The Dilemma of the Disobedient

Theodore Epp

1 Samuel 28:1-19

David and his men became bodyguards to Achish, king of Gath, and this soon put David in a dilemma. The Philistines decided to go against the Israelites, and David apparently could see no way out of going along and fighting against his own people. He had a weakness for telling lies when doubts came into his heart. This was one of his besetting sins. He had lied to Jonathan and, through Jonathan, to Saul. He had lied to Ahimelech, and that had brought death to 85 priests.

When Saul saw the Philistines, he desperately wanted help to know what to do. The story of his visit to the witch of En-dor is well known. Samuel had been dead for some time, and Saul had no one he could turn to who would reveal to him God's will. It was in keeping with Saul's character to have issued orders to destroy everyone who sought contact with the dead, such as the witch of En-dor, and then, when he found himself facing a real difficulty, to seek the help of just such an evil person.

The witch of En-dor was terrified when she discovered that it was not the evil spirit for whom she was a medium who appeared to Saul. It was Samuel himself. Once again we see that Saul's great sin was the sin of rebellion against the will of God. May we always seek to know God's will in order that we may do it.

"But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked" (Isa. 57:20,21).

John Newton - I Am Not What I Once Was

God's Wind

By Mrs. Charles E. Cowman


"I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth" (Isa. 58:14).

Those who fly through the air in airships tell us that one of the first rules they learn is to turn their ship toward the wind, and fly against it. The wind lifts the ship up to higher heights. Where did they learn that? They learned it from the birds. If a bird is flying for pleasure, it goes with the wind. But if the bird meets danger, it turns right around and faces the wind, in order that it may rise higher; and it flies away towards the very sun.

Sufferings are God's winds, His contrary winds, sometimes His strong winds. They are God's hurricanes, but, they take human life and lift it to higher levels and toward God's heavens.

You have seen in the summer time a day when the atmosphere was so oppressive that you could hardly breathe? But a cloud appeared on the western horizon and that cloud grew larger and threw out rich blessing for the world. The storm rose, lightning flashed and thunder pealed. The storm covered the world, and the atmosphere was cleansed; new life was in the air, and the world was changed.

Human life is worked out according to exactly the same principle. When the storm breaks the atmosphere is changed, clarified, filled with new life; and a part of heaven is brought down to earth. --Selected

Obstacles ought to set us singing. The wind finds voice, not when rushing across the open sea, but when hindered by the outstretched arms of the pine trees, or broken by the fine strings of an Aeolian harp. Then it has songs of power and beauty. Set your freed soul sweeping across the obstacles of life, through grim forests of pain, against even the tiny hindrances and frets that love uses, and it, too, will find its singing voice. --Selected
"Be like a bird that, halting in its flight,
Rests on a bough too slight.
And feeling it give way beneath him sings,
Knowing he hath wings."

Filled With the Knowledge of God's Will

William Henry Griffith Thomas


"For this cause we also...do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding"

(Col. 1:9).

The difficulty with so many people today is that they are superficial in their knowledge and shallow in their experience, and so are a prey to various errors, "carried about with every wind of doctrine" (Eph. 4:14). We may safely aver, then, that to be "filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding" means for its complete realization a constant touch with those writings which present the clearly expressed plan of God. The divine will is in that Book, and when it, the Word of God, is illuminated by the Spirit of God we, His children, come to know His will concerning us. 

Indeed, no one will ever have the full knowledge of that will, no one can possibly be mature in Christian experience, if the Word of God is not his daily, definite, direct study and meditation. It purifies the perceptive faculties by its cleansing power, it illuminates the moral faculties with its enlightening power, it controls the emotional faculties with its protective power, and it energizes the volitional faculties with its stimulating power. 

Thus, in the constant, continuous use of the Word of God in personal practice, with reverent meditation and earnest prayer, we shall indeed, to paraphrase the apostle's words "become filled with the full knowledge of His will in every avenue of perception and in their spiritual applications."

