Have you ever lost your cool, and it took even you by surprise? There can be a lot of reasons that this happens, but it is always a call for us to examine our heart. In our story for today, Saul is pursuing David and trying to kill him. When Saul doesn’t get what he wants from a priest, he lashes out and orders the death of the priests, even thought they truly had nothing to do with it. 85 priests died on this day, because a man couldn’t control his temper. We see it in 1 Samuel 22:17, “Then the king said to the guards who stood about him, ‘Turn and kill the priests of the Lord, because their hand also is with David, and because they knew when he fled and did not tell me.’ But the servants of the king would not lift their hands to strike the priests of the Lord.”

The contrast to Saul’s anger, is the compassion and humility of David. David felt bad because the priests got caught up in this mess. David felt responsible for their deaths, even though it was Saul who ordered them to be murdered. Out of his compassion, David offers to protect a priest who was able to get away by the name of Abiathar.

In this story we see two ways to handle our reaction when life presents us with a difficult situation. One of them glorifies God and points to the example of Jesus, and the other reveals the sinfulness of our heart. If you were to evaluate how you responded when life throws you a curveball, which camp would you be in, Saul’s or David’s? A lot of times, when we feel that we are more like Saul, we try to rationalize our reactions or justify them. Unfortunately, before the Lord there is no rationalization or justification for sinfulness. There can only be confession and repentance. And what a blessing we can have, in that when we confess and turn from our sin, 1 John 1:9 tells us that God is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us of our sins.

So today, or whenever we are faced with a difficult challenge or we are having a bad day let us remember a few things; we can’t let our anger get the best of us and expect the blessings of God. James 1:19-20 reminds us, “Let every man be slow to speak, swift to listen, and slow to anger. For the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” Next, we need to make sure that our words are kind, compassionate, and gracious towards others. Finally, when we sin, instead of being quick to make excuses, let’s be quick to confess it to God, ask help from God to not let anger get the best of us, and be quick to seek forgiveness from those we have hurt. This is how we can let others see Jesus in us, and He is who the world needs right now.

By His grace and for His glory,

Pastor Justin

Do you have a best friend? Someone that you can call no matter the time, and for any reason, or even without a reason? In this day and age of social media, where everyone is a “friend”, I would argue that close, meaningful relationships are rare. And that is not a good thing. Connecting on social media is good. In these current times, it is the most connection we get. However, we must not confuse someone knowing us on social media with someone truly knowing us. We all need people around us who will influence us towards God, who will hold our feet to the fire, and will stand with us when the forces of darkness come at us. That is what we see in 1 Samuel 20.

1 Samuel 20:42 says, “Then Jonathan said to David, ‘Go in peace, since we have both sworn in the name of the Lord, saying, may the Lord be between you and me, and between your descendants and my descendants, forever.’ so he arose and departed, and Jonathan went into the city.”

Jonathan’s father, Saul, hates David. He hates David so much in fact, that he has tried to kill him already, and he is going to continue to try to kill him. One of those standing in Saul’s way was his son, Jonathan. Jonathan loved David, and he could see that David hadn’t done anything wrong. Therefore, in spite of the cost to him, Jonathan was going to protect David.

I see three lessons for us in the story. The big picture is the love of Jesus. In Proverbs 18, David’s son, Solomon wrote that there is one who sticks closer than a brother. That is ultimately a reference to Jesus. It reminds us of God’s deep, abiding love for us, and how He will never turn His back on us. The second lesson is that we need friends like Jonathan. We need that person that will stand up for what is right, regardless of the cost. That friend that we can call anytime day or night. That friend who will stay by our side no matter what. The final lesson that I see is that we need to be that type of friend to others. We need to be the person who loves others regardless of what they do. We must be willing to hold them accountable for the decisions they make. We must be willing to help them out when asked, and even when they don’t ask because they are too stubborn to ask or they don’t know that they need to ask. In a world of acquaintances, seek to be a friend. Know them and be known by them. It just might change your life and those around you.

