May 2, 2023
  Daily Reading – 1 Samuel 18-20 / Luke 20:1-26

 GOD’S WORD:

1 Samuel 19:9 And the evil spirit from the LORD was upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his javelin in his hand: and David played with his hand. 

 GETTING INTO GOD’S WORD:

        I have, in years past, gone to the county fair and went through what is often marketed as a “Haunted House.” While walking or riding through this attraction, things jump out at you and try to scare you. The ones that will catch you off guard however are the ones that start out as one thing, such as a guide or an announcer, and then suddenly change into something scary. Things jumping out at you, well, you know they are supposed to scare you. However, the ones that look just like everyone else, and then change, those are the ones for which you must watch.

        That changing character is somewhat how we see Saul in these passages today. Back in 1 Samuel 16:14 it said, “But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him.” This phrase: “Evil Spirit from the Lord,” or God appears a few times in 1 Samuel concerning Saul. Scholars have debated for centuries what that means. Some believe since the Spirit of God was taken from Saul, God then allowed an evil demon then to torment Saul. Others have said the word evil in its original context simply meant Saul was in a depressed or distressing mental state. Still, some say that God directed a specific fallen demonic angel to torment Saul. What we do know for sure is that in all of this, God was in control of the situation, however He accomplished it. By chapter 20, David had recognized the evil in Saul and departed. 

 GETTING GOD’S WORD INTO ME:

        2 Cor. 11:14 say; “And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.” The sinfulness of the world, the Devil, and evil are all around us. Sometimes it is obvious. More often than not, it is deceptive.

Are you watching for evil?
It is looking for you.

  May 1, 2023
  Daily Reading – 1 Samuel 16-17 / Luke 19:28-48

 

 GOD’S WORD:

1 Samuel 17:48 And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came and drew nigh to meet David, that David hasted, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine.

 

 GETTING INTO GOD’S WORD:

        Many years ago, in Mississippi at a local zoo with our family, something out of the ordinary happened. We were all just enjoying a fun day at the zoo when a cheetah broke free from its cage and was dragging a little boy by his clothing. The management of the zoo was directing people inside the buildings around us. However, my cousin and I could see the cheetah in a clearing, dragging the little boy and we moved toward them. When we did, the animal dropped the little boy and seemed disoriented. The little boy cried, “please help me mister.” I said, “just be still, do not move.” About that time a man stepped up beside me. I said quietly, “sir, if you are not with the zoo, do not go out there.” He said, “I am with the zoo,” and within a few moments the cheetah was captured, and the little boy was ok. What made us go toward the danger? All I can say is, that little boy needed help, or he may have been mauled. When the papers interviewed us, we both said; “God used us to help that little boy in his time of need.”

 

        When David stepped out to fight the Giant Philistine Goliath, God’s people Israel were being threatened. He knew God had delivered him in the past from danger and just thought he could help. He was not trying to be a hero. He was not trying to show off. He just saw a situation where someone was in danger, and he thought he could help. So, giving God the glory, David stepped toward the enemy. 

 

 GETTING GOD’S WORD INTO ME:

        1 Peter 5:8 says, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:” Someone out there is being attacked by the devil and needs your help.

 

Will you step in, toward the enemy for God?

 

 

 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?