Today we read how Saul and his son Jonathan took different approaches to battle. Saul planned his attack, started executing his plan and when his plan started falling apart he turned to God for help. Jonathan on the other hand, looked for God’s favor and will first and then went to battle, even with a far lesser scale of a plan and much less resources. Together with his faithful armor-bearer, Jonathan approached the enemies looking for a sign from God if two of them should go to battle alone. And when God revealed His direction to them to do so, Jonathan and armor-bearer obeyed and attacked: two against an army as numerous as the sand.
God did a miracle through their faith and obedience. They were only two men and though they did manage to overcome many soldiers, God completed the rest of the battle on their behalf (just as Jonathan had faith that God would.) God defeated the enemy camp by spreading confusion among its soldiers and the battle was won.
So in our life are we more like Saul here or Jonathan? Do we first go headstrong into making life's decisions (especially when we have a lot of knowledge and resources) and pray to God to help us only when things go wrong? Or do we first pray to God to reveal His will and guidance in everything and then follow? I know I’m way more of a Saul in this respect! But again, God is challenging us to live differently: to seek His Will first and obey. And His promise, as always, is too generous and too beautiful, His power too mighty:
“Nothing can hinder the LORD from saving, whether by many or by few." (1 Samuel 14:6)
Monday, March 29, 2010
Sunday, March 28, 2010
March 28: 1 Samuel 8-12
Today, we read about the passage of leadership from Samuel, the prophet and the last in the series of Israel's judges, to the first king, Saul. Interestingly, God delivers on the people's desires, even though these desires represent a perversion of the original intent: that God would be the true and lasting King for Israel. Despite their disobedience and future pain, the Lord reconfirms His covenant with the people and His ongoing oversight of Israel and its kings.
1) The parallels between kingship and idolatry (sin). Samuel offers the people a clear and fair warning of the negative consequences of anointing a king in 1 Samuel 8:10-18:
"Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people who were asking him for a king. He said, 'This is what the king who will reign over you will do: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. Your menservants and maidservants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his own use. He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and the LORD will not answer you in that day.'"
The most intriguing parallel lies in that assertion that "you yourselves will become his slaves." As Bob Dylan sagely noted, "gonna have to serve somebody"; ultimately, we will serve ourselves, the flesh, the world's system, or the Lord (and others for His benefit). Each day and each moment, we have this choice. Most temptation thus revolves around a perversion of the "good" in order to steal us away from the "best." In the decision of choosing a ruler, Israel's kings would provide a measure of stability and protection that the nation had lacked since Joshua's death. Yet, they were neglecting the "best" kingship, that of God Himself.
In the same way, idolatry or sin often comes to life in response to a desire for what is below God. These temptations may take root when we are not seeking and finding satisfaction in God's presence alone. James 1:13-15 tells us: "When tempted, no one should say, 'God is tempting me.' For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death."
Our sinful nature draws us away from finding full satisfaction in God alone and into becoming a slave to sin. This picture is perhaps best illustrated through considering the pattern of addiction. At first, a user of a drug might find relief in the drug or an escape from their circumstances. Over time, however, the drug comes to have a power over the person, drawing them away from relationships and making them a slave to their cravings. Without intervention, the drug will ruin the person.
Sin acts like a drug, intially offering excitement or comfort, but ultimately making us a slave. Praise be to God that Jesus's intervention and sacrifice of Himself on the cross has given us a means of breaking this cycle of slavery and addiction to sin. Romans 6:11-14 prescribes the attitude of the freed Christ-follower: "In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace."
2) The renewal of the covenant. While God had enumerated the shortcomings of the Israelites' desires for an earthly king, He still comes to the aid of the people through Saul. "God changed Saul's heart," and he sets the Holy Spirit upon Saul in order to give him strong leadership ability during the siege of Jabesh Gilead. The Lord will indeed intervene through Israel's kings. In Samuel's farewell address, we hear many of the same exhortations that the Israelites had received from Moses and Joshua. The people recognize their sinfulness, including their asking for a king, yet the Lord offers a gracious path forward: "You have done all this evil; yet do not turn away from the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart. Do not turn away after useless idols. They can do you no good, nor can they rescue you, because they are useless. For the sake of his great name the LORD will not reject his people, because the LORD was pleased to make you his own. As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by failing to pray for you. And I will teach you the way that is good and right. But be sure to fear the LORD and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you. Yet if you persist in doing evil, both you and your king will be swept away." It will be up to the people whether they will choose death or life.
