November 1, 2013 Honor God's Design

Read 2 Samuel 1

Honor God’s Design

11 David and his men tore their clothes in sorrow when they heard the news. 12 They mourned and wept and fasted all day for Saul and his son Jonathan, and for the Lord’s army and the nation of Israel, because they had died by the sword that day.

SAUL persecuted and hunted David for years. Saul kept Jonathan, David’s best friend, from David. Saul used his troops and his resources to protect his reign. And yet, David mourns Saul’s death.

     David knows that Saul was the LORD’s anointed one. God had chosen Saul to rule, and even though Saul ruled in human error, Saul was still God’s King, and Saul was to be honored as the LORD’s anointed.

     David displays a real and true worship to God. Life was hard under God’s design. God chose David, and God chose David to suffer. Yet David chooses to honor those whom God had put into his life to cause that suffering.

     David repeatedly shows that the first love of his life is God. What God says and does, David honors.

     Oh, David has made mistakes, too, and he’ll do so again. But in the good and the bad, David’s primary consideration is how his actions affect his relationship with God.

     Yes, God gave to David some extremely difficult circumstances. God gave David great victories. God gave David great wisdom. David understands that everything comes from God.

     For David, it was time to mourn the passing of the LORD’s King of Israel. David’s mourning honors God.

A Moment’s Thought: God designs circumstances to strengthen your heart of worship.

October 31, 2013 Be Still

Read 1 Samuel 31

Be Still

6 So Saul and his three sons and his armor-bearer and all his men died together that same day.

WHEN the Bible introduces us to Saul he is described with very special traits, unique in Israel. Kish had a son named Saul, an impressive young man without equal among the Israelites — a head taller than any of the others. (1 Samuel 9:2) Physically Saul was special in Israel’s eyes, and as king, he became rich and powerful among men.

     But Saul’s kingship was a disaster because he failed to humbly live in the Kingdom of God. Pride was one reason for Saul’s downfall. When anointed as king, he stayed at a home, acting only in a crisis to defend his people. When Samuel directed him to wait for his arrival to sacrifice, he impatiently took matters in his own hands. When he stood shaking before the giant Goliath, he was willing to let a boy fight his battle. When he saw God’s hand on David, he violently pursued David for many long years. On the last days of his life, he sought evil spirits instead of the Spirit of God.

     That’s what pride will do to us. It will cause us to strive to create circumstances and form life as we desire. We will spend endless energy pursuing things that harm us or keep us from God. Pridefully we put “our way” above God’s way, thinking we can control our own destiny if we work a little harder or get busier.

     Saul became lost in the whirlwind of self. The only way out of the storm was form him to sit down and say the words David would one day write: “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” (Psalms 46:10)

A Moment’s Thought: God still desires to speak to you.

    

October 30, 2013 Ask God

Read 1 Samuel 30

Ask God

6 David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the Lord his God.

DAVID’S men talked of stoning him. Bitterness was engulfing their hearts because their wives, children and livestock had been taken by the Amalekites while they were away. When crisis comes to a community, often the leader is the first one to whom people point. I’m not sure how they thought killing David would help them, but surely they had to blame someone, didn’t they?  

     In the midst of this senseless rage and human tragedy, “David inquired of the Lord, ‘Shall I pursue this raiding party? Will I overtake them?’” (1 Samuel 30:8a)  

     Yesterday I wrote of how God saved David in several ways when Achish, the Philistine ruler, sent David home from war with Israel. Here God uses the Amalekites’ evil to save David’s leadership and the families of his community. God answers David’s distress with a clear response from God, “Pursue them,” God answered. “You will certainly overtake them and succeed in the rescue.” (1 Samuel 31:8b) Obediently, David responds. They defeat the Amalekites and rescue all families and livestock.

     Here again is a clear lesson on God’s sovereign power over all circumstances. As deadly as the scene looked for David, he turned the only direction he could to discover that God was guiding him to rescue him.

     It’s important to note that none of this was easy. David had to get up and regain control of his men. He had to go to fight a battle. He had to act on God’s Word.

