Be Encouraged Brother!

In the Chapter 31of 1 Samuel we have the scene of the death of King Saul, and his sons 

following the rather strange event of the appearance of Samuel via the outlawed medium/soothsayer. 


As we enter into a new era and a new book in 2 Samuel chapter 1, we see the 
response of David to the death of the King (his father in law) who had wanted to kill him, had
chased him out of his home and his job, and had given his first wife to another man!
The same King who had chased him across hill and dale with his
army to destroy David and his men.

David even suggested that Saul's men were saying that he should go and worship other gods! 

These things would surely have placed David in a very difficult position, and would have 

caused a lesser man to celebrate that "The King is dead!". 

Indeed the king was dead and David now knew that the person who had sought to kill him 

had been moved aside, and his life was no longer under threat. 

So what was David's response to the tremendous news? It was this the "Song of the Bow", which he wanted others to learn that they might speak and sing it out too.

(2 Sam 1:14-27) So David said to him, "How was it you were not afraid to put forth your hand to destroy the LORD's anointed?" 

(15) Then David called one of the young men and said, "Go near, and execute him!" And he struck him
so that he died. 

(16) So David said to him, "Your blood is on your own head, for your own mouth has testified against you, saying, 'I have killed the LORD's anointed.' " 

(17) Then David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan his son, 

(18) and he told them to teach the children of Judah the Song of the Bow; indeed it is written in the Book of
Jasher: 

(19) "The beauty of Israel is slain on your high places! How the mighty have fallen! 

(20) Tell it not in Gath, Proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon- Lest the daughters of the Philistines 

rejoice, Lest thedaughters of the uncircumcised triumph. 

(21) "O mountains of Gilboa, Let there be no dew nor rain upon you, Nor fields of offerings. For the shield
of the mighty is cast away there! The shield of Saul, not anointed with oil.
(22) From the blood of the slain, From the fat of the mighty, The bow of
Jonathan did not turn back, And the sword of Saul did not return empty.
(23) "Saul and Jonathan were beloved and pleasant in their lives, And in their death they were not 

divided; They were swifter than eagles, They were stronger than lions. 

(24) "O daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, Who clothed you in scarlet, with luxury; Who put 

ornaments of gold on your apparel. 

(25) "How the mighty have fallen in the midst of the battle! Jonathan was slain in your high places. 

(26) I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan; You have been very pleasant to me; Your love to me was
wonderful, Surpassing the love of women. 

(27) "How the mighty have fallen,And the weapons of war perished!"

So David, instead of rejoicing at the death of his king and accuser, lamented and showed great sorrow at this death. 

• How did he do that? 
• What can we learn from all this? 
• What is our response when the trials and tribulations come along? 
• Do we cast our eyes to the ground, or do we lift our voice to praise our King? 

I know that in my own life I have too often sought to put things right in my own strength, and have 

held thoughts of anger toward the circumstance I find myself in. 

But Oh, that we would have the heart of David. That we might see what the Lord is working 

out is a plan in our lives, and that the very things which we feel are weighing us
down are not in fact troubles sent by the enemy, but training weights from the Lord.

It seems to me, men, that our life is not something to be endured as punishing series of fights 

with a heavy weight boxer, so much as it could be seen as a long distance obstacle 

course with the Lord there to help and guide us through those tough parts of the course.

I cannot truly understand all that the Lord puts us through, but I do know that often 

as I look back at the tough parts of my life it seems it was then I grew the most and drew 
closer to Our Lord. Men I hope and pray that during our times of difficulty you and I may be able 

to lift our voices in praises to Our King. 

May the Lord bless you men as you seek His face in the midst of circumstance.

YIH

Kieron

"Armour Bearers" 101

As we consider the role of Pastor - the role filled by man but appointed by God - we need to consider people God had appointed in the Bible. The pattern is almost always the same and it goes like this;

• God equips a man
• God calls a man to leadership
• God calls other men (men of valour) to stand with His chosen leader. David himself was described as a mighty man of valour, as he was raised up to support Saul;    1Sam 16:18.
• God uses both the leader and the followers for His purpose. See 1 Sam 14:1 for an example of the exploits of a leader and his second man as they seek to do the work of the Lord.

This pattern can be seen many times over in the Bible, from Moses through to Paul, God calls a leader then He calls others to follow. So what is happening today? It’s plain to see God is still equipping men, He is still calling leaders to lead, but it seems that the mighty men of valour are not arising at the same time. Could it be that the Lord has changed His pattern? Or has the enemy drawn the hearts of the men of Valour away from the call upon their lives?

Psalm 12:1 reads: Help LORD for the Godly man ceases! For the faithful disappear from among the sons of men.

