A Story that Will Change your Life

    We live in a culture that is lost and seeking to fill a void. We feel an emptiness inside and will go to whatever lengths we can to fill that emptiness. Be it money, drugs or sex we must have it…and we must have more! Perhaps you have found yourself at a crossroads. There was a man named Saul who found himself worn out after days of searching (1 Samuel 9:4-5). Searching for what you might ask? Saul was sent on a mission to retrieve his fathers donkeys that had gone missing (1 Samuel 9:3).

    Now it is important to note that this word donkey, in the original language came from a word meaning; perpetual, constant or ever-flowing. Isn’t it true that the world tasks us with a constant search of that which is lost. Earthly tasks are never ending, as soon as we have completed one the need for another arises. Same be it with the success of this world. When we have sacrificed to achieve some great task, upon completion we receive a new found desire for something bigger or better. The world has tasked us with the constant pursuit for more. Where does one find rest from all of this?

    We too like Saul must have found ourselves tired of searching and thinking to give up. But to where shall we go, for if Saul were to return home he would still be without donkey. It is in these times of desperation we are apt to give up no longer able to search out the way on our own. But it was also in this time Saul sought the One who never grows tired, who always knows the way, who is faithful to provide and sure to give rest. It was in this time Saul turned to the Lord and found what he had been looking for (1 Samuel 9:20). Not only was he given assurance that the donkeys were found, he received a meal (1 Samuel 9:24), a place to rest (1 Samuel 9:25), and sure instruction on the way he should continue (1 Samuel 9:26-27).

    The same is true of any man who would turn now to the Lord. The desire for money, drugs and sex will be satisfied and fulfilled upon turning to the Lord. For what you thought you were looking for will be found in the person of Jesus Christ. It is there you will find a meal ready to feast upon, that is His Word. It is there you will find rest, that is an overwhelming peace surpassing all understanding. It is there you will find a guide to lead you on your way. That is the Spirit of Truth, who will lead you into all truth (John 16:13). What is the way, what is the truth you ask? “Thomas said to him, ‘Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the father except through me.’” (John 14:6).

If you don't have a bible, here is 1 Samuel 9 including the story of Saul

 

9 There was a Benjamite, a man of standing, whose name was Kish son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bekorath, the son of Aphiah of Benjamin. ² Kish had a son named Saul, as handsome a young man as could be found anywhere in Israel, and he was a head taller than anyone else.

