In 2 Samuel 24:1, You'll read that the Lord incited David to take a census of Israel. But in 1 Chronicles 21:1, the writer attributed this action to Satan.
How do we reconcile this?
With the book of Job.
If you've read it, you know that Satan comes before God's throne and when God brings up how blameless and upright Job is, Satan makes a wager with God, implying that Job is the way he is because God has given him much. "Stretch out your hand and strike everything he has" Satan says, "and he will surely curse you to your face".
And God gives permission to Satan to do just that.
I imagine that David, a "man after God's heart" even with his failures, has attracted similar attention in the spiritual realm. And probably asked God to test him as he did Job.
The resulting census of Israel could have emboldened David’s pride and given a false sense of power, but he instead swallowed his pride and realized "I have sinned greatly in what I have done" and begged God to take away his guilt.
There were three punishments to choose from, and David chose the one that cast himself and his people on God's mercy instead of falling into the hands of men.
The final result was that David would purchase the land to build an altar and sacrifice for repentance, which would later become the site whereupon the temple would be established.

I've moved!

Still reading 2 Samuel, and my mind is going on a tangent.
King David, we know, slept with Uriah the Hittite's wife, Bathsheba...and when she became pregnant and Uriah refused to sleep with his wife, David wrote a letter to his general at the battlefield to put Uriah at the thick of battle and withdraw, resulting in Uriah's death.
Of course, God uses a prophet, (Nathan) to expose David's sin...and David repents to the Lord, but not without price.
But, can you imagine the day David enters into Heaven and after the initial welcome, finds Uriah waiting there to greet him?
Yeah, that's gotta be a bit awkward, you think?
Uriah: So, David, what's this about you sleeping with my wife and having me killed?
Yeah....
Live responsibly, my friends.

You can't be a light in the darkness if you're playing in the shade!

Getting ready to move out of state with my beautiful wife to be closer to her family members and friends. I really don't have much of either here, and she left all them to be with me, so its only fair to reciprocate.
But packing up the things I've accumulated over the years shows me how much "dross" I've amassed and need to dispose. There are things that matter and things that do not. Sometimes it is hard to determine which is which.
It's often like that in our spiritual life as well. We hold on to things that don't matter, (or that the Lord wants to remove), while refusing to accept the new things that He brings into our life.
We want to stay to long in our comfort zones instead of joining the spiritual battles He wants us to win.
May we all heed the Lord today and seek to Glorify Him in all we say or do.

Sunrise in Texas. Always beautiful!
This is a day that the Lord has made!

The view from Governor's Island when I was stationed there

My "alma mater" from 1976 to 78. After that i was stationed in New York on Governor's Island.

A word on Faith.
I think it was Hank Hannigraff that said, "Faith is like swallowing. If you swallow water to satisfy your thirst, you will live, but if you swallow drain cleaner, you will die".
It's important that we put our faith into the right thing. To put our faith in Jesus should mean that we put our faith into His finished work on the cross. That we trust in Him for our salvation, and not our own works, our ability to do good, be good, or merit His favor. For the Bible is very clear on this, "all our righteousness is as filthy rags". It is Christ's death on the cross that removed our sins, it is His Life that saves us. Not our lives, not our words, not our actions. Putting our faith in the latter will doom us. Putting it in Christ's finished work saves us.

Whats up with the cover photo thing? When i try uploading one, the aspect ratio completely changes and the photos is heavily distorted.

Update: i think i figured it out.

My glorious wife!
I thank my God every single day for her!

Worship In Spirit and in Truth:
Many times I've taught how the flesh is an excellent imitator. How it can sing songs, pray excellent prayers, spend hours in Scripture reading, but will not yield control to God.
I've come to realize that it also applies in not only Worship, but Love.
1 Corinthians 13:5-6 states that Charity (Love) does not behave itself unseemly, seeks not her own, is not easily provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in truth.
Love seeks not it's own. It puts others first. It cares for the people around them. The flesh won't do this.
Love realizes that the lane I'm in isn't "mine" and shares it with others without complaint.
Love realizes that money isn't really ours to hold, it's a tool we earned that can also be a blessing to another.
Love knows that the reason for our anger is we see the things in our world as "ours" instead of something bestowed upon us by God to be a blessing for others.
Demonstrating true Godly Love is probably the highest form of worship.

A blessing is something given to you by God so that others will be thankful to God that you had it in their hour of need.
A material possession is something you have to dust, repair, or maintain that you show off to make people believe you are blessed.

~RL.

Hi, y'all.
I'm just a retired wanderer currently located in both Indiana and Texas...but not at the same time. Still enjoy teaching Sunday School.