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.
by Suellen | Project 2013: Read The Bible
I Samuel 7-9
God has some choice words concerning the Israelites and their desire for a king. He first tells Samuel, “The people have not rejected you, they have rejected Me.”(8:7) Yet He goes on to say that since they insist on a king, the prophet is to give them what they want.
He then warns the Jews. A king will take your best men, your sons, your daughters, your best fields and vineyards – and he will use all of these things for himself. Then you will cry out in that day because of the king over you.
The Israelites still wanted a king, because they wanted to be like every one else around them. (Remarkable, isn’t it?)
Saul has to be confused when he encounters Samuel. The Lord had revealed that the next day someone would come from the land of Benjamin, and this man was to be anointed king. So when Saul appears as promised, Samuel treats him with great honor.
Saul can’t figure out what is happening. He says, “I am from the least tribe, and the least family in the tribe. Why are you speaking to me this way?”(9:21).
Boy, is he in for a surprise! We’ll cover that tomorrow.
Luke 9:18-36
There are so many mysteries in the Kingdom – and here we see one.
If you want to save your life, you’ll lose it. If you are willing to lose your life, you’ll save it. (9:24) What does that mean?
The Greek word for life here is “psyche,” meaning, “soul.” It represents the natural part of you – the earth man – who from time to time can go his own way and get into trouble. The psyche is the part of you who is often self-centered and demanding, often contrary to God’s will.
There is a higher life God has for us – the life born of Him and empowered by His Spirit. That life can only come forth when the old man, the psyche, can be totally given up. Dead on the cross.
The new life which springs forth is full of zeal and energy, ready to run the race with the Father. This new one is the one we want to save.
So we die daily – taking up our cross and following Him. That’s the only way we will ever truly live.
by Suellen | Project 2013: Read The Bible
I Samuel 4-6
God is holy and He is mighty! That’s what you have to take away from these chapters. We already knew that Eli’s sons were violating God’s temple, and that Eli was not doing anything about it. And we know that he had fair warning.
God’s presence in His ark is holy, and as such will not be toyed with by the likes of Eli’s sons. So the sin in the lives of the leaders caused the Israelites to lose to the Philistines.
Jubilant, the Philistines take the ark, but they too are in for a big surprise – as their god, Dagon, not only falls over, but is broken into pieces in the presence of the holy ark. So they get it out of there as soon as possible.
There are many in today’s society, even some in the church, who don’t recognize God’s power. Even if they agree that He demonstrated it at one time,they think that He doesn’t demonstrate it now. But those people are wrong.
For those who will pray and seek their Father’s face, there are great times ahead. Times of refreshing by His Holy Spirit – and times of seeing His hand.
In the early 1700’s and again around 1800 there were some tremendous “awakenings” in America.
The latter of these was even more significant than the first, because it came to a territory, Kentucky, where the settlers were largely outlaws, swindlers, drunkards, brawlers, and just generally rough characters. Most had no religious history at all.
However, after much prayer and listening to God, a few ministers decided to hold a camp meeting in the fields of two of the roughest counties. As many as 25,000 or 30,000 people brought their wagons, food, and families to hear the preachers, and the outcome was incredible. Many turned their lives to God, and became followers of Jesus.
Doubting theologians came from Virginia to discredit the stories which were coming back to them. Were they ever surprised! They found the salvations to be even more numerous than had been reported.
Letters back to headquarters proclaimed that the total complexion of the Kentucky territory had been altered. “Never had they seen such a moral community.”
Only God’s presence and His power can bring such drastic change – a change which has caused historians to call this the “second great awakening” in America.
The fruit of this mighty demonstration of God’s power was that many ministers were called during this event and the Christian heritage of America was saved from extinction. The preachers went into all the frontier territories, ministering, and bringing many to the Lord.
I love to see God at work!
Luke 9:1-17
The twelve go out with delegated authority, proclaiming the Kingdom of God. That’s what Jesus preached about and demonstrated during his ministry.
So what does this Kingdom entail?
I think of it as a parallel universe. The very atmosphere of Heaven which is with us on earth, if we are willing to partake of it.
