2Sa 15:1 In the course of time, Absalom provided himself with a chariot and horses and with fifty men to run ahead of him.

Absolom provided himself with…
1. Purpose: He already had a plan or plot to overthrow David & God’s anointed.

Why?
1. He saw an opportunity because David fell short somewhere.

2Sa 19:8 So the king got up and took his seat in the gateway. When the men were told, “The king is sitting in the gateway,” they all came before him. Meanwhile, the Israelites had fled to their homes.

Later we see where the king was sitting in the gateway where he was supposed to be, but earlier…

2Sa 18:24 While David was sitting between the inner and outer gates, the watchman went up to the roof of the gateway by the wall.

So while he was sitting there…

2Sa 15:2      He would get up early and stand by the side of the road leading to the city gate. Whenever anyone came with a complaint to be placed before the king for a decision, Absalom would call out to him, “What town are you from?” He would answer, “Your servant is from one of the tribes of Israel.”
2Sa 15:3     Then Absalom would say to him, “Look, your claims are valid and proper, but there is no representative of the king to hear you.”
2Sa 15:4     And Absalom would add, “If only I were appointed judge in the land! Then everyone who has a complaint or case could come to me and I would see that he gets justice.”
2Sa 15:5     Also, whenever anyone approached him to bow down before him, Absalom would reach out his hand, take hold of him and kiss him.
2Sa 15:6     Absalom behaved in this way toward all the Israelites who came to the king asking for justice, and so he stole the hearts of the men of Israel.

Because David was not in position at the gate where he was supposed to be, he could not see what Absolom was doing.

Deu 19:17 the two men involved in the dispute must stand in the presence of the Lord before the priests and the judges who are in office at the time.

So Absolom tells the people that their claims are valid but there is no representative of the king to hear them. This is because David was not in the gate, and apparently, the watchman. Then he says “If only I were appointed,” he wants to usurp God’s anointed and rule himself. “Then everyone who has a complaint or case could come to me and I would see that he gets justice.”

It’s interesting that this attitude of ingratitude came after this:

2Sa 14:14 Like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be recovered, so we must die. But God does not take away life; instead, he devises ways so that a banished person may not remain estranged from him.

Isa 43:25       ”I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.
Isa 43:26     Review the past for me, let us argue the matter together; state the case for your innocence.

Isa 1:18      “Come now, let us reason together,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.

The gate was the seat of judgment, but David wasn’t sitting there because he was guilty of sin. By being out of the seat of the gate, David was no longer operating in his position as gatekeeper. This means that he wasn’t getting the watchman’s report either. We don’t even know if there was a watchman still on the roof, but the may have been because Absalom went down the roadside.

2Sa 15:5     Also, whenever anyone approached him to bow down before him, Absalom would reach out his hand, take hold of him and kiss him.

When Absolom bowed like this, it was a sign of reverence and respect, as well as a sign of restoration, meaning that he would restore them. And no wonder he won their hearts. He did this for four years.

2Sa 15:7 At the end of four years, Absalom said to the king, “Let me go to Hebron and fulfill a vow I made to the Lord.

What was the vow?

2Sa 15:8      While your servant was living at Geshur in Aram, I made this vow: ‘If the Lord takes me back to Jerusalem, I will worship the Lord in Hebron.

If the Lord takes me back to “teaching peace,” I will worship the Lord in “association.”

By making this vow, he was saying that he would respect God’s choices and his anointed, because he said he would worship the Lord in “association.”

Yet immediately as the king released him to go in peace to fulfill his vow, he sent spies forth to proclaim his leadership, and his uprising against David kicked into gear.

This occurred at the end of 4 years which indicates that it is spirit led. (See Cycle of 40 study which also incorporates the number 4). Absolom sealed his fate by violating a vow to God, and in addition, David, God’s anointed, had to be returned to the throne.

My mother’s birthday was this weekend; Saturday to be exact. I forgot to call her until Sunday. But let me backtrack a bit. First of all, I came home from a very good business meeting Friday night, to discover that my window had been blown in.

