Verse of the Day: 1 Samuel 15:23, For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He also has rejected you from being king.”
The Prophet Samuel, in his rebuke to King Saul, points out that his disobedience and refusal to admit, repent, and confess his sin, is equal to the sin of witchcraft and idolatry. There is no amount of justifying, performance of good works, or performance of sacrificial service (at least by our measure), that will be acceptable to the LORD in place of obeying Him. There are many of us who would not readily admit that we are rebellious or stubborn when it comes to our relationship with the LORD. However, if we are choosing our own way in living for Christ, and we are too proud to admit when we are wrong, then we are behaving no different than King Saul behaved. God rejected Saul from being king because he refused to surrender to God as his King. How then do we avoid being in a place of rebellion and stubbornness? The only way to avoid finding ourselves in such a position is to be completely surrendered to Jesus. Romans 12:1-2 admonishes, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” The greatest sacrifice we can offer God is ourselves, in obedience to His Word. In John 14:15 Jesus said, “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” We show our love for the Lord by obeying His commands. We cannot claim to love Jesus if we are rebellious and stubborn in our hearts. Romans 12 tells us to be living sacrifices. The sacrifices that were placed on the altar were first killed, then placed on the altar. Therefore, if we are to completely, and truly, surrender to Jesus, we must die to self (Matthew 16:24) and die to the world. Romans 6:13 states it this way, “And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.” King Saul’s disobedience came from the fact that he no longer served, as king, with humility. Samuel points out in verse 17 that Saul was once “small in his own eyes”. Now he thinks more of himself than he should. He allowed his greed and love of material things override the task God commanded him to perform in utterly destroying the Amalekites. His pride would not allow him to admit his wrongdoing, and led him to blame the people, who were only following the example of their king. King Saul was trying to serve as king, a position he was appointed to by God, on his own terms, as his own god. There are far too many of us who are trying to live our Christian lives on our own terms, with us established as our own gods. Today, right now, is the time to repent and turn from such rebellion and stubbornness. Instead, let us live as the Apostle Paul did when he wrote this in Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).
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