Men, I don't know how the enemy has prevented you from fulfilling your call but I do know the leaders in our churches need to have your support. We need to stand up! We need to take up our positions and our weapons. Have a look at Eph 6:13-18.

When we stand in the gap for our Pastors we are standing up for the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, it would do us well to read and remember the words of the old Hymn- 

Stand Up Stand up for Jesus.

Stand up, stand up for Jesus,

Ye soldiers of the cross;

Lift high His royal banner,

It must not suffer loss.

From victory unto victory

His army shall He lead,

Till every foe is vanquished,

And Christ is Lord indeed.

Stand up, stand up for Jesus,

The trumpet call obey;

Forth to the mighty conflict,

In this His glorious day.

Ye that are brave now serve Him

Against unnumbered foes;

Let courage rise with danger,

And strength to strength oppose.

Stand up, stand up for Jesus,

Stand in His strength alone;

The arm of flesh will fail you,

Ye dare not trust your own.

Put on the Gospel armour,

Each piece put on with prayer;

Where duty calls or danger,

Be never wanting there.

Stand up, stand up for Jesus,

The strife will not be long;

This day the noise of battle,

The next the victor's song.

To those who vanquish evil

A crown of life shall be;

They with the King of Glory

Shall reign eternally.

So whats to be done?

Men we need to simply start with the basics 1Th 5:12-13

If you would like to listen to some teaching on these verses click the link below...

Christian Basics for Armour Bearers

I'll sign off for now men.

May the Lord bless you as you seek to serve Him through serving others.

YIH

Kieron

1 Samuel 10

As I have been doing a study of 1 Samuel we were doing one chapter
per night. I prepare through the day then teach it to my wife and the children in the evening.
I was learning heaps! It is great studying Gods Word, don't you think, Men?

So last night we did Chapter 10, and in this section of verses v20-v22. Saul is missing when God wants to publicly anoint him King. I think it happens to us also; God calls us, anoints us, he shows us his
power, he fills us with his Holy Spirit, and we go and hide behind some stuff, hoping that God 
will not spot us and use us for His glory.

Sometimes we hide behind our busy lives or our own shortcomings, or
sometimes we hide because we are too scared to fail.

But God has not chosen us because we are useful and complete, 
He has chosen us because we are broken, sinful people in need of a saviour.

He's not chosen us because we are really something;
He has chosen us because He is really something.

Men, I think we need to stop hiding behind the stuff and let God do his work through 
our lives "because He is able". 
What do you think?

(1Sa 10:20) And when Samuel had caused all the tribes of Israel to come near, the tribe of Benjamin was chosen.

(1Sa 10:21) When he had caused the tribe of Benjamin to come near by their families, the family of Matri was chosen. And Saul the son of Kish was chosen. But when they sought him, he could not be found.

(1Sa 10:22) Therefore they inquired of the LORD further, "Has the man come here yet?" And the LORD answered, "There he is, hidden among the equipment."

YIH
Kieron

1 Samuel 11

Hello again Men,

I'm not sure why but I feel the Lord wants me to keep

sending you these emails, so unless you object I'll keep sending them.
These devotions are taken from a study in the book of 1 Samuel chapter 11.
One of the main things that stand's out in that chapter is the threat of the enemy -  Nahash -

(which means snake) outside Jabash-Gilead.

(1Sa 11:1)  Then Nahash the Ammonite came up and encamped against

Jabesh Gilead; and all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, "Make a
covenant with us, and we will serve you."

(1Sa 11:2)  And Nahash the Ammonite answered them, "On this condition
I will make a covenant with you, that I may put out all your right
eyes, and bring reproach on all Israel."

(1Sa 11:3)  Then the elders of Jabesh said to him, "Hold off for seven
days, that we may send messengers to all the territory of Israel. And
then, if there is no one to save us, we will come out to you."

First the children of Israel allowed the enemy to set up camp very

close to their lives. Then they tried to make a deal with the enemy (a sort of compromise). 
Finally in what was a last ditch attempt to buy some time (whilst they hung onto their 
right eyes for just a few more days!) they turned to their neighbors.

Men, I don't think we have changed much since the days of Jabash-Gilead. 
How often do we;

1. Allow the enemy (the serpent) to set up camp close to our lives. 
2. Start having a dialog with the enemy (well I will just not get quite as involved in that sin). 
3. Compromise our position. 
4. And then seek some kind of human intervention to solve the problem.

How quickly would the Lord have dealt with this situation if they had gone to him first! 

When the enemy comes Men, we need to cry out to God first! That He might save us 

from the enemy. Just take a look at what God did for His people when they sought Him first.1 Sam 8 v7-v13

He will never leave us or forsake us, Men praise God for that!

