Saturday 4-11-15 (Monte Hermoso, Argentina)
Scripture reading: 1 Sam
11-12 1 Chron
1 2 Cor 11
S. 1 Sam 11:12-15 Then the people exclaimed to Samuel,
"Now where are those men who said Saul shouldn't rule over us? Bring them
here, and we will kill them!" But Saul replied, "No one will be
executed today, for today the LORD has rescued Israel!" Then Samuel said
to the people, "Come, let us all go to Gilgal to reaffirm Saul's
kingship." So they went to Gilgal, and in a solemn ceremony before the
LORD they crowned him king. Then they offered peace offerings to the LORD, and
Saul and all the Israelites were very happy. NLT
O. Saul
makes his first big move as king. He
musters a huge army of Israelites and destroys the Ammonites who have refused a
peace treaty and are threatening to gouge out the right eye of each of the
inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead and make them servants. After a great victory, Saul nobly refuses to
punish the men that had ridiculed him earlier.
So far so good. At this point I
am thinking, “This young man is going to make a good king.” Unfortunately, if we read on, it is all
downhill from here on for King Saul.
A. What happens to a man when
he starts out well and then slides into a crash? In this case it seems that a young man, who
had been timid and humble, was quite suddenly thrust into a position of
popularity and power and he allowed it to go to his head. What can I learn from this? Samuel was obedient to the Lord and chose
what appeared to be a good man for Israel’s first king.
It has been my task over an again to choose
a good man, a young man of God, to become the pastor of a church that I was
helping to establish. In every case God
has guided me to deeply capable, dedicated, visionary servants of the
Lord. With God’s help, some have risen
to extreme heights of success with many hundreds, some thousands and others
tens of thousands of converts and faithful followers.
P. Lord, it is for these, my
“spiritual sons and daughters” in ministry, that I pray for today. The most successful ones are in the greatest
danger. It is a danger that is inside of
each of us. We can blame the devil all
we want, but we are often our own worst enemy.
Flushed with power over others, a spirit of independence and rebellion
can so easily cause us to overlook our failures… yes, even our sins.
Oh Lord Jesus, I pray for Your wonderful
Holy Spirit to guide each of them and me into Your truth, Your integrity and
Your humility. You said, “Learn from me,
for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”
(Matt 11:29-30 NIV)
You are the long awaited Lion of the Tribe
of Judah, yet You allowed Yourself to become the humble Lamb of God to be slain
for me. The Lion became a Lamb to
rescue me! Jesus, please bring us down a
notch or two so that we can look up and “learn from You”. Amen.
Ralph
Open my eyes,
that I may see
Open my eyes,
that I may see
glimpses of
truth thou hast for me;
place in my
hands the wonderful key
that shall
unclasp and set me free.
Silently now I
wait for thee,
ready, my God,
thy will to see.
Open my eyes,
illumine me, Spirit divine!
Open my ears, that
I may hear
voices of
truth thou sendest clear;
and while the
wavenotes fall on my ear,
everything
false will disappear.
Silently now I
wait for thee,
ready, my God,
thy will to see.
Open my ears,
illumine me, Spirit divine!
Open my mouth,
and let me bear
gladly the
warm truth everywhere;
open my heart
and let me prepare
love with thy
children thus to share.
Silently now I
wait for thee,
ready, my God,
thy will to see.
Open my heart,
illumine me, Spirit divine!
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