Today's Passage: I Samuel 13
Fear can make you do crazy things. It is said that President and Mrs. Benjamin Harrison were so afraid of the newfangled electricity that was installed in the White House that they refused to touch the switches. If none of the servants were around at bedtime, they would sleep with the lights on rather than turn them off themselves!
In Saul's case, fear causes him to lose trust in God. Surrounded by Philistines, Saul was told to wait for Samuel. As the days passed the men "quaked with fear", hiding in caves and running away. The more afraid the men got, the more afraid Saul got as well. After waiting seven days for Samuel, he finally just has to do something, so he makes the offering to God. Just as the offering is burning, up walks Samuel. Fear led to doubt, doubt led to a poor decision, and a poor decision led to the kingdom being taken away from Saul's family forever.
One of the hardest things to do is trust that God is still moving when we're afraid and have yet to see His hand working in our life. We panic and act without God's counsel, which very rarely works in our favor.
We know God is with us...can we trust that He is working even when fear begins to overtake us? I was reading a similar story this morning in 2 Kings. The prophet Elisha was surrounded by an army of men sent to kill him. When fear began to grip him, he prayed that he would be able to see what God was doing. In that moment, he saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire, completely surrounding the enemy! God was there, just waiting for the right moment, and Elisha knew to wait on the Lord.
When fear comes, will we panic or trust in God? I pray God will open our eyes and let us see where He is already working on our behalf.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Today's Passage: 1 Samuel 11-12
Sometimes you just have be really happy that God does not treat people like we treat each other. We always desire to love people for who they are, but honestly we just fall short sometimes. In this section of 1 Samuel, the Israelites find themselves in a world a sin and guilt. As Samuel is leaving his position due to age, he does not chastise the people, but he encourages them. He challenges the Israelites to follow God, and he explains that God does not forsake His people.
It would make sense that due to the Israelites sin of turning away from God that God would then turn His back on them. Fortunately for mankind, this is not how God operates. 12:22 says that God will not cast away His people and He gets great pleasure from His people. Even though the Israelites were messed up, God still wanted them.
We all mess up and do wrong in our lives. However, when that happens we should not turn away from God, but rather turn towards Him. At one of the worst moments for the Israelites, the goal for them was to serve God with all of their heart (12:20). The overwelming answer for our problems is always turning towards God. This was the encouragement from Samuel to his people and is still absolutely relevant today.
Sometimes you just have be really happy that God does not treat people like we treat each other. We always desire to love people for who they are, but honestly we just fall short sometimes. In this section of 1 Samuel, the Israelites find themselves in a world a sin and guilt. As Samuel is leaving his position due to age, he does not chastise the people, but he encourages them. He challenges the Israelites to follow God, and he explains that God does not forsake His people.
It would make sense that due to the Israelites sin of turning away from God that God would then turn His back on them. Fortunately for mankind, this is not how God operates. 12:22 says that God will not cast away His people and He gets great pleasure from His people. Even though the Israelites were messed up, God still wanted them.
We all mess up and do wrong in our lives. However, when that happens we should not turn away from God, but rather turn towards Him. At one of the worst moments for the Israelites, the goal for them was to serve God with all of their heart (12:20). The overwelming answer for our problems is always turning towards God. This was the encouragement from Samuel to his people and is still absolutely relevant today.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Today's Passage: I Samuel 9-10
Knowing the things that Saul does later on in his reign and knowing how he turns from God, it is sometimes easy to forget that Saul was God's anointed king for Israel. We can learn from Saul how important it is to walk with God and trust Him for every decision. The moment our intentions become selfish and our motivation becomes anything but God's glory, we are heading for trouble!
On a more positive note, as I read through this passage I was amazed at how God orchestrated the events which led to Saul approaching Samuel. God had told Samuel that He would reveal the coming king to him, but how amazing (and kind of funny) is it that God used some lost donkeys to make it happen? This just goes to show that some of the seemingly pointless and often frustrating things that happen in our everyday lives (like having to drop everything to track down some lost donkeys) may be God's way of helping us with something we don't even know about. He may be changing our paths for the better or even using us to help someone else...you never know!
Knowing the things that Saul does later on in his reign and knowing how he turns from God, it is sometimes easy to forget that Saul was God's anointed king for Israel. We can learn from Saul how important it is to walk with God and trust Him for every decision. The moment our intentions become selfish and our motivation becomes anything but God's glory, we are heading for trouble!
On a more positive note, as I read through this passage I was amazed at how God orchestrated the events which led to Saul approaching Samuel. God had told Samuel that He would reveal the coming king to him, but how amazing (and kind of funny) is it that God used some lost donkeys to make it happen? This just goes to show that some of the seemingly pointless and often frustrating things that happen in our everyday lives (like having to drop everything to track down some lost donkeys) may be God's way of helping us with something we don't even know about. He may be changing our paths for the better or even using us to help someone else...you never know!
