Lean on Him(Jesus our Lord)

When troubled times head your way...
Lean on Him, He'll guide your way

When danger lurks around you
Lean on Him, He'll protect you.

When you're trusting on His promises
Lean on Him He'll prove it in surprises

When you're down by the dumps and no one cares..
Lean on Him, He'll be there.

When reaching for God's highest
Lean on Him to shine the brightest.

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." (Proverbs 3:5-6)

I am going to North Carolina today...will be back in 2 or 3 days. Till then take care my readers and always remember, God's heart is always open for you.
Jesus Loves you and desires to increase your fellowship with Him. There is no force on earth or in the heaven to separate you from the Love of God. The only one who can separate you from God's Love is "you". Its upto you, how much you want God to take care of you. The Almighty God, the Living God, the Creator of the universe and so much more.

God Bless.

The Word of God has Power to Set You Free

So many things to take care of, so many people against him, thats what David's life has become after being anointed. It looks so much like a believers' life, suddenly problems crop up, people tink you're crazy or dangerous to them. We lose good friends sometimes, for some even the family turns against them for following Jesus.
In 1 Samuel 26 Saul again goes after David. In the night when all were sleeping David even gets a chance to kill Saul again, only this time "12So David took the spear and the bottle of water from Saul's head, and they got away. And no man saw or knew or wakened, for they were all asleep, because a deep sleep from the Lord had fallen upon them." (1 Samuel 26:12) David did not kill Saul again, even though his friend with him told him it was an opportunity from God." 8Then said Abishai to David, God has given your enemy into your hands this day. Now therefore let me smite him to the earth at once with one stroke of the spear, and I will not strike him twice.
9David said to Abishai, Do not destroy him; for who can raise his hand against the Lord's anointed and be guiltless?"(1 Samuel 26:8-9)

Lessons:
Though the offer that Abishai gave David at this time seemed so correct. God did tell David for other things, go conquer the enemy for I have given them over to you and then when David went and fought against the enemy he would win.
Why was this case different from the others? How come David couldn't kill Saul, when all of Saul's body guards were sleeping so deeply. Well we all know its because David feared God and God had forbidden to harm His anointed, and Saul was infact anointed by God at one point.

How then did David make the right choice?- Well clearly we know that he knew God's commands and statutes. This knowledge of God's commands from before, helped David in this situation to be holy and obedient to God's command. He waited on God to fight on his behalf, for God to do whatever was right to be done to Saul.

What is it to you and me?

1. The Word of God is imperishable and enduring-1 Peter 1:23 (Whole Chapter) For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. Nothing can stand against and remain, ONLY the Word of God stands forever.
2. If you want to win life's battles and show yourself a winner you need the SWORD of the Spirit, that is our weapon, THE WORD OF GOD-Ephesians 6:17 (Whole Chapter) says "Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." How can one stand in a battle without their weapon, that's silly, so why go on being silly

So what are we doing, keeping the most powerful Word in the UNIVERSE, under our pillows, on the bookshelf, top of the refrigerator???

God's people it is time we changed our lives by the Powerful Word of God and see what God would do for His people who believe. The Bible says "1 John 2:5 (Whole Chapter) But if anyone obeys his word, God's love [ Or word, love for God] is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him:6Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did. " People who obey the Word of God have love in their life, they truly know what love is and it will shine out through their lives. Not only will our own lives be transformed, but also the lives of people who come in contact with us, the Love of God will rub off on them. Oh they will be able to differentiate from the common selfish love to the agape Love. Oh boy if we really get serious, with such amounts of love( assuming that every believer in the world does this) , the world truly would be like "Days of heaven on earth"

Who will take revenge for the wrongs ?

1 Samuel 25
After the death of Samuel the prophet, David went to the Desert of Moan. There, lived a man named Nabal, a very mean man, hard task master and cruel with all his workers. However, his wife was a very gentle, kind wise and understanding person. Its amazing that such a shrewd fellow had a wonderful wife like Abigail. Now David and his men had been guarding Nabal's shepherds while they were in Carmel with them. When the sheep shearing time came, David sent some men to bless Nabal and ask him to give something in return for the favour that David and his men, had done for them. However Nabal had not heard of David and despised the messengers and sent them empty handed. Nabal's men(shepherds) went and met Abigail and told her the real story, of how David had been kind to them on the field and protected them, but Nabal had mistreated them(1 Samuel 25:14-17). Well David wanted to avenge himself for this mistreatment from Nabal, but in the right time, Abigail went out to meet David and asked for pardon on behalf of her husband. David did not avenge his cause, and accepted the gifts which Abigail had brought for him and his men. Later, we see "38 About ten days later, the LORD struck Nabal and he died."(1 Samuel 25:38). This entire episode ends with David finding in Abigail a very virtuous woman and asks her if she can be his wife. Abigail becomes David's wife.

