The Perfect King

   So God told Israel through the prophet Samuel that they could have a king like they wanted. They believed that this was the "answer" to all their problems. The new king solve all their difficulties and all would be honky dory!!! All Samuel had to do was go out and find the "Perfect King". God led Samuel to a man named Saul who would fit the bill perfectly. 

   A man by the name of Saul became their new and first king. (1 Samuel 9:1-2)
   There was a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of  Bechorath, the son of Aphiah, a Benjamite, a mighty man of power. ² And he had a choice and handsome son whose name was Saul. There was not a more handsome person than he among the children of Israel. From his shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people. 

 THE PERFECT KING???

1 Samuel 9:1-4  Samuel began to look for just the right man to be Israel’s first king. God lead him to a man named Saul. 1 Samuel 9 describes the new king to be.

     A. Facts about Saul’s daddy:

        1. He  was a man from the Tribe of Benjamin whose name was KISH.

        2. Good family line—Ancestors and relatives.

        3. He was a man of power and influence.—”A mighty man of power”.

            He had money, land, family and influence.

     B. Facts about Saul:

        1. Choice: Only the best.     2. Handsome—The most handsome man in all of Israel.

        3. He was Tall—Head and shoulders taller than all the Israelites.

   Outwardly he would demand respect and people would be drawn to him. He LOOKED THE PART.

    Notice what it does NOT say about Saul. No mention of his relationship and walk with God.
    As you read the stories about Saul you begin to realize that he was very insecure and jealous. He had a fierce anger.  He was reluctant to be the first king and was not crazy about the job.    He was a weak military leader, putting himself before God. He did not look to God and ask for His help. In fact he disobeyed God more than once. 

   He was not a man that was after God’s own heart. For the most part he was a FAILURE as king.  And yet he ruled for about 40 years before he and his son were killed in battle.

  Then one day, God, through Samuel the prophet, had given him specific orders when he went out to battle and Saul disobeyed the Lord. He FAILED!!! (1 Samuel 15). Saul not only disobeyed God, but tried to cover it up and lied about it. He even blamed the people of Israel for his sin. (1 Samuel 15:21) God told Samuel that He now rejected Saul as king and someone else would become the new king. It would be “a man after His own heart.” 1 Samuel 13:14

  But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought for Himself a man   after His own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.” 1Samuel 13:14 That man would be a young shepherd boy named DAVID.

 Why do we always want our own way and want to do our own thing instead of listening to the Lord and do things HIS WAY!!! 

 

 

 

                                         
  

 

 

Got to Have it!

   All of us have had times when we really "thought" we "needed" something and even begged for it. We thought this item would solve all of our problems and was absolutely essential. So we finally go ahead and get it. BUT when we got it home we realized that it was not such a good deal. Maybe we broke it right away or even lost it. All our dreams went up in smoke!!! 

   When Linda and I were first married I saw a car that I really wanted in Jackson, Michigan. We bought it for $900 and brought it home. Shortly after getting the car the transmission went out and several other problems cropped up. My "dream Car" was a "dud Car." Basically we were scammed! But now it was "our car" for better or worse.

   In 1 Samuel 8 the people of Israel looked around them and saw that all the other nations had a king and they wanted to be just like them. This would be the answer to all their problems.

   For many years the people of Israel were lead by Judges, who would settle disputes among the people and lead them spiritually using God’s Word as their guide and Law Book. Samuel was the last of these Judges. BUT in 1 Samuel 8 he had 2 major problems:

    1. He made his son judges over the people. Their duty was to help Samuel with Judging the people of Israel. This job went to their head and they became greedy and dishonest. They were evil men who did not walk with God.

    2. Samuel was getting old. (Not sure just what his age was but he was declining in age and yet he ruled for a few more years.

In 1 Samuel 8, the people of Israel came to Samuel and told him they wanted a king and not a judge—JUST LIKE ALL THE OTHER COUNTRIES AROUND THEM  They came to Samuel and reminded him of the fact that he was an old
man and his sons were corrupt. God’s plan was for them to trust Him and He would be their Leader.

   Samuel could have chewed them out and told them what he thought of their plan. Instead Samuel takes this issue to the Lord. The Lord told him to let them have a king, but:

    1. Remind them of all that God had done for them over the years.

    2. Tell them just what a king would do for them. 1 Samuel 8:11-18. Key words “and they will take and take and take…” 

   A king would take: 

   1. Your sons for the military

   2. Your daughters to be the king's servants

   3. Your best fields

   4. Your grain and grapes

   5. Your male servants and females. 

   6. Your sheep

   7. Your freedom - You will be his servants...  

   BUT the people kept on demanding that they get a king instead of a judge. 

