Month: March 2020

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David’s Terrible No Good Day

1Samuel 29-31 David has lived in fear of King Saul. His solution was to align himself with the enemies of Israel, who turned out only to be okay as long as he could play-act with success. But, when his host, Achish, decides to join with the other Philistines, his charade comes to a crashing halt. Achish was naïve to think that David would fight with him and the other Philistines against Israel. David played the innocent party but was probably relieved when the rest of the Philistines refused to let him go to war with them. But, that was just the next in a series of problems which he faced just because he thought he could handle this his way. Three days later, upon his return, he found Ziklag empty of all the women and children and burned to the ground.

Fast forward, David sees that when you leave God out of the equation, you are left with scars and an army who are ready to revolt.  It is then that David cries out to God to help him in his leadership skills, and God directs him to retaliate against the Amalekites who Saul was supposed to eradicate but did not.

David is in Leader Training 101, and so far, he has earned only a C grade! That is how life is when we when play Satan’s game. Seek God’s face and trust him wholly. What grade would God give you?

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Are you a fool like Nabal?

1Samuel 25 to 28 Today’s COVID-19 is yesterday’s Nabal’s. Today many who go to the market but find the shelves bare and the person in front of you has the last package of toilet paper. Tempers rise, and the next thing you witness is a free-for-all in words and actions.  This is Nabal to a ‘t.’

Sometimes God sets out to protect his own even when they don’t think they need it. While David is caring for Nabal’s sheep, the fool Nabal cares only for his roll of ‘tp.’ He is a fool and selfish.  Nabal refuses to bless David for caring for his sheep.  When David’s men return with a ‘no’ answer, he makes a rash vow to rid the planet of Nabal just because he wouldn’t share. That is when God steps in sends in His cavalry in the most unexpected form: Abigail, who is “wise and beautiful.” She had planned for such a time as this and quickly prepared dinner for David and his men. While David is grumbling about Nabal, God is preparing a feast to humble him. It was Abigail’s plea that opened his eyes. 

 Back home, Nabal is feasting on his foolish response. But, God did not forget, and Abigail wisely said nothing until Nabal was sober. In the morning, Abigail tells Nabal that she provided dinner for David and his crew. Like Eli, Nabal had a stroke; dying ten days later. He had plenty to share, but it was his wife that got the glory.

There are lessons for us: share while you have plenty, be careful of your words; you may have to eat them. God uses the most unexpected person or persons to humble us when we fail to consult him.

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Fibs are just lies

1Samuel 21 Why do we tell fibs? David’s fib was his attempt to save his life. Why do we fib anyway? We fib because we fail to remember who is on the throne and whose child we are and that God will care for us. We forget that what we call a fib is really just a lie and God hates lying. There are six things God hates and a lying tongue is the second on the list. [see Prov 6] We fail to realize that one little lie mushrooms into more lies to cover the first. This is what happened to David.  First, he named the king to cover his tracks. Then he added more details that could not be corroborated. He lied to the priest about himself and the soldiers. He noted that Doeg the Edomite was listening but failed to realize the harm that would do. David’s house of cards was soon to come crashing down when Saul’s rage led Doeg’s hatred to give him the power to kill.  In the end, Doeg was used to kill not just one of the priests but all of them. Now David has not only lied but their blood was on his hands. He writes about this in Psalm 34.

Sir Walter Scott said it long ago: “O what a tangled web we weave when we first practice to deceive.” Remember a lie communicates half-truths and is used to deceive or mislead. Lying puts the person receiving the lie in a precarious position when the lie is exposed. Lying also challenges our integrity and when we are exposed the trust factor is diminished greatly.

Advice; be a truth-teller, not a liar.

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Psychological Warfare

1Samuel 17 Satan is a master at word games as he seeks to destroy us. When he can’t get at us using physical means, he comes at us emotionally. “From their vantage point, the Philistines and their champion, Goliath, engaged in a bit of psychological warfare, taunting Israel and boasting of their military superiority.” [Ligonier Ministries]

It is into this scene that David, the anointed, but not yet king, of Israel arrives to hear the defiant words of Goliath. Although Saul is head and shoulders above the men of Israel, he cringes at the terms of Goliath.  David stood up to face this giant even though His brothers sought to shame him for coming to the battlefield. David asked:  “What have I done now? Can’t I say anything?”

David squares off with Goliath, and in the end, he is victorious, and Goliath is dead. What was David’s success? It was that David did not allow the word games of Goliath to destroy his confidence. David proved that some trust in horses and chariots, but he trusted in the Lord his God. He told Goliath that when this happens, the “assembly will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves! For the battle is the Lord’s, and he will deliver you into our hand.”

Where are you facing a Goliath? Remember that the Lord is for you, and He will fight this battle.

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No Excuses!

1Samuel 15 How often do we begin our explanation for doing wrong with the word “but” just like King Saul? We try to save face by not admitting wrong. “BUT I have obeyed the Lord”! I went on the campaign the Lord sent me on.” But when pressed by Samuel, he admits, “I have sinned, for I have disobeyed what the Lord commanded and what you said as well.” 

Saul would have been wiser to stop there, but instead, he compounds his sin with a second excuse. I was fearful of the army. To be fearful of man, more than God is anathema! Pro 29:25 The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe. 

Saul, like many of us, just want our sins to be covered and forgiven. “Now, please forgive my sin and go back with me so I can worship the Lord.” Saul was essentially saying; just forgive me and let’s get on with our life. We do not want to lose face. Listen to Saul: “I have sinned, BUT please honor me before the elders of my people and Israel”. It was all outward repentance but not inward repentance. Psa 51:17 The sacrifices God desires are a humble spirit —O God, a humble and repentant heart you will not reject. 

