility for the self. Matthew 7:3.
What can you do to come alongside your church or pastor to help in the areas for which you have such great passion? Jesus is waiting for you to forgive 7 times 70. He could use your zeal for the helpless and the homeless. Quit looking for others to fix what's in your power to impact for Christ.
Nancy.
It is all great and lofty to read such profound posts by "Pastor" Dupar, but what I see today is that no christian has any idea of what church really is, they all think it is a building where people go on sunday, and as long as they are doing that they doing "gods" will.
Well, they are doing "a" gods will, little g, but not Gods will, big G.
What church has become is a sand trap for christians to hear feel good messages get their ego stroked for the week with the idea that somehow they have done what god wants.
Show me one passage where Jesus instructed us to pack into buildings en mass on sunday but then forget the true gospel message which is out in the street?
I refuse to bring a person into the sand trap called "church", no where in the bible does it tell us to have the structure we have now, and no christian will dig deep enough into the truth to find out for themselves.
I have been one those on the street and what I got from christians was hate, I was called a drug addict, a drunk, told I asked to be poor, I was under Gods judgment, told to get my butt in church, and I could continue.
Jesus did what when he started his ministry? He left everything behind, he took no money, no clothes, left his home, he went into the streets, he went to the bound, the hurting, the poor, the sick, the naked, the prisoner.
Why is it this is somehow brought back on me? Show me 1 christian who has done this?
I have even been judged by, Mr Bob Dupar, hence my scathing reply.
He could not take me, how is then he is at the head of a "church" now?
I am but one example, and a small one, of the depth of destruction sin has brought to this world, if a christian cannot handle that, then they need to find another faith, which, christians have done, the feel good, tingle my ears with profound musings on scripture, but when it comes to the meat of the ministry, which is out in the streets, christians are no where to be found.
So when I read Matt 25, I see christians on christs left and right, and what does he say to the 2 of them? Many christians think Christ is talking to those on his left are catholics, no, they are real christians who did not do the ministry he commanded ALL christians, because they seen the sick, the naked, the poor, the homeless, those in prison, and did nothing, even to the least of them, his brothers. Who are the least of Christs brothers? How many times have you seen a homeless person and thought negative thoughts about them? How many times have you tried to reach out them? Has any "church" thought that maybe these people are severely bound and in need of help? No, instead I hear "they drink", yes, they do, why? And since when does this disqualify them from help? Hence, have YOU forgot from whence you came? YOU are just as guilty and deserving condemnation in hell just as the lowliest homeless bum.
The true church does not meet in a building every sunday, the true church is out in the street, every member, where the battlefield is.
Christians do not want that, if it makes them uncomfortable, or does not tingle the ears, or feel good, then they run in the opposite direction.
One day, and that day is around the corner, christians will be tested, they will have to make a choice, if you want to know what that choice is, read Corey Tenbooms book. She and the people then had it easier then what is coming, maybe, just maybe, I am a thorn, to wake up the sleeping, given to you all by....................
Hi JR. Your points are well taken. Though not all Christians are judgmental or hurtful. We are as different as colors in a rainbow with loads of flaws. I believe many see the homeless, addicted, etc. and feel tremendous compassion. But we may also feel helpless and frightened. Can we really make a "lasting" difference for someone so bound? Figuratively, it's very close to home. But for the grace of God, there go I.
No Christian on earth will ever be what Jesus was during His ministry. And, we are all called to serve Him in different capacities. Some in strip malls, some in Africa, some in universities, and some on the streets. But wherever the Christian serves, he/she will fail you. So thank God for Jesus. Rely on Him completely and you will be saved. To rely wholly on a friend, sister, mother, or pastor is a complete crap shoot.
I'm sorry for the times you've been hurt. But like I said earlier, look to God and impact the world for Christ using the gifts and experiences He has clearly given you.
"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you." Deuteronomy 31:6.
I understand what you say, people will fail, and they have.
