From the Book of 1st Samuel... Repentance Requires Action Saul wanted David dead-more than anything else.He viewed Davids success and popularity as a threat to his kingdom and wanted the younger man out of the way. Saul pursued David for years,fully intending to kill him.By the end of Sauls life his vengence had driven him nearly insane. On one occasion Saul was asleep outdoors,surrounded by his bodyguards.David and his servant Abishai were able to tiptoe past the guards undetected and stear Sauls spear and water jug.David was quicker and brighter than Saul and his bodyguards. He and his servant outwitted Saul,placing the king of Israel in a most humiliating position. Saul responded much like a six year old who just been caught with his hand in the cookie jar,by trying to talk himself out of trouble by saying all the right words.Saul referred to David as my son and spoke with apparent affection. He promised David that he would never again try to harm him and even admitted that he had acted like a fool (1st Samuel 26:17,21,25). But David was understandably skeptical (1st Samuel 27:1). Life experience has taught us too that we cant always believe words that sound remorseful. Oh,we would like to believe them,but we need to assume a wait-and-see stance to find out whether the words will translate into action.And we ourselves have been guilty of apologizing and then failing to follow through on the promise to change our attitudes and ways. The words :Im sorry are empty unless they are backed up by changed behavior. Paul wrote that people should turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds (Acts 26:20). Repentance simply means turning around and walking in another direction. That is not accomplished by words,no matter how eloquent,sincere or convincing. Real repentance requires action. Repentance is Gods idea,certainly not our own! Our idea is to walk away from God and ignore our sin,to keep on trying to prove how strong we are and how well we are able to handle our own struggles. Our concept is that nice guys finish strong, and we tend to sugarcoat our sinful nature. But Jesus knows better. He began his ministry by preaching,Repent, for the kingdom of God is near (Matthew 4:17). Turning to God and following Jesus are the genuine demonstrations of a new life. We should experience great sorrow and remorse for our sin-because sin breaks the heart of the Jesus we claim to love-and very likely it hurts other people in the process. Sorrow is not enough,however, unless it leads to repentance (2ns Corinthians 7:10). Genuine sorrow for our sin compels us to make change (Matthew 16:24). Our self Discovery: Think about a time when you were able to bring yourself to say those words Im sorry.Why were you reluctant? Are there certain sins in your life that have control over you? What might it take for you to bow before Jesus in repentance and seek his power to change your behavior and attitudes? May God Bless! This concludes our study of the 1st Book of Samuel... We will begin our study on the 2nd Book of Samuel Introduction to the book.
Posted on: Thu, 30 Jan 2014 16:48:50 +0000
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