Hi Folks:

Onfire is late this week. The mail server I use didn't want to serve, and we have had to reconstruct the list from log records 3 times. My friend, Gary, who runs the system is a lot like Scotty on the original Star Trek. He was able to pull things back together for me. Some of you may have received notice emails as we made internal changes. My apologies. I think we have this worked out.

Now - on to OnFire...

My wife, Jan, has just returned from our Convention's Pastor's Wives Retreat. She looks forward to this all year. This year she took a 5lb box of chocolates that we bought from the fire department. They sell them before Christmas each year as a fund raiser. Understandably, she was very popular and some of the women dubbed her the "Chocolate Fairy." The boys and I took care of ourselves and had a good time. And, we washed all of our dishes before she returned.

Canadian Remembance Day is Friday. I'm scheduled to play Last Post and Reveille again. I have played trumpet since I was in 7th grade, and I consider it a privilege to do this. I am also a music instructor with the local Air Cadet wing, 738 Kingsmill, and will conduct the band on Friday. I believe it is important to honour our veterans. We owe a great debt to them.

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For the past several weeks we’ve been taking a slow motion look into the crash which was David’s affair with Bethseba. David, normally at war during that time of year, was at home, bored, perhaps feeling insignificant. He spotted Bathsheba bathing and took the "second look." The first may not have been intentional, but the second was. Then he sent for her, even though he knew she was married. Last week I speculated that to cover or justify this, he created noble reasons to log time with her.

In this week’s freeze frame, David’s train has left the tracks, rolled down the embankment, and crushed Uriah’s house. What follows in the next chapters is his attempt to hide and cover it. In the same way that Adam hid from God when he knew he had sinned, David tried to hide his sin.

2 Samuel 11:4 is understated but the meaning is plain. "David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her." Some critics of the faith try to accuse biblical writers of hagiography - that is, sanitizing history by making the subjects look better than they were. I have yet to understand why this episode would be included if this were the case.

To me this passage is both sad and humbling. Sad because of the damage and harm to their characters, their families, and especially Uriah. Sin is never a solo venture. It affects not only us, but also those around us, and moreso when we are leaders. As I look through the On Fire list, I know that many are Bible study leaders, Sunday school teachers, youth leaders, pastors, deacons, elders, church musicians, and otherwise upstanding members of churches and communities. While we can all point to international Christian leaders who have derailed, we also know local leaders who have come off the tracks. The results are always sad, causing critics and gossips to point fingers.

The passage is also humbling. David was anointed to be king because he was a man after God’s heart (Acts 13:22), and yet this godly man fell. If a man after God’s own heart could fall, then doesn’t it seem all the more possible for me to fall? David is held up as an example of godliness, and even he was seduced by the allure of sin.

I remember one month in particular when I was in seminary that I heard about 5 pastors who had left the ministry because of moral failure. Not all had happened in that month, but I heard about them all in the span of one month. Some I knew by reputation, and a few I knew from school. They were all good men. It was a humbling experience to realize that if they were not immune, then perhaps I was not either.

What is the solution to this? Is there hope for us? How can we protect ourselves? I see several answers.

We can’t ignore our conscience. The more we ignore it, the less we hear it. A friend grew up in a lighthouse. As astounding as it sounds, he says there were times they had to listen for the fog horn to see if it was working. They simply got used to it and didn’t hear it any more. As I look back at my own experience when I gave in to temptations of one kind or another, I can see warnings I ignored. We need to listen to this voice from God.

We can’t see ourselves as immune. "It could never happen to me" is a dangerous thing to say to ourselves. It implies we are stronger than we are. There is a parallel to some of the men on the TV show "Fear Factor." So many think that they can easily pull themselves up by arm strength alone. Few are able to do it, and so they fall from the rope, helicopter, or rolling truck they were trying to climb. We are not as strong as we think, physically or spiritually.

We can’t believe that these things "just happen." We've all heard this line used. Sin is a decision. At various steps and stages along the way, David ignored the warning bells. And, at some point, he decided to allow the affair. Or, he decided not to stop it. Same thing. Up to that point, he could have put an end to it, but he didn’t. However, if sin is a decision, then we can also decide not to sin.

Finally, sin is not just about what people see. So many times it seems that people are sorry only after they get caught. David showed remorse when was confronted by Nathan. We need to feel sorry for our sin even if we never get caught. This sensitivity reinvigorates our conscience and can prevent us from falling into sin. It all comes down to character and integrity. Who are we when no one is looking? Would I do this if someone knew?

Hope this helps. Be On Fire,

Troy

ON FIRE is a weekly letter of encouragement by Troy Dennis. This letter published Nov 8, 2005. www.onfireletter.com