When Self-Congratulation Is Not In Order

Posted on 2013/09/17 by Shawn Thomas

I Samuel 15 narrates how God commanded Saul to attack the Amalekites, and utterly destroy them and all their possessions. Saul did indeed launch the attack, but he spared the king, Agag, as well as “the best” of the animals and whatever looked good in their eyes. As a result, God told Samuel that He regretted making Saul king, and Samuel went out to relay the bad news to Saul. Verse 12 tells us that on his way to the meeting, Samuel was told that “he (Saul) has set up a monument for himself …” because of his “victory.” How ironic; Saul was about to be rebuked, and His kingdom taken away from him, and here he was, making a monument for himself!

Surely Saul is not the only one to have done this. How often do we congratulate ourselves, because we think we have been “successful” in our own eyes, when in fact we have made ourselves odious in the eyes of God because we have not been faithful to His word in what we have done:

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Blessings of a Relationship With God

Posted on 2013/09/14 by Shawn Thomas

Psalm 73:23-24 says: “Nevertheless I am continually with You; You have taken hold of my right hand. WIth Your counsel You will guide me, and afterward receive me to glory.” “Nevertheless” refers back to the description earlier in the Psalm of the struggle the writer went through in his faith. For a time he had doubted God’s goodness, and he envied the prosperity of the wicked. But he realized that even in such times, he had some blessings in his relationship with God that he could never lose. He shares in these verses 4 blessings of that relationship:

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The Leadership We Deserve (2)

Posted on 2013/09/13 by Shawn Thomas

In I Samuel 12:14 Samuel told Israel: “If you will fear the LORD and serve Him, and listen to His voice and not rebel against the command of the LORD, then both you and also the king who reigns over you will follow the LORD your God.” Notice that the verse says that IF they would obey God, “then both you AND THE KING who reigns over you will follow the LORD your God.” Here is another example of scripture telling us that we get the kind of leadership we deserve:

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Faith vs. Sight

Posted on 2013/09/12 by Shawn Thomas

In I Samuel 13:11 King Saul explained that he did not wait on Samuel to offer the sacrifice before the battle with the Philistines “Because I saw that the people were scattering …”. One of Saul’s problems was that he based his actions on the things he SAW instead of basing them on faith in God’s revealed truth.

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With Us At Our Worst

Posted on 2013/09/11 by Shawn Thomas

In Psalm 73 Asaph shares a very frank testimony. He had envied the prosperity of the wicked (:3), and had considered that he had kept his life pure in vain (:13). He admitted that “my heart was embittered” and he was “senseless and ignorant” (:22). But even at that, he says in :23, “Nevertheless I am continually with You; You have taken hold of my right hand.” As doubting and bitter as he was — “like a beast before You” — God had not given up on him. He was with him at his worst!

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The Top Shelf: Books I’ve Read More Than Once

Posted on 2013/09/10 by Shawn Thomas

When it came time to sell our home in Louisiana and move to a condo less than half its size in Oklahoma, we had to do some dramatic downsizing! One of the most difficult items to tackle was our book collection. Both Cheryl & I love books, but they were NOT all going to fit in that 1100-square-foot condo, so we had to do some soul-searching over which ones we could dispose of and those we just had to keep. (Don’t worry; we got to keep plenty!)

Books fall into a number of categories. There are many books that a person reads once, and for one reason or another, will never read again. Many of mine are commentaries or other reference books which I do not “read through” per se, but refer to as needed. But others are what I am calling here, “Top Shelf” books: those which I have not only read through, but have read in their entirety more than once. Following are my “Top Shelf” books, and why:

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Defenseless?

Posted on 2013/09/10 by Shawn Thomas

In I Samuel 13, the Philistines sent groups of raiders against Saul and the people of Israel. But Israel was in an extremely weak position. Verses 19-23 tell us, “Now, no blacksmith could be found in all the land of Israel, for the Philistines had said, ‘Otherwise the Hebrews will make swords or spears.’ … So it came about on the day of battle that neither sword nor spear was found in the hands of any of the people who were with Saul and Jonathan …”. Having no swords or spears is NOT a desirable position to be in when a battle is approaching! Continue reading →

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Choice and Consequences

Posted on 2013/09/09 by Shawn Thomas

In I Samuel 13:13-14, Samuel rebuked King Saul for not waiting to offer the sacrifice before the battle, as he had been instructed. He told him: “For now the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom shall not endure.” Samuel was clearly saying that IF Saul had obeyed God, God would have established his kingdom forever. But since he didn’t, his choice had consequences, and that “NOW” — as a result of his choice — his kingdom would not endure.

There are many such places are in scripture, which teach us that we have real choices, which could have gone way or another, with consequences dependent upon those choices.

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When You’ve Messed Up: (Part VII) Pray For Those Who Have Messed Up!

Posted on 2013/09/08 by Shawn Thomas

Maybe you are not the one who has messed up (THIS time — remember we all do!) What is your responsibility towards those who have sinned? We find one of the most important answers to that question in I Samuel 12:23, where Samuel responds to the people of Israel. They had sinned against God, and in :19 had asked Samuel to intercede for them. Samuel’s response has become one of scripture’s most familiar and best-loved verses: “As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by ceasing to pray for you.” Despite what the people had done (and if you read the entire context it is clear in no uncertain terms that what they did was hurtful to him personally) he was committed to continue to pray for them.

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When You’ve Messed Up: (Part VI) Don’t Take Grace Lightly!

Posted on 2013/09/07 by Shawn Thomas

The message of I Samuel 12 to a people who had sinned is a hopeful one: if they will admit their sin, God will forgive, and they should not give up on their relationship with Him. But it ends with a warning that we would all do well to hear. Verses 24-25 admonish: “Only fear the LORD and serve Him in truth with all your heart ; for consider what great things He has done for you. But if you still do wickedly, both you and your king will be swept away.” In other words, there was restoration available for their relationship with God, but they must not succumb to the idea that because He had been gracious to them that they could take sin lightly, and continue in it. He says “if you still do wickedly, both you and your king will be swept away.”

Those of us who have “messed up” today still need this warning against “cheap grace” — the idea that forgiveness is easy, and that we can continue to sin without repercussions. God is very gracious, as we observe all through His word. But we must not think that because He is gracious, that we can continue to sin with impunity.

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