By His grace and for His glory,

Pastor Justin

Have you ever heard that someone can’t see the forest for the tree? What does that mean? It means that they are caught up in what they see in front of them, instead of focusing on the bigger picture. If we are honest, we are all guilty of this at various points in our life. The key for a Christian, is to be able to humbly step back and pray that God can help you see the bigger picture. David, even at a young age, was able to do that. Proof of this, was the conversations he had with king Saul and with Goliath. David told king Saul before going out to battle Goliath, that God had already prepared him for the task of defeating Goliath. David said that God delivered David out of danger from a lion and a bear that had attacked his father’s sheep. For David, Goliath was just like this lion and bear. Then, when David went into the valley to fight Goliath, David told Goliath that God would fight for him and defeat Goliath. But it was about more than just defeating Goliath or defeating the Philistines as David says in 1 Samuel 17:46. 1 Samuel 17:46 says, “This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.”

Notice for David, this was about more than just defeating a giant, or Israel defeating their enemy. For David, this was about those nations and peoples around them seeing the power of God, and coming to worship Him as the one true God. I believe this is a timely chapter and story for what we are experiencing with COVID-19. The next to remember is, the story of David and Goliath isn’t about David. The story is about God, His power to deliver His children from danger, and to save them from all enemies. The biggest picture of all of this is the message of salvation. In that understanding, Goliath represents sin. The valley that David and Goliath met in to fight, represents the impossibility of man to bring himself to God on his own. Yet, God provided someone to fight this battle against sin, and make it possible for God to redeem us and bring us to Himself. This story is a beautiful picture of God’s plan of redeeming sinful mankind to Himself. The main takeaway from this is, we need to step back and see the bigger picture. It’s not just about what we are experiencing right now, it is about what God is going to do in the bigger scheme of things. I know things seem crazy right now, but do not fear. We don’t have to worry about what we don’t know, because there is an all-knowing, all-powerful God who knows what is going on, and has a plan for it all. Rest and trust in Him for the details of your day-to-day, but also with your life.

By His grace and for His glory,

Pastor Justin

As a parent have you ever gotten into a tug-of-war contest with a toddler? It’s hard to believe that they can have that sort of strength. But when they are determined to keep something, a struggle can ensue. The thing is, you and I are often like that as well. Maybe not with a toy or a stuffed animal, but it could be with a certain habit, certain beliefs, or even sometimes certain people. We can know that they are wrong or not beneficial to us in anyway, but we just don’t want to let it go. That is the story of today’s Bible text, at least to some degree.

While Saul may have started out as a humble king, it didn’t take long for the power to go to his head. Saul has continued to make sinful decision after sinful decision. And in his latest sinful decision, the Lord said it was going to cost Saul his kingship over Israel. God is rejecting Saul as king. Just for the record, that is not the same thing as rejecting Saul as a person. Even though God was right in rejecting Saul as king, and even though Samuel knew God was right to do so, Samuel was still grieved. Samuel was grieved for Saul, not necessarily because Saul was going to be rejected as king. Samuel saw the deep flaws and the deep spiritual need of Saul. As a side note, I think that is something that we as Christians could learn. We don’t and shouldn’t approve of sinful choices, but we must have compassion for people caught up in their sin. After all, if Jesus hadn’t had compassion on us, where would we be? The problem for Samuel was the he just kept mourning over Saul. He was trying to hold on to what God was removing. This is why God said to Samuel in 1 Samuel 16:1, “Now the Lord said to Samuel, ‘How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go; I am sending you to Jesse the Bethlehemite. For I have provided Myself a king among his sons.'” This verse is God revealing the next part of His plan, a new king; a king in the New Testament that would be referred to as a “man after God’s own heart.” What can we take away from this story for our lives today?

