Wednesday, April 2, 2025

REACTIONS

Today’s Reading: 1 Samuel 30-31

Click scripture link to read online or HERE to listen online (then click the symbol of the audio speaker above the scripture portion).

 

Around 1100 BC, the Canaanite city of Beit She’an (modern name) was conquered by the Philistines, who used it as a base of operations for further penetrations into Israel. During a battle against King Saul at nearby Mount Gilboa, the Philistines prevailed. 1 Samuel 31:10 states that the victorious Philistines hung the body of King Saul on the walls of “Beth Shan.” Historians believe that event took place in 1004 BC. The ruins seen here are from the Greco Roman period. The hill in the background is the tel of Beth Shan. The fortified city centre was built on the highest ground, and the destruction of the city, again and again through the centuries, raised the hill as they rebuilt the cities many times on top of the ruins of the old cities.

GOOGLE MAPS – To see where the photo was taken, click HERE.

 

Key Verses: 1 Samuel 30:6b, 24

But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God…For who will heed you in this matter? But as his part is who goes down to the battle, so shall his part be who stays by the supplies; they shall share alike.

How do we react under pressure? Perhaps we can learn from David today. Not only did David grieve over his personal loss, he was deeply concerned over the bitterness of his men. David could’ve pleaded innocence and claimed it wasn’t his fault. He could’ve become bitter against God. Instead David “strengthened himself in the Lord his God.” Because of God’s strength, David was able to react with a generosity of spirit, not unlike the landowner in the parable Jesus told. Let’s think about it and read Matthew 20:1-16.
Saul’s reaction to defeat was to take his own life. It might have been so very different. Saul’s failure to take time to hear from God and obey Him when he did know God’s instructions brought him and his family to a most sad end. Even Jonathan, Saul’s son, who was a loyal, loving, faithful friend of David’s, suffered because of his father. The consequences of poor decisions are far-reaching.

PRAYER FOR TODAY:

Lord God, please guide me in my decisions. I need You so very much to show me how to react in a way that would please You and bless others. Holy Spirit, I ask for You to fill me for this new day with Your wisdom and with the manifestation of the character of Jesus, in whose Name I pray, Amen!

100 PERSONAL WORDS:

I’ve read several lines written by Hilda Schnell, which expresses how I’m feeling just now. Here are the last lines: “Your unfailing, unconditional love compels the eyes of my spirit to look up, beyond my faltering steps, and gross weakness, to Your indomitable strength.” I need God’s strength, not just for big challenges but for the little things as well. I was disturbed as I exited the parking lot, following the service at a large church we attended. While I was waiting to get in line, I heard a lady yelling at the man in the car in front of her. He was very patiently waiting for other cars to pass in front of him, and her reaction may have indicated that she needed to go back into church and pray a little longer. I should’t be so judgemental, I know. I’ve been tempted to do the same from time to time. She may have been under pressures that I know nothing about. As I sat there waiting, I prayed for her for the growth of that fruit of the Spirit known as “patience,” and then, thinking about my own reactions, I prayed for myself too.

Yours for becoming more like Jesus in our reactions,

David

Tuesday, April 1, 2025

THE IMPREGNABLE ROCK

Today’s Reading: 1 Samuel 28-29

Click scripture link to read online or HERE to listen online (then click the symbol of the audio speaker above the scripture portion).

 

Masada is an ancient fortification on top of an isolated rock plateau on the eastern edge of the Judean Desert, overlooking the Dead Sea. Herod the Great built a palace for himself on the mountain and fortified Masada between 37 and 31 BC. According to Josephus, the siege of Masada by troops of the Roman Empire ended in the mass suicide of the 960 Jewish rebels and their families holed up there (approximately 73 AD).

GOOGLE MAPS – To see where the photo was taken, click HERE.

 

Key Verse: 1 Samuel 28:6

And when Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord did not answer him, either by dreams or by Urim or by the prophets.