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Today's Passage: 1 Samuel 7-8
"The grass is always greener on the other side," is a common expression. The obvious point of the phrase is the lack of satisfaction people tend to have with their own possessions. Israel suffers from this perspective often throughout the Biblical narrative. At this point in 1 Samuel, Israel desires a king deeply. They wanted someone to rule over them, someone who looked like the leaders of other nations. They could not realize that they had a king, THE KING.
As we go about our daily routine, we have the opportunity to be swayed by the things of this world and the lifestyle of those who do not love our God. While the materialistic world looks pleasurable, we must avoid the call of this lifestyle. We have the greatest joy in the whole world, THE JOY. No i phone, blackberry, macbook, facebook, or myspace page can come close to joy and love we can experience through the love of Jesus Christ. While the grass looks greener, it is definitely not. Let us take note from the Israelites and their severe mistake. Paul highlights how we are called to live in Romans 12:2a "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind."
"The grass is always greener on the other side," is a common expression. The obvious point of the phrase is the lack of satisfaction people tend to have with their own possessions. Israel suffers from this perspective often throughout the Biblical narrative. At this point in 1 Samuel, Israel desires a king deeply. They wanted someone to rule over them, someone who looked like the leaders of other nations. They could not realize that they had a king, THE KING.
As we go about our daily routine, we have the opportunity to be swayed by the things of this world and the lifestyle of those who do not love our God. While the materialistic world looks pleasurable, we must avoid the call of this lifestyle. We have the greatest joy in the whole world, THE JOY. No i phone, blackberry, macbook, facebook, or myspace page can come close to joy and love we can experience through the love of Jesus Christ. While the grass looks greener, it is definitely not. Let us take note from the Israelites and their severe mistake. Paul highlights how we are called to live in Romans 12:2a "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind."
Monday, August 10, 2009
Monday, August 10, 2009
Today's Passage: Luke 9
There are a lot of great passages in chapter 9 of Luke, but the one I was drawn to this week was Peter's confession of Christ, verses 18-27.
In verses 18-20 Jesus seems to be just having a normal conversation with the disciples about who everyone thinks He is. To me it sounds like Jesus is trying to point out the difference between hearing about Jesus and hearing from Jesus, but then in verse 21 Jesus says something strange. "Don't tell anyone who I really am..." how weird? Especially since everything that they had been doing was drawing attention to the fact that Jesus was the Christ. Then in verse 22, Jesus goes on to reveal to the disciples how His journey must end in His death and resurrection.
Up until this point I can only imagine what the disciples were thinking. I can see them with their mouths wide open shocked at what Jesus is telling them. Then instead of Jesus easing up on the shock and awe routine, He lays out for them one of the clearest descriptions of what God expects from His believers. These verses, 23-27, provide us with a clear challenge and warning of what will happen if we do not rise to meet it.
The most important part of this challenge from God, in my opinion, is found at the very beginning in verse 23. "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." The key word there is daily, we have to choose daily to be a sold out follower of Christ. We can't coast along hoping that we have somehow done enough to get by. No, when Jesus uses the words "loses his life for me" He doesn't just mean death. He means losing every day of the rest of your life to God's plan instead of your own.
Yes it is hard, it wouldn't be a challenge if it wasn't. All we can do is take it one day at a time. Will you heed the challenge?
There are a lot of great passages in chapter 9 of Luke, but the one I was drawn to this week was Peter's confession of Christ, verses 18-27.
In verses 18-20 Jesus seems to be just having a normal conversation with the disciples about who everyone thinks He is. To me it sounds like Jesus is trying to point out the difference between hearing about Jesus and hearing from Jesus, but then in verse 21 Jesus says something strange. "Don't tell anyone who I really am..." how weird? Especially since everything that they had been doing was drawing attention to the fact that Jesus was the Christ. Then in verse 22, Jesus goes on to reveal to the disciples how His journey must end in His death and resurrection.
Up until this point I can only imagine what the disciples were thinking. I can see them with their mouths wide open shocked at what Jesus is telling them. Then instead of Jesus easing up on the shock and awe routine, He lays out for them one of the clearest descriptions of what God expects from His believers. These verses, 23-27, provide us with a clear challenge and warning of what will happen if we do not rise to meet it.
The most important part of this challenge from God, in my opinion, is found at the very beginning in verse 23. "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." The key word there is daily, we have to choose daily to be a sold out follower of Christ. We can't coast along hoping that we have somehow done enough to get by. No, when Jesus uses the words "loses his life for me" He doesn't just mean death. He means losing every day of the rest of your life to God's plan instead of your own.
