Are You Beautiful Inside?

1 Samuel 16:5-7 - Samuel replied, "Yes, in peace; I have come to sacrifice to the LORD. Consecrate yourselves and come to the sacrifice with me." Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice. When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, "Surely the LORD's anointed stands here before the LORD."  But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."

 

Samuel had been told by God to stop mourning for the first king he had anointed…for the time had come for Samuel to go and anoint God’s newly chosen king. Samuel was a little scared at first…thinking if Saul found out he was anointing a new king…it would surely bring about his death. But God laid his fears to rest…and told him to bring a sacrifice… tell the people he had come in peace…and he would tell him exactly what to do from there.

 

Samuel invited the family of Jesse…just as God had told him…and beheld the eldest son Eliab… and thought for sure he had picked the right one.  But God told him to never consider only the outward appearance of a man….but to consider more the inner character…as he rejected the thoughts of Samuel’s heart.  One by one God rejected every son that Jesse had brought…revealing that he had left his youngest son out in the fields.

 

As soon as David came to them…God’s great sigh of affirmation…and his great booming voice of authority told Samuel to anoint this young lad as the next king of Israel.  Then the spirit came upon him and gave him power…to become what he needed to be…to fulfill his new task on the Earth…to seek God and become a man after God’s own heart.

 

Samuel was like many of us these days…thinking that God works best with the ones who look the part.  We are drawn to the ‘pretty’ ones… the strong ones…the ones that look the most successful.  But God doesn’t size up a person the way man does…he considers first their heart. God sees us the way we are first thing in the morning…rooster hair going every direction…no makeup…with the true personality we have before the morning coffee. God loves us from the inside out…not the outside in.

 

It is a reminder to me….to be very careful with vanity.  I rarely go out in public without fixing my hair…and carefully placing a face on these old wrinkles that seem to be taking over my face.  I buy the lotions….the whitening toothpaste…and the clothes that flatter my plump figure the most.   I so needed this reminder that beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder…and I can tell the true character of any friend by their heart…not their compliments….and maybe I should worry a little less about my looks…and just let God make me so beautiful on the inside that my outward appearance will shine with his love…and make me more beautiful than any makeup or new hairdo could ever dream of transforming me.

Do You Believe Your Own Lies?

1 Samuel 15:19-23 -  Why did you not obey the LORD? Why did you pounce on the plunder and do evil in the eyes of the LORD?"  "But I did obey the LORD," Saul said. "I went on the mission the LORD assigned me. I completely destroyed the Amalekites and brought back Agag their king.  The soldiers took sheep and cattle from the plunder, the best of what was devoted to God, in order to sacrifice them to the LORD your God at Gilgal."  But Samuel replied: "Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.  For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has rejected you as king."

 

Saul had been told to destroy an evil people from the land God had given the Israelites. Nothing was to be left…women …children...babies…men…animals…they were all to be completely destroyed.  Even though it sounds way harsh to us today…it must have been easily accepted by Saul…for he had no problem killing all the people.  But the king was taken alive and stronger animals were spared…bringing great sadness to God…who had trusted him to obey his command.

 

And if the disobedience was not enough….Saul lied right to Samuel’s face when he came to camp later that day. He even justified his lie with another lie to cover his sin. Saul covered up his own sin so much that he began to believe his own lie. Samuel did not believe that he had killed everything…for he heard the proof as the animals around the camp bleated and mooed.   And Samuel did not falter as he rebuked Saul with the words of God….and told him straight up that his disobedience had made God extra sad.  The sacrifices he defended his lies with meant nothing in the light of his disobedience.

 

Samuel had spent his whole life studying the words of God….and knew the scriptures in Deuteronomy 4:1-2 that say….” Now, Israel, hear the decrees and laws I am about to teach you. Follow them so that you may live and may go in and take possession of the land the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is giving you.  Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the Lord your God that I give you.”  He knew that Saul had no right to ‘invent’ a reason for disobeying God and saving those animals…even if it was for sacrifices…which by the way was just another one of those cover up lies.

