{"id":627,"date":"2020-11-08T09:08:24","date_gmt":"2020-11-07T20:08:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sonbeamsandshadows.com\/?p=627"},"modified":"2020-11-08T09:08:24","modified_gmt":"2020-11-07T20:08:24","slug":"the-3-rs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sonbeamsandshadows.com\/index.php\/2020\/11\/08\/the-3-rs\/","title":{"rendered":"The 3 R’s"},"content":{"rendered":"

As I was studying David and the battle of Goliath, it occurred to me that David had many, wonderful character traits. While I was compiling a few of his character traits, I realized that I could make them all begin with the letter \u201cR.\u201d Now, I\u2019m going to date myself some. I remembered the 3 R\u2019s as a child in school \u201cReading, Writing, (A)rithmetic.\u201d However, now we have a Biblical 3 R\u2019s \u201cResponsible, Respectful and Reliance.\u201d<\/strong> Below we will study how these character traits helped to make David a strong person to be used mightily by God.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Responsible<\/u><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Webster\u2019s 1828 defines responsible as: \u201cLiable to account; accountable; answerable; able to discharge an obligation\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

    As I am aging \u2013 to me \u2013 there seems to be less and less people taking responsibility for their actions. Too many people are blaming others, their bosses, their co-workers, the government, and many others and making excuses for failures in their lives. However, this was not the case for David. As a shepherd boy, he was responsible for his sheep and when he left to take food to his brothers, he made sure the sheep were cared for.<\/p>\n

    I Samuel 17:20 \u201cAnd David rose up early in the morning, and left the sheep with a keeper\u2026\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

    Even after David sinned with Bathsheba, he admitted his sin to Nathan. He took responsibility for his sin.<\/p>\n

    II Samuel 12:13 \u201cAnd David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord\u2026\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

    Nowhere in the Bible, will anyone find God excusing someone else\u2019s sin because they pointed a finger at someone else and said, \u201cThey made me do it.\u201d Through David, we can learn to become responsible for our own sins and actions.<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Respectful (respect)<\/u><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Webster\u2019s 1828 defines respect as: \u201cTo regard, to have regard to, to view or consider with some degree of reverence; to esteem as possessed of real worth.<\/span><\/p>\n

      Again, as I am aging \u2013 to me \u2013 there seems to be less and less of the younger generation showing respect for authority. Children race past adults and almost knock people over, no one holds a door for anyone anymore, and people don\u2019t seem respectful for any positions of authority. I remember when people were respectful of authority regardless as to who was in those positions.<\/p>\n

      My daughter worked her first job this past summer and she would call her boss \u201cMr.\u201d as a sign of respect. He was not use to this since it seemed to be a thing of the past. She kept doing it though because he deserved the respect for the position he held at the company.<\/p>\n

      When David came to his brothers, he had respect for them in their position of battle. He followed the instructions of his father to deliver food to his brothers in battle. When he got to them, he did not just walk up and say, \u201cHey Br\u014d, how ya doing?\u201d Out of respect, he saluted his brothers.<\/p>\n

      I Samuel 17:22 \u201cAnd David left his carriage in the hand of the keeper of the carriage, and ran into the army, and came and saluted his brethren.\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

      Christians need to show respect for people in certain positions in life. When the world is lacking respect for one another, this is an area that Christians should step up to the plate and respect their bosses, their elders, their preacher, etc. A Christian should never say things like, \u201cHey Br\u014d, how ya doing?\u201d Plenty of people have excuses for why they think they should not respect people in certain positions. However, according to the Bible, we need to respect people whether we want to or not just because God\u2019s Word teaches us to respect others.<\/p>\n

      For example, if the Queen of England promenaded through your door, you would not say, \u201cHey Liz, how ya doing?\u201d People would not even address her by her first name. I\u2019m not sure of the exact protocols for addressing the Queen, but you better believe that you would know it ahead of time; and when her presence graced your door, you would be expected to do the protocols properly and to the \u201cT.\u201d<\/p>\n

      We can learn a lot from David in his respect for his brothers and others in his life. Even when David had the opportunity to kill Saul, he only cut off Saul\u2019s robe. David felt horrible about that because he acknowledged that Saul was the Lord\u2019s anointed man, even though Saul was seeking to kill David.<\/p>\n

      I Samuel 24:5-6 \u201cAnd it came to pass afterward, that David’s heart smote him, because he had cut off Saul’s skirt. 6 And he said unto his men, The Lord forbid that I should do this thing unto my master, the Lord’s anointed, to stretch forth mine hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the Lord.\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Reliance<\/u><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Webster\u2019s 1828 defines reliance as: \u201cRest or repose of mind, resulting from a full belief of the veracity or integrity of a person, or of the certainty of a fact; trust; confidence; dependence.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

        David had full reliance in his God to help him defeat the mighty Giant.<\/p>\n

        I Samuel 17:37 \u201cDavid said moreover, The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine\u2026\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

        Notice, David did not say, \u201cIf God will, he can deliver me.\u201d Or \u201cI\u2019ll try to fight Goliath; but if God allows me to die, Oh well.\u201d David said, \u201che will deliver me<\/u><\/em>.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

        This seems to be a tough area for most Christians I know, including myself \u2013 to have full reliance in our Lord. Our faith wavers way too much. We pray and walk away from our prayers thinking, \u201cWell, that probably won\u2019t happen, but I prayed anyway.\u201d Or, we just pray those blanket prayers, \u201cGod\u2019s will be done.\u201d<\/p>\n

        There have been numerous times, I\u2019ve seen other Christians really \u201cget a hold\u201d of God and move mountains in their life. They truly had the \u201cfaith as a grain of mustard seed.\u201d<\/em> They had full reliance in their Lord to answer their prayer as they prayed their specific prayer.<\/p>\n

        Matthew 17:20 \u201c\u2026If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

        \"\"
        Mustard Seed<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

        Have you ever seen mustard seed? I have and it is incredibly tiny. (see photo). I think God used the mustard seed as an example to show us that we do not need much faith. We only need a little, but that little has to have a full reliance in God as David had to defeat the mighty Goliath.<\/p>\n

        For people reading this, there should be times in your life when you should be able to say, \u201cGod certainly answered that prayer exactly as I prayed.\u201d I have had many times like that (Praise the Lord) and it is so amazing to genuinely see the power of God in action as he speaks about in His Word. If you have not, then use this as an encouragement to have full reliance in God and have faith the size of a mustard seed and see what mountains in your life God \u201cwill deliver\u201d<\/em> you from.<\/p>\n

        Quick summary. The 3 R\u2019s for the Christian life:<\/p>\n

          \n
        • Responsible<\/span><\/li>\n
        • Respectful<\/span><\/li>\n
        • Reliance<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

          Apply these 3 R\u2019s to your life today to become a better Christian for your Lord.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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