Lessons

1. Wisdom always helps keep God's will-In this case I see Abigail's immediate action according to her wisdom, led her to direct David's actions in God's direction. If Abigail would have not considered going to David and maintained her position of being Nabal's wife and sided him, well their whole household would have gone the very same day. But she humbled herself and went out to meet David and offered her gifts.
2. Humility saved many lives-Abigail's humility saved many lives of people who wouldn't deserve to die. It was Nabal who was at error and if David had to attack them, then many others who were with Nabal would have died too. Also, David's humility in accepting Abigail's apology and not attacking saved lives. In our lives too, people might come and attack us with their words, their thoughts, their pride, but then our humility can save many lives. Not everyone with the person who attacks/slanders us, agrees with them, so our humility will shine out no matter what. Atleast I know God will make us shine out, no matter what someone else thinks/says of us. Only we have to be humble.
3. Obedience brings victory-When God says "Romans 12:19 (Whole Chapter) "Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," [ Deut. 32:35] says the Lord. " we better obey. We see later in 1 Samuel 25:38 "38 About ten days later, the LORD struck Nabal and he died". So its not for us to avenge ourselves, lest we become like the people who slander us. Then what difference is their in us being a believer of a Living God and them being disobedient to God. None. So if we have decided to follow God and live the life God planned for us, we better make up our minds to be different in all our approach, no matter what it feels like at the moment, because if we are faithful, the reward is much greater.

Conclusion:-So let no disobedience rob us from God's best. God Himself made sure that Abigail had the wisdom and humility to stop David from going wrong, God made it possible for the servants to go speak to Abigail of David's kindness. In any situation we might meet, when we want to take revenge on someone for saying something wrong about us, or of us, remember God has already placed the guidance for you to avoid falling into the trap of self-revenge. Also I think we must remember, we are children of God, so God WILL TAKE CARE. Any insult on us for our good work, is an attack on our God and no one like so can stand God's wrath. The only way they could escape their correction from God is when we stand in the middle and try to correct them ourselves and jeopardise our own stand, no longer saying God is Lord, but I can also avenge. Almost like I don't need God. No let us not get carried away by petty insults, or wrongdoings, it is God who sees and avenges His people. Our calling is way higher than to get entangled in all this stuff.So lets live a life pleasing to our Lord, and let God be our Lord over all our emotions.

The Lord and I

It is such fun to see and know what my God would do
with a life thats yielded so
knowing that awesome plan is almost here
I missed some stuff in between, but not anymore
No one else knows the secrets between you and me
The wonderful plans you have for me

For a while I had gone astray,
I thought my dreams would fade away
But you caught me in my fall
and made everything beautiful in my life and all

I cherish the promises you give
I'm grateful for your power to forgive
If it wasn't for your kindness and love
I don't think I would have ever come this far above

I love you Lord, now more than before
For all the times, you've been faithful
In never letting me go
Oh I'm excited with my life when its with you
You hold it and mould it..to the best it can be
Thank you Lord for loving me.

Responding to people who make life difficult-

1 Samuel 24
David gets an opportunity to do something to Saul after all the trouble Saul has given him.

Saul had gone into a cave to rest a while, when David and his men were hiding there, Saul was all alone, David was with all his men, now this was the best opportunity one can find against their enemy to take revenge. Moreover "4 The men said, "This is the day the LORD spoke of when he said [a] to you, 'I will give your enemy into your hands for you to deal with as you wish.' " Then David crept up unnoticed and cut off a corner of Saul's robe." (1 Samuel 24:4) Boy with that kind of encouragement I think I would have surely killed Saul, to balance all that he did.

Here, David got a chance to take revenge for his troubles, and by troubles I mean, being chased around the country to be killed, for staying in caves, for eating sometimes, for being away from family, for no peace ofmind...etc etc etc. He even cuts a piece of Saul's garment, but then immediately his conscience strikes him and he does not harm Saul. Why did he have to do that?

Lessons

1. By not taking revenge David respected God-" 5 Afterward, David was conscience-stricken for having cut off a corner of his robe. 6 He said to his men, "The LORD forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the LORD's anointed, or lift my hand against him; for he is the anointed of the LORD." (1 Samuel 24:5) He respected the authority with which God had established Saul, even though Saul did not follow God whole heartedly, David did.
2. By not taking revenge David showed that He had a God who would take care of all his problems-Romans 12:19 (Whole Chapter) Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," [ Deut. 32:35] .says the Lord", David did not want to go against what God had established and would let God take care of anything that would harm him.
3. Overcome evil with good-I don't know if David knew this verse, but I think evil can never negate evil, an evil done to and evil done leads to more evil. However, when evil is returned with good, it is stopped right on. Nothing can overcome evil, like GOOD. The Bible says in 2 apt verses
   Romans 12:21 (Whole Chapter) "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." and Proverbs 25:21-22 " 21 If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink. 22 In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head, and the LORD will reward you. "

Conclusion: Being patient with the person who is giving you a hard time, and returning their evil with good, has a two-fold results, thats what I learnt

1. God will take care of the enemy, in a way He knows best. Sometimes it could be a case of a hurting person, hurting someone else to feel better. We may not know their motive behind hurting us, but our God does and He knows the best way to deal with them, so the outcome of it, will always be for our benefit.
2. The Lord will reward us, for honouring His Word and His work in our lives.

