1 Samuel 4:3 (KJV) Keep Them in Place

1 Samuel 4:3 (KJV)

And when the people were come into the camp, the elders of Israel said, Wherefore hath the LORD smitten us to day before the Philistines? Let us fetch the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of Shiloh unto us, that, when it cometh among us, it may save us out of the hand of our enemies.

Take notice of the not-so-subtle idolatry in the text. Israel wasn’t trusting the Lord to save them. Instead, they hoped that the ark of the covenant, the thing, would save them.

Let’s be very clear. The ark of the covenant was a critical piece of their worship.

• The ark contained several items that testified of God’s work among them
• The ark held the mercy seat where they knew the Shekinah glory of the Lord rested
• The ark had gone before Israel, leading their path during the wilderness years
• The ark had stood amid the Jordan on the shoulders of the priests when they entered the Promised Land

We will discover

• The ark was a curse to the Philistines
• The ark was a blessing to the family that kept it
• The ark was not to be tampered with

But the ark of the covenant was a thing. It was not the Lord. Israel trusted the thing, not God.

And so many do the same today. They trusted something God had given for good purposes instead of trusting the God who gave them.

Government has a place in the Lord’s design
But it was never God’s intention for government to feed the poor, house the elderly, and care for the sick.

Doctors and medicine have a place in the Lord’s design

I thank God for those who are gifted, mentally, emotionally, and physically toward caring for the infirmed and wounded. I would never deny the advantages we have because of the advancements in medical science. But it was never God’s intention that men trust in medicine above the Lord.[1]

We know that the church has a place in the Lord’s design
Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it. I believe in the sufficiency of the local church as a place of worship, to answer prayer, to instruct and equip the ministry, and to accomplish evangelism.  But it was never God’s intention for the local church to replace God.

To put any of these, or anything else, before the Lord is to make it an idol.

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[1] 2 Chronicles 16:12 (KJV) 
And Asa in the thirty and ninth year of his reign was diseased in his feet, until his disease was exceeding great: yet in his disease he sought not to the LORD, but to the physicians.

To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

Donate to our cause of “Reaching a world of souls with the Word of God.”

For this and, more than 5900 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

My books, and other resources, are available at:
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Merch at my Teespring store https://macz.creator-spring.com/
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1 Samuel 4:3 (KJV) Keep Them in Place

1 Samuel 3:10 (KJV) When the Lord Stands Near

1 Samuel 3:10 (KJV)

And the LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth.

Eli’s eyes had grown dim with age and dull with complacency. His sons had turned out to be perverse. The Word of God was precious in those days as there was no open vision. All of this seems to me to be reflected that each night the light of the candle before the ark would go out. There was no one to maintain the oil.

But there was a flicker of light even in this sorry situation. The child Samuel was there. The Lord approached him, but Samuel thought it was Eli. So many mistake the ministry for the Lord. Eli was in such a spiritual stuper he did not immediately recognize God’s work.
“I called not, lie thee down.”

Again, the Lord approached. Again, Samuel came to Eli. Again, Eli missed the nature of this call.
“I called thee not, lie thee down.”

A third time the Lord called. A third time Samuel came to Eli. This time Eli perceived God and gave proper instruction. 
“If HE calls again, answer the LORD.”

Now Samuel is ready to hear from God, so now Lord came and stood and called to Samuel.

There is a place for service, a place for ministry, and a place for ministers. But the nearness of the Lord only happens when those are in their place and not put in a place before God.

The sincerest of Christians can make that mistake. 

The best of ministers correct it, and point people to the Lord.

To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

Donate to our cause of “Reaching a world of souls with the Word of God.”

For this and, more than 5900 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

My books, and other resources, are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Merch at my Teespring store https://macz.creator-spring.com/
Be a witness with hats, mugs, t-shirts, sweat shirts, and more

Let’s have coffee?
The link to Ko-fi  is an opportunity to support this effort to reach a world of souls with the Word of God. I would appreciate any gift you can give. 

1 Samuel 3:10 (KJV) When the Lord Stands Near

Matthew 17:5 (KJV) Hearing Jesus

Matthew 17:5 (KJV)

While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.

Peter gets dished a lot of grief for speaking out of turn. Generally, I am of the opinion we are too hard on him. We are, perhaps, speaking out of turn to speak so poorly of him.

That said, there is here a good lesson in listening. Truth is Peter needed to hear Jesus.

None of us listen enough to the Lord. Our minds are busy, occupied with affairs of this life, cares of the world, ambitions, opinions, and the philosophies of men. We listen so seldom. We’ve come to believe we know what the Lord has said without genuinely trying to hear Him.

• We’ve read books
• We’ve gone to classes
• We’ve heard sermons
• We’ve had discussion groups

We know what Jesus said. Why listen?

If indeed we are what we listen to, we are in a world of hurt.

It’s time to slow down, stop talking and stop thinking about other things, and hear Jesus.

To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

Donate to our cause of “Reaching a world of souls with the Word of God.”

