A MAN AFTER GOD’S HEART
Suggested Reading: 1 Samuel 13
Click scripture link to read online or HERE to listen online (then click the symbol of the audio speaker above the scripture portion).
A rectangular ritual bath has been recently uncovered just beneath the southern wall of the Temple Mount in the Jerusalem Archaeological Park. You can see the Mount of Olives in the background.
GOOGLE MAPS – To see where the photo was taken, click HERE.
Key Verses: 1 Samuel 13:13-14
And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which He commanded you. For now the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.”
Understanding and obeying God’s Word is of eternal importance. Jesus said, “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My Word shall never pass away” (Matthew 24:35). God’s Word is forever! God’s Word has the power to do good, to heal, bring judgement, and to save. The Word is like the laws of nature. King Saul failed to obey what he knew were God’s instructions, and now he must suffer the consequences. God would choose another King who would be careful to obey, both the letter and the spirit of the instructions he received. By believing and doing God’s Word, we, like David who is yet to come onto the scene, will experience the blessing of God. David would keep God’s Word and the result was that he became the father of an eternal dynasty through his descendant, Jesus Christ.
PRAYER FOR TODAY:
Lord God, I pray that You’ll help me to wait for You. My natural tendency, like Saul, is to be impatient and to run ahead of You, but Your supernatural grace to do what is right is available to me when I wait upon You. You meet me every morning as I read Your Word and pray. I can always count on Your timing. Thank You for the peace and joy this brings me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen!
100 PERSONAL WORDS:
Yesterday, I wrote about the made-for-TV mini-series called, “The Bible.” Today, I want to commend the producers for excellent scenes where they did get it right according to the Words of Scripture. The world generally has minimized the supernatural. This series treats the following stories as fact: Creation/The flood/The Angels appearing to Abraham and the destruction of Sodom/The waters of the Red Sea rolled back/The destruction of the walls of Jericho/David and Goliath/Saul’s death at his own hand/David’s sin, repentance, and his successful reign/The destruction of the Temple/The supernatural deliverance from the fiery furnace and the Lions/The restoration to Jerusalem/The conception of Jesus in a virgin, and the birth of Jesus/The deaths of the boy babies in Bethlehem and the escape of the holy family/The miraculous catch of fish, etc. I’m looking forward to this Sunday night on the History Channel for more.
No one has made the claim that this limited budget,10-hour series is on par with, or on the same level as, the Scriptures themselves. It’s filmed in Morocco, not Israel, probably for financial reasons, so the scenery is not accurate.There are areas where every Word of Scripture is not given. Ten times the budget would still not produce total accuracy, given the restrictions of making a movie. But what it is producing is an intense interest in the Bible by millions who have never taken the time to actually read the Bible. The materials available for home groups and churches are designed to bring huge numbers of people into reading the Bible, Word by Word, as we encourage in this blog. Here is a link to the Crossroads e-store where additional materials are described and can be purchased online for delivery to homes and churches (click here).
My New Testament reading for today is Philippians 4:4-9.
Yours for grace to “meditate on these things,” not putting down the efforts of others, but rejoicing in their efforts, as Paul did (Read Philippians 1:15-18),
David
Today’s reading was yet another example of not being obedient to the Lord’s instruction. “The Word is like the laws of nature”–I love that, David! The Word is indeed forever and we need only wait upon you, patiently, Lord. To know that we are doing what is right each morning is through the blessing of supernatural grace, which You afford us, Lord.
Philippians 4:4-9:
“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!
Let your forbearing spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near.
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things.
The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things; and the God of peace shall be with you.”
1 Peter 24:25:
“For, ‘All flesh is like grass,
And all its glory like the flower of grass.
The grass withers,
And the flower falls off,
But the Word of the Lord abides forever.’
And this is the word which was preached to you.”
Wishing all saints a blessed day!
From time to time our very real human tendency is to want to go it alone and in our own way. One may call this human nature, an ego drive, independence etc. but going it alone isn’t always a bad thing unless it’s in the context of rebellion of God and His word, it’s then known as sin. Our sin nature is very real, we must be aware of it at all times and fight the inclination to sin with the help of the Holy Spirit. Jesus bore the sin of the world at the crucifix, He became sin that we no longer would have to bear the burden of sin. If you know Jesus, He has already forgiven you of your sin both past, present of future. As humans in this world we have a sin nature, when we sin we can go to Him with repentant heart knowing that we’ve been rebellious, for He is sure to forgive, His promises and His love for us are eternal.
As in today’s reading and The Bible series, it took tremendous courage for the Isrealites to face the massive armies. It makes me think of those in our armed forces and what they train for and endure in the face of battle. Putting ones life on the line for ones country or the love of God or friend, is truly heroic and love-based. I pray for all brave and encouraged by our Lord, under such horrific circumstances. Wonderful words of encouragement and inspiration from Philippians today! My thoughts and prayers for all today.
Happy first day of spring!! We missed “the Bible” on Sunday night but my husband tells me it will be on again Friday – same time, same station. God bless every one.
Hi David
In agreemnt with all other,s comments
Blessings and prayers to you and family
AMAZING GRACE
Zeljko
Thank you again
Dorreen if you go on utube you can catch some of lasts weeks seiers
I know I missed a little from the beginning with Abraham and I caught ulp
so try that.
What scriptures you wrote Beverlee is what I was thinking as well.
Keep safe every one
Lianne Hogg
Thank you David for your view of ”The Bible” . I see it as you do , and it is already having the desired affect. Souls are being saved, and isn’t that what it is all about. God bless: John
Beverlee and Catherine, I hope you saw my Monday’s entry. Yes, Brother Bob MacDougall always blessed me with his joyful zeal and testimony, David and I am watching the Bible Series. A lot of time and effort has gone into it. A lot of snow has fallen like “a thief in the night” so quietly without any wind. Now the sun is peeping through so it is time to deal with it. Thanks for the blog and all the insightful replies. Reading the Word each day withhis blog has stabilized my thoughts and released me from worrying so much. God be praised and thanks everyone.
Awesome scripture, Ger! 🙂 Remember it now, and do not worry. Keep singing to Jesus, throughout the day. He will lift your spirits and energy!
Wow!!!! The scriptures from Philippians were just what I needed today. Thanks to all the bloggers for your excellent comments today especially Beverlee & Scott.
I live in the country and don’t have cable or satellite and I can’t seem to get CTS on my TV so I have pre-ordered the DVD of “The Bible”. I could watch it from the internet but I do not have unlimited download so I will wait until it arrives the first week in April. Sure sounds like it will be well worth the wait!!!
We are also watching the series ‘The Bible’. I can’t believe my husband is watching! He doesn’t read the bible, so I can’t wait for Sunday nights!