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
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
Humans cannot destroy what God binds together. When God connects two people, the bond is unlike any other. My closest relationships are absolutely those relationships where I share a love of God with someone else. Jonathan’s relationship with David – or David’s relationship with Jonathan – is one of my
Our hearts lie fully exposed to God. We may think we are good at hiding ourselves from one another. We believe we can put up a stoic face and push through life without anyone knowing what is really going on inside. While we can hide from one another, we cannot
God is always willing to hear our concerns and help us lead righteously. Jesus called upon the Father frequently. David prayed to God himself and had his priests also inquire of the Lord. The prophets sought the Lord’s will when He stirred them into action. When God sends us
The difference is made by the foundation upon which we build. We can build a life around anything. Some build a life focused on money. Some build a life focused on material possessions. Some build a life focused on kids. Some build our life focused on God. What a wonderful
The truth may not always save us from this world, but the truth is solid rock upon which we can always stand in God. Honesty is the best policy. I teach my students all the time how lying is too much work. It is far easier to tell the truth,
Rather than being a people of peace and forgiveness, God’s enemies would have us at each other’s throats. Despite God’s provision, this world is great at promoting controversy instead of love. The media loves stirring the population to drive up sales. People in general love gossip. We
God desires a repentant heart. Abraham was not perfect, yet God chose him. Jacob had his issues, yet God still worked through him. Moses had flaws, yet God came to him. God doesn’t look for the perfect leader; he looks for the leader willing to recover from moments of
The only thing God requires from us is to slow down and follow His lead. We do need to follow Him and obey His call. The point isn’t that God wants us to do nothing and let Him work. The point is that we are far more productive when
Life gets more difficult when we lean upon our own understanding. Relying upon our own understanding opens doors to unintended consequences. We might create more problems for ourselves. We can unintentionally hurt people around us in our inability to predict reaching consequences of our choices. Our decisions create habits affecting
When we lose sight of God, we find ourselves shifting from God’s truth to a reality we invent to survive. When we lose sight of God’s truth, we can invent lies and begin to believe them. Soon we find ourselves separated from God’s will and chasing the
1 Samuel
God meets all with mercy when we err in our ways, so long as our heart remains repentant and inclined to Him. God is love, and part of love is forgiveness. In our weakness, we stumble and fail. God’s righteousness is bigger than our failings. David is on the
In difficult times, we live best leaning upon God’s understanding instead of our own. Our heart is filled with our desires, but it cannot know the future. Sometimes the difficult road is the one leading to Gods victory. Sometimes the pleasant road leads to our destruction. God is always
1 Samuel
Diverging from God’s will is a recipe for leadership disaster. Nobody is perfect; we all make poor choices. Being a good leader is about trying to make good decisions and having the humility to make course corrections when a prior decision turns bad. The festival of the new moon
1 Samuel
God’s people watch out for one another, accepting risk in the pursuit of truth, and genuinely desiring the best possible outcome for others. Sometimes this means we become sounding boards and offer verbal guidance. Sometimes we physically walk with members of our community through difficult moments in their life.
1 Samuel
Often, our relationships create blind spots preventing us from seeing a situation clearly. Who doesn’t want to defend their friends? Who genuinely wants to think less of their friends than the ideal? When we love and care for people, we see them as a paragon of themselves. Once Saul
1 Samuel
God is great and glorious, capable of turning evil into His glory. Many stories exist in the Bible where the world comes to foil God’s plan and do harm to His people, yet God wins out. The greatest of these stories brings salvation to those who receive it. God
1 Samuel
People who walk closely with the Lord make it easier for the people around them to also walk closely with the Lord. Sensing the Spirit in someone else increases the likelihood for a spiritual person to reveal the Spirit in them. The Bible tells us that iron sharpens iron, meaning
1 Samuel
God cannot give us free will without also giving us the opportunity to experience the consequences of our choices. To have free will implies we must deal with our mistakes. This does not mean God desires us to make mistakes, but He does let our mistakes impact our life. It’
1 Samuel
We use rational thought to determine courses of action. Leaders are easier to follow when their course is comprehensible. Friendships are easier to manage when acting in predictable manners. This doesn’t mean we cannot be passionate, but the more we are rational the easier people can relate. Saul is
1 Samuel
If God calls us to certain action and we are obedient to Him, we can expect God to fight alongside us and bring us into His vision. He desires His will be done. While He does give us freedom to do our own thing, when we fall in line with
1 Samuel
David wants to serve God, not the king. This is one of the primary differences between David and Saul. David looked to the Lord for guidance and obeyed. Saul tried to use every opportunity to promote himself into a better position. As we’ll see, David is even willing to
1 Samuel
When we walk away from God and irrationally try to solve our own problems, self-destruction is the ultimate outcome. It is one thing to try and solve our own problems through our own understanding. At least that still involves rational thought. Responding irrationally to situations while believing in a