Corona Devo 744

At our family reunion last year, kids flitted from here to there, a newborn was fawned-over, and three patriarchs were happily reunited for the first time in many years. There were lots of highlights, but the true-tales of days-gone-by and the adventures of yesterday spun by the old-timers were the most special part. We all pulled-up-a-chair and were blessed to listen.

Reaching back into my childhood memories, I remember traveling to Peoria, Illinois (dad's side) and Cambridge, Ohio (mom's side) for family reunions. The character's and content varied but each side had age-old stories that were repeated year after year. Adventures of yesterday were shared and we all pulled-up-a-chair and were blessed to listen.

Can you recall parents or grandparents passing-down-history as they shared a memory or adventure? My Papa used to delight in retelling of his father, "Tuffy", who was a rough-and-tumble "boxer" back in the day. How I wish I could pull-up-a-chair and be blessed to listen one more time.

Some of yesterday's stories are doozies! And I pray that we are accruing tales to tell in our last words of the adventures we have spent our life living for God's glory.

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King David had lived boldly for the Lord, and as his life drew to a close, he waxed eloquent about the not-so-eloquent men that had stood by him and spent their days fighting (and funning) for the Lord alongside of him.

Pull-up-a-chair and be blessed to listen to David and his tales of "the Three":

(1) These are the last words of David...

(8) These are the names of David’s mightiest warriors. The first was Jashobeam the Hacmonite, who was leader of the Three—the three mightiest warriors among David’s men. He once used his spear to kill 800 enemy warriors in a single battle.

(9) Next in rank among the Three was Eleazar son of Dodai... Once Eleazar and David stood together against the Philistines when the entire Israelite army had fled. (10) He killed Philistines until his hand was too tired to lift his sword, and the Lord gave him a great victory that day. The rest of the army did not return until it was time to collect the plunder!

(11) Next in rank was Shammah son of Agee... One time the Philistines gathered at Lehi and attacked the Israelites in a field full of lentils. The Israelite army fled, (12) but Shammah held his ground in the middle of the field and beat back the Philistines. So the Lord brought about a great victory.

(13) Once during the harvest, when David was at the cave of Adullam, the Philistine army was camped in the valley of Rephaim. The Three (who were among the Thirty—an elite group among David’s fighting men) went down to meet him there. (14) David was staying in the stronghold at the time, and a Philistine detachment had occupied the town of Bethlehem.

(15) David remarked longingly to his men, “Oh, how I would love some of that good water from the well by the gate in Bethlehem.” (16) So the Three broke through the Philistine lines, drew some water from the well by the gate in Bethlehem, and brought it back to David. But he refused to drink it. Instead, he poured it out as an offering to the Lord. (17) “The Lord forbid that I should drink this!” he exclaimed. “This water is as precious as the blood of these men who risked their lives to bring it to me.” So David did not drink it. These are examples of the exploits of the Three...

(20) There was also Benaiah son of Jehoiada, a valiant warrior[i] from Kabzeel. He did many heroic deeds, which included killing two champions of Moab. Another time, on a snowy day, he chased a lion down into a pit and killed it. (21) Once, armed only with a club, he killed an imposing Egyptian warrior who was armed with a spear. Benaiah wrenched the spear from the Egyptian’s hand and killed him with it. ~2 Samuel 23:1, 8-17, 20-22

Don't these tales of men living/fighting/defending/adventuring in God's name make you want to pull-up-a-chair and be blessed to listen?

What stories will WE tell when our days on earth are drawing to a close? (These are the last words of David... ~2 Samuel 23:1).

I pray that (like David) we will have exciting tales of how we stood firm for Christ with other believers beside us.

The last words of David were not about the size of his bank account, the number of wives he had, or the power and authority he had held over Israel and it's people...even though they could have been. Instead, David gloried in the adventures and feats that he encountered for the Lord, and he relished the comrades who bravely and boldly joined him along the way.

Who are our "Three"? Or Four...or One? I pray that we might have a friend or two to fight the Lord's battles alongside of. To glory in the stories of yesterday and that share the same goals and God that we do.

Let's get out and serve God with verve today. It could make a doozy of a story tomorrow, and give purpose to our life always. And one day, someone might just want to pull-up-a-chair and be blessed to listen.

Blessings,

Sarah

https://sarahsundy04.blogspot.com