For those who haven’t been keeping tabs on me in twitter or face book, my front kitchen window got busted about a month ago by a neighbor’s kid from two buildings away. The parents, who you could look at and tell aren’t the responsible type, wanted to tell me it’s an accident and be off the hook.

I told them that that was not my problem, the broken window is, and that they would have to take it up with the owner. The following day, I called the police, because I just had a feeling, you know? I just felt that I needed it documented. Sure enough, I was right, because although the woman admitted responsibility to the officer, they have done absolutely nothing towards getting the window fixed.

The owner went over several times and spoke to them, and at first, he thought they would take care of it, because he knows their family. The last time he went there, her brother or the father of the kids got loud and belligerent with him, and apparently scared him to some degree.

I caught the kid in our yard again after already warning him to stay away by threat of calling the police, and my friend went over and spoke to her about it. Later, her brother also came over and got loud and belligerent at my door about my friend coming over to speak to his sister, even though my friend clearly told her he was not trying to be rude. I simply called the police, who then got her complete name for me for the owner, and informed them that their kids were not to be trespassing for any reason on the property where I live.

So needless to say, these people lived up to exactly what I saw in them, and have done nothing to replace the window. I called the owner, who intends to sue them, and told him on Saturday that I cannot have the window open like this, as it is a security threat and we are in storm season. I told him I would have to notify a government agency if it did not get replaced immediately.

He called Sunday and gave me the name and number of the guy who he hired to replace the glass. That guy came by yesterday. So that was the start of the crazy weekend. I’m not done with this subject, but I’ll be back to it.

Then Saturday, I’m home with my son, and we decided that we needed some more bread, as we wanted to make some sandwiches; and maybe some milk and baking soda for the kitty litter. I wanted my son to walk around the block and basically across the street to Walgreens to get it. He insisted that he wanted to ride his bike to the grocery store down the street, because he said he needed the exercise and was tired of being in the house.

Since he had been before several times without issue, I okayed it, and he left. Little did I know that he went on the bike in flip flops. Naturally, he had an accident. According to him, the bike tire slipped on a puddle somehow and he went down in an awky way on his foot, injuring his big toe.

I couldn’t understand this because it was 95 degrees in the shade that day, so I’m wondering where he could have possibly encountered a puddle of water, because I couldn’t see how any puddle could have survived that humidity. It had rained the night before in Miami, while I was at the meeting, but I never noticed any remnants of rain when I got home, and it didn’t rain afterwards, nor the next day at any time.

So if there had been a puddle it had to be in a pothole in the road, and logic would question why he would ride through a pothole. Nevertheless, whatever happened, my son came home with a severely swollen big toe which looked like it could possibly be broken.

Not wanting to face the possibility of a $2k bill in the emergency room, I waited and iced his foot for the night. If it was broken, it wasn’t an unusual looking break with any funny position or protrusions. So I waited until the following day, and just kept it wrapped and iced. So needless to say, we missed church on Saturday night, and I missed my Freed-up financial class at church on Sunday morning.

However, about midday on Sunday, I realized that the swelling had not gone down any. I tried checking to see if any clinics were open, as Medicaid had disowned me like an unwanted stepchild, and I had yet to file the application for the Florida Kid Care program. It suddenly occurred to me to file it immediately, so I went online and did an application, getting a confirmation number if needed. Since the county’s general hospital has to take everyone, regardless of insurance coverage, I took lil man there; and upon xrays and exam, we discovered, (expensively I might add) that his toe is not broken.

They did tell me that he may have a small fracture or hairline fracture and that their xray machines can only pick up large ones. Their radiologist could better identify that in the morning, but I figured having me come in in the morning to check was their way of getting me into the financial office to see about payment.

Since they only took a signed document from me authorizing them to check with DCF on my Kid Care application, I didn’t want to rock the boat. I figure I can follow up with a doctor at one of the clinics my friends referred me to. My son has been walking around with the splint, and not complaining about his leg, so he’s fine.

