Cleft of the Rock

The Cleft of the Rock I - YOU - GOD - YOU – WE

Secret clubhouse – what do you do there?

John 15:1 “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. 2 There is more than enough room in my Father’s home [?Dwelling Places?][?places of rest?]{Nuances of words}. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? 3 When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. 4 And you know the way to where I am going.”

5 “No, we don’t know, Lord,” Thomas said. “We have no idea where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. 7 If you had really known me, you would know who my Father is. From now on, you do know him and have seen him!”

8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.”

9 Jesus replied, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and yet you still don’t know who I am? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father! So why are you asking me to show him to you? 10Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I speak are not my own, but my Father who lives in me does his work through me. 11 Just believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Or at least believe because of the work you have seen me do.

When I was an adolescent, Aunt Lillian decided to pay a visit.

FUNDAMENTAL SOCIETAL PROBLEM – We've lost respect – for anything... Politicians, preachers, used car salesmen (lawyers?).

8 “Remember to observe (respect)(to set it apart, to make it distinct from the other days.) the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 You have six days each week for your ordinary work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God. On that day no one in your household may do any work. This includes you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, your livestock, and any foreigners living among you. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.
12 “Honor your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the Lord your God is giving you.

I won't toy with your intelligence by arguing the unction of God as to the Sabbath command, except to say that as soon as you can demonstrate that God approves of murder, adultery and idol worship, I will accept that He approves of my forgetfulness of his Anniversary appointment with him. (DL MOODY)

What hero would you want to visit your house? The queen of England? How would the visit look? What would you do? Where would you take them? LIVING OR DEAD? Moses, Abraham Lincoln, Abraham?

Time has value – ask anyone paid by the hour.

A love appointment... in time a respectful visitation

A group of children were asked, "What does 'love' mean?" Here are some sample answers:

• Rebekah, 8, said, "When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time—even when his hands got arthritis, too. That's love."

• Billy, 4, said, "When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth."

• Bobby, 7, says, "Love is what's in the room at Christmas, if you stop opening presents and listen."

• Nikka, 6, says, "If you want to learn to love better, you should start with someone you hate."

• Tommy, 6, says, "Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well."

• Cindy, 8, says, "During my piano recital, I was on a stage, and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me, and I saw my daddy waving and smiling. He was the only one doing that. And I wasn't scared anymore."

• Jessica, 8, says, "You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot."

Mark Buchanan, in the sermon "The Greatest of These," PreachingToday.com

you cannot love in a hurry – Kids can't love like parents can.

“In the spiritual life, the word ‘discipline’ means ‘the effort to create some space in which God can act.’ Discipline means to prevent everything in your life from being filled up. Discipline means that somewhere you’re not occupied, and certainly not preoccupied in the spiritual life. In the spiritual life, discipline means to create that space in which something can happen that you hadn’t planned or counted on.” Henri Nouwen, 1932-1996

What should our sabbath look like? After the resurrection in Spiritual Israel?

What can I do on the Sabbath? Better question – What would I do today if Jesus was visiting?

If you didn't remember your anniversary, would your spouse still love you? What would it say about your love for your spouse?

I Wanna Know What Love is – Foreigner

I gotta take a little time
A little time to think things over
I better read between the lines
In case I need it when I'm older
Now this mountain I must climb
Feels like a world upon my shoulders
And through the clouds I see love shine
It keeps me warm as life grows colder
In my life there's been heartache and pain
I don't know if I can face it again
Can't stop now, I've traveled so far
To change this lonely life
I wanna know what love is
I want you to show me
I wanna feel what love is
I know you can show me
I'm gonna take a little time
A little time to look around me,
I've got nowhere left to hide
It looks like love has finally found me
I wanna know what love is
I want you to show me
I wanna feel what love is
I know you can show me

John 14:23 Jesus replied, “All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them. 24 Anyone who doesn’t love me will not obey me. And remember, my words are not my own. What I am telling you is from the Father who sent me. 25 I am telling you these things now while I am still with you. 26 But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.27“I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart.

Love is spending time in intimate relationship … If God had not invented Sabbath we might have done so to make a routine love-building appointment – Perhaps it is only our rebellion that makes it harder than it needs to be because it was not our idea.

Oh, friend do you love Jesus?

