Sunday mornings continue to revolve around the stories and events in 1 Samuel.  Maybe some of the material didn't go as well as I wanted but it's been a good study so far.  We still are not quite yet to David but we are going there soon.  One more message may be needed to fill out the failures of Saul then we get to another new section.  People really do not change over time.  What drives some to do good or bad things can be found in the biblical history about 3000 years ago.  All we do is change the symptoms but the core reality remains constant.  Some media elites tell us how much superior we are for our education or refinement.  My response is we still bog down in the same muck as in years gone by.  The need of people in the day of Samuel is unchanged today.  God longs to be involved with His people on a daily basis.  He is our only hope then and now.

It is in the 8th chapter where we read the people want a King to do what God wants to do.  Our prophet warns them of great cost but that really doesn't matter to them.  The heart relationship with God was lost before the request was made.  I saw a great interview this evening dealing with the Arab countries and the recent revolutions.  The response was that people may know what they want to be changed from but not what they want to be changed to.  What we want may be very different than what we think.  Believers are not immune to this cycle.  We may not want God to be free to do as He wishes but we just want something or someone to make things better than they are.  We will wake up one day to discover what we wanted was not what we needed.

Another lesson to learn is about how God is at work in our world to do His best.  We do not often think about such things until a time of calamity.  Then our mind wonders how God let life get so out of control.  How often do we look to Him for guidance on what God wants to do on a regular basis?  Quoting scripture becomes a substitute for a mature relationship with the Almighty.  Most times it sounds as if we believe more in fate than faith.  It is more about stuff going as we wish more than our being in relation to God as He works in our heart and mind.  Saul is introduced to us not as a future king but as a guy chasing some donkeys.  He cannot see God at work to bless his life.  Chasing donkeys is not a great call to life but it seems he never leaves that mentality behind. 

All of this goes back to the truth of people never really changing with God's help.  One of the first things we said about 1 Samuel is these people are just like us.  Perhaps they are part of scripture but their lives are very much like ours.  Flesh and blood issues measure how we relate to God.  Here is one of the huge reasons for Jesus.  He understands humanity yet is capable of forgiving and filling our hearts.  Being in 1 Samuel is one surprise discovery after another for me.  I can only hope others hear what God wants to say to them as we move on in the journey.

Bro. Trey