May 12

1 Samuel 12:1-13:23, John 7:1-30, Psalm 108:1-13, Proverbs 15:4 

Pray: How often do you pray for your family or others you know? Samuel says something interesting in our reading today. He says, “I will certainly not sin against the Lord by ending my prayers for you” (1 Samuel 12:23). As a single person, there are people God has placed in your life who could use your prayers. If you’re married and/or have a family, you need to be praying for them: ask God to bless them, ask God to use them for His purposes, ask God to protect them, ask God to help you lead them well. Samuel considered it a sin against God if he didn’t pray for the people. For whom will you pray today?

Read: Patience: it’s not only a virtue, but it’s often a divine command. We don’t like to wait on things. Yet, in the book of Acts, the people are told to go back to Jerusalem and wait for power from on high (Holy Spirit). Going even further back, Saul was told to wait for Samuel. He looked at his circumstances and decided not to trust the Lord. Thus, one of his first acts as Israel’s King was an act of disobedience. The result? “The Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. but now your kingdom must end…” (1 Samuel 13:13-14). Consider what Saul gave up because he was impatient and he didn’t trust God’s timing. What does this speak to you?

Edify: Political correctness has been identified by both left-wing and right-wing pundits as a huge problem in our society and a force that has actually swayed elections. No one wants to speak the truth for fear of offending another or of hurting feelings. It’s foolishness. It’s also foolish to think that this concept is new, or original to “us.” We find it in John 7:13: “But no one had the courage to speak favorably about [Jesus] in public, for they were afraid of getting in trouble…” Even that long ago, people struggled with being politically correct. How about you? Will you also be afraid to speak favorably about Jesus in public? 

Practice: We are obsessed with fame, on a large and even a small scale. We would love worldwide notoriety, but we’ll settle for a post that goes “viral.” Our priorities sure could use some realignment. It’s as if Jesus’ brothers were living in 2023 and completely out of touch with what Jesus was about. I almost laugh when I read it. They actually say to Him, “You can’t become famous if you hide like this!” (John 7:4). Though He is probably the most widely-known historical figure of all time, fame was never His goal. His goal, His aim, His mission, was all about people. In whom can you invest your time and energy mentoring? To whom can you add value? Don’t pursue fame, pursue people. It was good enough for Jesus.