We see in the end, David's conversation ends up with Saul, on a good note. David's talk with Saul shows that David's position in that conversation was like of a person who is blessed and is in a position to bless and not one who is distressed."20 I know that you will surely be king and that the kingdom of Israel will be established in your hands. 21 Now swear to me by the LORD that you will not cut off my descendants or wipe out my name from my father's family." (1 Samuel 24:20-22). Now we can choose, if we want to be in a position like David, knowing that we will become what God wants us to become, always the head and not the tail, IF WE ONLY CHOOSE TO OBEY GOD's commands.Every one of them.

Forgotten

1 Samuel 23
David had now become a leader of a distressed group of people, they went about hiding from Saul. The priest Ahimelech's son Abiathar had also joined him, because Saul had killed his entire village.While all this was happening, "David was told, "Look, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah and are looting the threshing floors," 2 he inquired of the LORD, saying, "Shall I go and attack these Philistines?"The LORD answered him, "Go, attack the Philistines and save Keilah." (1 Samuel 23:1) .The people whit David were afraid and said to David "Here in Judah we are afraid. How much more, then, if we go to Keilah against the Philistine forces!"(1 Samuel 23:3) . However David enquired of the Lord and answered this call, he took those men with him (about 400) and attacked the Philistines and the Bible says "5 So David and his men went to Keilah, fought the Philistines and carried off their livestock. He inflicted heavy losses on the Philistines and saved the people of Keilah."(1 Samuel 23:5). Saul on the other hand was still pursuing David and found out that David was in Keilah. The sad part of this is that, the people whom he saved, were about to give him over to Saul. "9 When David learned that Saul was plotting against him, he said to Abiathar the priest, "Bring the ephod." 10 David said, "O LORD, God of Israel, your servant has heard definitely that Saul plans to come to Keilah and destroy the town on account of me. 11 Will the citizens of Keilah surrender me to him? Will Saul come down, as your servant has heard? O LORD, God of Israel, tell your servant." And the LORD said, "He will." 12 Again David asked, "Will the citizens of Keilah surrender me and my men to Saul?"And the LORD said, "They will." (1 Samuel 23:9-12) So David had to escape from Keilah and went to the desert of Horesh.There Jonathan came and strengthened him in the Lord.(1 Samuel 23:16)

Lessons I learnt

1. Not everyone will return our favor - David helped the people in Keilah from the Philistines, yet when the time came for them to return the favor, they did not, they would hand over David to Saul so Saul would kill him. That did not stop David, he went on, he did not grudge, did not fret.Well if I would have been there, I would surely have not helped and given the people a piece of my mind before I left, but in this experience from David's life I see the verse from Romans 12:21 (Whole Chapter) "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good" shining through.
2. Whose report will you believe?- David had lots of people around him, who would give him suggestions and thoughts at every task he undertook, but then its so wonderful to see that David always derived his strength and guidance from the Lord. When Saul told David that he could not fight Goliath, David referred to how God had helped him in the past. Now when his followers told him , they were afraid already and to go and fight the Philistines would be a bad idea, David did not listen to them, he quickly asked of the Lord as to what he should do and went as per God's directions.So should we, when others say we're a loser, we should ask our Lord and remember who we are in our Lord Jesus, more than conquerors.
3. Priest to God-I noticed one thing here, David asked Abiathar for the ephod, the priests wear, before he enquired of the Lord. David was taking the stand of a priest when he asked of the Lord for direction. It reminds me of who we are in Jesus Christ."1 Peter 2:9 (Whole Chapter) But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. " Then what stops us from enquiring of our Living Lord, regarding our lives? How else can we shine out for Jesus, if we don't know what God would have us do?
4. Fellow Believers-Not everyone can encourage you in the strength of the Lord. For David it was Jonathan. Jonathan was practically living out the covenant he made with David, he was helping him escape his father, now we see him go right where David is just to encourage him. I praise God for wonderful friends like Jonathan, who go out of the way to help and strengthen their friends in distress, in need. Blessed are those who have wonderful friends like Jonathan who think of the others more than themselves. Jonathan did not have a friend for himself, but he was so connected to David that he would do anything for him. You could be someone's Jonathan you know or Can we be a kind of Jonathan for those who need encouragement?

Conclusion: In all this, I find that David remained faithful to his Living God. He did as per what God would have him do. I sometimes wonder, what would have happened to the world if all the christians, would just listen to God and take directions from Him for their life. We could have impacted so many lives, couldn't we.

How could David write-"The Lord is my Shepherd"

Now anointed David, running away from his father-in-law and king of Israel, because he wanted to kill him. Jonathan couldn't believe his dad would want to kill David, because David was chosen king over him, for pure jealousy, for nothing wrong that David had done. David runs to Nob and the priest Ahimelech gives him bread and Goliath's sword to go on his way and also inquires of the Lord for him. At Gath, the people recognise him as David, but he doesn't want to get captured and pretends to be a mad man with his saliva running down his beard and scratching at the walls.Later on David takes shelter in a cave of Adullam. Now the people who care for him came to him, and you know who else came to David that day "2 All those who were in distress or in debt or discontented gathered around him, and he became their leader. About four hundred men were with him. "(1 Samuel 22:2).

