Samuel 8-13 Week in Review

  

I have found such benefits from stepping back and remembering what I have seen of God's character from the weeks chapters. If you missed a chapter, just click on the heading. Also, there is so much more in each chapter than I would have time to mention. Please join me in the comments section with something that jumps out at you too! You don't have to sign up or log in, just click on "Post a comment" and fill in the box with your thoughts, then click the "Name/URL" circle and type in your name. Or even remain anonymous. Again, excuse the typos. My main purpose is to record my thoughts, and join in accountability with you! So there will be horrific grammar mistakes and the like. You have been warned! Thanks to all for doing this with me! I am so blessed by you!

 

I Samuel 8- Don't follow your heart.

• There is nothing more pressing or important on my daily to do list then instilling a love for God and his Word in the lives of my children. Nothing.
• There is no greater compass than the one we find in the Bible. The Israelites wanted a king "just like the other nations."
• The world, that is angry, and bitter and rude, and mocks your Bible, and your Savior? They are not rejecting you. Take it to the Lord and let Him carry it. His shoulders are so strong. And let this give us confidence, to keep standing and proclaiming. God reminded Samuel that they were not rejecting Samuel, but God Himself.
• I pray for mercy for our country, that we would heed the words of the Bible that our country was founded on. That we would not continue to stray from the firm foundation that was laid. And I pray that our families would do the same. That we would hold tight to the living Word, and pass that on so intentionally to our children that we would avoid the pain and suffering brought on by our own disobedience to a just and loving God.

I Samuel 9- Dumb Ol' Donkey

•    Can you imagine if Saul was feeling frustrated "Stupid donkeys, escaping again. Like I have nothing better to do. Thirty year old man, chasing donkeys. Doesn't my father have servants for this?" Look, I am not saying that he did feel that way, but I have felt that way, only to see at the end that it was God the whole time, using ordinary circumstances to bring about an extraordinary outcome.

• A great verse to meditate on is the reminder in I Thessalonians chapter 5 ¹⁸ In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you because you never know when chasing some donkey is going to lead to your life's destiny.

  

I Samuel 10- Finding God's Will

• The veil was torn, and we have access to the throne of grace. And just like Saul was given steps to confirm God's will, we are given steps too. But we don't always follow them.

• Surround yourself with people that are seeking God and praising His name, and this will equip you for those days, and for the wait.
• Sometimes we can share too quickly some great thing we believe God is going to do in our lives, and often it is met with a most discouraging response from those that are just not able to see.  
• God is faithful to direct and equip. We must be faithful to obey.

I Samuel 11- Short red line

•  In these last days, God is calling us to do hard things. He has always called his people to do hard, and often scary things, sometimes in small ways, and sometimes big. And it is the little steps of obedience that give us strength and increase our faith for the big. Saul had a monumental task rallying 300,00 Israelites to one cause. I pray that Christians around the world would join together as well.
•  I pray that we would all seek the Lord and be ready and willing to stand together. This life is but a vapor. And if we really believe in an eternal eternity, do our actions reflect that? If you have never seen this demonstration by Francis Chan, and even if you have, it is so powerful, and important to keep on our minds. I pray that just like in the days of Saul, the Spirit of God would come upon His people and that our righteous anger would be fuel for action.

I Samuel 12-When a nation rejects God as king. 

• This is Saul's coronation, but it is not a celebratory scene like we would picture from our own presidential inaugurations. This choice these people have made is a source of deep grief for Samuel.  It is a mistake of cataclysmic proportions.  And Samuel is not going out quietly.  
• our country was founded on the principles of the Bible, and that is the only way our system of government could work this long. You can't have a successful democratic republic, with so much power in the hands of man, when man is corrupt and without the true moral compass of the Bible. 
  
  ²⁴ Only fear the Lord, and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider what great things He has done for you. ²⁵ But if you still do wickedly, you shall be swept away, both you and your king.”
• We can sometimes look for earthly answers to a spiritual problem. I pray that we would seek first that things of God, and His righteousness. I pray that we would not forsake gathering together, humbling ourselves and praying for God to heal our land. And that we would act, and speak, when and how He calls us to, through the power of the Holy Spirit.

I Samuel 13- Busted!

•  Sin has consequences. For Saul they were immediate and delayed. He was caught right away, and Samuel told him right there that God already had a replacement, a man after God's own heart. Ouch. But the consequences just kept coming as we shall see in the coming chapters. 
•  But today, in our society, children are the victims. And let me tell you, they are not as resilient as people think. I pray that God's word would pierce our hearts and that we would remember this passage when temptation strikes. And I pray that those right now, caught in the grips of self deceit would make things right, repent, and find forgiveness and hope in our Savior.