Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Playing by the Rules”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Samuel said … Why did you not obey the Lord? Why did you pounce on the plunder and do evil in the eyes of the Lord? ‘But I did obey the Lord,’ Saul said.” 1 Samuel 15:17; 19-20 (NIV)

 

Our thought for today: “Partial obedience is disobedience.”

 

1 Samuel chapter 15 records one of the saddest chapters in the life of King Saul. He was instructed by God to lead the armies of Israel to completely wipe out the nation of the evil Amalekites. It was to be a scorched earth campaign. God said the Amalekites were so evil, they were such an offense to Him and such a plague on the earth, that they were to be completely wiped-out, every man, women, child, animal, building, crop – all of it.

 

But Saul didn’t do it. Not completely. Saul spared the life of King Agag, and he led the army to selectively hold out for themselves the best of the plunder. Then, when confronted by Samuel the prophet regarding his failure to fully obey the command of the Lord, Saul lamely attempted to rationalize and justify his actions. He tried to make his partial obedience look like full obedience and then he tried to make the case that it really made sense for him to do it the way that he did, rather than the way the Lord commanded.

 

In their commentary on this passage the editors of “The Leadership Bible” challenge us to consider the question, “What’s your price? What will it take to get you to disobey God and do it your way instead of His?” For Saul all it took was his desire to save the life of a fellow king who he liked, and the opportunity to acquire a little bit of plunder.

 

If you read the history of the nation of Israel you quickly realize that they always had a price. There was always a point at which they decided to do it their own way rather than God’s way. And they always suffered for it. Whenever Israel obeyed God, He never failed to bless them. But whenever they disobeyed Him, He never failed to punish them.

 

So, what is your price? At what point will you decide, “I want what I want and I’m going to do what I want, regardless of the fact that God has clearly instructed otherwise.”?

 

I want you to know that’s it’s impossible for a child of God to intentionally disobey God without suffering for it. There are always consequences. Those consequences may come fast or they may come slow, but they will come and they will hurt.
God has made it clear to us what His standards are and what He expects from us. We have to play by the rules or we will suffer the consequences.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim