Ministering reconciliation...

1 Samuel 24:1-11 Now it happened, when Saul had returned from following the Philistines, that it was told him, saying, “Take note! David is in the Wilderness of En Gedi.” 2 Then Saul took three thousand chosen men from all Israel, and went to seek David and his men on the Rocks of the Wild Goats. 3 So he came to the sheepfolds by the road, where there was a cave; and Saul went in to attend to his needs. (David and his men were staying in the recesses of the cave.) 4 Then the men of David said to him, “This is the day of which the Lord said to you, ‘Behold, I will deliver your enemy into your hand, that you may do to him as it seems good to you.’” And David arose and secretly cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. 5 Now it happened afterward that David’s heart troubled him because he had cut Saul’s robe. 6 And he said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the Lord.” 7 So D...

1 Samuel 23:14-18 14 And David stayed in strongholds in the wilderness, and remained in the mountains in the Wilderness of Ziph. Saul sought him every day, but God did not deliver him into his hand. 15 So David saw that Saul had come out to seek his life. And David was in the Wilderness of Ziph in a forest.[a] 16 Then Jonathan, Saul’s son, arose and went to David in the woods and strengthened his hand in God. 17 And he said to him, “Do not fear, for the hand of Saul my father shall not find you. You shall be king over Israel, and I shall be next to you. Even my father Saul knows that.” 18 So the two of them made a covenant before the Lord. And David stayed in the woods, and Jonathan went to his own house. Maturity is being able to admit when times are tough. So let me do the single hardest thing I have ever done. I am going to out myself. Right now, I feel quite a bit like I am in a wilderness spiritually. I haven't invested much time in all of it. I get very frustrated on a...

Genesis 32:24-32 So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. 25 When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. 26 Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.” But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” 27 The man asked him, “What is your name?” “Jacob,” he answered. 28 Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel,[f] because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.” 29 Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.” But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed him there. 30 So Jacob called the place Peniel,[g] saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.” 31 The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel,[h] and he was limping because of his hip. 32 Therefore to this day the Israelites do not eat the tendon attached to the socket of the hip, because the s...

Philippians 2:5-11 (NKJV) 5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. 9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. In my first 2 posts I talked about the importance of imitating Christ. That is where I got the title be imi tators of Christ. I want to tell you about another aspect that often gets brought up in relation to Christ and how we imitate him. The leftovers of our "...

1 Corinthians 9:24-26 24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26 Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. 27 No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. Recently, I decided to undertake one of the hardest things I have ever considered. I decided to run the Warrior Dash. For those of you who do not know what that is see this video | V In the process of this training, I have been doing some interval training with my wife, who is now a certified fitness instructor specializing in Mama Wants her Body Back, Stroller Strides, and Fit4Baby. For more info, click here Back to ...

1 Samuel 22:1-4 1-2 So David got away and escaped to the Cave of Adullam. When his brothers and others associated with his family heard where he was, they came down and joined him. Not only that, but all who were down on their luck came around—losers and vagrants and misfits of all sorts. David became their leader. There were about four hundred in all. 3-4 Then David went to Mizpah in Moab. He petitioned the king of Moab, "Grant asylum to my father and mother until I find out what God has planned for me." David left his parents in the care of the king of Moab. They stayed there all through the time David was hiding out. Have you ever heard the term "David's Mighty Men?" We hear about the exploits of them all the time. In fact, the stuff they did changed the course of human history! Here's the cool bit, when they started, they were "losers and vagrants and misfits of all sorts." Then something happened. They became what the bible later calls me...

1 Samuel 19:18-24 18 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. 19 Word came to Saul: “David is in Naioth at Ramah”; 20 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 on Saul’s men, and they also prophesied. 21 Saul was told about it, and he sent more men, and they prophesied too. Saul sent men a third time, and they also prophesied. 22 Finally, he himself left for Ramah and went to the great cistern at Seku. And he asked, “Where are Samuel and David?” “Over in Naioth at Ramah,” they said. 23 So Saul went to Naioth at Ramah. But the Spirit of God came even on him, and he walked along prophesying until he came to Naioth. 24 He stripped off his garments, and he too prophesied in Samuel’s presence. He lay naked all that day and all that night. This is why people say,...

