May 21, 2010, 9:42 AM
SPIRITUAL DIARY
My Worship Time Focus: Deception
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: 1Sam. 13:10-12
Message
of the verses: “ 10 As soon as he finished
offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him
and to greet him. 11 But Samuel said,
"What have you done?" And Saul said, "Because I saw that the
people were scattering from me, and that you did not come within the appointed
days, and that the Philistines were assembling at Michmash, 12 therefore I said, ’Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not
asked the favor of the LORD.’ So I forced myself
and offered the burnt offering."
As
stated in an earlier SD this section or chapter, (13), begins the downfall of
Saul. There are three lies or deceptions
that are found in this section and I will go into them later, but first I want
to quote from Warren Wiersbe’s commentary, “Be Faithful,: “People who are good at making excuses are rarely good at anything else,
and those who are quick to blame others shouldn’t complain if others blame them.--Throughout his career, King Saul was
adept a minimizing his own sins, and emphasizing the faults of others, but this
isn’t the way a man of God leads God’s people.”
Saul’s first deception was the way that he cordially greeted Samuel at
Gilgal, like nothing happened, like what did I do wrong. He had just taken the place of a priest in
offering a sacrifice which was totally against the Law of God.
Now
the second deception was in blaming Samuel for being late, and then for the
soldiers leaving camp and that is why he had to offer the sacrifice. Now this was discussed in yesterday’s SD that the offering of the sacrifice was like the Ark of God being
taken out to the battle field that was described earlier in 1 Samuel, it was
only done as a “good luck charm.”
The
third lie or deception was when he said that he had to force himself to offer
the sacrifice. Why did he not force
himself to get on his knees to pray to the Lord for guidance? Saul was in a panic and this is a good time
to settle back and just trust the Lord for guidance and direction.
Spiritual
meaning for my life today: I suppose
that there are times when blaming someone else for something that happened in
you life is actually true and factual.
However if there is sin in my life that I need to confess then I should
do that, and then look to the Lord for guidance and direction for in His Word
He promises: “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to
those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” There are many times in my life
that things don’t work out the way that I
want them to, but I have to remember that it is God who is in charge of my life
and I am not privileged to know all of the details that He knows.
There
are times when I blame others for what is going on in my life that is wrong on
my part and those are the times when I need to seek their forgiveness and
forgiveness from God and not continue down that path.
My Steps of Faith for Today:
1. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and
righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
2. Be sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s promptings in my life when I am blaming someone else for the problems
in my life.
May 21, 2010, 10:19 AM
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