In this passage, the Old Testament prophet, Samuel, speaks to the people after God had provided them with a visible king. Samuel reminds them not to forget that God had delivered them in the past from their enemies when they had called upon Him.

He then points out to them that they had done evil by asking for a king. By doing this they had rejected God, the one who had delivered them from their enemies. In spite of this terrible thing they had done, Samuel tells them not to fear because they are God’s people. He also gives them a stern warning that if they persist in doing evil both them and their king will suffer.

This message points forward to something marvelous ……. Jesus has come as both God and King for all those who turn to Him and trust in what He has done at the cross. They are not to forget Him and they are not to fear because He is in control.

 

 

 

 

Testing of faith is not judgement but more like refinement. It is a gracious thing from God. It proves the genuineness of faith. The trials that come are actually helpful when viewed in a right way. They are painful but necessary.

Testing often occurs in having to wait for something. It is easy when things happen in a way that can be seen but what about the things that cannot be seen. The passage shows that king Saul was relying on what he could see ….. he wasn’t really considering the things he could not see.

As a result of this Saul forfeits God’s blessing. His heart was not after the Lord. The Philistines came against him with a much stronger army and the people became afraid. Both he and his soldiers should have trusted in almighty God, not what they could see.

Once people really see the cross they know that they can trust God in anything.

 

 

This is a very valid question to ask for someone who has been thinking about the gospel (‘good news’) but not understanding the Christian life.

Most Christians can identify with a person who may be considering this question, ‘how do I get faith’, because there was a time in their life when they didn’t believe either. There was a time when they had some knowledge of God and the gospel but it didn’t seem to make sense to them.

The simple answer to the question is that ‘faith comes by hearing’ …… i.e. reading the Scriptures (the gospels are a good place to start) and especially listening to the preaching of the gospel. One of the Links from this site goes to a church website for listening to sermons on line.

It should also be said that believing in Jesus cannot be separated from having a sense of need. The prodigal son in the well-known parable returned to the father out of a sense of need. Jesus name means ‘saviour’. He came to save people from their sins. Here is another reason to read the Scriptures or listen to sermons because in them we begin to see that we are all very needy people.

 

 

There is a connection between the creation of new life and the ‘good news’ of Jesus Christ. In these passages, which are placed toward the very beginning of Scripture we find two things. Firstly that the man and the woman were brought together and ‘they became one flesh’. The outcome of this was that children were created.

The second thing we find is that, after the fall into sin through the temptation by the serpent, Satan, there is a mention of the gospel … ‘he will crush your head’. This is a reference to what Jesus was coming to do on the cross. By paying the price for sin, as a substitute, all who receive what Jesus has accomplished, are blessed with ‘new life’. They are made a new creation.

At the cross we see the horror of our sins. We also see the wonder of God’s love. Everyone who turns to Jesus and receives, by the hand of faith, what he has purchased for us is ‘born again’.

 

 

God’s king can never be taken down

The kingdoms of this world are all about power and control. This is very unlike the kingdom of the Lord Jesus. In these passages we see a challenge to the rule of King David by his son Absalom. Absalom promoted himself by pointing out the deficiencies in his father’s rule. He became powerful to such an extent that his father had to go into exile.

Even in this God answered the prayer of King David and provided a way in which someone faithful to him was left behind in Jerusalem. This person gave bad advice to Absalom which resulted in him chasing and underestimating the army of his father. Absalom was killed as a result of the battle and his father once again ruled the nation.

The strange part of this is that David was heartbroken at the death of his son, the one who had tried to kill him. The reason for David’s grief was likely the result of his own guilt. The trouble in David’s family had arisen as a result of his sexual sin with Bathsheba and subsequent murder of her husband. David’s victory, however, is a reminder that God’s king, Jesus Christ, can never be taken down. He lived a perfect life and became king through the agony of the cross. His resurrection showed that he has won the victory over sin and death for all those trust in Him, being transformed by his grace.

 

In Chapter 1 of his letter to the church in Rome the apostle Paul says …. “for in it (the gospel) the righteousness of God is revealed”. Jesus is God’s ‘rightness’. He is completely without wrongdoing because he was and is and always will be God. He always does what is right. The Law and the Prophets (the Old Testament writings) pointed to Him and now He has been fully revealed to us.

All mankind is naturally self righteous ……. trying to justify ourselves by what we do or what we have achieved. In this passage we see that receiving by faith, what Jesus has accomplished for us on the cross removes any need for a righteousness of our own. Its like a change of clothes.

Jesus laid aside His heavenly glory, took on flesh and then gave Himself up to an agonising death in order to give us God’s righteousness. It could be called an ‘exchange’ of righteousness. This offer is free to all people without distinction because “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

 

 

The early chapters of the book of Genesis tell us about who we are, what is our purpose and why we do things that are wrong. There is also a pointer here to the remedy for wrong and how that would come about through the cross.

The final chapters in Scripture, at the end of the book of Revelation, tell us about the future. In these passages we find out about the perfect nation. It is called the holy city and the New Jerusalem. In it we see that God’s grace from the throne and of ‘the Lamb’, Jesus Christ, flows like a river. There will no longer be any curse causing wrongdoing and there will no longer be any night. God is the light who gives illumination.

This is the culmination of the well- known gospel message of John 3:16. All who trust in and turn to Jesus will not perish but have eternal life. It doesn’t get any better than this. The message is for every person in every nation who comes to Him for forgiveness. This is the most important matter of life.

 

 

 

Have you ever wanted to be free from worry … free from the feeling of being ’stuck’ in a situation over which you have no control? There is a desire, especially in the West, for freedom to do and be whoever and whatever we want and not be accountable to anyone. In this passage Jesus tells the Jewish followers they are not free unless they hold to his teaching. If they do this they will know the truth and the truth will set them free.

We see in the Jews response that they misunderstood this …’We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone.’ Jesus goes on to say ‘everyone who sins is a slave to sin.’ In this he is trying to show them that the real bondage they need to be set free from is sin. Sin and the guilt which comes from it has a type of paralysing effect on peoples’ lives.

The real freedom, which everyone needs, can only be found in Jesus Christ and what he has accomplished on the cross as a substitute. That is why he says ‘if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.’ Those who are truly free know that, through faith, all their sins, past, present and future, have been forgiven. They have a clear conscience before God. This is to be ‘free indeed.’

 

 

 

No sin is greater than God’s grace but sin will always have consequences in our life. In these passages we find the well known account of King David’s adultery with Bathsheba. We are told that king David got up from his bed one night and, while walking around on the roof, he saw a woman bathing. David enquired about who she was and found out that her husband was away at war. So he sent for her and committed adultery with her. To cover this up, when he could find no other way, he gave instructions to the commander of the army, to place her husband in such a position in battle that he would be killed.

Such is the case that there is often a connection between the sin of adultery and murder. David is confronted by Nathan the prophet because he became aware of what had been done. David is deeply repentant and, even though the matters involved and their ongoing consequences for his family were very serious, he is forgiven. We find David’s response in the well-known Psalm 51 where we see his heartfelt remorse. Surprisingly we also see that his relationship with God is intact. It is a vital reminder to us that either God’s grace will rule our lives or sin will. We see this amazing grace on public display at the cross.

 

 

There are many aspects to this debate which concern who we are, why we are here, and how we are to relate to other people … but it is not primarily about us.

In these passages we have a higher wisdom. They tell the story of creation, why things went wrong and how things are being put right again. We can be so busy looking horizontally that we forget there is another dimension. These passages will take time to read and consider but it is well worth the effort.