What a life I must say!!! Running away from the king, for fear of being killed, moreover not being sure of where to rest. No place safe to go to. The only people David found to be a leader of was the depressed and lacking. The Bible does not cover anything that David faced from the time he got anointed.Every trouble is mentioned, family problem is listed.Enemies all around. No one he could totally trust.Why did life become difficult for him after being anointed? I remember one story a pastor told us when I had gone to VBS a long long time ago.

A hunter went out hunting with his helper boy, he shot at a flock of flying birds and a few of the birds fell down on the ground. He asked his helper to go run and fetch those birds. The boy went and started collecting all the dead birds fallen on the ground. The hunter shouted at the boy and told him to grab the ones that were half dead, that were still fluttering to find strength to fly away. The boy asked why. The hunter said, the dead ones won't go anywhere, its the fluttering ones which might escape so don't let them go. Satan does the same too, he knows who's not fighting his system and doesn't bother much with them, but he's scared of the ones who are escaping his grip, because he knows they will become more powerful , they're moving onto the winning side and once gone, no one can stop them. So satan tries to bind them with all possible problems he can think of, but those that break free, in continuously trusting in the strength that comes from the Lord, become overcomers.

Lessons I learnt

1. God chooses the difficult situations to turn around-People who were ok with Saul, didn't come to join David, the distressed, rejected and people who were in debt came. It wouldn't be a great thing if you can make a rich person rich, but it sure makes a lot of impact and show when a very poor person is made rich of the Lord.
2. Don't give up on God no matter what you're going through, our Salvation belongs to our God- No one can help us come out victorious from our tough situations except our Living God. This we know from the way God delivered David from the hands of his enemies.
3. In God we can trust- David had no idea whom to trust, and whom not, but then he knew one thing, he inquired of the Lord, he could trust God for direction. Others would have given him over to Saul for whatever post or money they would receive from him, but not so with God. God remained faithful in taking care of David.
4. What God has planned He will make it good, for those who want His will-"14 David stayed in the desert strongholds and in the hills of the Desert of Ziph. Day after day Saul searched for him, but God did not give David into his hands. "(1 Samuel 23:14). When God has taken up the responsibility to take care of His anointed, He will keep him under His protection

Conclusion:In all that David went through, he was able to see God's provision, God's protection and God's faithfulness to His promises. No wonder David was able to write Psalm 23

A psalm of David.
1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,he leads me beside quiet waters, 3 he restores my soul.He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, [a] I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.6 Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

To be an Overcomer, you will need something to overcome!!

So you want to be an overcomer, but want nothing to overcome??? That doesn't happen.
I am reading from David's life, Saul is impressed by David's victory over Goliath and "5 Whatever Saul sent him to do, David did it so successfully [a] that Saul gave him a high rank in the army. This pleased all the people, and Saul's officers as well. "(1 Samuel 18:5). Later on Saul becomes jealous of David and tries to kill him. Saul is still king of the Israelites. I was wondering, is it too difficult for a king to kill someone in his own country? I think if the president of some country wanted someone from their country dead, it wouldn't be that difficult for him to find and kill that person. However in David's life its amazing to note, that right under one roof, there were the king and his men to kill David and right there we see Jonathan and Michal who love David sooo much. Why was David so dangerous to Saul? David has realised what He can do when he works in obedience, to an Almighty Living God. When Saul tries to tell David before his fight with Goliath "You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a boy, and he has been a fighting man from his youth." (1 Samuel 17:33) Remember what he said "The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." (1 Samuel 17:35). This verse tells me the amount of confidence David had in the Living God and how close he is with God, to so boldly declare of a relation with God in whatever he does, knowing that he is being guided by a Living God. Moreover in the later chapters we read, that Saul got so jealous of David's victories, that he tried to kill him several times, but David escaped all the times.

