Samuel said to Saul:

The Spirit of the Lord will come powerfully upon you, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be changed into a different person. Once these signs are fulfilled, do whatever your hand finds to do, for God is with you.

‭‭1 Samuel‬ ‭10‬:‭6‬-‭7‬ ‭NIV‬‬

As Saul turned to leave Samuel, God changed Saul’s heart, and all these signs were fulfilled that day.

‭‭1 Samuel‬ ‭10‬:‭9‬ ‭NIV‬‬

There’s been a resurgence of signs and prophecies reported pointing to end times that are upon us.

Signs and prophecies were once the guides to entire societies, directing its leaders and people to actions and victories.

Today, few follow or believe in them as little more than conspiracy theories or rants from religious extremists.

As history continues to unfold before us, there are clear signs that much of what was once predicted did indeed appear in scripture long ago.

Adherents will continue to warn us of what’s just around the corner and what’s soon to come, using arguments increasingly hard to ignore.

To be best prepared for the days ahead, we recognize the writing on the walls and acknowledge that while signs and prophecies may detail and confirm our present circumstances, it might be that they were given writ large to build our faith in God during these increasingly difficult times.

Or both.

End times are always upon us. They have been for centuries.

And they will continue to be until the day of the Lord arrives which none of us truly know.

Takeaway: Readiness and preparedness are not difficult to attain if you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

The Lord brings death and makes alive; he brings down to the grave and raises up. The Lord sends poverty and wealth; he humbles and he exalts. He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; he seats them with princes and has them inherit a throne of honor. “For the foundations of the earth are the Lord’s; on them he has set the world.

‭‭1 Samuel‬ ‭2‬:‭6‬-‭8‬ ‭NIV‬‬

To attribute both fortune and misfortune as the dominion of God is a mature perspective.

His actions and purposes, though oftentimes difficult to comprehend within the bounds of human understanding, are nonetheless his and his alone.

There is found a freedom, however, when discharging ourselves from burdens of the equation with full knowledge, trust, and confidence that the infinite mind of God is full of answers that will explain and comfort us at the time of his choosing.

Human hindsight often reveals some of these answers and explanations over time and how we manage such ambiguities in the interim always serves divine purpose in our growth and Christ-like maturation.

On the very foundations of this, his Earth, he has set the world to accomplish his purposes.

Nothing that happens escapes his plan and end game.

Soon enough our impatient hearts will be fully settled by his divine revelation.

This verse appears several times in the book of Judges:

In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit.

‭‭Judges‬ ‭21‬:‭25‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Without a standard or authority, individuals acted based on their own desires and interpretations of right and wrong, resulting in widespread chaos, corruption and violence.

The foreshadowing of the need for a king was obvious if society was to survive.

People have a need to be governed to thrive, flourish, and remain safe. Reasonable guidance with reasonable consequences are primary functions of social governance.

Problems accrue when government forces, controls, constrains, and constricts in excess.

As a takeaway, we need enough freedom to make our own individual good or bad choices but not so much freedom that political, philosophical, or social anarchy prevails.

God never forces his hand.

His standards lie in that realm of human choices: to love God and his standards that bring life, or to be lovers of self where everyone does as they see fit to their own eventual demise.

And then there’s Samson and Delilah…

The rulers of the Philistines went to her and said, “See if you can lure him into showing you the secret of his great strength and how we can overpower him so we may tie him up and subdue him. Each one of us will give you eleven hundred shekels of silver.”

‭‭Judges‬ ‭16‬:‭5‬ ‭NIV‬‬

After sharing three very wrong answers with her…

“Then she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when you won’t confide in me? This is the third time you have made a fool of me and haven’t told me the secret of your great strength.””

‭‭Judges‬ ‭16‬:‭15‬ ‭NIV‬‬

In spite of his love for her, she had evil motives in discovering his secret and he’d provided himself with three opportunities to realize this.

Is love blind?

Her shaming and manipulation eventually brought down Samson, stealing the true secret of his strength and eventually his own life.

Love is blind. Or at the very least, it can too easily weaken our resolve.

