JESUS Rocks!

Friday, April 17, 2009

David overcame the Philistine with a sling and a stone! You must be joking! A man with no armour but just a sling and a stone facing a giant (3m tall) with full armour & spear in hand?! David knows that it is not he who could do it but God. He killed a lion and a bear before and acknowledged that it was the Lord who has deliverd him. Not that David has extraordinary strength and undefeatable. If he is, I'm sure he would never have to flee from his enemies as he alone would be able to bring a whole army down! However, at God's chosen time, place and reason, David was able to gain the victory because God is with him. Something can be impossible for David but nothing is impossible for God!

The same in our lives, aren't there moments and situations in our lives in which we think was simply impossible yet God has made them possible? Let us remember that it is God who has made it possible & not us and all glory be unto Him.

penned at 12:13 PM

Thursday, April 16, 2009

1 Sam 16 tells us that God is no longer with Saul & as sa result the evil spirit could come & torment him. I don't think anyone would like to have the same experience as Saul & the only way to avoid it is to have God's spirit with us. In this case, God is with David & through that, David obtained the favour of his King (nowadays, it can be our leaders, our bosses, our lecturers, tutors etc) Not only so, David brought the presence of God with him and the peace that accompanies it wherever he goes. Do we have God with us today & do we see the evidence of it in our lives?

Often we may open up doors for the evil ones to come, they can come & influence us but they cannot dwell in us as the Holy Spirit is dwelling in us. For only one master can reside in the temple. However, if one day the Holy Spirit leaves us then our lives are wide open to the evil spirits to come. Saul has opened the door by disobeying God. Something that may seem to be small to us or something that we might have done almost everyday =p It is important that we examine our hearts to not allow the attitude of disobedience to come into our hearts so that it won't transform into action. We are to be careful in living our lives so that we may remain under God's covering & protection & know confidently that the Spirit of the Lord is with us.

penned at 7:28 AM

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Obedience is better than sacrifice. I'm sure all of us have heard of this phrase before. God has commanded Saul to destroy everything when attacking the Amalekites and when God says 'everything', he meant literally 'everything'. Saul & his army however were unwilling to destroy everything, they destroy the weak but took the best. It was totally wrong for Saul to think either that the Lord wouldn't know or by sacrificing those things to God, what he had done would be justified.

Samuel said in verses 22 to 23:
Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.

In modern terms, I think the scripture would be something like: Does the Lord delight in your offerings and services unto him as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord? =)

Saul continue to walk in his path of destruction & instead of being concerned of what God thinks, he's more concerned of what people think. He requested to be honoured before his people though he knew that God has rejected him.

penned at 1:38 AM

1 Sam 14:24-52 tells us that Jonathan did great things but he is not a perfect man. He took honey when his father commanded no one shall eat at that time. He did it not knowing the command but does this mean he did not disobey? This reminds me that under the legal terms, ignorance of the law is not an excuse or defence to breaking the law which means that even if you do not know it is a law not to do something, the fact that you have done it, you have broken the law and you will be penalised accordingly. It seems to be the case that God sees it the same way as in verses 38-43 God revealed that Jonathan has sinned. Thinking of it, isn't it the same with our sins? Even if we do not know it's a sin to lie or we do not acknowledge lying as a sin (due to our culture, education, background, etc), if we lie, we have sinned against God whether we know or acknowledge it or not. So let's be sure to know what are sins that we may not commit them as Psalm 119:11 says - let us hide God's word in our hearts that we might not sin against the Lord.

As the men told Jonathan of Saul's command, Jonathan expressed dissatisfaction with his father which is inappropriate. We know in the bible, God tells us to respect our parents & authorities even though they are sinners just like us but we are to respect, submit & honour them. Instead of showing the full submission, respect & obedience that his armor bearer had shown towards him, he brought Saul, being his father, leader & king, down before men.

Saul, though, has destined to step down in his leadership, he is not a all-bad king. When he sees his soldiers sinning against God by eating meat with blood in it (it was within Mosaic law that men are not to eat meat with blood in it), he led people to obey God's command. He inquire of the Lord with his pursuit of the Philistines. Neither is he a father who is heartless & ruthless. Jonathan was meant to be punished for the sin he has committed but Saul spared him but surely that has costed him something. Saul gave his word that may God deal with hiim ever so severely if Jonathan does not die. It turns out that God has deserted him as the king & instead, chosen David as the king.

penned at 12:58 AM

1 Sam 14:1-14 Jonathan is a courageous man & a man filled with faith. He is one who understands no fear before his enemies as he knows God's hand is on Him & will grant him victory. If he had told his father about going to the enemy's ground, what would Saul say? I think Saul would surely tell him not to go as they are not able to defeat the Philistines who have a strong army & fully equipped weapons. Yet, Jonathan does not believe in what he sees but rather believes in what God can do. He took the step of faith & sought the Lord to gain the victory in which all Israelites would have believed it to be impossible.

