Christ had to pay our debt because we could never pay it ourselves.   ~~~   As we finish up 1 Samuel 16, we are beginning to learn that, once again, God provides what we need and what we need is a king on whom the Spirit rests, a king that is radically and faithfully and completely obedient to the Holy Spirit. And that King is Jesus! He is our Great Leader! We are not waiting for another. He is the fulfillment of the promise of an eternal King. And we are those who follow. But there is a way to follow Him. The game changer for first century church was the coming of the Holy Spirit to indwell believers and live through them this life of discipleship. The same Spirit that came and resided in them resides in every believer today. Romans 8:11 “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.” The sports commentator said that the right quarterback is worth whatever price you have to pay to get him. The price is too high for us. We cannot purchase our way to having Christ as our king. We do not have enough moral or spiritual currency. You can’t pay with debt. But what makes Jesus a great King is that He was willing to pay the price on your behalf.

Special Guest: Heith Mitchell

When God guides us to where He wants us to be, it’s up to us to follow.   ~~~   Have you ever asked yourself, “what is God’s will for me”? I think it’s safe to say we all have in some form or fashion. What’s my purpose? What’s God’s plan? THAT’s where I want to be! We pray. We wait. We seek. We want to experience God in our life, but to do that we must first understand that the story isn’t about us at all, it’s God’s story and He lovingly created us for it and invites us to be a part of it in HIS timing and HIS way. In our first year of marriage, my husband and I worked through the study, Experiencing God, written by Henry Blackaby. We were both fully committed to the Lord and we had already seen God at work in our lives individually and as a couple, so moving forward we didn’t want to miss a thing He had for us. If you’ve never worked through the study, Blackaby walks through seven realities of Experiencing God. They are: God is always at work around you. God pursues a continuing love relationship with you that is real and personal. God invites you to become involved with Him in His work. God speaks by the Holy Spirit through the Bible, prayer, circumstances, and the church to reveal Himself, His purposes, and His ways. God’s invitation for you to work with Him always leads you to a crisis of belief that requires faith and action. You at times must make major adjustments in your life to join God in what He is doing. You come to know God by experience as you obey Him and He accomplishes His work through you. My husband and I have been married almost 30 years. I can look back over the years and tell you, we have experienced God in so many ways that I don’t ever want to NOT experience God. Now hear me say, this study, like any other, is simply a tool. But, God did use it to deepen our awareness of seeing where God was at work as well as our desire to say YES to His invitation to join Him, wherever that leads. Throughout the seasons of our lives together, God, through His word, His grace and His spirit, have led us and walked with us in and out of each one. Some seasons were exciting and full of mountaintop moments while others were painful and full of questions. Still, we walked on and He walked with us through it all. All throughout scripture we see the same. Men and women, in places and times throughout history, used by God to fulfill His plan. Mountain moments, valleys and everything in between, but God at work all throughout. Exodus 3:1-4 Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.” When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush,“Moses! Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am.” This burning bush moment for Moses was just the beginning. Go read chapters 3 and 4 of Exodus and you’ll get the full story, but what we see is Moses wasn’t too eager to say yes, but God had a plan. In the end, Moses was faithful, so much so, that in the Hebrews 11 ‘hall of faith’ chapter, Moses’ experiencing God moments take up more attention that any other. You see, the beauty of being where God wants you to be is that most the time, you divinely end up there, then it’s up to YOU to walk by faith and obey in the steps that follow. That’s the truth. I’m thankful for opportunities to say yes. I want nothing more than to be where God wants me to be, doing what He would have me do in each moment of every day. Watch for where God is at work. It could be a simple act of obedience right in front of you. Don’t miss it. I’m Lori Cline.

A good leader recognizes that they still need God to guide them.   ~~~   Last week ended with Saul having a tormenting spirit upon him. Unfortunately, this will not be the last time we read of Saul and a harmful spirit. It will be a recurring theme throughout the remainder of his kingship. But instead of humility and repentance, Saul grows more paranoid and spiteful. But here is the wild thing. David himself will face his fair share of hardships. He will face plenty of nights of depression and torment himself. But he does something Saul never did. He examines his heart. God is the one, the only one who can provide what we need. The world cannot. And what we need is a King obedient to, captured by, the Spirit of God. And that is what the LORD provided to Israel in David. And we will see in the coming weeks that David really is a man of war, a man of valor, and that the LORD really was with Him in a mighty way. But David himself knew that he was not Israel’s ultimate answer. He knew a greater king was to come. This is why he said in Psalm 110:1 “The Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.” David recognized that he himself needed a king, a Lord to reign over him, one mightier, more powerful, a greater warrior, of greater valor. And oh how that original audience must have longed for another King like David, a leader, a champion of whom it could be said, “The Lord is with him!”

You don’t have to have a perfect setting and environment to study the Bible.

