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Making men MEN again. The David Alliance will help you slay your giants.
Episodes
5 hours ago
2 days ago
2 days ago
7 min
The David Alliance
Garth Heckman
EVERYONE WANTS TO MAKE THEIR DAD PROUD.
How? By being creative in how we perform.
John 1:3 and Colossians 1:16 both identify Christ as the one through whom all things were created. This connects creative imagination directly to the person of Jesus, not just an abstract "God"
Quit thinking “I’m not creative”. As a follower of Jesus you have THEEEE creator living inside you. Everything that God has created… that force is in YOU.
Every kid who's ever built a blanket fort, drawn a picture of a purple dinosaur riding a skateboard, or invented a game with rules that make sense to absolutely no one but them — is doing something profoundly theological. They're being and acting and operating in exactly who they were made to be.
Point 3: God's Creativity Is Extravagant, Not Efficient
GOD’S MIRACLES WERE ALWAYS ABUNDANT.
Fish and Bread - more
Peter catches the fish in the net - more
Creative Miracles are always MORE!
Psalm 104 is an extended poem celebrating creation, and verse 24 is the summary line: "How many are your works, LORD! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.”
Here's what's easy to miss: God didn't need this much variety. He could have made one kind of tree, one kind of bird, one kind of fish, and called it "sufficient."
THATS WHY….
there are over 350,000 known species of beetles alone — and that's before you get to everything else crawling, swimming, and flying on this planet. Every snowflake that's ever fallen has had a unique crystalline structure. No two fingerprints on earth are identical. God didn't design creation efficiently. He designed it abundantly.
Here’s a brain drop… he wants your creativity to produce abundance!
GOD DOES NOT ASK US TO CREATE PERFECTLY OR EFFICIENTLY - JUST CREATE AND WATCH HIM MAKE IT ABUNDANT WHEN IT IS TO SHOW OFF HIM!
3 days ago
3 days ago
7 min
The David Alliance
Garth Heckman
CREATE
We see the success, but I think we all enjoy the “early create” stage. Any success starts with creation.
BE LIKE DAD
Humanity is made in God's image, including creative capacity Genesis 1:27 — being made in God's image includes reflecting His nature, and part of that nature is creativity itself.
humans build, invent, compose, and imagine because we're stamped with the image of a Creator God.
It runs through out the bible.
Gen. 1 Creation / Curse
John 1 Jesus is the creator / came to break the curse
The REZ is framed as a “Re-creation” not just resuscitation
2 Cor. 5:17 anyone in him is a new creation
The curse and redemption are bookend in OT-NT
Rev. 21,22 speak of a New Heaven and New Earth
CREATION IS STAMPED ALL OVER THE BIBLE!
…And we are called to emulate that trait of our Father!
HOW DID DAD CREATE
- God creates through His word, not raw material (ex nihilo creation) Genesis 1 repeatedly uses "and God said" — He speaks reality into existence
Proverbs 8:30 describes wisdom as being beside God "like a craftsman" (or "constantly" depending on translation), rejoicing in His presence and rejoicing in the inhabited world. Some translations render this as wisdom being God's "delight" day by day. This has strong creative/imaginative overtones — a Creator who delights in the process of creating, not just the outcome.
Psalm 104: 24 "How many are your works, LORD! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures." The sheer variety of creation (over 350,000 known species of beetles alone, if you want a modern illustration)
God does not expect perfection - just creation!
THERE IS NO 1 PERFECT BEETLE
True creativity does not focus on one perfect solution… one perfect beetle. But rather numerous solutions
**How to get great ideas by Jack Foster:
They asked students to come up with on great idea for a Swiss knife, they had all week to do it. They stumbled, its hard, its frustrating… they wrecked seeking perfection.
So they changed their strategy. You have to come up with at least 10 and you only have your lunch break to do it.
THEY ENJOYED IT
MORE CREATIVE
MANY CAME UP WITH WAY MORE THAN 10 IDEAS
HOW DO WE CREATE - AS SEEN IN SCRIPTURE
We create what’s in us…
**Remember when people hate you - they don’t hate you, that just what’s in them.
When people gossip
When people attack your character
When people steal
When people posture above you
When people feel insecure around you
When people judge you
ITS NOT YOU - THAT IS WHATS IN THEM
When we create - we create what is in us.
