Don't Fear Nathan

Don't Fear Nathan

" ... when Nathan the prophet went to him." (Title of Psalm 51)

We have all had them at one time or another in our lives. God sends these special servants into our lives who are willing to speak truth into our lives.

Remember the story of King David and his sin of adultery with Bathsheba? God sent Nathan the prophet to confront David with the truth. David could ignored him, run from him, or even had him put to death. But God used Nathan in David's life to help expose his heart and begin the process of repentance and restoration.

In his book WHITER THAN SNOW -- Meditations on Sin and Mercy, Dr. Paul David Tripp describes the legacy of Nathan:

No shouts
No pointed fingers
No flashing eyes
No red-faced accusations
No inflammatory vocabulary
No bulging veins
No derogatory names
No scary threats
No arrows of guilt
No cornering logic
No "how dare you?"
No, "I can't believe you would!"
No, "What were you thinking?"
No public confrontation
No published rebuke
No arrest warrant
No handcuffs
No leading away to be charged
No list of crimes
No human tricks
No trying to do God's work
No hope of forcing a turning
No confidence in the power of man
No human manipulation
No political posturing
No, none of these.
Just a humble prophet
Telling a simple story
A sinner with a sinner
Not standing above
Alongside, together
Wanting to be an instrument
Helping to assist a blind man to see
But no trust in self
Speaking calmly
Speaking simply
And letting God
Do through a familiar example
Painted with plain words
What only God can do
Crack the hard-shelled heart
Of a wayward man
And make it feel again
See again
Cry again
Pray again
Plead again
Hope again
Love again
Commit again
To a new and better way.
Not a legacy of
self-righteousness
impatient
condemning
"I'm better than you"
Anger
But the harvest
of a man of GRACE
to a man
Who doesn't deserve grace
But won't live again
Without it.

I am thankful for the men that God has brought into my life -- those Nathan's that have come at the right time. Often he uses my wife, Jan, as my Nathan. It takes courage to be a Nathan. A Nathan is someone who REALLY loves and cares enough to confront in love.

When God sends them in your life -- don't run! Don't panic! Embrace them and allow God to use him in your life. Painful? Yes, but oh so necessary. -- Bill Welte is President and CEO of America's KESWICK

God's WORD for YOU: Proverbs 7; Isaiah 28-29; Philippians 3

Great Quote: When it seems like nothing is happening in our lives, we should consider it a time of preparation. We're like musicians in an orchestra between movements of a symphony. We stop playing but we just don't wait. We re-tune our instruments. We turn the page of the music. We're ready because we know at any moment the conductor may raise his baton, signaling us to play. -- Mary Morrison Suggs

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: This year’s BINDING UP THE BROKEN-HEARTED: FAMILY AND FRIENDS ADDICTION SEMINAR is shaping up to be our best yet. You won’t want to miss it. October 8, 2009 8:30 AM -3:30 PM at America’s KESWICK. The $25.00 registration fee covers the sessions, materials, continental breakfast, lunch and snacks. Pastors attend free with 5 paid reservations. Every pastor, youth ministry worker, parent of a teen and loved ones of addicted family and friends should attend this seminar. Call today for your reservation 800.453.7942 or 732.350.1187.