His armor bearer took on his faith & followed his leader whole-heartedly. He did not ask questions but a full obedience and submission was offered unto his master. He did not tell Jonathan that he should consult Saul first, take more men with them or tell Jonathan how strong the Philistine armies are & how impossible it would be to take them down for geographical reasons. He simply gave Jonathan his heart and soul. This is not just some words he has said but he has demonstrated it by laying his life down for Jonathan & followed him up the cliff. No man would have lied about their commitment if they are prepared to give their lives to it.

Isn't this full trust a demonstration of what God is looking for in His people? When God tells us something, what is our response?

Do we ask 'what?' as if we didn't hear what God says or doubting what God has told us is really from Him.

Do we ask 'why?', trying to look for a good reason to get rid of the call so that we can say 'no' to God.

Do we ask 'when?' as we are so caught up with what we currently have in hands & refuse to let go of those things in our lives.

Do we ask 'where?' as we want to make sure we will have the comfort in our lives, having some control over the directions of our lives.

Do we ask 'how?' as we only see us & do not see God in the picture, lacking in faith to step forward into God's plan for us.

Or do we say, 'God I will do whatever you say for I am with you in heart & soul.'

penned at 12:43 AM

Saturday, April 4, 2009

God appoints leaders and He brings them down. Samuel in 1 Sam 13 says that Saul had not kept the command the Lord gave him and God has chosen another leader.

Saul was meant to wait for Samuel to come but instead, he acted on his own accord due to the situation he saw before him. Often, God tells us to wait but for us, the situation seems to call for an action immediately. For example, we might like someone and God tells us to wait but we decided to go ahead to start a relationship with the person. We might tell God that we need a job within this month or else we'll go somewhere else but God says wait. Similarly, when God tells us to do something but we do not do it and when God tells us not to do something but we do it - like what Paul mentioned that it is the sinful nature working in our lives rather than the spirit of God.

Without seeking God or trusting in God's response, we often go in our own ways, trying to fix up the situation on our own accord. We think of possible solutions, we acted upon what we think would be the best, we do everything humanly possible but not what God has told us to do. This is the fatal act that brought Saul down. Samuel correctly puts it that 'you have acted foolishly'. Indeed, to God, the way of a man is foolish. Don't act foolishly!

penned at 1:28 AM

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Samuel, in his last days, made sure that he stood right before people & God & alerted Israelites once more to the importance of putting God first in their lives. He reminded the people about God's grace & mercy in bringing them out of Egypt. He spoke of God's justice in giving Israelites into the hands of their enemies as they have sinned against God. He spoke of God's forgiveness when Israelites repented that God once again received them back.

Though this time round, Israelites have again displeased God by asking for a king, God appointed a king upon their request. However, Samuel warned that the most important thing is not whether they have a king or not, whether they have strong army or not, whether they are wealthy or not, whether they would win over their enemies or not...it's about whether they will fear the Lord, serve and obey Him & follow Him. This is the question we need to ask ourselves - doesn't matter what government/church leadership we have, doesn't matter how much we are blessed by God in wealth & all, doesn't matter whether we can drive out demons & heal the sick...the important question we are to ask ourselves is are we steadfast in the Lord, walking in fear of the great & awesome God without any idols in our lives, obeying Him fully and serving the Lord faithfully with all our hearts.

It is only in such a time we know that God's hand is for us & not against us. What can be worse than having the Almighty God against us?!

penned at 11:25 PM

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

1 Sam 9-11 Saul did not come from an astonishing background, he's from the smallest clan, the smallest tribe, yet God has handpicked him to be the first king over Israel. The bible says that God uses the fool to shame the wise. It is interesting to see how God has chosen His people, regardless of their appearance (David), their background (Saul), their ability (Moses) or even the great extent of their sins in the past (Paul).

When the Israelites have asked for a king, God gave them a king from the least expected tribe & from the least expected clan. People were doubting the choice of God but God demonstrated that as long as He is with the king - doesn't matter how little they are, He is big. With the Spirit's power, Saul prophecised & with the Spirit's power, he defeated the greatly feared enemy, Jabesh Gilead.

penned at 10:15 AM