So back to the front window. After the guy showed up yesterday to measure the window, he left, with us thinking that he was going to go get the glass and return later in the day. So we took all the taped up broken glass out of the window, as part of it was falling down anyways, and it was really windy yesterday, so it kept getting blown in.

Now yesterday was another issue I almost forgot about. Fire rescue, an ambulance and the police showed up yesterday morning. I looked out my window and saw them, and thought it was another issue with the newborn next door.

Later, my lights started flickering and I went outside to see if FPL was working on something, as it wasn’t raining. Turns out, a palm tree in the back was touching the line, and it was firing off like a canon, sending my neighbors from the back apartment running to the parking lot in fear.

We called FPL, and their attitude was a bit too relaxed for me. They indicated that they would send a truck out whenever one happened to be “in the area,” and “available.” Well that could be all day! We had fireballs running along the line, and this was their attitude. So…I called channel 10 and reported it.

Well next thing you know, a truck shows up 20 minutes later from FPL. They turned off the power and just disappeared for about 3-4 hours. So we had to go outside, where at least it was a bit windy, and certainly cooler than the sauna that was the inside of the apartment.

All that was fixed, but my son and I went without the electric for hours more because we expected the window guy to come back with the glass. After several calls and messages to him, he called back to say that he had to order the glass, and might possibly be able to get it today to put back in the window.

So I sent my son to the storage room to find the longest cardboard box he could find, so we could stuff that into the window and be able to turn the ac on without so much air floating out.

Well that worked, but we couldn’t close the blinds, so there went privacy, and I woke up this morning to a thunder storm. Great. And look what I read as I start my inspiration for the day:

Welcome problems as perspective lifters. My children tend to sleepwalk through their days until they bump into an obstacle that stymies them. If you encounter a problem with no immediate solution, your response to that situation will take you either up or down. You can lash out at the difficulty, resenting it and feeling sorry for yourself. This will take you down into a pit of self-pity. Alternatively, the problem can be a ladder, enabling you to climb up and see your life from My perspective. Viewed from above, the obstacle that frustrated you is only a light and momentary trouble. Once your perspective has been heightened, you can look away from the problem altogether. Turn towards Me, and see the Light of My Presence shining upon you.

I just thought this was funny, because when I went back and looked at all that has occurred in the last four days, it just looked like one could perceive it as a mountain, or maybe several mountains of problems, but I never looked at it that way at all.

My friend Jemma says I’m the calmest person she knows. For me, everything is just a part of the flow of things to be dealt with, and really no big deal. Again, for those who don’t know, my motto is, “God’s got me. What me worry?”

So let it storm. I know that He will keep the wind and rain from hitting that open window, until that glass gets replaced. He will take care of that $2k hospital bill, which is why I went ahead and took my son without a lot of worry. The electric was a simple fix once the news station was called, but of course, FPL tried to cover by claiming a need for more “resources” to fix the problem. Whatever.

Plus, I got a chance to talk to my neighbors, and do a demo for each of them, showing them the fantastic product my company has put into the market. It all works out. I’m like Seinfeld…“Even Steven.” Actually, I’ve got it better than that…I’ve got God, so my situations always work out better than just breaking even. Peace and blessings.

I found this interesting because for a lot of people, their world is spinning right now. Financial matters have become extremely stressing and pressing. I’m not working but I don’t feel stressed nor pressed. God had things set up and in place for me long ago, and all I had to do was simply consult Him and follow through on the ideas and thoughts He placed in my mind.

My world doesn’t spin, in part, because I don’t worry about things. I’ve learned to trust in God and lean on Him. The other reason, which correlates to the whole trust issue, is that since nothing is mine on this earth, and all things belong to God, what me worry? It’s not my stuff.

Part of many people’s problem is that they think they are working hard for stuff they think is “theirs.” People don’t seem to realize that we were born to work, and some way or another we all will. If we don’t, scripture says that if a man doesn’t work, he doesn’t eat. However, I want to add to that just a bit. If a man doesn’t have faith, and consult the Master about how to handle money, he may not eat either.