The Influence

By Tim Grissom


For eighteen years, three months, and one day, I was married to one of the godliest people I have ever known. My wife was beautiful, kind, hospitable, and fun. My heart still sags with the loss of her. She left us on December 13, 1999, after an eleven-month bout with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease), and now lives in the presence of God.

You may be wondering if I am exaggerating my wife's character in my memory. I am well aware of the tendency to make things sound either better or worse when we speak of them in past tense. But the essence of what you are about to read about Janiece (Niecie), I first wrote seven months before we knew she was sick. And now, what a wonderful opportunity this husband has to "praise" his wife for the imprint of virtue that she left on her family and friends.

But this is not an article about death and dying, or about grief. It is an article about living--living in such a way that we may face joy, sorrow, victory, trial, and even mundaneness with grace, courage, and peace. That is how my wife died; that is also how she lived.

A friend sometimes teases me that I married "way over my head." I have to agree, and I admit to often wondering why God would bless me with such a wonderful soul-mate. Niecie's life radiates joy and contentment. Her spirit is settled, and her heart uncluttered. Above all, she walks intimately with God. But hers is not a heavenly stupor that keeps her detached from the needs and concerns of this life, or of the people around her. I only mean that Niecie walks in simple obedience to God. She listens to what He says, and then she does it.

I don't mean to imply that she never struggles. In fact, she readily admits to having a fearful disposition. But when she does battle fear, or some temptation, she doesn't blame her circumstances or become moody. She asks God to search her heart and she waits for His answer. Even in her battles I see no rage.

I, on the other hand, often resist God. I'm well acquainted with stubbornness. But I have learned something through my years of observing Niecie's life, and I'm beginning to feel some release from the grip of rebellion. I've picked up one of Niecie's habits, and that, I think, is the primary reason that my soul is on the mend. You see, in the 20+ years that I have known her, Niecie has never missed a single day of "quiet time." Not one! Spending time alone with God in Bible reading and prayer is as much a part of her day as getting out of bed; it is simply something she does.

Niecie's quiet time habit began when she was in junior high. During a week of summer camp, the speaker encouraged the students to commit to read their Bible every day for one year. Niecie made that commitment . . . and she kept it. One year led to another, and another, and another . . . .

I'm not saying these things to put my wife on a pedestal. My point is that faithfully taking a few minutes out of each and every day to meet alone with God in His Word and prayer has formed her into a godly woman. And . . . her life has "won" me (1 Pet. 3:1). If she had nagged me about certain things, or manipulated, or ridiculed, she would only have succeeded in driving me away from wanting to grow in Christ. Instead, she has lived a very real life of simple faith and devotion to Christ. And it has made me thirsty for what she has.

We now have four children. By God's grace they are growing up with an understanding that having personal devotions is a normal part of the daily routine. The older ones have already begun to have their own quiet time. We haven't required this of our children. They've simply seen Mommy and Daddy reading their Bibles and praying, and they want to do the same.

I've come to believe that of all the things we can teach our children, nothing could be more profitable in equipping them for life--whatever or wherever it sends them--than a commitment to meditate daily on God's Word.


I know that many people have gripping stories about a time when they experienced personal revival, and they can tell of dramatic circumstances and events involved in the process. It hasn't been like that for me. God got my attention over a period of time, but it has been just as real and life changing. In addition to using the example of my wife, God has also brought others across my path who have challenged and helped me. The key element, however, has been the regular intake of His Word, especially in my own personal devotions.

God's Word has been like a medicine to reduce my anger, worry, and impatience. It has acted as a map in helping our family make decisions or reroute our ill-advised plans. It has provided light to reveal snares that were sometimes hiding in the shadows. God's Word has become for us something we simply cannot do without.

