Read to prACTice

To read this in Vietnamese, please click  here . ******************* Rise up and  live on, after... I. Click here to READ   1 Samuel 21   first . II. One thing the Bible teaches:  (on the way to flee from king Saul, and when he came to the king of Gath, David lied and falsified several times...) 2  David said to Ahimelech the priest, “The king has commissioned me with a matter...  I have directed the young men to a certain place....  8  David said to Ahimelech, “Now is there not a spear or a sword  on hand? For I brought neither my sword nor my weapons  with me, because the king’s matter was urgent.” . . .  13  So  [David]  disguised his sanity before them  [king of Gath and his servants] , and acted insanely in their hands, and scribbled on the doors of the gate, and let his saliva run down into his beard.   III. Reflection *  Questions :  How many times altogether here did David lie and...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click  here . ******************* To Avoid or to Confront... I. Click here to READ   1 Samuel 20   first . II. One thing the Bible teaches:  (To communicate to the hiding David as to whether to run away from king Saul, who had determined to kill David, Jonathan made an arrangement with David...)  20  I will shoot three arrows to the side, as though I shot at a target.   21  And behold, I will send the lad, saying, ‘Go, find the arrows.’ If I specifically say to the lad, ‘Behold, the arrows are on this side of you, get them,’ then come; for there is safety for you and no harm, as the Lord lives.    22  But if I say to the youth, ‘Behold, the arrows are beyond you,’ go, for the  Lord  has sent you away.   III. Reflection *  Questions :  What was it supposed to mean to David when the signal received was, "Behold, the arrows are beyond you [Jonathan's servant]"? IV. A...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click  here . ******************* Good bad, Bad good... I. Click here to READ   1 Samuel 19   first . II. One thing the Bible teaches:  (knowing their father's firm intention to kill David for no reason at all, Jonathan, the king's son, and Michal, the king's daughter, took actions to save David...) 4  Then Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father and said to him, “Do not let the king sin against his servant David, since he has not sinned against you, and since his deeds have been very beneficial to you.   5  For he took his life in his hand and struck the Philistine, and the  Lord  brought about a great deliverance for all Israel; you saw it and rejoiced. Why then will you sin against innocent blood by putting David to death without a cause?” . . .  11  Then Saul sent messengers to David’s house to watch him, in order to put him to death in the m...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click  here . ******************* From a sinner to a household member... I. Click here to READ   1 Samuel 18   first . II. One thing the Bible teaches:  (Saul wanted to give his daughter in marriage to David, and he told his servants to come and tell David of his intention...) 23  So Saul’s servants spoke these words to David. But David said, “Is it trivial in your sight to become the king’s son-in-law, since I am a poor man and lightly esteemed?”   III. Reflection *  Questions :  Is it trivial to become a king's son-in-law, particularly when one is poor and a nobody? IV. Application Dear Lord God: I thank You for letting me know the truth that David confirmed to be true: to be a son-in-law of a king--to be a member of a king's fam ily--is not trivial, especially when one is poor and lightly esteemed ( v23 ). I thank You, O Lord Jesus, for taking me to this point to remind me that, through Your sacrific...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click  here . ******************* Narrow vision, Shallow action... I. Click here to READ   1 Samuel 17   first . II. One thing the Bible teaches:  (David volunteered to go to fight the giant Goliath personally since no one in the whole of Israel dared to...) 33  Then Saul said to David, “ You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are  but  a youth while he has been a warrior from his youth.” III. Reflection *  Questions :  King Saul was known to make many serious mistakes in his life. How was this judgment of his about to become one of the most serious mistakes yet? IV. Application Dear Lord God, I thank you for revealing to me that Saul's assessment of David's experience was quite mistaken, affecting the entire nation of Israel. He may not have the kind of military experience in Saul's eyes. Still, if military experience was about fighting to win, David already had ...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click  here . ******************* The serving and submitting King... I. Click here to READ   1 Samuel 16   first . II. One thing the Bible teaches:  (The Lord already rejected Saul as king of Israel. The Lord sent Samuel to anoint David as the chosen replacement for Saul. After being anointed, David was asked to be sent to the royal palace so that his music could be used to heal king Saul's illness...)   21  Then David came to Saul and attended him; and Saul loved him greatly, and he became his armor bearer. III. Reflection *  Questions :  What did David do for king Saul? IV. Application Dear Lord God: I thank You for letting me see the beautiful human being inside the life of David--the one who was anointed to be God's chosen king to replace king Saul. But until God's choice of time had come, the anointed David served king Saul so sincerely and wholeheartedly that Saul loved him greatly. The anointed David ...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click  here . ******************* I have sinned, but... I. Click here to READ   1 Samuel 15   first . II. One thing the Bible teaches:  (after being rebuked for not obeying God's command in the war with the Amalekites, and after being informed about God's plan to replace him as king of Israel, Saul realized the consequences of his action...) 30  Then he said, “I have sinned;  but  please honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel, and go back with me,  that I may worship the  Lord  your God.” III. Reflection *  Questions :  What is true repentance like? IV. Application Dear Lord God: I thank You for showing me that king Saul should have made his repenting prayer much shorter than what he said above. I thank You for teaching me that I ought to just say, "I have sinned." Period. I thank You, Lord Jesus, for taking me to this point to remind me that You teach us to repent ...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click  here . ******************* Three No's, no trouble... I. Click here to READ   1 Samuel 14   first . II. One thing the Bible teaches:  (in the battle against the strong and massive Philistines ...) 18  Then Saul said to Ahijah, “Bring the ark of God here.” For the ark of God was at that time with the sons of Israel.   