I think the biggest lesson for us is to trust God. We need to know that God is going to provide what we need, when we need it. Not only this, but we can trust that God will put the right people in our lives at the right time. What this ultimately means for you and I is that sometimes people and things are only going to be in our life for a season. During that season they absolutely serve a purpose, and they will be used by God for that purpose. One word of caution, sometimes that purpose is to test us and strengthen us in our faith. What I mean is that sometimes God will allow people or things to come into our lives, or better yet we bring them into our lives, and it won’t be good in the short-term. However, because God is sovereign, He can take even what we would consider bad things and turn them into blessings in the long run for us, if we keep our eyes on Him and trust Him. What this means for you and I is this, we must not try to hold on to what God is trying to remove from our lives. If God removes someone or something from us, it is because in His wisdom He knows that we don’t need it. Many times when God removes something from us, He is graciously protecting us from ourselves. Because we often think we know what is best, we make decisions without praying over them. Then, God in His love allows us to experience the consequences, which often can be painful, to teach us to pray before making decisions, and to remind us that only He knows every part of His plan for our lives. So, let’s learn to trust God in His wisdom and His grace, and let’s not reach for what God knows needs to be removed.

By His grace and for His glory,

Pastor Justin

The old saying goes, “adversity builds character.” As I have stated multiple times publicly, I believe that statement is wrong. I don’t think that adversity builds character; instead, I believe it reveals our character. Not only does it reveal our character, but I believe that adversity is what God uses to reveal who our faith is in. We get to see that in today’s text for Blogging Through The Bible In 2020.

Saul is fairly early into his reign as king in Israel. While at first Saul was shy and timid, revealing some humility when he was appointed king over Israel, that is about to change. As we see all too often, power changes people, or maybe it just reveals who they truly are. Either way, it is not a good thing for Saul. The Philistines had drawn battle lines with the Israelites. Saul and the Israelites were afraid of the size of the Philistine army. In his fear, Saul didn’t trust God, and we see the beginning of the end of his reign as king over Israel. As a contrast to his father, we see Saul’s son, Jonathan, demonstrate his faith and trust in God. 1 Samuel 14:6 says, “then Jonathan said to the young man who bore his armor, ‘come, let us go to the garrison of these uncircumcised; it may be that the Lord will work for us. For nothing restrains the Lord from saving by many or by few.'” Jonathan knew that any victory that Israel experienced was because of the power of God, not by the strength of Israel.

In this story we see some important truths for today. We must learn to keep our eyes on Jesus. Part of keeping our eyes on Jesus is remembering His faithfulness to us in the past. As I remember what God has done on my behalf in the past, my faith will be strengthened in my present circumstances. Another important lesson for us is that we must learn to trust in God’s timing. Saul had sinned by making himself a priest, because the actual priest was a few minutes late. The longer COVID-19 is going on, the more I’m starting to see people on social media profess doubt about the love, power, and presence of God. They say things such as, “If God is a God of love, why did He allow COVID-19 to get this bad.” Or I have even seen one person say, “If God is so powerful that He could snap His fingers and rid the world of COVID-19, why hasn’t He done so yet? Maybe He isn’t powerful, maybe He isn’t even there.” From a human standpoint, I get it. Many of us have grown up in church hearing sermons and stories about how much God loves the world and how powerful He is, and that He is always with us. Yet, when we look out at the world, it is hard to wrap our minds around it, and reconcile what we see with what we have been taught. Yet, I would argue it is precisely these types of times that we must have an unwavering commitment to God and His Word. This is precisely the time that we need to remember that He is God and that we are not. We only know what we know, yet there isn’t anything that God doesn’t know. Think back to being a child. Did you always understand every decision that your parents made for you? My guess is probably not. However, did those decisions work out for the best? In an overwhelming majority of the time for the majority of us the answer to that question is yes they did. This is why Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, “If you, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more so does your heavenly Father know how to give good gifts?” Right now, we are too close to the situation. We are still in the middle of the trial of COVID-19. Whether we want to admit it or not, this makes is nearly impossible for us to rightly think about our situation. We are still being reactionary. In many cases, we have gone from the fearful state to the wanting to assign blame state. Yet, I firmly believe that once this is all over, and many things have changed, we will look back on this as a tremendous blessing in disguise. Again, I don’t expect you to believe me right now, because we are still firmly in the trenches with this situation. But let’s give it some time, and see what truly comes out of this. I really believe we will be surprised. And this brings us back to trusting God’s timing. God is love, He is holy, and just. While we might think He is late, God is always on time according to His perfect plan. Therefore, we need to remember that when we can’t see the hand of God moving or understand His plan, we must trust His character. Don’t let this moment of turmoil sidetrack or shipwreck your faith. Instead, get on you knees to pray, and keep reading God’s Word to remind yourself of His goodness, His faithfulness, and His love.