QUESTIONS
1. Have you ever found anything that enslaved you? Why? How did it impact your decisionmaking?
2. How can you choose life today? What does it mean for you?
1) The parallels between kingship and idolatry (sin). Samuel offers the people a clear and fair warning of the negative consequences of anointing a king in 1 Samuel 8:10-18:
"Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people who were asking him for a king. He said, 'This is what the king who will reign over you will do: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. Your menservants and maidservants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his own use. He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and the LORD will not answer you in that day.'"
The most intriguing parallel lies in that assertion that "you yourselves will become his slaves." As Bob Dylan sagely noted, "gonna have to serve somebody"; ultimately, we will serve ourselves, the flesh, the world's system, or the Lord (and others for His benefit). Each day and each moment, we have this choice. Most temptation thus revolves around a perversion of the "good" in order to steal us away from the "best." In the decision of choosing a ruler, Israel's kings would provide a measure of stability and protection that the nation had lacked since Joshua's death. Yet, they were neglecting the "best" kingship, that of God Himself.
In the same way, idolatry or sin often comes to life in response to a desire for what is below God. These temptations may take root when we are not seeking and finding satisfaction in God's presence alone. James 1:13-15 tells us: "When tempted, no one should say, 'God is tempting me.' For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death."
Our sinful nature draws us away from finding full satisfaction in God alone and into becoming a slave to sin. This picture is perhaps best illustrated through considering the pattern of addiction. At first, a user of a drug might find relief in the drug or an escape from their circumstances. Over time, however, the drug comes to have a power over the person, drawing them away from relationships and making them a slave to their cravings. Without intervention, the drug will ruin the person.
Sin acts like a drug, intially offering excitement or comfort, but ultimately making us a slave. Praise be to God that Jesus's intervention and sacrifice of Himself on the cross has given us a means of breaking this cycle of slavery and addiction to sin. Romans 6:11-14 prescribes the attitude of the freed Christ-follower: "In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace."
2) The renewal of the covenant. While God had enumerated the shortcomings of the Israelites' desires for an earthly king, He still comes to the aid of the people through Saul. "God changed Saul's heart," and he sets the Holy Spirit upon Saul in order to give him strong leadership ability during the siege of Jabesh Gilead. The Lord will indeed intervene through Israel's kings. In Samuel's farewell address, we hear many of the same exhortations that the Israelites had received from Moses and Joshua. The people recognize their sinfulness, including their asking for a king, yet the Lord offers a gracious path forward: "You have done all this evil; yet do not turn away from the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart. Do not turn away after useless idols. They can do you no good, nor can they rescue you, because they are useless. For the sake of his great name the LORD will not reject his people, because the LORD was pleased to make you his own. As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by failing to pray for you. And I will teach you the way that is good and right. But be sure to fear the LORD and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you. Yet if you persist in doing evil, both you and your king will be swept away." It will be up to the people whether they will choose death or life.
QUESTIONS
1. Have you ever found anything that enslaved you? Why? How did it impact your decisionmaking?
2. How can you choose life today? What does it mean for you?
Saturday, March 27, 2010
March 27
One of my favorite movies of all time is "Field Of Dreams." It is the story of Ray Kinsella, an Iowa farmer who in the middle of his corn field hears a voice speaking to him. The voice says, "If you build it, he will come." The conflict in the movie is how Ray will respond to the voice. Will he obey the voice and take the risk of financial collapse, or will he play it safe and raise corn.
This is not a Christian movie but the parallels are obvious. We are people who have heard a voice from another world. It is a voice from beyond the physical, material, and financially focused world. Not everyone has heard the voice. But we have heard the voice, now what will we do?
94% of Americans believe in God. But does this God still speak? If he does, has he spoken to them? If he has spoken to them, have they obeyed the voice? These are the critical questions that we must each answer.
