1 Samuel 17:37
“Moreover David said, ‘The Lord, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.’”

David had many reasons not to enter the arena and do battle with Goliath. David was young and had no real experience in battle. He lacked the support of those who knew him best, and the protective armor was way too big. Goliath, on the other hand, was a man of war, a legend on the battle field. His size alone was a force that spread fear throughout the camp of Israel. We would hold nothing against David, if the story read that he delivered the supplies to his brothers, then returned home. With all the reasons David had to avoid engaging in this battle, he had one reason that triumphed over all. David believed that God…

1 Samuel 16:14

“But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and a distressing spirit from the Lord troubled him.“

1 Samuel 16:16

“Let our master now command your servants, who are before you, to seek out a man who is a skillful player on the harp. And it shall be that he will play it with his hand when the distressing spirit from God is upon you, and you shall be well.”

The word distressing that describes Saul’s condition could also be translated as bad, evil, sad, or even as being in a state of misery. The writer wants us to understand that King Saul was being plagued by his emotions. The chapters leading up to this reveal that the cause of Saul’s condition was his disobedience to the Lord. Pride, self will, and fear of man, have been the driving forces behind Saul’s actions, and he is…

Psalm 14:1 

“The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’”

A modern dictionary defines a fool as “someone who lacks judgment” or “a deranged person lacking in common powers of understanding.” As a form of illustration, this sentence was used: “You would be a fool to believe what he tells you.” Often, the Christian is portrayed as a fool. Sometimes, belief in God is treated as folly. More commonly, believing God is looked at as foolishness.

When The Christian is facing a trial and chooses to cling to the unshakeable promises of God, instead of the shifting sand of modern science, he is treated like a fool. Or, when determining how to handle a relationship, the child of God clings to the teaching of Scripture, rather than the immorality of the day, he finds that he is looked at as a simpleton or a prude. It has…

Psalms 13:6

“I will sing to the Lord,

Because He has dealt bountifully with me.”

As this psalm begins to unfold, we find David facing some pretty difficult times. He describes himself as feeling forgotten and being overcome by sorrow. Without giving details, he describes his enemy as threatening to prevail against him. Yet, in all this, he wrote of singing to the Lord. It is the song of triumph that will often lead to release from despondency. Instead of waiting for circumstances to change, David determined to worship in the midst of trial. As he took his eyes off his suffering and fixed them on the grace of God, he soon found himself rejoicing rather than complaining. 

Whatever we are facing, we have to choose whether we will focus on the difficulty or on the Lord. When we keep our eyes on the problem, it seems to only grow and it…

1 Samuel 15:9

“But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and were unwilling to utterly destroy them. But everything despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed.”

In many ways, the Old Testament serves as a picture book to illustrate New Testament principles. That is not to say  the events recorded are not factual, but that they were designed to put bring out Biblical principles in living color. The story of Saul and his battle to defeat the Amalekites unfolds like a motion picture, illustrating the battle we face with our own flesh. It does not take long for every Christian to realize we struggle to resist some of the things that God has forbidden. Overcoming the ungodly desires within us is the daily struggle of the believer, and the story before us helps…

1 Samuel 14:1
“Now it happened one day that Jonathan the son of Saul said to the young man who bore his armor, ‘Come, let us go over to the Philistines’ garrison that is on the other side.’”

There is no doubt, while all of the Bible is inspire by God and “profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (Titus 3:16), there are certain passages that stand out to us. They seem to strike a chord in our lives, or present a truth that is so profound, it will transform our living. This is one of those passages. The scene is set in the previous chapter. The Philistines had been oppressing Israel for years. The weak, scattered tribes of Israel were no match for the immense army of the Philistines. They had been defeated time and time again by the Philistine raiders. All weapons had been…

Psalms 12:1

“Help, Lord, for the godly man ceases!

For the faithful disappear from among the sons of men.”

Have you ever been in a situation where you were forced to cry for help? A good friend of mine told me a story of a time when he was cutting tree branches to make some extra cash. He leaned his extension ladder against the tree, climbed to the top, reached up and cut a large branch. As soon as the branch was cut the tree shifted and the ladder fell. Reacting quickly, he was able to grab another limb to keep himself from falling. However he found himself hanging twenty five feet above the earth’s surface. Knowing that he would not be able to remain there for long, he began to cry out for help. Sadly, no one could hear him and after his arm strength gave in he was…

1 Samuel 13:12

“…Therefore I felt compelled, and offered a burnt offering.”

As the second year of king Saul’s reign began to unfold, the nation of Israel was in trouble. The Philistines who occupied the southwest portion of the land were seeking to expand their territories by defeating Israel. When Saul’s army saw the Philistines approaching, they began to hide in caves, and many deserted. It did not take long before his three thousand soldiers were reduced to six hundred men. Understandably, Saul was overcome by emotion. Unfortunately, he let his emotions make his decisions for him, and these decisions would prove to be very costly. 

Saul decided that what he and the people needed to do was to offer a sacrifice to God. While this might sound like a good and even noble idea, it was actually a form of disobedience, since sacrifices could only be offered by…

1 Samuel 12:7
“Now therefore, stand still, that I may reason with you before the Lord concerning all the righteous acts of the Lord which He did to you and your fathers . . .”

After a great battle in which the men of Jabesh Gilead were rescued from certain destruction, the nation of Israel gathered in Gilgal to inaugurate Saul as their king. As part of the process, Samuel the prophet, now an aged man, stood before the people to persuade them to continue to follow the Lord. To influence their decision, he did not seek to stir their emotions, but to incite their reason. He suggests that it is reasonable to believe in, follow after, and serve the Lord.

Webster defines reasonable as, “not extreme or excessive”, or as the use of “sound judgment.” Some words synonymous with reasonable are – rational, logical and sensible. Essentially, Samuel is…

Psalms 9:10

“And those who know Your name will put their trust in You; For You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You.”

A few years back I was teaching in a Bible school in Ghana on the subject of trust. I invited one of the students to come forward and asked him to put his arms at his side, close his eyes, and face the class. He had no difficulty doing what I asked until I added, “now remain stiff as a board and fall backwards.” He immediately opened his eyes, turned around, and looked at me as if to say, “No way!” I assured him that I would catch him, and asked him to face the class again. I counted to three and told him to fall back. To his credit, he tried, but once he began to lean, he stepped back to catch himself. The…