To know the Lord

   In 1 Samuel 3:7 it says, "Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, nor had the word of the Lord yet been revealed to him."

    In 1 Samuel 3, we begin to read about Samuel's first encounters with the Lord.  Samuel was a child who was dedicated since he was weaned by his mother to serve the Lord in the temple.  She left him with a man named Eli, who was priest at that time.  Samuel grew up as Eli's assistant in the temple,  But, scripture tells us here in 1 Samuel 3:7, that he did not yet know the Lord.  The word know is the Hebrew word yada', which means that he did not know the Lord by his own experience.  He had not yet recognized who the Lord is in his own life.  The Bible tells us this because in this story the Lord was trying to speak to Samuel and Samuel didn't recognize his voice.

    One thing I noticed is that when Samuel runs to Eli, Eli tells Samuel that when the Lord speaks to you to say,"Speak, Lord, for Thy servant is listening."   Yet, that is not what Samuel says.  Samuel says, "Speak, for Thy servant is listening."  You may think that I am splitting hairs here, but I noticed that Samuel did not yet call him "Lord".  Maybe because he was just a small kid.  Maybe because he didn't really know him as Lord.

    I also think it is interesting that though he is a small child, the Lord entrusts him with a big and somewhat scary message.  I wonder to myself what the rest of that night was like for Samuel.  Samuel heard that Eli and his family were going to be judged.  This is the man who had taken care of him since he was little.  The story really doesn't tell us if Samuel worried about himself in this passage.  I wonder if he did.  It only tells us that he was scared to tell the message to Eli.

   It reminds me of the vision that John had in Revelations 10:10.  An angel gives John the taste of eating a book.  The book has words on it on the inside and outside.  John says about this, "And I took the little book out of the angel's hand and ate it, and it was in my mouth sweet as honey, and when I had eaten it, my stomach was made bitter."  I think it was made bitter because sometimes the Word of God is both sweet and also has a bitter, harder side to it.  Sometimes we hear things we don't want to hear.  Sometimes it isn't just a sweet and warm message that God gives us.  That is something that Samuel found out from the very beginning.  He also learned another important lesson: that the God he served is holy.

   God also wants us to know Him as he wanted Samuel to know Him.  He wanted us to know him and perceive him for ourselves.  He still speaks to us today.  Some of us may not recognize his voice at first.  The joy of knowing God is a huge joy and honor, yet he doesn't water down his message for us.  Paul said about knowing God, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish in order that I may gain Christ," (Phil 3:8).  Paul was literally saying that he counted all things like human waste compared to the joy of knowing Christ.  Do you know Him?  He still wants to speak to you today?

Sowers and Soil

    I was reading through Mark 4 today when I ran across the story of the soil and the sower.  What caught my attention was when Jesus spoke about the thorns that came up and made the Word unfruitful.   What is interesting is what type of things make the word unfruitful.  Jesus mentions three things: the worries of the world, deceitfulness of riches and desire for other things.  What struck me about this is that these are not blatant sins like murder or treason or something horrible, but sins that most of us at one time or another would be guilt of.  They are sins that may even at times seem socially acceptable or the sins of a high achiever or type A personality.  We don't lock people up in prison because they were worried or were consumed with interest in other things.  Yet, these are the things that make the word unfruitful.

     Jesus said the worries of the world and I think about my own problems with worry.  Why is this such a big deal?  I think it is because it is hard to be worried and to also be filled with trust.  This world is an uncertain place where tragedy can strike at a moment.  Yet, Jesus told us that worry cannot add a cubit to our life's span Matthew 6:25-32.  Worry tends to steal our joy and can be consuming to the point that some people have panic attacks and their fear literally can make a person sick.

     The deceitfulness of riches is something Jesus also mentions.  I looked up the word deceitful in the dictionary and it says that deceitfulness is an attempt or disposition to deceive or lead into error, any declaration, artifice or practice which misleads, causing him to believe what is false, fraud.  Jesus is saying that despite what Wall Street or Hollywood says that riches are deceitful.  One other thing that I think of here is that riches take our priorities away from the kingdom.  Jesus clearly said in Matthew 6:33 that as a believer I am to seek first His kingdom and not building my own.

      The other thing is the desire for other things.  It's interesting that you don't need a greek lexicon to understand these words that Jesus is using.  They are exactly what it appears they are.  Desire means a craving, longing and is the word Epithumia.  Jesus is talking about a general desire which takes the place of desiring him.  It is something that takes the place of and the person devotes their time to.  As a result of doing this, Jesus says it literally chokes out the fruitfulness of the Word.

       Which leads us to the hard part about this, which is asking does this describe you and me?  Am I being fruitful in doing God's Word or am I consumed with worry or chasing after what the world says is important?  Am I truly putting the kingdom of God and His righteousness first or my own priorities?  Am I truly abiding in Jesus to the point where He is bearing fruit through me or not John 15:1-5.

Dealing with Life's Pressures

    This last week, I was going through my bookshelves and ran across a bible study series by Charles Stanley that I never started.  It is called "Dealing with Life's Pressures".  So, I decided to use it this last week during my morning quiet times.  I did a study on how to handle adversity and how to handle guilt.  I just wanted to take a moment to share some thoughts about the lesson on guilt.

    God's forgiveness is so amazing that when we ask for it it is freely given to us.  He has promised in passages like 1 John 1:9 to wash us clean from sin because of the blood of Christ.  The problem comes not from believing that God has forgiven me.  The one who has the toughest problem is when I have to forgive myself.  I really can stay in and focus on and beat myself up over faults of the past instead of letting them go. 

    The problem becomes, when I act as though because I have problems forgiving myself that God must also have problems forgiving me.  Turns out, that God actually does what I ask him to do when I ask it.  He actually and truly forgives and lets it go.  I can accept that in my mind sometimes far easier than I can accept it in my heart.  In my heart, I may feel as though because I have trouble letting it go that I am not worthy of his love or acceptance.  I may feel as though it isn't possible that God could truly and completely forgive me.  It is almost as if I asking God by my thoughts and actions not to forgive me because I don't deserve it. 

    And in a significant way, the Bible agrees with the idea that I don't deserve it.  I don't see anywhere in the Bible that it refers to forgiveness as something that is earned.  Instead, I read words like "grace" and "mercy".  Dr.Stanley says it this way "Grace is the unmerited favor of God.  When God deals with His children, He always deals with grace.  Grace is something we don't deserve, but something He freely provides."

   Instead of focusing on how I feel, which is undeserving and that surely God must still be mad at me, I need to focus on the truths found in his word.  Some passages that Dr.Stanley mentioned that I found helpful was passages such as in Romans 5:1,9 where it talks about how we are justified by his blood.  Also, Romans 8:16,17 where it says that we are now adopted into the kingdom of God.  Also, Ephesians 1:5-6 where it says that we have been predestined to adoption as sons through Jesus.  He also mentions that guilt is one of Satan's favorite tools of deception to rob christians of joy and peace.