 

I could tell you story after story of how I covered one lie with another to try and hide the truth. And I am guessing that I am not the only one guilty of using this tactic in their lifetime. For me...the truth became so clouded... that I truly believed the lie I told….totally tricked by satan to keep deceiving others and myself…instead of asking God to wash me clean of my sin. Just like Saul…I just kept telling the story so many times I believed it was the truth. I never thought about how sad I was making God with my little white lies…how hurt he must have been every time I retold the lie to justify it to my own heart.

 

Truth is…I just didn’t love God with my whole heart back then.  I never understood what it meant in Deuteronomy 10:12-13…where it says …. “ And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul  and to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?”  And I am just touching the surface of what that means today…now that I have committed my heart to spend time with his Bible every day. It isn’t any easier to tell the truth all the time…but it is way cool… the feeling of peace that washes over me… when I let God help me be strong enough to come clean with the honesty God commanded.

 

Father...I thank you for the reminder today that I must walk in honesty with you at all times. Help me to soak up more and more of your words into my heart…so they can help me make the right choices each moment I am faced with a temptation to lie…..to cover up my sins. Show me how to fall deeper and deeper in love with you…and revere you …and obey you each time you give me a task to do. Help me to understand what it means to love you with my whole heart…soul…and mind.  Amen.

NOthing Can Hinder God's Power....Except Us!

1 Samuel 14:6-7 and 34-35  -  Jonathan said to his young armor-bearer, "Come, let's go over to the outpost of those uncircumcised fellows. Perhaps the LORD will act in our behalf. Nothing can hinder the LORD from saving, whether by many or by few."  "Do all that you have in mind," his armor-bearer said. "Go ahead; I am with you heart and soul."

 Then he said, "Go out among the men and tell them, 'Each of you bring me your cattle and sheep, and slaughter them here and eat them. Do not sin against the LORD by eating meat with blood still in it.' " So everyone brought his ox that night and slaughtered it there.  Then Saul built an altar to the LORD; it was the first time he had done this.

 

As Saul sat in confusion and doubt…his Son Jonathan rose with his armor bearer and crept quietly out of camp.  He acted on the knowledge that God was still with him…and he was powerful enough to conquer the enemy before them. He knew that God could deliver the Philistine army into his hand….even if he went alone.  And that is exactly what happened… Jonathan killed the first twenty or so…then God confused the Philistines so much that they killed each other.

 

The scene rallied the entire army back to its feet…as the Israelite soldiers started coming out of their hiding places to join in the slaughter.  The fought with renewed hope and zeal…they found new courage to complete the task before them through the confidence of Jonathan.  Verse 23 sums it up best…. “ So the LORD rescued Israel that day, and the battle moved on beyond Beth Aven.”  Saul even built his first altar that day… to cook the animals of the plunder…and prevent the men from sinning and eating undrained meat.

 

This story paints for us the two existing viewpoints of God that we all seem to have.  Jonathan…full of confidence and strength in a God he takes with him before battle… and Saul who builds him an altar as an afterthought.  Jonathan holds in his heart the knowledge of all the mighty miracles God has done before his lifetime….expecting God to do the same for him.  Saul waits in misery and confusion ….going through the motions of asking God for help…but then doing what he thinks will be best. Jonathan….full of courage and faith.  Saul…clinging to just the pieces of God that he wants…using God as some lucky charm in his life.

 

If I am honest with myself…I must admit that I act more like Saul than I do Jonathan. I ask God for help…but don’t always wait on his timing. I have always desired to be more like Jonathan…but satan somehow tricks me into never fully grasping God’s complete power in my life.  And as I read Matthew Henry’s commentary on the chapter…I was  reminded of 2 Timothy3:5  which says…. “having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.”  It hits home as I read that verse…that if I don’t begin to be more like Jonathan…people are being told to have nothing to do with me.

 

Father…I thank you for this story that helps me see that I am not truly what you want me to be. Help me to shake off the feelings of insecurity and doubt that I share with Saul…and put on the courage and attitude of Jonathan. Show me how to sidestep the tricks of satan…that prevent me from seeking your full power in my life. Show me how to step out with new expectations of the power you can give me to complete what you need me to do. Amen.

