1 Samuel 16:13 - We need the Spirit of the Lord

“Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward.”

1 Samuel 16:13

David could not have been a successful king without the Spirit of the Lord. We cannot be successful Christians without the Spirit of the Lord either. It is absolutely vital that we have that. If you have been born again, you have the Spirit of the Lord. The thing is we have to choose to walk in it instead of our flesh. Some Christians know how to, and some don’t. Other Christians know how to, but still don’t. It tells us in the Word of God that believing Christians can resist the Holy Spirit and what He is trying to do in their lives. God is not pleased when this happens. 2 Timothy 3:5 says “They will act as if they are religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly” (2 Timothy 3:5). It even goes on to say “You must stay away from people like that” (2 Timothy 3:5). Let’s walk in the Spirit, not the flesh. Let’s not resist the power that could make us godly.

Father, David could not be a successful king without the Spirit of the Lord. We cannot be successful Christians without the Spirit of the Lord either. Thank You for giving us the Spirit of the Lord. May we choose to walk in the Spirit and not the flesh. May we not resist the Holy Spirit and what You are trying to do in our lives. We do not want to reject the power that could make us godly. Make us godly, Lord. All to the glory of You. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Kimberly Lenz, Care Ministry Coordinator

Solid Rock Community Church

1 Samuel 16:7

“But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.’”

1 Samuel 16:7

Samuel was a godly man. When making a decision about who to anoint, he took one look at Jesse’s son, Eliab, thought he saw a good character in him and said to himself, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before Him” (1 Samuel 16:6). Although it may have appeared that way, God’s prophet was wrong. God had to tell him that he shouldn’t be judging God’s will by Eliab’s appearance. He had to tell him that that “the Lord does not see as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). This is why we need to continually go to the Lord about all our decisions. We can think it appears that something is the Lord’s will or way, and it might not be that way at all. Only He knows His will and plan for our lives. Only He knows what’s on His heart. And He will share it with us if we listen. He might not show us the big picture, but He will lead us step by step. Us believers live to serve Him. We may serve Him, but He calls us His friends. 1 John 15:15 says “No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.” He will reveal what He is doing. You can trust Him.

Father, we thank You that You look at and know our hearts. Only someone that knows our hearts in full knows how to guide us. Help us to go to You with our daily decisions, whether big or small. May we not be quick to decide based on what appears to be the right thing to do. May we find out Your will on the heart of the matter instead. You are wisdom and we can trust You. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

1 Samuel 16:3 - The Lord Directs our Steps

“Then invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do; you shall anoint for Me the one I name to you.”

1 Samuel 16:3

Samuel was God’s prophet. God told him to meet with Jesse. While he was with Jesse, He was going to show Samuel what he should do. Then he was to tell him who to anoint. God could have just told Samuel who to anoint to begin with. Instead, God led him one step at a time. God does this with us too. We don’t know in full what we are supposed to do. But step by step He leads us. It says in Proverbs 20:24 that “A man’s steps are of the Lord; how then can a man understand his own way.” God does this to teach us that we can trust His guidance. We’ll continually go to Him and seek His face. We’ll have to lean on His Holy Spirit’s leading throughout the day. We’ll become one with Him. It’s no wonder God goes about things this way. He wants a relationship with us. Don’t be down or discouraged about not knowing what you should do. Remain in Him. Seek His face and trust that He is leading you. He isn’t going to show you the big picture. He is going to take you step by step along in your journey. You can trust Him. He’s a good God. He loves you and knows what is best for your life.

Father, we thank You for making sure that we rely on You and not ourselves. We often don’t know what direction to go, but step by step You lead us. We have learned through the years that we can trust You and trust Your Holy Spirit’s leading in our lives. Guide and direct our steps. Your Word tells us that a good man’s steps are directed by the Lord. We thank You for this. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen. 

Kimberly Lenz, Care Ministry Coordinator

Solid Rock Community Church

1 Samuel 16:1

“Now the Lord said to Samuel, ‘How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go: I am sending you to Jesse the Bethlehemite. For I have provided Myself a king among his sons.”

1 Samuel 16:1

Sometimes we want and deeply need God’s sympathy. Although God is a God of compassion, He also is ready to heal us and help us to move on with our lives. Such is the case with Samuel. Saul was rejected as king and God was ready to send Samuel to anoint the new king. God questioned Samuel on how long he was going to mourn Saul. When Samuel first found out that Saul was rejected as king, he was grieved and cried “out to the Lord all night” (1 Samuel 15:11). Samuel didn’t see Saul again “until the day of his death” (1 Samuel 15:35). Then, once again, “Samuel mourned for Saul.” Samuel had let his grief over Saul to paralyze him. He was a prophet, but he had let Saul’s rejection get him down. So God had to shake him out of his sad, mournful state. I don’t know if you are mourning anything, but I do know that God wants to encourage your spiritual life and help you move on. He wants you to “shake off” whatever is troubling you and keeping you from moving forward in your walk with Him. It may not be easy, you may not be able to do it on your own, but with His help you can. He can pick you up out of the muck and mire of the world. Grab a hold of His hand and let Him pick you up. Hebrews 12:1 says “let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.” Let Him give you a new vision in what to do with your life. Ask Him what you can do for Him. He can fill any void that you have and you can be used to do great things for Him. The question is, "will you let Him?" Let Him anoint you for the next season of your life. Shake off those mournful feelings. Begin your life anew. Anew with Christ.