By His grace and for His glory,

Pastor Justin

Have you ever met someone who felt they always had to same something? Or a person who tried to defend every decision they have made? You’ve probably heard the saying, “you can’t see the forest for the trees.” This saying accurately describes the person we were talking about. It is in this case that we can learn something from Israel’s first king.

Israel had rejected God as their king, and they demanded from Samuel, the prophet that a king be put in charge of the nation. Our text today is the end of the coronation of Israel’s first king. His name is Saul. While Saul isn’t going to remain a good king, he at least started off strong. While many in the nation were excited to have a king over them, there were those who were not thrilled that Saul had been the chosen one. 1 Samuel 10:27 says, “But some rebels said, ‘How can this man save us?’ So they despised him and brought him no presents. But he held his peace.”

No bringing the new king a present would have been a major faux pas. It would have been seen as a slap in the face by Saul and those around him. I guess the closest we can get in today’s terms is the group that doesn’t like the current President, and therefore they came up with the saying #NotMyPresident. Regardless of what you think of a leader, regardless of whether you voted for them or not, there are a few things that we should all understand. First, it is God who has appointed them as leader. In His sovereignty, God appoints leaders, both good and bad, to accomplish His purpose. Second, Paul reminds us in Romans 13 that to rebel against His ordained leaders is to rebel against God Himself. Finally, you can say what you want, but the bottom line is, they are still in leadership. Saul would have been within societal norms in his day to have these rebels killed for their revolt. However, Saul does something unexpected, but very important. Saul said nothing. He could have lashed out and gotten revenge, but he didn’t. I believe that Saul’s reaction here shows us three important things we need to learn to do when we experience opposition.

First, keep your mouth closed. A saying that I heard in a sermon years ago is this, don’t attend every fight you are invited to. That is wise, biblical advice. Proverbs 15:1 says, “A soft answer turns away wrath, but grievous words stir up strife.” Sometimes, in trying to defend ourselves or justify ourselves, we just end up making things worse. The second lesson is to pray for them. We don’t know why they are opposing us. Maybe they have good reasons, maybe they don’t. At the end of the day, just like those who are claiming “#NotMyPresident, it doesn’t change anything because he is still the President, and the people are still opposed to you for some reason. Maybe there is something going on in their life that is causing them to lash out in hurt that is masquerading as anger. Regardless of why they are opposing you, it is very possible that something isn’t right in their heart, and that is a spiritual matter. Spiritual matters can only be solved by God. Therefore, we need to pray for them. Along those same lines, we need to pray for ourselves and wisdom in the situation. Maybe they are opposing us, because we are wrong. After all, every leader, every person is fallible. When you pray for yourself, ask the Lord where you or your attitude might be wrong about this situation. It’s easier to blame other people, but we need to remember that it takes two to tango. Instead of being prideful and blaming the other person; let’s walk in humility and ask the Lord to reveal where we might be wrong. The third and final lesson is to keep our eyes on God. If we have prayed, sought God in the Scriptures, and sought biblical wisdom before making a decision, we have to trust that God will lead us to do the right thing. It may not be the popular thing, but it will be the right thing. At the end of our life, we will not stand before others and give an account for our live; we will stand before God and give an account. Therefore, if we are going to try to please anyone, it should be God. It’s important to know that seldom if ever will 100% of the people agree with your decision. Part of not attending every fight you are invited to is learning to trust that God will defend you when you need to be defended, and He will convict you when you are wrong. Keep your mouth closed, pray for them and yourself, and keep your eyes on Jesus. Those are three principles that we can live by to keep us in favor with God and with man.