Galatians 3:28-29 28-29In Christ’s family there can be no division into Jew and non-Jew, slave and free, male and female. Among us you are all equal. That is, we are all in a common relationship with Jesus Christ. Also, since you are Christ’s family, then you are Abraham’s famous “descendant,” heirs according to the covenant promises. Take it deeper A few months ago, I had a good friend of mine at World Vision ask me a question. I answered his question, and then he said, “You know…” I could tell he was about to delve into something very thought provoking and deeply spiritual. He is a deep thinker and a question asker. So he says to me, “You know Sam, you are a very unique person. You look at people and just see them.” After saying thank you I explain to him, “God showed me a secret on how to love people no matter what they do. The secret is to separate the person and their actions.” What I mean is you have to be able to look at a person, regardless of what they have done, and love t...

1 Samuel 18:10-11 10 The next day an evil[a] spirit from God came forcefully on Saul. He was prophesying in his house, while David was playing the lyre, as he usually did. Saul had a spear in his hand 11 and he hurled it, saying to himself, “I’ll pin David to the wall.” But David eluded him twice. As I was reading this a few things struck me. Saul was prophesying. The spirit of God was still present on Saul, but God had also allowed an evil spirit direct access to Saul. Notice that the words here are " Came forcefully ON Saul. It didn't say that it "in-dwelt" Saul, or that it possessed him, but it was there to OPPRESS him. There's a difference. Know this, a believer cannot be possessed by demons. In the words of Jesus, "what fellowship can light with Darkness?" Sometimes there comes an evil spirit looking to not possess, but to just mess with us. It stirs the pot, it causes fear, concern, confusion, discord, and strife. It comes to see if it can...

1 Samuel 18:6-9 6 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 timbrels and lyres. 7 As they danced, they sang: “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.” 8 Saul was very angry; this refrain displeased him greatly. “They have credited David with tens of thousands,” he thought, “but me with only thousands. What more can he get but the kingdom? ” 9 And from that time on Saul kept a close eye on David. We talked last time about what true leadership is and how it is not threatened by those who could be successors. Now I want to address those who do succeed someone. At a macro level, I am talking about carrying your ministry farther. To illustrate this I want to share what I have seen and learned first-hand about this. When I was growing up, my dad was the bass guitar player at our church, Puget Sound Christian Fell...

1 Samuel 18:105 1 By the time David had finished reporting to Saul, Jonathan was deeply impressed with David—an immediate bond was forged between them. He became totally committed to David. From that point on he would be David's number-one advocate and friend. 2 Saul received David into his own household that day, no more to return to the home of his father. 3-4 Jonathan, out of his deep love for David, made a covenant with him. He formalized it with solemn gifts: his own royal robe and weapons—armor, sword, bow, and belt. 5 Whatever Saul gave David to do, he did it—and did it well. So well that Saul put him in charge of his military operations. Everybody, both the people in general and Saul's servants, approved of and admired David's leadership. So I was going to start today's blog by talking about the depth of biblical friendship. However, as I started, I was impressed with the scripture we are covering today not being about friendship, but about influence. ...

1 Samuel 17:40-51 Then David took his shepherd's staff, selected five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in the pocket of his shepherd's pack, and with his sling in his hand approached Goliath. As the Philistine paced back and forth, his shield bearer in front of him, he noticed David. He took one look down on him and sneered—a mere youngster, apple-cheeked and peach-fuzzed.The Philistine ridiculed David. "Am I a dog that you come after me with a stick?" And he cursed him by his gods."Come on," said the Philistine. "I'll make roadkill of you for the buzzards. I'll turn you into a tasty morsel for the field mice." David answered, "You come at me with sword and spear and battle-ax. I come at you in the name of God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel's troops, whom you curse and mock. This very day God is handing you over to me. I'm about to kill you, cut off your head, and serve up your body and the bodies of your Phil...