Our time on earth is temporary, so we should use it to make disciples.   ~~~   Welcome to another episode of Storybook Homes. Today, I’m standing in a vacant commercial rental space that in a few short months will be home to a local media marketing firm. Right now, it is just an empty shell, but I have been tasked with the job to design a space that will accommodate more than 50 workstations with room to add additional desks as the company grows. This empty space represents a couple of things to me. First, it represents potential. It’s essentially a blank slate just waiting to be transformed into the ideal space for my client. If there had been a bunch of walls already erected in this space, my client might have had a hard time figuring out how their company could work within the given parameters. But since it’s wide open, there are no barriers to work around, they can utilize the space however best suits their needs. It’s also a reminder that this space is temporary. The conditions of the lease state that any walls erected have to be temporary, so that if the next tenant does not want the walls they can be easily removed and returned to the empty shell. This works well for my client because they have plans to build their dream office in a few short years and they view this space as just a stepping stone to their permanent home. Knowing they don’t plan to be in this space long, they have requested the majority of the budget and design to be focused on things they can take with them to their permanent space. This not only includes furniture and decor, but they have also opted for moveable room dividers to separate office spaces instead of walls. I’ve not done anything quite like this before so, I’m looking forward to the creative challenge. This empty space reminds me of another empty space that we read about in the bible. The empty tomb. The place where Jesus was laid to rest after his death on the cross is not special because it was an empty burial spot. It’s special because of what that empty tomb represents. It represents the ability we now have for our sins to be removed and to live with Christ in heaven, forever. If Jesus still occupied that tomb, we would still be relying on the law to temporarily atone for past sins with no real hope of ever living up to the standard God requires. But, because Jesus is no longer in that tomb, it proves that he once and for all conquered death and sin. If we believe in him and trust him to remove our sins, we too can live blameless with the Father in heaven. That empty tomb is also a reminder that our time on earth is temporary. Jesus came to earth, died, and left the tomb empty so that we could live permanently with him in Heaven, not on earth. In Hebrews 13:14 we read: “For this world is not our permanent home; we are looking forward to a home yet to come.” Jesus encouraged his followers to look beyond the temporary toward the permanent. During the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus preached: “Don’t store up treasures on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy and thieves do not break in and steal.” While this marketing firm knows they will only occupy this space for a short time, that doesn’t mean they put their work on hold until they can move to their permanent space. Rather they will make the most of their time in this space to grow and expand their company to ready themselves for their bigger, better permanent location. The same should be said of our time on earth. After Jesus abandoned the tomb he gave his disciples the following instructions for living out their temporary time on earth as they awaited their permanent home: “Go, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the ends of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20. If you’ve never put your trust in Jesus and asked Him to forgive your sins, let me encourage you to do that today. And if you have been saved by His grace, let’s live out our time here on earth as he commanded. Thanks for allowing me to share another renovation with you and for joining me as we discover God’s love and restoration for our lives here on Storybook Homes.

We shouldn’t go to God to feel better while still doing whatever we want.   ~~~   The world uses God as a means to an end, instead of God being the end. We see next that Saul listens to this advice and says, “Provide for me a man who can play well and bring him to me.” One of the servants speaks up and makes a suggestion: “King Saul, I know a guy. Really good musician, man of war, man of valor, well-spoken. And the Lord is with him.” Saul knows exactly who the servant is speaking of and sends a messenger to Jesse and says, “I would like to have David for a bit in my service.” So David comes. And when Saul is being tormented, David plays, and Saul is refreshed, the harmful spirit leaves. All is well, right? What could be so wrong with this? Music therapy really does seem to be the answer. Wrong. What is happening here is Saul is using the anointed one of God as a means to an end. Once again, mercy is brought into his palace, and he rejects it. How so, Clif? Think about this for just a minute. David, the writer of many of the psalms, the sweet psalmist of Israel. David is playing these songs, these praises to Yahweh, but Saul is simply using David to get to a better mental state. Saul is having some of the greatest theology being sung over him, and he uses it to soothe his soul for a minute, but not surrender the totality of his life to the LORD. If you want to be religious, the world allows that, so long as God is used as a means to a different end other than God himself. What does this look like in our day? It looks like your faithfulness to prayer, the Bible, the church when there is a crisis in your life, but when everything simmers down, you go back to your normal routine of ignoring the LORD. You have in front of you and all around you the songs of God, the word of God, the people of God, yet you use God like a vitamin shot to make you feel better, and you will come again when you start to feel bad. You use the means of God to fulfill your great end, and that is to get you to a place where you can function again according to your will and ways. Saul’s life will play out in disaster. He will still function like a king, but it spirals and spirals out of control. And you can function in this life because you will look just like the world. You won’t think anything is wrong, but it will end in everlasting disaster. So don’t play here. Recognize that this is a dangerous game you are playing. No Saul, you are not supposed to use God as a means to feeling better so you can run His kingdom how you want to.

There’s a profound lesson to learn from Elijah.

