“Who’s the Big Guy?” – I Samuel 17:48-51

I Samuel 17:48-51

“When the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. And David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone and slung it and struck the Philistine on his forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the ground.

So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. There was no sword in the hand of David. Then David ran and stood over the Philistine and took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him and cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.”

The music conference had ended late the previous night, and I was up before 6am to leave Houston, Texas, and head home to Denham Springs, Louisiana. With luggage in tow, I entered the elevator on the seventeenth floor for my journey to check out. As we descended, space became filled with young men much taller than myself. The lobby was filled with giant folks. A seven-foot, four inch basketball player told me about their competition tournament. I thought I had shrunk during the night.

The Israelite and Philistine armies had squared off for battle in the valley of Elah. The Israel army’s faith had shrunk due to a nine-foot Goliath taunting their faith, ability, freedom, and life. The Philistines seemed to have the upper hand. Only the young shepherd, David, remembered who he was fighting for, and where his strength would come from. Not standing in his own strength or power, but standing in the name of the Lord. The victory was won!

Giants taunt us every day; cancer, covid, diabetes, heart disease, school, work, home, and relationships. Are you looking at the battle through your own strength? There is a much greater design waiting to help us. Let’s pick up the five smooth stones of prayer, praise, scripture, worship, and faith. The battle is the Lords!

So, who’s the big guy taunting your life this very day?
If God puts a Goliath in front of you…
that means He thinks
there’s a David inside of you.

“Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord” Zechariah 4:6

While using the HEAR method (see below) consider the following question:

  • What are some ways that you can stay focused on God instead of the giants ahead of you? 

Highlight – what words or phrases jump out at you? 

Explain – what does the passage mean? 
Apply – how does the passage intersect with your life today? 
Respond – how is God leading you to respond?
Jim Sellers, Worship Pastor and YAH Director

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“The Coming and Going of God’s Spirit” – 1 Samuel 16:21-23

1 Samuel 16:21-23

“And David came to Saul and entered his service. And Saul loved him greatly, and he became his armor-bearer. And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, “Let David remain in my service, for he has found favor in my sight.” And whenever the harmful spirit from God was upon Saul, David took the lyre and played it with his hand. So Saul was refreshed and was well, and the harmful spirit departed from him.”

Ronald Youngblood calls this passage the “literary, historical, and theological crux of 1 Samuel as a whole.”* It is the literal middle of 1 Samuel and the crossing point of leadership as Saul began his descent and David his rise as Israel’s ruler.

One of the markers in this transition was the mention earlier in the text that God had removed His spirit from Saul and placed His power on David. In a subtle turn, God moved so this young shepherd was brought into the palace to bring solice to the troubled king. In the Old Testament, the mention of God’s Spirit coming on someone didn’t refer to salvation, but the presence of power of God in order to carry out a certain task. It showed God’s favor but also equipped one for service to others in a mighty way. 
Even at an early age, with God’s Spirit, David was able to bring relief to the troubled King. And we will see as we read through the account of David’s life that this was just the beginning of what God would accomplish through David. 
*Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Vol 3. 1992, p. 682.
Use the HEAR method while spending time with today’s passage. 
Highlight – what words or phrases jump out at you? 
Explain – what does the passage mean? 
Apply – how does the passage intersect with your life today? 
Respond – how is God leading you to respond?
Jon Price, Associate Pastor

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“God’s King” – 1 Samuel 16:4-13 (Stephen)

1 Samuel 16:4-13

“Samuel did what the Lord commanded and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling and said, “Do you come peaceably?” And he said, “Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.” And he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.

“When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before him.” But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” Then Jesse called Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” And Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.” Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, but behold, he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and get him, for we will not sit down till he comes here.” And he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome. And the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him, for this is he.” Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward. And Samuel rose up and went to Ramah.”

When my grandfather first showed me how to plow a garden, he instructed me to do two things. 1. If you are holding the plow, hold it with both hands. 2. If you are driving the tractor or working the mule, keep your eyes on the end of the row. That will keep you from plowing crooked.

When God instructed Samuel to anoint one of Jesse’s sons to be king, God was looking at the end of the row. Samuel’s job was to keep both hands on the plow and follow where God was leading.

