by Suellen | Project 2013: Read The Bible
I Samuel 15-16
God puts down one king and raises up another.
Success becomes a temptation to Saul and his character stands judged. Once again he wants to “do his own thing,” even though God had clearly sent instructions not to bring back spoils from the latest battle.
Samuel calls it “rebellion,” a sin which is like witchcraft.
Why is that so important? When someone wants to follow their own ideas, ignoring God’s, they open themselves up to be following Satan himself. That’s why it’s like witchcraft. Satan is sitting there waiting for God’s man to rebel – then he has an entrance to whisper directions to him.
Many men of God over the years have fallen into this trap. That’s why there is such a worldliness and humanistic bent over many churches today. The leaders have denied God’s instructions and made up their own – often unknowingly following the instructions of Satan.
There is a standard – a plumb line – set up by our Father above. It’s His Word. When people begin to deny His plans and choose their own way, they are in trouble, even if they don’t realize it. They, like Saul, are about to lose God’s anointing on their lives.
In our dispensation (after Jesus), however, we can repent. We can turn our hearts back to God and choose to follow Him completely. That’s when we will see the heavens open again over our lives – and the fruit that will follow.
I pray today that you and I will hear clearly and follow His plan – without wavering. I want to be in the dead center of His will, and I know that you do as well.
Luke 10:25-42
I think that all Christians have a Mary and a Martha living inside them. There is the part of us which wants to worship Jesus and sit at His feet. Then there is the part of us which wants to work, work, work for Him.
Each of us has a tendency to lean more to one than the other.
Obviously, if all we do is sit at His feet, there will be many aspects of His work which will never get done. We will never witness or visit the sick or cast our demons. We will be like monks, sitting at His feet.
Yet that is where all ministry should start. If we are out there ministering to others without sitting at His feet, we will burn out – and we will be ineffective.
All ministry should be from the overflow of what our Lord has deposited within us. The anointing which emanates from us is what will set the captives free. It’s not our goodness, but His. Not our Word, but His. Not our anointing, but His.
So we start with a good dose of “sitting at his feet,” and we go out from there. If every day we can start out by worshipping and listening to His voice – sometimes through His Word and sometimes through His speaking to us, our lives will bear much more fruit.
Jesus is the source of our life, our faith, and our works. When we start with Him, we’ll finish our assignments the right way.
by Suellen | Project 2013: Read The Bible
I Samuel 13-14
It’s amazing what a little success can do to a man’s character. Saul, who was taken from the smallest tribe and the smallest family, is getting prideful.
He’s the king, and not the priest. He has no business making priestly sacrifices to God, but he does. He over steps his bounds.
Obedience, and not sacrifice is what our Father wants from us.
Our Father is the one with the plan. We aren’t even capable of knowing all that He has for us, so we need to follow His scheme of things.
Yet, it’s so easy to do as Saul does, and “do our own thing.” Even in the name of religion.
Some of the greatest errors in our modern society emanate from this character flaw. So many ignore what God says about an issue, and make their own rules.
Proverbs says, “There is a way which seems right unto man, but the end of it is death.” (Proverbs 14:12 and 16:25). It’s there twice – must be important.
It seems right to Saul to offer the priestly sacrifice since Samuel is a little late. Yet he loses the kingdom because of this decision. After his death, the kingdom will go to another lineage – one which will honor God and be obedient.
Listen closely to what your Father is telling you. Look closely at His word. Don’t try to make up your own rules, but honor His.
That’s the way of life.
Luke 10: 1-24
What makes Jesus rejoice? We have it right here.
As He sends out the seventy disciples, armed with His delegated authority, they return with a tremendous report. His plan is truly working. People are being healed and demons are fleeing as they go in His name.
Jesus rejoices that He sees Satan fall from heaven. This one who has tortured mankind will soon be thrown from heaven for good.
Then Jesus says something interesting. He praises God for “hiding these things from the wise and intelligent and revealing them to babes.” (v.21).
Why would that be? Humility is required in God’s kingdom. Only those who are willing to listen to Him are to be His representatives in the earth.
The wise and intelligent are not very teachable, because they want to believe only what comes to them personally. They get caught up in their own minds and leave God out of it.
God wants people who are malleable in His hands – people who know that they need to depend on Him. These are the ones to which He can delegate His authority. These are the ones He can send in His name.
Yes, Lord. Send me.
by Suellen | Project 2013: Read The Bible
I Samuel 10-12
Can you imagine what Saul is thinking? Put yourself in his shoes. You go out looking for some cows which had escaped the pen, and the prophet declares you to be king of Israel.
Samuel gives the new king several signs that this is truly God, but it has to be shocking.
You see, however, that God anoints Saul for the task. Not only does he prophesy with the prophets, but he also has tremendous courage and sympathy come upon him for the people of Jabesh-gilead. He rallies the troops and defeats the Ammonites on their behalf.
Yet Samuel has grave warning for the people. This was not God’s plan, but man’s. By wanting a king, the Israelites have rejected God as their king, and the prophet reminds them of that fact.
This is a reminder to us, also. If we insist on going a certain way, He will not stop us. God will honor our free will.
The blessed life, however, is the one that is lived according to God’s plan.
Luke 9: 37-62
Are you a true disciple of Jesus? Are you willing to follow Him wherever He leads?
There are always commitments which could keep us from following Him. Many of these are good things – commitments to family and community.
Do you think that Jesus wants us to forsake our families? Of course not. That is one of our biggest priorities – to be faithful to our loved ones.
However, there will always be something which will come up which will cause us to make excuses that we don’t have time to follow Jesus. There will always be a reason for not doing His will.
That’s why we have to be on guard. Instead of making excuses, we have to find a way to do His will.
When we are following Jesus, our families will be cared for, and our other obligations will be met. We will also have the time and energy to do His will.
It goes like this: love God; love people. Until we truly love God, we can’t truly love people.
Lord, empower me to do your will. No excuses; just your will.
