THE TRANSFORMING POWER OF THE SPIRIT

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In Christ, Mark

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Once more war broke out and David went out and fought the Philistines. He struck them with such force that they fled before him.

But an evil spirit from the Lord came upon Saul as he was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand. While David was playing the harp, Saul tried to pin him to the wall with his spear but David eluded him as Saul drove the spear into the wall. That night David made good his escape.

Saul sent men to David's house to watch it and to kill him in the morning. But Michal, David's wife, warned him, "If you don't run for your life tonight, tomorrow you'll be killed." So Michal let David down through a window, and he fled and escaped. Then Michal took an idol and laid it on the bed, covering it with a garment and putting some goats' hair at the head.

When Saul sent the men to capture David, Michal said, "He is ill."

Then Saul sent the men back to see David and told them, "Bring him up to me in his bed so that I may kill him." But when the men entered, there was the idol in the bed, and at the head was some goats' hair.

Saul said to Michal, "Why did you deceive me like this and send my enemy away so that he escaped?" Michal told him, "He said to me, 'Let me get away. Why should I kill you?'"

When David had fled and made his escape, he went to Samuel at Ramah and told him all that Saul had done to him. Then he and Samuel went to Naioth and stayed there. Word came to Saul: "David is in Naioth at Ramah"; so he sent men to capture him. But when they saw a group of prophets prophesying with Samuel standing there as their leader, the Spirit of God came upon Saul's men and they also prophesied. Saul was told about it, and he sent more men, and they prophesied too. Saul sent men a third time, and they also prophesied. Finally, he himself left for Ramah and went to the great cistern at Secu. And he asked, "Where are Samuel and David?"

"Over in Naioth at Ramah," they said.

So Saul went to Naioth at Ramah. But the Spirit of God came even upon him, and he walked along prophesying until he came to Naioth. He stripped off his robes and also prophesied in Samuel's presence. He lay that way all that day and night. This is why people say, "Is Saul also among the prophets?"

1 Samuel 19:8-24

This ends our reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

As we continue our study of 1st Samuel, chapter 19, we find Saul returning to his murderous ways. You may recall that he had been bent on killing David, jealous of the popularity and success he had gained. You’ll also remember that Saul’s efforts failed because the Lord was with David, who the scriptures tell us was a man after God’s own heart. This would continue as we look at today’s passage.

First, we see where David had once again gained victory for Israel over the Philistines, displaying “such force that they fled before him”. With every win, David gained more and more esteem from the people of Israel…and as we will see, more disdain from Saul.

For we read where once again where “an evil spirit from the Lord came upon Saul as he was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand”, causing him to try to pin David to the wall for a second time while he “was playing the harp”. But just as before, we see where David “eluded him” and “made good his escape”, returning to his home and wife Michal.

This didn’t deter Saul who wasn’t willing to give up until David was dead and so he “sent men to David's house to watch it” and “kill him in the morning”. It was a plan that failed only because “Michal, David's wife, warned him” of the pending attack saying:

“If you don't run for your life tonight, tomorrow you'll be killed."

And so Michal helped David escape “through a window and he fled” before she “took an idol and laid it on the bed, covering it with a garment and putting some goats' hair at the head” so it would appear as if David was there.

When Saul’s men arrived to capture David, Michal first tells them that David was ill and so Saul’s men returned to the king and made the report. Having little concern for David’s condition, we fund Saul give the following order to his men:

“Bring him up to me in his bed so that I may kill him."

And so the men returned to David’s home and it was then that they discovered they had been tricked, finding an “idol in the bed” with “some goat’s hair” at the head in place of David.

Well, the scriptures tell us that Saul was furious with his daughter and demanded an explanation saying:

“Why did you deceive me like this and send my enemy away so that he escaped?"

Her reply was just as sly as the ruse she used to conceal David’s escape as she lied to Saul, telling him she had to let David go out of self defense because her life had been threatened if she didn’t help him (David) get away.

The deception worked for Saul bought the story.

So where did David go after escaping?

We read where he returned to his old friend Samuel who was at Ramah and once there, David shared “all that Saul had done to him”. Given Saul’s past behavior, I’m sure Samuel was not surprised at the report.

Unfortunately, we see where David wasn’t out of the woods with Saul just yet in this passage for “word came to Saul” that David was at Naioth in Ramah and so he “sent men to capture him” there. And it was then that something miraculous happened…something that revealed the transforming power of the Spirit of God.

