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Written by Michelle J. Goff, founder and director of Iron Rose Sister Ministries in Searcy, Arkansas
Saul was anointed as the first king of Israel by the prophet Samuel.
9 As Saul turned to leave Samuel, God changed Saul’s heart, and all these signs were fulfilled that day. 10 When he and his servant arrived at Gibeah, a procession of prophets met him; the Spirit of God came powerfully upon him, and he joined in their prophesying. (1 Sam. 10:9-10)
However, when Saul returned home, he did not reveal what God had done through him, nor that Samuel had anointed him king. We don’t know if he was Incredulous of what had happened through him by the Spirit of God. We don’t know if he was scared of what would be expected of him during his reign. We truly don’t know why he hid himself among the supplies when Samuel called Israel to come forward by tribes, clans, then families.
23 They ran and brought him out, and as he stood among the people he was a head taller than any of the others. 24 Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see the man the Lord has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people.”
Then the people shouted, “Long live the king!” (1 Sam. 10:23-24)
Since the Israelites had rejected God as King, Saul often bore the tremendous responsibility of representing the LORD to the people. The Spirit of God would come powerfully on him to act and speak as God would’ve. And during the initial years of his reign, Saul sought God’s counsel through the prophet Samuel in order to fulfill that calling and responsibility. More often than not, Saul strove to give glory to God for rescuing His people from their enemies. Initially, Saul recognized that He was merely God’s servant, put in place to serve God’s people and point them back to Him.
However, in 1 Samuel 13, we learn that Saul took matters into his own hands and neglected to obey what the Lord had commanded him. Samuel rebuked Saul and instead of repenting, Saul defended his decision, expressing the worry that had consumed him instead of his trust in God’s instruction.
From that point on, we see God’s Spirit departing from Saul’s life and his leadership. Instead, a spirit tormented him and ultimately destroyed him, ripping the kingdom from his hands and those of his descendants.
The shepherd boy David came before Saul’s throne room to play the harp, temporarily soothing him with the harmonious melodies. However, Saul’s relief was short-lived, especially once he learned that God had anointed and blessed David as successor to the throne, not his own son, Jonathan.
The vast contrasts between Saul and David are profound illustrations of how it is possible to keep or lose a crown.
- Both men were anointed with the Spirit of God. One was a head taller than the rest. The other was the youngest and smallest of his family.
- Both men wore a crown. One stayed seated on the throne of his own heart. The other made the LORD his King.
- Both men were chosen to lead God’s chosen people Israel after rejecting the LORD as their King. One heard God’s instructions and ran with them. The other constantly sought God’s will at every step, before moving forward.
- Both men sinned. One justified his actions. The other repented.
- Only one got to keep his crown…
Years after the prophet Samuel confronted King Saul, the prophet Nathan confronted King David for his horrendous sins of adultery and murder. David was cut to the heart and repented (2 Sam. 12). Having witnessed Saul’s tormented spirit, we can hear the anguish of David’s repentant cry that God not take His Holy Spirit from him.
10 Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. (Ps. 51:10-12)
Kings Saul and David, like us, face daily trials and decisions. They are a testing of our faith, which we can consider pure joy (James 1:3). For “blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him” (James 1:12).
None of us deserves the crown of life, but the loving, perfect sacrifice of God’s own Son allows us to be heirs of His eternal Kingdom.
May the contrast between Saul’s and David’s crowns serve as a reminder of how a rejection of God’s ultimate Lordship can give birth to sin, which, when full-grown, gives birth to death (James 1:14-15).
Today, and each day, we can choose the crown of life and with it, surrender to God’s Lordship, trusting His Spirit to guide our steps.
