1 Samuel 24:1-22
Afterward David felt bad about cutting off Saul's skirt (v.5). David said to his men, The LORD forbid that I should wrong my master, the LORD'S anointed, by reaching out against him, seeing as he is the Lord's anointed (v.6).
David had great respect for the Lord, which is why his conscience made him feel bad about what he afterwards saw as an attack on Saul. David acknowledged that Saul was one of God's anointed, even if he was trying to kill David. Because he respected Saul's anointing, God made sure that David was blessed as the anointed king of Israel. Believers should show the same kind of respect to one another, even those they disagree with, for believers are the anointed of God! The respect we show to others will be shown to us in turn.
1 Samuel 25:1-44
'The name of the man was Nabal ... churlish, and evil in what he did' (v.3).
When someone is wealthy, the world regards he or she as someone who has a worthwhile message to listen to, even though possession of wealth does not always go hand in hand with intelligence, common sense and good character. Although wealthy, Nabal (whose name means 'fool') had no common sense and this showed in his response to David's men. Maybe it was the idea of parting with some of his wealth that caused him to make a wrong decision.
Believers, guided by the Bible, know that the only worthwhile message for the world to hear is the gospel of salvation for all who will believe in Jesus. Jesus' words will not pass away, but heaven and earth will pass away, along with the worthless words of mankind.
John 10:22-42
I give to them eternal life; they shall never perish, nor shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, Who gave them to me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one (vv.28-30).
When we place our trust in Jesus we are placing our trust in Almighty God, for Jesus and our Father are one. There is a lot going for us, believers!
I do not believe in the doctrine of 'Once saved, always saved', which some think Jesus is saying when He declares, 'They shall never perish'. Know that, although no man can pluck us out of God's hands, we can personally choose to walk away from God, or become apostate, or, as Paul put it, 'be shipwrecked' in our faith. Praise God that as long as we place our trust in Him to take care of us there is no danger of shipwreck.
Psalm 116:1-19
'Because God has listened to my prayer I will worship Him as long as I live' (v.2).
The psalmist has not had it easy to judge from his words, but that has not stopped him from praising the Lord and serving him with all his heart.
The writer has in mind service while still alive on earth; believers know that serving the Lord will never end. Our born again state is about 'everlasting life', which means that just as soon as our earthly days for worshiping the Lord are over we continue praising Him along with the multitude that have gone before. Hallelujah! Believers are indeed blessed!
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