For this and, more than 5900 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

My books, and other resources, are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Merch at my Teespring store https://macz.creator-spring.com/
Be a witness with hats, mugs, t-shirts, sweat shirts, and more

Let’s have coffee?
The link to Ko-fi  is an opportunity to support this effort to reach a world of souls with the Word of God. I would appreciate any gift you can give. 

Matthew 17:5 (KJV) Hearing Jesus

Matthew 16:11 (KJV) How Is That?

Matthew 16:11 (KJV)

How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees?

This verse is introduced by,
Matthew 16:7-10 (KJV)
And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have taken no bread.
Which when Jesus perceived, he said unto them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread?
Do ye not yet understand, neither remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets ye took up?
Neither the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many baskets ye took up?

In other words, they had been given this lesson several times. Jesus had taught the lesson, reinforced it with a miracle, and then reinforced it again with a second, similar lesson.

How is it they did not understand?

Rather than seeing this as a rebuke, it would be better to view it as a lesson in human nature. We are dull of hearing and slow in learning. It takes repeated exposure to the truth before we get hold of it. Even then, we may not keep hold of it long the first or second time.

This life is a series of lessons in spiritual growth. It’s a classroom. Some, of course, try to skip class or pay no attention while in the classroom.

The wisest of us keep in mind how much we don’t know. We keep our eyes and ears open, trying to pick up some grain of truth that we take to carry farther down the road, to the next lesson.

To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

Donate to our cause of “Reaching a world of souls with the Word of God.”

For this and, more than 5900 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

My books, and other resources, are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Merch at my Teespring store https://macz.creator-spring.com/
Be a witness with hats, mugs, t-shirts, sweat shirts, and more

Let’s have coffee?
The link to Ko-fi  is an opportunity to support this effort to reach a world of souls with the Word of God. I would appreciate any gift you can give. 

Matthew 16:11 (KJV) How Is That?

Matthew 15:27 (KJV) We Only Ask for the Crumbs

Matthew 15:27 (KJV)

And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.

A woman of Canaan. If the Jews had obeyed the Lord from the beginning, she would not have existed. But she did exist. And even she, who had been born with this “sentence of death” upon her, found grace in the sight of the Lord.

In so many respects, we might view ourselves as unworthy of God’s grace, blessing, and help. Let not these things hinder us from approaching the Lord with our needs.

All she sought was a crumb from the table. She did not ask for what God had come to give Israel. She only asked for a little thing.

Lord, we come this morning fully aware of our faults, failures, and those things that ought to have prevented us from your presence. But we are here,[1] and we only ask for grace. Even a crumb from your table will be sufficient.

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[1] Note: I write these Daily Visits with God for my personal benefit as I spend time with God. I merely share them with those who wish to join in my visits. This is an example of the very personal nature these visits can have. As I wrote this, I was preparing to take my wife to see a surgeon and find the extent of cancer they have recently found she has. We did not know what we would hear. We only asked the Lord to give us some crumb of hope this morning. The appointment is now finished, and we do have that glimmer of hope. Though more tests are required, and then surgery and radiation, if all goes as the doctor expects she told us my sweet wife will not die of this cancer.

To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

Donate to our cause of “Reaching a world of souls with the Word of God.”

For this and, more than 5900 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

My books, and other resources, are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Merch at my Teespring store https://macz.creator-spring.com/
Be a witness with hats, mugs, t-shirts, sweat shirts, and more

Let’s have coffee?
The link to Ko-fi  is an opportunity to support this effort to reach a world of souls with the Word of God. I would appreciate any gift you can give. 

Matthew 15:27 (KJV) We Only Ask for the Crumbs

Ruth 1:16 (KJV) Two Nice Young Ladies

Ruth 1:16 (KJV)

And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God:

Ruth and Orpah appear to have both been very nice young ladies. I’ve come to believe Elimech was of better character than he is usually given credit and it seems to me that one of the evidences of that is the character of the girls his sons chose as wives.

That being said, Ruth stands out, and I believe that is the intention of the account as of exceptional quality.

Consider the many temptations to return to her old life

• Her husband had died
• Her mother-in-law had decided to go to BethlehemJudah
• Naomi urged them to go back
• Naomi explained to them the price of remaining
• Orpah did turn back
• Naomi used Orpah as reason for Ruth to do the same

Still, Ruth begged her mother-in-law to allow her to follow after her.

Ruth clave to Naomi and became the blood from which our Saviour came forth.

Our world has many good people. Goodness is not the same as godliness. Ruth embraced not only Naomi but:

• Naomi’s home
• Naomi’s family
• Naomi’s culture
• Naomi’s God and
• Naomi’s eternity

Ultimately, she gave the world 

• Naomi’s Messiah

To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

Donate to our cause of “Reaching a world of souls with the Word of God.”

For this and, more than 5900 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

My books, and other resources, are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Merch at my Teespring store https://macz.creator-spring.com/
Be a witness with hats, mugs, t-shirts, sweat shirts, and more

Let’s have coffee?
The link to Ko-fi  is an opportunity to support this effort to reach a world of souls with the Word of God. I would appreciate any gift you can give. 

Ruth 1:16 (KJV) Two Nice Young Ladies