God saw in David the quality of humility. The Lord had gone to the home of Jesse in spirit form. Jesse didn’t know God was there. Nobody did. God was on a secret surveillance mission in that home.
Read MoreTag Archives: First Samuel
Nobodies into Somebodies
Paul’s whole thrust in his first letter to the believers at Corinth was, “I’m not coming to you with brilliance or human wisdom, and I’m certainly not coming to you with any kind of impressive physique or profound philosophy.”
Read MoreGood Directions
What was Samuel’s problem? He was panic-stricken. He was just plain scared. Where were Samuel’s eyes? Well, they certainly weren’t on the Lord. They were riveted on Saul. From a human viewpoint, of course, Samuel was right.
Read MorePeople Panic . . . God Provides
The tragic story of King Saul is that he never, ever fully repented of his sin. Saul’s greatest concern was his image, how he looked before the people. Even after Samuel gave him a break, Saul took advantage of it . . .
Read MoreHow’s Your Heart?
When God scans the earth for potential leaders, He is not on a search for angels in the flesh. He is certainly not looking for perfect people, since there are none. He is searching for men and women like you and me.
Read MoreThe Shadow of the Giant, Part One
Goliath reminds me of the cross-eyed discus thrower. He didn’t set any records . . . but he sure kept the crowd awake! Day after day, he paraded along the slopes of the Valley of Elah throwing out threats and belching blasphemies across the creek with a basso-profundo voice like twenty out-of-tune tubas. He was not only ugly, he was huge, well over nine feet tall in his stocking feet.
Read MoreSunday Listening, Part Two
We’ve been talking about the essential skill of listening, particularly as it relates to Sunday sermons. I asked you to come up with some ideas on what can be done by the listener (not the preacher) to keep the sermon interesting. Let’s consider together how we could improve our listening skills. I’m indebted to Haddon Robinson, a Ph.D. in the field of communication, for these four “don’ts” that are worth remembering.
Read MoreRationalizations
Even though I have known people like this, still, I cannot fathom Saul’s perspective. How can anyone be so clueless?
Read MoreSaul’s Disobedience
Saul’s disobedient actions involved at least three major errors. First, kings weren’t supposed to offer sacrifices on behalf of the community. Kings could offer sacrifices for themselves, but never for the nation.
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