“And he had a son whose name was Saul, a handsome young man. There was not a man among the people of Israel more handsome than he. From his shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people.” (ESV – Read the chapter)
Saul looked the part of a king. Think about that in light of the initial reception on the part of both Samuel and God to their request to have one. Samuel was hurt and God was disappointed. But then God goes out and finds a king who looks the part in every way. He gives them exactly what they wanted. What gives? Read the rest…
“Answer me when I call, God, who vindicates me. You freed me from affliction; be gracious to me and hear my prayer.” (CSB – Read the chapter)
Have you ever laid down for bed at night with a heart that was full, but what it was full of was not love and good feelings? How often has that anger and frustration over some unfairness or injustice or even simply inconvenience you’ve been dealt been directed at least partially at God? I suspect if you’ve lived very long this has happened a time or twenty. As the culture around us continues to shift away from anything recognizably Christian or even remotely God-honoring, if you’re someone who seeks to make following Jesus something that is a consistent feature of your life, I’m certain you have. What do we do in a time like this? Read the rest…
“Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah and said to him, ‘Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations.'” (ESV – Read the chapter)
These two verses mark the end of the era of the judges in the history of Israel and the beginning of the era of the monarchy. This is both a sad and an interesting transition. It gives us an object lesson in how God can use our failings and still accomplish His plans in spite of them. In fact, He can even incorporate our failures into His plans such that it appears later they were always part of them even though they weren’t. Let’s look at how this is. Read the rest…
“And Saul was very angry, and this saying displeased him. He said, “They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed thousands, and what more can he have but the kingdom?” And Saul eyed David from that day on.” (ESV – Read the chapter)
Saul was not simply angry here. If he were just angry he could have gotten over it and moved on. The fuller truth is that there was something deeper that was motivating his anger. Saul was envious of David. Read the rest…
In this third part of our series, Grace in Hard Times, we finally get a look at what God had to say to Job and his friends after all their questions and assumptions about who He is and how He works. The result feels hard at first until you look a bit closer. What we learn is that God’s job in running the whole universe is a lot bigger than we think and that if we’ll let Him do it, He’ll do it well. Keep reading to see how this unfolds. Up next: A look at how we can keep the rhythm of our lives adjusted to the right beat.
What If God Answered?
Do you remember the worst lecture you ever got from your parents? While I confess that I fall to it way more often than I should with my boys, my folks either weren’t much for lecturing or else I’ve forgotten all of them (which really isn’t very comforting news for all the wisdom parents depart to their children through the vehicle of a lecture…). Still, though, there are times when as parents we need to impart a great deal of important information to our children in a rapid-fire fashion. And, coincidentally or not, these times often happen in conjunction with something they’ve done that wasn’t perhaps totally on the up-and-up and when we are in a state of mild to extreme anger. Now, if that happens to come across as a lecture, is that our fault? Well…probably…but that much is not where I want to go this morning. I’ll come back to this idea in a second. Read the rest…
The Nexus 