A Benediction song (Noel Grant, tune: What a friend we have in Jesus)
God be with you through the night-time, God be with you through the day:
Angels guard and keep you always, as you journey on your way.
God be with you, ever bless you, as the days and years go by;
Till we meet at last in glory, in the mansions of the sky.
Read Your Bible, Find Your Saviour.
Monday 8 April 2024
The Holy Spirit - Learning from 1 Samuel
Everyone was so happy - ‘Long live the king! (1 Samuel 10:24). Everything seemed to be so promising - ‘The Spirit of God came mightily upon Saul’ (1 Samuel 11:6). God’s people were victorious (1 Samuel 11:11). God’s people ‘rejoiced greatly’ (1 Samuel 11:15).
This is not, however, the whole story. Things were to get worse, much
worse - ‘You were running well; who hindered you from obeying the truth?
This persuasion is not from Him who calls you’ (Galatians 5:7-8).
Remember the parable of the sower: ‘Satan immediately comes and takes
away the Word... When tribulation or persecution arises on account of
the Word, immediately they fall away... The cares of the world and the
delight in riches, and the desire for other things, enter in and choke
the Word, and it proves unfruitful’ (Mark 4:15,17,19). Pray - ‘Deliver us from evil’ (Matthew 6:13).
‘Samuel did what the Lord commanded’ (1 Samuel 16:4). Real obedience comes from ‘the heart’. It is more than just ‘keeping up appearances’(1 Samuel 16:7).
‘The heart of the matter is the matter of the heart’ - This is
something we must never forget!’. ‘It’s the presence of Your Spirit,
Lord, we need’ (Songs of Fellowship, 256) - This is the lesson we must
learn from the stories of Saul and David. The great difference between
the two men is summed up in 1 Samuel 16:13-14:
‘the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David... the Spirit of the
Lord departed from Saul’. David exerted a good influence upon Saul (1 Samuel 16:23).
Sadly, however, Saul’s best days were behind him. He was only a shadow
of what he could have become if he had chosen to become ‘a man after
God’s own heart’ (1 Samuel 16:13-14). Don’t settle for second best when you can have God’s very best!
David
defeats Goliath. This is not only a story about David and Goliath. It
is about the Israelites and the Philistines. It is about ‘God’ and the
‘gods’ (1 Samuel 17:43,46). Victory comes from the Lord. It is given by grace. It is received by faith (1 Samuel 17:47). Notice the contrast between the attitude of Saul - unbelief -and the attitude of David - faith (1 Samuel 17:33,37).
Unbelief is all around us. Don’t be pulled into it. Don’t forget God.
Remember what He has done for you and thank Him that He will not fail
you now (1 Samuel 17:37). Put off the armour provided by men. ‘Put on the whole armour of God’ (1 Samuel 17:38-40; Ephesians 6:11).
We will not win the victory if we fight in our own strength. We must
draw our strength from the Lord. He helps us. We are ‘strengthened with
might through His Spirit in the inner man’ (Psalm 121:2; 124:8; Ephesians 3:16).
Saul
sinned against the Lord. He brought God’s judgment upon himself:
‘Because you did not obey the voice of the Lord... the Lord has done
this thing to you this day’ (1 Samuel 28:18). ‘Saul disguised himself’’ - he thought he could get away with his sin. He was wrong: ‘Be sure your sin will find you out’ (1 Samuel 28:8; Numbers 32:23).
There is no hiding from God - ‘Before Him no creature is hidden, but
all are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do’.
God’s Word warns us: ‘It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of
the living God’. Do not ‘trample the Son of God under foot, treating His
blood as an unholy thing and outraging the Spirit of grace’. Don’t
fight against God. You will be the loser! Don’t ‘shrink back’ and be
‘destroyed’. ‘Believe’ and be ‘saved’ (Hebrews 4:13; 10:29-31, 39; Acts 16:30-31).
Praying Through God's Word - Deuteronomy 13-22
Lord,
You are the God of love. You are also the God of holiness. We like to
hear about Your love. It makes us feel good. We're not so keen on
hearing about Your holiness. You are the holy God. You are the God who
calls us to be holy. Help us, Lord, not to be content with the
half-truth, contained in the words, "All you need is love." We do need
love - but we also need holiness. Help us to "strive ... for the
holiness without which no one will see the Lord" (Hebrews 12:14).
Deuteronomy 14:22-15:23
Lord,
You call us to belong to You. This is wonderful. It makes our hearts
glad. You also call us to serve You. We're not to remain what we were
before we became Your redeemed people. We're to be renewed - "beholding
the glory of the Lord, we are being changed into His likeness from one
degree of glory to another" (2 Corinthians 3:18).
