An Opportunity or a Test?

by | Aug 27, 2021 | Articles

Many times in life, circumstances can bring opportunities our way.  This could be a new job opportunity, a relocation opportunity, a relationship opportunity or maybe even an opportunity to go the route of vocational ministry.  The question sometimes we need to ask ourselves: could the opportunity be a test from the Lord? We see in 1 Samuel 24 and 26, David had two great opportunities to eliminate Saul so that he wouldn’t have to run any longer. In Chapter 24 Saul and three thousand men are pursuing David and his men.  Saul decides to go into a cave to relieve himself.  Of all the caves he chooses, the one he enters is where David and some of his men are hiding.  While Saul is taking care of business David cuts off a piece of his robe.  What is very interesting is that David’s conscience bothers him.  In verse 4, David’s men tell him that “the Lord has delivered your enemy into your hand”.  David disagrees and says the following in verse 6, “Far be it from me because of the Lord that I should do this thing to my lord, the Lord’s anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, since he is the Lord’s anointed.”  David persuades his men and does not allow them to strike Saul when they had the opportunity. The second instance occurs in Chapter 26.  Saul is once again pursuing David in the hill of Hachilah.  David decides to go with Abishai and check things out at Saul’s camp.  We see throughout David’s life that Abishai was close to David, watching out for him. ...

Fissures in the Soul

by | Apr 17, 2021 | Articles, Mentors Corner

(fissure: a narrow opening or crack of considerable length and depth usually occurring from some breaking or parting) Our Friday morning group recently finished a Bible study in the book of 1Samuel and it was a very rich study.  I knew there would be many things to learn from reading and studying about David.  What surprised me is how much I learned studying Israel’s first king, King Saul. Saul is a good study of a person that starts well and finishes really bad.  One reason why I believe this happened is that he didn’t deal with the cracks in his character and as time went on, they became large fissures in his soul. In the beginning of 1Samuel 10, Samuel the prophet anoints Saul as King of Israel and then Saul meets a group of prophets and prophesies with them, signifying that he is God’s anointed king.  After this Saul runs into his uncle and his uncle asks him where he has been.  Saul responds that he and his friend were looking for his father’s donkeys and when they couldn’t find them, they went to Samuel.  His uncle then asks what Samuel said to him. 1Sam 10: 14-18  “Now Saul’s uncle said to him and his servant, “Where did you go?” And he said, “To look for the donkeys. When we saw that they could not be found, we went to Samuel.” Saul’s uncle said, “Please tell me what Samuel said to you.” So Saul said to his uncle, “He told us plainly that the donkeys had been found.” But he did not tell him about the matter of...