For as Saul’s men arrived in Naioth, “they saw a group of prophets prophesying, with Samuel standing there as their leader”. And at that very moment, “the Spirit of God came upon Saul's men” and they also began to prophesy!

What a sight that must have been…and word quickly traveled back to Saul about it. And so he “sent more men” with the same results…the Spirit of God coming upon them and bringing them to prophesy. And again, word went back to Saul who sent yet a third set of men who also were brought to prophesy by the mighty, transforming Spirit of God.

Frustrated by all this, Saul decided to go to Naioth himself. And when he did…you guessed it…”the Spirit of God came even upon him” and “he walked along prophesying until he came to Naioth”. Once there, we read where Saul “stripped off his robes” and “prophesied in Samuel's presence”, laying there in “that way all that day and night” and prompting the people to ask:

"Is Saul also among the prophets?"

Friends, this passage is simply amazing because we get to witness through the scriptures the awesome strength of God’s Spirit to change the hearts of people from bad to good. Saul and his men went from having murderous intent to speaking on behalf of the Lord in the blink of an eye. Ironically, we see in the New Testament where another man named Saul with murderous intentions would have a similar transformation as he traveled to Damascus to persecute and kill Christians (Acts 9). Of course, that Saul would find his name to Paul and his transformation at the hands of the Holy Spirit would make him an Apostle and one of the greatest Christ servants ever known.

Well, the good news today is that this can happen to anyone just as easily for the Holy Spirit has lost none of His transforming power…none of his ability to change and affect the hearts of people, turning the bad to good…the sinful to righteous. And because of this, we can hold out hope for any person, praying earnestly for change through the Spirit of God because we know change is always possible through Him.

If you’re reading this today and in need of a spiritual makeover, place your belief in Jesus and commit yourself to live as He did. Through the leading of the Holy Spirit, you can be sure you’ll do just that, a reflection of this exhortation from the aforementioned Paul as he wrote to the believers in Rome:

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:1-2

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

STANDING UP FOR WHAT'S RIGHT

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

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** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

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Saul told his son Jonathan and all the attendants to kill David. But Jonathan was very fond of David and warned him, "My father Saul is looking for a chance to kill you. Be on your guard tomorrow morning; go into hiding and stay there. I will go out and stand with my father in the field where you are. I'll speak to him about you and will tell you what I find out."

Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father and said to him, "Let not the king do wrong to his servant David; he has not wronged you, and what he has done has benefited you greatly. He took his life in his hands when he killed the Philistine. The Lord won a great victory for all Israel, and you saw it and were glad. Why then would you do wrong to an innocent man like David by killing him for no reason?"

Saul listened to Jonathan and took this oath: "As surely as the Lord lives, David will not be put to death."

So Jonathan called David and told him the whole conversation. He brought him to Saul, and David was with Saul as before.

1 Samuel 19:1-7

This ends our reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

In chapter 18 of 1st Samuel, we witnessed the deterioration within the relationship between Saul and David…a deterioration which resulted in Saul attempting to murder his young head of the army. This happened directly first as Saul hurled a spear at David but then indirectly as he tried to use his daughters to do his evil bidding, trying to get David to go to war with the Philistines so he would get killed there.

Well, as chapter 19 begins, we see that Saul refused to give up on his efforts to eliminate David for we find him telling “his son Jonathan and all the attendants to kill David”, despite fully knowing that the Lord was with him and had protected him from harm up to that point.

Now, we know from earlier in this book that Jonathan had befriended David and they had become one in spirit. In fact, you’ll remember where the scriptures told us that Jonathan loved David like he loved himself and showed his devotion by giving David his robe, sword, bow, and belt (1 Samuel 18:1-4). Given this, we knew that Jonathan wasn’t about to allow any harm to come to his beloved friend, no matter what his father wanted.

Back to the scriptures for today for after Saul gave the order to kill David, Jonathan went and warned him saying:

"My father Saul is looking for a chance to kill you. Be on your guard tomorrow morning; go into hiding and stay there. I will go out and stand with my father in the field where you are. I'll speak to him about you and will tell you what I find out."