    The sad part is that they were not rejecting Samuel but the Lord. Instead of trusting the Lord with all their hearts they wanted things "their way" not God's The Lord gave them what they wanted but they soon sorry they asked for what they did not really need.  In the next lesson we will see who the first king of Israel would be.

 

King David Intro

 This past Sunday we started a new Bible series at the Barron Church. The series is on the life and times of King David in 1st & 2nd Samuel. These lessons will also be used at NorthLand Bible Camp for Bible Class time. There is more written about David in the Bible than any other character, except Jesus Himself. The first lesson starts with a simple introduction to David and who he was.Here are 14 basic facts about David that help us understand just who he was and why he was so important.

Who is King David?:   14 Facts:

   1. He was the King of Israel for 40 years starting at 30 years old.

   2. He was the youngest of 8 sons of a man named Jesse.

   3. He was born in the city of Bethlehem.

   4. He was the most popular king of all the kings of Israel.                      
       Well liked and loved by most.

   5. He was a great musician. Most famous instrument was the harp.

   6. Of the 150 Psalms he wrote over half of them.

   7. He started off as a young shepherd boy.

   8. He was very wealthy. Only Solomon, his son was richer.

   9. He was a great warrior - fought many battles for God and Israel.

  10. David means “Beloved”

  11. He lived about 1000 years before Christ

  12. He died at age 70 of natural old age.

  13 He had at least 8 different wives and at least 18 kids.

 14. He was a man after God’s own heart.  

One important fact that sticks out about David that helps us identify with him is the fact that he was anything but perfect. He FAILED much more than he succeeded. He also sinned and fell spiritually times than we can count. He was JUST LIKE YOU AND ME!!! He had a great relationship with the One True God and shared his heart with God even to the point of being very honest with God and spoke his heart. When he did sin, he confessed it before God and restored his relationship with God. He was HUMAN!!! Read Psalms 51. All you have to do is read the Psalms that David wrote and you can see his relationship with God. 

 This is just the tip of the iceberg about the life of David. At least a couple times a week I will try to post another lesson about David. You don't want to miss this series. Our prayer is that God's Word will change your life and heart. 

  ^{1 Samuel 13:14} But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.”

 

  

 

Mom and Food

 Yesterday, my mom would have been 100 years old. This brings back a lot of memories of mom over the years. One of the things that most people remember about their mom was the food they prepared. 

   We were quite poor and did not have a lot of money to buy food, but we always got by - Thanks to mom. She knew how to "Stretch" food so there was more than enough. Once the ketchup bottle was almost empty she would add a little water to make it go a little farther. When she fried the potatoes she usually added pieces of bread to make it taste better but also to make it last longer and fill us up. She loved to bake bread, cakes, pies, etc. We would come in from playing outside or working in the barn and she would be making loaves of bread and above all caramel rolls with brown sugar, cinnamon, and raisins. Poor mom, these never had a chance to get cold when we got a hold of them. The same was true with any cake she made. Us boys thought it was our duty to make sure that the whole cake was eaten up in one meal. She also made a lot fruit pies. The fruits did not come from the store, but the berry bushes in the yard or the woods. Blackberry pie, strawberry pie, choke cherry pie,  and of course apple pie. 

   She rendered her own lard and we always had "real cream" on our cereal each morning, right off the top of the milk can. We had a big garden and our job was to pull the weeds and keep the bugs off. One thing we always had enough of was potatoes. 

   When we could we would have roasted chicken (After we chopped the heads off and plucked the feathers). We ate everything except the cluck We ate the gizzards, neck and all. Ever so often we would have beef roast. Mom was almost too careful to make sure it was DONE - always with a burnt crust. We actually enjoyed a little char with our beef, as long as we had ketchup. 

   I cannot ever remember eating at a restaurant, just plain good homemade food, prepared by the best cook in the world (In our eyes). One more important thing, we always sat down and ate as a family around the table - ever so humble! We never gave thanks to God, but we were still blessed beyond measure. 

   Take a look at the pictures. I am the one in mom's arms in both photos. The other two are Clayton and Steve. 