Lord – please help my heart to experience the ecstatic love for you that you deserve and that I want to give

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

D.L. Moody == “I honestly believe that this commandment is just as binding today as it ever was. I have talked with men who have said that it has been abrogated, but they have never been able to point to any place in the Bible where God repealed it. When Christ was on earth, He did nothing to set it aside; He freed it from the traces under which the scribes and Pharisees had put it, and gave it its true place. 'The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath.' It is just as practicable and as necessary for men today as it ever was-in fact, more than ever, because we live in such an intense age.

The Sabbath was binding in Eden, and it has been in force ever since. The fourth commandment begins with the word remember, showing that the Sabbath already existed when God wrote this law on the tables of stone at Sinai. How can men claim that this one commandment has been done away with when they will admit that the other nine are still binding?

I believe that the Sabbath question today is a vital one for the whole country. It is the burning question of the present time. If you give up the Sabbath the church goes; if you give up the church the home goes; and if the home goes the nation goes. That is the direction in which we are traveling.

The church of God is losing its power on account of so many people giving up the Sabbath, and using it to promote selfishness."

Make the Sabbath a Delight.--All who love God should do what they can to make the Sabbath a delight, holy and honorable. They cannot do this by seeking their own pleasure in sinful, forbidden amusements. Yet they can do much to exalt the Sabbath in their families and make it the most interesting day of the week. We should devote time to interesting our children. A change will have a happy influence upon them. We can walk out with them in the open air; we can sit with them in the groves and in the bright sunshine, and give their restless minds something to feed upon by conversing with them upon the works of God, and can inspire them with love and reverence by calling their attention to the beautiful objects in nature. {CG 536.1}

interesting article

God's Love and Wrath Go Together

Miroslav Volf,

Miroslav Volf, a Christian theologian from Croatia, used to reject the concept of God's wrath. He thought that the idea of an angry God was barbaric, completely unworthy of a God of love. But then his country experienced a brutal war. People committed terrible atrocities against their neighbors and countrymen. The following reflections, from Volf's book Free of Charge, reveal his new understanding of the necessity of God's wrath:

My last resistance to the idea of God's wrath was a casualty of the war in the former Yugoslavia, the region from which I come. According to some estimates, 200,000 people were killed and over 3,000,000 were displaced. My villages and cities were destroyed, my people shelled day in and day out, some of them brutalized beyond imagination, and I could not imagine God not being angry.

Or think of Rwanda in the last decade of the past century, where 800,000 people were hacked to death in one hundred days! How did God react to the carnage? By doting on the perpetrators in a grandfatherly fashion? By refusing to condemn the bloodbath but instead affirming the perpetrators' basic goodness? Wasn't God fiercely angry with them?

Though I used to complain about the indecency of the idea of God's wrath, I came to think that I would have to rebel against a God who wasn't wrathful at the sight of the world's evil. God isn't wrathful in spite of being love. God is wrathful because God is love.

JW here - The other side of Love - I recently heard a discussion of the fact the God threatens us if we fail to have a relationship with him - It makes us realize that love WILL do what must be done to give us every opportunity to experience eternal life and ULTIMATE LOVE.

Sower Sowing

Matthew 13:1 Later that same day Jesus left the house and sat beside the lake. 2 A large crowd soon gathered around him, so he got into a boat. Then he sat there and taught as the people stood on the shore. 3He told many stories in the form of parables, such as this one:

“Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seeds. 4 As he scattered them across his field, some seeds fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate them. 5 Other seeds fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seeds sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow. 6 But the plants soon wilted under the hot sun, and since they didn’t have deep roots, they died. 7 Other seeds fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants. 8 Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted! 9Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”

...

18 “Now listen to the explanation of the parable about the farmer planting seeds: 19 The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message about the Kingdom and don’t understand it. Then the evil one comes and snatches away the seed that was planted in their hearts. 20 The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. 21 But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word. 22 The seed that fell among the thorns represents those who hear God’s word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life and the lure of wealth, so no fruit is produced. 23 The seed that fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!”

Who is the farmer? YOU ARE

What are the seeds? The Message about the Kingdom

What is the footpath? Hearers who don't understand

Who do the birds represent? The evil one.

Who is the shallow/rocky soil? Hearers with joy but no stomach for trouble.

What are the thorns? Cares and desires of the world.

Who is the good soil? YOU ARE IF you produce fruit!

What is fruit? Fruits of the spirit and disciples

S E C O N D A R Y A P P L I C A T I O N

Public school taught me to daydream – I am VERY good at it.