We only see what we see with our eyes, but God sees everything else. It is when we are in constant communication with God that we are able to see what God sees.

The people chose Saul and were left disappointed, but God chose David and the kingdom flourished. So, keep your eyes on Jesus and you will plow a straight row. 

Use the HEAR method as you spend time in today’s passage. 
Highlight – what words or phrases jump out at you? 
Explain – what does the passage mean? 
Apply – how does the passage intersect with your life today? 
Respond – how is God leading you to respond?
Pastor Stephen Williams

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“Change of Plans” – 1 Samuel 16:1

1 Samuel 16:1

The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul since I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.”

Sometimes a change of plans can be difficult to accept. Samuel had invested so much in Saul and all his work would go to waste. At first, God seems like a callous casting director yelling, “NEXT!” But Saul had been the choice of the people, tall and handsome, the very appearance of a king. But Saul had proven himself unworthy. He was a king at first afraid to lead, then stepping beyond the reach of his role. After it was apparent that the Israelites had chosen poorly, God was ready to step in and put the right man on the throne. One described as “a man after God’s own heart.” 
God allows us to make our own choices and many times when we do so through the filter of our own sinful perspective, it isn’t long until we see the consequences of our poor decisions. It’s always best to seek God’s choice first, but when we fail to, we don’t need to waste time pondering over the mess we’ve made. It’s time to do what we should have done in the first place, listen to God, and go with His plan. Just think how much further down the road we would be if we had followed Him in the first place. 
While using the HEAR method (see below) consider the following question: 
  • Can you think of a time when you had to turn around from your own plans and go in a new direction that God was leading you?
  • How difficult was it to change direction? What was involved? 
Highlight – what words or phrases jump out at you? 
Explain – what does the passage mean? 
Apply – how does the passage intersect with your life today? 
Respond – how is God leading you to respond?
Jon Price, Associate Pastor

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“The Importance of Bible Study”

Today’s devotional is an abbreviated excerpt of the article, “Biblical Literacy: Jen Wilkin on the Importance of Bible Study” from Logos.com

By the time she was in college, Jen Wilkin had experienced church life in seven denominations, each with its own distinctive approach to reading the Bible. One church she attended during elementary school held a Bible study where the teachers “treated us as capable of learning and understanding the Scriptures, and then gave us tools to do so.” This early investment in showing kids how to study the Bible for themselves changed everything for Wilkin. “Hearing different pastors teach the same passages in such different ways had been an eye-opener,” she says. “It pushed me to want firsthand knowledge of the text.”

By her twenties, Wilkin understood it was possible to drown in waves of opinion. If she was going to learn to swim, she would have to learn to read the Bible for herself.

Wilkin flatly rejects the notion that deep knowledge of Scripture is best left to adults and “experts.” “A child who is capable of reading is capable of reading the Bible,” she insists. “Children need early exposure to the Scriptures because they need to see them as a familiar friend. Reading the Scriptures to them—and then, of course, having them read them themselves—are all formative practices. Sometimes we think children should only read (the Bible) if they can understand everything they’re reading,” she says, but “we underestimate their ability.

This is why Wilkin advocates for young students doing adult-type Bible study.“If high schoolers are capable of doing calculus and physics, they absolutely are capable of grappling with a line-by-line study of the Bible.”

Wilkin challenges herself in the same way, and she is no longer fazed by all that she doesn’t know or understand as a teacher. She began teaching the Bible as a 30-year-old, simply because there was no other teacher.

“I was a solid 10 years younger than the youngest class member,” she remembers, “and I lacked both life experience and teaching experience. I agreed to a temporary commitment and ended up teaching the class weekly for seven years. That precious group of women allowed me to learn alongside them. I learned teaching skills, empathy for my listeners, and frankly, I learned the Bible right along with them each week. By giving me a place to grow, they served me as much as I served them.”

“Understanding that I could teach and learn simultaneously—that I could pass on what I was in the process of learning—was very freeing for me,” Wilkin says. “We don’t see ourselves as experts, but as co-learners, and then we start doing the work.”

