100 Friday April 10, 2009

100 1 Samuel 013 – 015; Mark 016

A Blessed Good Friday to you all.

Bring out the cake and let's celebrate we have reached the 100th day.

Saul came out of nowhere to become king of Israel. You could say he rocketed to the top and then came down almost as fast. Saul did something that was unthinkable because he was not a priest. He made a sacrifice unto the Lord when he was to wait for Samuel. What was he thinking, to pick up the sacrifices that only a priest handles and make offerings to God. I think the Bible tells us what he was thinking. He was thinking that he was going to lose the battle and so he took matters into his own hands.
Samuel's words to Saul, "God is out looking for your replacement right now."

In the meantime, Saul's son Jonathan, took a step of faith and went to attack the Philistines with only his armor bearer. God used their step of faith to take down the Philistines. Saul was not a great man but he had a great son. Jonathan is not the main character in these books but he is one of the leaders who started well and finished well.
Jonathan felt God was greater than the enemy and went with a plan to see if God would help them. Jonathan went to the Philistine camp with a different attitude than his father Saul. What is your attitude toward God and His plan for your life? It is as if Saul wanted to help God out with his plans--by the way God doesn't need our help. We need to have more of Jonathan in our heart. Jonathan had courage but it was tempered with wisdom.
Jonathan had faith but it was not blind faith, it was a "let's see if God is in this?" kind of faith.
I hope you read the rest of today's Scripture because you will see Saul at it again--being foolish.
God save us from ourselves and draw us nearer to you.

It is a grand announcement that the women heard at the site of Jesus’ burial. The women were concerned about who was going to move the stone that lay in front of the tomb. When they had arrived the stone had already been moved. It is then that the angel announces that the Lord had risen from the dead. Those words are powerful and can never be duplicated. No other savior has ever been raised from the dead and none of them ever claimed that they would be raised from the dead. Yes it is Good Friday and we focus on our Savior dying for us and being buried for us and yet we can never forget that Christ beat the final enemy—death!