I thank God for a youth speaker who encouraged a group of junior-high campers to read their Bibles. I thank God for a young lady who made that commitment and kept it (and who said "yes" when I asked her to marry me!). I thank God for His Word every day as I sit to read it and to listen to what He has to tell me about Himself. I thank God that He uses those daily appointments to draw me nearer to Him.

And now, looking back over our journey of these past months as we have grieved the death of this precious, virtuous woman who was my wife, I thank God that her legacy remains. Though my days often end with tears, those tears generally fall on the pages of an open Bible. And the darkness lifts a little.

Thank you, Niecie.

CONSIDER THE FAILURES by David Wilkerson

CONSIDER THE FAILURES by David Wilkerson


Would you consider Moses a failure? Hardly! He was to Israel what Washington and Lincoln together were to America—and much more. But look closely at the great lawgiver's life. His career began with a murder, followed by forty years of hiding from justice.

Moses was a man of fear and unbelief. When God called him to lead the Israelites out of slavery, he pleaded, "I am not eloquent . . . I am slow of speech” (Exodus 4:10). All his life, Moses longed to enter the Promised Land, but his failures kept him out. Even so, in Hebrews 3:1-2, God compares Moses' faithfulness to Christ's. Moses’ failures did not keep him out of God's Hall of Champions.

We usually think of Jacob as the great prayer warrior who wrestled with the angel of the Lord and prevailed. Yet this man's life was filled with glaring failure. As a youth Jacob deceived his blind father in order to steal his brother's inheritance. He despised his wife Leah while he nursed a great secret love for her sister, Rachel. He did not accept his responsibility as a husband.

Here was a man caught in a web of trickery, theft, unfaithfulness and polygamy. Nevertheless, we still worship the God of Abraham, of Isaac and of Jacob.

King David, a mighty warrior and singer of psalms, delighted in the law of the Lord and posed as the righteous man who would not stand among sinners. Yet, how shocking are the weaknesses of this great man. Taking Bathsheba from her husband Uriah, he sent that unsuspecting man to death at the front lines of his army. The prophet Nathan declared that this double sin gave great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme.

Picture the great king standing by the casket of his dead illegitimate child, a stolen wife at his side, and a world filled with enemies who cursed God because of his notorious sins. Yet, God called David a man after His own heart (1 Samuel 13:14).

If you are discouraged by your failures, I have good news for you. No one is closer to the kingdom of God than the man or woman who can look defeat in the eye, face it, and move on to a life of peace and victory. Despite failure, keep moving on! It is often after a failure that a man does his greatest work for God. 

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Luke 2:21-32. The Song of Simeon.

Favell Lee Mortimer


We read that when the Savior was eight days old, he was circumcised, and named Jesus. It was not necessary that he should be brought to Jerusalem for that purpose; but at the end of forty days, when he was nearly six weeks old, he was brought to Jerusalem, for two purposes.

His mother was then first permitted, after the birth of her son, to enter the temple. She went there with an offering of thanksgiving. If she could have afforded it, she would have brought a lamb of a year old; but being very poor, she presented two doves, or pigeons. (See Lev. 12.) In the second place, Jesus as a firstborn son was presented to the Lord; for, ever since the slaying of the firstborn of the people of Egypt, and the passing over the firstborn of Israel, God had claimed all the firstborn as his own. (Ex. 13.) The firstborn of cows, sheep, and goats were offered in sacrifice—the firstborn of other animals were not offered, but money was presented in their place, and this money was used in buying sacrifices. Neither did God allow firstborn children to be offered in sacrifice; but he permitted them to be redeemed with money.

Mary accordingly came to the temple to present her firstborn son to the Lord. When was so acceptable an offering made to the Father! His only beloved Son was brought to his Father's house, and given into his Father's bosom. The priest supposed that he was redeemed by money; but this holy child could not be redeemed by money; he was a Lamb without blemish, and upon the altar of the cross he was soon to be laid, a willing, a sufficient sacrifice for the sins of the whole world.