Our key verse underlines the fact that God does speak to people. In Saul’s case, God chose not to speak to him in a dream (we can mess it up because we must decide what it means, if anything). The Urim was a method, not unlike flipping a coin and believing that God would choose heads or tails. The prophets, both true and false, were silent. The medium, often called the witch of Endor, was dumbfounded that Saul would appear. Obviously she faked it at other times, as I believe is the case with mediums today. God had a purpose here. If we look to someone claiming to be a prophet, we must recognize that their words are often unreliable because of the human element, and even if the prophet is a man or woman of God, we still must interpret for our needs what he or she has said. This is why God gave us the Holy Scriptures and the historical understanding of their meanings. We can have confidence that the Holy Spirit gave oversight to what was written down in our Bibles, and also gave oversight to the Rabbis and early church leaders as to what writings were to be included in our Bibles. The Apostle John, who loved Jesus with all his heart, and who, I’m sure, would record Jesus’ words accurately, quotes Jesus in John 16:13, “When He, the Spirit of Truth is come, He will guide you into all truth.” The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, was given on the birthday of the Church (Acts 2:1-13). The Apostle Paul was not present at the initial coming of God’s Spirit upon the 120, but be assured that when Paul became a believer and received the Holy Spirit, the Spirit, as Jesus said, guided him into all Truth. He had the finest education available in the Hebrew Scriptures. His writings are filled with quotes from his Bible, what we call now the Old Testament, and with understanding of the correct revelation of God in the Living Word, our Lord Jesus. Hebrews 1:1-3 sums up the absolute truth that we love and serve a God who is communicating with us.

PRAYER FOR TODAY:

Lord, I am totally confident that You do speak to me through Your Word and by Your Spirit. Holy Spirit, please continue to guide me into all Truth as Jesus promised You would. Help me to know when You speak metaphorically and when You speak literally. I choose to believe with all my heart that the Bible is Your Word. You have expressed Your thoughts, and because You are God, You have given oversight to the content of Your book. As David prayed so I pray, “Teach me Thy Word, O God.” In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen!

100 PERSONAL WORDS:

I’m deeply concerned that we all get it right when it comes to God speaking to us. The Apostle Peter had this same concern (I’ve just taken the time to read all of Peter’s second and last recorded teaching). Peter, to whom Jesus gave instructions to “feed my sheep,” does just that. In 1 Peter 1:15-21, we read that we “have the prophetic word made more sure,” and that, “no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation.” Over the centuries, the private interpretation of Scripture has resulted in all kinds of cults, in self-deceived people who lead others astray. The opposite to “private” is “public.” Publicly throughout the centuries, the doctrines of our faith have been defined and published. The Apostles’ Creed, the Nicene Creed, the writings of the early Church teachers, such as Augustine and others, the writings of the reformers, and yes, dare I say it, the teachings of hundreds of men and women of God who have appeared on the 100 Huntley Street and Crossroads telecasts over the past 50 plus years, who are as Paul wrote to Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:14-19…”Rightly dividing the word of truth.” He even names two men who were at that very time perverting the truth because of their vanity. I’ve just read once again Paul’s warnings. He recognized that false teachings “spread like cancer.”

Yours for being careful — very, very careful — to stick close to the historical understanding of God’s Word, the Bible (I’ve also just read 2 Timothy 3:1-5),

David

P.S. Perhaps you can tell that I’m deeply concerned about a drift, sometimes without our knowing, away from the “faith once delivered” (Jude, verses 3-4). Please look up these words and remain faithful to and “contend (do battle) for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.” Please forgive me for being very much over my “100 Words” goal. The reason for more words is my deep concern that God’s children may be deceived in a major way as seems to happen at least once each century. Prime Minister Gladstone of Britain, when Canada negotiated its separation from direct British rule without war, wrote a book called, The Impregnable Rock of Holy Scripture. I believe this very wise man, with whom our Canadian representatives negotiated, got it right. Amen!!!

In front of the Crossroads Centre, which houses the ministry of Crossroads and the TV station, CTS, we placed a large Rock, symbolizing the Solid Rock of Christ and His Word.