1 Samuel
Standing upon the truth is never accomplished by telling lies. God desires us to be honest and trustworthy. Actions may speak louder than words, but our words still matter. David goes to Achish and asks for a place where he and his people can dwell safely in the land. Achish
1 Samuel
Sometimes, especially when sacrifice is called for, the righteous choice feels very much like a suboptimal one. Life is not perfect. We seldom make a decision without some sort of compromise impacting the decision. Learning how to pick the best solution out of a set of suboptimal choices is a
1 Samuel
Sometimes the correct choice is to walk away from relationship. God’s people should care deeply about relationship. We should long to see God in one another. Unfortunately, the world doesn’t always agree. If we find ourselves in a situation where we cannot use our influence to produce righteousness,
1 Samuel
God wants us to be strong for the people around us. That is what community is all about. In my moment of weakness, I need others around me to point me in a good direction and keep me dwelling in godliness. Once more Saul seeks to destroy David. He forgot
1 Samuel
Sometimes our deepest sin originates from a seemingly unrelated moment spiraling out of control. We make a decision in the moment, not realizing the future consequences. When the consequences show up, it is too late to reverse our course of action. We deal with them as best we can, but
God is deeply concerned with how we handle ourselves amidst our sinfulness. Nobody is perfect. Fortunately, our lack of perfection doesn’t define us. Our character defines us. Our character is on display when we are confronted by our mistakes. David experiences Abigail’s action and is instantly humbled. People
1 Samuel
Godly people deal with the world by reflecting God. Our nature wants to follow our heart. Sometimes that’s good, but sometimes it isn’t. We can occasionally get caught doing unto others as they do unto us rather than doing unto others as God does to us. God wants
1 Samuel
Unless we are intentional, it can be difficult to discern godliness in the moments of life. Passions run high. People back us into corners. We make arguments we don’t fully think through. Life can make it challenging to keep our eyes focused on God. David, with his men training
1 Samuel
Only God remains. DC Talk has a song called Things of This World. The song has a mournful beat, claiming things of this world are passing away. They are here tomorrow but sure not here to stay. Only God remains. Samuel dies. The Bible says all of Israel came to
1 Samuel
Genuine repentance comes from within. Many people demonstrate repentance with words, a look, and perhaps even tears. While none of those things are wrong when genuine, they can be faked to simulate repentance. Genuine repentance comes from the heart; it is demonstrated by change, not an apology. When Saul finishes
1 Samuel
We can’t always get everything right, but we can be contrite when we err in our ways. It is easy to get caught up in perfection. With video editing and computer-generated graphics, we can make everything appear perfect on the outside. God perceives our inside, however. God knows
1 Samuel
We can rely upon God to be with us when the world isn’t. The world has its best interests at heart, not ours. The world will be our friend while we are useful, but once we lose usefulness the world will lose interest. God never stops caring. The Ziphites