SABBATICAL

I am going to take a sabbatical for awhile, probably until early June. Keep up with me on the weekends and with the Bible readings, which will probably take us into Psalms!  I was reading about Saul and Jonathan and enjoying the drama nd feeling so bad for Jonathan . . . look at it with me!

After lingering in the Torah for three months, these books of history speed by like Japan's bullet train. Definitely faster than a speeding bullet . . .

Saul jumps to center stage this week.  He is a conflicting character.  He is offered everything he needed for kingship, but throws it all away. Every time he does something wonderfully courageous, he does something equally stupid.

hmm. Sounds like I'm describing myself, perhaps.

God tells Saul, "You'll be a new person." He offered Saul the same clean slate David wrote about, create in me a clean heart, o God, and renew a right spirit within me. 

Saul went among the prophets. The reaction of his friends shows Saul wasn't the kind of man one would associate with prophesy. 

Samuel gave Saul a heads up that God had chosen him to be the king. When his name came up in the lottery, God gave his hidey-hole among the bags.

Not kingly at all.

Enemies threaten to gouge out the right eyes of an entire town in Israel. Saul flew into a rage and God brought great victory.

Later that kingly rage turned on David. 

He couldn't move forward without falling back.

Thankfully for Saul, God moved "true and brave" men to join him. They kept the cogs of the kingdom going. 

Of course God knew David would be king, and the line of the Messiah would be the line of the king. But I believe Saul had a real chance. 

Donkey Hunting (1 Samuel 7-9)

Today's post comes from Connie Peters.


When they reached the district of Zuph, Saul said to the servant who was with him, “Come, let’s go back, or my father will stop thinking about the donkeys and start worrying about us.” But the servant replied, “Look, in this town there is a man of God; he is highly respected, and everything he says comes true. Let’s go there now. Perhaps he will tell us what way to take.” I Samuel 9:5-6

The Israelites enjoyed a great revival under the priesthood of Samuel. For a time they served the Lord and enjoyed the blessings of prosperity and victory over their enemies, but once again became rebellious.

Compounding the problem, Samuel was up in years and his sons were dishonest. The Israelites

became fed up with the priesthood and demanded to have a king like other nations. They had a legitimate problem, but they wanted to solve it their way.

When Samuel became upset at their decision, God told him they had not rejected Samuel but they had rejected God. Samuel warned the people what life with a king would be like. Their land, their children, their freedom would not be their own. Yet the Israelites persisted.

God gave them what they wanted. He chose a tall, handsome, young man named Saul to be their king. One day God’s pick, unaware of the divine calling on his life, lost some donkeys. After wandering the

countryside he told his companions that his father would forget about donkeys and worry about them. His servant advised him to stop and ask the man of God. Not only did Samuel reassure Saul that the donkeys had been found, he anointed him as king. (I Samuel 10:1).

I can relate to Saul wandering around after his donkeys, his focus on the mundane, disconnected from God’s bigger plans. It’s kind of like Martha in Jesus’ time. Martha was very busy preparing the meal while Mary sat at Jesus’ feet. Jesus commended Mary for choosing the better pursuit (Luke 10:38-42).

In the cases of the Israelites’ problem of desiring a king and Saul’s problem of

the lost donkeys, I’m reminded of the same truth. It’s important to seek and obey God. Seek his direction. Seek his solutions—before life gets overwhelming. And like the mother of Jesus once said, “Do whatever He tells you.” (John 2:5)

Determine to seek God’s will and do things His way. He knows the answers to your problems. And
He knows how the seemingly little stuff of your daily routine fits into His big picture.

Verses to meditate on:

Matthew 6:25-34, Matthew 7:7-12, Isaiah 55, Ephesians 3:14-21

Connie L. Peters has 30 years of experience in writing poetry, adult and children’s fiction and inspirational non-fiction. Currently she writes devotions for The Presidential Prayer Team and The Pagosa Sun. She also writes a poem a day on enthusiaticsoul.blogspot.com. Connie’s work has appeared in numerous publications including Focus on the Family, Bible Advocate and The Quiet Hour. She has served on the board of Southwest Christian Writers Association for the past 20 years. Connie lives in Cortez, CO where she and her husband host two adults with developmental disabilities. The Peterses have two grown children who live in Arizona.

ONE THING I CAN’T GO WITHOUT (1Samuel 4-6 )

 Today's devotional brought to you courtesy of Ada Brownell @2013

GPS

If you were in a crisis, such as being marooned on an island, what is the one thing you couldn’t do without?

I’m pretty sure I’d think having God with me would be the one thing I would desperately need. But would I later think I’d prefer something else?

I thought about this when I read about the Israelites, while losing a war with the Philistines, taking the precious Ark of the Covenant into the battlefield.

I’ve read the stories from Joshua’s day about the wonders surrounding the Ark of the Covenant, such as the time the priests’ feet approached the Jordan River carrying the gold box and the waters rolled back so the massive group of Israelites could cross.