Samuel was one of the mightiest men of God. It is no coincidence his first assignment from God necessitated that he learns how to hear God's voice. Samuel’s ability to hear the voice was his most important priority.
There are lots of voices speaking to us in 2010. Every day we hear the voices of President Obama or our government officials, we hear the voices of media people. friends, counselors, bosses, mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, spouses, children. But is there any more important voice than God’s?
A few observations on the voice of God:
1. It is a real voice that speaks in our language. Not every one hears the voice audibly, but we certainly hear his whisper in our hearts and our conscience.
2. It is a friendly voice. It will not ask you to violate anything in his written Word.
3. His voice is a quiet whisper. We must be silent to hear it. When was the last time you sat quietly for an hour?
4. His voice is blocked by sin.
5. His voice speaks to young people.
6. His voice speaks truth.
Prayer: Lord, teach me to listen. The times I live in are noisy, and my ears are weary with the 1000 raucous sounds which continuously assault them. Give me the spirit of the boy Samuel when he said to you, “Speak, for your servant is listening.” Let me hear you speaking to my heart. Let me get used to the sound of your voice, that its tones may be familiar when the sounds of earth die away and the only sound will be the music of your speaking voice.
This is not a Christian movie but the parallels are obvious. We are people who have heard a voice from another world. It is a voice from beyond the physical, material, and financially focused world. Not everyone has heard the voice. But we have heard the voice, now what will we do?
94% of Americans believe in God. But does this God still speak? If he does, has he spoken to them? If he has spoken to them, have they obeyed the voice? These are the critical questions that we must each answer.
Samuel was one of the mightiest men of God. It is no coincidence his first assignment from God necessitated that he learns how to hear God's voice. Samuel’s ability to hear the voice was his most important priority.
There are lots of voices speaking to us in 2010. Every day we hear the voices of President Obama or our government officials, we hear the voices of media people. friends, counselors, bosses, mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, spouses, children. But is there any more important voice than God’s?
A few observations on the voice of God:
1. It is a real voice that speaks in our language. Not every one hears the voice audibly, but we certainly hear his whisper in our hearts and our conscience.
2. It is a friendly voice. It will not ask you to violate anything in his written Word.
3. His voice is a quiet whisper. We must be silent to hear it. When was the last time you sat quietly for an hour?
4. His voice is blocked by sin.
5. His voice speaks to young people.
6. His voice speaks truth.
Prayer: Lord, teach me to listen. The times I live in are noisy, and my ears are weary with the 1000 raucous sounds which continuously assault them. Give me the spirit of the boy Samuel when he said to you, “Speak, for your servant is listening.” Let me hear you speaking to my heart. Let me get used to the sound of your voice, that its tones may be familiar when the sounds of earth die away and the only sound will be the music of your speaking voice.
Friday, March 26, 2010
March 26
Today is accountability day. I would love to hear from you.
In April of 2001, in the midst of the Israeli – Arab conflict, a motorcade carrying the Security Service Chief of Gaza came under bullet fire from Israeli troops. The frightened security official called Yasser Arafat from his car for help. Arafat, in turn, called the US Ambassador, who then called the US Secretary of State, Colin Powell. Powell then phoned Ariel Sharon, the Israeli Prime Minister, who ordered the shooting to stop immediately. And it did. The Security Chief’s connections eventually saved his life.
In a similar way, Christians have a divine connection to the ultimate power of the universe that can make a world of difference in any situation. The connection is called PRAYER!
One of the greatest weaknesses I have in my life is that I really believe that I will impact my world with my own hard work, power, resources and creativity. I regularly substitute a flurry of activity for the discipline of prayer. The truth is, without prayer, every dream I have will ultimately fail.
Here are 4 principles for empowering prayer to transform your world born out of the story of Hannah.
1. Empowering prayer is always preceded by deep wounds. Hannah lived with the daily wounds of barrenness and verbal abuse.
2. Empowering prayer is born out of desperation. When there is no plan “B” in life, when we’ve exhausted all alternatives, that is a great time to pray. I have found myself in this position many times, and there is no better time to pray than when the lights are turned out in the classroom.