 

Trust God's Resources And Timing

1 Samuel 13:10-14 -   Just as he finished making the offering, Samuel arrived, and Saul went out to greet him.  "What have you done?" asked Samuel. Saul replied, "When I saw that the men were scattering, and that you did not come at the set time, and that the Philistines were assembling at Micmash,  I thought, 'Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the LORD's favor.' So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering."  "You acted foolishly," Samuel said. "You have not kept the command the LORD your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time.  But now your kingdom will not endure; the LORD has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him leader of his people, because you have not kept the LORD's command."

 

Saul had only been king for about a year when he began to concentrate his efforts on the military.  He selected only 3,000 men…the best of what Israel had to offer…and sent the rest home.  His son Jonathan took 1,000 of them one day to attack the Philistines outpost in Geba…and Saul took credit for it…then joined Jonathan with the other 2000 men.  It would have been a great first wave of battle…except that the Philistines produced an army of chariots and horsemen that was three times the size of Israel’s band of men. And they had so many foot soldiers the Bible said they were ‘uncountable.’

 

The Israelites cowered in fear at the sight of them….many running to any hiding place available… until Saul had only a mere 600 men left in his army.  Samuel was on his way…to meet Saul…to offer sacrifices…to pray for God’s direction…but Saul grew restless and offered the sacrifices without him….in hopes that his 600 men would not scatter as well.  Samuel showed up…just as he promised…as the last burnt offering was presented to God….and rebuked Saul for his disobedience and irreverence to the God who set down specific rules for such things. Samuel must have been talking to God on the way there too…for he chose this moment to pass down some pretty harsh words from God ..that foretold the coming of a king that would be after God’s own heart…and replace Saul as king.

 

As I read the commentary in my Life Application Bible….I hung on the words…trust God’s resources. The comment came complete with a reference to Romans 8…. A great chapter written to remind us that if God has called us to do something…he has already equipped us with all that we need to succeed. The problem in this story…was Saul never ask God if he were to have a ‘select’ army…in fact…I can’t find any reference that Sal ever prayed for direction at all.  He just decided what he thought was best in that moment…without ne thought to what God wanted him to do. 

 

Waiting on God’s leadership is hard…I admit that readily….and have 54 years of experience at running ahead of his plans for me.  I also share Saul’s lack of confidence in God’s resources….not trusting the great provisions he made have placed ahead of me to do his work.  I should know better…for I can testify as well to many times that God has blessed me with all that I need to live…like the house...furniture … and linens I needed after the divorce.   That was a great period of trust…when I grew more in the ways of God than I ever knew was possible.  I began to understand that God was not there for me…I was there for him…and as long as I sought him and his direction for my life…everything I needed to complete his work… would be provided...in his time.

 

Timing is the other issue I struggle with…God’s time is never what we predict in our fleshy human heart.  We want fast answers…just like Saul did when he offered those sacrifices by himself.  God had given him everything he needed to be a king for all time…but his selfishness and disobedience caused God to seek out another king.   It was a small boy….a humble shepherd…who God was training to be the next king.  I get to read his story soon…but I remember enough about him to know that God has some great training to do with this child.  He needed to teach him how to shepherd a whole flock…not select the best of his army.  He needed to teach him how to fight with just a small stone….so he can face all the giants that will appear to threaten his people.  He needed to teach him that loyalty to a good friend goes far beyond the bonds of blood.  It will take God 41 more years to get David ready.

 

Unlike Saul…who feared his future and never understood the resources God had placed in his path to help him… we have the great verses of Romans 8:37-39 to remind us of God’s promise to make us more than conquerors…. “ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.  For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,  neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  Paul knew that our success in life is linked to our trust is God…we conquer all our weaknesses and fights with evil…only if we keep our relationship with God the most important thing in our lives. 

 

Father…I thank you for the provisions you have made for me the last 54 years of life….and forgive me for all the blessings and provisions I missed because I jumped ahead of you…or did not trust you fully to take care of me.  Help me to trust you for everything I need from this moment forward …and seek your direction in my life…and wait on your timing…so you can train me like your great servant David.  Amen.

God's Forgiveness Overcomes Sin

1 Samuel 12:20-25 -  "Do not be afraid," Samuel replied. "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."

 

Samuel addressed the people after he anointed Saul to be king.  He wanted it made clear that the choice to have a king provide leadership to Israel …was not his own.  He wanted to try one more time to help them see that God had been their king….and provided all they needed….when they followed God… and not their selfish flesh. He wanted to help them understand what a great sin they had committed… against a God who had done so many good things for them. He wanted them to understand that they were still to follow the laws of God…even though they had sinned in asking for another king to rule them.