#IronRoseSister #HIStories #crown #obedience #repentance #kingsofIsrael #MichelleJGoff #blog
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Written by Johanna Zabala, volunteer with Iron Rose Sister Ministries in Ecuador
Did you know that our names identify us? Well, yes. On this occasion Timothy, according to the Greek, means one who honors and worships God. How beautiful! He must have been a great, faithful, and dedicated servant of God because it is reflected in the Bible. Son of a compassionate Jewish woman and a Greek father, details of his life appear in the book of Acts in chapter 16, specifying the relationship of efficient mentoring, which led to an evident friendship between Paul and Timothy, along with other beloved disciples.
It is of great value to note that in the Bible we find the two letters written by the Apostle Paul to Timothy. The power of the Holy Spirit is observed in them; in order to get the spiritual strength in the physical weaknesses that we experience as human beings. Therefore, we always need each other to follow the path to eternal life in which our names have been written.
Everything aforementioned teaches us that Paul and Timothy achieved a fraternal alliance, where Timothy was an excellent collaborator, assistant, companion, and disciple of Paul; with holy purposes full of hope, comfort, support and love, especially towards the body of the Lord, "The Church." They achieved leadership, reprimands, and commitment amongst everyone. It is said that together they became father and son experiencing the good and bad and that they developed a genuine friendship in order to know how to endure and teach through the trials and joys of faith in God, evident and common between both.
For this reason, what Proverbs 17:17 tells us came to mind, "A friend loves at all times, and is like a brother in time of trouble." Surely Paul and Timothy learned friendship in the brotherhood of Christ, when, in the opportunities and difficulties along the way, they complemented each other in what they said and did for the service of the Lord Jesus Christ, and accompanied each other to the end.
In my experience, from 2001 to 2018, I lived for the glory of God, a story of real and pure friendship in faith with my sister Ysabel Dávila. A selfless and precious servant woman of the Lord with a valuable and noble mind, believer of a living and authentic God, He delighted in her. I knew my sister back then as Ysa. She and I were born again almost together in the same congregation and with very similar expectations; from there we began the most beautiful path of conviction and learning.
Together we learned from each other to know the great will of the Father in the light of the Word. We saw our husbands, children, and siblings grow in faith and gifts. We shared joys and sorrows. We traveled to women's conventions, we shared our struggles, we called each other on the phone daily, we studied the Word in personal and group discipleships, we cooked together, we visited the sisters, we gave Sunday classes to the children. We celebrated everyone's birthdays and, with great joy, the fifteenth-year birthday parties of her beautiful Marbella and my beautiful Crismarie (today, both graduated for the service of the Father in Christ Jesus, one at Baxter and the other at EQEB—schools of preaching with their families). These things happened, not by chance but on purpose, prayed for in advance for one another, and not only that, being in agreement with God and in our hearts, also many times we distributed church brochures in the squares, parks, hospitals, and around the church building, all as a family and in harmony, remembering Psalm 133:1.
When I got married and God gave me my second child, she was always there in prayer and support; also recognized as the most affectionate sister of all. My children called her aunt and her children did the same. Without a doubt, this is how our genuine friendship arose, in analogy to the probable relationship between Paul and Timothy.
When I look back on this part of my life, I thank the Heavenly Father for Ysa. She departed into the presence of God on February 23, 2018; an event that filled me with a particular emptiness, because I found in her characteristics very similar to mine at that time of my life, as it was for Timothy in Paul.
She not only left tears and infinite teachings in me, but in the whole congregation, for her fervent love in and for God at all times. Even in her last days, she worshiped and served the Lord. This is how I understood the pain that the apostle Paul left among the brothers and especially Timothy, but I know that he was strengthened in God and in the Holy Spirit as I did in that physical loss of my beloved sister Ysa, whose name means “dedicated to God” in Hebrew.
I am sure that we all develop godly friendship in this way, useful and very necessary in the church, to love one another (1 John 4:7).
Within your life in Christ Jesus, beloved sister, are you like Timothy? Have you loved your sisters as Paul loved Timothy? Do you believe that friendship is a gift from God?
#IronRoseSister #HIStories #friendship #mentors #discipleship #mentorship #HolySpirit #JesusasMentor #guestwriter #blog