3. Empowering prayer always touches the deepest parts of our heart. Hannah was in touch with the deepest parts of her heart. Out of that pain she prayed. Don’t hide your pain; use that pain as the fuel to drive you closer to God.
4. Empowering prayer opens the way for God to work. Hannah saw the Lord miraculously answer her prayer with the birth of Samuel. The real lesson of Hannah's life and this chapter is that when we work we work, but when we pray, God works. We still serve a God who acts in history. A God, who heals, does miracles, renews the weary, gives hope to the hopeless, changed rebels into saints. The god that we have created in the US is much too small. Only Lilliputian minds and hearts could have diminished God to the infinitesimal size he is today. It's time to again see God for who he really is.
A prayerlessness Christian is like a bus driver trying alone to push his bus out of a rut because he doesn't know Clark Kent is sitting in the front seat.
In April of 2001, in the midst of the Israeli – Arab conflict, a motorcade carrying the Security Service Chief of Gaza came under bullet fire from Israeli troops. The frightened security official called Yasser Arafat from his car for help. Arafat, in turn, called the US Ambassador, who then called the US Secretary of State, Colin Powell. Powell then phoned Ariel Sharon, the Israeli Prime Minister, who ordered the shooting to stop immediately. And it did. The Security Chief’s connections eventually saved his life.
In a similar way, Christians have a divine connection to the ultimate power of the universe that can make a world of difference in any situation. The connection is called PRAYER!
One of the greatest weaknesses I have in my life is that I really believe that I will impact my world with my own hard work, power, resources and creativity. I regularly substitute a flurry of activity for the discipline of prayer. The truth is, without prayer, every dream I have will ultimately fail.
Here are 4 principles for empowering prayer to transform your world born out of the story of Hannah.
1. Empowering prayer is always preceded by deep wounds. Hannah lived with the daily wounds of barrenness and verbal abuse.
2. Empowering prayer is born out of desperation. When there is no plan “B” in life, when we’ve exhausted all alternatives, that is a great time to pray. I have found myself in this position many times, and there is no better time to pray than when the lights are turned out in the classroom.
3. Empowering prayer always touches the deepest parts of our heart. Hannah was in touch with the deepest parts of her heart. Out of that pain she prayed. Don’t hide your pain; use that pain as the fuel to drive you closer to God.
4. Empowering prayer opens the way for God to work. Hannah saw the Lord miraculously answer her prayer with the birth of Samuel. The real lesson of Hannah's life and this chapter is that when we work we work, but when we pray, God works. We still serve a God who acts in history. A God, who heals, does miracles, renews the weary, gives hope to the hopeless, changed rebels into saints. The god that we have created in the US is much too small. Only Lilliputian minds and hearts could have diminished God to the infinitesimal size he is today. It's time to again see God for who he really is.
A prayerlessness Christian is like a bus driver trying alone to push his bus out of a rut because he doesn't know Clark Kent is sitting in the front seat.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
March 25
Nightmare in the Book of Judges
"Nightmare on Elm Street" is a horror movie about a serial killer named Freddy. I have never seen the movie nor do I intend to in the future but I am aware of some pop culture. This movie is of the genre called “slasher.” This particular genre of movies enjoys death and gruesome forms of violence. Well, here is our “slasher” chapter in the Bible. This chapter makes the lawlessness of the Wild West look like a Baptist Sunday School picnic. The levels of depravity reached in these chapters are staggering even to “slasher” fans. How the people of God could fall to these lows should cause all of us to consider that subtle and dangerous slide of sin. “Think about it,” is the reminder from the author. No one starts out at this level. It is a slow gradual slide into hell. Here is the commentary on why Israel sank to this level of depravity.
Judges 21:25 In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit.
This is the recipe for moral anarchy. We are told no less than five times that the idolatry, debauchery, and atrocities recorded here happened during a time when Israel had no king. The implication is that because there was no king, everyone did whatever they wished. But wasn’t the Lord their king? Didn’t the Lord give them the 10 commandments to live by? Whenever there is an absence of moral authority (God), a vacuum is created in which nothing but chaos can reign. For either a higher moral authority is in charge, or we are. There is no moral middle ground.