I can sit in a sermon or read the Bible or other book and be a MILLION miles away and get NOTHING from it.

When I do that I am the footpath

Have you ever been a footpath? When we are, we are INVITING the evil one to steal from us.

I have a bizarre memory (maybe you do, too) I can remember fragments of material from 40 or more years ago with crystal clarity and forget your name before you finish telling it to me. It is a blessing an a curse. Clients' stories remain with me forever their names and faces are almost all gone. The worst part is I never learned to take good notes so I frequently am the ROCKY SOIL.

Stanford University made a study of multitaskers. & found that in every respect they performed poorer than persons who sere focused on a single task. http://news.stanford.edu/pr/2009/multitask-research-release-082409.html

Rocky soil sits in the sermon or reads the Bible and says WOW! THAT is GREAT! And then walks out and never applies any of the truth gained. How do I avoid being the ROCKY SOIL?

1. take notes if you understand it

2. carry the notes out and review in following days

3. synthesize the message of the Kingdom into our lives.

Golfers Yardage books

Let the message of the Kingdom take ROOT in you.

How many have MEETINGS as part of the workplace? – Do you LOVE them? Or HATE them?

At GC almost daily meetings. We hardly could get anything done for all the meetings.

Our culture distrusts people being alone – “Where have you been/ We haven't seen much of you lately.” almost as an accusation.

We are so incurious.

Jesus spent a lot of time alone! So should I. Buck the culture – don't let people guilt you out of your private time.

Without private time to assess priorities, Listen for an to the Holy Spirit, Read the Scriptures, Pray to God – you will inevitably be the seed among the thorns.

Psalm 131

A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem. A psalm of David.

1 Lord, my heart is not proud;
my eyes are not haughty.
I don’t concern myself with matters too great
or too awesome for me to grasp.
2 Instead, I have calmed and quieted myself,
like a weaned child who no longer cries for its mother’s milk.
Yes, like a weaned child is my soul within me.

3 O Israel, put your hope in the Lord—
now and always.

Last Summer – I felt God was calling me to a deeper intimacy -

Imagine the church full of disciples of Christ who are present fully in the moment at public and private study – Listening and internalizing and taking notes and reflecting on the notes and the taking the time alone to seek God's true center and become fruitful in the Spirit.

1. I have decided to follow Jesus;

2. I have decided to follow Jesus;

3. I have decided to follow Jesus;
   No turning back, no turning back.

4. The world behind me, the cross before me;
   The world behind me, the cross before me;
   The world behind me, the cross before me;
   No turning back, no turning back.

5. Though none go with me, still I will follow;
   Though none go with me, still I will follow;
   Though none go with me, still I will follow;
   No turning back, no turning back.

6. Will you decide now to follow Jesus?
   Will you decide now to follow Jesus?
   Will you decide now to follow Jesus?
   No turning back, no turning back.

“42” The purpose of the universe... and everything.

This planet has - or rather had - a problem, which was this: most of the people living on it were unhappy for pretty much of the time. Many solutions were suggested for this problem, but most of these were largely concerned with the movements of small green pieces of paper, which is odd because on the whole it wasn't the small green pieces of paper that were unhappy. Douglas Adams

LUKE 19:36 As he rode along, the crowds spread out their garments on the road ahead of him. 37 When he reached the place where the road started down the Mount of Olives, all of his followers began to shout and sing as they walked along, praising God for all the wonderful miracles they had seen.

38 “Blessings on the King who comes in the name of the Lord!
Peace in heaven, and glory in highest heaven!”

39 But some of the Pharisees among the crowd said, “Teacher, rebuke your followers for saying things like that!”

40 He replied, “If they kept quiet, the stones along the road would burst into cheers!”

Isaiah 45:18 For the Lord is God,
and he created the heavens and earth
and put everything in place.
He made the world to be lived in,
not to be a place of empty chaos.
“I am the Lord,” he says,
“and there is no other.
19 I publicly proclaim bold promises.
I do not whisper obscurities in some dark corner.
I would not have told the people of Israel[c] to seek me
if I could not be found.
I, the Lord, speak only what is true
and declare only what is right.

