Notes from I Samuel pt 5

5. 1 Sam 1:8-9

Fed up?...Cheer up! Stand up! :-)

Elkanah ( Hannah's husband) would see his wife stressed out in this manner every year. He would respond (most likely at different times by saying: "Hannah, why are you weeping? Why don't you eat? Why are you downhearted? Don't I mean more to you than 10 sons?" 

So basically, He's saying haven't I been good to you? Aren't I better than 10 insurance p...olicies?...Girl, I got you! ;-)
 

Ok remember, Hannah went thru this YEAR after YEAR. The same routine. The failure, the ridicule, the depression, the attempt at cheering up... The same cycle... Then in vs 9 it says "ONCE when they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh, Hannah STOOD UP."
Y'all now things are about to change! That day could have been like all the others, BUT HANNAH did something DIFFERENT. She stood up for a CHANGE, not for Peninnah 

(her rival), but for herself.

She got FED UP! So she STOOD UP! NOW her world is about to CHEER UP! ... I will pray that the same will happen for you!

Stay tuned y'all...grace and peace

Notes from I Samuel pt 4

4. 1 Sam

Ok without the proverbial "beating a dead horse" thing. :--) I still have been chewing on Peninnah's reasons for irritating Hannah. According to the rules of that day, she had already won.

Could it have been that she mistakenly thought that a gift from God was the same as His approval of her? Could she have thought that her accumulation of children (or fill in the blank---gifts, talents..., wealth, skills), meant that she was better than. In her mind, she had kids= she was something. Hannah had none= she was nothing...and she was going to "rub it in". But y'all this train of thought isn't TRUE and we must be careful of this kind of Stinkin' thinkin'! Prosperity or wealth is not always a sign of God's blessings, sometimes it's God's test. Just like poverty is not always a sign of God's displeasure (ask Job), sometimes it too can be a test.

I also believe that Peninnah was jealous of Hannah. No matter how many children she had, she could never earn something that Hannah had been given for free... 1ST PLACE in the heart of Elkanah, accentuated with double portions.

The same is true for us, no matter how hard we work or strive to be good or do the right things, we can never EARN a place in God's heart... But be encouraged! It is a FREE GIFT that HIS SON has paid for. We do not have to strive for it, but only receive it!

That's called GRACE and it brings PEACE!

Notes from I Samuel pt 3

3. 1 Sam 1:5-7 Notes

Y'all, I have seen a trend in the scriptures. Barren seasons

(times of lack, and not being able get things to grow) are not always what they appear to be. Often times they are the breeding ground FOR and precursor TO something REALLY GREAT! (ask Sarah, Rebekah, Manoah, Elizabeth)...the 

NIGHT always comes before the DAY...Darkness before the LIGHT Gen1. Remember that! Ok, I'...m getting excited! Let me not get ahead of myself :-)

In vs. 5 We see that in Hannah's barren season Elkanah LOVED her, preferred her and extended grace. (I like him; he's not so bad after all.:-) lol
On the other hand the scripture says vs6 "And because the Lord had closed her womb, her rival (Peninnah) kept provoking her in order to irritate her. (Can I just say that ' I really DON'T like Peninnah!?.. Just sayin' I mean if you are going to get your name put in the Bible, this is NOT what you want to be remembered for? :-) lol!
 

Vs7. 

This went on year after year.  Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the Lord, her rival provoked her till she WEPT and would not eat."

Y'all sorrow and barreness of any kind, can affect our appetite. Sometimes it can dull it, or even create a craving for the wrong things and the wrong amounts of them.

We must all ask ourselves, How do we respond to barren seasons? We will ALL have them.
Will YOU LOVE, MOCK, or be Broken? (y'all 2 out of 3 aren't bad)

Stay tuned!
Grace and peace

Note from I Samuel pt 2

Notes from 1 Sam 1:3-5

Year after year, this man (Elkanah) would take his two wives and the children (sons and daughters he had through Peninah) up to Shiloh to worship and sacrifice to the LORD Almighty. (I like the fact that he was leading the family to worship, setting a good example :-).