And David did as Jonathan asked…going into hiding, out of harm’s way while Jonathan went to Saul to discuss his behavior towards David. Here’s what he had to say as he “spoke well of David”:

"Let not the king do wrong to his servant David; he has not wronged you, and what he has done has benefited you greatly. He took his life in his hands when he killed the Philistine. The Lord won a great victory for all Israel, and you saw it and were glad. Why then would you do wrong to an innocent man like David by killing him for no reason?"

To Jonathan, his father’s actions were totally uncalled for. There was no need to kill David for no good reason, that’s the point he drove through to Saul and his challenge had to cut through to the core of Israel’s king because his son believed he had lost his mind.

Unfortunately, Jonathan wasn’t wrong because Saul had long before allowed himself to be infected with evil and sin…an evil and sin that led him to be blinded by jealousy and unable to see the good that was in David…a good that had directly benefited him during his reign as well as the Israelite people as a whole. Through his efforts, Jonathan was trying to break through the sinful spell his father was under so to try and bring him back to leading in a just and holy way.

And as we see, his efforts were successful…even if just for the short term.

For we read where “Saul listened to Jonathan” and took an oath saying:

“As surely as the Lord lives, David will not be put to death."

Convinced that no harm would come to his good friend, “Jonathan called David and told him the whole conversation” before bringing “him to Saul”, restoring things to the way they were before. For the moment, things had been returned to normal…all because Jonathan was not afraid to stand up for what is right.

Certainly, we, as believers today, have a lot to learn from Jonathan. For he showed a great deal of bravery and courage by standing up to his father and questioning his orders. Saul could have easily had Jonathan killed for being defiant and disrespectful…but of course, that didn’t happen. In fact, Jonathan didn’t need to fear confronting his father anymore than David.

Why?

Because Jonathan had the Lord with him just as much as David did. And the good news is that we do as well if we surrender our lives to the Lord fully.

In the end translation, it was the Lord who empowered Jonathan to speak to Saul about his unjust orders and that same power of God’s Spirit helped convince Saul to spare David’s life. This is what happens when someone goes forth in the name of the Lord for the cause of justice and righteousness. Both of those things, justice and righteousness, follow.

My prayer today is that we will all be ready to follow the lead of Jonathan…not only to be a true and faithful friend to others but also to stand firm against injustice when we see it, never afraid to advocate for what is right. For when we do, we receive the reward from the Lord proclaimed in the 106th Psalm:

Blessed are they who maintain justice, who constantly do what is right. Psalms 106:3

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

THE FOOLISH NATURE OF EVIL SCHEMES

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

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** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

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Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with David but had left Saul. So he sent David away from him and gave him command over a thousand men, and David led the troops in their campaigns. In everything he did, he had great success because the Lord was with him. When Saul saw how successful he was, he was afraid of him. But all Israel and Judah loved David because he led them in their campaigns.

Saul said to David, "Here is my older daughter Merab. I will give her to you in marriage; only serve me bravely and fight the battles of the Lord." For Saul said to himself, "I will not raise a hand against him. Let the Philistines do that!"

But David said to Saul, "Who am I, and what is my family or my father's clan in Israel, that I should become the king's son-in-law?" So when the time came for Merab, Saul's daughter, to be given to David, she was given in marriage to Adriel of Meholah.

Now Saul's daughter Michal was in love with David and when they told Saul about it, he was pleased. "I will give her to him," he thought, "so that she may be a snare to him and so that the hand of the Philistines may be against him." So Saul said to David, "Now you have a second opportunity to become my son-in-law."

Then Saul ordered his attendants: "Speak to David privately and say, 'Look, the king is pleased with you, and his attendants all like you; now become his son-in-law.'"

They repeated these words to David. But David said, "Do you think it is a small matter to become the king's son-in-law? I'm only a poor man and little known."

When Saul's servants told him what David had said, Saul replied, "Say to David, 'The king wants no other price for the bride than a hundred Philistine foreskins, to take revenge on his enemies.'"

Saul's plan was to have David fall by the hands of the Philistines.

When the attendants told David these things, he was pleased to become the king's son-in-law. So before the allotted time elapsed, David and his men went out and killed two hundred Philistines. He brought their foreskins and presented the full number to the king so that he might become the king's son-in-law. Then Saul gave him his daughter Michal in marriage.

When Saul realized that the Lord was with David and that his daughter Michal loved David, Saul became still more afraid of him and he remained his enemy the rest of his days.

The Philistine commanders continued to go out to battle, and as often as they did, David met with more success than the rest of Saul's officers and his name became well known.