So make sure you are IN CHRIST!
The most successful people are not the smartest - they are the most creative… proven!
YOU DON’T NEED ANYTHING OTHER THAN THE HOLY SPIRIT.
WHY DO WE CREATE
Its what we were made for…
In any activity that we find ourselves aligned/focused/flow
**it is because we are operating something we were created for.
AND WHEN WE CREATE - IT IS A DOUBLE BONUS - because we are creating - which is what we were created for.
NOW WATCH THIS
Exodus 31:1-5 — God tells Moses He has called a man named Bezalel by name, and then says this: "I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge, and with all kinds of skills — to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of crafts.”
Stop and let that sink in. The first time scripture explicitly says someone was "filled with the Spirit of God," it's not a prophet, a king, It's not a warrior. It's a craftsman. An artist. A designer. God fills a man with His Spirit specifically to carve, engrave, and build beautiful things for the tabernacle.
NOW - here is the trifecta: We were created to create to bring attention to the creator!
**Lou Little, a football coach at Georgetown and later Columbia University tells the story of a young player. Not very gifted, but always tried hard. He sat on the bench most every game, but the coach was fond of him. This young mans father came to every game… one day the coach gets a telegram that this young mans father had passed away in the night. He tells the young man to take that game off - The boy refuses. Their team in the middle of the 3rd quarter is getting killed, the boy kept asking to go in, at this point the coach says… what can it hurt. The young man goes in and plays like he is an NFL superstar. After the game the coach asked him the difference. The young man said even though my dad came to every game he was blind - so today was the first day my dad could actually see me play.
What if we looked at creativity this way: God is watching us create so that we can bring him attention.
In business
In art
In technology
In agriculture
In social sciences
In finance
In music
In sport
What if we looked at it as if we are creating attention to the father.
EVERYONE WANTS TO MAKE THEIR DAD PROUD.
How? By being creative in how we perform.
4 days ago
4 days ago
7 min
The David Alliance
Garth Heckman
CREATE
We see the success, but I think we all enjoy the “early create” stage. Any success starts with creation.
BE LIKE DAD
Humanity is made in God's image, including creative capacity Genesis 1:27 — being made in God's image includes reflecting His nature, and part of that nature is creativity itself.
humans build, invent, compose, and imagine because we're stamped with the image of a Creator God.
It runs through out the bible.
Gen. 1 Creation / Curse
John 1 Jesus is the creator / came to break the curse
The REZ is framed as a “Re-creation” not just resuscitation
2 Cor. 5:17 anyone in him is a new creation
The curse and redemption are bookend in OT-NT
Rev. 21,22 speak of a New Heaven and New Earth
CREATION IS STAMPED ALL OVER THE BIBLE!
…And we are called to emulate that trait of our Father!
HOW DID DAD CREATE
- God creates through His word, not raw material (ex nihilo creation) Genesis 1 repeatedly uses "and God said" — He speaks reality into existence
Proverbs 8:30 describes wisdom as being beside God "like a craftsman" (or "constantly" depending on translation), rejoicing in His presence and rejoicing in the inhabited world. Some translations render this as wisdom being God's "delight" day by day. This has strong creative/imaginative overtones — a Creator who delights in the process of creating, not just the outcome.
Psalm 104: 24 "How many are your works, LORD! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures." The sheer variety of creation (over 350,000 known species of beetles alone, if you want a modern illustration)
God does not expect perfection - just creation!
THERE IS NO 1 PERFECT BEETLE
True creativity does not focus on one perfect solution… one perfect beetle. But rather numerous solutions
**How to get great ideas by Jack Foster:
They asked students to come up with on great idea for a Swiss knife, they had all week to do it. They stumbled, its hard, its frustrating… they wrecked seeking perfection.
So they changed their strategy. You have to come up with at least 10 and you only have your lunch break to do it.