Prayer is the calm believers can access in the chaos of life.   ~~~   The world around us is in chaos. How’s your heart? A dear friend of mine used to call me and say, “hey I just needed to hear your voice and check your temperature”. It was so funny but I loved it, because what it meant was she was calling to check on me. She was calling to see how my heart was. There were seasons of life we walked together that weren’t easy so she would check in. That’s a good friend. We need to check in with one another. So consider this your heart check in. How’s your temperature? Is it rising? If you haven’t noticed, the heat is rising around us. The world, in places, is in utter chaos, destruction and confusion. We may be in a bubble for now, but ready yourself church, the battle is looming at our door. This of course is no surprise to God, who is and will always be on the throne. If your heart is troubled, because you are human and the evil spreading around the world is hard to understand and our hearts are breaking for those hurting, remember the words of Jesus in Matthew 16:33, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” The disciples had seen a lot in their time with Jesus, but it was about to all go down. Jesus was about to be arrested and crucified. They were about to scatter and didn’t even know it, even though Jesus literally had just told them they would. Still, Jesus’ words ring loud and clear in my ears, ‘take heart! I have overcome the world.’ We know how it ends yet we are still on the journey. The battle has been won, yet the war is raging. Friends, don’t let your heart be troubled even in the midst of trouble. Cling to the HOPE we have in Jesus and SHINE joy and peace today so bright that those around you will see and not be able to understand. So they’ll ask, “how do you stay cool and calm in the chaos and heat that is rising around us?” And when they do, you can tell them, “Jesus”. If you’re struggling today with being calm in the chaos I want to give you a very practical way to pray your way to peace. The Bible tells us how in Philippians 4:6-7. Philippians 4:6-7 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Did you catch how to pray your way to peace? We are to worry about what? Nothing. That’s step number one. If you’re mind is consumed by fear and worry, begin your prayer by confessing your lack of trust in God. Lay down what’s heavy on your heart and TRUST God with it. He IS who He says He is and He is faithful to the end. The next step is to pray about it all, everything! Go to the Lord in prayer with ALL the things, every circumstance, all the details and even as you pour your heart out, you will feel it begin to grow lighter. He IS near your broken heart. He sees your need and He is with you. And the final piece is thanksgiving. As you pray, as you pour out your heart, as you lay your burdens and your worry down, give thanks. Give thanks in knowing He is able. Give thanks in the fact you can go boldly to the throne of grace and talk to a loving Father who hears you. Give thanks He IS in control and holds this world in His hands. What follows is peace. Yes we may not know what tomorrow may bring, but no matter what, God holds it. That’s the truth. We will not be shaken by what shakes this world because our hope is in Jesus. He is and always will be my calm in the chaos. I’m Lori Cline.

The world offers wellness by deniability, rather than repentance.   ~~~   Saul has rejected God’s word and will over and over. He has tried to use God’s ceremonies and ways as manipulative tactics. And now, God has rejected him from being king, and sent a harmful spirit upon him and Saul is being tormented by this spirit. The word tormented means “to be overtaken by sudden terror.” This is not the first time something like this happens. Psalm 78:49 “HE let loose on then his burning anger, wrath, indignation, and distress, a company of destroying angels.” And the solution that is offered to Saul by his court is to find a really good guitar player so that he may be well. Does that sound just a little silly? Saul, you have been a constant rejector of God. You have led His people selfishly. And now, His convicting spirit is harming you, keeping you up at night, not giving you any relief. How about we see if Glen Cambell is available? That should do the trick.” And yet, that is exactly what the world wants to prescribe for you in terms of bringing you relief—let’s make you feel better. Let’s not bother with truth. Let’s not bother with your actions, your attitude, your rejection of your maker. Let’s not bother with reality. Let’s just sooth your precious little soul with some music that will make you feel better about yourself. How about this instead—REPENT SAUL! Do you not realize that you have abandoned God? Have you not realized that you are eaten up with yourself, and your image, and your own self-glory? You must repent! You are being tormented because of your willful pride and refusal to fall on your face before God and seek mercy. But this is what the world offers—wellness by means of deniability. It’s not my fault. This is what happens when you look to the world.

Maybe you're not hearing God because you're not taking the time to stop and listen to Him.

Jesus’ kind of leadership takes the burden of legalism and self-righteousness from us.   ~~~   Jesus is the king who went into the cities and had compassion on the people because he saw that they were harassed and helpless with burdensome, legalistic commands; they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he tells his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few, therefore pray to the LORD of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” Doesn’t this sound like our world right now, our own family, our own friends? They are seeking a king, a leader, to calm the panic, alleviate the fear and give them courage, conviction, rest, and peace and purpose, many Christians are in this camp. Jesus is the king who says to us, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” If Jesus is a King who takes from us the weariness and burdens of the oppressive yokes of legalism, then shouldn’t we, Christians be the rested warrior ready to go out in the fields for battle? If the yoke is easy and the burden is light, then what is hindering us from the fight? Why are slow and sluggish and faint? Shouldn’t we be the Jonathan’s who have been refreshed by the honey of God and have bright eyes ready to go to battle? If our leader, our King has told us as parents to raise our children in such a way that they are to be sharp arrows that will strike a mighty blow against the enemy, don’t be surprised nor afraid when might enemies rise up in the world. We have the weapons in our hands! If we are those things, perhaps we have been following the wrong king, seeking the wrong king, and it’s time to recalibrate our lives. Do what Saul refused to do and that is repent. Recognize your hard-heartedness, confess, and turn in humility and repentance to the Almighty. There is also a word to those who serve in leadership, kingly roles, like fathers. How do you lead? Do you lead with godless demands and rules and rash vows? Do you lead in order to protect your own reputation, to gain your own glory? Does your leadership cause so much desperation that it brings others to sin? Then we know you are not following Jesus, but living in your own kingdom of self-exaltation and self-righteousness. So you too, turn, repent, and run to Christ in faith, and walk with him Day by Day.