Lessons I learnt

1. Know Who the Lord is to you- David was so confident about his being in the army of the Living God, thought technically David was not in the army of Israel, he was still a boy, but he knew to Whom he belonged, or rather to which side he belonged...remember the song, I am on the winning side and Jesus is the Winner Man" Can we identify ourselves being in the army of the Living God?
2. Hold onto the confidence you have in the Lord-Hebrews 10:35:"35Do not, therefore, fling away your fearless confidence, for it carries a great and glorious compensation of reward." Saul told David that he was a mere boy, and had no experience in warfare, yet he held onto the confidence he had in the Lord that the Lord would deliver him. Irrespective of what size and weight he is, he knows a God who can deliver him. Can we identify ourselves as people who have a Mighty God for our deliverer from ALL troubles?
3. No one can defeat God's plan for our lives other than us-When we live in total obedience to God's will and plan for our lives, no one can prevent us from becoming all that God has planned for us to be. God had desired David to be king, Saul tried to kill David so many times, hurling his spear at him, or sending men to his house to kill him, he never succeeded. When God has planned for David to be king and David has decided to follow God's plan, nothing can come in between them. So for us, as long as we are following God exactly on the way that He shows us, nothing can harm us. Thats why the command that God gave Joshua Joshua 1:7-9:7 "Only you be strong and very courageous, that you may do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you. Turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go.
   8This Book of the Law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe and do according to all that is written in it. For then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall deal wisely and have good [a]success." Can we identify ourselves as followers of a Living God, come what may?
4. Trouble, trouble everywhere but not one that can harm David- David was having a peaceful life shepherding the flock, until the time he got anointed to be king. Well God's Holy Spirit came on him to work wonders through him, to make him victorious in all he did and to tranform him to be the kind of king that God wanted him to be. Then there was this king Saul, who wanted to kill him, David spent half of his anointed life, running and trying to hide from the king who was wanting to kill him. He could not harm the king because David respected God's anointing on any man, he respected God soo much. Well, it cannot be hidden, whenever God anoints His people and the people desire solely to follow God's commands, we'll have even more oppression than we've ever had before. I don't think I'd like to call it a price to pay for being anointed, but its an opportunity to see how God will work in a totally yielded life and bring us victoriously into the place where he promised to take us and to being the person God wants to make us. Can we identify ourselves working with a Living God, who will throw obstacles away from our path as we move to a higher place? Its like take off time, the initial run on the ground is jittery and uncomfortable, until we're airborne and no ground can touch us, no more jittery feeling, just calm sailing, well a few air pockets here and there thats all, but the plane has overcome the major force of friction from the ground.Every other friction now is just tiny compared to what has already passed.

Conclusion:Following a Living God is not easy or difficult, but it is exciting. It is a wonderful feeling of confidence to know that we're being backed up by God, because its no longer our own measly plan. And because it is God's plan for our lives and we are obedient to what God has for us, there is nothing that can thwart or change or damage God's plan for our lives. I once again quote Job in saying "2I know that You can do all things, and that no thought or purpose of Yours can be restrained or thwarted." (Job 42:2). I used to be afraid of God's plans earlier, its like losing control, not knowing what will happen next, even though God says "11For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome."(Jeremiah 29:11 Amp) Until one day, I knew there was nothing better I could do with my life, I would just be an ordinary person, working in a big company, serving only the clients, being good at my job, getting raises and then one day vanish from this planet having done nothing of 'real' benefit to anyone. You know when God touches a life, and that life stays in touch with God, that person's life-impact goes on beyond his/her grave. Their lives impact lives, beyond their earthly timeline.

So who's the winner???

1 Samuel 17
This is perhaps one of the most talked about chapter in the Bible, its about David and Goliath. Well we all know the story so lets go on to the lessons I learnt.

1. False fear-The giant Goliath, came out just to scare them, if he really wanted to fight he could have attacked the Israelites.He instead was controlling the Israel's victory by just scaring them by his size. "16 For forty days the Philistine came forward every morning and evening and took his stand. "This gives me a clear picture of what satan tries to do. Now since Goliath was a Philistine, I think they had a long history of Israeli-Philistine war before them, that had evidence of how God gave Israelites victory over them. So his job was probably not to fight but just stand there scaring people. If the Israelites would have not considered him and fought with the Philistines, I think they would have won. In our lives too, our defeated foe, keeps bringing up things or makes situations "seem" as though he is the tough guy, but actually we are the ones with a history of our victory along with Jesus, who made such a spectacle of the enemy when He rose up from the dead."And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. Colossians 2:15 (Whole Chapter) "So who is on the Winning Side?
2. Talking about the situation- What were the soldiers from Israel doing, if they weren't fighting. They were talking amongst themselves."25 Now the Israelites had been saying, "Do you see how this man keeps coming out? He comes out to defy Israel. The king will give great wealth to the man who kills him. He will also give him his daughter in marriage and will exempt his father's family from taxes in Israel." (1 Samuel 17:25). Don't we all do that sometimes, when facing a situation that "seems" huge we talk about it, describe it in detail to each other, and probably hope for how wonderful it would be if somehow we won over it, but we dare not go and fight with the "sword of the Word of God" . Why?
3. David is not afraid of Goliath!!!- David here shows us a wonderful example of how a believer can live in victory rather than in fear. Goliath wasn't attacking them, he was simply scaring them so they wouldn't attack the Philistines, if in any case, the Israelites ran away from their place in fear, the Philistines would have captured that much land. Hey doesn't satan also do the same with us believers, but did you know, he cannot touch us "18We know [absolutely] that anyone born of God does not [deliberately and knowingly] practice committing sin, but the One Who was begotten of God carefully watches over and protects him [Christ's divine presence within him preserves him against the evil], and the wicked one does not lay hold (get a grip) on him or touch [him]."(1 John 5:18). So what are we afraid of, like the Israelites? If we're on the right track and obedient to God, we have nothing to fear.
4. David's First Response-".... Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?" (1 Samuel 17:26) It sounds to me like, how dare that fellow come against the people of a Living God.What an example!!! So should the response of the people of the Living God be, if someone in your family is unsaved and you've been praying hard...lets say ". satan, how dare you touch my family, I belong to a Living God, and the Word of God says in Ps 24:1 the earth and everything in it belongs to my God, so take your hands off of my property and my family."
5. Not only in words but in actions too-Now David wasn't just talking fancy about how Goliath was defying the army of the Living God. He meant every word, because he was willing to put his words into action. He meant every thing he said. "What David said was overheard and reported to Saul, and Saul sent for him. 32 David said to Saul, "Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him." David was willing to fight, he took his stand.
6. What's our background for the battle-What David said was overheard and reported to Saul, and Saul sent for him. Ok, now take a look at this conversation "33 Saul replied, "You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a boy, and he has been a fighting man from his youth."
   34 But David said to Saul, "Your servant has been keeping his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, 35 I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. 36 Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. 37 The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." (1 Samuel 17:33-37). Now I am surprised, at the comparison David makes with what he has done before, a battle is totally different from hunting, don't you think so? Here, for David, its the same...you know why? because his baseline or anchoring point that joins all this together is "The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine..". So what's our anchoring point when it comes to our battles, when our seemingly giant problems holler at us? Are you getting it??? David didn't go to fight thinking of the type of victories he won, but Who enabled him to win them all.