I can forgive and move on because I know I have done things in my life that caused allot of hurt, and pain, allot of which I honestly never intended.
When I read such profound musings on the word and how God can do all things through us, then it seems to me that maybe helping these people from what binds them is not that hard at all.
The problem is that no one even tries, it takes allot more then just food and gas every now and then.
and the community and police criminalize these people for no reason.
I will be the first to admit that the homeless do not do themselves any favors and they do allot to make people hate them, but that is the time when we are put to the test.
When I look at my situation, I think of Hosea, not because I have a wife like his, but because of the way I have been shown what is lacking in christianity.
Hosea was shown through his life exp through his wife, God had a point to make. I could have been healed years ago, I knew I had problems, I asked for help, I never got it, what I did get was food every now and then, gas every now and then, money every now and then, but no real help, no real commitment for that help, yet I would go on to see my home church spend millions on building improvement, ministries to other countries, I seen the well get fat, while I withered away.
This goes beyond simple people who will fail, this is huge failure by the church, and wanton at that.
Then when I got mad and confronted the church, they got upset because according to them, they helped me. Yes, they did help me eat every now and then, like I explained, but I did not get the help I needed which I asked for so often and made very clear.
There is a church every 500 feet in the USA, the collective property value of those churches is in the billions if not trillions of dollars.
Jesus never tought us to build buildings and spend millions on them while ignoring those who are bound. Jesus never built buildings, ever.
Am I angry? Yes, very. Am I right to be angry? Yes, Jesus was angry, and when I read the letters to the churches in Rev. I read an angry God condemning the church.
Only 2 churches are not condemned and scolded.
The attitude with christians is just too wanton for me to not be angry.
What I can do baffles me, no one has ears to hear, there is no understanding, and maybe many of those I talk about can't be helped, maybe they can.
I know that I could have been helped, but wasn't.
My relationship with God is not good because I have a hard time believing he cares one iota about me, how could he? Why after reading so much of Dupar's posts it seems clear that only he and the others who are well in his church and the church he came from are the ones that God cares about, isn't that why they are where they are?
I always see how churches say Christ will heal you, there is hope, for who? Because I have not been healed, I have not seen any hope.
I have had nightmares every night since I was 16, I am 41 now, and every night, they are their, I have been told I have to do every christian thing, speak in tongues, fall down, do this, cut that off, dress like this, read that, act like this, focus on this or that, I have done all those things, never have I been healed of anything.
What I have had is a continual barrage of people who have maliciously done their best to ruin me, and it has worked.
I have had false charges brought on me, costing me my original career, 10 years on probation, an alcohol problem that I some how kicked 12 years ago, I lost 3 businesses that were making money that I could use to support my family, lost because of the very deliberate actions of the people around me, one of those business I built up while living on the street, when growing up I was being abused and I went to the sheriffs dept and asked them to remove me from my home, I told them what was going on, they told my dad to beat me more, which he did.
That ended with me running away with my best freind, 3 days later my best freind was dead.
I have paid a heavy and severe price for the actions of others in my life, none of which I asked for.
Then, to top it all off, I find out that my mom had aborted me, except I lived and the confusion was that I was a twin, my twin was aborted, I lived because they had no idea I was there.
I see no other purpose for my life then to be continually victimized by other people, and the church and the christians that populate the buildings.
My life could have different if the church had helped me like I had asked them in the first place, not with a meal every now then, or with gas here and their, or with money here and their, I needed deep hard core counseling and spiritual counseling.
What I got instead was judgment and condemnation, even by duapr.
I have no other answer then God, big G, hates my guts. Even people that went through the death camps only had to go through that for a while, I have had a life time of this hell since before I was even born, focusing on Christ just does not do anything for me, I need a much bigger answer.
You can email me if you like instead of clogging up dupars precious blog, secondlifebiz@gmail.com
Don't think I do not appreciate your reply, I know you are trying to help, just not sure if it will.
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