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| Walk humbly. Which way are you headed? How do you walk to please and honor the Lord? |
So
Samuel said: "Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and
sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than
sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of
witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have
rejected the word of the LORD, He also has rejected you from being king." 1 Samuel 15:22-23 NKJV
Meditate.
Consider God’s call to obedience in your life.
Saul
lost a lot when he was disobedient to God. God requires purity—and He needed
King Saul to cleanse the Promised Land of the wicked people who lived there. He
wanted obedience. Sure, God could have destroyed the Amalekites Himself—but He
wanted Saul and his army to take care of it. They failed. You can read the
story in 1 Samuel 15 beginning with God’s command and expectations.
Samuel also said to Saul, "The
LORD sent me to anoint you king over His people, over Israel. Now therefore,
heed the voice of the words of the LORD. "Thus says the LORD of hosts: 'I
will punish Amalek for what he did to Israel, how he ambushed him on the way
when he came up from Egypt. 'Now go and attack Amalek, and utterly destroy all
that they have, and do not spare them. But kill both man and woman, infant and
nursing child, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.'" 1 Samuel 15:1-3 NKJV
The
story goes on…and ends with God rejecting Saul as king…and He is sorry that He
made Saul king over Israel. God specifically told Saul what He expected of him.
Do you ever feel like God is directing you to do something? He certainly doesn’t
tell us to go destroy the Amalekites—but there is still a war going on in the
Middle East where people are being destroyed—men, women, children, and babies.
It is a very sad situation.
Samuel
has pointed out that the most important thing in life is obedience to God.
Rebellion—that is being disobedient—is worse than the sin of witchcraft.
Witchcraft is a pretty bad sin during Old and New Testament times…and today.
Nothing has changed. Note that sorcery and divination are the same words translated
in different Bible versions. God specifically had Moses advise the Israelites
not to practice witchcraft. Paul goes on to describe sins and blessing of the
Spirit in his letter to the Galatians.
Do not eat meat that has not been
drained of its blood. Do not practice fortune-telling or witchcraft. Leviticus 19:26 NLT
But if you are led by the Spirit,
you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are:
adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred,
contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions,
heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell
you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice
such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is
love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,
self-control. Against such there is no law. Galatians 5:18-23 NKJV
Being
obedient to God is the best thing we can do. How do you plan to obey the Lord?
What does He want you to do? Looking back through my notes from a recent writing
meeting, I feel like the vision that God has given me is…To share Christ
with others and encourage them to be like Him. I do this through this blog
and the books I have written. What is the purpose and goal for your own life? How
do you see God working in your life? What is He calling you to do?
Verse
of Salvation ~ While Jesus was here on earth, he offered prayers and pleadings,
with a loud cry and tears, to the one who could rescue him from death. And God
heard his prayers because of his deep reverence for God. Even though Jesus was
God's Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered. In this way, God
qualified him as a perfect High Priest, and he became the source of eternal
salvation for all those who obey him. Hebrews
5:7-9 NLT
Happy Heavenly Birthday to Uncle Leonard.
See you there someday...along with all believers!
© 2024 Text, photos, and illustrations by Mickey M. Hunacek. All
rights reserved.
All scripture quoted from the New King James Version (NKJV) unless
otherwise noted.
New King James Version ©
1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Harper
Collins Publisher. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
New Living Translation (NLT) copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by
Tyndale House Foundation.
Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream,
Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Biblical search from Blue Letter Bible - http://v3.blueletterbible.org/search.cfm.
Books by Mickey M.
Hunacek
Available as e-books or paperbacks at Amazon.com
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Coins in the Bible: New Testament Stories
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