Conclusion: David has taught us some very important things about our spiritual battle, its up to us to pick up the lessons his life experience teaches us. Problems in life may seem to stand up and shout at us, but I hope now you know who's bigger, the problem or our Living God. How dare the loser satan try to defy the army of God. So stand up and be bold and strong and win the battles in life with the power that back you up.

When God anoints His people...

1 Samuel 16-19
Samuel was very sad that Saul has now moved away from God, God encouraged Samuel and sent him to anoint Jesse's son David(1 Samuel 16:1), to be the next king of Israel. Samuel knew that God has chosen someone else, who would obey God fully, 'a man after God's own heart'. After David has been anointed, he carries on doing his normal job of tending his father's sheep. There is nothing special that has happened to him yet. He didn't move to any palace.The one major thing that happened was," 13Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed David in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. ..."(1 Samuel 16:13). In the mean while, an evil spirit is tormenting Saul and one of his servants suggests "18One of the young men said, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite who plays skillfully, a valiant man, a man of war, prudent in speech and eloquent, an attractive person; and the Lord is with him."(1 Samuel 16:18). Now David started playing music before Saul so that he would be comforted and Saul (the current king) liked David very much. " 22Saul sent to Jesse, saying, Let David remain in my service, for he pleases me."(1 Samuel 16:22) and David got a part time job at the king's palace for the Bible says in 1 Samuel 17:15 " 15But David went back and forth from Saul to feed his father's sheep at Bethlehem."

Lessons I learnt

1. God's anointing transforms people-( NOTE:Meaning of Anoint-(a) To apply oil, ointment, or a similar substance to. (b)To put oil on during a religious ceremony as a sign of sanctification or consecration. (c)To choose by or as if by divine intervention.) When God anoints He is choosing that person and setting them apart for His work only. What did that do to David? That did not change his job, his looks, his environment. It changed David as a person.(In my next post we'll see how David was changed, an example from his life). So what God chooses His people for His work, it changes them from the inside, their outside world remains the same, but inside them now dwells the Powerful Spirit of the Almighty Living God, Who gives them the power to change the situations they are in, so that God's will, will be done through their lives...from this moment on.
2. Once God has chosen you, He makes sure that for whatever purpose He has called you is arranged.-Now once David was anointed to be king, he has to be trained in every aspect so he becomes a wonderful king. An opening comes up from the king's palace to pla music before the king. Now, I don't think its a mere coincidence that the servant mentioned David as a musician when the king was being vexed by the evil spirit.God prepared an opening so that David would start getting acquainted to being in a palace, so David gets to work at the palace.
3. The transition from the old to the new is made smooth as we obey- For David, just because he was working at the king's palace as a special musician to play whenever the king was troubled by the evil spirit, was not the only thing he did. He was also feeding his father's sheep, running errands for his father, taking lunch boxes to his brothers to the battle field. I think there will be one special task that God will show you to do, apart from whatever you were already working on.

Conclusion: Did you know that you are anointed of God when you became part of the family of God? 1 Peter 2:9 (Whole Chapter) "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light."

Did you know that we have assignments, like David had, as we move in the direction of our calling? Ephesians 2:10 (Whole Chapter) "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. "

God didn't just leave David at being anointed by Samuel, but God worked out things in His life to direct him towards that kingship that he was to attain. God has charted out the course of our calling...maybe to be a teacher of the Word of God, a prophet, a pastor, a deacon, a leader of a fellowship, a christian doctor, a christian lawyer, a christian engineer, a christian architect....and lots more. Now David knew that He was being anointed for some reason, and if the head priest of a nation comes and anoints you, we better know what that is for. So also, God has put in our hearts and our genetics, something that we have a passion to do, which is going to be a blessing to all others around us, in a way no other person in the world can bless. Something unique in you, which only you can do. If we have been paying attention to the way our lives are changing since the day we accepted Jesus to be our Lord and Saviour, we will know for sure where we're headed. I say the key is to listen to the voice of God's Holy Spirit, which God has put inside of us, to help us become fully what God wants us to become.

