Scripture

During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. Matthew 14:25

Observation
The other day I sat in a kayak in the middle of a still mountain lake. Only the slightest breeze warped the mirror surface of the water. My index finger broke the surface tension as I dragged it through the water. I pondered for awhile what it meant for Jesus to walk on the water. That miracle really does seem to be frivolous and bordering on the sensational myth that surrounds superheroes. But it happened and it happened for a reason. God does nothing without a reason.

Why did Jesus walk on water? Why is that important?

Jesus walked on water to demonstrate the power of prayer. His time with the Father was so empowering that laws of nature were broken afterward. We minimize prayer when we turn it into a gripping of the edge of the pool. Jesus didn’t grasp the edge of the dock, he just kept walking. There is more power in prayer than we realize. Walking on water should cause us to push forward in prayer, knowing that there is always more God wants to do.

Jesus walked on water to demonstrate how to walk over life problems. He did not walk on a sea of glass. The water churned and Jesus rocked on the water as much as walked on it. Life can have whitecaps, but these are just another walking surface for forward movement. What was to the disciples a sea that could drown them was to Jesus a pavement toward a destination. There are many stormy moments in life, but they too are a highway for forward movement just as much as the times of peace.

Application
Jesus walking on water should stir me to pray further and walk on no matter what.

Prayer
Father, I follow Jesus, so water walking is part of the deal. I follow him onward today. Amen.

The graphics on this worship video are outstanding and show all of the power of Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Scripture
Word came to Saul: “David is in Naioth at Ramah”; so he sent men to capture him. But when they saw a group of prophets prophesying, with Samuel standing there as their leader, the Spirit of God came upon Saul’s men and they also prophesied. Saul was told about it, and he sent more men, and they prophesied too. Saul sent men a third time, and they also prophesied. Finally, he himself left for Ramah and went to the great cistern at Secu. And he asked, “Where are Samuel and David?”

“Over in Naioth at Ramah,” they said.

So Saul went to Naioth at Ramah. But the Spirit of God came even upon him, and he walked along prophesying until he came to Naioth. He stripped off his robes and also prophesied in Samuel’s presence. He lay that way all that day and night. This is why people say, “Is Saul also among the prophets?” 1 Samuel 19:19-24

Observation
David was in a fix. The king with eyes everywhere and men anywhere was after him and there was no safe place to hide. David was one man against the world. He was Matt Damon, Bourne Identity, alone and hated. How would Jack Bauer get out of this one?

Through out his life, God would rescue David in many ways. A sling shot and stone one time. The wife of his enemy another time. Hiding behind a toilet on one occasion. Living as an exile in the house of his greatest enemy yet again. But of all the ways that God saved David’s skin, the time at Samuel’s house was the most unusual and desirable.

Samuel was an old preacher man whose greatest weapon was a horn of oil and his prayer life. He wasn’t much to run to for protection. But Pastor Samuel’s house was the safest place on earth for David because the Holy Spirit settled down on his home. The oil that had been poured onto the head of the shepherd boy grew into a force-field of the anointing that glowed like radiation throughout the parsonage, down the streets, through the city walls and into the highways surrounding the whole county. God saved David by his radiant presence. No armies, no bows and arrows, no spears and swords, no slingshots and stones were used. Instead, Samuel and David had a Holy Ghost prayer meeting, in the worship heaven broke out and without even a word spoken people who were nearby were overwhelmed with the presence of God.

Application
Of all the ways that God can protect his purposes in a human life, rescue by revival is to me the most appealing. Who would want simply to get what he wanted done at any cost, if instead even those who oppose God could come out of the experience transformed by the Lord? “Let the Holy Spirit come” should be our prayer in times of strife. The presence of God delivered David so that even his enemies prophesied to bless him. The anointing can surround every one on the forward path and enable them to overcome.

Prayer
Holy Spirit come down! Subdue us with your power and let us work powerfully in you. If you can use an old preacher man to protect David on the run from Saul in pursuit, then your power is great indeed. Let us not get our way until you have your way in all of our hearts. Amen.

Listen to the story of Boyd and Wanda Cochran from our church Evergreen Community Church in Bothell, Washington.