Our goal is not to be less self-exalting, self-righteous, or self-preserving, but to follow more closely to Jesus.   ~~~   So what are we to do with all of this that we have seen in 1 Samuel 14—fear, self exaltation, self-righteousness, self-preservation? Is the lesson, the truth here that if we want to be good leaders then we should not be self-exalting, self-promoting, and self-preserving? No. Believe it or not that is not the lesson at all. The question is, “Who can secure and lead the people of God and bring the kingdom of God to flourish?” And the answer that we are going to be given is, King David! But even that is a short-lived, unsatisfying answer, because even in David we see self-preservation, and his great need for repentance. And so as we read this unfolding saga, our hearts are taken on this journey longing for a king. We are looking and seeking a king. And if you have read through the Old Testament, you definitely know that that list of names of kings is lacking severely in presenting us with a suitable King. But then we come to Jesus. Jesus was motivated by the glory of God, not the glory of self-exaltation. Jesus was motivated by love for God, not love for appearing a certain way to a certain crowd. Jesus was motivated by his desire to rejoin God and be in His presence, not run from mission, and in order to do that, Jesus did not avoid blame, but took on blame that was not His own. Jesus didn’t desire to be ransomed by the people of God, but rather was the ransom price for the people of God. The lesson of the text is not that we need to be less like Saul, but rather, that if we are honest, we are just like Saul and we are bad kings. Our churches are weakened when led by self-exalting men like Saul. Our families are weakened when led by self-righteous pricks; We are not good kings; we need a different type King to reign over us. And this King is Jesus. So the goal is not to be less self-exalting, less self-righteous, less self-preserving, but rather, to follow and cling more closely to Jesus, who will bring humility and sacrifice into and through your life day by day.

Self preservation will lead us to accuse and harm others to ensure we get what we want.   ~~~   In this last scene of 1 Samuel 14, we see self-exaltation in Saul wanting to pursue and plunder the Philistines by night, and we see self-righteousness in Saul when the priest comes to him and say, “You think we should ask God about this?” And Saul says, “Course, I was just about to do that. Give me some time.” (He really didn’t say that but I’m just adding some flare.) But we are also going to see self-righteousness. So Saul inquires of God. He asked God, “If we do this, will we be victorious?” And there is no answer. Only silence. So Saul assumes, rightly, that there must be some breach in the relationship between Israel and Israel’s God. So he calls all the people together, and he is going to use the high priests special stones to show them who has sinned. All of you stand on that side, and me and my son will stand on this side, and whoever is chosen, even if it be my son, they shall die.” This is more self-righteousness by the way. So they go through this process, and the lot falls to Jonathan. Jonathan is identified as the guilty party, the one who sinned. So did God speak through those High Priest’s stones? Well, think about this for a moment. In this particular scene, God’s presence is no where mentioned. Just prior to this, at the corrupt high priest’s request, God is silent towards Saul. Earlier in chapter 14, Saul cuts short a religious ceremony asking for God’s blessing, all of this going on while the High Priest is of a cursed line. Could it be, not that God identified Jonathan as the guilty party, because God was not manifesting his presence to Saul, but that Saul was simply trying to avoid the blame, even if the blame had to fall on his own son? He was trying to save his own skin, his own reputation. He cared not that he was out of fellowship with God, and refused to offer any kind of repentance to get back into the presence of God. Saul was the bus driver, willing to throw run over his own son to preserve himself. This is what we call self-preservation. So we have seen self-exaltation, self-righteousness, and self-preservation. Let us be reminded that this King, King Saul, is exactly the type of king Israel asked for…a king like the other nations. May we learn the lesson that what God desires for us, and provides to us in King Jesus, is far greater than we could ever ask or imagine.