1 Samuel 18:12-30

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He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts.

1 Corinthians 4:5

This ends our reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Have you ever planned to do something you knew was wrong and thought you had plotted so well that you wouldn’t possibly get caught?

I know I can remember doing this a few times when I was growing up and I also remember how things never worked out the way I thought they would.

Why?

Because it seemed that every time, my seemingly undetectable plot ended up exposed with my sinfulness laid bare as a result. Thinking back on those times, I can recall the words of my mother as clear as day for she would tell me that everything done in the dark would come to light sooner or later. And so given this, she would further teach me that it was a waste of time to try and get away with doing wrong. Indeed, my attempts at evil scheming always ended up fruitless, showing me as foolish.

Well, as I grew older, I came to discover that my mother’s words were not born of her own wisdom but the wisdom of God’s word. For in the scriptures, I read verses in the Bible that served to validate my mother’s words.

For example, Paul’s words to the church in Corinth become important words for all of us as he wrote this:

He (the Lord) will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. 1 Corinthians 4:5

God’s Word is clear here. For if we decide to plot wicked schemes…schemes that only are done in the dark domain of sin, then we can expect that the Lord will shine His light into what we try to conceal in the darkness, exposing the evil motives within our heart. The bottom line is that God hates sin and he hates it even more when we give our attention to it instead of Him. Given this, He will not allow sin to have victory over goodness…or darkness over light.

And so in sum, He (the Lord) reveals evil schemes and exposes their perpetrators…and in doing so, He brings the dark to light.

Friends, this should serve to be a comfort for us as we face the prospect of others trying to possibly plot against us. For while we could easily walk around, always looking over our shoulder in fear of getting attacked from behind or stabbed in the back, we need not worry because God has our backs. He is always watching the motives of every human heart, ready to take action against those who allow evil to control their actions. In doing so, He (God) protects those who seek to do good…those who strive for living lives that are righteous, holy, and glorifying in His sight.

Well, we have seen where God definitely had His hand upon David, helping him allude Saul’s attempts to murder but as we see in the rest of the scripture from 1st Samuel, chapter 18, Saul wasn’t ready to give up as he had a few more evil schemes to try and get rid of David…even though he knew the Lord was with the young leader of his army.

In regard to his military duties, we read where Saul “sent David away from him and gave him command over a thousand men” which “David led…in their campaigns”. In all he did, we see that David found success, not due to his own efforts but because “the Lord was with him”. This made Saul even more afraid of David who found increasing favor from “Israel and Judah” with every success.

Despite this, Saul wasn’t about to stop trying to get rid of David and we next read of a plan he devised to try and do just that.

It begins with Saul saying this to David:

“Here is my older daughter Merab. I will give her to you in marriage; only serve me bravely and fight the battles of the Lord."

It wasn’t that Saul really wanted David to marry his daughter. Rather, he only was using her as a ploy to try and get David back onto the battlefield against the Philistines so they might kill him and spare Saul having to do it himself. Further, we see where Saul was so desperate to get rid of David that he was willing to even use the Lord’s name in his scheme, trying to entice him (David) to accept his offer to go and fight the Lord’s battles. Within these efforts, Saul must have forgotten that the Lord was with David for we see where his plan hits a snag.

For the scriptures tell us that David said this to Saul:

“Who am I, and what is my family or my father's clan in Israel, that I should become the king's son-in-law?"

And so David passes on the Philistine battles and on marrying Saul’s oldest daughter who marries another instead but as we see, Saul wasn’t about to give up. For we read where he had another daughter Michal who “was in love with David”. This pleased Saul because he thought he could again use a daughter to get David killed. We know this because through Saul’s thoughts:

“I will give her to him…so that she may be a snare to him and so that the hand of the Philistines may be against him."

Given this, Saul gives his evil scheme a second try telling David:

“Now you have a second opportunity to become my son-in-law."

And this time, we even see him trying to use his attendants, giving them the following orders”

"Speak to David privately and say, 'Look, the king is pleased with you, and his attendants all like you; now become his son-in-law.'"

And so the servants did as Saul commanded but again, Saul was unsuccessful as David tells them:

“Do you think it is a small matter to become the king's son-in-law? I'm only a poor man and little known."

This ended up being strike two for Saul and so he went back to the drawing board as he wasn’t ready to give up yet. His actions show us that people who are so caught up in sin will be stubborn in their attempts to make evil triumph over good…darkness over light.