Scripture

They rose about daybreak and Samuel called to Saul on the roof, “Get ready, and I will send you on your way.” When Saul got ready, he and Samuel went outside together. As they were going down to the edge of the town, Samuel said to Saul, “Tell the servant to go on ahead of us”-and the servant did so-”but you stay here awhile, so that I may give you a message from God.” 1 Samuel 9:26-27

Observation
The servant leads the king. That is the whole problem with Saul’s leadership over Israel. The fissure in Saul’s personality is obvious from the first day on the job. His leadership opens on the pages of history with the story of lost donkeys and Saul’s hunt to find them accompanied with his servant. Instead of Saul leading the expedition, it is the slave at every step who perceives and encourages. The leader is following his employee.

Compare this to Saul’s son Jonathan. A few years later, while Saul is biting his manicure off in fear of his enemies, Jonathan has the courage to act. He calls his servant to follow him in a risky attack. His slave replies, “Go ahead; I am with you heart and soul.” (1 Sam 14:7)

Saul was not the leader he could have been because the king followed his servant and a son was greater than his father.

Application
I do not want Saul’s problem to be my problem. I know the voice of God. I can see a way forward. I have friends with me on this journey. They are good friends to encourage me, but only God can lead me. As a leader I must choose to be led by God. I must protect the times that no one has access to me except God. That requires me to walk into the vacuum of aloneness that every leader feels and live with the void behind him, unsure in the first moments if anyone will follow. I need friends with me on this journey but only God can go before me. I want to be a Jonathan and not a Saul.

Prayer
Today, help me to lead as I’m led by you and you alone. Keep my friends who correct me, console me and occasionally to confront me so that I may follow you better. Amen.

This song is a must listen if you really want to apply the lesson of “NO!”

Scripture
The man who brought the news replied, “Israel fled before the Philistines, and the army has suffered heavy losses. Also your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been captured.”

When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell backward off his chair by the side of the gate. His neck was broken and he died, for he was an old man and heavy. He had led Israel forty years. 1 Samuel 4:17-18

Observation
Some of the best leadership lessons in life come from bad leaders as much as from good ones. Eli is a case study in what a leader does not want to be. By walking in the opposite direction leaders will find the ways of God.

Eli had good points. He brought to his priestly office his gift of a father’s heart. Little Samuel treated him like a dad and he called everyone “my son”. Eli led by nurturing. Even his daughter-in-law felt the world had come to an end with his death. Eli also knew the voice of God well enough to perceive when the Lord was speaking. A spiritual dad who could hear God speak, would seem to be a great recipe for a leader. But Eli lacked something.

Eli could not speak the word “no” and mean it and so he lost everything he had. His sons were stealing from the offering plate and fornicating in the Sunday School rooms but the best Eli could do was lecture his boys. His word meant nothing to them because Eli did not mean it. How did Eli manage to evade the voice of God so long? He turned to comfort food. His office surrounded him with benefits. Later, when a crowd of soldiers came like a posse to snatch the ark of God into battle, Eli would not stand up to them. He could have at least been honored in the Bible as a martyr priest who gave his life for God’s presence. Instead, we are left with the image of a fat old man who fell off his seat and broke his neck because of his obesity.

The touching story of the boy Samuel hearing the whisper of God, is in fact an insult to Eli. Because Eli would not listen to the word of God that he could hear, God had to speak to him through a little kid.

Application
No is a word that requires deep roots to thrive. “No” will not work if it is spoken shallowly somewhere between the TV remote and a bowl of potato chips. For the word “no” to pack a punch it must be anchored in resolve to back up every word with action. “No” should not be spoken unless there is a will to enforce it. I want to be a life-giving leader who is permission granting, rather than permission with holding. I want to encourage and inspire creativity and initiative. But that permission will mean something only if I have the nuclear deterrent in my vocabulary of the word “no”. Life can come by weeding as much as by planting. There are somethings that beg to be stopped if for no other reason than to make me the leader God wants me to be.

Prayer
Father, I find it remarkable that you created a Samuel out of an Eli. That gives me hope that I can become a better leader by reflecting on the likes of the fat old priest. Help me to not just say “no” but to mean it when I say it so that you can release real life into your church. Amen.