1 Samuel 17:8-11 (the message) 8-10 Goliath stood there and called out to the Israelite troops, "Why bother using your whole army? Am I not Philistine enough for you? And you're all committed to Saul, aren't you? So pick your best fighter and pit him against me. If he gets the upper hand and kills me, the Philistines will all become your slaves. But if I get the upper hand and kill him, you'll all become our slaves and serve us. I challenge the troops of Israel this day. Give me a man. Let us fight it out together!" 11 When Saul and his troops heard the Philistine's challenge, they were terrified and lost all hope. I have been on a study of David. God has shown me some incredible things: • The real definition of effectiveness is how closely we obey God. • God is the only one who can reveal what HE CREATED YOU TO BE. • When we make mistakes, or others wrong us, we need to pick ourselves back up, forgive them and move on. When we don’t forgive, we give thos...

1 Samuel 17:4-7 4-7 A giant nearly ten feet tall stepped out from the Philistine line into the open, Goliath from Gath. He had a bronze helmet on his head and was dressed in armor—126 pounds of it! He wore bronze shin guards and carried a bronze sword. His spear was like a fence rail—the spear tip alone weighed over fifteen pounds. His shield bearer walked ahead of him. As I was reading this scripture this morning, I started to realize that the sheer size of Goliath must have been something to behold. Not only was Goliath nearly 'ten feet' (v.1), he had to be able to wear his armor AND wield a spear, shield, and sword! More than likely, with all the muscle, he weighed nearly 600 lbs! That's a lot of weight and height. More often than not, as I was going to do myself, people share about the giants we all face in life. But God took it to a whole 'nother level. God quickened to my heart a verse in Psalm 37 at the same time. Psalm 37:1-9 1-2 Don't bother your he...

1 Samuel 17:1-3 1-3 The Philistines drew up their troops for battle. They deployed them at Socoh in Judah, and set up camp between Socoh and Azekah at Ephes Dammim. Saul and the Israelites came together, camped at Oak Valley, and spread out their troops in battle readiness for the Philistines. The Philistines were on one hill, the Israelites on the opposing hill, with the valley between them. We find this story, curiously right after David is accepted into King Saul's house as his musician. What is curious to me is the place the the Philistines chose to make their camp. They planted themsleves between Socoh and Azekah. Socoh means "Tents and Tabernacles" whereas Azekah means "Strength of Walls." What is interesting to me is this: They planted themselves squarely between Tents and tabernacles and the strength of walls. What one has to consider is that when you trust in tents, temporary dwellings, and the strength of walls over the power of the Lord our God,...

1 Samuel 16:14-23 David—An Excellent Musician 14 At that very moment the Spirit of God left Saul and in its place a black mood sent by God settled on him. He was terrified. 15-16 Saul's advisors said, "This awful tormenting depression from God is making your life miserable. O Master, let us help. Let us look for someone who can play the harp. When the black mood from God moves in, he'll play his music and you'll feel better." 17 Saul told his servants, "Go ahead. Find me someone who can play well and bring him to me." 18 One of the young men spoke up, "I know someone. I've seen him myself: the son of Jesse of Bethlehem, an excellent musician. He's also courageous, of age, well-spoken, and good-looking. And God is with him." 19 So Saul sent messengers to Jesse requesting, "Send your son David to me, the one who tends the sheep." 20-21 Jesse took a donkey, loaded it with a couple of loaves of bread, a flask of wine, ...

1 Samuel 16:6-13 6 When they arrived, Samuel took one look at Eliab and thought, "Here he is! God's anointed!" 7 But God told Samuel, "Looks aren't everything. Don't be impressed with his looks and stature. I've already eliminated him. God judges persons differently than humans do. Men and women look at the face; God looks into the heart." 8 Jesse then called up Abinadab and presented him to Samuel. Samuel said, "This man isn't God's choice either." 9 Next Jesse presented Shammah. Samuel said, "No, this man isn't either." 10 Jesse presented his seven sons to Samuel. Samuel was blunt with Jesse, "God hasn't chosen any of these." 11 Then he asked Jesse, "Is this it? Are there no more sons?" "Well, yes, there's the runt. But he's out tending the sheep." Samuel ordered Jesse, "Go get him. We're not moving from this spot until he's here." 12 ...