20 “Gather together and come,
you fugitives from surrounding nations.
What fools they are who carry around their wooden idols
and pray to gods that cannot save!
21 Consult together, argue your case.
Get together and decide what to say.
Who made these things known so long ago?
What idol ever told you they would happen?
Was it not I, the Lord?
For there is no other God but me,
a righteous God and Savior.
There is none but me.
22 Let all the world look to me for salvation!
For I am God; there is no other.
23 I have sworn by my own name;
I have spoken the truth,
and I will never go back on my word:
Every knee will bend to me,
and every tongue will confess allegiance to me.”

Galileo Advanced the idea that the world was not the center of the universe. It is comforting to dream that the world is the center of the universe. It is very disquieting to move the world from the center to what we now know it to be – a tiny speck in an apparently infinite expanse of wonders.

Comforting to think of ourselves as the center of the universe....

How much is that comfort worth? Is it factual? Is it a christian outlook – Are we in the same position as the RC Church with Galileo?

24 The people will declare,
“The Lord is the source of all my righteousness and strength.”
And all who were angry with him
will come to him and be ashamed.
25 In the Lord all the generations of Israel will be justified,
and in him they will boast.

Revelation 4:1 Then as I looked, I saw a door standing open in heaven, and the same voice I had heard before spoke to me like a trumpet blast. The voice said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must happen after this.” 2 And instantly I was in the Spirit, and I saw a throne in heaven and someone sitting on it. 3 The one sitting on the throne was as brilliant as gemstones—like jasper and carnelian. And the glow of an emerald circled his throne like a rainbow. 4 Twenty-four thrones surrounded him, and twenty-four elders sat on them. They were all clothed in white and had gold crowns on their heads. 5 From the throne came flashes of lightning and the rumble of thunder. And in front of the throne were seven torches with burning flames. This is the sevenfold Spirit of God.6 In front of the throne was a shiny sea of glass, sparkling like crystal.

In the center and around the throne were four living beings, each covered with eyes, front and back. 7 The first of these living beings was like a lion; the second was like an ox; the third had a human face; and the fourth was like an eagle in flight. 8 Each of these living beings had six wings, and their wings were covered all over with eyes, inside and out. Day after day and night after night they keep on saying,

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty—
the one who always was, who is, and who is still to come.”

9 Whenever the living beings give glory and honor and thanks to the one sitting on the throne (the one who lives forever and ever), 10 the twenty-four elders fall down and worship the one sitting on the throne (the one who lives forever and ever). And they lay their crowns before the throne and say,

11 “You are worthy, O Lord our God,
to receive glory and honor and power.
For you created all things,
and they exist because you created what you pleased.”

We shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. Rom. 14:10, 11.

The great controversy and personal salvation is exactly and totally about how my universe is centered – can there be 2 centers to the universe? Satan's lie is about this very question!

Could you live in a universe of which YOU are NOT the center??

As if entranced, the wicked have looked upon the coronation of the Son of God. They see in His hands the tables of the divine law, the statutes which they have despised and transgressed. They witness the outburst of wonder, rapture, and adoration from the saved; and as the wave of melody sweeps over the multitudes without the city, all with one voice exclaim, "Great and marvelous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints" (Revelation 15:3); and, falling prostrate, they worship the Prince of life. Satan seems paralyzed as he beholds the glory and majesty of Christ. He who was once a covering cherub remembers whence he has fallen. A shining seraph, "son of the morning;" how changed, how degraded! From the council where once he was honored, he is forever excluded. He sees another now standing near to the Father, veiling His glory. He has seen the crown placed upon the head of Christ by an angel of lofty stature and majestic presence, and he knows that the exalted position of this angel might have been his. Memory recalls the home of his innocence and purity. . . . As Satan looks upon his kingdom, the fruit of his toil, he sees only failure and ruin. . . . The time has now come when the rebellion is to be finally defeated and the history and character of Satan disclosed. In his last great effort to dethrone Christ, destroy His people, and take possession of the City of God, the arch deceiver has been fully unmasked. Those who have united with him see the total failure of his cause. . . . He is the object of universal abhorrence. Satan sees that his voluntary rebellion has unfitted him for heaven. He has trained his powers to war against God; the purity, peace, and harmony of heaven would be to him supreme torture. His accusations against the mercy and justice of God are now silenced. The reproach which he has endeavored to cast upon Jehovah rests wholly upon himself. And now Satan bows down and confesses the justice of his sentence.{ EGW/ Maranatha (1976) p345}

What are we called to do about it? Glorify Got and save the rocks the trouble...