It’s right here with us, but so is the natural world. There are two kingdoms: the kingdom of men and the Kingdom of God.
In the kingdom of men, there is worry, confusion, striving, and emptiness. In the Kingdom of God there is peace, wisdom, fruitful labor, and joy.
There is also healing, God’s forgiving power, and the ability to hear His voice and walk with Him.
Today, we are called to be carriers of that Kingdom everywhere we go. He has called us, chosen us, and anointed us to go into all the world and preach the gospel.
Are you doing that? I am eager to do it more than ever!
by Suellen | Project 2013: Read The Bible
I Samuel 1-3
It must have been hard for Hannah to give up her son to be raised by the priest. During the millennium before Jesus was born, there was a huge gap between God’s servants and the lay people. When barren Hannah promised God that if He would give her a son, she would dedicate him to God, she literally meant that she would give him to be raised by the priest.
In faithfulness to her promise, Hannah took her weaned child to Eli at the temple. He was only three years old when he went there to live.
Eli must have felt a great responsibility to raise this special child. His own sons were thugs, so obviously his parenting skills hadn’t always been too great. The two sons would take the best sacrifices for themselves, and they would have sex with the women who came to bring offerings. Generally their behavior was atrocious.
After having been warned, and having ignored the warning, Eli’s sons were in trouble. God was getting ready for a final judgment of this household.
Think about it. Imagine yourself a young man, having been raised by this priest, Eli. Now imagine that over the years you had seen the outrageous behavior of this man’s sons. Then imagine that you have seen Eli tolerate the disrespect for God and His people which these men were perpetrating.
Now imagine what it would be like for God to give you the vision of judgment which He was bringing to that household. Would you be afraid to share it? Of course you would. This is the first record of God speaking a word to Samuel, and it’s a word against those who raised him.
When Eli inquired, however, Samuel was faithful to tell him everythin:. the priesthood was to be taken away from him and his household. God would not stand to be mocked.
I love 3:19-20. “Thus Samuel grew and the Lord was with him and let none of his words fail…And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the Lord.”
Better times were ahead for Israel, even though they had to go through some rough spots still. There needed to be a pure, clear word from God…and there was now!
Luke 8: 26-56
After casting out a legion of demons from a man in the country of the Gadarenes, and healing the woman with the issue of blood, Jesus comes to Jairus’ daughter. She is dead by the time He gets to their house, but that doesn’t phase Jesus.
There are a couple of things, however, we need to notice. First of all, when they come to the house, only three people are allowed to enter with Him. Peter, James and John. Jesus wants an atmosphere of total faith. He doesn’t want doubt like He encountered in His hometown. In His hometown, He could do no mighty miracle because of their doubt and unbelief.
When He is going to raise someone from the dead, He wants to have faith around Him. So only these three are allowed.
Notice, also, that He guards His Words. I can assure you that Jesus knows what is happening. He knows that the daughter has died. Yet He doesn’t say that; He says she is sleeping. Why?
There is power in every word which Jesus speaks. He is not going to agree with the devil and let His words pronounce death over her. His words will bring deliverance to the daughter as He calls for her to arise.
One more thing. As Jesus ministers to those around Him, there are different categories of people. When He is teaching God’s word and healing people, He has crowds of thousands. They follow Him everywhere for the teaching and the healing.
When it is time to send some out from village to village so that they may represent the kingdom, He has only 70.(Luke 10:1)
When it is time to reveal the mysteries of His Kingdom, He selects 12. These are the apostles which will be the backbone of His church when He goes up to Heaven.
Within that group, however, there is even a smaller circle: the three. Peter, James, and John. These three are the only ones He takes into Jairus’ house, and they are the only three who go with Him on the Mount of transfiguration. These three are His closest friends and followers.
You know that these three aren’t perfect, but their hearts are truly toward Him. And they are the ones who believe Him completely.
Where do you want to be among Jesus’s followers? I want to be one of the three. I want to know His secrets, and I want my life to be lived for Him completely.
When I say three today, it doesn’t just mean “three.” It means a category of people who are all out for Him. So lots of us can be in the “three.” It’s really our choosing.
That’s where I want to be.