Dostoevsky realized this in his novel “The Brothers Karamazov.” He has Ivan say, "If God does not exist, everything is permitted"
We in the USA in 2010 actually believe that we can live without a King. We can just throw the king out and live life according to our own plans. We have thrown God out of our schools, our families, our hospitals, our courts, our bedrooms and we have even thrown him out of the church in recent days.
A society is little more than the sum of its parts. If you want to know the future of America without a king just turns on Jerry Springer. As you watch Jerry Springer you get to see a nation where everyone did as he saw fit. And for us in Stamford we are now the proud host city for the Jerry Springer show. Think about it!!
I hate to sound like a prophet of doom and gloom but the way we are refusing to follow God and his ways only leads to a horrible ending. Think about it!!
Thought for today: Everyday we need to bow our knees before the King and follow his paths of righteousness; otherwise all that will be left for us is a Nightmare on Elm Street.
"Nightmare on Elm Street" is a horror movie about a serial killer named Freddy. I have never seen the movie nor do I intend to in the future but I am aware of some pop culture. This movie is of the genre called “slasher.” This particular genre of movies enjoys death and gruesome forms of violence. Well, here is our “slasher” chapter in the Bible. This chapter makes the lawlessness of the Wild West look like a Baptist Sunday School picnic. The levels of depravity reached in these chapters are staggering even to “slasher” fans. How the people of God could fall to these lows should cause all of us to consider that subtle and dangerous slide of sin. “Think about it,” is the reminder from the author. No one starts out at this level. It is a slow gradual slide into hell. Here is the commentary on why Israel sank to this level of depravity.
Judges 21:25 In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit.
This is the recipe for moral anarchy. We are told no less than five times that the idolatry, debauchery, and atrocities recorded here happened during a time when Israel had no king. The implication is that because there was no king, everyone did whatever they wished. But wasn’t the Lord their king? Didn’t the Lord give them the 10 commandments to live by? Whenever there is an absence of moral authority (God), a vacuum is created in which nothing but chaos can reign. For either a higher moral authority is in charge, or we are. There is no moral middle ground.
Dostoevsky realized this in his novel “The Brothers Karamazov.” He has Ivan say, "If God does not exist, everything is permitted"
We in the USA in 2010 actually believe that we can live without a King. We can just throw the king out and live life according to our own plans. We have thrown God out of our schools, our families, our hospitals, our courts, our bedrooms and we have even thrown him out of the church in recent days.
A society is little more than the sum of its parts. If you want to know the future of America without a king just turns on Jerry Springer. As you watch Jerry Springer you get to see a nation where everyone did as he saw fit. And for us in Stamford we are now the proud host city for the Jerry Springer show. Think about it!!
I hate to sound like a prophet of doom and gloom but the way we are refusing to follow God and his ways only leads to a horrible ending. Think about it!!
Thought for today: Everyday we need to bow our knees before the King and follow his paths of righteousness; otherwise all that will be left for us is a Nightmare on Elm Street.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
March 24
Judges 17:13 And Micah said, "Now I know that the Lord will be good to me, since this Levite has become my priest."
There are three types of people in our world.
-Non-religious people... those who do not know or love God.
-Religious people... those who follow a set of rules so they feel good. They obey to get love.
-Lovers of God... those who have a personal love relationship with God. They love God, then obey him.
Micah was a religious person. He was living by a set of moral rules and superstitions he invented himself. His feeling was, if I can just do the right things then I will make God happy and he will love me. In this case it is entirely delusional thinking. Micah builds himself a shrine, puts forbidden idols in it and then hires a homeless priest to preside over it, all of this to earn God’s love and his favor. His entire plan is flawed from the start. All of these actions were clearly prohibited by God. In the end Micah is worshiping himself and his view of God. Religious people are the most difficult people to reach with the truth, because they experience a false comfort from their religious activity.
The greatest danger to the American church today is that we are religious. We obey God to earn his love. We believe if we just jump through these certain religious activities God will be good to us.