THEY ENJOYED IT
MORE CREATIVE
MANY CAME UP WITH WAY MORE THAN 10 IDEAS
HOW DO WE CREATE - AS SEEN IN SCRIPTURE
We create what’s in us…
**Remember when people hate you - they don’t hate you, that just what’s in them.
When people gossip
When people attack your character
When people steal
When people posture above you
When people feel insecure around you
When people judge you
ITS NOT YOU - THAT IS WHATS IN THEM
When we create - we create what is in us.
So make sure you are IN CHRIST!
The most successful people are not the smartest - they are the most creative… proven!
YOU DON’T NEED ANYTHING OTHER THAN THE HOLY SPIRIT.
WHY DO WE CREATE
Its what we were made for…
In any activity that we find ourselves aligned/focused/flow
**it is because we are operating something we were created for.
AND WHEN WE CREATE - IT IS A DOUBLE BONUS - because we are creating - which is what we were created for.
5 days ago
5 days ago
7 min
The David Alliance
Garth Heckman
CREATE
We see the success, but I think we all enjoy the “early create” stage. Any success starts with creation.
BE LIKE DAD
Humanity is made in God's image, including creative capacity Genesis 1:27 — being made in God's image includes reflecting His nature, and part of that nature is creativity itself.
humans build, invent, compose, and imagine because we're stamped with the image of a Creator God.
It runs through out the bible.
Gen. 1 Creation / Curse
John 1 Jesus is the creator / came to break the curse
The REZ is framed as a “Re-creation” not just resuscitation
2 Cor. 5:17 anyone in him is a new creation
The curse and redemption are bookend in OT-NT
Rev. 21,22 speak of a New Heaven and New Earth
CREATION IS STAMPED ALL OVER THE BIBLE!
…And we are called to emulate that trait of our Father!
HOW DID DAD CREATE
- God creates through His word, not raw material (ex nihilo creation) Genesis 1 repeatedly uses "and God said" — He speaks reality into existence
Proverbs 8:30 describes wisdom as being beside God "like a craftsman" (or "constantly" depending on translation), rejoicing in His presence and rejoicing in the inhabited world. Some translations render this as wisdom being God's "delight" day by day. This has strong creative/imaginative overtones — a Creator who delights in the process of creating, not just the outcome.
Psalm 104: 24 "How many are your works, LORD! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures." The sheer variety of creation (over 350,000 known species of beetles alone, if you want a modern illustration)
God does not expect perfection - just creation!
THERE IS NO 1 PERFECT BEETLE
Aug 27, 2026
Aug 27, 2026
7 min
The David Alliance
Garth Heckman
1 Samuel 18:10-11 (Uncontrolled Rage): Saul’s jealousy quickly escalated into murderous anger. While David was playing the lyre to soothe him, Saul was overcome by an evil spirit and his own rage, throwing his spear at David twice in an attempt to pin him to the wall.
Emotional volatility becomes a discipleship excuse instead of a growth area.
"I just felt led" or
"I couldn't help how I reacted"
“We are in Love”.
“She started it”.
“It was Tuesday”
The flesh wether in a high or a low is meant to be cultivated by the fruits of the Spirit!
I love what Socrates said “any virtue in and of itself is a danger, it must be balanced with another virtue.
i.e. if you are generous but do not balance that with wisdom, you will give all your money away and your family will starve. This is what the fruits of the Spirit do for us when in the midst of great emotion.
(Galatians 5:22-23) — Living by emotion trains a man to treat every strong feeling as a legitimate directive rather than something to bring under Christ's authority (2 Corinthians 10:5).
1 Samuel 22:7-8 (Paranoia and Self-Pity): Gripped by paranoia, Saul accused his own servants of conspiring against him. His emotional outburst was steeped in self-pity as he complained, "Is there no one of you who is sorry for me?"—a delusion that directly led to the slaughter of the priests of Nob.
It destabilizes relationships and leadership. A man who leads his home, church, or business based on how he feels that day becomes unpredictable — and unpredictability erodes trust. Proverbs repeatedly contrasts the "fool" who is ruled by impulse with the wise man who exercises restraint (Proverbs 14:29, 29:11).
