Diydaddy

Why do we so often forget that “the battle is the Lord’s”? Pride. Satan had pride. It was his downfall. Pride can sneak up on me. It is a temptation that you don't see coming unless you watch for it. What does that phrase actually mean? We have to remember that although we are very important to the Lord, we are but one small piece of a very large battle. Just as in the Army we had to be ready to give all for the good of the nation, how much more important is our role in the battle between God and the devil. How can we avoid the arrogance of pulling God into our battles (“God is on my side”), rather than engaging in His battles (“I am on God’s side”)? Do not demand a certain outcome from God. Truely let his will be done.

What does David’s explanation to Saul of his combat experience say about David’s faith? David is not boasting in his abilities, he is boasting about God's abilities. How lethal is David as a warrior? With God as his primary weapon, he is absolutely deadly! Why do you think Saul allows him to go out to battle Goliath? Saul has no other options and as stated in the lesson, he knows that if David loses, the phycological advantage gained by the Philitines would be lessened by Goliath beating a boy without armor and weapons. Does Saul have faith? If so, what is the source of it? Saul does not have faith, he is hedging his bets.

I really like EY Jackson's answer! Being the youngest of 5, I can really relate to it! David is not about to back down from a fight. Why is David so upset about Goliath’s taunt? What does this teach us about David’s faith? David's faith makes him fearless in the face of danger and his experience in fighting bears and lions to rescue lambs has reinforced his faith. To him size does not matter. He sees a threat and he knows that God is up to the task. David did not have time to think about the ramifications of attacking a bear or lion. Seconds wasted would mean the death of the lamb. So David was in a hurry to do away with Goliath and could not understand why everyone was just cowering around waiting for someone else to do it. Why is Eliab, David’s brother, so upset with David? Big brother's ego was hurt! What does it teach us about Eliab’s character? EIlab's self worth was based on his position and his faith in God in this endevour was lacking.

EY Jackson, I agree with your eloquent point that God does not torment us. The devil is great at persuading us and manipulating us to sin. Then the devil turns on us and tries to convince us that it is impossible for us to be Christian because of how terrible we have been. You will find this strategy of the devil in Job where he is called the accuser.

I like The answer from Newbie, but the like button doesn't seem to work. The Holy Spirit was promised to everyone after he was risen and before he left his followers. The gift was delivered at Pentacost. Before that time, it appears that God was more frugal with the gift of the Spirit. David was given a great honor and gift. Importantly David recognized the gift and did not take it for granted and take personal credit for his successes, but rather accepted responsibility for his failures. Who do I give credit to when I have success in my life? Sadly, I all too often hear myself say, "Look what I did".

This morning when I woke up, I started to pray as I lay in bed. I do this often especially when I wake up before the alarm yells at me to stop sleeping. I could not calm my mind or stay focused this morning. When this happens I try to say each sentence of the Lord's prayer with a personal application of that sentence, but today I still could not keep focused. My ears were screaming and my mind was racing. As the father of 5 (including a set of twins) the opportunities for meditation and reflection are limited. When I set aside time to pray after everyone is in bed, I fall asleep before I can get through prayers. I have not had the priviliedge of hearing a voice and have come to rely on doors. I ask for guidance and look for open doors for everything from opportunities to share Christ to life decisions. Some doors open and others close or remain closed. This guidance is very real and divine to me.

What is rebellion? Rebellion seems to be the story of my life which is why I love the story of David so much. I can identify with Saul in that so many times in my life I have chosen a path that I know is not congruent with the Bible and it's teaching. I have made the same lame excuses and placed blame on others as Saul did. Why can't I seem to learn my lesson and continue do this over and over again? That is the Saul side of me, letting the accuser blame me, telling me I am not able and that rebellion is my predetermined destiny. So I can follow Sauls' example and drown in my own inability to be perfect and get arrogant at how I can change God's equation and instructions to make me look good or I can follow David's example and turn from my evil ways, repent, and be humbled by God's grace and forgiveness. In what way is rebellion as bad as witchcraft or occult practices? Satan wants it his way which is rebellion. To worship Satan is to worship rebellion. If you rebel then aren't you worshiping rebellion? To worship anything besides God is rebellion. What does rebellion have to do with arrogance? Jesus asked us to serve just as he served the diciples. He did not send us out to command, but to serve. Both Saul and David came from humble beginnings. David was a shepherd and shepherds were certainly not viewed as the creme of society. Jesus dealt with the arrogent religious leaders through out his life. Their arrogance and status was based on how they appeared to follow the rules and that is how their status was guaged. They rebelled by creating their own standards. Since we cannot be perfect the danger appears to be in the act of making ourselves look better than others, creating a standard that we meet and others fail. Everyone has a set of weaknesses and it can be so easy to compare our shortcomings favorably to someone elses. What can we do when we find rebellion against God in our hearts? What happens if we do nothing? If you have a basket of strawberries and there is one moldy strawberry and you fail to remove it. They whole basket will become moldy.