"for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. " Philippians 2:13 (Whole Chapter)

"If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work". 2 Timothy 2:21 (Whole Chapter)

"so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." 2 Timothy 3:17 (Whole Chapter)

" equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen." Hebrews 13:21 (Whole Chapter)

The Joy of Knowing-God is in control

Reading through, 1 Samuel 1-16 chapters I find the Israelites, kept making mistakes and God kept finding ways to get them back into His perfect plan. I sometimes wonder, would we (the people now) have got any chance to hear this wonderful gospel if God would have given up on the Israelites when they continued to revolt against Him. When they grumbled in the desert during Moses' time or now when they chose a king for themselves. Well God knew, all this would happen Isaiah 46:10 declares" I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come...I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please."

Over the years of my walk with Jesus Christ, I have been obedient and I have been disobedient sometimes too. I have learnt something from all this, that God does not give up on His children, until His children totally give up on God. We are made to give up by the enemy's voice which keeps nagging us, saying "God doesn't love you any more, you sinned, don't you remember?" Well initially I used to get bogged down by that thought. Then I learnt -NEVER TO FIGHT A THOUGHT WITH A THOUGHT, BUT WITH THE WORD OF GOD" So I did just that. Took the Word of God and found out what I should do and it always has answered all my questions and led me out.

A verse that impresses me is Job 42:2 "I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted. "This is Job's testimony after all that happened to him.

Well every time I see disobedience in the Bible, I saw that God makes a way around it or through it and takes His children out. Every body made a mistake from Noah onwards, but God finally had the perfect plan brought into our world through Jesus Christ who was without sin/blemish. The perfect person to take away our sins and disobedience. Now the people also paid for their mistakes, because the consequences will always be there.

In 1 Samuel 1-16 I found that the Israelites, under the leadership of Samuel, sin against God and want a king (like all other nations). God knew this wouldn't work. From the Israelites' point of view, all other nations had king and so it should work for them too. However they failed to realise, they had God Himself as king, else which nation would be able to stand without a king and stay together as a nation? Now God went with their demand, but since He knew it wouldn't work, God had a man prepared after His own heart "David". The plan was good per the people's eyes, but God had a perfect plan.

Lessons I learnt
God has a perfect plan for all His children, all who declare Lord Jesus to be their Saviour. It is really as simple as saying, no to our own selfish ways and saying "Yes Lord, let your will be done. I want you Lord and your plan be done in my life" Something amazing happens. As beings of reasoning, we like to be in control of our lives and know whats happening. I used to be like that, I wanted to know exactly what I would do next. After a certain change took place in my life, I have turned my life over to God like I've never done before. I can see God's plan now making things beautiful for me....no no troubles are not gone away.....they're very much present...but its that amazing knowledge, that God is in control . Its that joy that assures me God's plan for my life cannot be thwarted and you know what His plans are?... Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. " Now how can I not want a plan like that??? Would you?

Obedience Better Than Sacrifice

Everything in Saul's life as king started well, until the time, he started disobeying God.

The beginning of being a king-Saul

1. Samuel anoints Saul-1 Samuel 10:1
2. Saul was filled with the Spirit of God and became a different man and even prophesied-1 Samuel 10:6-10
3. Anointed people went with Saul, as he started his term to be king, after being publicly elected as king by Samuel. ( 1 Samuel 10:26)
4. Saul rescued the city of Jabesh, the Spirit of the Lord led Saul to win-(1 Samuel 11:6)

The beginning of disobedience(1 Samuel 13)

The Philistines were gathered together to fight against the Israelites.Samuel had asked Saul to wait for seven days, until Samuel comes and leads them in the sacrifice to the Lord. The enemy was large(about 6000-numerous,1 Samuel 13:5). The soldiers in the Israelites camp started trembling at the sight. They were so scared they started scattering. Saul thought sacrifice would help them win the battle. He did not wait for Samuel to come, and performed the sacrifice himself.The reason Saul gives is "1 Samuel 13:12 I thought, 'Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the LORD's favor.' So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering."

Analysing the fall

1. Saul gave more importance to a ritual, than to obedience to God- He thought, the sacrifice would help him out of the situation and give him favor with God, here's where we hear the most precious words from Samuel "To obey is better than sacrifice".Sometimes, in our christian life too, we start thinking of the rituals, whatever they be, are more important than obeying God. Of course the rituals or functions are set so that we may have orderliness and not for creating favor with God. Just by doing 5 extra sacrifices a day, I will not get any closer to God. God had asked Saul, to wait for 7 days, Saul could not even fulfil that simple command. He thought sacrifice is what pleases God.
2. Later on in 1 Samuel 15- we see that, when God had asked Saul to completely destroy the Amalekites, with nothing to be spared, Saul spares the best ones, so that he could sacrifice to the Lord.