What if someone outshines you?
**Here is an example… what if you get asked to leave your church and then it explodes with growth and miracles?
The flesh - what?
The Spirit - Great!
You will respond according to which one you have trained the most under the leading of the Holy Spirit!
Emotions are NOT bad or that Christians should suppress them.
Jesus wept, felt righteous anger, questioned authority, expressed anguish.
****The danger isn't having emotions — it's letting emotion replace truth as the authority governing belief and action. The healthy target is emotions submitted to and informed by truth, not emotions eliminated or truth stripped of feeling.
Saul’s ultimate downfall was not a lack of talent or opportunity; it was a fundamental flaw in his internal compass. Saul lived a life governed by feelings rather than character. Character does what is right regardless of how it feels, whereas emotion demands immediate gratification and acts on impulse. When pressure mounted, Saul allowed fear, impatience, jealousy, and pride to dictate his choices.
To build a life of character rather than emotion:
- Surrender your impulses to God’s Word: Do what God says even when your feelings resist.
- Value obedience over appearance: Do not let the fear of what others think pull you into partial obedience.
- Anchor your heart in trial: When panic, jealousy, or insecurity arise, name the emotion, but let God’s truth guide your next step.
A well-known psychological metaphor (popularized by Dr. Steven Hayes in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) describes appeasing internal pain or anxiety: "If you feed a pet tiger meat to keep it quiet, it only grows larger and
Aug 26, 2026
Aug 26, 2026
7 min
The David Alliance
Garth Heckman
Urge
INTRO: Its a strange memory at best: A young man at church - my sister Renee’s friend. HS stud athlete, great looking, always jumping in and out of bed with whomever he could. Now in his early 30’s he came to church and Renee said one night after church… he better hurry up and figure out life - his hair is getting thinner and his glasses are getting thicker.
Funny, sad, but telling of his life falling apart. He lived his life by his emotions… his “URGES” if you will.
the phrase "a piece of work" originated as a high compliment before evolving over centuries into a sarcastic insult.
The Literary Origin
Its earliest famous usage comes from William Shakespeare’s Hamlet (around 1601). In Act II, Scene 2, Prince Hamlet marvels at the creation of humanity:
"What a piece of work is a man! How noble in reason, how infinite in faculty..."
He’s a piece of work
ISRAELS FIRST KING!
King Saul had it all but lost his call as a know it all only to fall.
Saul’s ultimate downfall was not a lack of talent or opportunity; it was a fundamental flaw in his internal compass. Saul lived a life governed by feelings rather than character.
Have you ever met someone who lives by their emotions/feelings/the wind?
I used to say to my boys… “dad is in a bad mood today, so don’t push it”. WHAT I WAS REALLY SAYING WAS DAD IS IN THE FLESH… LIVING BY HIS URGES!
Romans 8:5 Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. 6 So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. 7 For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. 8 That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God.
9 But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.)
King Saul highlights critical decisions based on fear, jealousy, and impulsivity rather than steadfast character and obedience.
1 Samuel 13:8-12 (Impatience and Panic): When the prophet Samuel delayed his arrival and the Israelite army began to scatter out of fear, Saul panicked. Instead of trusting God and waiting, his anxiety drove him to unlawfully offer the burnt offering himself.
Emotions make God's Word feel optional rather than authoritative. When feelings become the filter for truth, scripture gets reduced to "does this resonate with me" instead of "is this what God said." Jeremiah 17:9 warns that the heart is deceitful above all things — not evil in a cartoonish sense, but genuinely unreliable as a final authority. A Christian who only obeys when it feels right isn't actually submitted to Christ's lordship; they're submitted to their own emotional state, with God's Word as an occasional consultant rather than the authority.
Abortion, adultery, fornication, bitterness, gossip… emotions muddy up the water.
Anterior Midcingulate Cortex it behaves like a muscle, shrinking when underused and expanding physically when you engage in effortful, resistance-heavy activities.
