THE LORD SPOKE (April 20)

Daily Reflections from Scripture:

Old Testament: I Samuel 3-5

When God called the little boy Samuel, Eli, the High Priest (!), almost blew it. It took Eli three times to even recognize the Lord's voice.

What Samuel heard must have been hard to understand at first and a little bit scary to a young boy: "I am about to do something that will make the ears of everyone who hears of it tingle." (I Sam. 3:11). It had made a lot of ears tingle recently and it wasn't all for good. But when God creates that sound, more than ears tingle. Just look at what Samuel continued to hear from the Lord:

The Lord was with Samuel...and he let none of his words fall to the ground. And all ________ [you fill in your blank here] ...recognized that Samuel was attested as a prophet of the Lord. The Lord continued to appear...and...he revealed himself to Samuel through his word." (I Sam. 3:19-21)

Can you hear the tingling? Did you notice that last phrase? It comes to us too through God's Word! Because of the pronoun there, it's a little hard to decide who it was that "let none of his words fall to the ground". Was it Samuel or God himself? Either way, there's a good lesson in it for us. I don't think God is ever going to let his own words fail so I better not be the one who drops them.


New Testament: Acts 21

When you go on vacation, do you look for a good church to attend on Sunday? Or do you just figure it’s a good time to take a vacation from church too? If so, that probably reveals something of your character that would be better off not revealed.

When Paul came into a town, even if it was a new place for him, he sought out the brothers in that place. Okay, you can say it’s because he was a professional missionary but that doesn’t always seem to be the case. Here in Acts 21 he’s making the trip from Ephesus to Jerusalem and we’ve already been told that “he was in a hurry to reach Jerusalem, if possible by the day of Pentecost” (Acts 20:16).

So, why is he “delaying” all along the way by meeting with the believers at each stopping point? In Tyre he found the disciples and stayed a week (Acts 21:4). At Ptolemais, he only had a day but he spent it with the brothers (Acts 21:7). Likewise, he did it at Caesarea and again as soon as he got to Jerusalem, Apparently, he loved the fellowship of the saints.

How is it when you travel? Do you stick your nose in a book and try hard not to have a conversation with the passenger in the seat next to you? Is it your tendency to stay in the hotel room, or at least not make any church plans on Sunday? If you’re camping, those people really don’t want someone smelling like campfire smoke coming into their services, right? We can sure come up with any number of excuses, can’t we?

But just think of the blessings you’ll miss. First, there’s the opportunity to draw near to God with others who love Him too. Then there is the mutual encouragement that results from finding brothers in unexpected places. The discovery that God’s family is large will deliver you from a warped parochialism. After all, you’re going to be spending eternity with some of these people. Why not get started now?

So, as summer vacation time approaches, why not plan ahead to visit believers in other places. You might even want to choose your vacation spot by what’s available locally on the Sunday you’ll be there. Going to visit family and they don’t go to church? Better yet! Take them with you. They just might pick up a good habit themselves.

Get serious about God!