"Don't Risk the Asterisk!!"

This is the book we studied, again, last night at our Men's Bible Study.  This FIFTH lesson was about DAVID, "The man after God's own heart" as God describes him in His Word. (The study was led by our beloved pastor.)

David WAS a godly man for most of his life, but his one big blemish was where he committed adultery and then MURDER in order to marry the woman he committed adultery with.  The author of the book correctly says that David "will always have an asterisk after his name indicating the blot on his character" because of this ugly episode.

David eventually REPENTED of his sin and was FORGIVEN by God, though he had to endure several temporal consequences ON TOP OF that "asterisk."

The "asterisk" can be found in 1 Kings 15:5, where God describes David THIS way....

(Uriah the Hittite was the man David had killed so that he could marry his wife, the woman he committed adultery with.)

ALL men are eventually faced with sexual temptation.  In DAVID'S case, it was when he saw BATHSHEBA taking a BATH but it usually isn't as blatant as that.  The question is, will we disobey God and YIELD to that temptation, or RESIST it with His Help??

Committing adultery and murder isn't the ONLY way we can blemish our good names. The Houston Astros of Major League Baseball won the World Series in 2017. But recently, it has come out that they very possibly were CHEATING, and some are suggesting their title be vacated.  Whether THAT happens or not, there will ALWAYS be a blemish on their accomplishment.  Someone put together the artwork above calling them the Houston ASTERISKS instead of the Houston ASTROS.  

Whether it's committing adultery, murder or CHEATING, or WHATEVER sin we are tempted to, we must RESIST the temptation.  Don't risk the asterisk!!