A Guilty Trend

 

1 Samuel 15:24 And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.

 

 GETTING INTO GOD’S WORD:

 

      “He did it. No, she did it. Huh uh, it was not me it was her.” Oh, do I remember those conversations. Mom or dad would walk into the room, see the mess that was made, and ask the all-time silliest question of all parents. “Who did this?” And so would begin the blame game between my sister and me. It was most likely a team effort in making the mess. However, neither of us wanted to admit we were the guilty ones. Then if most of the mess was pinned onto one of us, the next part of this conversation was, “well they started it.” No matter what happened, we did not want to take the blame. Even now, I would like to blame our childhood attitude on Saul from today’s passages, but I cannot, I had not read 1 Samuel yet.

 

         God told Saul to destroy everything connected to the Amalekites. EVERYTHING! Yet Saul and his army kept the best of the livestock, the Amalekite King, and in 1 Sam. 15:9 the Bible says they kept; “all that was good.” All that was good? God said destroy it all. In God’s eyes, none of it was good. When Samuel confronts Saul about what he had done, first Saul says in vs. 13, that He had obeyed God’s command. He lied. When the noise of the livestock gives him away, he says in vs 15, it was not me, the people did it. Even when it is pinned on him as sinful, He still says in vs 24, I feared the people. Sort of “they started it.” A guilty trend of accusing someone else for his sin.. 

 

 GETTING GOD’S WORD INTO ME:

 

    Have we truly grown out of this trend in our own lives? Even as adults you will hear people arguing or rationalizing with others, and with God, about their own disobedience to God’s will for their lives. All God asks of us is to love him and simply be obedient to His will.
 

Is He asking too much?

 

 THE WEEK IN REVIEW:

 

    What do we need daily in our lives? “A Godly Touch.” Allowing God’s touch will change every situation, such as; 

 

 ● A Good Testimony
 ● A Growing Trust
 ● A Glaring Truth
 ● A Given Transformation
 ● A Gigantic Taradiddle
 ● A Guilty Trend Sin

    What else will bless or mend any situation in our lives? I can think of nothing better than “A Godly Touch.”

 

     Enjoy today with your church and hear what God has prepared in the heart of His man for you this week.

   See you tomorrow.  

 

 SUNDAYS:

 

    Today we suggest you read and study whatever the Lord has laid on your Pastors heart. Whatever scripture he uses for today’s messages were given to him by God for your specific needs.

 

May 1, 2023	1 Samuel 16-17	Luke 19:28-48
May 2, 2023	1 Samuel 18-20	Luke 20:1-26
May 3, 2023	1 Samuel 21-24	Luke 20:27-47
May 4, 2023	1 Samuel 25-27	Luke 21
May 5, 2023	1 Samuel 28-31	Luke 22:1-34
May 6, 2023	2 Samuel 1-3	Luke 22:35-71
May 7, 2023	No Passages Assigned

A Godly Touch

  April 28, 2023
  Daily Reading – 1 Samuel 12-13 / Luke 18:31-43

 

 GOD’S WORD:

1 Samuel 13:11 And Samuel said, What hast thou done? And Saul said, Because I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that thou camest not within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered themselves together at Michmash;

 

 GETTING INTO GOD’S WORD:

        What in the world is a taradiddle? Is it a newly found dinosaur bone dug up by Dr. Diddle they have now named the taradiddle? Nope. Is it a galaxy far far way that they have just discovered with a high-power telescope that could be new Terra firma, dry ground, to explore and discover? Not that either. Taradiddle simply means senseless talk, or deception. Webster’s says it is nonsense, or a petty lie. For example, “no sane person would make up such a taradiddle.” Meaning, “no one in their right mind would make up such nonsense.” That is what Saul was trying to feed Samuel in today’s passage of scripture. A Gigantic Taradiddle.

 

        Samuel ask’s Saul why he did not wait for him to come, but instead went ahead and offered up sacrifices that only a priest was allowed to do? Saul gives him a list of nonsense. First, he says; People were leaving, “Because I saw that the people were scattered from me.” They were leaving, but that is not an excuse to sin. Second, he says; People were late, “thou camest not within the days appointed.” Also true, yet not a good reason to disobey God. Finally, he says; People were lashing out; “that the Philistines gathered themselves together at Michmash.” Again, the enemy was gathering, but still no reason to break God’s law. These were all excuses, nonsense, a bunch of taradiddle. In the end, it costs him his position as king. 

 

 GETTING GOD’S WORD INTO ME:

        People often try to make an excuse for their sinfulness. Things like, “others are doing it,” “it is not that big of a deal,” or “who am I hurting anyway it is my life.” Truth is, it is all a taradiddle. There is never a good reason to break God’s heart with sin.

 

Do we try to feed God a taradiddle?