1 Samuel 16:4-5 (The Msg) 4 Samuel did what God told him. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the town fathers greeted him, but apprehensively. "Is there something wrong?" 5 "Nothing's wrong. I've come to sacrifice this heifer and lead you in the worship of God. Prepare yourselves, be consecrated, and join me in worship." He made sure Jesse and his sons were also consecrated and called to worship." Yesterday, we left Samuel frustrated and, while obedient, questioning. When he got to Bethlehem, the first question from the leaders of the town was "What's wrong? is God upset?" Just a side note: if all you ever do is bring the judgement of God, it is time to re-evaluate what messages you are sending. selah... Samuel alleviates their fears and says, "no listen, God called me to lead you in worship." Then there is a curious phrasing: "He made sure Jesse and his sons were also consecrated and called to worship." (v.5) in the ...

1 Samuel 16:1-3 1 God addressed Samuel: "So, how long are you going to mope over Saul? You know I've rejected him as king over Israel. Fill your flask with anointing oil and get going. I'm sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I've spotted the very king I want among his sons." 2-3 "I can't do that," said Samuel. "Saul will hear about it and kill me." God said, "Take a heifer with you and announce, 'I've come to lead you in worship of God, with this heifer as a sacrifice.' Make sure Jesse gets invited. I'll let you know what to do next. I'll point out the one you are to anoint." Have you ever made a choice that you instantly wish you could take back? There are times that we make a choice to do something or say something that is not necessarily the best. Sometimes, when I do that, I can beat myself up and really get frustrated about what I did or said. The problem when we do this is we feed negative thoug...

You ever been in a situation where you were asked to make a smart, informed decision and it seemed like no matter what choice you made, no one would be happy? It seems like no matter what you do, no one values or appreciates your input and experience? Some voices seem to be louder and more influential? You are not alone. Many of us feel that way at times. Sometimes, truthfully, I feel like people only ask me to be involved in things because they need the "extra body"... One important thing to note is that we are not alone. In our uniqueness, we are not so unique that we have experienced something that countless others have not. To end this short blog, and the first in a long time, please meditate on these scriptures: Psalm 62 (The Message) 1-2 God, the one and only— I'll wait as long as he says. Everything I need comes from him, so why not? He's solid rock under my feet, breathing room for my soul, An impregnable castle: I'm set fo...

Daniel 6:13-22 13 Then they said, "Daniel, one of the Jewish exiles, ignores you, O king, and defies your decree. Three times a day he prays." 14 At this, the king was very upset and tried his best to get Daniel out of the fix he'd put him in. He worked at it the whole day long. 15 But then the conspirators were back: "Remember, O king, it's the law of the Medes and Persians that the king's decree can never be changed." 16 The king caved in and ordered Daniel brought and thrown into the lions' den. But he said to Daniel, "Your God, to whom you are so loyal, is going to get you out of this." 17 A stone slab was placed over the opening of the den. The king sealed the cover with his signet ring and the signet rings of all his nobles, fixing Daniel's fate. 18 The king then went back to his palace. He refused supper. He couldn't sleep. He spent the night fasting. 19-20 At daybreak the king got up and hurried to the lions' den....

I created a devotional based on my readings from the message bible. I spent a lot of time and hard work on it, and at the behest of one of my friends, I decided to upload it here. Table of Contents • Note from the Author • Week 1 o Matthew 12-“Make the Tree Good” o Mark 6- “The Value of your Life” • Week 2 o John 3- “Exposure to the Elements” o Acts 2- “Set Your Hope” • Week 3 o Romans 5- “Have Patience, Have Patience” o 1 Corinthians 2/2 Corinthians 10- “You are the tool” • Week 4 o Galatians 3- “Long Division-Not a Math Lesson” o Ephesians 4- “The 20-Something Baby” • Week 5 o 1 Timothy 3/2 Timothy 1- “Legacy unto Death” o Titus 1- “Get a Grip” • Week 6 o Philemon- “The Same as Me” o Hebrews 11- “Faith is Foundational” • Week 7 o James 3- “Lucky Strike Words” o 1 Peter 4 / 2 Peter 1- “One Star to the Right and Straight on till Morning” • Week 8 o 1 John  / 2 John  / 3 John- “The Modeling Agency” o Jude- “Love people, Hate Sin” • Week 9 o Revel...