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We are not so different from the Israelites of the
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When Samuel
was old the people of Israel
asked for a king to lead them. They were told that in doing so they would be rejecting God. They
insisted on being given a king. God allowed them to have their way
in this folly but
sent thunder and rain to show them their
wickedness.
“And all the people said to Samuel, ‘Pray for your servants to the Lord your God, that we may not die; for we have added to all our sins the evil of asking a king for ourselves.’ Then Samuel said to the people, ‘Do not fear. You have done all this wickedness; yet do not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart.” 1 Samuel 12:19-20 (NKJV).
We are
sinners. That is a fact.
Sometimes we get caught
up in our sin and find it hard to turn
to the Lord.
Some have yet to ever accept
the Lord. Some
may find it difficult to quit
doing what they are doing although they know
that it is wrong.
I will say that it is harder to turn to God and His Son
when you knowingly choose
to sin with
the intent of asking for forgiveness
later. It is also known by God
and Jesus what
you are doing. What I mean
by that is a person
who is enjoying their life and saying to themselves, “I am young, having some
fun, religion is for the dying and the old and I am not there yet.” The
attitude of deliberately procrastinating in repentance and obedience is a sin
that must be repented of along with the sins committed.
That being said, I want to encourage
the most sinful of the sinners. No matter what you have done, God
loves you and Jesus
loves you too. Jesus died for all of us. God
knows we are weak and we are stubborn. The point that Samuel was trying to make
is that even though rebellion was at hand and rejection of God was taking
place, he encouraged the Hebrews to obey God and trust in Him. That is our
faith. When we have acted so awfully and know that our souls are dirty and we
doubt our acceptance to our Lord, just take that leap of faith and trust in
their compassion. Trust in the mercy of God and trust in the sacrifice of our
Lord Jesus Christ. They are calling you to come home, hoping that you choose to
become obedient to the will of God and Jesus for the salvation of your soul.
“The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9 (NKJV).