I realize this may be the simplest takeaway of many we can derive from their story, but because of his arrogance and ignorance, it consequently turned deadly.

Samson was captured and had his eyes gouged out by the Philistines, which both ironically and symbolically illustrates my point so poignantly.

Love is blind.

Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen. Let them save you when you are in trouble!” But the Israelites said to the Lord, “We have sinned. Do with us whatever you think best, but please rescue us now.” Then they got rid of the foreign gods among them and served the Lord.

And he could bear Israel’s misery no longer.

‭‭Judges‬ ‭10‬:‭14‬-‭16‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The heart of God is one of repeated betrayal followed by repeated forgiveness.

His people repeatedly left him to serve other gods despite his miraculous works in their favor.

Stubborn and rebellious, they always ran back to his care and protection and he was merciful.

They merited no favor but he provided it nonetheless.

Not unlike these Old Testament accounts, the New Testament is about Jesus offering salvation and eternal life despite our sinfulness on repeat.

Belief in Christ changes you.

Days of wholesale rejection of God by believers was essentially over, replaced by an orientation to righteousness and obedience.

Not perfect, but now always trying.

That critical shift in our thinking and orientation occurring at the words of what we call ‘the sinner’s prayer’ is all God needs to redeem us and to begin his good work within us.

Old Testament accounts often foreshadow reports in the New Testament.

If you think about it, becoming a follower of Christ and being known as a Christian is probably the best example of ‘names have been changed to protect the innocent.’

But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living.

But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.

‭‭Joshua‬ ‭24‬:‭15‬ ‭NIV‬‬

There comes a time when all must take a stand for their beliefs.

Some will identify with false gods and proudly so to their ultimate demise.

As for you and your house, who do you serve and how does that service take shape?

Leading your own tribe obedient to God is a formidable challenge largely dependent upon the character of the leader.

In the workplace, we know that employees don’t quit because of the organization but do quit because of the leader. That’s a lot of pressure.

Truth be told, not all members of my tribe were enamored with my leadership and consequently do not serve my God. It’s my biggest regret and my biggest hope that my current Godly leadership may someday repair.

Freedom of choice is divinely given everyone.

It will lead you to an empty destination or it will lead you to a fullness of passion and purpose.

Either way, leadership is the crucial directing element. And where mistakes have been made, God is the great fixer through Jesus.

Usually I post my Bible study takeaways each morning.
Not today.

For those of you who have adopted these as your morning devotions, thanks and think on this as today’s substitute.

“I am the Lord your God” appears hundreds of times in the first 5 books of the Bible, called the Torah.

The phrase “I am the Lord your God” serves as a reminder of God’s faithfulness and power, and encourages people to trust in God’s ability to provide and deliver, which he demonstrated over and over again.

Most notable, the phrase opens the giving of the 10 commandments.

God’s very personal introduction is the bond he makes with his people. You are included in his reference.

It’s both humbling and satisfying to know the God of the universe establishes his ownership of us so many times with that phrase.

Think on that. I do all the time.

Have a wonderful day today. 

On the day the Lord gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua said to the Lord in the presence of Israel: “Sun, stand still over Gibeon, and you, moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.”

So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, till the nation avenged itself on its enemies, as it is written in the Book of Jashar. The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day.

There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the Lord listened to a human being. Surely the Lord was fighting for Israel!”

‭‭Joshua‬ ‭10‬:‭12‬-‭14‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The extended daylight allowed the Israelites a decisive victory over the Amorites and underscored Joshua’s unique relationship with God as an undefeatable ally of Israel.

Not every winning strategy is initiated by God. He allows and welcomes the initiative and wisdom of his people to carry out his will.

All too often we put off decisions in wait to hear from God when he clearly has already equipped us to think and decide prayerfully for ourselves.

Hasty decisions are often those stuck in and overwhelmed with emotions. But if you can reason to a good decision or conclusion, you should. There’s little sense to be made for further delay.

And leave some wiggle room for an unexpected miracle or two provided by God as a reward for your wisdom, boldness and confidence.