Planted by Water

I was reading recently about the tragic death of King Saul (in 1 Chronicles 10) and noted how, when killed, he was ’stripped of his armour’ by his enemies; and I thought back to how he had offered his armour to David. He was the king at the time, the leader of God’s people, and he should have been going up against Goliath.  He had all the appearance of strength with his armour but not the real …

Thinking back to the posting I made at the end of last week about monuments or sons, I was also thinking about when David expresses his desire to build a temple, a house for God. It seem that God has mixed feelings about monuments too! Although he eventually ordains Solomon to build the Temple and it is part of his plan, even then there is a recognition of the limitation of physical buildings - ‘will God really dwell on earth?’ (1 Kings 8:27). The key to understanding why is shown when …

Both on my blog and others in recent months, there has been some debate about the role of the Law, Reconstruction and how the Old Testament Law may apply, or not, to society. I think that this is a really crucial issue as it affects how we should (and shouldn’t) go about seeking to affect society - something that, as citizens and ambassadors of the Kingdom, we are certainly called to do. I chose not to …

It is fine to be zealous, provided the purpose is good,  (Gal.4:18)

I blogged yesterday about Saul and his mad, angry passion against the enemies of God - a passion that was ‘in the Spirit.’ I believe in the need for leaders to be passionate about the Kingdom, the Church, God’s glory, God’s purpose etc. But just a little warning. Not long after posting, I was reading a number of things where Christian ‘leaders’ and writers were displaying passion and zeal, but in what I felt were mis-directed ways. They …

When Saul heard their words, the Spirit of God came upon him in power, and he burned with anger…….The the terror of the Lord fell on the people, and they turned out as one man.            (1 Samuel 11:6,7)

Recently I was reading the story of one of the few times when King Saul got it right; when the Ammonites were threatening the men of Jabesh Gilead, God’s people, with forcing their surrender, and gouging out their right eyes. …

I’m back! What a week!! Praise God for full lives!

But over the last couple of Sundays I did actually get round to bringing the word that God has been giving me about sacrifice. I know that the OT sacrifices ultimately point to the once and for all sacrifice of Christ on the cross - as far as dealing with sin is concerned, there is no need for anymore sacrifice! And yet - we still do …