Good morning,
Praise the Lord for this new day. It is going to be in the upper 80's to low 90's today -- either way a record breaking temperature. We will gather for our mid-week service at 6 PM with a special meal followed by Bible study.
I had a call from a missionary and evangelist named Alex, a Russian brother in Christ. He and his team are working in Russia and other parts of Europe, spreading the Gospel. They use these daily devotions as their team's group devotions. Alex said that they had been having difficulty locating these devotions on the web, because my homepage was down. The devotions are now posted on my home page brownnaik.blogpost.com. We are so blessed to share the Word of the Lord together. Our dear friend Julie in Oklahoma posts these devotions on a daily basis.
God’s will is not to make our lives miserable, but to make our lives blessed. In the story recorded in 1 Samuel 9, Israel made a choice that was less than God’s best for their lives. We are free to obey or disobey God. Though God has a perfect will for each life, God gives us a great deal of freedom to make our own choices in life. When we choose less than God’s best he still does not abandon us. It grieved God and his prophet Samuel that Israel had demanded a king. Samuel was sent to reason with Israel but Israel replied, “No, we want a king like all the other nations.” Thinking that they knew what was best, they took counsel of their own hearts and, having chosen a course independent of God, they proceeded at once to follow it.
Sometimes the most severe judgment God can exercise upon us is to let us have our own way. The Prodigal son in Luke 15 had the freedom to make his choice. As a result he ended up withe pigs. Yet, even when we reject God’s best he does not forsake his people. Most of us are painfully aware that things would be far better in our lives if we made wiser decisions. I believe that it is especially frustrating to realize whatever we go through now is the result of poor past decisions in our lives, times when we settled for less than God’s best.
Saul lived only five miles from Samuel but he had never even heard of the famous prophet. Perhaps he was like so many in our day, against church and the Lord. Perhaps he did not make knowing the Lord a vital part of his life. All of Saul’s good qualities did not guarantee success. Saul had so much going for him. What a pity he turned away from God and failed! Saul’s career as king began as the sun was coming up. His career ended with the sun going down when, at night, Saul disguised himself and went and consulted a witch. In his fear and lack of direction, he was more willing to call on an evil soothsayer than to trust in and follow the Word of the Lord.
In Jesus the King of kings and the Lord of lords.
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGbuz8QuhmE
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