Suffering

1Samuel 20:1

“Then David fled from Naioth at Ramah and went to Jonathan and asked, “What have I done? What is my crime? How have I wronged your father, that he is trying to kill me?”

I once knew a man who devoted his life to the service of God.  He gave selflessly and sacrificially and he loved unconditionally.  Yet he suffered.  And I thought, at the time (and still do), that he did not deserve his suffering.  

David, chosen by God to be the next King of Israel, felt persecuted, unjustly. He had served his King, he had won victories over the King’s enemies, he had brought honor to Israel, yet King Saul was trying to kill him.

Sometimes our sufferings make no sense.  Good and innocent people suffer and die while the not so innocent prosper.

David overcame his suffering and became a great king.  In his reign as king, his sufferings seemed always in the back of his mind.  They shaped and molded his reign. 

Our sufferings make us the people that we are.  They will either make us or break us; strengthen our faith or cause us to question it or lose it.

The man I knew loved until his last breath.

God’s love is like that.  

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

Jealousy

1 Samuel 18: 6-12

“6 When the men were returning home after David had killed the Philistine, the women came out from all the towns of Israel to meet King Saul with singing and dancing, with joyful songs and with timbrels and lyres. 7 As they danced, they sang:

“Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.” 8 Saul was very angry; this refrain displeased him greatly. “They have credited David with tens of thousands,” he thought, “but me with only thousands. What more can he get but the kingdom?” 9 And from that time on Saul kept a close eye on David.10 The next day an evil spirit from God came forcefully on Saul. He was prophesying in his house, while David was playing the lyre, as he usually did. Saul had a spear in his hand 11 and he hurled it, saying to himself, “I’ll pin David to the wall.” But David eluded him twice. 12 Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with David but had departed from Saul.”

Saul became increasingly threatened by David’s success and his popularity.  Instead of coming to terms with these things within himself, he lashed out at David. Instead of  repenting of his sins in order to strengthen his relationship with God, he attempted to kill David.  His solution to his problem was to sin more.

The sins of narcissism and jealousy clearly clouded Saul’s judgment.. In Saul’s mind, it was David’s fault that the Lord’s spirit was not upon him and that by killing David the Lord’s spirit would once again be with him.

How is it that we refuse to see our sins when we see the sins of others so readily?

Christ said, “First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor’s eye.” (Matthew 7:5)

Fortunately, the Holy Spirit is present in every believer, and will give us the spirit of humility and an awareness of our own sins.  

All we have to do is listen and obey.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

Fellowship

1Samuel 18: 1-4

“After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself. 2 From that day Saul kept David with him and did not let him return home to his family. 3 And Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. 4 Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt.”

David and Jonathan were close friends who shared good times and helped each other through some tough times. We need close friends in our lives; people that we can count on. 

Fellowship comes from the Greek word koinania, and in the New Testament it often means “sharing,” “close association,” or “mutual participation” and involves the ways believers help one another with their physical, mental, emotional and spiritual needs.

Christian fellowship is essential for our growth as Christians and  in our relationship with God.  Some of the most important things I have learned over the years have been with or because of other Christians.

Our relationship with God is important.  

And God expects us to carry this relationship forward into our relationships with other people.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

What Do We Need

1 Samuel: 17:38-40

“38 Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. 39 David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them. “I cannot go in these,” he said to Saul, “because I am not used to them.” So he took them off. 40 Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine.”

What is it that we need?  Sometimes the things we have weigh us down and cause us to move slowly or not at all.  David was weighed down by the armor that Saul thought he would need to fight Goliath.  So, he took them off. Instead, David chose simple weapons that enabled him to move quickly, to adapt, and to adjust.

The decision to remove the armor of Saul was an act of courage, an act of faith in himself and his abilities, and an act of faith in God.   David knew that God dwelled within him in a powerful way and would enable him to accomplish His will.

John Wesley once said “Give me one hundred preachers who fear nothing but sin, and desire nothing but God, and I care not a straw whether they be clergymen or laymen; such alone will shake the gates of hell and set up the kingdom of heaven on Earth.”

More often than not, we think we need many things to accomplish God’s will when in reality these weigh us down.

Maybe we should take off the heavy, shiny armor, strengthen our faith and pick up the smooth stones from the stream.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

God’s Spirit

1 Samuel 16:8-13

“8 Then Jesse called Abinadab and had him pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, “The Lord has not chosen this one either.” 9 Jesse then had Shammah pass by, but Samuel said, “Nor has the Lord chosen this one.” 10 Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, “The Lord has not chosen these.” 11 So he asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?”“There is still the youngest,” Jesse answered. “He is tending the sheep.” Samuel said, “Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.”12 So he sent for him and had him brought in. He was glowing with health and had a fine appearance and handsome features. Then the Lord said, “Rise and anoint him; this is the one.” 13 So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David. Samuel then went to Ramah.”

David was anointed by the prophet Samuel as a youth (approx. 15 years old) to be the future king of Israel.  He was tending his family’s sheep when he was called in from the fields.  His life as the youngest child of seven was never the same.

Immediately after his anointing, David was indwelled by the Holy Spirit and began a lifelong walk with God that was to take him into the court of Saul and to the throne of Israel where he became the nation’s greatest king.

God’s Holy Spirit dwells in each believer. We, like David, are walking with God; in relationship with God; led by the Holy Spirit deeper into God’s truth.  In order for this relationship to grow we must remain open to the leading and guidance of the Holy Spirit.  We do this through the practice of prayer, study of scripture, worship, service to others, self-sacrifice and the practice of fellowship.

God dwells within each believer. 

And our lives are never the same.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

The Imperishable

 1 Samuel 15:10-12

“10 Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel: 11 “I regret that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from me and has not carried out my instructions.” Samuel was angry, and he cried out to the Lord all that night. 12 Early in the morning Samuel got up and went to meet Saul, but he was told, “Saul has gone to Carmel. There he has set up a monument in his own honor and has turned and gone on down to Gilgal.”

Saul, after defeating the Amalekites in a crushing victory, went to Carmel where he set up a monument to himself in order that his great victory over the Amalekites would be remembered.

By doing this he displayed a profound arrogance.  Instead of recognizing God’s role in this victory, he chose to focus on himself and gave himself the glory.  Instead of remembering God, the people would look at the monument and remember Saul.  In Saul’s eyes Israel was no longer a testament to God but to himself.

We all want to be remembered.  We want something that we do, or something we make, or something we write to live on after us.  But this is a vain desire.  

We always need to remember that the world persistently offers and tempts us with shiny things that look good, but will break down, fade away and be forgotten.  Christians are to pursue those things that are imperishable; the eternal things.

“Time, like an ever-rolling stream, bears all its sons away; they fly forgotten, as a dream dies at the opening day.”(O God Our Help of Ages Past, UMH p. 117).

But…

God’s presence, God’s love, God’s word, God’s promise,..........

 endures forever.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

The Good Shepherd

John 10: 14-15

14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.”

Christ describes himself as the good shepherd.  He cares for his sheep.   He knows the sheep, leads them to green pastures, guards them, and looks for them when they are lost.

In turn, sheep know their shepherd.  They recognize his voice.  They follow the shepherd wherever he leads them. 

A relationship exists between a shepherd and his sheep.

Christ knows His sheep.  Do we know His voice?

May the love of Christ be with you

Rev. Eric Lanier