Smiling with God...

1 Samuel 21:1-2 David went to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest. Ahimelech trembled when he met him, and asked, “Why are you alone? Why is no one with you?” David answered Ahimelech the priest, “The king charged me with a certain matter and said to me, ‘No one is to know anything about your mission and your instructions.’ As for my men, I have told them to meet me at a certain place. David was on the run. He was on the run from Saul. It was official, he became public enemy number one in Saul's eyes. In light of that revelation he runs to a temple. Great run to God! But that is not what really happened. Instead, what he does is to lie to everyone there. He lies to cover his behind and get the resources he needs to survive. Sounds logical. I mean it's not like he took a whole lot. Except, later we learn that Saul kills everyone in that town. Many people paid for the lie that David did. He lied to others in order to survive. However, other people paid the price for his surviv...

1 Samuel 18:8-9 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 last words to Saul from Samuel was that his reign over Israel was to end. Saul was very aware of this. So when his replacement comes into place and it is obvious that there is a replacement coming, he freaks out. He becomes jealous. He becomes a control freak and then he beings the end of his reign hunting David as a criminal of Israel. But all this could have been prevented back in the other chapters as he could have give his heart to God and followed Him, with all his heart. But Saul chose not to. Thus resulting in what we see here, the beginning of the end. But it's not sudden, no it isn't it is slow fade away. Like a horrible day that never ends, is the end of Saul's reign of Israel. There is so much to learn here...

1 Samuel 15:22-23 But Samuel replied: “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.” Saul in trouble. He really did not follow the Lord in this instance. Prior to these verses, he was instructed by Samuel to absolutely destroy the Amalekites. Destroy everything, leave nothing alive behind. Which in a way is a harsh command. God wanted them totally destroyed and that is what Saul did. Well, mostly did. He took a prisoner and he kept the good cattle and was going to use it as a "sacrifice" to the Lord. Though he may have had good intentions to do that, it was not the instructions. However he justified in his head that it was okay to bring back the cattle and bring back a prisoner. ...

Genesis 1:1-2 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. In the beginning everything was blank. Better described, it was formless, it was empty. God did not take the liberty yet to engage in creation. It was all in His mind, it was ready, oh it was so ready. But not yet. He was just about to begin the creation. He was about to engage in a beautiful medley of creation. But that's it, it was just the beginning. He is ready to bring out the fruition of His plan, that will eventually lead to His son dying for us. God was about to start something big. It is a new year, 2016, the start of something new. As I read this I am just perplexed and awed by God and why He did what He did. As I look into this year, there will be many things that need to be accomplished, many plans that are made. But I must remember that God is the start of it...

Matthew 6:19-21 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Usually we just pass by this verse and say some cliché thing like, "Oh it's all about the heart." It's such a great thing to think, but often times that's all we really do. We just think about it. Do we mean what we say? Or do we just say it? Does it really mean that our hearts is connected to Jesus and the will of our Father that we use our treasures for His kingdom? Are we really okay with not splurging money on ourselves? I'm not saying we shouldn't take care of our needs, but seriously, do we really need so much stuff? Here God is saying, what is your treasure? What are you doing with the resources I have brought you? R...

1 Corinthians 12:27 "Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it." We all have a part to play in this great body of Christ. We all have something to contribute. The Kingdom is so large that we all need to take part in it for the body to grow. We all also don't need to be ashamed of what we do. Though it may seem lesser to some, it is not a diminished job in the eyes of the Lord. In the Lord there are jobs that we may not find as not important. But to Him it is very importnant. In fact we all need to do our assignment from God. It is all so important. We will not be effective without each other. In Him playing our part is vital to everything. This is kind of encouraging to me. Though what I feel like I do right now is worthless in my eyes, and not what I really wanted to do in life, but this verse gives me the encouragement to keep going. To keep the fight and keep the faith which is not an easy thing. Especially when I feel like we are...

Mark 14:10-11 Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them. They were delighted to hear this and promised to give him money. So he watched for an opportunity to hand him over. Now prior to this verse we see Jesus being anointed with oil by a poor woman. Some people became indignant and were upset. Judas was the one who lead that. Not sure if he really started it, but he was the keeper of the money, and there are many references saying he was not being a faithful steward of his position. With that in mind, when he saw this act, he decided it was good idea to betray Jesus. He was so upset over the situation that he let his emotions take over and then bam, he is lead to betray Jesus. It seems that he let his emotions over the situation get the best of him and it lead him to some really bad decisions. I can say, hey no big deal, but really, emotions can get the best of you. The NY Mets just lost the MLB World Series. One commentator said...