Anatomy of the aMCC
- The Friction Requirement: The aMCC only grows when you face friction or internal resistance. Pushing through a workout you love doesn't trigger the same growth as forcing yourself to do a workout—or a task—that you genuinely do not want to do
The Battle of Sarx (The Flesh): Paul describes the "flesh" not merely as the physical body, but as the path of least resistance—primal drives, comfort-seeking, and self-preservation.
The body only wants to eat, sleep be tickled and have sex!
In Galatians 5:17, he notes: "For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other." The subjective internal friction you feel when forcing yourself to do a hard task is the exact experiential battleground Paul describes.
Mortification (Nekroo): In Colossians 3:5 and Romans 8:13, the New Testament commands believers to "put to death" or "mortify" lower impulses. This is not a passive event; it is an active, effortful override of natural inclination—the exact stimulus that drives aMCC hypertrophy.
How do you put to death the desires of the flesh?
Lets put this misconception to bed for good!
You do the opposite of the flesh according to scripture.
1 Samuel 14:24, 43-44 (Rashness and Impulsivity): Driven by the heat of battle, Saul made a foolish, impulsive oath binding his army to fast until evening. This emotional decision left his men exhausted and nearly resulted in the execution of his own son, Jonathan, who had unknowingly eaten honey.
Emotional highs get mistaken for spiritual maturity. Feeling moved during worship, feeling peace after a decision, feeling conviction in the moment — these can be real and God-given, but they can also be manufactured by music, social pressure, or just brain chemistry. The danger is building a faith that needs a constant emotional high to feel "real," which sets people up to crash hard when the feelings fade — and many walk away from faith entirely when the emotional experience stops delivering, mistaking the absence of feeling for the absence of God.
**When emotions supersede logic or common sense, they will typically supersede Gods best as well.
MANY/MOST times God will ask you to do something that goes against your emotions!
1 Samuel 15:24 (Fear of Man over Integrity): After failing to completely destroy the Amalekites as God commanded, Saul shifted the blame. He finally confessed to Samuel that his lack of character stemmed from insecurity, stating: "I was afraid of the men and so I gave in to them.”
Remember… He’s the King! And he is afraid of the men?
It makes obedience conditional instead of covenantal.
Abraham didn't feel like sacrificing Isaac.
Jesus, didn't feel like going to the cross —
Obeying when you feel like it is not obedience its convenience!
men: leading a family, staying faithful in a hard marriage, disciplining kids, showing up to serve when you're exhausted — none of that runs on feelings. It runs on covenant commitment that outlasts emotion.
*If I win the lottery I will definitely tithe and even give more than 10%.
NOPE! If you can’t give $10 out of $100 you won’t give 1 Million out of 100 Million.
1 Samuel 18:10-11 (Uncontrolled Rage): Saul’s jealousy quickly escalated into murderous anger. While David was playing the lyre to soothe him, Saul was overcome by an evil spirit and his own rage, throwing his spear at David twice in an attempt to pin him to the wall.
Emotional volatility becomes a discipleship excuse instead of a growth area.
"I just felt led" or
"I couldn't help how I reacted"
“We are in Love”.
“She started it”.
“It was Tuesday”
The flesh wether in a high or a low is meant to be cultivated by the fruits of the Spirit!
I love what Socrates said “any virtue in and of itself is a danger, it must be balanced with another virtue.
i.e. if you are generous but do not balance that with wisdom, you will give all your money away and your family will starve. This is what the fruits of the Spirit do for us when in the midst of great emotion.
Aug 25, 2026
Aug 25, 2026
7 min
The David Alliance
Garth Heckman
INTRO: Its a strange memory at best: A young man at church - my sister Renee’s friend. HS stud athlete, great looking, always jumping in and out of bed with whomever he could. Now in his early 30’s he came to church and Renee said one night after church… he better hurry up and figure out life - his hair is getting thinner and his glasses are getting thicker.
Funny, sad, but telling of his life falling apart. He lived his life by his emotions… his “URGES” if you will.
the phrase "a piece of work" originated as a high compliment before evolving over centuries into a sarcastic insult.