YIH
Kieron

1 Samuel 14

So in the last devotion I posted, I spoke about the happenings in Chapter 12 of 1 Sam. 

Now this post is concerning the happenings in chapter 14 of 1 Sam. 

There are many exciting and interesting things which stand out in this chapter. But one of the most 

outstanding features for me is the example of Jonathan's Amour Bearer in fact he is not even
mentioned by name!! But his character stands out a mile.

1Sa 14:7 "Do all that you have in mind," his armor-bearer said. "Go
ahead; I am with you heart and soul."

This young man has no doubt in his mind and is fully committed to the position his captain has 

chosen to take. There is a huge risk of failure and the odds are well and truly stacked against them.

"Armor-Bearers in ancient times had to be unusually brave and loyal,since the lives of their masters often depended on them."

(Youngblood)

Later, God would raise up a special armor bearer for King Saul: a young man named David. 

So Men I was thinking about you do you have the makings of amour bearer in
you?. Below is a copy of the duties of an amour bearer it makes good reading a will 

give us something to potentially aim for (if you feel the Lord calling).

Duties:

1. Must provide strength for his leader.
2. Must have a deep-down sense of respect for his leader, and acceptance for, and tolerance of, his leader's personality, and his way of doing things.
3. Must instinctively understand his leader's thoughts.
4. Must walk in agreement with and submission to his leader (Rom 13:1,2).
5. Obey the government, for God is the one who put it there. All governments have been placed in power by God. So those who refuse to obey the laws of the land are refusing to obey God, and punishment will follow.
6. Must make the advancement of his leader his most important goal.
7. Must possess endless strength so as to thrust, press and force.
8. Must follow orders immediately and correctly.
9. Must be a support to his leader.
10. Must be an excellent communicator (Mark 4:22).
11. Everything that is now hidden or secret will eventualy be brought to light.
12. Must have a disposition that will eagerly gain victories for his leader (2 Sam 22:36)
13. Trust God everyday for a spirit of humility, meekness, forgiveness, purity and clear conscience
14. Must have the ability to minister strength and courage to his leader

Ok Men, I'll sign off for now.

May the Lord bless you and protect you over the coming months.

YIH

Kieron

    

1 Samuel 12

Hello Men,
I hope this day finds you strong in the power of His strength and that you are ready for the first challenge to us as men seeking  to follow the will of God for our lives.


Please take a look at your bibles in Chapter 12 of the book of 1 Samuel.

Samuel had just given his retirement speech as a judge over Israel, as he is handing over 
the reins to Saul. This was an important time for Israel as Gods anointed hands over the appointed king to the people. Samuel requests that if anybody has a case against him that they stand up and he will make it right between them. Then he extols the all of the virtues and majesty of God as he reminds them of their past pattern of failure toward God;

Disobedience, Discipline, & Deliverance......  
Disobedience, Discipline, & Deliverance...... 
Disobedience, Discipline, & Deliverance....... 
Disobedience, Discipline, & Deliverance......

Oh how I know this is true in my own life,  Men!

Then Samuel declares the judgment on Israel for their current
disobedience " we want a King"

Samuel's final point at the closing of time as the last judge over
Israel is found here in these verses:

(1Sa 12:22)  For the LORD will not forsake His people, for His great name's sake, because it has 
pleased the LORD to make you His people.

(1Sa 12:23)  Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing 
to pray for you; but I will teach you the good and the right way.

(1Sa 12:24)  Only fear the LORD, and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider what 
great things He has done for you.

(1Sa 12:25)  But if you still do wickedly, you shall be swept away, both you and your king."

He makes it very clear God will never forsake His people,-we are His chosen children - He was pleased to except us as adopted heirs. In verse 23 Samuel is making clear that for him, he will not stop doing
the thing that the Lord has told him to do. He states that it would be sin for him to cease praying, and teaching. We too, Men, must not leave that which he has called us to do. 


It pleased Him to call us, then he equipped us, now we are expected to do that for which we were called.
In fact Samuel puts it even clearer; he states that it would be sin for him not to do that 
which God had called him.

In verses 24-25 Samuel gives us a promise and a warning.

When we fear the Lord and serve HIM in truth with all your heart;

(Eph 6:6)  not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of 
God from the heart,

(Eph 6:7)  with goodwill doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men,

(Eph 6:8)  knowing that whatever good anyone does, he will receive the same from the Lord, whether 
he is a slave or free.

The warning needs very little explanation, but to do wickedly is not
just whilst committing sin (a sin of commission) it is also in the sin
of omission - which means if we know what to do and we fail to do it
this is wickedness too.

May the Lord bless you as you continue to minister in all areas of your life.

YIH

Kieron