³ Now the donkeys belonging to Saul’s father Kish were lost, and Kish said to his son Saul, “Take one of the servants with you and go and look for the donkeys.” ⁴ So he passed through the hill country of Ephraim and through the area around Shalisha, but they did not find them. They went on into the district of Shaalim, but the donkeys were not there. Then he passed through the territory of Benjamin, but they did not find them.
⁵ 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.”
⁶ 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.”
⁷ Saul said to his servant, “If we go, what can we give the man? The food in our sacks is gone. We have no gift to take to the man of God. What do we have?”
⁸ The servant answered him again. “Look,” he said, “I have a quarter of a shekel of silver. I will give it to the man of God so that he will tell us what way to take.” ⁹ (Formerly in Israel, if someone went to inquire of God, they would say, “Come, let us go to the seer,” because the prophet of today used to be called a seer.)
¹⁰ “Good,” Saul said to his servant. “Come, let’s go.” So they set out for the town where the man of God was.
¹¹ As they were going up the hill to the town, they met some young women coming out to draw water, and they asked them, “Is the seer here?”
¹² “He is,” they answered. “He’s ahead of you. Hurry now; he has just come to our town today, for the people have a sacrifice at the high place. ¹³ As soon as you enter the town, you will find him before he goes up to the high place to eat. The people will not begin eating until he comes, because he must bless the sacrifice; afterward, those who are invited will eat. Go up now; you should find him about this time.”
¹⁴ They went up to the town, and as they were entering it, there was Samuel, coming toward them on his way up to the high place.
¹⁵ Now the day before Saul came, the Lord had revealed this to Samuel: ¹⁶ “About this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin. Anoint him ruler over my people Israel; he will deliver them from the hand of the Philistines. I have looked on my people, for their cry has reached me.”
¹⁷ When Samuel caught sight of Saul, the Lord said to him, “This is the man I spoke to you about; he will govern my people.”
¹⁸ Saul approached Samuel in the gateway and asked, “Would you please tell me where the seer’s house is?”
¹⁹ “I am the seer,” Samuel replied. “Go up ahead of me to the high place, for today you are to eat with me, and in the morning I will send you on your way and will tell you all that is in your heart. ²⁰ As for the donkeys you lost three days ago, do not worry about them; they have been found. And to whom is all the desire of Israel turned, if not to you and your whole family line?”
²¹ Saul answered, “But am I not a Benjamite, from the smallest tribe of Israel, and is not my clan the least of all the clans of the tribe of Benjamin? Why do you say such a thing to me?”
²² Then Samuel brought Saul and his servant into the hall and seated them at the head of those who were invited—about thirty in number. ²³ Samuel said to the cook, “Bring the piece of meat I gave you, the one I told you to lay aside.”
²⁴ So the cook took up the thigh with what was on it and set it in front of Saul. Samuel said, “Here is what has been kept for you. Eat, because it was set aside for you for this occasion from the time I said, ‘I have invited guests.’” And Saul dined with Samuel that day.
²⁵ After they came down from the high place to the town, Samuel talked with Saul on the roof of his house. ²⁶ They rose about daybreak, and Samuel called to Saul on the roof, “Get ready, and I will send you on your way.” When Saul got ready, he and Samuel went outside together. ²⁷ As they were going down to the edge of the town, Samuel said to Saul, “Tell the servant to go on ahead of us”—and the servant did so—“but you stay here for a while, so that I may give you a message from God.”

Which City Will it Be?

1 Samuel 8:4-5 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)

    Israel looked at what they did not have and longed for what their neighboring brethren had. Maybe lately you have found yourself longing for that which is not yours. It always seems to be that amidst the many blessings that the Lord pours out in our life Satan finds that one thing we don’t have and cant resist to live without. Do not be deceived for from the beginning of time Satan has been using the same tricks. Wasn’t it in the midst of Eden and all its glory that Satan tempted Eve of the one thing prohibited.
   
    Adam and Eve were lavished with blessings unknown to any man even to this day and still they fell for the flashy things of this world. It was the desires of the flesh, Eve saw that the tree was good for food, the desires of the eyes, the tree was a delight to her eyes, and pride in possessions, it would make her wise (1 John 2:16; Genesis 3:6). It was the Israelites who also fell to the flash of this world. They wanted to be like the other nations and have a king to go out before them and fight their battles (1 Samuel 8:20). The Israelites had once lived in Egypt and although they were slaves surely there were days where the grass looked greener on the other side. No doubt they saw the power of pharaoh, they saw his mighty army and his palace in all its splendor and majesty. I’m sure to a hand full of blisters and a sweat covered brow the glory of pharaoh was a “delight to the eyes.”

    I note one common theme in both the creation story and this latter story of topic. God never forced their decision upon them, He left the door wide open and gave them the will to do as they pleased. With that thought He never left them without instructive insight on the decision they were making. He warned the Israelites the bondage that would come of giving themselves over to the rule of a king (1 Samuel 8:11-18), just as he warned Adam of the death to come if he ate from the tree (Genesis 3:17). Even in light of the consequences at hand, both caved in. Israel refused to obey and demanded for their to be a king over them (8:19), Adam willingly transgressed and ate from the tree (1 Timothy 2:14).

    Of this I would say I am amazed, but I know if faced with the same situation I would have fallen captive. Samuel then said to the men of Israel, “Go every man to his city” (1 Samuel 8:22). Today the same offer is laid out before you and I, the choice is ours, which city will you choose? Will it be the world and all of its fleeting pleasures or will it be the land flowing with milk and honey. That is the city of King Jesus who says to all who come they shall never thirst nor hunger (John 6:35).

