David was a king and a warrior, he waited on no one, but God alone. What are you waiting on today? Find a quiet place where you can get alone with God and wait on Him to speak to you through His Word.
David was a king and a warrior, he waited on no one, but God alone. What are you waiting on today? Find a quiet place where you can get alone with God and wait on Him to speak to you through His Word.
013 – May 20th through September 17, 2013 – Justin Norden managed our OYB site during my summer sabbatical.
After numbering the ways the Lord had blessed him, the psalmist considered how he might respond. What would be appropriate? How do you repay the One who gives us all? The apostle Paul’s response seems best: Offer your bodies as a living sacrifice (Rom.12.1). In other words, we render all that we have, all that we are, all that we think, all that we say, all that we sing, all that we own, all that we love… to God!
Jesus came that we might have life. The Greek word here is ζωή zóé, which speaks of both physical and spiritual life. This life originates with, and is sustained by Jesus, who is Life. “Zoe” life is described both by its quantity (eternal), and its quality (abundant). Receiving Jesus, we receive His life. Many focus on the eternal nature of this life, but miss Christ’s emphasis on its “abundance” for the present. In Christ we are to thrive, living life to the full, bearing fruit, and exploding with vibrance all around!
A man who was blind from birth was healed by Jesus. The Pharisees questioned him asking the manner in which he received his sight. His simple testimony was impossible to dispute. “I once was blind, but now I see.” We can learn from this man’s witness. We don’t have to be theologians to bear witness. Just tell others what Jesus has done for you!
When David burst onto the scene in Israel’s history, everything he did succeeded. All the people loved him, but King Saul was jealous. It’s hard for an older man who has labored for years to see such success come to one so young. For those of us who are closer to Saul’s age, how can we begin to mentor and bless the “Davids” of our generation, rather than belittle their youth? Who knows. Perhaps the Lord is with them. And so, shouldn’t we be with them too?
I am a life long student of God’s Word. Both my mother and my grandmother read the Word to me from birth, so that its stories have always been familiar to me. Yet, now as a man in my 5th decade, I still find something new in God’s Word every day. It’s more than an intellectual pursuit. My mother didn’t just read the Word to me, she delighted in the Word. And her obsession became mine. Do you know the joy of studying God’s Word?
Saul obeyed man instead of God. And the Lord rejected him as king. The desire to please people rather than God has led to the downfall of many. Even in Saul’s confession he begged Samuel to stay and “honor” him before the elders of Israel. He still worried about his image. But God is looking for a man who cares only what God thinks of him. God looks for one after His own heart.
This is what Jonathan, son of King Saul, said to his armor bearer before they routed a garrison of Philistines. I think God must love this kind of risk-taking faith. Perhaps the great missionary to India, William Carey, had Jonathan’s story in mind when he said, “Expect great things from God. Attempt great things for God.”
Samuel was the last living judge of Israel and a forerunner of Christ in that he held all three titles of prophet, priest and judge (king). He was so aware of God’s calling on his life that he didn’t need the people to ask him to pray for them. For him, failing to pray and preach would be sin. This would not be the sin of commission, but omission. Are we sometimes so focused on what we shouldn’t be doing that we miss doing what we should?