Lesson I learnt

Saul got severely caught up with rituals and sacrifice which led to his disobedience. He was soooo much into sacrificing and the performance of those rituals, that he didn't have any more space to listen to what God was saying. I think I was a kind of Saul one time, I was so involved with ritualistic christianity, that to me without that, life with the Lord wouldn't work. No wonder I wasn't hearing much from the Lord. Until one day, the Lord showed me that He delights in my obedience, more than my sacrifice. So what does it mean? Should I no longer follow the rituals? Well I don't think so. Its only us, that start giving importance to things, that weren't meant to be given God's place in our lives. God gave us the sun and the moon and the stars so we could get light during the day and a night lamp for the night. That doesn't mean we start worshipping them and make them, to be higher than their creator.

I am learning, now, to be careful in obedience. For right now, I know God is waiting on me to see if I will be more obedient than anything else. I've got to wait, though I long for my breakthrough, and see how God works out everything for me, for my petition is made to the Lord and I know He will not rest until that is taken care of. So for you too, I pray for the reader who's waiting like me for their breakthrough, be it 7 days or 70, will we be able to wait till the time is due for us, or are we going to rush up things on our own, like Saul did?

In the meanwhile....God is working

Time and time again, now, the more I read, the more there are instances of God working behind the scenes, even before an event happened. God prepares the future, that will be the best for his people, he knows what they will ask, and has already prepared an answer. He's not surprised, by their disobedience, but prepares a way out for them into obedience and life....not now and then...but ALL THE TIME. Its only up to us to choose the right things, in obedience to our Lord Jesus, that God's perfect will may be done.

I am reading 1 Samuel 8-9 where Saul is going to be anointed. The Israelites asked for a king, so that they'd be like all other nations.Now talking about being like other nations, I am strongly reminded of Jesus comparing us to salt and light. Why would Jesus pick these 2 things from our seen world to compare believers in Jesus with. I think, because when either the salt or light is missing, we know it. We know, because salt gives the food its taste and light shows the way. Its a powerful comparison. So we were never made to get so dissolved that we're not seen, but that in spite of being dissolved into something, we would exist, we could be tasted and seen, by others. They could see our life and experience God's power through our lives.

Here Israelites asked for a king, God was not very happy with their choice, but knew it would come, and gave them their choice. In the meanwhile, somewhere in one corner, Saul was growing in the Benjamite tribe. Now, one day Saul lost the donkeys he had, his father asked him to go look for them with one of the servants. These 2 could not find the donkeys, the servant suggests that they go meet Samuel, who could tell them where the donkeys went. Saul did not want to go at first, on account he did not have any gift to give Samuel. However the servant said, he had some money and they went.In the meanwhile, God has already told Samuel that Saul was going to come to meet him, and also told him what Samuel was to do with Saul.(1 Samuel 9:15). "When Samuel caught sight of Saul, the LORD said to him, "This is the man I spoke to you about; he will govern my people." (1 Samuel 9:17).

Lessons I learnt:

1. God can give you what you ask, but that may not be the best God had in mind for you- The Israelites asked for a king, God did not approve of it, but then God knew it was coming and had gave them their desire. The people would realise only later that this was a wrong choice.
2. So we goofed up, no worries, God's got you covered-Israelites would be troubled by the king only years later, God by then had a king ready for them, king David, the king after God's own heart.God knows what you're going to choose, but at every choice you make, even if it be in disobedience, God keeps a way open for you to return to Him, if only we would return. The return path to God, from disobedience to obedience and life, is always open, never shut. If we made a wrong choice ever in our life, know this, that God's plan still stands good, He can direct our ways towards the right direction as per His perfect plan, IF we are willing to let go and let God.The prodigal son, really went the wrong way, in his own free will, but his father did not despise him or make fun of him when all was lost. When the son returned, the father who waited for him daily, greeted him and took him back in his plan. How much more our Father in heaven.
3. In the meanwhile...God was working out a plan-The plan for the Israelites was laid down so much earlier, before they would go through it. God knew the points in history, where the Israelites would go away from Him. In the meanwhile God would prepare a deliverer for them someplace else, in another background.These are God's people, the Israelites. They also made some good decisions and some, not good. They lived in serious obedience and in severe disobedience too, yet in all these when I read the Word of God I find how beautifully God has orchestrated everything, that a God of Israel is now a God of Americans, Indians, Australians. Hey y'all can we see!!! God opened up His plan for everyone in the whole world, through it all. God doesn't leave us on our own to figure out life and all that it comes up with. He's right there with us, working 'in the meanwhile'. What the enemy thought for harm, God turns into a blessing. When the enemy thought killing Jesus would mean the end, it became the point of salvation for the entire mankind.

Conclusion: God has a plan for everyone, we all, everyone belong to Him (Psalm 24:1), if only we would want God's plan for our lives, that we may be blessed and be a blessing to everyone.

"28We are assured and know that [[j]God being a partner in their labor] all things work together and are [fitting into a plan] for good to and for those who love God and are called according to [His] design and purpose. "

(Amp Romans 8:28)