Devotionals
Useless Defiance
The story of King Josiah’s demise is a sobering reminder that human plans cannot override God’s will. Josiah was a devout king who led significant religious reforms in Judah, rediscovering the Book of the Law and purging idolatry. However, his downfall came when he chose to intercept Pharaoh Neco of Egypt without seeking God’s guidance.... Read More →
Providence, Self-Restraint, & Contradictions
There was too much in today’s passage to choose a single item, so here are some quick-hit thoughts on a couple different parts of what we read. Providence: David and his troops set out with the Philistines on their campaign into Israel, but several of the Philistine leaders do not trust David and send him... Read More →
God On My Terms
Saul decides to forego God’s path and forges his own way. Yet, somehow, he seems surprised that when he seeks God’s guidance He is silent… so he consults a medium… effectively! (But that’s a whole thing for some other time) I think this is a temptation common to many of us. We want God, but... Read More →
God’s Timing
David has an opportunity to kill his relentless pursuer; Saul. Egged on by his own troops, David creeps toward Saul with his sword drawn, but at the last moment, rethinks it. And after rethinking it, David decides the life — or the throne — of what he terms “God’s anointed one”. Saul is an objectively terrible... Read More →
Step Into Your Destiny
Samuel anointed David as the new king over God’s people. Now David is hiding in a cave with his merry band of 400 rejects while the current monarch and his bloodthirsty hangers-on plot to assassinate him. And from that circumstance David pens this: 9 I will praise you, Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you... Read More →
Is Faith Blind?
Psalm 34:8 commends the reader to “Taste and see that the Lord is good”. The cultural trope that faith is blind is maddening. God has provided evidence many, many times. He showed proofs to Moses, Pharaoh, and Gideon among others. Jesus offered evidence to Thomas when he doubted. And indeed history is littered with evidence... Read More →
Be True To Who God Made You To Be
Just a quick thought tonight. Farm boy David offers to fight the giant Goliath, who no one else in the Israelite army is willing to face. King Saul says the very idea is preposterous, but David insists that if God is with him, he will be successful. Saul relents and allows the boy to go... Read More →
Is People-Pleasing Bad?
Saul answered Samuel, “I have sinned. I have transgressed the Lord’s command and your words. Because I was afraid of the people, I obeyed them. 1 Samuel 15:24, CSB Here we have Saul’s confession to Samuel that he had been unfaithful to God because he wanted to please people. He wanted to make those around... Read More →
The Beginning of the End
Saul’s son Jonathan decides to “go rogue” and take on the Philistines by himself with his armour-bearer and is extremely successful. This is often credited as a great act of faith and trust in the Lord. But is it? Earlier in the story we read that Saul becomes impatient waiting for the man who is... Read More →
Was I Wrong?
I have made much the last little while about the lack of repentance on the part of the Israelites during the period of the Judges. And here Samuel says something that seems to have made a liar out of me… Then they cried out to the LORD and admitted, ‘We have sinned, for we have... Read More →
The Power of the Invitation
To this point Israel has had 14 judges (including Eli —but not his children— and Samuel). And they all judged Israel for years, and they had some crazy exploits and military victories over the enemies of Israel. But you know what we never see? Repentance. I’ve talked about that before. Israel continually asks God to... Read More →
God Isn’t Your Good Luck Charm
There are many things you can point to as proof that the human is not smart. But my personal favorite would have to be that we needed to invent the helmet. What was happening, apparently, was that we were involved in a lot of activities that were cracking our heads. We chose not to avoid... Read More →