Those who are self righteous will point fingers to highlight the faults of others.   ~~~   1 Samuel 14 presents us with King Saul pursuing self-exaltation, and also self righteousness. In the words of the famous detective Monk, “Here is what happened.” Saul called for a fast upon his soldiers so they would focus on dominating the enemy, no matter how wearisome they were. Once the time finally arrived where it was allowed for the soldiers to eat, they “pounced” on the spoils. The image being presented to us is one of a bird of prey descending on its findings. The men dropped whatever they had in their hands, fell to their knees and instantly began slaughtering whatever animals were close by, and eating them. They did this out of desperation and starvation. It is simply what the body does in this moment. You lose all sense of decorum and turn into animals. You also lose all sense of holiness. The soldiers knew that they were not supposed to eat meat that still had blood. Blood was the life source and was the symbolic means of atonement for the people. The blood was to be poured out, not consumed. But this was perhaps the furthest thing from the men’s minds. When someone finally realized what was going on, they told King Saul. And in his arrogance he says to the men, “You have dealt treacherously; roll a great stone to me here.” And so they did and the people brought their animals to the stone, slaughtered them on the stone, thus gravity providing a sufficient way to drain the animal of its blood. Now at this point we might think, “Why would we call Saul self-righteous at this point? Isn’t this the very thing that needed to be done. Were not the people sinning against the LORD?” Yes they were. But we must remember the body of work in the text. What have we read that would lead us to believe that Saul cared anything about sincerely following God’s word? We have read nothing. Nothing in Saul’s life would lead us to believe that Saul cared anything about truly following the LORD. We have seen disobedience, fear, laziness, spiritual ignorance, opportunistic endeavors. And for him to say, “You have dealt treacherously,” is the height of arrogance.” He has zero concern about God’s holiness, but he does have concern about appearing holy. “There is no pride so dangerous, none so subtle and insidious, as the pride of holiness.” Andrew Murray Self-righteousness is the pointing out of other people’s sin while all the while having the great ability to ignore or suppress your own. That is self-righteousness. When Jesus says, “Judge not lest you be judged,” He is not forbidding that believers should judge other believers. He is forbidding self-righteousness. He is saying that you should not be self-righteous, calling out other people’s sin without navigating the sinful trenches of your own heart and life. Saul called the people’s sin “treacherous” without the slightest indication of acknowledging his own selfishness, without ever realizing that it was his selfishness and sin that led to the people’s desperation at this point. How about you? How about me? Are we better at pointing out the faults of others and conveniently ignoring our own. You cannot do this and walk joyfully, day by day with the LORD.

When we look to someone other than God, we should not be surprised when they fail us.   ~~~   1 Samuel 14:23-24 “So the LORD saved Israel that day. And the battle passed beyond Beth-aven. And the men of Israel had been hard pressed that day…” The “that day” of verse 24, is the same “that day” of verse 23. So what we have in verses 24-46 is a re-telling of the days events, a replay, if you will that gives us more insight, a close-up of what took place. Yes, the LORD gave victory, thanks to Jonathan, but it didn’t come easily, thanks to Saul. And finally, the feature of this text is the recurring description of the army of God We read that they were “hard pressed,” in verse 23, and that the people “were faint,” in verse 28, and then they were “very faint,” in verse 31. So there is a progression of being distressed, to be exhausted, and then into a state of being in a state of extreme exhaustion and tiredness, and completely frustrated with King Saul. How did the warriors get to this point? What brought on this detrimental, desperate situation for them? It was King Saul and his leadership of them. And that is what the author wants us to see and know, and he also wants us to remember, “This is the type of king you asked for…a king like the world who chases his own personal glory.” Well, this is what you get. And the motivations and intentions of a king like the world bring trouble to the land. The people of God are weakened/troubled when led by worldly men. The kingdom is not safe in the hands of a worldly man. Proverbs 29:2 “When the righteous increase, the people rejoice, but when the wicked rule, the people groan.” So who is leading you? Your family? Where is your hope? In the president? In the potential of a next president? Let’s learn the lesson of 1 Samuel 14, and put our hope in the King who has been revealed to us, and resurrected for us—King Jesus.

Selfishness and pride will lead us away from God.   ~~~   What is it, what is motivating King Saul? What makes Saul such a bad leader?There is trouble in the land when the King is motivated by self-exaltation. We see self-exaltation in 1 Samuel 14:24 “Cursed be the man who eats food until it is evening and I am avenged on my enemies.” Verse 24 tells us that the fighting men had been “hard pressed that day.” The fighting had been intense and long, and the men had grown tired and hungry. But Saul lays on them a burden of continuing the fight, chasing the Philistines far out of the country, and also that no one should eat anything until the fight was over. We are not explicitly told what the concern is of Saul and why he wouldn’t allow the soldiers to eat, but I think it is a fair assessment to surmise that his concern was that if the Israelite soldiers stopped to eat, then the Philistines would escape into the night or the victory would not be as dominating as it could be. And all of this is motivated by Saul’s lust of self-exaltation. He wanted his name to be avenged. He wanted his name to be associated with complete victory and domination. What is important to know at this point, especially as we make our way into the David narrative, that fasting before a war, or even during the war, is not unheard of, but the reasons for the fast are different. Saul’s command is for his own good, not the men’s, not in order to keep the men lean and mean. He simply did not want the enemy to escape; he wanted the his name in the headline above the fold. Saul did not start the fight, but rather was content to be lazy, sitting in the shade of a tree, but when he opportunity presented itself to be in the spotlight, he jumped right in, and by doing so, put his army in jeopardy. He was leading with godless rules in order to secure vainglory, and it brought weakness on the people. All of these are works of the flesh; all of these we need to be on the hunt for in our own lives as we walk with the LORD day by day.