Deuteronomy 16:1-17:13
Lord,
we celebrate Your love. We rejoice in Your salvation. Your love is a
dying love. We see Your love in the death of Jesus, our Saviour. It's
also an undying love. It's the only love that never dies. It never comes
to an end. It's eternal love, shown to us in the sacrificial death of
"the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29).
Deuteronomy 17:14-18:22
Help
us, Lord, to be obedient to Your Word. Help us, in our obedience, to
remain humble. How can we possibly bring glory yo You if we're thinking
about how obedient we are when we should be rejoicing in the great love
by which You have saved us and the great power by which You keep us
walking in the way of faith? Even when we're pressing on to a closer
walk with You, help us never to forget this: "Who is a God like You,
forgiving sin ... " (Micah 7:18-20).
Deuteronomy 19:1-20:9
By
Your grace, Lord, You call us to be Your soldiers and servants. Help us
not to be "fearful and fainthearted" (Deuteronomy 19:19). Help us to be
"good soldiers of Jesus Christ" (2 Timothy 2:3). When we hear your
challenging question: "Who is on the Lord's side?", may we give our
committed answer: "By Thy call of mercy, by Thy grace divine, we are on
the Lord's side; Saviour, we are Thine."
Deuteronomy 20:10-21:23
We
thank You, Lord, for Your amazing love - "while we were Your enemies we
were reconciled to You by the death of Your Son" (Romans 5:10); "Once
we were no people but now we are Your people; once we had not received
mercy but now we have received mercy" (1 Peter 2:10).
Deuteronomy 22:1-30
Help
us, Lord, to be caring people. Where does this love for one another
come from? It comes from Your love for us. Where there is a growing
appreciation of Your love for us, there will be an increasing commitment
to sharing Your love with others. Help us to love people without loving
the ways of those who "live as enemies of the Cross of Christ"
(Philippians 3:18). May our love for them be a true expression of Your
love for them. May it call them to return to You, to be forgiven by You,
to make a new beginning with You.
Praying Through God's Word - Deuteronomy 23:1-31:13
Show
us, Lord, what we really are - without You. Make us, more truly and
more fully, what You want us to become - by Your saving grace. Fill us
with Your holiness - and fill us with Your love. You've lifted us out of
our sin and into Your salvation. This is Your doing. It's not our own
achievement. we're called to be Your holy people - but we dare not
imagine that we're better than everyone else. We're set apart for You -
but we must never forget that we'll never be anything more than sinners,
saved by Your grace. Your love has reached. Your love changes us. Make
us more like Jesus - walking with You on the pathway of holiness and
reaching out, in love, to others, inviting them to receive the Saviour's
love and respond to His call: "Follow Me" (Matthew 4:19).
Deuteronomy 24:1-25:29
We
thank You, Lord, that You love us. We thank You that You have done
great things for us. We think of Your great love. We think of all that
You have done for us - and we say, "To God be the glory."
Deuteronomy 26:1-27:10
Lord,
You have saved us. You call us, now, to live in obedience to Your Word.
Teach us Your way, Lord, and help us to walk in it. May the light of
Your love shine upon us. May Your love for us fill us with more love for
You.
Deuteronomy 27:11-28:24
Lord,
You speak to us Your Word of warning - and Your promise of blessing.
You call us back from the way of disobedience - and on to the pathway of
obedience and blessing. Where does the blessing come from? Does it come
from our obedience? No! It comes from Your love. It comes from Your
promise. Your love reaches us in our sin. Your blessing increases in us
as we learn to turn from our sin and give You first place in our lives.
Deuteronomy 28:25-68
Why,
Lord, do You speak to us the Word of warning and the promise of
blessing? There is a good way to which we must turn - and there's also a
bad way from which we turn. How can we really appreciate and embrace
the good way if we do not see the clear contrast between the good way
and the bad way? Help us, Lord, to choose the good way - to choose
Jesus, who is "the Way, the Truth and the Life" (John 14:6).
Deuteronomy 29:1-29
Lord,
Your Word speaks to us about the "secret things" and "the things that
are revealed" (Deuteronomy 29:29). There are some "things" that we will
never understand. These "things" belong to You, Lord. Help us to focus
our attention on "the things that are revealed", the teaching that comes
to us from "the holy Scriptures", the Gospel which brings us to Jesus,
our Saviour - calling us to put our faith in Him and live in obedience
to Him (2 Timothy 3:14-17).
Deuteronomy 30:1-31:13
Lord,
You are not a god who keeps his distance from us. You are not a god who
keeps his silence. You come near to us. You speak Your Word to us
(Deuteronomy 30:11-14). How do we know that You are near to us? How do
we know that You speak Your Word to us? Jesus is "God with us" (Matthew
1:23). He is "the Word made flesh" (John 1:14). Thank You for Jesus - He
comes near to us and He speaks to us. Help us, Lord, to treasure His
presence and to respond to His Word.