By His grace and for His glory,

Pastor Justin

Have you ever really, really wanted something only to get it and wish you hadn’t? It’s called buyer’s remorse. We have all had it in one way or another in our life. But why does it happen and what is the answer to lessen the chances of buyer’s remorse? That is what we are going to look at in today’s post for Blogging Through The Bible In 2020.

Eli and his sons have died just as the Lord said would happen. Therefore, Samuel is the priest and he has raised his sons to be priests. Samuel’s sons, like Eli’s previously, grew up but did not follow in their father’s footsteps. Samuel’s sons were so wicked that the people came to Samuel and said, “we don’t want a priest to rule over us anymore, we want a king.” This broke Samuel’s heart and he tried to talk the people out of it, but they would have none of it. The people knew what they wanted and they didn’t care what Samuel or even the Lord said about it. The Lord through Samuel told the people what the king would be like, but they wouldn’t listen. Today’s text is Samuel telling the people what would happen. 1 Samuel 8:18 says, “And you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, and the Lord will not hear you in that day.”

Wow, right? God told the people, if you go down this road, you are going to regret it, but I’m not going to bail you out. The people were about to experience a judgment from God that I am convinced we face a lot of times ourselves. The judgment was this, God was going to allow them to have exactly what they wanted. They thought they knew better than the all-wise, all-knowing God. They were about to find out just how much they didn’t know. Now, before you charge the Lord with the charge of that’s not fair, let’s understand something. As the Lord was telling Samuel when he tried to keep the people from wanting a king; the people weren’t rejecting Samuel, they were rejecting the Lord. Israel already had a king. He is the sovereign, all-knowing, all-powerful King of kings. He is the One who had delivered them out of Egypt and provided for them every step of the way once they left Egypt. He is God. They already had the best King possible. What it reveals is the stubbornness of the human heart. In our sin nature, we want to control our own destiny, we want to call the shots in our own lives. Instead of living under the best and most benevolent King, we want to be our own king. And just like our parents used to tell us, be careful what you ask for, because you just might get it.

The answer for Israel and the answer for you and I is the same, we need to realize that the true King is not only the only King, He is the best King. The prophet Isaiah declares that God knows the end from the beginning. That is, God knows how it is going to turn out long before we even see it on the horizon. So, why in the world would we, who only have finite knowledge, think we were better equipped to handle our lives and situations better than the One with infinite knowledge? Therefore, we need to spend more time in prayer and less time analyzing a situation, making a pro-con list, and trying to make the right choice. In prayer, we can learn not only what the right choice is for God’s glory and our good, but we can also learn to see that God’s choice is always the best choice. So let’s spend more time on our knees in humility admitting just how much we don’t know, so that God can reveal what He knows is best for us.

By His grace and for His glory,

Pastor Justin

Have you ever met someone who is a fan of a certain sports team that can be difficult to get along with? It’s not just that they are a fan of a certain team, it is that they feel like they have to put down every other team. Or, have you ever been around a know-it-all, or someone who thought they were a know-it-all? How much do you enjoy being around them? My guess if probably not much. In today’s text we are going to see an example of this from a religious standpoint. 1 Samuel 2:17 says, “Therefore the sin of the young men was very great before the Lord, for men abhorred the offering of the Lord.”

The “young men” in this verse are the sons of the priest at that time. The priest’s name was Eli. He has two sons who served as priests with him, but as you can see from the text above, they were not a godly example. They corrupted the Old Testament sacrificial system so much that people didn’t want to be around them, and it turned them off to God and the things of God.

Brothers and sisters, we must be careful of the words that we say and the way we live. There is a world that is watching us. Honestly, some of them want to see Christians fail; not because they are against Christians per se, but when they see you and I fail, they allow themselves to feel better about their own sin. One area that I really see this is in the arena of social media. I have to be honest, sometimes I read what a brother or sister says on social media, and I don’t like them. In the day and age where everyone has an opinion, and feels like they have to share it, we need to remember that our calling as Christians is to influence people towards Christ, not away from Him. So before you post on social media ask yourself a few questions. First, is what I am about to post kind? Is what I’m about to post necessary? Just because the thought goes through our mind, doesn’t mean it needs to come out of our mouth or off of our fingers. Is this something that I should talk to the person about personally and privately? Again, not everything should be debated on social media. In fact, I would say that very little should be debated on social media. If it is a matter of a sin or a misunderstanding, you need to have an in person conversation or at a minimum, a conversation over the phone. Finally, ask yourself the question, is this going to encourage people? In a world of negativity, cynicism, and hostility, we need to encourage others. Just remember, people are watching and listening to us, and God has placed them in our path to point them to Him. Let’s get busy influencing the world for Jesus and pointing people to Him. Let’s make it to where when people want to criticize us, they have nothing they can grab ahold of.