A Walk to Remember

Amos 3:3 Do two walk together, unless they agreed to meet? (ESV)

    Daily we walk and at times in the company of others. What a beautiful thing it is to walk alongside the one you love. You don’t find yourself wishing to speed ahead for then fellowship would be broke. Rather you yield your speed to that of your partner, that unity might be kept. Walking is an intimate process. The longer we walk with a person the more we get to know about them. As intimate as it may be this is a conditional process, one such that we must find ourselves in action. If I wish to advance my position I must get up and begin walking. It is only when I fail to walk that I don’t get where I need to go. At the same time I find myself walking ahead of others because their pace is not working for me.

    We must view our relationship with the Lord as a walk. We have heard the Christian faith paralleled to a race that we must run, and so it is. But there is another, more intimate process we are familiar with and even shown by example. Enoch holds the testimony of having pleased the Lord (Hebrews 11:5) and for such a noble commendation we ask why? We are only told of Enoch that he “walked with God, and he was not, for God took him” (Genesis 5:24). So you mean all he did was walked with the Lord and of that he was found to be pleasing in His sight?

    Yeah that’s exactly what is being said. For it is not all he did, it is everything he did. Daily he walked. It was a process that required great action, initiation and ultimately was the response of the agreement set before him. He came to the Lord in agreement to pace himself accordingly. I know at times that it was a hard pace to endure and at other times it was engaging and full of intimacy. So it is of the saint who says of himself, “I will ‘walk by faith and not by sight’”. It takes a man who has wholeheartedly agreed to walk with the Lord before the day he says “there is nothing on earth I desire besides you” (Psalm 73:25).
  
    I long for that day. I like to think of Enoch and the day the Lord snatched him up. 365 years of walking and surely the walks only grew longer and more intimate. As the Lord took Enoch so will he take his church, that is those that are walking with him. The beauty of this is everyone of us knows how to walk. Maybe you realize you have not been walking with the Lord but you want to. Or maybe you have walked away and deliberately settled at your own pace. Jesus has made known Himself, that He is the way to salvation; and has required of us not only that we would come but that we would continue walking in relationship with him. If this is a turning point for you, the Lord has already agreed to meet you and is faithfully awaiting your approach. Wait no more and turn for “the Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.”

To Cold to Stand

Psalm 147:17-18 He hurls down his crystals of ice like crumbs; who can stand before his cold? He sends out His word, and melts them; He makes His wind blow and the waters flow. (ESV)

    Top of chair one, it’s the first run of the morning; temp reads zero, 50 mph wind gusts with a chill of -16...now that’s flat out cold! Its on these days I have to remind myself of my passion for snowboarding or I would not be able to stand before that kind of weather. A simple remembrance of my passion and the cold is suddenly overtaken by a nice warming sensation. Believer have you found yourself trapped in the storm? Have conditions become so raw and bone chilling it seems as though no man could endure?

    Fear not, for this cold is but as a crumb to our Creator. As the crumb is easily done away with in one motion so shall the cold melt away in a simple sending forth of His word. It is He that makes the wind blow, so it is He who breathes out His Spirit. The soul shall warm and feel a nice breeze of Holy Ghost unction fall down upon the furtherance of His word. This is He who makes the waters flow; and so it shall be of His word through your soul.

    What you have deemed impossible; the Lord, “abundant in power” can make it possible. Know someone that seems so far from the Lord? Like they are lost and in the cold? Perhaps you feel they have fallen so far to go after them would mean to freeze in their wake. This may be true, and they may very well be in a dark and cold place. It is in these cold places heat flexes most its ability. It is in the windy moments we see a power not to be compared with. It is in the depths of the waters we conclude “immeasurable”. So it is true of the addict set free, the weak made strong, and the finite crying “His understanding is beyond measure”.

    My prayer is you would engage the one who executes and find rest from a battle no man can stand against. “Commit your ways to the Lord; trust in Him, and He will act” (Psalm 37:5).