Praying Through God's Word - Deuteronomy 31:14-Joshua 5:15
You can find more of this series of prayers at A Prayer For Every Day and
Praying Through God's Word.
Deuteronomy 32:19-33:17
Lord, You speak to us the Word of condemnation. You tell us that we are "a perverse generation" You tell us that "You will hide Your face from us" (Deuteronomy 32:20). You also speak to us the Word of compassion - "The Lord will ... have compassion on His servants, when He sees their power is gone" (Deuteronomy 32:26). Help us, Lord, to hear the Word of condemnation - to know that "our power has gone", so that we can hear the Word of compassion, the Word that comes to us in our weakness, the Word that brings us into Your strength - "a new creation in Jesus Christ" (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Deuteronomy 33:18-34:12
We thank You, Lord, that You are "the eternal God." You are "our Refuge." You hold us in Your "everlasting arms" (Deuteronomy 33:27). This doesn't mean that life will be easy for us - but it does mean that You will be with us - whatever happens, and You'll never let us down. You'll always be there for us. You are "for us" - whatever problems we may have to face, may we learn to say, with triumphant faith, "If God is for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31).
Joshua 1:1-18
Joshua 2:1-24
Joshua 3:1-17
Joshua 4:1-24
Joshua 5:1-15
Praying Through God's Word.
Deuteronomy 31:14-32:18
We
sing to You, Lord. We sing our song of praise. It's the song of Your
salvation. It's the song that gives glory to You. May our song of praise
be more than words. May it be the song that arises from our hearts. May
it be the song that comes from lives that are being transformed by Your
grace.
Deuteronomy 32:19-33:17
Lord, You speak to us the Word of condemnation. You tell us that we are "a perverse generation" You tell us that "You will hide Your face from us" (Deuteronomy 32:20). You also speak to us the Word of compassion - "The Lord will ... have compassion on His servants, when He sees their power is gone" (Deuteronomy 32:26). Help us, Lord, to hear the Word of condemnation - to know that "our power has gone", so that we can hear the Word of compassion, the Word that comes to us in our weakness, the Word that brings us into Your strength - "a new creation in Jesus Christ" (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Deuteronomy 33:18-34:12
We thank You, Lord, that You are "the eternal God." You are "our Refuge." You hold us in Your "everlasting arms" (Deuteronomy 33:27). This doesn't mean that life will be easy for us - but it does mean that You will be with us - whatever happens, and You'll never let us down. You'll always be there for us. You are "for us" - whatever problems we may have to face, may we learn to say, with triumphant faith, "If God is for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31).
Joshua 1:1-18
We
thank You, Lord, that we have Your wonderful promise - "The Lord your
God is with you" - as well as Your clear command - "Be strong" (Joshua
1:9). Without Your promise, the command is no use. Again and again, we
fail to keep Your commands. Again and again, we need to be reassured.
You are still with us.This is what we need to hear. This is where our
strength comes from. It comes from Your promise. It comes from knowing
that You never fail us. You have never failed us. You never will fail
us.
Joshua 2:1-24
Help
us, Lord, to "give a friendly welcome" (Hebrews 11:31). What a
difference the friendly welcome makes! It's the word of encouragement
that makes us feel loved. It's the act of kindness that lets us know
that love is more than words. Lord, You are our Father. Help us to be
like You - "when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had
compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him" (Luke
15:20). What amazing grace! Before the confession of sin - "Father, I
have sinned... " (Luke 15:21), there is the friendly welcome. It's Your
grace that inspires our confession of sin. It's Your grace that leads us
into the joy of Your forgiveness. It's not only joy for us. It's joy
for You - "my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is
found. And they began to celebrate" (Luke 15:24).
Joshua 3:1-17
Help
us, Lord, to be active for You - "the people who know their God will be
strong and take action" (Daniel 11:32) - and to wait upon You - "those
who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength" (Isaiah 40:31). We
need both - prayer and action, seeking Your will and doing Your will.
Give us wisdom to know Your will, and courage to do Your will.
Joshua 4:1-24
Lord,
You have blessed us so much. Help us never to forget this. We look at
the world You have made for us - and we say, "Thank You, Lord." We look
at the Saviour You have sent to us - and we say, "Thank You, Lord." Why
must we keep on remembering You? - We "remember" so that we might learn
to fear You (Joshua 4:23-24). We remember so that we may have hope for
the future - "times of refreshing" (Acts 3:19).
Joshua 5:1-15
Lord,
we thank You that Your Son, Jesus, comes to us as more than our
personal Saviour. He comes to us as the "commander of the army of the
Lord" (Joshua 5:14). We thank You that "Christ, the Royal Master, leads
against the foe." We thank You that He leads us "on to victory." Help us
to be His faithful followers on His pathway of victory.
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