Good morning! Love is an incredible thing. It will certainly have you doing things you would not normally do. In the Bible it says in 1 John 4:7 “Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God.” Today’s verses will continue from where we left off yesterday, with Paul providing a word of encouragement to the people in the synagogue. Join me as we continue to read Paul message.

Bible verse

“²⁰ All this took about 450 years. “After that, God gave them judges to rule until the time of Samuel the prophet. ²¹ Then the people begged for a king, and God gave them Saul son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, who reigned for forty years. ²² But God removed Saul and replaced him with David, a man about whom God said, ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart. He will do everything I want him to do.’^[f]” – Acts 13:20-22 NLT

A Little Old Testament History

• Judges 2:16 “Then the LORD raised up judges who delivered them from the hands of those who plundered them.” – The judges were called by God.
• 1 Samuel 8:6-7 “⁶ But when they said, “Give us a king to lead us,” this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the Lord. ⁷ And the Lord told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. – Saul became king.
• 1 Samuel 15:10-11 “¹⁰ Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel: ¹¹ “I regret that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from me and has not carried out my instructions.” Samuel was angry, and he cried out to the Lord all that night.”
• 1 Samuel 16:7 “⁷ But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
• 1 Samuel 16:12-13 “¹² So Jesse sent for him. He was dark and handsome, with beautiful eyes. And the Lord said, “This is the one; anoint him.” ¹³ So as David stood there among his brothers, Samuel took the flask of olive oil he had brought and anointed David with the oil. And the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David from that day on.”

Reflection

In the days when Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes. However, God continued to have mercy and grace upon His people. He opened opportunities for them to draw near to Him, to see His gracious hand upon them and with them, but they often fell back and a way from the One true God.

In today’s verses I want to point out David’s heart for God. His reliance and dependence on God made him victorious in battle and an effective king. David wasn’t without flaws, but his heart was one that sought to do God’s will. David was in the position to take the life of king Saul, and in our flesh we would have agreed with that decision and so would have his followers, but David knew better. He knew it would displease the Lord and because of David’s heart in that action and many others the Lord honored him.

Sisters and brothers, loving God and one another is what God has called us to do. Luke 10:27 says “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.“

Let us have an obedient heart, a heart that seeks God first and do everything that He asks of us to do.

Questions to ponder:

• Are you doing what is right in your own eyes, or what is right in the eyes of God? __________
• Is your heart hardened toward others or are you allowing the love of God to overflow? ____________
• Are you willing to do whatever God is asking you to do? ___________

Prayer

Father God thank you for always making a way for us. Lord, we don’t deserve your faithfulness or your love, but you give it to us freely. Lord God there is no greater love than the love you extend to us. Forgive us for the times when we did not seek Your heart. Forgive us for the times when we did not love you or love others. Lord, we repent of our worship of false gods and our past. Lord, You are our One true King. You are our leader and the One who makes provisions for us. Lord, forgive us for putting others on a pedestal that sits “higher” than you. Lord, we know if it wasn’t for your love, Jesus would not have come to save us. We thank you for loving us and for send your son Jesus to die for our sins. Thank you for raising him up from the grave. There is no greater love. Lord God teach us to love like Jesus. Teach us how to be willing vessesls to do what You have called and willed us to do. In Jesus name, amen.

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