Are we moving, living in bold, Biblical faith, or are we standing still in binding fear?   ~~~   Listen to me church. As I survey where we are as a church, we could easily say, “The odds are against us, and the circumstances are not favorable. There is a pandemic; there is this and there is that.” And we could comfort ourselves with this. Who can really be expected to grow during this time? Who could really be expected to be fervent? Who could really be expected to invite friends and families and coworkers to church during this time? That option is open to us. But so is biblical faith. We have right now to press into the word of God, and to live by faith. Now is the perfect time. Who owns the swords? Who shaped the hills? Who gives life and breath? Are you moving, living in bold, Biblical faith, or are you standing still in binding fear?

We can choose to walk in fear, or we can trust the Lord and walk with Him.   ~~~   Last Friday we saw in 1 Samuel 14 where Saul was hiding from a battle because the situation was not right in his eyes, no matter what God’s word said. But also notice the people around Saul. The text tells us in verse 14:3 that “Ahijah the son of Ahitub, Ichabod’s brother, son of Phinehas, son of Eli, the priest of the LORD in Shiloh, wearing an ephod,” was with Saul. Why mention all of that description of Ahijah? To remind us of the corruption, of the fact that these people had been cursed by God, and that the LORD was speaking through Samuel now. Saul surrounded himself with people who did not know the LORD, and would not encourage him in the word of God. You will notice in 14:17-18 presumption in Saul. After the battle has already started, it is that point that Saul puts on a show to try and discern the will of God. He calls for the priest to help him discern whether or not they should go into battle. But when Saul sees that the enemy is running, that it looks like the victory is at hand, it is at that point that all this courage flows through his body, and he no longer needs the help of the LORD, and he jumps into battle. Why? Because at that point the odds were in his favor, and the circumstances were right for him to gain personal glory to where he could boast of a great triumph. So the question could be put to us, “Do we hide in fear, abandoning the work of the LORD, until it looks more favorable, to where we emerge from our caves with chest poked out in order to gain personal glory? Or do we walk with the LORD day by day, obediently, no matter the circumstance?”

If we only move when odds are good, we miss the impossible working of the Lord.   ~~~   Biblical faith lives to God’s glory, not personal honor. We see this most vividly in the positioning of Saul, the people around Saul, and the presumption of Saul, all in contrast to Jonathan’s faith in God. Position of Saul Samuel 14:2 tells us , that “Saul was on the outskirts of Gibeah in a pomegranate cave.” In other words, on the day of battle (13:22), Saul was hiding. He was afraid. Fear says, “I won’t move until the odds are in my favor, no matter what God’s word says.” Did you know that fears often times reveal our idols. Saul resorted to hiding because he was afraid of being unsuccessful. Better to hide than risk defeat and be humiliated. So what was his idol? Being seen as successful. Sometimes, we as the people of God do not operate in faith because we fear that we will fail and be humiliated, and we just can’t have that because we care too much about our own reputations. Neither did Saul like the situation or circumstances. They were too difficult. Too risky. The work was going to be too treacherous, too much work. Who wants to scale a slippery or thorny mountain? What is the idol there? Personal comfort and ease. We have become spiritually fat and gluttonous people, that any amount of time or investment requires too much of us. We have lost the sense that work for the LORD is oftentimes hard work, difficult work, work that no one else would even think of doing. But you know what else we forget—we forget that it is not by might, nor by power, but by His Spirit. We forget that we are not to live and fight upon on our strength, but on His. And when we only move when the odds are good and the circumstances just right, then we miss out on seeing the LORD work.

We cannot overcome sin on our own, but Jesus can do it for us.   ~~~   If you are listening today, and have been for the last few days, and you are far from God, overwhelmed by the weight of your sin, and the desperateness of your situation, you need to know that none of those can hinder the LORD from redeeming you. Your sin is not greater than God’s grace. The lowliness or bitterness of your situation does not overwhelm God, but it could be the very thing God is using to turn you to Him. So won’t you turn to Jesus today, who cancels the weight of sin by his death on the cross. He became the sin-bearer on the cross so you could be the life-receiver by faith. Will you not come to him today in faith? The odds of you overcoming your sin or atoning for your sin are too much for you. The situation is too bleak for you to overcome. You need a perfect mediator, a righteous representative. And that is Jesus. He came to seek and to save the lost; to be the physician of the sick in soul; to be the burden bearer of the weary, to be the giver of new life to the repentant, and to those who walk with him Day by Day.