 

1964 was a very good year

   The years was April of 1964, (60 years ago almost to the day). The place was Faith Church in Rochester, MN. I was all of 14 years old. A few weeks before this incident, the Pastor's daughter, Darlene, invited me to attend youth night at the church. The "speaker" that night was a man by the name of Don Lonie, via a recording. He was a great speaker!  After that I started to attend Faith Church on a regular basis. Thanks to our neighbors Johnie & Christine Whitcomb, I never missed a service. They were very short people and drove a Volkswagen. I always sat in the crowded back seat. 

   When Pastor Logan spoke on Sunday mornings he always gave an invitation to receive Christ. He would ask us to raise our hand if interested in trusting Christ as our Savior. The Lord began to work on my heart and one Sunday I raised my hand, but didn't go forward. The next Sunday, just a week or so before Easter, I raised my hand and went forward and the pastor lead me to Christ that day. I don't remember a lot about that day, but I do remember that from that day forward my life was not the same. Pastor Logan gave us a copy of the Gospel of John and inside was a place for our name and the date we trusted Christ as our Savior. I was so proud of that Gospel of John. I took it home and showed it to my parents, thinking they would be excited about my decision - THEY WERE NOT!!! It wasn't that they were cold and calloused, but they simply had no clue what it was all about. 

   About a month later, my mom talked with Christine Whitcomb and told her she noticed a big difference in my life and wanted what I had. Christine had the privilege of leading my mom to Christ. That was just the beginning. A few years later, Steve attended a college where his room mate lead him to Christ. Then the twins attended Bible camp and came home with a new "Friend" in Jesus. A few years after that Curt trusted Christ as his Savior. The only one left was my dad, who trusted Christ at the age of 75 - at Faith Church during a morning service.  What goes around comes around! 

WOW! Just think - 60 years!!!! Where has the time gone! 

 

 

Throw Away Leaf

   When you really think about this poor, ugly leaf it was nothing. It was one of millions in the near by woods. It just happen to fly toward the house and get stuck between 2 porch floor boards. If I wanted to I could get rid of this leaf and replace it within seconds. It was a "Throw Away" leaf of little or no real value - except to me as I watched it everyday for a month. I really believe that God allowed that little leaf to get stuck and stay on the porch without getting hurt to teach me a lesson in faithfulness and hanging in there even when things get hard and rough. 

   When you think of it there are over 8 billions people in this world today and yet God allows a handful of people in our life to be an example and to teach of Godly values. It may not be verbal teaching, but life style and example. The church we pastor in Barron is made up of a great deal of 'Cognitive Impaired Adults" who have taught us more about acceptance, love and faith than we ever thought possible. Just like the leaf, God has allowed them into our life to teach us lessons that we otherwise may never learn. They are of great value to our Holy God (and to us).  

  Take a minute and think of people God has brought into your life to teach you lessons that you may not learn otherwise. Then THANK GOD for them!!! 

 

  

The Little Leaf - Just Waited!!!

 Every day when I left our house or came back, this little leaf was waiting for us. He just stood there on our back porch stuck between 2 boards. All he was doing was WAITING!!!

   We always seem to be waiting for something. It may be Christmas, Thanksgiving, pay day, a new baby, a wedding, at a stop light waiting for the light to turn green, waiting for your name to be called in the clinic waiting room, family to come to your house, etc... But as bigger question, is what do you do while you are waiting? Read, Play on the cell phone, strike up a conversation with some else who is waiting, pray, sleep, look out the window, find something to do??? 

   When the Apostle Paul wrote to the church of the Thessalonians, they were "waiting" for Jesus to come back. The problem was while they were waiting, the did nothing, just waited. They quit their jobs and sat around "waiting" for Jesus to come. They figured that if Jesus was coming back at any moment, why should we work. Paul reprimanded them and told they need to be busy while they wait.

   This poor little leaf just waited and couldn't do anything - it was stuck. Some times there is absolutely nothing we can do while we wait, except wait! That is probably the hardest thing to do while waiting. We want to do something, but our hands are tied and can only wait and trust! 

   Paul suggested 3 things they and us could do while waiting:
#1: Give Thanks, especially for others in our life.                            

 Thus "Thanksgiving!!!! 

#2: Pray for others and their needs. Get our mind off our self and on the needs of others. 

#3: Remember what God has done in your life and how other lives have touched yours.      (1 Thessalonians 1: 2-3) 

What are you doing while you wait???