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.
