Friend of God?

In 2 Samuel David finds out just how bitter life can get when relationship with friends, enemies and with God are allowed to become stagnant. Stagnant friendships often leave a bad taste, affect future relationships and can unfortunately lead to bitterness or disillusionment. We often blame the unfortunate friend who failed us for the problems rather than ourselves, it is simply less painful that way. But disappointment is never a one way street. We can never get away in the end from the fact that if we are disappointed in people and become stagnant as a result – our own choice has put us into that position. The way we choose to think about the situation, the way we choose to react, the way we speak about it, bring life or death to that friendship.

Stagnant relationship with God has the same effect as stagnant friendships, we don’t give of ourselves and things stop moving; we don’t encourage, build up or add life to others and we reap exactly what we sow – nothing.

Forgiveness and self awareness always bring life to relationship – God’s word is pretty explicit on this. God’s forgiveness brings radical change, a new life, new beginnings, total restart to who we are in relationship to Him. We can have the same new start in our friendships by taking the same stance God takes in extending forgiveness – both to others and to ourselves.

 Phil 2   have this same attitude…

What’s that old saying, your attitude determines your altitude. If you are stagnating in your busyness, exhaustion and feeling all you can do is take time out to relax and relieve the stress of life, wishing you could experience that “higher” place with the Lord, perhaps your attitude toward God’s people and His desire for you to be a blessing needs some adjustment. The people of Israel got into trouble most often when they forgot why God blessed them and by keeping it all to themselves they ended up with trouble. Isn’t this theme repeated with the man given 1 talent who buried it so that he could give the Master the same thing back again and thereby lost it all because he didn’t try to bring more to the Master than he had to start with? Is this REALLY how you want to live your life as a Christian? I know I do not, I believe you do not.

So how shall we then act. I’ll give you 3 first steps:
Set your heart on the things God’s heart is set on (where a man’s heart is there his treasure is also).
Set your mouth to speak Life, blessings and encouragement (out of the heart the mouth speaks).
Set your attitude on action that is in accord/response with the blessings God has poured out on you.

“PC” God’s Way? Prophetic Children Power Connections – 1 Sam 1-3

“A child of five, if properly instructed, can as truly believe and be regenerated as an adult … for a child who knowingly sins can savingly believe … so train up a child in the way he should go – but be sure you go that way yourself. ”  Charles Spurgeon   .

1 Sam 1:17 Then Eli answered and said, “Go in peace; and may the God of Israel grant your petition that you have asked of Him.” . . . 3: 7-10 Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, nor had the word of the LORD yet been revealed to him. So the LORD called Samuel again for the third time. And he arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” Then Eli discerned that the LORD was calling the boy. And Eli said to Samuel, “Go lie down, and it shall be if He calls you, that you shall say, ‘Speak, LORD, for Your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place. Then the LORD came and stood and called as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for Your servant is listening.”

Elkanah and Hannah are wonderful examples of those who live with the expectation that they are meant to please and obey God. They not only followed the rules of religion, they believed in God and in His love and care for them. They knew love and didn’t fear showing it. Yes they had struggles, yes they had needs that they could not fulfill on their own and yes they brought their need to God and prayed diligently for an answer. The answer Hannah needed could only be given by the exercise of the might power of a wonder working God. Year after year she prayed, still expecting to be heard and given the hoped for child and finally one year she heard that word. The man of God spoke the words of God and the promise of God and Hannah left with a smile and with faith in the promise. Oh that we would have that kind of faith, to hear the word from God or from God’s man or woman and believe that we have received what God has promised. Are you asking God to fulfill your need? Are you expecting Him to answer you? When He does answer, will you be ready to accept that answer and go forward in faith that He will soon carry out His promises to you? If you cannot answer a resounding yes then it is time to increase your faith.

And so Samuel was born according to the promise. And according to her own promise, Hannah brought the boy while he was still young to live as the first born dedicated to the work and service of God. God’s response to Elkanah and Hannah’s willingness to give back the gift God had given them was to bless them with more children and fill Hannah’s arms with babes. We so often lose sight of the reality that God desires to bless us and that when we fulfill His words and obey His commands with willing and thankful hearts He pours out more blessings. Truly we cannot out give the Lord, although more of us should try. Samuel had been taught from the beginning that he belonged to God and was the blessing of God and the answer to his mother’s prayers. He was trained to trust God and to obey the authority God had placed over him. We would do well in this also, to train our children from their earliest days to trust God, to listen to His word and obey Him, to believe that Jesus forgives their sins and to ask Him to be their Lord and Savior. The child who can speak is not too young to be told of the love of God and to ask Jesus to save their soul.

Its never too early to revel in God

Samuel was likely around 5 years old when his parents turned him over to Eli to be taught in the house of the Lord. How often do we expect our 5 yr olds to hear the voice of God? Do you expect your little boy or girl to hear Him speak and then share the prophecy God has told them? Eli didn’t either. In fact the Bible says that the “voice of God was not often heard” in that time, yet this little boy heard it. And Eli knew that it was God’s voice that Samuel was hearing. Oh parents, teachers, pastors – do you long for and prayer for the children in your care to hear from God and to bring words of correction and encouragement from the throne of Grace? Why do we neglect training them to hear His voice? Perhaps it is because it has been a long time since the voice of God was heard in our own hearts and minds. We cannot teach the children for we do not know His voice ourselves.

Do not deny the little children to come to me. That’s what Jesus said to His disciples when they tried to stop the children from being near Him. The disciples and the parents thought the children would be a bother, a hindrance, a distraction from the “truly important” task of teaching the adults. But Jesus said it would be better for them to be like children that to wait for adulthood to follow God. Children trust without needing all the details. Children listen and seek to understand, they ask questions, they ask “Why?”, they expect answers and they hope for answer that will help them understand. Adults rarely listen; they are too busy thinking of an answer or their own opinions to really listen. Adults rarely ask questions, they are too busy hoping no one will notice that they don’t understand the truth being presented to them. Adults expect facts and figures and scientific evidence before they will believe, and even when a miracle happens right in front of them adults will try to rationalize why it can’t be a real miracle of God’s power. Why then do we not open our hearts to let the children hear from God? We may be missing some of the best and easiest to understand truths, and missing some of the easiest to understand messengers as well. God wants our kids. He wants to speak with them and use them to advance His kingdom. This is a good day to talk of God with your kids, with your neighbor’s kids, with your Sunday school class. Pray that God will enlighten their hearts and understanding – and pray for yourself while you are at it. Perhaps, if you are diligent to believe, you will gain a 5-year-old’s understanding of the power of God and you will never be the same.