 

One great thing about his speech is it confirms that God is a forgiving God.  He allows us our moments of weakness….even uses them to build us into better people.  He calls us to admit our sin to him…ask his forgiveness… then he washes that sin right out of our hearts...even does miracles in our lives despite the sin we committed. The scar from the sin remains in plain view of our heart…not so we will fear God’s judgment….but so that we will remember what he has healed us from…so that we will fear losing his love and care over our lives.

 

Samuel ended his speech with a reminder to love the Lord with all our hearts…to follow him faithfully…to refrain from any more evil in our lives. Samuel knew it was a daily battle…against the nature of our sinful flesh…that is inclined to follow the ways of the world…instead of God. He had learned from his birth that he must walk in the spirit every day. Samuel had learned how to overcome the temptations of satan when they were presented to him.

 

Samuel knew ..as did Paul…that the way to overcome sin was through following Christ with our whole hearts and soul and mind.  Paul even said he had crucified his flesh...just like Christ was crucified for our sins on that cross.  Paul’s words in Galatians 5:16-24 says it better that I …. “ So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.  For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want.  But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.  The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions  and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.  Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.

 

Pick out the sin you battle most with…they are all there.  Paul left nothing out of the list…even the one I battle the most is there. The phrase ‘selfish ambition’ hits me in the face every morning…and I must turn to God to defeat it each day.  Of course I am like those Israelites more than I am Samuel or Paul…but God’s spirit is always there with me…and brings it to my attention when I let it get a foothold….and his loving mercy covers me with his grace and blood and washes that sin right out of my life again…the scar bringing to my heart a remembrance of all the good things God has done in spite of my many sins.

 

Thank you God for your grace and mercy in my life.  I thank you that I never have to worry about being good enough to earn your love…for you give it despite my unworthiness.  Thank you for reminding me to keep battling the sins in my life and ask you to forgive them.  Thank you for using each sin to change me into a new creature…able to call on the spirit to guide me …..to help me …to put away the sins that threaten to separate me from you. Build me into a strong person…like Paul and Samuel… that followed you with all their heart…all their soul…and all their minds.  Amen.

God Created... ALL... Our Emotions For Good!

1 Samuel 11: 2-6 -  But Nahash the Ammonite replied, "I will make a treaty with you only on the condition that I gouge out the right eye of every one of you and so bring disgrace on all Israel."  The elders of Jabesh said to him, "Give us seven days so we can send messengers throughout Israel; if no one comes to rescue us, we will surrender to you."  When the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul and reported these terms to the people, they all wept aloud.  Just then Saul was returning from the fields, behind his oxen, and he asked, "What is wrong with the people? Why are they weeping?" Then they repeated to him what the men of Jabesh had said.  When Saul heard their words, the Spirit of God came upon him in power, and he burned with anger.

 

The town of Jabesh was in great trouble.  They had been ‘besieged’ ….an Ammonite with his band og men…had blocked off the city with the intent of conquering it to make them slaves. Maybe it was God’s spirit that let him agree to the seemingly crazy plea of the elders…as they were given 7 days to find someone to rescue them. It turned out to be a stupid bet from the start...for Nahash.  For as soon as Saul heard about it …the spirit of God gave him an intense anger...and he sent out a call for soldiers…and then went straight away with over 330,000 men to rescue Jabesh Gilead.

 

Anger can be a dangerous thing when it is not controlled.  But when the anger is of God…it can be a powerful tool to do his work. Just like Jesus…in Matthew 21:12… “Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves” ….God gave him a powerful anger for the injustice and disrespect the money changers that helped him special and powerful message to us all about how to channel our emotions for good….giving the anger purpose and meaning.

 

And as I sit and process the concept that anger is sometimes good…I know in my heart that this concept works for all the other emotions that God gave us. I know from experience that the pain that comes with grief can sure rip someone to shreds that is not allowing God to channel that pain into changing their life somehow.  But when the pain is channeled into the work he has called to you to do…it becomes a tool to heal…to bring purpose to the pain.  The pain is easier to live with today because it now has meaning and function in my life.

