David is on the run for his life because jealous Saul is after him. I can’t blog much tonight; I’m too weary.  But do question the “evil spirit from the Lord” that comes over Saul and drives him mad.  Does the Lord send evil?  I did not think that was possible or in His nature to SEND evil.  I looked up the verses using the Strong’s concordance at blueletterbible.org, but that tool leaves out the prepositions.  How do they know it was FROM the Lord?  One translation said “from,” and another said “of.” This concept is confusing to me…so for … Continue reading 1 Samuel 18-20; Psalm 11, 59

Obedience is more important to the Lord than our sacrifices. The Lord gave Saul explicit instructions — he was to go completely destroy the Amelekites.  But he did not.  Instead, he captured the king alive and kept the good livestock. Then he went and built a memorial to himself!  I don’t think he was concerned about the loss of life…the fact that he built a memorial to HIMself tells us a lot about the motivations of his heart. Saul looked successful strutting around with the loot.  But God said, “People judge others by what they look like, but I judge … Continue reading 1 Samuel 15-17: No Second Guesses

Today I read about Jonathan’s decision to take ONE soldier and attack the Philistines.  The Philistines were an oppressive people; the Israelites had begun living in caves and hiding out in fear of them. Jonathan, however, had incredible faith that the Lord would win the battle.  If the Lord helps an entire army, surely He would help two men, he reasoned. I wish I had that kind of faith! I am gaining more, though, step by step.  Today’s message at church came exactly when I needed to hear it: when going through dark valleys in life, it is better to … Continue reading 1 Samuel 13-14: Extreme Courage

The Lord chose a very tall man from the smallest tribe to be Israel’s first king — Saul.  I’ve been pondering the way Saul became changed into a different person when “the spirit of the Lord” came upon him.  It was as if he became changed from the inside out! The Holy Spirit came upon Christians at Pentecost, and He is given as a gift to us today.  It is by His power that we are transformed. Let me tell you, that word “transformed” must be in the progressive tense because it has not yet been accomplished in my life! … Continue reading 1 Samuel 9-12: From Meager Beginnings

The Israelites were losing their battles to the Philistines, so they had the bright idea to take the ark into battle with them (this was their idea…not God’s idea).  They lost the battle decisively, and the Philistines took the ark. But then the Lord caused all sorts of afflictions to come on the Philistine people…sores, illness, etc.  So they sent the ark back to the Israelites, along with golden models of their sores and of the rats that were eating all their crops. (yuck!) When it landed with the Israelites, those people celebrated and then did a bad thing: they … Continue reading 1 Samuel 4-6: Hot Potato