The Literary Origin
Its earliest famous usage comes from William Shakespeare’s Hamlet (around 1601). In Act II, Scene 2, Prince Hamlet marvels at the creation of humanity:
"What a piece of work is a man! How noble in reason, how infinite in faculty..."
He’s a piece of work
ISRAELS FIRST KING!
King Saul had it all but lost his call as a know it all only to fall.
Saul’s ultimate downfall was not a lack of talent or opportunity; it was a fundamental flaw in his internal compass. Saul lived a life governed by feelings rather than character.
Have you ever met someone who lives by their emotions/feelings/the wind?
I used to say to my boys… “dad is in a bad mood today, so don’t push it”. WHAT I WAS REALLY SAYING WAS DAD IS IN THE FLESH… LIVING BY HIS URGES!
Romans 8:5 Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. 6 So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. 7 For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. 8 That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God.
9 But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.)
King Saul highlights critical decisions based on fear, jealousy, and impulsivity rather than steadfast character and obedience.
1 Samuel 13:8-12 (Impatience and Panic): When the prophet Samuel delayed his arrival and the Israelite army began to scatter out of fear, Saul panicked. Instead of trusting God and waiting, his anxiety drove him to unlawfully offer the burnt offering himself.
Emotions make God's Word feel optional rather than authoritative. When feelings become the filter for truth, scripture gets reduced to "does this resonate with me" instead of "is this what God said." Jeremiah 17:9 warns that the heart is deceitful above all things — not evil in a cartoonish sense, but genuinely unreliable as a final authority. A Christian who only obeys when it feels right isn't actually submitted to Christ's lordship; they're submitted to their own emotional state, with God's Word as an occasional consultant rather than the authority.
Abortion, adultery, fornication, bitterness, gossip… emotions muddy up the water.
Anterior Midcingulate Cortex it behaves like a muscle, shrinking when underused and expanding physically when you engage in effortful, resistance-heavy activities.
Anatomy of the aMCC
- The Friction Requirement: The aMCC only grows when you face friction or internal resistance. Pushing through a workout you love doesn't trigger the same growth as forcing yourself to do a workout—or a task—that you genuinely do not want to do
The Battle of Sarx (The Flesh): Paul describes the "flesh" not merely as the physical body, but as the path of least resistance—primal drives, comfort-seeking, and self-preservation.
The body only wants to eat, sleep be tickled and have sex!
In Galatians 5:17, he notes: "For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other." The subjective internal friction you feel when forcing yourself to do a hard task is the exact experiential battleground Paul describes.
Mortification (Nekroo): In Colossians 3:5 and Romans 8:13, the New Testament commands believers to "put to death" or "mortify" lower impulses. This is not a passive event; it is an active, effortful override of natural inclination—the exact stimulus that drives aMCC hypertrophy.
How do you put to death the desires of the flesh?
Lets put this misconception to bed for good!
You do the opposite of the flesh according to scripture.
1 Samuel 14:24, 43-44 (Rashness and Impulsivity): Driven by the heat of battle, Saul made a foolish, impulsive oath binding his army to fast until evening. This emotional decision left his men exhausted and nearly resulted in the execution of his own son, Jonathan, who had unknowingly eaten honey.
Emotional highs get mistaken for spiritual maturity. Feeling moved during worship, feeling peace after a decision, feeling conviction in the moment — these can be real and God-given, but they can also be manufactured by music, social pressure, or just brain chemistry. The danger is building a faith that needs a constant emotional high to feel "real," which sets people up to crash hard when the feelings fade — and many walk away from faith entirely when the emotional experience stops delivering, mistaking the absence of feeling for the absence of God.
**When emotions supersede logic or common sense, they will typically supersede Gods best as well.
MANY/MOST times God will ask you to do something that goes against your emotions!
Aug 24, 2026
Aug 24, 2026
7 min
The David Alliance
Garth Heckman
King Saul highlights critical decisions based on fear, jealousy, and impulsivity rather than steadfast character and obedience.
1 Samuel 13:8-12 (Impatience and Panic): When the prophet Samuel delayed his arrival and the Israelite army began to scatter out of fear, Saul panicked. Instead of trusting God and waiting, his anxiety drove him to unlawfully offer the burnt offering himself.