This growth mindset is something she models and encourages for every Christian. “It’s absolutely OK to say ‘this makes me uncomfortable and I don’t know the answer,’” she says. But that should not stop us from leaning into the discomfort and learning how to ask better questions of the text. We dare not make a lifestyle habit of deferring to others’ opinions, Wilkin says, for “one day we will stand before God and give an account of how well we loved him—which the great commandment says includes how we loved him with our minds. We won’t be giving an account for how well our pastors and teachers loved God with their minds.”

“Not everyone has the gift of teaching,” Wilkin says, “but we’re all responsible for being active learners.” She knows the learning curve can seem impossibly steep, but “this is where the typical student needs a little bit of permission and a little bit of a nudge.” For Christians who want to be faithful to God’s word, refusing to learn isn’t an option.”
Closing thought from Jon – If you have young children or teenagers, encourage them to spend time in God’s word on a daily basis. Model it yourself to them. They don’t have to read massive passages in each sitting or understand everything they read, but it may spark spiritual conversations and will build a foundation in them that will have long-lasting impact. The most important thing you can do to TAKE IN as a believer is to spend some time each day in God’s word. 

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“Jesus’ Prayer for Joy” – John 17:15-16

John 17:15-16

“I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.”

Can I be real for a minute? In this season of life for my family and myself, circumstances are difficult. I constantly find myself praying for God to remove the challenging circumstances and it’s exhausting when I don’t get what I want. How can I be effective for God living like this?

Some of you face similar situations. Maybe you hate your job or have a difficult boss. Maybe you lost your job and are struggling to support your family. Maybe you received a report that has turned your world upside down. Maybe you’re going through relational problems with children, a spouse/significant other, or parents. Maybe you suffer from depression or anxiety. Whatever circumstance you are facing, do you find yourself praying for God to remove it? Don’t you just want it gone? Don’t you just want life to get better?

In John 17 as Jesus prays for His disciples and ultimately all believers, notice how He prays. He prays that the Father would not take them out of the world but that He would protect them from the evil one as they live in the world. How comforting to know that Jesus is praying for us who are actively following Him (John 17:6)! Jesus is actively interceding for His disciples and praying that the circumstances of life would not be removed, necessarily, but that, ultimately, His people would find joy in Him. Look at John 17:13. Jesus prays for our protection (v. 11), so that “…they may have the full measure of my joy within them.”

One of my favorite verses to cling to when facing challenging circumstances or temptations is Psalm 16:11- “You make known to me the path of life. In your presence, there is fullness of joy…” That’s exactly what Jesus is praying for here in John 17. He’s praying for our joy to be complete in Him so we can live life on mission for His glory. God has a purpose and a mission for us here in this world. We are not of the world just as Jesus was not of the world, but we are sent to live in the world as Jesus was sent to live in this world to bring glory to his name (John 17:10). We aren’t promised to have circumstances removed in our life. We are promised, however, that we will find joy in Christ and in the presence of God despite our circumstances and we can trust this truth because we have Jesus Christ, the Son of God, praying for us on our behalf in Heaven. That’s not to say we can’t pray for God to remove the trials we face. We should always bring our supplications to God. And God graciously gives us everything we need. But we should reorient our prayers to focus on finding joy in Christ as we trust His promises through our circumstances. God promises to protect us (in keeping our joy complete) when we trust in Him to deliver us through our circumstances. As disciples of Christ, we will face challenging circumstances. Let it be our goal then, in those circumstances, to seek joy and the protection of God in Christ whenever we face difficulties. Remember and be encouraged that God WILL protect us and give us all joy in Christ when we are in His presence even here in this world today!

While using the HEAR method (see below) consider the following questions: 
  • What circumstances are you facing that rob you of joy in Christ?
  • What does God promise to do for you in those circumstances?
  • Pray and meditate on God’s promises and trust that He will give you a full measure of Christ’s joy as you listen to His Word and obey.
Highlight – what words or phrases jump out at you? 
Explain – what does the passage mean? 
Apply – how does the passage intersect with your life today? 
Respond – how is God leading you to respond?

Zach Gallman

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