By His grace and for His glory,

Pastor Justin

Have you ever struggled to figure life out? That’s a crazy question isn’t it? We all at some point have to scratch our head and wonder, what in the world is going on? I believe there are a lot of people trying to do that right now with COVID-19. I want us to see in today’s text that we can trust that God is working all things out for His glory and His children’s good. Ruth 4:14 says, “Then them women said to Naomi, ‘Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you without a close relative, and may his name be famous in Israel.'”

When Naomi first came back to Bethlehem after 10 years of living in Moab, she didn’t want to be called Naomi anymore. Instead, she wanted to be called Mara, which means bitter. Naomi looked at the circumstances of her life and felt like God was punishing her, like He didn’t love her anymore. Yet, as we come to the close of the book in today’s text we see just the opposite. We see that God was working His plan out the entire time. Not just a plan for Naomi’s good, but ultimately what was going to be the for world’s good. We know this because the son that Ruth and Boaz had was the next link in the Messianic line. That is why Ruth 4 ends with giving a short genealogy that mentions David. While they were meaning Boaz or his son, when the ladies were talking about may he be famous in Israel, they didn’t realize just how famous the eventual offspring from this family’s line would be.

The book of Ruth is a tale of tragedy that ends in triumph. It pictures the victorious life of a Christian. Because no matter how bad things seem to be in our lives right now, because Jesus rose from the dead, the child of God has this blessed hope, that one day we were be in the eternal presence of the Savior who died for us. I’m not trying to make light of the difficult circumstances we find ourselves in right now. These are truly trying times. However, as a Christian, we can face uncertain days as the hymn says, “because He lives.” I don’t know what God is trying to accomplish through COVID-19, but I know that He is using it for His glory and our good. May His kingdom grow because people are surrendering and bowing their heart and life to Jesus. May the church be purified and live out the Great Commission during this time and beyond.

By His grace and for His glory,

Pastor Justin

Can people really tell that I am a disciple of Jesus? Am I truly saved or am I deceiving myself? These are questions that many people ask from time to time about their life. However, God doesn’t want us to live in uncertainty. He wants us to know definitively if we truly belong to Him or not. The way that we can know is by how we live our life. It’s not enough to say that you believe in God or that you love Jesus. That profession will be proven true by the way we conduct our lives as we see in today’s text. Ruth 2:11 says, “And Boaz answered and said to her, ‘It has been fully reported to me, all that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband, and how you have left your father and your mother and the land of your birth, and have come to a people home you did not know.'”

Naomi and Ruth have had a hard life. Both of their husbands died and left them as widows. They have traveled back to Naomi’s home town of Bethlehem. Ruth is from Moab and so she would have been seen as an outsider by the Jews is Bethlehem. However, Ruth had made a profession to leave her family’s false gods and to love the One true God. The genuineness of her profession is seen in her leaving her land and her family, as well as, how she is treating Naomi. This points us to what Jesus said in John 13 that people will know that we belong to Him by our love for others.

The proof that we have been saved is going to be much more than just the words that we say. It will be proven by our love for others. A love that is sacrificial, putting the needs of others before our own. While we have seen many terrible stories of people hoarding during the COVID-19 pandemic, we have also seen incredible stories of love and sacrifice for the good of others. These are hallmark traits of disciples of Jesus. How is God calling you to show sacrificial love to those around you? Will the genuineness of your love and faith been revealed by how you live during this time?

By His grace and for His glory,

Pastor Justin