So Saul tries yet a third time to scheme against David, sending his servants back to David with yet another request. This time, the servants relayed this message:

“The king wants no other price for the bride than a hundred Philistine foreskins, to take revenge on his enemies."

Again, Saul’s sole goal here was getting David to go out and war against the Philistines with the hope that he would be killed in the fighting and out of his way forever. And this time, it seemed on the surface like his plan had worked for “when the attendants told David” what Saul had said, “he was pleased to become the king's son-in-law”, accepting the assignment to go out against the Philistines to kill them and deliver the one hundred foreskins as ordered.

All this had to have Saul jumping for joy, sure that the Philistines would do David in so he would finally be rid of him but again, Saul seemed to forget that the Lord was with David and this meant his plan had no chance for success.

We see this come to fruition as “David and his men went out and killed two hundred Philistines” …”before the allotted time elapsed”, bringing “their foreskins….to the king so that he might become the king's son-in-law”. Imagine the look on Saul’s face when David returned unscathed with the foreskins in hand. It had to be classic as Saul learned that his wicked plan had failed as he lost out to David again! And to make matters worse, now David would be his son-in-law because Saul gave David “his daughter Michal in marriage”.

Indeed, Saul’s plot had not succeeded and we read where he once again “realized that the Lord was with David”, a fact that made him “still more afraid of him”. Israel’s king, now David’s father-in-law, would remain his new son-in-law’s “enemy the rest of his days”. Meanwhile, David continued to find success as he battled the Philistines. In fact, he had “more success than the rest of Saul's officers” and “his name became well known”.

In other words, Saul’s attempts to eliminate David had only resulted in him growing more famous and powerful.

Friends, I think there are three important lessons for us in this passage:

1. Evil scheming is a fruitless, foolish endeavor.

There is no question that the Lord takes everything done in the dark and brings it to light. We know this because His word assures us of it and so none of us should think for a minute that we will find any success in plotting to do wrong against God or another. It’s simply never going to work out. We saw it with Saul and we will find it out ourselves if we choose to try it.

2. God protects against evil schemes.

The Lord will place His covering over those who place their hope, trust, and faith in Him…those committed fully to His service and carrying out His will. We saw where God was with David and kept him from falling prey to Saul’s evil schemes…and He will watch over us the same way as well.

3. Why would we ever think we would get away with anything in the first place?

Friends, God sees everything and looks deep into our hearts to a place where we can’t look when we see one another.

So what will He see when He looks in your heart?

Trust that if there are any evil motives, He will unearth and expose them.

Further, since God sees everything and will ultimately judge all of us when this life ends, how would we ever think that we might get away with doing anything?

He is going to see it…He is going to know about it…and He is going to judge it. We will be held accountable and so we might as well not even try it because as we see in today’s passage, it’s nothing short of foolish to think we can plan and get away with committing evil in the plain sight of the Lord.

So let’s not think we will get away with anything sinful in life. Instead, let’s direct our energy towards doing right and righteous things. We’ll always do this if we allow the Holy Spirit to lead us instead of the enemy.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

THE DANGER OF A SINFUL NATURE

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

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** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the Kingdom of God. Galatians 5:19-21

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Whatever Saul sent him to do, David did it so successfully that Saul gave him a high rank in the army. This pleased all the people, and Saul's officers as well.

When the men were returning home after David had killed the Philistine, the women came out from all the towns of Israel to meet King Saul with singing and dancing, with joyful songs and with tambourines and lutes. As they danced, they sang:

"Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands."

Saul was very angry; this refrain galled him.

"They have credited David with tens of thousands," he thought, "but me with only thousands. What more can he get but the kingdom?"

And from that time on Saul kept a jealous eye on David.

The next day an evil spirit from God came forcefully upon Saul. He was prophesying in his house, while David was playing the harp, as he usually did. Saul had a spear in his hand and he hurled it, saying to himself, "I'll pin David to the wall."

But David eluded him twice. Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with David but had left Saul.

1 Samuel 18:5-12

This ends our reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

As we saw in the opening verses of 1 Samuel, chapter 18, Saul took David into his court and didn’t allow him to return to his family. There, David befriended Saul’s son, Jonathan, and was so successful in every assigned that Saul appointed him to a “high rank in the army”.

