1 SAMUEL MOMENT – (28MAR19) The Israelites had suffered a devastating
defeat at the hands of the Philistines in battle. They seemed perplexed by this,
so they got the Ark of the Covenant to bring with them – hoping that the Lord
would give them the victory. Yet, they were defeated again. This time, not only
did they suffer mass casualties, but Eli’s two sons were killed, and the Ark of
the Lord was taken as plunder by the Philistines. Eli, having heard the news of
his sons’ deaths and the Ark being captured, fell to his death and broke his
neck. His pregnant daughter-in-law presented another tragedy in the family as
she died after giving birth, but not before naming her son, Ichabod, which
means The Glory has departed Israel. The
Israelites made the mistake of thinking that the Ark would substitute their
being in right fellowship with God, but they were wrong. Many today are making
the same mistake. Some Christians believe that just because they attend a purpose
driven church, under the leadership of a popular pastor, hold a particular title,
have a special gifting, function in a church office, and give a certain amount
of money, that it substitutes being right with God in their hearts. This,
however, is the wrong ideology to have and none of it will save you. Only
having the right relationship with God can save us and that is done through
obedience, prayer, study, and allowing the Holy Spirit to reign in one’s life.
Once that is done, a person can humbly expect God’s favor on them. Something to
ponder…
QUESTION OF THE DAY – (28MAR19) Samuel had gotten old and
his sons did not rule upright as he did. They took bribes to settle cases and
perverted justice. The Israelites, not having faith that God would raise up a
just judge, wanted to have a king like the other nations. God told Samuel to
give them what they wanted, but it would not be without them paying dearly for
it through taxes, servitude, and more. We too have a perversion of injustice in
the land. The American justice system is not so just, and for the right dollar
with the right connections a person can get away with a crime right in front of
one’s face. Yet, there is a day of judgment coming where the Righteous Judge
will not be able to be bought off. We must all give an account for what we do on
earth. Are you ready to stand before the Judge? Will you stand before the Bema
Seat of Christ to receive your reward, or will you stand before the Great White
Throne, for those who are wicked? Those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book
of Life do not have to fear the penalty of hell. We will receive our rewards
based on what we did in this life for Christ. But those whose names are not
written in the Book of Life will only have hell as their eternal destination. Something
to ponder…
1 SAMUEL MOMENT – (28MAR19) The Philistines had captured the
Ark of the Lord, but it did not go well with them. Their god, Dagon, was thrown
to the ground before the Ark, and every place they tried to move it, their
people got tumors, died, and they encountered a rat infestation. After it had
been with them for seven months, they sent it back to Israel being yoked to two
cows, and a cart filled with gold that had been shaped into replicas of tumors
and rats. The cows were led by God and went back to the Israelites’ camp. God
had shown the Philistines that He was more powerful than any of their foreign
gods. They had no choice but to return the Ark in order to lift the curse off
of them. The land of America is seeing many plagues as well as the rest of the
world in Biblical proportions. We have mass cattle deaths in Nebraska, poisonous
frogs in Florida, measle outbreaks in New York, wild fires in California, the threat
of crop production being limited, and much more. God is still showing man that
He is God and yet, He gives us grace, mercy and love. All we have to do is to repent
and turn our hearts back to Him. Something to ponder…
No comments:
Post a Comment