THOUGHT AND SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY: HALF EMPTY, HALF FULL When you see a glass filled to its halfway mark, is it half empty or half full? In fairness and logically speaking, the answer probably has more to do with how thirsty you are. And whether you see the glass as half empty or half full, youre still only getting half a glass anyways. Todays reading tells us about the death of King Saul, the so-called halfway man for his actions and often, bad decisions. Even in dying Saul makes a bad choice. So was Saul half empty or half full? You decide. What matters most; however, is that Sauls devotion to God is half- hearted. As you read, note how Sauls lackluster devotion influences his actions and leadership as king...in the end leading to severe consequences for himself and his family. READ: 1 Chronicles 10:1-12:40 KEY SCRIPTURE: Now the Philistines attacked Israel, and the men of Israel fled before them. Many were slaughtered on the slopes of Mount Gilboa. The Philistines closed in on Saul and his sons, and they killed three of his sons—Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malkishua. The fighting grew very fierce around Saul, and the Philistine archers caught up with him and wounded him. Saul groaned to his armor bearer, “Take your sword and kill me before these pagan Philistines come to taunt and torture me.” But his armor bearer was afraid and would not do it. So Saul took his own sword and fell on it. When his armor bearer realized that Saul was dead, he fell on his own sword and died. So Saul and his three sons died there together, bringing his dynasty to an end. So Saul died because he was unfaithful to the lord. He failed to obey the lord ’s command, and he even consulted a medium instead of asking the lord for guidance. So the lord killed him and turned the kingdom over to David son of Jesse. ~ 1 Chronicles 10:1-6, 13-14 NLT Saul made two crucial mistakes in the way he lived...he actively did wrong, and he failed to do right (1 Chronicles 10:13-14). He also, and more importantly, actively did wrong by disobeying Gods instructions (see 1 Samuel 13:1-14; 15:1-23). He passively failed to do right by neglecting to ask God for guidance as he ran the kingdom. Our responsibility to obey God is much the same...both passively and active. It is not enough just to avoid what is wrong; we need to actively pursue what is right. How can we do this? We can avoid doing wrong by keeping Gods commandments...worshiping God alone, telling the truth, being faithful to a husband or wife, being content with what we have and where were at, and loving everyone...even our enemies. We can actively pursue what is right by seeking Gods guidance through prayer and his Word. In addition, we should take advantage of opportunities to serve God and others. By doing these things, we should always see life as positive and half full, rather than negative and half empty. When we are uplifting in our words and actions, people take notice and are naturally drawn to it. But ultimately, its up to you to choose what side youd rather be on. I know what side Im on! Will you join me and make a difference?
Posted on: Mon, 24 Mar 2014 16:24:43 +0000