With this, all seemed well but then Saul and his men returned home from David’s defeat of Goliath and the ensuing Israelite victory over the Philistines. It’s then that Saul’s relationship with David took a turn for the worse, all because of the sinful nature of pride and jealousy.

For as Saul and his men returned home, “the women came out from all the towns of Israel” to meet them. They were dancing to joyful songs with tambourines and lutes as they sang these words:

“Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands."

Their voices were raised up to sing praise to two mighty warriors who had brought triumph for the nation of Israel but they ended up being offensive to Israel’s king, a king who you will remember had turned very self-centered…so much so that he erected a monument to honor himself.  The scriptures tell us that “Saul was very angry” at the refrain being sung.

Why?

Because David was given more credit than he was. In fact, Saul revealed his feelings on this when he thought to himself:

“They have credited David with tens of thousands…but me with only thousands. What more can he get but the kingdom?"

Little did Saul know how prophetic his thoughts were as David had already been chosen by God to lead the kingdom of Israel.

Well after all this had transpired, we read where “Saul kept a jealous eye on David” from that day on and it was this envy that festered inside of Israel’s king, leading him to acts of even greater wickedness. For the “next day, an evil spirit from God came forcefully upon Saul” and while David was “playing the harp”, Saul took a spear in hand and hurled it at him saying:

“I'll pin David to the wall."

Thankfully, Saul’s murderous attempts were unsuccessful because “David eluded him twice”, causing Saul’s anger to turn to fear because he knew “the Lord was with David” after leaving him (Saul).

Friends, this same thing can and will happen to us when we decide to turn our backs on the Lord and reject the power of His Holy Spirit in our lives. When that happens, we, like Saul, will turn to sin. For if we aren’t going to allow the Lord to rule in our hearts and minds, then Satan is ready to step right in and do it, sowing his seeds of evil within us…just as he did in Saul.

Saul knew it was wrong to covet and be jealous but he did it anyway. He did it because he didn’t have the strength or power within to resist it…the strength and power that only comes from the Lord and His Spirit. And so he fell prey to sin because he couldn’t obey God’s commandments (Exodus 20:13-17) without God to help him.

Moving to the New Testament, we find the Apostle Paul later writing about jealousy in his letter to the church in Galatia, providing the Galatians a list of acts that were born out of one’s sinful nature. Here’s what he had to say:

“The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the Kingdom of God.”

In today’s passage, we see where Saul fell prey to the sin of jealousy but this isn’t the only transgression we can fall into if we decide to try to live without the Lord in our lives. Paul lists many others and if someone needed a reason to turn from these wicked ways, we see that this is given as Paul pronounces a terrible penalty for disobedience. For those people who choose to separate from God and partner with the devil can expect not to “inherit the kingdom of God”.

Now, I don’t know about you but that’s a consequence I don’t would never want to experience and the good news is that no one has to. Going back to Galatians, we find Paul also telling his readers how they were supposed to live. Here’s what he had to say on this:

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control…Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” Galatians 5:22-25

Friends, the Word of our Lord is clear here. For if we truly belong to Christ Jesus then we are to crucify the sinful nature within us, living by the leading of the Holy Spirit instead…the only Spirit who can lead us daily into lives filled with righteousness and holiness…lives that are filled with fruits like love, joy, and peace…patience, kindness, and goodness…faithfulness, gentleness, and self control.

The Lord was with David, who was a man after His own heart, and as a result, he defeated Goliath and eluded the murderous attempts of King Saul. In other words, David had victory because God granted it…and praise be to Him that we do as well.

Today and every day, let’s commit ourselves to allow the Holy Spirit to make us fruit-bearing vessels as we go out to do what Jesus called us to do…make disciples of all nations. In doing so, we get to help them bear the same fruit, using the same Holy Spirit that helps us.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

WHAT TRUE FRIENDSHIP LOOKS LIKE

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself.

From that day, Saul kept David with him and did not let him return to his father's house. And Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow, and his belt.

1 Samuel 18:1-4

This ends our reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

In 1st Samuel, chapter 17, we covered the well-known Bible account of a young boy named David who emerged as a hero among the Israelites after stepping forward and slinging one fatal smooth stone which killed the warrior giant Goliath. This sent the nation of Israel onto victory in their battle with the Philistines.

After this, David’s bravery and courage led Saul, Israel’s king, to not only want to speak to him but we read that he “kept David with him and did not let him return to his father's house”. Little did Saul know that it was David who God had chosen to take his place on the throne.

