It was late afternoon when I took this picture; and the sun was so bright that it was hard to focus the camera at all. When I uploaded the image to my computer- surprise- there was that weed of a "flower" in the gutter. Instead of cropping it out of the image, I decided to use it anyway because, after all, it IS PART OF THE HOUSE!!! It occurred to me that sometimes people are like this image; fantastic in many ways, but the baggage they bring with them is their undoing...
1 Samuel, Chapter 9
1 Now there was a man of Benjamin, Yahweh has sought for himself a man after his own heart, and Yahweh has appointed him to be prince over his peoplewhose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah, the son of a Benjamite, a mighty man of valor. 2 He had a son, whose name was Saul, an impressive young man; and there was not among the children of Israel a better person than he. From his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people.
3 The donkeys of Kish, Saul’s father, were lost. Kish said to Saul his son, “Take now one of the servants with you, and arise, go seek the donkeys.” 4 He passed through the hill country of Ephraim, and passed through the land of Shalishah, but they didn’t find them: then they passed through the land of Shaalim, and there they weren’t there: and he passed through the land of the Benjamites, but they didn’t find them.
5 When they had come to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant who was with him, “Come, and let us return, lest my father stop caring about the donkeys, and be anxious for us.”
6 He said to him, “See now, there is in this city a man of God, and he is a man who is held in honor. All that he says comes surely to pass. Now let us go there. Perhaps he can tell us concerning our journey whereon we go.”
7 Then Saul said to his servant, “But, behold, if we go, what shall we bring the man? For the bread is spent in our vessels, and there is not a present to bring to the man of God. What do we have?”
8 The servant answered Saul again, and said, “Behold, I have in my hand the fourth part of a shekel of silver. I will give that to the man of God, to tell us our way.” 9 (In earlier times in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, thus he said, “Come, and let us go to the seer”; for he who is now called a prophet was before called a Seer.)
12 They answered them, and said, “He is. Behold, he is before you. Hurry now, for he has come today into the city; for the people have a sacrifice today in the high place. 13 As soon as you have come into the city, you shall immediately find him, before he goes up to the high place to eat; for the people will not eat until he come, because he blesses the sacrifice. Afterwards those who are invited eat. Now therefore go up; for at this time you shall find him.”
14 They went up to the city. As they came within the city, behold, Samuel came out toward them, to go up to the high place.
15 Now Yahweh had revealed to Samuel a day before Saul came, saying, 16 “Tomorrow about this time I will send you a man out of the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him to be prince over my people Israel; and he shall save my people out of the hand of the Philistines: for I have looked on my people, because their cry has come to me.”
1 Samuel, Chapter 13
10 It came to pass that as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might greet him. 11 Samuel said, “What have you done?”
Saul said, “Because I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that you didn’t come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines assembled themselves together at Michmash; 12 therefore I said, ‘Now the Philistines will come down on me to Gilgal, and I haven’t entreated the favor of Yahweh.’ I forced myself therefore, and offered the burnt offering.”
13 Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of Yahweh your God, which he commanded you; for now Yahweh would have established your kingdom on Israel forever. 14 But now your kingdom shall not continue. Yahweh has sought for himself a man after his own heart, and Yahweh has appointed him to be prince over his people, because you have not kept that which Yahweh commanded you.”
Saul was a very special man; tall, handsome- attractive in every way. BUT, he feared the people more than God. And his disobedient nature cause him to be rejected by God and another (David) was to take his place. God gives us one life- what we do with it is up to us. Saul made his choice of putting God second and paid dearly for it. Now, I didn't realize what baggage came along with the beautiful yellow, purple, red and blue flowers, if I had- I would have just not included them. Look at your life. Is there any baggage keeping you from serving God as you should? If so, do a little editing today and avoid the consequences it may bring tomorrow!!! Remember Saul!!!!
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