Some people don’t consult God at all about money. They think He has nothing to do with that. Fact of the matter is, our relationship to money is a direct reflection to our relationship with God and has eternal consequences. You can’t be right with God and wrong with money.

I may not have much money coming into my house currently according to the market or by whatever standards people use to assess such things, but what does come in is more than enough.

And the thing is, when I need more, God just opens up a can of miracles and it’s blessing upon blessing upon even more blessings, ‘til I have non-Christians saying, “You are one “lucky” s.o.b.” I have to tell them, it’s not luck. I’ve never been lucky one day in my life. “Get it right,” I say, “I’m blessed, not lucky. I’m blessed because I’m God’s child and I trust Him.”

The world is whirling around us. It’s spinning faster and faster, and we are drowning trying to keep up with time. Frankly, I stopped trying to keep up with it. All these deadlines, and the pressures to produce in a “fast paced environment,” is just not for me.

My focus is on God and whatever doors He opens for me, is not only fine with me, but I will happily walk through, because I know that He has my best interests at heart.

So whatever is happening, I’m chill. Recently, some issues came up with my son. Most parents would be beyond boiling over this. I was a bit upset initially, because I was surprised and disappointed in my son’s behavior.

This same problem has occurred several times now, and I’ve come to the conclusion that my responsibility is not to blame myself, but to take action that forces my son to take responsibility and accountability for his own actions and choices. Part of the impression I must make is to demonstrate to him the potential end result of his current set of bad choices.

So I have. I took a radical approach which drew some criticism from my mother, but I expected that from her. First it was, I had done too little and let things go too long, and then five minutes later, I was being too extreme in my approach to the situation. That is neither here nor there. The only thing that matters is that I made a strong impression on my son that will make him rethink his current path and behaviors.

I didn’t let the situation spin out of control, or whirl around me and I stand around acting helpless. I prayed and took action. A good male friend had made a suggestion on how to deal with it, but he says I took it five steps further, and the thing is, I wasn’t angry making that decision. I’m not stressed in any way.

In fact, I took a stress test on face book in one of their apps, and according to that (and who knows how accurate this foolishness is) my stress level is at 3%.

The other thing happening is that I should have a car by the end of this week. My friend Deb & “the cousin” Jemma made this wonderful arrangement for me.

In my new business, they offered us a chance to upgrade our level in the company. I had considered a small upgrade to the gold level, because I’m currently at the silver level, but I didn’t see it as really affordable.

Miss Jemma suggested to both Deb and I that I purchase Deb’s parent’s former car, which was sitting in her driveway, and which she was paying $65/mthly to keep insured. We checked the value of the car, and it prices between 3-5k in Kelly blue book.

Long story short, the offer was an upgrade to platinum in the company for the price I would pay for the car, which was 1k, which is actually the price of the platinum upgrade.

I was thrilled, and accepted, but about 3-4 days later, there was a hick-up in the arrangement. My paying the 1k for the upgrade would have automatically caused Deb an upgrade due to her meeting the requirements for such, my upgrade being the final one. So we would have had two upgrades with one car payment, and I would have also had the car free and clear. Amazing, right? But, Deb missed her deadline due to an unexpected email of extension from the company, which confused the entire plan quite by accident, because of other things forgotten in consideration of this news, like her 56 day deadline for her upgrade.

So Miss Jemma told me that she might not be able to get me the upgrade as well as a result. I was fine with it, because I had already gotten a break on the insurance after an error in which I was put in a high risk level by accident, and this was corrected already.

To get the car for the 1k alone was still a great deal, so I didn’t mind. Now, word is, Deb went to bat on the phone all day, and may have worked out a gold upgrade for me as well, which is what I was originally considering anyways. So it all works out. It’s like Jerry Seinfeld with the “even Steven” thing, except, I always seem to come out much better than just even.

Again, none of us fretted too much over the situation. We just prayed and left it in God’s hands to work out. I’m satisfied with whatever He chooses. That’s what everyone needs to learn to be…satisfied.