As from today I am going to write 'believers', that is, those who are born again through faith in Jesus Christ alone for salvation, as 'Believers'. Too many who claim to be Christians are not born again; in spite of 'serving' God they are going to be rejected by Him at the Judgment (Matthew 7:21-23). Believers believe that the whole Bible is the Word of God, designed to help us to honour Almighty God in thought, in word and in deed when we believe what His word says and do what He wants.
1 Samuel 15:1-35
... but Saul ... (v.9).
... to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams (v.22.) ... rebellion is as bad as witchcraft, and stubbornness is like idolatry and idols ... Because you rejected the word of GOD, He has rejected you from being king (v.23).
The warning to Saul about obedience being better than sacrifice (or religious activities) is also appropriate for Believers. We are to obey God's word to the letter and not decide for ourselves what He should have told us to do, ending up by only partially obeying Him.
1 Samuel 16:1-23
Jehovah said to Samuel, 'Don't look at his face ... or height, or size ... because I have rejected him: for ... man looks on the outward appearance, but I look on the heart'. (v.7)
God is never fooled by appearances and a glib tongue. Many will only find this out when they are rejected at His Judgment throne. Seeing as we can't ever fool God, it makes good sense to be honest with Him at all times. In my younger days I would get upset when God did not answer my prayers the way I wanted, and shouted at Him (but always apologised afterwards). I have since learned to accept His will, so now I don't shout. You could say I related to God much like I related to my earthly dad; saying how I felt, but never losing my respect for Him, which He could see in my heart.
Try being natural with God yourself; He understands very well!
John 8:1-20
But when they continued asking Him he ... said to them, He that is without sin among you, let him be the first to cast a stone at her (v.7)
It is a good idea to judge ourselves before passing judgment on others. If we can see that we are no better than others in God's eyes (and we aren't!) then we must surely want a compassionate judgment to be passed on us. And it will happen if we put into practice these words of Jesus:
'For with what judgment you judge [others], you shall be judged; how you measure others shall be used as a measure against you' (Matthew 7:2).
Psalm 110:1-7
I will make Your enemies Your footstool. (v.1)
YHWH? To 'my Lord'? Of course! The Father and Son of the Holy Trinity!
Just as God the Father looked after His Son , so He will look after us, but we must approach Him via Jesus' name. The name of Jesus is powerful with the Father! This, to the point where, in Jesus' name, we will be enabled to rule over all that comes against us (v.2).
Think on this: like any other father who wants to see his child succeed, God is longing to help us cope with the challenges of life!
Proverbs 15:8-10
The underlying message of the Bible is: those who honour God will be honoured by Him; those who dishonour Him are losers. Sometimes (v.10) it takes some serious testing and correction to get one who has strayed from God to return to Him.
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