When Mary brought her child into the temple, a most interesting event took place. An aged prophet appeared, and acknowledged the infant Savior as his Lord.

Prophets had almost ceased to prophesy for many years before Jesus came into the world. Malachi, who had prophesied four hundred years before his coming, was the last whose name is recorded. But at the time of Jesus' coming, the spirit of prophecy was again shed upon some holy people. 

We have read the prophecies of Elizabeth, and Mary, and Zacharias, in the first chapter of Luke, and we now read the prophecy of Simeon. God had informed him that he would not die until Christ came; and He had also let him know the precise moment when the parents had brought the divine infant into the temple. Simeon entered and found Joseph and Mary doing for their child after the custom of the law, that is, presenting him to the Lord before God's priest. At this interesting juncture, the aged believer first beheld his Savior, took him in his arms and blessed him; for his faith was so strong that he was able to believe that the infant of the poor woman he saw, was the Lord of glory.

The words that he uttered as he held the child are very beautiful. We perceive that it had been his earnest desire to see his Lord with his bodily eyes before he died. This was a very natural desire; and some people who do not really love Christ might desire the same; they might desire it from curiosity, but Simeon desired it from affection. And why did Simeon love the Savior? Because he valued his great salvation; he was waiting for the "consolation of Israel," (the name given to Christ in verse 25.) He was a penitent sinner, and it was a consolation to him to know that God had provided a Savior. He calls Jesus "his salvation," in verse 30. "My eyes have seen your salvation." He rejoiced also to think that other men would be saved through Jesus, both Jews and Gentiles; for he said, (verses 31, 32,) that God had given him to all people, a light to enlighten the Gentiles, as well as the glory of Israel.

This shows the love to others which dwelt in Simeon's heart. He longed that all should know his Savior. It is recorded of a celebrated minister, named John Howe, that in his latter days he greatly desired to attain such a knowledge of Christ, and feel such a sense of his love, as might be a foretaste of the joys of heaven. After his death, a paper was found in his Bible recording how God had answered his prayer.

 One morning, (and he noted the day,) he awoke, his eyes swimming with tears, overwhelmed with a sense of God's goodness in shedding down his grace into the hearts of men. He never could forget the joy of these moments—they made him long still more ardently for that heaven, which, from his youth, he had panted to behold. How happy thus to see Jesus by faith before we die! then we too shall behold him some day with our bodily eyes; for though we die without that sight, we shall be raised again to gaze upon our glorious Redeemer, coming in the clouds of heaven!

All true believers may now say, with Job—""But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and that he will stand upon the earth at last. And after my body has decayed, yet in my body I will see God! I will see him for myself. Yes, I will see him with my own eyes. I am overwhelmed at the thought!" Job 19:25-27

Substitution

By Oswald Chambers


'He hath made Him to be sin for us ... that we might be made the righteousness of God...'
2 Corinthians 5:21

The modern view of the death of Jesus is that He died for our sins out of sympathy. The New Testament view is that He bore our sin not by sympathy, but by identification. He was made to be sin. Our sins are removed because of the death of Jesus, and the explanation of His death is His obedience to His Father, not His sympathy with us. We are acceptable with God not because we have obeyed, or because we have promised to give up things, but because of the death of Christ, and in no other way. We say that Jesus Christ came to reveal the Fatherhood of God, the loving-kind ness of God; the New Testament says He came to bear away the sin of the world. The revelation of His Father is to those to whom He has been introduced as Saviour. Jesus Christ never spoke of Himself to the world as one Who revealed the Father, but as a stumbling block (see John 15:22- 24). John 14:9 was spoken to His disciples.

That Christ died for me, therefore I go scot free, is never taught in the New Testament. What is taught in the New Testament is that "He died for all" (not - He died my death), and that by identification with His death I can be freed from sin, and have imparted to me His very righteousness. The substitution taught in the New Testament is twofold: "He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteous ness of God in Him." It is not Christ for me un less I am determined to have Christ formed in me.