NCarolinian

Throughout 1 Samuel, readers observe the lives and relationships of four major people:  Samuel, Saul, Jonathan and David.  Samuel was a special man of God that was squirreled away by his mother, before his birth, for the Lord's service (1 Samuel 1) . Samuel was  not only a prophet, but a priest and judge for Israel in the time of judges - when Israel had no kings.  Can you imagine being Samuel for a moment? Scripture states -  "The Lord was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of Samuel’s words fall to the ground. And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba recognized that Samuel was attested as a prophet of the Lord. The Lord continued to appear at Shiloh, and there he revealed himself to Samuel through his word." (1 Samuel 3:19-21) He  was the anointer of kings and voice of God for the Israelites during a time when Israel was being heavily influenced by the surrounding nations.  However, the impact of the nations around Israel became so great that the...

While reading through the Bible and considering the major people in Scripture, I encourage one particular question - How did they work-out their faith-walk with God? Was their relationship rather smooth? Was their rapport littered with human mistakes? Was it pot-holed with doubt? Or did the bond contain a complete trust? How would all the tandems of God be perceived? In many of the personal narratives, there is an introduction of God to the person, a set-up of their relationship (covenants, promises, prophecies, etc.), the development of their relationship with stumbles and successes by the "Faith-Walker", then they die as one of the Heroes of The Faith. Throughout the Bible, in both the Old and New Testaments, Faith is stressed as the great starting block with God because " without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." (Hebrews 11:6) . But, Obedience must ...

In the movie, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade , Indiana is faced with selecting a cup from among many chalices that could be The Cup of Christ used at The Last Supper. An ancient knight had made an earlier, incorrect selection and it cost him, his life, therefore the guardian of these cups said, “He chose poorly.” Then Mr. Jones thinks the choice through and makes his selection and the guardian says, “You have chosen wisely.” Good or bad, necessary or unnecessary, voluntary or involuntary – the majority of our lives is a decision stacked upon another decision. The challenge in life is making the right decisions consistently. While reading in the Book of Judges, Scripture reveals God’s relationship with Israel by raising up leaders, rulers and/or champions to help Israel out of their cycle of sin. Within the story of three of these rulers or champions I desire to challenge all of us to make smarter choices.  The first story was of Gideon. This man’s response to God’s calling and ...

I cannot imagine when there was no time, when there was not a beginning to time itself and the creation of everything within time by God. However, God was content with just Himself, Before It All. John 1:1-5 allows us a sneak peek into this non-measured time or existence - "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." Father God, The Word of The Father (known later to us as Christ Jesus) and The Spirit with them, known as The Holy Spirit - have been in perfect harmony. The traditional interpretation by many preachers and theologians of the only time there was any disharmony was during the planned  crucifixion of God's one and only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, for the  salvation of humanity. ...

Paul in 1 Corinthians 1:27 actually describes the story of Gideon quite accurately when he said, "But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;" (King James Version). Gideon was not a very confident person in himself or the Lord. Yet, the Scripture begins his story with him trying to destroy the winepress of the enemy of the land – the Midianites – by threshing wheat in their winepress (Judges 6:11) . Enter the Lord – “When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, ‘The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.’” (Judges 6:12) Allow me to dissect the Lord’s introduction, albeit a simple and short greeting, the approach is loaded with significance. After the Lord introduces Himself (“The Lord”) , Jesus, “The Angel of the Lord” , comforts Gideon by stating He, The Lord “is with you” . Then Jesus not only gives him a grand title but within this title declar...

The Holy Spirit instructs Christians through Paul - "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers." (Galatians 6:9-10) Ah, Famiglia or Family. Later, Paul took provision for one’s family to the next level when he wrote Timothy saying - "If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever." - 1 Timothy 5:8 Wow! I did not know that life got worse than being an unbeliever. However, this importance of providing for his/her family has plenty of Scriptural support. If you were a part of a family within Israel, you were connected, you did things as a unit (Judges 16:31; 1 Samuel 1:21) . Therefore, what happened to you, directly or indirectly, affected others in your family also (Judges 8:27; 1 Samuel ...