Dr Paul Allen

We will not die apart from God’s gracious decree for his children. James 4:14-15 ; Matthew 10:29-30 ; Deuteronomy 32:39 Curses and divination do not hold sway against God’s people. Numbers 23:23 The plans of terrorists and hostile nations do not succeed apart from our gracious God. Psalm 33:10 ; Isaiah 8:9-10 Man cannot harm us beyond God’s gracious will for us. Psalm 118:6 ; Psalm 56:11 God promises to protect his own from all that is not finally good for them. Psalm 91:14 God promises to give us all we need to obey, enjoy, and honor him forever. Matthew 6:31 ; Philippians 4:19 God is never taken off guard. Psalm 121:4 God will be with us, help us, and uphold us in trouble. Isaiah 41:10 , 13 Terrors will come, some of us will die, but not a hair of our heads will perish. Luke 21:10–11 , 18 Nothing befalls God’s own but in its appointed hour. John 7:30 When God Almighty is your helper, none can harm you beyond what he decrees. Hebrews 13:6 ; Romans 8:31 God’s faithfulness is based on

Apparition of the spirit of Samuel to Saul, by Salvator Rosa, 1668. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Saul then said to his attendants, “Find me a woman who is a medium, so I may go and inquire of her”  1 Samuel 28:7. When Saul tried to kill David , David fled with some of his loyal men. On their way into the wilderness they stopped at Nob where the tabernacle was maintained by the priests. David told Ahimelech the high priest that he was on a mission from Saul and that he and his men were hungry. (Jesus referred to this incident in Matthew 12:3 –4). Ahimelech gave him bread to eat. Word of this got back to Saul, and Saul had Ahimelech and all the priests killed (1 Samuel 21–22). We then skip over several years during which Saul tried to kill David numerous times, and during which David’s band enlarged considerably. There came a time when the Philistines grew bold enough to attack Israel again. They knew that Samuel was dead and that David, the great warrior, had left Saul. Pr

Michal Watching David from a Window, as in 2 Samuel 6:16: "And it was so, as the ark of the Lord came into the city of David, that Michal the daughter of Saul looked out at the window, and saw king David leaping and dancing before the Lord; and she despised him in her heart."; watercolor circa 1896–1902 by James Tissot (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) "Death of King Saul", 1848 by Elie Marcuse (Germany and France, 1817-1902) (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) J onathan 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  ( 1 Samuel 18:4). In 1 Samuel 17, we read that the Philistines assembled to make war on Israel and sent out a giant named Goliath to represent them. Day after day he taunted Israel, demanding that they send someone to battle him one-on-one. Nobody, including King Saul , volunteered. By contrast David volunteered and was successful. The army of Israel followed David’s lead, and

Samuel_reproving_Saul (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Apparition of the spirit of Samuel to Saul, by Salvator Rosa, 1668. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Saul and David. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Now the Spirit of the LORD had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD tormented him ( 1 Samuel 16:14). After Saul’s third rebellion against the Lord , God told Samuel to anoint someone else king. Leading him to the house of Jesse, the LORD commanded Samuel to anoint David as the future king of Israel . “From that day on the Spirit of the LORD came upon David in power” (1 Samuel 16:13). This is the same spiritual empowering that the judges of Israel had received in previous centuries (Judges 3:10; 6:34; 14:6; etc.) and which Saul had earlier received (1 Samuel 10:10). As soon as the Spirit came upon David, He left Saul. Without the guiding work of the Holy Spirit , Saul’s rule over Israel deteriorated swiftly. He had neither the Spirit to direct him, nor Samuel to speak

Saul and David. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) David and Saul (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) He was ruddy, With a fine appearance and handsome features. Then the LORD said, “Rise and anoint him; he is the one” (1 Samuel 16:12). David is one of the most remarkable characters in the Bible . Because we are so familiar with him, we often fail to realize how remarkable he was. David’s potential was highly developed in many areas. In fact, he showed what every one of us would be like if God gave us the grace to overcome more of the effects of Adam’s sin. First Samuel 16:12 says David was handsome and physically unblemished. But today we will study primarily his talents and accomplishments. David was a shepherd, which was a difficult task that required more skill than we twentieth century city-dwellers can imagine. Not only did David possess this skill, he showed commitment and bravery in facing both a lion and a bear in order to defend his flock. David was also a musician. He played so s

Painting of Samuel learning from Eli (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) The twelve apostles included “James the son of Zebedee ” ( Matt. 10:2). Zeal without sensitivity can destroy your life and ministry. There’s the story of a Norwegian pastor whose motto was “All or nothing!” His life and preaching were stern, strong, powerful, uncompromising, and utterly insensitive. Reportedly the people in his church didn’t care much for him because he didn’t care much for them. In his zeal and ambition to advance the Kingdom and uphold God ’s standard, he neglected everything else—including his own family. One day his little daughter became so ill, the doctor warned him that if he didn’t move her out of the cold Norwegian air to a warmer climate she would die. He refused, telling the doctor, “All or nothing!” Soon his little girl died. His wife was so grief-stricken she would sit for hours holding her daughter’s garments close to her heart, trying somehow to ease her pain. When the pastor saw what

Image via Wikipedia “You acted foolishly,” Samuel said. “You have not kept the command the LORD your God gave you; if only you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time.” 1 Samuel 13:13 It’s a moment you never want to have. A   13:13 moment . The moment you realize just what you could have had, if only you had… What a scary verse this is. Besides the fact that you have a double instance of a bad number (13:13), the thought expressed in it should rattle us to our core.  When most people talk about the consequences of sin or disobeying a specific instruction of God, they usually focus on the negative consequences that actively happen to us as a result. You sleep around, you could get an STD or get pregnant. You cut a corner at work, you could lose your job. You ignore God’s calling, you could end up in the wrong career. Those are definitely bad, but there’s an even scarier thought to consider. And that’s the unprecedented  blessing  o