Regardless of opposition, God always comes out on top and shows He is always in control.   ~~~ God prefers to have the odds stacked against His people, and the most important, most life-changing occurrence of this is in the life of Jesus. In John 18, we take notice that Jesus is in a garden, but we also take notice of the characters involved. There is Jesus with his band of disciples, and Judas with religious leaders, and Jewish officers, and Roman soldiers with torches and weapons. John doesn’t tells us the number of soldiers, but calls them a band, or a cohort. A cohort could be as much as a thousand soldiers, but sometimes as little as 200 men. What is not an option is to think that this was just a small crowd. The gospel of Matthew says it was a great crowd carrying swords and clubs. Team Jesus, with his band of fishermen, and Team Judas with his band of fighters. This appears, on the surface, to be an unequally matched, unimpressive line up card for a fight. But this is a showdown of power and control. Judas who left the upper room, and the light of the world, to go into the darkness and be led by man’s weak and temporal lanterns. Would that light prove effective in diminishing the Light of the World? This is the showdown So take notice who initiates the action. John tells us that Jesus is the one who steps forward and starts asking the questions. He is the one on the offensive here. Jesus asked the officers, “Whom do you seek?” They answer, “Jesus of Nazareth.” “I AM!” Now right after this statement, notice what the text makes clear to us. It tells us that Judas, the betrayer, was standing with the officers and Roman Soldiers, and chief priests and pharisees, so that we might know whose side Judas is on, and also that what happened next happened to Judas as well. When Jesus said, “I AM,” they drew back and fell to the ground. In this showdown of power, where it looks like Judas and the religious leaders and the soldiers have the upper hand in quantity and weaponry, Jesus shows them that He can overtake them with just the utterance of who He is. In that moment, the entire cast in the garden was put on notice as to who was in charge and who would be running the show. When Jesus opened His mouth, it was as if part of Jesus’ veiled glory was unleashed and burst through, and the soldiers carrying their weapons, and the religious leader carrying their pride, and Judas carrying His greed, were rendered powerless. And once again we see that God stacks the odds against Himself so that all are put on notice as to who is in total control. Some trust in chariots. Some trust in horses. But we trust in the name of the LORD our God.

Although our bodies are temporary and will die, our spirits are eternal.   ~~~   Do you need a reminder of who holds this day? Psalm 118:24 This is the day that the Lord has made, so let us rejoice and be glad in it! There is not a day that the Lord has not made or does not reign over. Psalm 24:1 The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; Rest in that beautiful truth today and everyday. While you may not be dressing up and pretending you’re younger than you are so you can get full sized chocolate bars from your neighbors, did you realize you are carrying around a body of death? Forget the zombie apocalypse, we are all walking around in this flesh that is subject to death. The Apostle Paul explains it a bit more for us in Romans chapter 7. Romans 7:24-25 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin. Sin brought the curse of death upon the world. God delivered the law, which required perfection, something we could never attain. Through Jesus alone and his death and resurrection, our sins are forgiven. The debt was paid, yet still the battle rages within us. This body of death still craves sin while the spirit within us desires to do God’s will. Paul is wrestling with the desire of each. He delights in the law of God and longs to do what is right while still the law of death pulls him toward sin. It’s the classic angel on one shoulder and devil on the other whispering in our ears. One pulls us one way and the other the other way. We walk around with the same body of death and the same struggle as Paul. While the power of Christ lives in us, the flesh is so easily tempted. Thanks be to God, we too are delivered through Jesus Christ our Lord! Romans 8:10 And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 2 Corinthians 4:16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. Yes we are walking around in these bodies of death, but with Christ, on the inside we are renewed and more alive than ever. What great news to share today! That’s the truth. If anyone asks you tonight what you’re dressed as… you’ll have a great truth to tell. I’m Lori Cline.  

We improve our day by day by walking in the light of who lives in us and works through us.   ~~~   Are you bettering this day? You may say, “I would if I could”. I hear ya, and while each day can come with its own challenges, if we have Jesus in our heart, we should wrap up each day with peace in our heart and leave it better than we found it. Here’s what I mean. My youngest daughter is playing volleyball. In volleyball, with every touch to the ball, there is intentional effort to ‘better the ball’. Your touch effects the next players touch and the goal is to better the ball with each touch, as a team, for the sake of scoring a point. Can we better this day as the body of Christ in the same way? Through Christ alone, and His spirit within us, we can and we are called to do so. Ephesians 5:8-16 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness,righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. This is why it is said: “Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. As believers in Jesus, we are to live as children of light. It’s no longer I who live but Christ who lives IN me, Galatians 2:20 reminds us. We are the light of the world and we should be daily bearing fruit of goodness, righteousness and truth. The Jesus IN us is the only Jesus some will ever see or possibly come in contact with. As children of light, we should be bettering every point of contact we make each and every day. From what we read in Ephesians 5, I see three ways we CAN better this day. First - remember WHO you are and WHOSE you are! You were once darkness, now because of Jesus you are LIGHT. Don’t forget that truth. Live like it. Shine goodness, righteousness and truth to every person you come in contact with. You may be the gospel bearing touch point that leads them to the next. Better the day. Second - expose the darkness with light. When we walk in the light we have nothing to hide or fear. We shine love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control so brightly, that darkness and it’s fruit must flee. As we respond to anger with love or hate with peace or evil with good, guess what? We better the day. Third - don’t miss this day. There is an opportunity coming at you and it’s your turn to hit the proverbial ball! Wake up. Rise up and move. Watch for ways to shine bright and redeem moments, conversations and opportunities around you. The first place to start is your own home and with your family. You’re the first touch point they get every single day. Make the most of it in THIS moment and you will better the day. You better this day by walking in the light of who lives in you and works through you, in every circumstance, for your good and His glory. That’s the truth. One thing to remember, how you better this day is not determined by anyone else. Focus on your position, where God has placed you and who God has called you to be. I’m Lori Cline.  