A Moment’s Thought: Victory requires obedience.

October 29, 2013 A Saving God

Read 1 Samuel 29

A Saving God

5 Isn’t this the David they sang about in their dances: “‘Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands’?”

IN his effort to remain safe from Saul’s vicious pursuits, David had lived in the territory of Israel’s arch-enemy, the Philistines, for about a year. During that time he convinced Achish, the Philistine leader, of his loyalty and willingness to fight with him.

     As they prepared for battle against Saul’s armies though, several Philistine leaders objected to David and his men fighting among them. They knew his reputation for victory over their countrymen. As a result Achish sent David home.

     God used the Philistines to protect David for that year’s stay, and he also used the Philistines’ suspicions to protect David, his men and their families. On that day God kept David from fighting Saul. Based on David’s refusal to kill Saul in two earlier circumstances, it is reasonable to assume David would be unwilling to harm Saul if he confronted him in battle. A warrior who hesitates is often doomed.

     Another threat to David that day would have been the Philistines. Again it is reasonable to consider that these Philistine leaders could have turned on David. Once they defeated Saul, David would have been an easy target to surround and destroy, ending any future threat from this man anointed to be the next king of Israel.

     We’ll see how God protects David’s men and their families through this action tomorrow.

     God’s hand is truly on his own. Even though David’s heart was set to do battle, God had other battles for him to fight. God’s sovereign hand saved David to advance his plan to save you.

A Moment’s Thought: God has a great reputation to save his own.

October 28, 2013 Only God is Holy

Read 1 Samuel 28

Only God is Holy

3 Now Samuel was dead, and all Israel had mourned for him and buried him in his own town of Ramah. Saul had expelled the mediums and spiritists from the land... 7 Saul then said to his attendants, “Find me a woman who is a medium, so I may go and inquire of her.”

“There is one in Endor,” they said…10 Saul swore to her by the Lord, “As surely as the Lord lives, you will not be punished for this.” 11 Then the woman asked, “Whom shall I bring up for you?” “ring up Samuel,” he said. 12 When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out at the top of her voice and said to Saul, “Why have you deceived me? You are Saul!”

THIS is one of those difficult stories in the Bible. It is fitting, though, that God has brought us to this point on this week of Halloween’s satanic activities.

     God had strictly forbidden such actions. “Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, 11 or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. 12 Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord, and because of these detestable practices the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you.” (Deuteronomy 18:10)

     Practitioners of the occult have Satan and demons as the source of their information; God does not reveal his will to them. Instead, he speaks through the Bible, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit.

     How is it, though, that Samuel comes from the dead? Samuel came not from the spiritist’s trickery, but God bought Samuel back to affirm what Saul already knew. God is against all such practices.

     In his fear, Saul one last time turned from God when God wanted Saul to turn to him. It was time for God to bring David to the throne. God put his power over Satan’s power to proclaim his plan for Israel.

A Moment’s Thoughts: The huge focus on Halloween today is certainly a pagan ritual that was once celebrated as “All Hallows Eve” on October 31 before “All Hallows’ Day” or as we know it, “All Saints Day” on November 1.

     “Hallow” is holy as in the Lord’s Prayer, “Hallowed be your name.” Thus, “halloween’ means “holy evening”. All Hallows Day (all holy day) was a yearly remembrance of all Christians who had died. All Hallows’ Eve was an event on October 31 that was a holy evening in preparation of the remembrances that occurred on November 1.

     I wonder what would happen if we said to people on Halloween, “Happy holy evening!”

     On another note, October 31 is “Reformation Day”. This is the anniversary of Martin Luther nailing his 95 Thesis to the door of a church in Wittenberg, Germany in 1517. His desire was to protest certain practices of the church and to help the church return (reform) to the true teachings of the Bible.

     Perhaps this Reformation Day we can gather to pray for God’s church to be filled with the Holy Spirit, that we in the power of the Spirit will proclaim the power of the Holy God to reform his church and the world to his holiness.