Fear and Pride moved Saul to disobey. What is your reason for disobedience? How can you conquer these two foes spiritually and practically?

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I will pray for you

1Samuel 12 “How often do we offer to pray for someone,  but then time takes over,  or duties take over, and we  ‘forget’ to pray?  We  mean  well,  our  intentions are  well-chosen, but  life happens, and  then  we  ‘forget.’ Can you relate?

Samuel told the Israelites: “As  far  as  I  am  concerned,  far  be  it  from  me  to  sin  against  the  Lord  by  ceasing  to  pray  for  you!” Do you wonder how he remembered to pray for the Israelites close to his heart? How did Paul remember to pray?  

What is the secret to remembering to pray for one another? Here are some simple ways to jog your memory bank. Keep a card file with names of those you know have specifically asked for prayer. Pray scripture over them. As you read each day, choose a verse from the passage you are reading to pray and then do it for the people in your card file. Pray that God be glorified.  Keep a page in a journal with names and prayer requests and pray that page back to God. Make a chart to remind yourself of taking one day a week to pray because we know that God hears and answers our prayers.

James wrote:  The prayer of a righteous person has great effectiveness.

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“Look Alikes”

1Samuel 8

One year when I was teaching, I had six sets of identical twins and one set of identical triplets! The children who attended all wore uniforms, so it was a challenge to differentiate between them! The Prophet Samuel’s two sons who were so similar they could have been twins but they walked in the ways of the world, not Samuel’s. It was not just one of the sons, but both walked contrary to the ways of Samuel, and they did so publicly. Every godly parent, just like Samuel, wants their children to follow the path of godliness, but sometimes children do not. We say they “march to their own drummer.” The leaders of the nation came to Samuel to give them a replacement in a king. They wanted to look like twins. They wanted to look like the nations around them with a king to rule and fight for them.  

Samuel’s heart was broken to hear the leaders say: “we reject your sons.”  But God told Samuel: “Listen to the voice of the people regarding all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them;” and remind them of the consequences of their decision.

Proverbs tells us to raise up a child in the way he should go, and he will not depart from it. [Prov 22:6] But sometimes no matter how diligent we are, some children will seek the world, not God.

If this resonates with you, know that we are here to pray for you if you have children who march to their own drummer, not God’s.

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Lucky Charms Don’t Cut It!

1Samuel 4 to 7 The whole nation noted that God had raised Samuel as a prophet in their midst. But, just because there is a godly man in our midst, however, does not mean men have changed their ways. The Israelites went out to fight against the Philistines and were defeated and returned, asking: “why did the Lord let us be defeated?” Instead of waiting on God’s answer, they decided to remove the Ark of the Covenant from its place and take it with them into battle, much like a lucky charm.

There is a principle here:

Right questions do not have the right answers when we do not seek his face. 

The Israelites were not only defeated again, but this time, the Philistines captured the Ark. God will not be mocked! Eli’s sons died in battle; the Ark was captured, and now God would prove He was the greater God. 

The Philistines knew that the Hebrews God had struck down the Egyptians with all sorts of plagues, but like men today, they refused to yield to him. “Although they knew God, they did not glorify him as God…they exchanged the glory of the immortal God for an image…and served the creation rather than the Creator.” [Rom 1 selected verses] 

 God is God, and He will not share His glory with a stone god or any god. Do you have a stone idol in your life that you are trusting in? Listen to the psalmist? “Some trust in chariots and others in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.” [Psa 20:7 ]

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God Answers the Barren with Fruit

1Samuel 1-4 Yesterday we walked with Ruth from Moab to Bethlehem and saw the hand of God at work. Like Hannah in our story today, she had been barren until God touched her womb. God has placed these women in scripture that we might see His blessing after years of barrenness.

Hannah was not only childless, but she lived in a family where there were two wives. God designed marriage to be between one man and one woman, but her husband, Elkanah, like some others in scripture, failed to keep that rule.  Hannah’s rival was jealous and lacked compassion for Hannah.

Trials and storms either drive us closer to God or far away. Hannah chose to draw near as she cried out to El Roi, the God who sees and hears. Hannah knew her only resource was to pour out her heart to God. She was desperate, and in that desperation, she made an unusual vow to dedicate the child back to God.  Ecclesiastes reminds us that “When you make a vow to God, do not delay in paying it…and don’t tell the priest “it was a mistake.”

God hears our cries, and God answered with a little boy she would name Samuel meaning “asked of God,” who would become a leader in Israel. Even if you are facing adversity this day, stop and pour over this prayer of Hannah and pray her words back to God. Hannah learned the truth of Phil 4:7; bring all requests to God and His peace will guard your heart.

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God Directs Our Steps

Ruth 1-4  In Judges, the people ignored and rebelled against God, and every man did what was right in his own heart. Yet God can and will direct our steps, whether we can see it or not.  The time frame is the same, but the responses are 180 degrees apart. One Levite left us with a sour taste, but in Ruth, the sweetness of His aroma draws us to Him.

A famine is a test; will you trust God or self?  Elimelech, from Bethlehem, chose to trust in his ways, not God’s. He moved his family to Moab, the country that lived, breathed, and worshiped the idols of wood and stone. Yet, God was at work to change the heart of one woman that we might know the truth of Isaiah 55, “my ways are higher than yours.”

In Moab, Elimelech and his two sons passed away, leaving Naomi destitute. The rumor mills are busy, and Naomi hears that there is food in Israel now. Deciding to return to her roots in Bethlehem, she begged her daughters-in-law to return to Moab. But God had other plans for God is a promise keeper and He is in the business of preparing the Messianic line through one submissive daughter-in-law, Ruth, who chooses to accompany Naomi with these famous words: “your God will be my God.”

God can and will work even if we fail to trust Him. He has his people ready to complete his promise and bring them to Jesus.

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