 

What a twofold lesson we can learn from this great story.  Anger is of God…and it can be channeled for good…just like every other emotion he gave us. But we need to guard closely against satan…who easily convinces us to use these powerful tools of God for evil. I know that side from experience too….and am not proud of the times I got out of control over silly things at ball games …or let satan trick me into losing my temper at my kids over trivial things …we will call ‘spilled milk’ over the years. I know from this scripture that God is working in me to channel the anger he created in me to stop injustice and work to help women release the pain of grief in their life…so God can use them like he is using me.

 

Father…I thank you for the powerful emotions you planted in my heart from birth.  I ask you this morning to guard my heart against satan’s evil tricks…that sometimes convince me to rid my life of anger….and the other emotions he uses to weaken our hearts.   Help me instead to learn to channel all my emotions to do your work…and help you rid this world we live of injustice and pain.  Help me to give people your love...that can release them from the chains that pain and anger…that satan uses to make them feel hopeless. Amen.

Are You Hiding In Your Baggage?

1 Samuel 10:1;9 and 21-22 -  Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on Saul's head and kissed him, saying, "Has not the LORD anointed you leader over his inheritance?

… As Saul turned to leave Samuel, God changed Saul's heart, and all these signs were fulfilled that day

 Then he brought forward the tribe of Benjamin, clan by clan, and Matri's clan was chosen. Finally Saul son of Kish was chosen. But when they looked for him, he was not to be found.  So they inquired further of the LORD, "Has the man come here yet?" And the LORD said, "Yes, he has hidden himself among the baggage."

 

Samuel led Saul out of the city…and bid his servant to go on ahead…then Samuel anointed Saul with oil and kissed him …privately…in a field.  Samuel followed his kiss of respect and allegiance by pouring God’s words of leadership into Saul’s soul. He told him, that God had made him ‘captain’ of his people here on Earth….along with several other prophecies God had told him would happen in the next few days.

 

God changed Saul’s heart as he turned to leave that morning. And later God’s spirit did come upon him…as all of Samuel’s prophecies came true….as Saul joined a band of prophets for a short time that day. They sang and prophesied together for most of the day. It must have been a pure spiritual experience...maybe meant to build Saul up in confidence for his new job…maybe just to let him feel the power that he could have as God’s anointed leader.

 

But later….we find that Saul was hiding in the baggage…while his name was being drawn to be king. As lots were cast before the tribes…God’s unpredictable control… allowed the least of all tribes to be brought forward for his leader to be chosen from….and Saul’s name is clearly drawn before the leaders of all 12 tribes. At first I was inclined to believe that Saul hid out of fear and insecurity…but then I remembered that God had changed Saul’s heart. Maybe this hiding wasn’t so much out of fear…as respect for God’s holiness. Maybe I am stretching it here…but I want to believe that in these early moments of his anointing…that the spirit was still strong with him...and he understood the greatness of the God who had chosen him.

 

Whether you cling to a belief that Saul was insecure…cause if you peek ahead…Saul really has problems with self-esteem later in his reign….or chose to believe the principle that Saul ….at least for one moment in his ‘changed’ heart….understood the power God was giving him as king….there is a lesson there for all of us who believe.  God was clearly in control here….and in that moment…was telling his people...that he would use Saul….a common man…tall and good looking…from the least of all tribes….to become the leader that Israel cried out for.

 

It reminds me to never let satan trick me into believing that I cannot accomplish the things I feel in my spirit God has called me to do. He can empower me even if I am hiding from him in the baggage of all my sins. He can use me if I am broken on my knees… in respect and awe of his holiness. He will find me…and present to me his powerful spirit…to empower me to do what he has called me to do.

 

Father…I thank you for your great servant Samuel….and his obedience to your directives in his life.  Thank you for this reminder that you can use me no matter who I am or where I come from. Thank you for always finding me in my hiding places…and bringing me out to do the work you have placed me here to do.  Help me to always remember who you are…and the act of great love that even allows me life each day. Help me to accept your power and anointing…to allow your spirit to transform my heart…to hear you voice clearly…and know exactly what you have called me to do for you. Amen.