Yesterday was Easter. A day on which Christians gathered together to celebrate the resurrection of our perfect, loving, and living king - Jesus. Today's reading in the Daily Walk Bible deals with another king - Saul. A king who, unlike Jesus, was flawed and egocentric.
Yesterday, we celebrated Jesus life. Today, we read about Saul's death.
The Daily Walk Bible's notes summarize Saul's life and death as follows:
"In contemporary English, the word tragedy is used to describe any severe adversity, regardless of its cause. But more specifically, a tragedy is a calamity that results from a wrong decision arising from a flawed character. Using this definition, Saul's life was a true tragedy. It held much promise of success for himself and the nation, yet it ended in defeat and disgrace - all because pride and self-will led him to rebel against God's commands."
Saul is not the first, nor will he be the last, to have a life of great potential marred and destroyed by his own pride, sin and rebellion.
Jesus' life. Saul's life. Whose life does ours more closely align with?
Monday, March 24, 2008
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Promises
Is there something that you are waiting for God to do?
What are you hoping for?
Have you been praying for something yet feel like God has been pretty unresponsive?
The final words of today's reading (Joshua 18-21) show us a great thing about God's character - He keeps His promises. Listen to these words:
So the Lord God gave Israel all the land he had sworn to give to their forefathers, and they took possession of it and settled there. The Lord gave them rest on every side, just as he had sworn to their forefathers . . . not one of all the Lord's good promises to the house of Israel failed; every one was fulfilled (Joshua 21:43-45).
Not one of God's good promises failed.
One thing we know about God is that His character cannot change. So, the same God who kept His promises to the Israelites will keep His promises to us. However, as we know from Israel's story and our own stories, God does not always keep those promises as quickly as we might like or according to the script we write out.
God has not promised us a bigger house. God has not promised good health to us and our families. God has not promised to shield us from all the painful shockwaves of life in a fallen world. God has not guaranteed wealth. (Quite honestly, I deeply wish He had promised all those things).
However, He has promised that He will never leave us. He has promised that He has not forgotten us. He has promised that one day there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain (Rev 21:4).
I can't wait till those promises are fulfilled.
What promises are you longing to have fulfilled? Are you waiting well for the fulfillment of those promises?
What are you hoping for?
Have you been praying for something yet feel like God has been pretty unresponsive?
The final words of today's reading (Joshua 18-21) show us a great thing about God's character - He keeps His promises. Listen to these words:
So the Lord God gave Israel all the land he had sworn to give to their forefathers, and they took possession of it and settled there. The Lord gave them rest on every side, just as he had sworn to their forefathers . . . not one of all the Lord's good promises to the house of Israel failed; every one was fulfilled (Joshua 21:43-45).
Not one of God's good promises failed.
One thing we know about God is that His character cannot change. So, the same God who kept His promises to the Israelites will keep His promises to us. However, as we know from Israel's story and our own stories, God does not always keep those promises as quickly as we might like or according to the script we write out.
God has not promised us a bigger house. God has not promised good health to us and our families. God has not promised to shield us from all the painful shockwaves of life in a fallen world. God has not guaranteed wealth. (Quite honestly, I deeply wish He had promised all those things).
However, He has promised that He will never leave us. He has promised that He has not forgotten us. He has promised that one day there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain (Rev 21:4).
I can't wait till those promises are fulfilled.
What promises are you longing to have fulfilled? Are you waiting well for the fulfillment of those promises?
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