Philippians 2:5 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.0

6 Though he was God,
he did not think of equality with God
as something to cling to.
7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges;
he took the humble position of a slave
and was born as a human being.
When he appeared in human form,
8 he humbled himself in obedience to God
and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

9 Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor
and gave him the name above all other names,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

A Mother's Faith

1 Samuel 1

Elkanah and His Wives

1Now there was a certain man from Ramathaim-zophim from the hill country of Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite.

2He had two wives: the name of one was Hannah and the name of the other Peninnah; and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.

3Now this man would go up from his city yearly to worship and to sacrifice to the LORD of hosts in Shiloh. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were priests to the LORD there.

4When the day came that Elkanah sacrificed, he would give portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and her daughters;

5but to Hannah he would give a double portion, for he loved Hannah, but the LORD had closed her womb.

6Her rival, however, would provoke her bitterly to irritate her, because the LORD had closed her womb.

7It happened year after year, as often as she went up to the house of the LORD, she would provoke her; so she wept and would not eat.

8Then Elkanah her husband said to her, "Hannah, why do you weep and why do you not eat and why is your heart sad? Am I not better to you than ten sons?"

9Then Hannah rose after eating and drinking in Shiloh. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat by the doorpost of the temple of the LORD.

10She, greatly distressed, prayed to the LORD and wept bitterly.

11She made a vow and said, "O LORD of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a son, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and a razor shall never come on his head."

12Now it came about, as she continued praying before the LORD, that Eli was watching her mouth.

13As for Hannah, she was speaking in her heart, only her lips were moving, but her voice was not heard. So Eli thought she was drunk.

14Then Eli said to her, "How long will you make yourself drunk? Put away your wine from you."

WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOUR ZEAL FOR GOD WAS MISTAKEN AS DRUNKENNESS?

Are you embarrassed by God's service?

Acts 2:6 And when this sound occurred, the crowd came together, and were bewildered because each one of them was hearing them speak in his own language. 7 They were amazed and astonished, saying, "Why, are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 "And how is it that we each hear them in our own language to which we were born? 9 "Parthians and Medes and Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia,Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the districts of Libya around Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11 Cretans and Arabs--we hear them in our own tongues speaking of the mighty deeds of God." 12 And they all continued in amazement and great perplexity, saying to one another, "What does this mean?" 13 But others were mocking and saying, "They are full of sweet wine." Peter's Sermon 14 But Peter, taking his stand with the eleven, raised his voice and declared to them: "Men of Judea and all you who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you and give heed to my words. 15 "For these men are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only the third hour of the day; 16 but this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel:
17 'AND IT SHALL BE IN THE LAST DAYS,' God says,
'THAT I WILL POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT ON ALL MANKIND;
AND YOUR SONS AND YOUR DAUGHTERS SHALL PROPHESY,
AND YOUR YOUNG MEN SHALL SEE VISIONS,
AND YOUR OLD MEN SHALL DREAM DREAMS;
18 EVEN ON MY BONDSLAVES, BOTH MEN AND WOMEN,
I WILL IN THOSE DAYS POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT
And they shall prophesy.
19 'AND I WILL GRANT WONDERS IN THE SKY ABOVE
AND SIGNS ON THE EARTH BELOW,
BLOOD, AND FIRE, AND VAPOR OF SMOKE.
20 'THE SUN WILL BE TURNED INTO DARKNESS
AND THE MOON INTO BLOOD,
BEFORE THE GREAT AND GLORIOUS DAY OF THE LORD SHALL COME.
21 'AND IT SHALL BE THAT EVERYONE WHO CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.'

II Samuel 6:12Now it was told King David, saying, "The LORD has blessed the house of Obed-edom and all that belongs to him, on account of the ark of God."David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom into the city of David with gladness.13And so it was, that when the bearers of the ark of the LORD had gone six paces, he sacrificed an ox and a fatling.14And David was dancing before the LORD with all his might, and David was wearing a linen ephod.15So David and all the house of Israel were bringing up the ark of the LORD with shouting and the sound of the trumpet.16Then it happened as the ark of the LORD came into the city of David that Michal the daughter of Saul looked out of the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD; and she despised him in her heart.17So they brought in the ark of the LORD and set it in its place inside the tent which David had pitched for it; and David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD.18When David had finished offering the burnt offering and the peace offering, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD of hosts.19Further, he distributed to all the people, to all the multitude of Israel, both to men and women, a cake of bread and one of dates and one of raisins to each one. Then all the people departed each to his house.20But when David returned to bless his household, Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David and said, "How the king of Israel distinguished himself today!(Y)He uncovered himself today in the eyes of his servants' maids as one of the foolish ones shamelessly uncovers himself!"21So David said to Michal, "It was before the LORD, who chose me above your father and above all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the LORD, over Israel; therefore I will celebrate before the LORD.22"I will be more lightly esteemed than this and will be humble in my own eyes, but with the maids of whom you have spoken, with them I will be distinguished."23Michal the daughter of Saul had no child to the day of her death.

