Good day dear friends.
This comes a bit late because I have a reunion group now on this morning and I had a hospital visit to make before heading to Austin for a commitment I had there.
News reports coming out of London say another "incident" has occurred with bombs hitting subway trains and another doubledecker bus. Please pray for an end to violence such as this.
Here is our study guide for today:
Thursday: Read 1 Samuel 3. Here is another great example of call and obedience. What is your understanding of this story? As you read the story, what would have been your response to God? Have you lost your childlike faith about the things of God? How can you recapture that?
1 Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord under Eli. The word of the Lord was rare in those days; visions were not widespread. 2 At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his room; 3 the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was. 4 Then the Lord called, "Samuel! Samuel!" F30 and he said, "Here I am!" 5 and ran to Eli, and said, "Here I am, for you called me." But he said, "I did not call; lie down again." So he went and lay down. 6 The Lord called again, "Samuel!" Samuel got up and went to Eli, and said, "Here I am, for you called me." But he said, "I did not call, my son; lie down again." 7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. 8 The Lord called Samuel again, a third time. And he got up and went to Eli, and said, "Here I am, for you called me." Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy. 9 Therefore Eli said to Samuel, "Go, lie down; and if he calls you, you shall say, "Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.' " So Samuel went and lay down in his place. 10 Now the Lord came and stood there, calling as before, "Samuel! Samuel!" And Samuel said, "Speak, for your servant is listening." 11 Then the Lord said to Samuel, "See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make both ears of anyone who hears of it tingle. 12 On that day I will fulfill against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. 13 For I have told him that I am about to punish his house forever, for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming God, and he did not restrain them. 14 Therefore I swear to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be expiated by sacrifice or offering forever." 15 Samuel lay there until morning; then he opened the doors of the house of the Lord. Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli. 16 But Eli called Samuel and said, "Samuel, my son." He said, "Here I am." 17 Eli said, "What was it that he told you? Do not hide it from me. May God do so to you and more also, if you hide anything from me of all that he told you." 18 So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. Then he said, "It is the Lord; let him do what seems good to him." 19 As Samuel grew up, the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. 20 And all Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba knew that Samuel was a trustworthy prophet of the Lord. 21 The Lord continued to appear at Shiloh, for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the Lord.
This is a wonderful story about God's call upon a young boy, the prophet Samuel. What is your understanding of this story? To me, it shows that age doesn't matter to God. We've seen old and young called by God throughout the pages of our Scripture. If a person is so disposed and willing to trust and obey God, God will use that person for whatever the plan may be. I believe God can also use us to help guide and mentor those of any age around us to help them better understand how they can serve God. I'm always amazed at the depth of understanding some of our children have about God and the things of God. It's as if God is pointing to those children and saying, "This one is already serving me!" And the ministerial side of me says, "There's a new recruit!" This morning one of the guys from our reunion group has missed church a couple of Sundays in a row and my ribbing him made me confess what he had been doing, but his little boy was the one who asked him, "Dad, aren't we going to church?" This is Jake, who earlier said to his dad about our church building, which is a magnificent structure, "That's just a building." Today I said to his dad, "Jake's my next bishop!"
Are we encouraging or discouraging children from serving God? I once heard a mom exclaim, "God forbid!" to a suggestion that her son could be a minister. What did that say to that young man? What do our actions say to the kids around us, ministry matters and God calls fine men and women to ministry; or do we say we don't care about our ministers and leave a bad taste in our kids' minds and hearts?
Samuel's story is one of trusting and obeying. His mom trusted and obeyed God and her heart. When she gave birth after thinking she would never conceive, she promised the Lord that her son would serve Him. She kept her word and God used the young man throughout his life and even beyond!
This story also says for us to trust the call of God on our lives. God speaks always to us but we must listen and obey.
Where is God calling you?
PRAYER: We thank you God for calling us to serve You. We ask that our actions and words would affirm all who serve You. May we seek to be faithful in encouraging all who might be called of You to serve. Let us trust and obey You, now and always. In Jesus' name. Amen
Have a great and blessed day!
e.v.