Emotions make God's Word feel optional rather than authoritative. When feelings become the filter for truth, scripture gets reduced to "does this resonate with me" instead of "is this what God said." Jeremiah 17:9 warns that the heart is deceitful above all things — not evil in a cartoonish sense, but genuinely unreliable as a final authority. A Christian who only obeys when it feels right isn't actually submitted to Christ's lordship; they're submitted to their own emotional state, with God's Word as an occasional consultant rather than the authority.
Abortion, adultery, fornication, bitterness, gossip… emotions muddy up the water.
Anterior Midcingulate Cortex it behaves like a muscle, shrinking when underused and expanding physically when you engage in effortful, resistance-heavy activities.
Anatomy of the aMCC
- The Friction Requirement: The aMCC only grows when you face friction or internal resistance. Pushing through a workout you love doesn't trigger the same growth as forcing yourself to do a workout—or a task—that you genuinely do not want to do
The Battle of Sarx (The Flesh): Paul describes the "flesh" not merely as the physical body, but as the path of least resistance—primal drives, comfort-seeking, and self-preservation.
The body only wants to eat, sleep be tickled and have sex!
In Galatians 5:17, he notes: "For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other." The subjective internal friction you feel when forcing yourself to do a hard task is the exact experiential battleground Paul describes.
Mortification (Nekroo): In Colossians 3:5 and Romans 8:13, the New Testament commands believers to "put to death" or "mortify" lower impulses. This is not a passive event; it is an active, effortful override of natural inclination—the exact stimulus that drives aMCC hypertrophy.
How do you put to death the desires of the flesh?
Lets put this misconception to bed for good!
You do the opposite of the flesh according to scripture.
Aug 23, 2026
Aug 23, 2026
7 min
The David Alliance
Garth Heckman
INTRO: Its a strange memory at best: A young man at church - my sister Renee’s friend. HS stud athlete, great looking, always jumping in and out of bed with whomever he could. Now in his early 30’s he came to church and Renee said one night after church… he better hurry up and figure out life - his hair is getting thinner and his glasses are getting thicker.
Funny, sad, but telling of his life falling apart. He lived his life by his emotions… his “URGES” if you will.
the phrase "a piece of work" originated as a high compliment before evolving over centuries into a sarcastic insult.
The Literary Origin
Its earliest famous usage comes from William Shakespeare’s Hamlet (around 1601). In Act II, Scene 2, Prince Hamlet marvels at the creation of humanity:
"What a piece of work is a man! How noble in reason, how infinite in faculty..."
He’s a piece of work
ISRAELS FIRST KING!
King Saul had it all but lost his call as a know it all only to fall.
Saul’s ultimate downfall was not a lack of talent or opportunity; it was a fundamental flaw in his internal compass. Saul lived a life governed by feelings rather than character.
Have you ever met someone who lives by their emotions/feelings/the wind?
I used to say to my boys… “dad is in a bad mood today, so don’t push it”. WHAT I WAS REALLY SAYING WAS DAD IS IN THE FLESH… LIVING BY HIS URGES!
Romans 8:5 Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. 6 So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. 7 For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. 8 That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God.
9 But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.)
King Saul highlights critical decisions based on fear, jealousy, and impulsivity rather than steadfast character and obedience.
1 Samuel 13:8-12 (Impatience and Panic): When the prophet Samuel delayed his arrival and the Israelite army began to scatter out of fear, Saul panicked. Instead of trusting God and waiting, his anxiety drove him to unlawfully offer the burnt offering himself.
Emotions make God's Word feel optional rather than authoritative. When feelings become the filter for truth, scripture gets reduced to "does this resonate with me" instead of "is this what God said." Jeremiah 17:9 warns that the heart is deceitful above all things — not evil in a cartoonish sense, but genuinely unreliable as a final authority. A Christian who only obeys when it feels right isn't actually submitted to Christ's lordship; they're submitted to their own emotional state, with God's Word as an occasional consultant rather than the authority.
Abortion, adultery, fornication, bitterness, gossip… emotions muddy up the water.