 

 

  April 27, 2023
  Daily Reading – 1 Samuel 9-11 / Luke 18:1-30

 

 GOD’S WORD:

1 Samuel 10:24 And Samuel said to all the people, See ye him whom the LORD hath chosen, that there is none like him among all the people? And all the people shouted, and said, God save the king.

 

 GETTING INTO GOD’S WORD:

      A few years back there was this toy that came out called “The Transformers.” This toy started out as a car or truck and then with a few twists here, and a pull there, it became a robot. The animated movies which soon were produced about these transforming toys to robots soon took off. Next came a flood of marketing products on things like t-shirts, hats, pajamas, notebooks, lunch boxes, cups, and just about anything you could put a logo on had been touched by the transformer craze. However, these were not the original transformers. God had been in the business of transforming things long before that.

 

      In today’s reading we see God taking an ordinary young man and transforming him into a king. Saul originally was not extraordinarily brave. In fact, when Samuel was introducing him as the first king, they had to go find him because he was hiding. According to scripture, he was a tall, good-looking guy, which made him stand out in any crowd. Yet up until his encounter with Samuel, he had never even thought about being a king. He did not campaign or compete with anyone else to become king. Who or what then made this young lad a king? Simply put, God made him king. It was God’s words to Samuel that began the process. We read in 1 Samuel 11 how the Spirit of God came upon Saul and changed him forever. God transformed this common young man. The people loved him and said, “…GOD SAVE THE KING.” 

 

 GETTING GOD’S WORD INTO ME:

      God still transforms people today. Rom. 12:2 says, “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” 

 

Will you let God’s Word transform you?

 

 

  April 26, 2023
  Daily Reading – 1 Samuel 5-8 / Luke 17

 

 GOD’S WORD:

1 Samuel 8:19-20 Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us; That we also may be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles.

 

 GETTING INTO GOD’S WORD:

        Why do churches have Communion Services? I guess the short answer would be because God said to. So here then is another question. Why do you think God said we should do communion? The answer is found in 1 Corinthians 11:25 when it says, “…This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.” The last four words are your answer. It is so we will be reminded of Christ and what He did for our sinfulness. You may be thinking to yourself, “how in the world could we possibly forget that?” It is just as possible for us to forget what God has done for us, as it was for the children of Israel.

      So far, God has delivered Israel from Egypt just as they asked. He provided them with a means of dealing with their sinfulness through sacrifice, which they needed. God has set up leaders, priests, judges, and prophets to guide them back to Himself when they have wandered. He has fought so many battles for them where they have had little to do but watch the mighty hand of God. In today’s passage, He gave them a judge, Samuel. He stepped between them and the Philistines, fought the battle for them, and restored all their land to them. Yet still we read in 1 Samuel 8, they have forgotten all that. Even after being warned what a human king would do, they wanted what the world had. The glaring truth is, man soon forgets God, if we are not reminded. 

 

 GETTING GOD’S WORD INTO ME:

      The next time your church has communion, thank God for the reminder. He judged our sinfulness, stepped out of eternity into our reality, and won the battle over our sin and death on the cross of Calvary. He is still at the right hand of God interceding for us today.

 

Is He our KING?

 

 

  April 25, 2023
  Daily Reading – 1 Samuel 2-4 / Luke 16:18-31

 

 GOD’S WORD:

1 Samuel 2:26 And the child Samuel grew on, and was in favour both with the LORD, and also with men.

 

 GETTING INTO GOD’S WORD:

        I hate it when the power goes out. It seems as if life comes to a screeching halt. No TV to watch, no computer to work on, and even opening the refrigerator is depressing as the tiny light that welcomes me is not there. You search for candles, you sit and read a while, passing the time until the power comes back on. Even worse is when the power pops on for a few seconds and then drops out again. It is that glimmer of hope that pops back up. Like life is starting up again. Then, as suddenly as it vanished, it comes back on, and life is good. Well, at least we have power.

 

        Israel did not trust Eli and his family. His sons were stealing from the offerings and sacrifices given, so people just quit coming. We read in 1 Samuel 2:17 where it says, “men abhorred the offering of the Lord.” Since Eli would not do anything to correct his son’s behavior, no one came, no one sacrificed, no one brought offerings, and no one was right with God. There was no trust, there was no hope, no joy, and no blessings on these people. However, God raised up someone the people would learn to trust again. A young man by the name of Samuel. A light in a rather dark scenario. Samuel found favor with God and with Israel. In 1 Samuel 3:19 it says “…the LORD was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground.” Which means people were listening to all Samuel had to say because he was speaking for God again. There was trust, and hope again. 

 

 GETTING GOD’S WORD INTO ME:

        What we do in life as believers has a massive impact on those around us. God calls us to be a light in a rather dark scenario. When the light goes out, people do not know who to trust, they lose all hope. Sharing God’s Word, which they can trust gives people hope again.

 

Will you be that light?