How did it work for Israel to pull out the “God thing” in time of crisis?

Well, there was a problem. They had been worshiping foreign gods and Ashtaroth idols. Perhaps as I sometimes do, thinking it doesn’t matter that the meditations of my heart and the words of my mouth don’t honor the Lord, they thought idols were a permissible way to soothe a sinful conscience.

The prophet Eli’s wicked sons, Hophni and Phinehas seemed to be the ringleaders. But wasn’t it a good thing to turn to the true God now? If I sin, couldn’t I connect with the Heavenly Father again and have His blessing?

Well, the shout of the joyful Israeli solidiers greeted the ark echoing to the Philistines’ lines.

Philistine commanders issued an alarm. “God has come into their camp! Fight as you never have.”

 The Philistines captured the ark. Thirty-thousand Israeli men died that day and the rest ran to their tents. Phinehas and Hophni took mortal wounds. The shock caused Eli’s and his pregnant daughter-in-law’s deaths, and as she drew her last breath she whispered, “Name my son ‘Ichabod.’”

 Ichabod means “the glory is departed.”

After weeks of God’s judgment among them with the ark in their camp, the Philistines sent the ark back to Israel with cows that had calves in the barn. If the cows took the ark back to Israel, they would know it was a miracle.

 Their full udders swinging, the cows pulled the ark straight home.

With Eli dead, Samuel the prophet became the leading spiritual authority in Israel (See 1 Samuel 7), called the nation to repentance and to destroy their idols. God saw the tears and heard, and in love forgave. The Philistines didn’t invade Israel again through Samuel’s lifetime.

Lord, may I remember this lesson and not easily walk away from your presence. Help me remember, too, that if I sin, I have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, and sin can be forgiven (1 John 2:1-11).

  Yet, I shouldn’t go anywhere without your presence.

Ada Brownell, a retired newspaper reporter and free-lance inspirational writer, is the author of Swallowed by Life: Mysteries of Death, Resurrection and the Eternal http://buff.ly/TLkr0a; Joe the Dreamer: The Castle and the Catapult http://buff.ly/XeqTvH

      Her blog: http://www.inkfromanearthenvessel.blogspot.com

Speak Up, Lord! (1 Samuel 3)

p.s. To my readers: I've been sick and hospitalized for about two weeks. Sorry to have missed you, but He is Risen!  Amen and amen and hallelujah!


I want you to read the following sentence.  It's a very familiar verse from a very familiar story, one that I learned as a child and have taught many times since. I'll even quote it from the King James, since that's probably most familiar to us as a group.

Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth. (1 Samuel 3:10)

It feels like there is something missing. Go ahead. Try it. Close your eyes and say the verse and read it again.

Did you, like me, like any students I've taught, say . . . .

Speak, Lord,

for thy servant heareth

That's what Eli told Samuel to say.

But it's not what he said. 

So many the boy Samuel had feet of clay after all. Here I was thinking of the contrast between Eli and his sons and their rich spiritual heritage compared to Elkanah, an ordinary Ephraimite. But Elkanah's family knew 

in a way Eli did not. 

When Samuel lay on his bed and speak into the night, what did he expect to happen? 

Did he think a monster might climb appear? Did he expect to see anything at all? I expect that disembodied voices were the stuff of ghost stories then as well as now. 

Was he scared? Or did he think talking with God was, well, normal? He was young enough to hear and respond and not put up barriers.

My daughter-in-law lost her grandmother this past week. Samuel makes me think of my granddaughter, who alone of her relatives says that Mimi is with God. (not heaven).  Her house to God's house. Her presence to God's presence. As simple as that.

Regardless of what or whom Samuel expected to hear when he answered the voice, he grew into a mighty man of God.  

The first time I taught this story, one of my students (the pastor's son) paraphrased the verse this way: 

Speak up, Lord!

I expect God did, loud and clear enough for Samuel to understand. 

L  O  R  D

THE OUTCAST, THE REJECTED (Judges 11)

Hi there, faithful followers! I have opened up my devotional blog one or two days a week, to keep me fresh. We begin today, with Christina Rich's take on the judge Jephthah. We will keep going through the Old Testament, chapter by chapter, book by book, as we have been. 

I would love comments to encourage my guests and to tell me what you think of this new twist.

Our first guest is Christina Rich.

Christina here. I have to tell you I was a bit nervous when I volunteered to write a devotional for Darlene. One, I’ve only written one other, and with no feedback it kind of makes a person wonder, you know? And two, what if I do it wrong and I become the great outcast among the Secret Society of Devotional Writers? Alright, so the only place that particular society exists is in my mind, but the thought of being an outcast is a bit nauseating.

So, how ironic is it that the day I chose to once again try my hand at writing a devotional happens to be the day Judges 11-12 makes an appearance?