I Samuel 1:15But Hannah replied, "No, my lord, I am a woman oppressed in spirit; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have poured out my soul before the LORD.

16"Do not consider your maidservant as a worthless woman, for I have spoken until now out of my great concern and provocation."

17Then Eli answered and said, "Go in peace; and may the God of Israel grant your petition that you have asked of Him."

18She said, "Let your maidservant find favor in your sight " So the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad.

Faith means asking and walking in expectation – KNOWING that God is faithful to provide.

Luke 17:5 The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!"

6 And the Lord said, "If you had faith like a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and be planted in the sea'; and it would obey you.

Hebrews 11

The Triumphs of Faith

1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

2 For by it the men of old gained approval.

3 By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.

4 By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks.

5 By faith Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death; AND HE WAS NOT FOUND BECAUSE GOD TOOK HIM UP; for he obtained the witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God.

6 And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.

Samuel Is Born to Hannah

19Then they arose early in the morning and worshiped before the LORD, and returned again to their house in Ramah And Elkanah had relations with Hannah his wife, and the LORD remembered her.

20It came about in due time, after Hannah had conceived, that she gave birth to a son; and she named him Samuel, saying, "Because I have asked him of the LORD."

21Then the man Elkanah went up with all his household to offer to the LORD the yearly sacrifice and pay his vow.

22But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, "I will not go up until the child is weaned; then I willbring him, that he may appear before the LORD and stay there forever."

23Elkanah her husband said to her, "Do what seems best to you Remain until you have weaned him; only may the LORD confirm His word." So the woman remained and nursed her son until she weaned him.

24Now when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, with a three-year-old bull and one ephah of flour and a jug of wine, and brought him to the house of the LORD in Shiloh, although the child was young.

25Then they slaughtered the bull, and brought the boy to Eli.

26She said, "Oh, my lord! As your soul lives, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you, praying to the LORD.

27"For this boy I prayed, and the LORD has given me my petition which I asked of Him.

28"So I have also dedicated him to the LORD; as long as he lives he is dedicated to the LORD " And he worshiped the LORD there.

Faith also requires action and follow through.

James 2:14 What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him?

15 If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food,

16 and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and be filled," and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that?

17 Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.

18 But someone may well say, "You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works."

19 You believe that God is one You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.

20 But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?

21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar?

22 You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected;

23 and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "AND ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS," and he was called the friend of God.

24 You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.

25 In the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?

26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.

1 Samuel 2

Hannah's Song of Thanksgiving

1Then Hannah prayed and said,
"My heart exults in the LORD;
My horn is exalted in the LORD,
My mouth speaks boldly against my enemies,
Because I rejoice in Your salvation.
2"There is no one holy like the LORD,
Indeed, there is no one besides You,
Nor is there any rock like our God.
3"Boast no more so very proudly,
Do not let arrogance come out of your mouth;
For the LORD is a God of knowledge,
And with Him actions are weighed.
4"The bows of the mighty are shattered,
But the feeble gird on strength.
5"Those who were full hire themselves out for bread,
But those who were hungry cease to hunger.
Even the barren gives birth to seven,
But she who has many children languishes.
6"The LORD kills and makes alive;
He brings down to Sheol and raises up.
7"The LORD makes poor and rich;
He brings low, He also exalts.
8"He raises the poor from the dust,
He lifts the needy from the ash heap
To make them sit with nobles,
And inherit a seat of honor;
For the pillars of the earth are the LORD'S,
And He set the world on them.
9"He keeps the feet of His godly ones,
But the wicked ones are silenced in darkness;
For not by might shall a man prevail.
10"Those who contend with the LORD will be shattered;
Against them He will thunder in the heavens,
The LORD will judge the ends of the earth;
And He will give strength to His king,
And will exalt the horn of His anointed."

11Then Elkanah went to his home at Ramah But the boy ministered to the LORD before Eli the priest.