Wrong Tools
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I went out to get a slow puncture fixed this morning, but I realized the young man who was working on the tire took an unusually long time to remove it. I happened to be around him when he was fixing the tire back, and observed he was using a bar whose tip was broken to operate the jack. Because the tool had a defect, it kept slipping out of the jack. This made something that could have taken just a couple of minutes take much longer.
As I pondered how efficiently and quickly he could have fixed the tire if he had the right tool, I asked myself,
"Aren't we all like that when dealing with God?"
We use the wrong tools when approaching God quite often. Saul was in a lot of trouble for using the wrong tools to approach God. Look at this account.
Samuel said to Saul,
“I am the one the Lord sent to anoint you king over his people Israel; so listen now to the message from the Lord. This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘I will punish the Amalekites for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they came up from Egypt. Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy all that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.’”So Saul summoned the men and mustered them at Telaim—two hundred thousand foot soldiers and ten thousand from Judah. Saul went to the city of Amalek and set an ambush in the ravine. Then he said to the Kenites,
“Go away, leave the Amalekites so that I do not destroy you along with them; for you showed kindness to all the Israelites when they came up out of Egypt.”So the Kenites moved away from the Amalekites. Then Saul attacked the Amalekites all the way from Havilah to Shur, near the eastern border of Egypt. He took Agag king of the Amalekites alive, and all his people he totally destroyed with the sword. But Saul and the army spared Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves and lambs—everything that was good. These they were unwilling to destroy completely, but everything that was despised and weak they totally destroyed.
Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel:
“I regret that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from me and has not carried out my instructions.”
(1 Samuel 15: 1-10 NIV)
Saul was in a lot of trouble with God! He was given clear instructions to destroy the Amalekites and everything they possessed. But Saul decided to spare Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves and lambs; in his own words “everything that was good.” This is contrary to God’s instruction and God regretted making him king. Later, Samuel would tell him,
To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.
Just like Saul, we often dishonor God’s instructions; His word, but we use our lips to sing praises to Him, and pray to Him. But the interesting one is when we disobey His word but call him to intervene when it comes back biting! One scripture that is often flouted in our context is 2 Corinthians 6:14
Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?
Yokes are used to constrain bulls plowing a field so they can move in the same direction, combining their efforts in the process. So when you are yoked together, you move in the same direction with combined effort. Being unequally yoked results in misaligned effort, diminishing or even destroying synergy in the process. Confusion is often the result.
However when it comes to certain aspects of life, especially relationships, believers ignore this advice, and get yoked to unbelievers. When the troubles come, however, they start chasing the same God, whose advice they threw out. There are a lot of times that we don’t need any answers from God except what is in His word.
There are times we pray amiss because the answer is already in the Bible. Obedience will save us a lot of prayer.
Prayer is the wrong tool here; obedience is what God desires.
MEMORY VERSE
“To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.”
( 1 Samuel 15:22)
QUESTIONS
- What are you asking God to do for you?
- Have you searched to see if it is not already answered in the Bible?
PRAYER TIP
Father, please help me to obey; because no sacrifice, or prayer, can take the place of obedience.
URGENT CALL
Every soul is valuable to God, far more than the entire world! But by nature, we are all sinful, and alienated from God, and we ultimately face his wrath!
God in His mercy and love made a way for us to remedy this. He gives us a chance to reverse this downward spiral to destruction, join His family, be part of His household, and become His children.
The first step to becoming a member of God’s household is for us to be saved.
Salvation comes through accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Personal Savior.
It is a very personal decision. No one can make that decision for you.
If you make that decision today, there will be great singing and rejoicing in heaven; because one new member has joined the family and household of God! A soul, much, much more valuable than the world, has been saved from destruction!
Do you want to make that decision today?
Please visit “The Believer’s Prayer”
for guidance if you want
to make that decision.
We will be happy to hear from you through the contact information on that page, or the ones at the top of this page. Don’t delay. Make this very personal decision today!
God richly bless you
SPECIAL GRATITUDE
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We would not have gotten here without your prayers, goodwill and overall support. We are grateful, and humbled.
We thank God for counting us worthy to share in His Great Commission; and we thank you for sticking with us through this journey.
God richly bless you.
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