Well, as David left his home and was given a high rank in Saul’s army, the scriptures tell us that he gained a friend as well…Saul’s son Jonathan…and it is in the early verses of chapter 18 that we catch a glimpse of what true friendship looks like.

Note here that I said true friendship. For it seems that it’s very hard to find friends who are loyal in life…friends who are devoted and caring and loving…friends who are willing to put themselves aside for the good of another.

Unfortunately, we find that people often just want to be with us because they want something from us. They don’t value us as much as what we have. With this kind of friend, we usually see that there’s always some string attached. For as long as you satisfy their wants, then they will be there for you…but don’t fulfill what they want from you and see how their devotion goes away quickly as they seek someone else to try and get what they want.

That isn’t friendship. Rather, it’s exploitation.

So how can we know when we have a true friend?

In examining Jonathan and his loving dedication towards David, I think we can identify the important qualities of a true friend…qualities we should look for as we seek genuinely faithful companions in life.

First, Jonathan became “one in spirit with David”. You’ve may have heard or experienced the expression “kindred spirits” before. It’s when you are so in tune with another person that you always seem to be aligned, even mirror images of one another.

I know my wife and her sister are like this. Talk about friends! They are closer than any two people I have ever met and are the best two models of what pure and true friendship looks like. This is because they are “one in spirit” with one another…and when I’m talking about spirit here, I’m talking about THE Spirit…the Holy Spirit.

Indeed, it was God the Father…the Lord Almighty…that Jonathan had placed his trust in when he bravely attacked the Philistine outpost with his armor bearer. Later, it was that same God the Father…the Lord…that David placed His faith in when he stepped out to fight Goliath. Individually, Jonathan and David had more than shown their devotion to the Lord and now they would be able to share that same sense of devotion as buddies for true friends are, first and foremost, one in the Holy Spirit.

This in and of itself would be enough but there’s even more for we see Jonathan making a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. The key word here is love…for it’s impossible to have true friendship if you don’t have true love.

Some time ago, I wrote a quote that simply goes like this:

“Communication is the lifeblood of relationship”

Then, I wrote a second one that is similar only in framework:

“Love is the heartbeat of relationship.”

It’s true, right?

For if we take love out of a relationship, it won’t survive…and don’t just take my word on it. Look at these words from Jesus when He was asked about the greatest commandment:

“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.’" Matthew 22:36-39

Looking at the Bible, we see that Jesus wasn’t the first to recite those words, “Love your neighbor as yourself”. Rather, He quoted words from His Father who spoke them in the Book of Leviticus:

"Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.” Leviticus 19:18

Here we learn that being a true friend means you have to love someone just as you love yourself…and that means you hold the deep desire to care for them just as you would care for yourself.

You see, true friendship, a friendship where two people each have the indwelling of God’s Spirit, is always grounded in love because the Spirit will always bind two hearts together perfectly.

So we have seen that true friendship involves being one in God’s Spirit and grounded in His love. It also requires self sacrifice.

For as we go back to our scripture passage, we see where Jonathan “took off (his) robe…and gave it to David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow, and his belt”. In other words, Jonathan was willing to freely give David anything he had…such was the level of devotion he held for him.

We should note here that there are no conditions attached to Jonathan’s giving. Not one. He gave to David freely, not because he had some ulterior motive or sought to gain something in return. Rather, Jonathan gave because he loved David as a true friend and would be willing to do anything for him.

And as we will see, this truth will further be revealed as we continue to study this friendship.

So our passage today contains a lot in just four verses. For in them, we find God giving us a glimpse of what true friendship requires:

(1) being one in God’s Spirit

(2) being balanced in love

and

(3) being willing to self sacrifice.

Come to think of it…we find all this perfectly carried out by our awesome Friend Jesus…the only Friend we can count on, no matter what…the Friend who will always be one in God’s Spirit with us…the Friend who is perfectly grounded in love…the Friend who showed us the definition of self sacrifice when He allowed Himself to be crucified on the cross to pay the price for our sins.

Friends, I could have maybe made this message shorter if I had used just one statement:

You can only be a true friend when you become a friend like Jesus.

I could have done that but He wanted me to say so much more to you today and I pray you will receive them as friends of the Savior of the world…the best Friend a person could ever have.  

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com