Here are 9 questions to test if you have fallen into the Micah syndrome:
1. Did you read today’s passage because you love God, or because of the Friday accountability?
2. If you didn’t read one day, do you expect that God is going to put you into a traffic jam or give you a runny nose?
3. Do you live by faith in the promises of God, or do you live by a code of religious conduct?
5. Why do you obey God? To earn God’s love or because of God’s love.
6. Do you obey to get things from God, or to get God?
7. Do you think of yourself as a good person, or do you get your identity from what God thinks of you?
8. Do your prayers have a lot of “give me’s?”
9. When circumstances go wrong do you think you are being punished for your sin?
Is it possible you have put more trust in your religious activity than in God himself? Don’t repeat the folly of Micah.
There are three types of people in our world.
-Non-religious people... those who do not know or love God.
-Religious people... those who follow a set of rules so they feel good. They obey to get love.
-Lovers of God... those who have a personal love relationship with God. They love God, then obey him.
Micah was a religious person. He was living by a set of moral rules and superstitions he invented himself. His feeling was, if I can just do the right things then I will make God happy and he will love me. In this case it is entirely delusional thinking. Micah builds himself a shrine, puts forbidden idols in it and then hires a homeless priest to preside over it, all of this to earn God’s love and his favor. His entire plan is flawed from the start. All of these actions were clearly prohibited by God. In the end Micah is worshiping himself and his view of God. Religious people are the most difficult people to reach with the truth, because they experience a false comfort from their religious activity.
The greatest danger to the American church today is that we are religious. We obey God to earn his love. We believe if we just jump through these certain religious activities God will be good to us.
Here are 9 questions to test if you have fallen into the Micah syndrome:
1. Did you read today’s passage because you love God, or because of the Friday accountability?
2. If you didn’t read one day, do you expect that God is going to put you into a traffic jam or give you a runny nose?
3. Do you live by faith in the promises of God, or do you live by a code of religious conduct?
5. Why do you obey God? To earn God’s love or because of God’s love.
6. Do you obey to get things from God, or to get God?
7. Do you think of yourself as a good person, or do you get your identity from what God thinks of you?
8. Do your prayers have a lot of “give me’s?”
9. When circumstances go wrong do you think you are being punished for your sin?
Is it possible you have put more trust in your religious activity than in God himself? Don’t repeat the folly of Micah.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
March 23
Judges 13-16
Samson the Strong Man
I remember going to Sunday school when I was a child and learning about famous people from the Bible (Adam and Eve, Noah's Ark, Moses parting the Red Sea, etc.). I clearly remember learning about Samson and Delilah. God blessed Samson with superhuman strength, he demonstrates his strength against his enemies, he tells his secret to Delilah, she betrays him, he is imprisoned, God gives him strength on last time to defeat the Philistines, dying along with them.
This is a very well known story that took place a long time ago. There are some important things we can learn that still are relevant to our lives today:
1) God is faithful even when we are not.
2) God uses flawed, sinful people to carry out His purposes, ultimately giving Him glory.
3) God will forgive us, no matter how much we have sinned.
4) We need to be careful who we are influenced by and who we spend our time with.
Samson achieved amazing things that most of us could only dream about, but he could have done nothing without God giving him the strength. Despite his flaws and sins, God blessed him and used him in His plan for Israel. Because of his carelessness he lost his strength for a time, but God never left or gave up on Samson. He was with him until the end.
Samson the Strong Man
I remember going to Sunday school when I was a child and learning about famous people from the Bible (Adam and Eve, Noah's Ark, Moses parting the Red Sea, etc.). I clearly remember learning about Samson and Delilah. God blessed Samson with superhuman strength, he demonstrates his strength against his enemies, he tells his secret to Delilah, she betrays him, he is imprisoned, God gives him strength on last time to defeat the Philistines, dying along with them.
This is a very well known story that took place a long time ago. There are some important things we can learn that still are relevant to our lives today:
1) God is faithful even when we are not.
2) God uses flawed, sinful people to carry out His purposes, ultimately giving Him glory.
3) God will forgive us, no matter how much we have sinned.
4) We need to be careful who we are influenced by and who we spend our time with.
Samson achieved amazing things that most of us could only dream about, but he could have done nothing without God giving him the strength. Despite his flaws and sins, God blessed him and used him in His plan for Israel. Because of his carelessness he lost his strength for a time, but God never left or gave up on Samson. He was with him until the end.
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