19  While Saul talked to the priest, the commotion in the camp of the Philistines continued and increased; so Saul said to the priest, “Withdraw your hand.” . . .  24  Now the men of Israel were hard-pressed on that day, for Saul had  put the people under oath, saying, “Cursed be the man who eats food  before evening, and until I have avenged myself on my enemies.” So none of the people tasted food . . .  36 . . .  So the priest said, “Let us draw near to God here.”   37  Saul inquired of God, “Shall I go down after the Philistines? Will You give the...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click  here . ******************* Can do vs. May do... I. Click here to READ   1 Samuel 13   first . II. One thing the Bible teaches:  (under the military pressure posed by the Philistines on the outside and, internally, by his own people, Saul could not wait for Samuel to come to officiate the offerings as promised. So he did it himself...) 10  As soon as he finished offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him and to greet him.   11  But Samuel said, “What have you done?”...  13  Samuel said to Saul, “You have acted foolishly; you have not kept the commandment of the  Lord  your God, which He commanded you, for now the  Lord  would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. III. Reflection *  Questions :  Wasn't Saul selected by the Lord and called by Him to be king of Israel? Why did the Lord get angry a...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click  here . ******************* Feeling ashamed of sins? God needs no spins... I. Click here to READ   1 Samuel 12   first . II. One thing the Bible teaches:  (After Samuel showed the Israelites that they indeed did an evil thing in asking for a king when the Lord had been their King all along...) 19  Then all the people said to Samuel, “Pray for your servants to the  Lord  your God, so that we may not die, for we have added to all our sins this evil by asking for ourselves a king." 20  Samuel said to the people, “Do not fear. You have committed all this evil, yet do not turn aside from following the  Lord , but serve the  Lord  with all your heart...  22 For the  Lord  will not abandon His people on account of His great name... III. Reflection *  Questions :  What was worse than committing the worst sin that one can think of? IV. Application Dear...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click  here . ******************* Having won big offense, Done with petty revenge... I. Click here to READ   1 Samuel 11   first . II. One thing the Bible teaches:  (after a decisive victory over the Ammonites under the leadership of the new Israelite king, Saul's people said to Samuel...) 12  . . . “Who is he that said, ‘Shall Saul reign over us?’ Bring the men, that we may put them to death.”   13  But Saul said, “Not a man shall be put to death this day, for today the  Lord  has accomplished deliverance in Israel.” III. Reflection *  Questions :  Why wasn't there abusive power in Saul at the victory over the Ammonites on that day? IV. Application Dear Lord God: I thank You for showing me that Saul realized the victory over the Ammonites came from You and was all accomplished by You. Knowing this full well, he did not boast or seek personal revenge as he himself was on the receivin...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click  here . ******************* Love in spite of, Care even though... I. Click here to READ   1 Samuel 10   first . II. One thing the Bible teaches:  (The Lord chastised His people...) 17 . . .  ‘I brought Israel up from Egypt, and I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the power of all the kingdoms that were oppressing you.’   19  But you have today rejected your God, who delivers you from all your calamities and your distresses; yet you have said, ‘No, but set a king over us!’ III. Reflection *  Questions :  Saul was caught in the middle between his God and his Israelite people. How did the Lord treat him? IV. Application Dear Lord God: I thank You for showing me that You are, indeed, the loving God. Your people rejected You, but still, You cared for them ( 9:16 ). This Saul was to take Your place among Your people, yet You were with him too ( 10:7 ). I thank You, Lord Jesus, f...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click  here . ******************* The finder is lost, The lost is found... I. Click here to READ   1 Samuel 9   first . II. One thing the Bible teaches:  Some donkeys belonging to his father were lost. Saul and his people were sent to look for them. They traveled to 4 different places, crossing the land and into the mountains, to find them, but could not...) 5  When they came to the land of  Zuph, Saul said to his servant who was with him, “Come, and let us return,  or else my father will cease  to be concerned  about the donkeys and will become anxious for us.” III. Reflection *  Questions :  What Saul thought his father would do if he and his people did not come back soon made a lot of sense. Why? IV. Application Dear Lord God: I thank You for showing me that the love of any worldly father makes a lot of common sense. His son comes first regardless of the scenarios. I thank You, Lord Jesus, ...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click  here . ******************* Gain a one, Lose the One... I. Click here to READ   1 Samuel 8   first . II. One thing the Bible teaches  (Samuel warned the Israelites about the negative aspects of having a king over them...) 19  Nevertheless, the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel, and they said, “No, but there shall be a king over us,   20  that we also may be like all the nations, that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.”   21  Now after Samuel had heard all the words of the people, he repeated them in the  Lord’s  hearing.   22  The  Lord  said to Samuel, “Listen to their voice and appoint them a king.” III. Reflection *  Questions :  What does Jehovah Nissi mean? IV. Application Dear Lord God: I thank You for reminding me that throughout the long history of the Israelites, You were always their Judge. You...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click  here . ******************* Remove statues, the Lord alone will do... I. Click here to READ   1 Samuel 7   first . II. One thing the Bible teaches  (after years being ruled by the hand of the Philistines...) 3  Then Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, “If you return to the  Lord  with all your heart, remove the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you and direct your hearts to the  Lord  and serve Him alone; and He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.”   4  So the sons of Israel removed the Baals and the Ashtaroth and served the  Lord  alone. III. Reflection *  Questions :  How did the Israelites respond to what Samuel told them to do? IV. Application Dear Lord God, I thank You for showing me how the Israelites responded to Your instruction through Samuel on how to be delivered from the long-time Philistine rule. The...