1 Samuel 10:22 "...And the Lord said, 'Yes, he has hidden himself among the baggage.'"
Samuel is standing before the tribes of Israel to introduce Saul, the next king. When the time comes to present Saul he is not to be found anywhere and God points out that Saul is hiding "among the baggage."
Why would Saul hide among the baggage? Was he scared? Was he anxious or worried about becoming king? Sometimes in those clutch moments, when it's all on the line, we freeze. We get scared, we get timid and we hide among the baggage hoping no one finds us. God has big plans for all of us and he assures us he will always be with us. Earlier in verse seven, Samuel assures Saul that "whatever your hand finds to do, God is with you." He is with us. We should not be timid, we should not be scared. When the time is right for us to step up and lead, we must not hide in the baggage!
Dear Jesus, give me your strength and confidence and never let me hide in the baggage. Amen.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Monday, June 13, 2011
Random Ramblings on Love and Choice
1 Samuel 9:16 "...I have looked upon my people, for their cry has reached me."
The Israelites suffer from envy and desperately want a new shiny king like everyone else on the block. God knows about the baggage that comes with a king, but decides to throw them a bone and allows Samuel to grant them a king.
God heard their cries and seemingly changed his mind. Even though he knew better and thought differently! Hmmm. God loves us. And out of that love, he grants us things and allows us certain freedoms, even though he may know better. This love and freedom allow us to make our own choices. We can choose wisely, we can choose poorly. We can choose God, we can choose ourselves. And all of this results from his love.
Dear Jesus, thank you for your love today. Amen.
The Israelites suffer from envy and desperately want a new shiny king like everyone else on the block. God knows about the baggage that comes with a king, but decides to throw them a bone and allows Samuel to grant them a king.
God heard their cries and seemingly changed his mind. Even though he knew better and thought differently! Hmmm. God loves us. And out of that love, he grants us things and allows us certain freedoms, even though he may know better. This love and freedom allow us to make our own choices. We can choose wisely, we can choose poorly. We can choose God, we can choose ourselves. And all of this results from his love.
Dear Jesus, thank you for your love today. Amen.
Thursday, June 09, 2011
Curious Beth Shemeshians or is it Shemeshites?
1 Samuel 6: 20 "...and the men of Beth Shemesh asked, 'Who can stand in the presence of the Lord, this holy God? To whom will the ark go up from here?'"
The Philistines had beat up on the Israelites and captured the ark of the covenant. In each Philistine city the ark was kept, God sent a plague of tumors on the people and killed many of them. Having enough with that, the Philistines sent the ark back to a town called Beth Shemesh. In Beth Shemesh, a few folks got a bit curious, looked inside the ark, and died.
It seems the ark of the covenant, the very essence and presence of God, was a death trap! The men of Beth Shemesh even asked in verse 20, "who can stand in the presence of the Lord?" I don't totally understand what this was all about back then, but I know today we can stand in the presence of God thanks to Jesus. Jesus is our high priest and on the cross demolished everything that separates us from the love of God. I can be confident today knowing I am in a right relationship with God.
Dear Jesus, thank you for your redeeming work on the cross. Amen.
The Philistines had beat up on the Israelites and captured the ark of the covenant. In each Philistine city the ark was kept, God sent a plague of tumors on the people and killed many of them. Having enough with that, the Philistines sent the ark back to a town called Beth Shemesh. In Beth Shemesh, a few folks got a bit curious, looked inside the ark, and died.
It seems the ark of the covenant, the very essence and presence of God, was a death trap! The men of Beth Shemesh even asked in verse 20, "who can stand in the presence of the Lord?" I don't totally understand what this was all about back then, but I know today we can stand in the presence of God thanks to Jesus. Jesus is our high priest and on the cross demolished everything that separates us from the love of God. I can be confident today knowing I am in a right relationship with God.
Dear Jesus, thank you for your redeeming work on the cross. Amen.
Monday, June 06, 2011
Not Many Visions
1 Samuel 3:1 "...In those days the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions."
God is about to call Samuel and the writer comments that the word of God was absent among the people. God was not being listened to and therefore was not speaking and moving among his people.
So often the Bible parallels our day today. Many question the existence of God or ask where is he when things go wrong. But for so many of us we are not listening to him, or for him. I think God gives us the choice to choose or reject him and when we reject him he says "fine, be on your own." I need to more actively listen for God's voice and follow his leading. Casually reading his word when I feel like it is not enough. It must become a discipline, a habit for me each and every day. I long for that and need to make it happen. I want to see visions!
Dear Jesus, help me listen to you and your word and allow it to speak truth into my life today. Amen.
God is about to call Samuel and the writer comments that the word of God was absent among the people. God was not being listened to and therefore was not speaking and moving among his people.
So often the Bible parallels our day today. Many question the existence of God or ask where is he when things go wrong. But for so many of us we are not listening to him, or for him. I think God gives us the choice to choose or reject him and when we reject him he says "fine, be on your own." I need to more actively listen for God's voice and follow his leading. Casually reading his word when I feel like it is not enough. It must become a discipline, a habit for me each and every day. I long for that and need to make it happen. I want to see visions!
Dear Jesus, help me listen to you and your word and allow it to speak truth into my life today. Amen.
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