Talk Tuesday-Be Blessed and Stay The Course

The story of King Saul in the Biblical Book of 1 Samuel is fascinating. It highlights the importance of our obedience to God.

1 Samuel takes place after the Israelites were brought out of slavery in Egypt and firmly established in the Promised Land of Canaan. Once led by judges and prophets of the LORD, they demanded a king of their own, so they could be like the surrounding nations. GOD sent the prophet Samuel to anoint Saul as King. At his coronation, he and the people are warned about the importance of obedience.

Two years into his reign Saul disobeyed GOD by offering an 'unlawful sacrifice' before the people (1 Samuel 13). He disobeyed GOD again in the matter concerning the Amalekites whom the LORD had directed him to utterly destroy (as result of how they treated the Israelites en route from Egypt to Canann; see Exodus 17:8-16). “9 But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and were unwilling to utterly destroy them. But everything despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed,”1 Samuel 15:9. The prophet Samuel, brokenhearted, spoke words that have often caused me to search my own heart during my personal journey with the LORD:

“22 So Samuel said: 'Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams. 23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He also has rejected you from being king.'” 1 Samuel 15:22-23

I truly had not intended to write about this again, but I felt a burning in my heart that I could not ignore. GOD loves us. He requires our full obedience, not our partial obedience. There are so many dissenting voices in today's society that are alluring, demanding and challenging. Turn away from indulging the flesh, feed the spirit. “Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God,” James 4:4. If your friends disown you, society mocks you, and you suffer for it, remember you are 'Blessed', (see Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5:10). Stand firm in your faith upon the Word of God. Let the Holy Spirit guide and teach you. Abide in Jesus Christ, for therein your power lies. And remember Jesus' words, “21 He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him,” John 14:21. Be Blessed and Stay The Course!!!!