Yes it is hard, it wouldn't be a challenge if it wasn't. All we can do is take it one day at a time. Will you heed the challenge?
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Today's passage: 1 Samuel 5 & 6
This passage reminds me that God's glory is the ULTIMATE!!
the ULTIMATE priority
the ULTIMATE destiny
The Ark represented God's presence among the Israelites. It identified their purpose; it symbolized God's blessings. So, when taken by the enemies of the Israelites and God, it brought curses on those people.
Chapter 5:1-5 reminds me of Philippians 2: 10-11, "So that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." God will be worshiped by everyone, even those who oppose Him. This truth has stood since before the beginning of time. In this passage we see that even stone idols will bow (with head and hands cut off) before our almighty God.
How do we handle God's glory? Do we recognize it? Do we look for it? Do we guard it? Do we make it our priority? More often than not, we don't recognize it, we take it for granted, we don't make room for it in our schedules, etc. We are missing out on the abundant life Jesus promised us!! Knowing that Philippians 2:10-11 is our destiny, let's practice it in our daily lives-- what an amazing way to live!!
This passage reminds me that God's glory is the ULTIMATE!!
the ULTIMATE priority
the ULTIMATE destiny
The Ark represented God's presence among the Israelites. It identified their purpose; it symbolized God's blessings. So, when taken by the enemies of the Israelites and God, it brought curses on those people.
Chapter 5:1-5 reminds me of Philippians 2: 10-11, "So that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." God will be worshiped by everyone, even those who oppose Him. This truth has stood since before the beginning of time. In this passage we see that even stone idols will bow (with head and hands cut off) before our almighty God.
How do we handle God's glory? Do we recognize it? Do we look for it? Do we guard it? Do we make it our priority? More often than not, we don't recognize it, we take it for granted, we don't make room for it in our schedules, etc. We are missing out on the abundant life Jesus promised us!! Knowing that Philippians 2:10-11 is our destiny, let's practice it in our daily lives-- what an amazing way to live!!
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Saturday, Auguest 8, 2009
Today's Passage: I Samuel 3-4
The two passages of Scripture we have here today are a continuation of the story in chapters 1-2. Brett mentioned that the two sons of Eli (Hophni and Phinehas) had not chosen to do the right thing, and thus had it coming for them. We read today that these two sons were killed in battle just as it was foretold that they would both die on the same die.
Prior to this happening though, we see God working in the life of Samuel. I have to admit, that while reading today's passage, my attention was drawn to Eli. Here is an elderly man who was a follower of God and he is assisting in God's calling of Samuel. Meanwhile, his own two sons are off doing their own thing, even though Eli had entrusted to them the things of God. So, while there are some issues with the sons of Eli, the passage is increasingly highlighting the fact that Samuel grew in favor and stature with God. This is a man who will be used much more at a later time.
Eli was probably a man of great compassion, yet a strong sense of fear for the Lord. We read in 4:13; that Eli is very worried about the ark of the covenant. He is so much so that even when the man from the battle came to report to him that his two sons had died, it was not until he heard the news about the ark of the covenant being stolen that he fell down and died!
I have to step back and look at my priorities sometimes. Am I so engulfed in the day to day and the things of this world? Or am I serious about the lives of those who do not know Christ. This may seem out of nowhere, but have a look again and Eli's priorities! Where are your priorities today? Are you helping others seek the Lord as Eli did with Samuel?
The two passages of Scripture we have here today are a continuation of the story in chapters 1-2. Brett mentioned that the two sons of Eli (Hophni and Phinehas) had not chosen to do the right thing, and thus had it coming for them. We read today that these two sons were killed in battle just as it was foretold that they would both die on the same die.
Prior to this happening though, we see God working in the life of Samuel. I have to admit, that while reading today's passage, my attention was drawn to Eli. Here is an elderly man who was a follower of God and he is assisting in God's calling of Samuel. Meanwhile, his own two sons are off doing their own thing, even though Eli had entrusted to them the things of God. So, while there are some issues with the sons of Eli, the passage is increasingly highlighting the fact that Samuel grew in favor and stature with God. This is a man who will be used much more at a later time.
Eli was probably a man of great compassion, yet a strong sense of fear for the Lord. We read in 4:13; that Eli is very worried about the ark of the covenant. He is so much so that even when the man from the battle came to report to him that his two sons had died, it was not until he heard the news about the ark of the covenant being stolen that he fell down and died!
I have to step back and look at my priorities sometimes. Am I so engulfed in the day to day and the things of this world? Or am I serious about the lives of those who do not know Christ. This may seem out of nowhere, but have a look again and Eli's priorities! Where are your priorities today? Are you helping others seek the Lord as Eli did with Samuel?
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