“Jephthah the Gildeadite was a mighty warrior. His father was Gilead; his mother was a prostitute. Gilead’s wife also bore him sons, and when they were grown up, they drove Jephthah away. ‘You are not going to get any inheritance in our family,’ they said, ‘because you are the son of another woman.’” (NIV)

Ouch! I can totally relate to this sort of rejection, as I think most of us can in one way or another.

Scripture goes on to tell us that Jephthah fled to another land and gained a following. After all he was a mighty warrior, which was saying something given that Joshua 17 tells us Jephthah’s ancestors were ‘great soldiers’. For scripture to point out that he was a mighty warrior and he came from a line of great soldiers meant he was probably something of an extraordinary soldier. So much so, that those brothers who cast him from his home sought him out when the big, bad Ammonites started pestering them.

A bit ironic, huh?

Well, how about this? Remember what his brothers said? “You are not going to get any inheritance in our family.” Yeah, well guess what? They agreed to make Jephthah the head of all who lived in Gilead if only he’d help them.

Can you think of another man cast from his home by his brothers only for him to rescue them later? That’s right, Joseph.  You want to see something interesting?

Joseph was the father of Manasseh.

Manasseh the father of Makir (the great soldiers)

Makir the father of Gilead

Gilead the father of Jephthah.

Now, I’m going to be honest here. A week ago I had never heard of Jephthah. I dug through a few commentaries, some from Rabbis. Most agreed that Jephthah was insignificant and ignorant of God’s ways. That may have been the case in some instances, which I don’t have enough time to get into here. However, God chose to use Jephthah to deliver the Israelites. God chose to use a man rejected by his family.

“He was despised and rejected by men” Isaiah 53:3

“The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes?”

Through the eyes of Jephthah’s brothers he was nothing more than a prostitute’s son. Through the hardened hearts of the Pharisees Jesus was nothing more than a carpenter.

As we reflect on the death and celebrate the resurrection of Christ this Easter Sunday, let us remember that God’s ways are not always our own. His ways are much higher. He may choose to use, and has in fact chosen as testified to in scripture, the outcast, the rejected to bring salvation to another.

About Christina: Christina Rich is a full-time home schooling, domestic engineer who occasionally helps her husband with their upholstery business, which she likens to finding buried treasure when they get to work with antique pieces.

She resides in Northeast Kansas with her husband and four children. She loves Jesus, history, researching her ancestry, fishing, reading, and of course, writing Biblical and Western inspirational romances.

Her debut book, a Biblical romance (title yet to be determined), will be released March 2014 with Love Inspired Historicals.

You can find more about her at http://christinarich.wordpress.com/ 

BARAK THE RELUCTANT (Judges 4-5)

Barak son of Abinoam shows up in the Bible as a not very good role model. He's the commander God put in charge of the troops of Israel, when they rebelled against the Canaanites.

Barak's name means "blessed." But he didn't live like a very blessed man. His parents recognized blessing; what new parent doesn't feel blessed when first they hold a baby in their arms? (unfortunately some do, but not Barak's family.)  Somehow that joy and positive attitude didn't get passed on their son.

Deborah served as a judge in Israel. I couldn't but notice that her oak--her court-- sat in the same hill country that some years before, the Ephraimites were afraid to conquer. Now it's clearly under Israelite control, secure enough for her to hold court.

As judge, Deborah calls for Barak. She tells him "It has become clear . . . that you should prepare to battle."  Something about the wording suggests that Barak knew this as well as Deborah. She eases his fears as much as possible: I'll get king Sisera to you. I'll make sure you win. All you have to do is go and fight the battle.

With her words, "I'll make sure you win," Barak wiped his forehead with relief. "As long as you're coming along . . . I won't go without you."

Elsewhere in these two chapters we're told the Israelites volunteered "with abandon." (a subject I considered writing about.)  NOT Barak. Even in the 21st century, women have only recently begun serving on the front lines.  Imagine how strange it must have seemed back in Deborah's day.

She scolded Barak for his attitude. "With that kind of attitude, you won't gain any glory from the battle. A woman will kill Sisera."

That's what happened. The female assassin Jair alongside the female judge defeated King Sisera, the Canaanites, and their iron chariots.

A few concluding thoughts:

• Barak's name suggests his parents believed in the Lord High God. He had a good heritage.
• Barak was well known, unless God told Deborah to get in touch with a complete stranger.
• Barak's less-than-enthusiastic response didn't keep God from using him.
• It did prevent him receiving all the blessing God had for him.
• However, it doesn't appear that Barak was punished.
• God accomplished His will even when his "first choice" for the leader refused to do all of it.
• God called and used women in strong positions, as the supreme court for all Israelites and the assassin who killed Israel's greatest enemy.
• Both Deborah and Jair were married--talk about combining marriage and family with a career!

I'll end with a suggestion: the next time God calls you to a task, volunteer with abandon and joy. (Don't read this as a suggestion that you volunteer for any position within your church, community, ministry, etc.)