Father, we thank You for Your love. We thank You that You care about our deepest needs. May we be able to shake off everything that is trying to keep us mournful, or sad. Sometimes it feels like we have a void in our lives. Our lives can feel empty. Fill those voids with Yourself. Direct us to some good things that we can do for You. Give us a new vision and a new purpose in life. We thank You that You have heard our prayers and that You will answer us. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Kimberly Lenz, Care Ministry Coordinator

Solid Rock Community Church

1 Peter 3:10

“He who would love life and see good days.”

1 Peter 3:10

Each of us believers desire to love our lives and see good days. Some people don’t experience this and they wonder why. God tells us how we can in his Word. The clue to how we can go about this is in 1 Peter 3:10-12. It says “He who would love life and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from [speaking] evil, and his lips from speaking deceit. Let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayers; but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” So we see that we must apply these things to our lives each and every day. We must:

• Refrain our tongue from speaking evil
• Keep our lips from speaking deceit
• Turn away from evil and spend our time doing good
• Let us seek peace and pursue it

If we do these things He promises that:

• The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous
• His ears are open to their prayers

If we do not do these things and do evil instead He tells us that:

• The face of the Lord is against those who do evil
• You won’t experience a good day (taken from vs. 10)

I encourage you to heed these verses to your everyday life. I want you and your days to be blessed by the Lord. The Message Bible words these verses a little differently. It says “Whoever wants to embrace life and see the day fill up with good, Here’s what you do: Say nothing evil or hurtful; snub evil and cultivate good; run after peace for all you’re worth. God looks on all this with approval, listening and responding well to what He’s asked; but He turns His back on those who do evil things.”

Be blessed today. Spend your time doing and speaking good. It will make a difference in your day.

Father we want to love life and see good days. We want to embrace the life You’ve given us and we want to see our days fill up with good. May we refrain our tongue from speaking evil. May we refrain our lips from speaking deceit. May we say nothing evil or hurtful. May we turn away from evil and do good. May we cultivate good. May we seek peace and pursue it, running after it for all it’s worth. We thank You that Your eyes are on the righteous. We thank You that You look upon us with approval. We thank You that Your ears are open to the righteous’ prayers. You are listening and responding well to what we have prayed for. We love You and appreciate Your instruction. May we heed it and apply it to our everyday lives. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

1 Peter 1:6-7

“In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

1 Peter 1:6-7

God knows when we face difficulties. He hears our prayers. Even those who maintain a close walk with Him are not immune to feelings of hopelessness or despair. God allows us to go through things to test and try our faith, to purify our hearts. It is the feelings of despair that forces us to cry out and seek Him. And it’s when we have humbled ourselves and cried out to Him that we find refreshment for our souls. Does God care that you get tired of all the constant trials and ordeals? Yes he does, but He also knows what it takes to bring you to a more intimate relationship with Himself. Our trials help us to know Him more. Not just Him but His very character as well. We learn for ourselves that we can trust Him. These trials will show us the genuineness of our faith. Not only will we able to see if our faith is real, but those around us will see this too, even those that are in the world. Because of this we can rejoice. 1 Peter 1:6 says we can “greatly rejoice … if need be” if we are being “grieved by various trials.” The Message Bible says “Pure gold put in the fire comes out of it proved pure; genuine faith put through this suffering comes out proved genuine. When Jesus wraps this all up, it’s your faith, not your gold, that God will have on display as evidence of His victory.” Be encouraged today. There is hope. God is using your situations to show the world that your faith is genuine and that He is real. He wants others to come to Him. Therefore, pray, leave your situations in God’s hands, and know that you can trust Him to do what’s best. There is always hope! Put your hope in Him. 

  

Father, sometimes we get tired of facing difficulties, but we know that You allow us to go through things to test and try our faith, to purify our hearts. You are in the heart business. You are always working on our hearts, and you are constantly working on doing a work in other peoples hearts as well. We know that it is these trying times that often force us to cry out and seek You. And it’s when we have humbled ourselves and cried out to You that we find refreshment for our souls. Our faith is proven to be sure and others see our faith in action too. Use our trials to show Your glory and to make Yourself known. May people be able to see that You are real. Draw them to You, and may they in time receive You as their personal Savior and grow in the faith. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

John 15:17

“These things I command you, that ye love one another.”

John 15:17

Love is the one word that sums up what Jesus tells us to do. If we walk in it we will be whole and complete in every way. We will also be joyful inside. The old song that we teach little children to sing goes like this: “This is my commandment that you love one another, that your joy may be full.” Obedience in this area does bring about joy. This should be our mission every where we go every single hour of every single day. We should walk in love in our homes, workplaces, church gatherings, the grocery store, the restaurants we frequent, the hospitals and nursing homes we visit, etc. God’s Spirit can flow when we walk in love. It draws hearts to Him and blesses people. It’s when we step out of love that the enemy has an open door to cause hurt, destruction, despair, division, etc. It stifles what the Holy Spirit is trying to do. It kills. Do your best to walk in love. God’s Spirit will flow when you do. The Word of God also instructs us to clothe ourselves with Him as well. Colossians 3:12 tells us we must clothe ourselves with “tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.” It does on to tell us in Colossians 3:13-14 that we must “make allowance[s] for each other’s faults and forgive the person who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. And the most important piece of clothing you must wear is love. Love is what binds us all together in perfect harmony.” It is vital that we walk in love. It impacts all those we come in contact with.

Father, clothe us with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. May we make allowances for others’ faults. May we forgive those who offend and wrong us. May we not keep a record of wrongs. And may the most important piece of clothing we wear be love. Love binds us all together in perfect harmony. Help us not to step out in the flesh. We want to walk in love so that Your Holy Spirit can flow everywhere we go. We want to do this for the glory of You and for the furtherance of the gospel. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Kimberly Lenz, Care Ministry Coordinator

Solid Rock Community Church