From That Day On

[S] 1 Samuel 18:9 --
9  Saul looked at David with suspicion from that day on.

[O] Saul was initially called by God to lead His people but after failing to obey God's commands fully he began towards the downward spiral not because God had abandoned him but mainly because he did not repent before God to seek His mercy and grace.  Furthermore, such a state of mind grew into fear of losing his position while scheming ways to sustain his power and position more focused on the popularity than what God prefers.  At this point, the women's song of praising David higher than him put him over into jealousy.  The role of a leadership is very susceptible to the voices of the public and hearing God's voice in the midst of all that "noise" is one of the virtues of great leadership.  Here we can see how Saul was swept away by what the people were saying instead of leaning on what God was telling him to do.

[A] Even though the leaders are to lead the people and to listen and care for their needs, how one goes about doing that must originate from God's principles by first obeying His commands to the fullest.  I must learn to hear His voice in the midst of the noises of various voices surrounding me.  These are not the voices from the master of deception, per se, but from those close to me or the general public sharing their thoughts with good intentions; however if my heart is not right with God, these will easily put me into a territory that I would not want to be in.

[P] Dear Father, I do not believe Saul turned from Your chosen servant to where he is now overnight but he began to take steps which drew him away from God gradually so please guard my heart so I would not compromise in what seems like little things because they all add up to doing Your will properly without my selfish motives entering into the picture.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Disorder vs. Order and Peace

[S] James 3:16-18 --

¹⁶For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing.

¹⁷But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy.

¹⁸And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

[O] The comparisons to note here: jealousy/selfish ambition vs. wisdom from above; disorder vs. peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy, good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy; evil vs. righteousness. Also displays the cause and effect here: jealousy/selfish ambition => disorcer/evil; wisdom from above => pure, peace, gentle, reasonable, mercy, fruitful, unwavering, no hypocrisy. The media carries a lot of issues in our world but not many solutions are offered in light of them. We see a lot of editorials and suggestions but rarely we see a clear statement telling us what the root cause is and how we need to correct ourselves because for the most part the focus is on the symptoms rather than the cause. This passage provides a view into why we have disorder in our society (including our homes and churches) -- jealousy and selfishness is the cause. So before we can begin to fix the disorderliness, we must identify the jealousy and selfishness and remove them. Then the natural outcome is mentioned in subsequent verses.

[A] Don't get too stuck in looking at the symptoms of the issues around me but pray and seek for His wisdom on understanding where the root causes may lie.

[P] Dear God, as the God of order in this world, I bow down humbly before You to submit my disorderly mind such thatI may be the recipient of Your wonderful fruits in my life in an orderly fashion according to Your timing. Please be with our church today as I go over the second part of the small group ministry structure so the church would embrace the new ministry with the passion in unity and order. In Jesus' name. Amen.