We need to ensure we’re guarding our hearts against dangerous temptations.   ~~~   Have you ever been watching something as a family and all of a sudden a scene pops up that, let’s just say is unexpected, and with cat like reflexes you put your hand over your child's eyes and say, ‘close your eyes’? Yep. Me too. I don’t remember my parents having to do that as much, but today it’s a whole new world out there when it comes to TV shows, movies and entertainment. Wholesome family entertainment isn’t as readily available these days. Oh be careful little eyes what you see. As a mom it’s my job to care for the well being of my girls. I don’t leave that in the hands of social media content creators, movie producers and tv show writers. Yes my girls are older, but not only do I still want to protect them, I want them to understand the importance of protecting themselves. Proverbs 4:23 tells us to guard our heart, and what we watch and what we spend time consuming makes its way into our heart. Sometimes we need to close our eyes. We talk a lot about character in our home. My girls know what we expect and while I can check search history and monitor what they’re watching on their phones, yes I’m that mom, I can’t do that forever. So more than MY words, I point them to THE WORD of truth that will guide them and light a way for them as they discern what is good and what is not, to allow their eyes to see. God’s word is what Jesus used when he was tempted by Satan in the wilderness in Matthew 4. I love Psalm 119:11 that says, “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” So what does the Bible have to say about what we should or should not be watching? When should we close our eyes? That can be tough to answer when we all love to be entertained, but the truth should always be our guide. Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. When you watch whatever you’re watching, it stays with you. You may not think it does, but anxiety, fear, lust and anger can be stirred up in our heart as we consume content. I know there are things I wish I hadn’t seen over the course of my life that still to this day creep me out and creep up in my mind. They are far from being lovely or noble and those prove my point in knowing it matters what I watch and allow my eyes to see. My girls are learning to discern what is good and lovely and what is not. Whatever we choose to be entertained by should be filtered by the spirit of God within us. When in doubt I always go back to the question, would Jesus watch it? WWJD. Are you guarding your heart? Do you allow your eyes to consume whatever, whenever freely? Content is powerful. What we allow in, if it leads us to sin, should make us close our eyes. Jesus made it pretty clear what he thought about what our eyes take in and lead us to. Matthew 18:9 And if your eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell. Get rid of it. If what you’re watching is causing you to stumble, you need to change the source of your entertainment or gouge your eye out. I’m kidding, but Jesus was not. The price to be entertained could very well be your soul. That’s the truth. Set your mind and your gaze on good things and guard your heart, it’s what God cares about most. I’m Lori Cline.

Your mission is important, greater than you could ever imagine. But there is another side to this.

Deer hunters work hard to get the deer to come to them. From salt blocks, to corn, to a secret recipe for "candy corn", they'll try anything to draw them in. But, there's a tiny problem this time of year, and as Shaun tells us, it can drive you nuts!

All things are contained by God’s authority.   ~~~   We read in 1 Samuel 16:14 that the Spirit of God leaves Saul and God sends upon him an evil spirit that torments him. Is your God this big? Is your view of God big enough to handle him sending an evil spirit to torment Saul? As believers in God, as followers of Christ, we must be people who live with both feet planted in two different worlds. We live in this physical earth, with all of it beauty and wonder and even terrifying realities. We are people who enjoy relationships, good meals, good laughs, and we are also people who suffer depression, anxiety, sadness, moodiness. This is the physical world we live in. And one of the amazing features of this earth is all that God has put in it, that has been discovered, for our good, especially over the last several hundreds of years. And many of those discoveries help in easing our physical pain, which should, by the way, only elevate our belief, and strengthen our faith in God, not cause us to abandon God and believe only in the sciences. The very fact that we can make discoveries should not lead us to praise ourselves, but to praise the One who has made himself known in the creation. So one foot is planted firmly in this world. However, our other foot must be planted in another world, another realm, that supersedes and holds sway over his world, and that is the spiritual world. The world of the heavenlies. And that world intersects with this world. That world is ruled by God, as is this world. And sometimes what lies behind the physical pain and sufferings in this world is the providence and sovereignty of God—“an evil spirit from the LORD tormented him?” Is your theology deep enough to have a God who reigns over and even utilizes evil spirits and evil acts for His glory, without being evil himself? That is exactly what we see here, Evil acts may be real attacks against God’s people and God’s glory, but evil acts are not rogue. They are contained within the almighty providence of God to ultimately serve His purposes.