Daily Reflection for April 23 or Day 107
Daily Blog – Day 107 I Samuel 28-30, Psalm 89:1-18, Acts 3
Saul certainly tested the patience of God. So often he felt he knew what was best for his people, even when he knew it was contrary to God’s will and spoken word as revealed by the prophet Samuel. In Chapter 28 of I Samuel, we find that the Philistines have assembled and are encamped, ready to attack the troops of Israel. Saul is deeply afraid “and his heart trembled greatly.” So Saul turns to his last resort; he turns to the Lord. But when he inquired of the Lord, the Lord did not answer him. God did not bring him a message through any of the sources used in the past – dreams, friends, prophets. The ordinary means of finding God failed him, so out of desperation he turns to the practice of communicating with the dead (necromancy), a practice that had long been forbidden, as is recorded in the laws of Deuteronomy (18:10-11) and Leviticus (19:31; 20:6, 27). This practice was considered evil and a threat to true religion in Saul’s time, and even he made an effort to stamp it out. But under the pressure of fear and panic he relapses into this old practice. And through it what is it that he learns? He learns that because he did not listen to the voice of God, the Lord will give Israel to the Philistines, and he and his sons will die the next day (28:18-19).
How often we let our humanity get the best of us as we forget to walk with the Lord at all times and in all circumstances, good and bad. How often we push God aside and feel we know what is best for ourselves and those whom we think we control and influence. The third chapter of Acts of the Apostles relays to us an amazing story in the daily life of the ministry for Peter and John. Remember that they are now transformed men living by the power of the Holy Spirit and as the living presence of our Lord Jesus Christ. As an Easter people, confident in faith and courage because of God’s love and power manifested in and through them, they are able to say to those whom they minister and bring healing and life, “I give you what I have in the name of Jesus Christ (Acts 3:6).” Is this not what we as children of God, as an Easter people, are truly all about? We through baptism are empowered as disciples to “give Christ to others.” As our assigned Psalm states (Ps.89:15-16): “Blessed are the people who … walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance, who exalt in thy name all the day, and extol thy righteousness.” For here is found true, purposeful, and abundant life!
I commend to you this anonymous poem, words worth our contemplation, as we continue to seek and live as God’s very own.
Three Things
Three things in life that, once gone, never come back –
Time, Words, and Opportunity.
Three things in life that may never be lost –
Peace, Hope, and Honesty.
Three things in life that are most valuable –
Love, Faith, and Prayer.
Three things in life that are never certain –
Dreams, Success, and Fortune.
Three things that make a true and whole person –
Hard work, Sincerity, and Commitment.
Three things in life that can destroy a person –
Lust, Pride, and Anger.
Three things that are truly constant –
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
Wishing you a blessed Eastertide!
The Very Rev. Dr. William L. Stomski,
Chaplain and Sacred Studies Educator, Saint Joseph’s Episcopal School, Boynton Beach
Dean of the Diocesan School for Christian Studies
Daily Blog – Day 107 I Samuel 28-30, Psalm 89:1-18, Acts 3
Saul certainly tested the patience of God. So often he felt he knew what was best for his people, even when he knew it was contrary to God’s will and spoken word as revealed by the prophet Samuel. In Chapter 28 of I Samuel, we find that the Philistines have assembled and are encamped, ready to attack the troops of Israel. Saul is deeply afraid “and his heart trembled greatly.” So Saul turns to his last resort; he turns to the Lord. But when he inquired of the Lord, the Lord did not answer him. God did not bring him a message through any of the sources used in the past – dreams, friends, prophets. The ordinary means of finding God failed him, so out of desperation he turns to the practice of communicating with the dead (necromancy), a practice that had long been forbidden, as is recorded in the laws of Deuteronomy (18:10-11) and Leviticus (19:31; 20:6, 27). This practice was considered evil and a threat to true religion in Saul’s time, and even he made an effort to stamp it out. But under the pressure of fear and panic he relapses into this old practice. And through it what is it that he learns? He learns that because he did not listen to the voice of God, the Lord will give Israel to the Philistines, and he and his sons will die the next day (28:18-19).
How often we let our humanity get the best of us as we forget to walk with the Lord at all times and in all circumstances, good and bad. How often we push God aside and feel we know what is best for ourselves and those whom we think we control and influence. The third chapter of Acts of the Apostles relays to us an amazing story in the daily life of the ministry for Peter and John. Remember that they are now transformed men living by the power of the Holy Spirit and as the living presence of our Lord Jesus Christ. As an Easter people, confident in faith and courage because of God’s love and power manifested in and through them, they are able to say to those whom they minister and bring healing and life, “I give you what I have in the name of Jesus Christ (Acts 3:6).” Is this not what we as children of God, as an Easter people, are truly all about? We through baptism are empowered as disciples to “give Christ to others.” As our assigned Psalm states (Ps.89:15-16): “Blessed are the people who … walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance, who exalt in thy name all the day, and extol thy righteousness.” For here is found true, purposeful, and abundant life!
I commend to you this anonymous poem, words worth our contemplation, as we continue to seek and live as God’s very own.
Three Things
Three things in life that, once gone, never come back –
Time, Words, and Opportunity.
Three things in life that may never be lost –
Peace, Hope, and Honesty.
Three things in life that are most valuable –
Love, Faith, and Prayer.
Three things in life that are never certain –
Dreams, Success, and Fortune.
Three things that make a true and whole person –
Hard work, Sincerity, and Commitment.
Three things in life that can destroy a person –
Lust, Pride, and Anger.
Three things that are truly constant –
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
Wishing you a blessed Eastertide!
The Very Rev. Dr. William L. Stomski,
Chaplain and Sacred Studies Educator, Saint Joseph’s Episcopal School, Boynton Beach
Dean of the Diocesan School for Christian Studies
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