When the day came to sacrifice, he would give portions of the meat to Peninnah and all her kids. But to ...HANNAH he gave a DOUBLE portion because he LOVED her and the LORD had CLOSED her womb.   It would have been easy in that culture for Elkanah to have treated Hannah like a failure or accuse her of some sin. But that was not the case. Instead he LOVED her, and every year he would give her a DOUBLE portion!
 

Ya'll, That's what Grace does... It gives you what you have NOT or could NOT earn. He recognized that GOD had closed her womb.
After years of trying to achieve success in this area, Elkanah acknowledged that it was out of his hands, and so he chose to still love his wife, and to continue in sacrifice and worship to God.

Perhaps God was setting them up to be desperate for HIS will in the situation...stay tuned!

Grace and peace

Notes from I Samuel pt 1

I just came across some of my past notes from the book of Samuel (one of my FAvs), and found myself "Amen-ing"... Do you mind if I share? Ok, it might take several days and I welcome your thoughts and insight. I will also have to back up from my Samuel post last week to fill in some blanks.
 

1st let me start by saying, 'All Scripture is God breathe and is USEFUL for TEACHING (we can always learn so.........mething), REBUKING (confronting w/the truth), CORRECTING (putting us on the right path, straightening), TRAINING (learning certain actions and behavior) IN RIGHTEOUSNESS (the right way to go), so that the MAN (both genders are included) of GOD maybe THROUGHLY equip (completely ready) for EVERY GOOD WORK ( it's time to get prepared for what He wants YOU to DO :-) 1 Tim 3:16

1 Sam. 1:1- There was a man name Elkanah from the town of Ramah.

1:2 He had 2 wives...
Ok stop!
:-) You already know there's gonna be drama. (the lesson so far is, this is NOT what you wanna do ;-).., it would have been bad enough if he had 2 girlfriends, but this man had two wives both with legal dibs on him.

...One was called Hannah, the other Penninah. Peninnah had children (for him) but Hannah had none. In their culture, having sons was everything for a woman. It was her bragging rights and her insurance policy for the future. Sons would take care of her if anything happened to the husband. Can u feel the tension already?

For Hannah, What must it have been like to have been constantly reminded of your failures... By the other woman? Maybe even by the neighbors. The constant competition... The way that girls brag with their faces even when their mouths aren't saying a word... TWO women, wanting FIRST place, in the heart of the SAME man... Exhausting!

Y'all ONLY GOD could ( and can) save the day...:-) Don't lose Heart!
Stay tuned...
Grace and peace

Love

I don't know what your Love status is today.
Whether you are single, married, divorced,widowed,abandoned, heartbroken, newly wed, wounded, or betrayed, let me remind you, that YOU are LOVED, and valued by the very ONE who DEFINES the Word. He thinks of you as a masterpiece, creatively designed and He is passionate about winning your heart. 

HE is Jealous for your LOVE and wants to be first on your Love list. No need to pretend or clean up first, He will receive you just as you are. Still because HE loves you so much, HE is committed to molding YOU into what you should be.
 

He is Patient, He is Kind, He suffers long, He does not envy, neither is He arrogant, He is self sacrificing and forgiving. He is POWERFUL, HE is MAGNIFICENT, HE is COMPASSIONATE, HE Is STRONG, HE is WEALTHY beyond our imaginations, and BEAUTIFUL beyond description. HE is GOD, HE is LORD, HE is JESUS the Christ and HE LOVES YOU!! 

Just thought you should know, grace and peace

NcM

The Fear (reverential awe, to be afraid) of the LORD is the beginning ( step one) of wisdom; ( Prov. 111:10)... And ..." wisdom is proved RIGHT by her actions ( what it does ;-) Matthew 11:19b ( words of Jesus)

How do you feel in the presence of someone that you think is really great or talented? Nervous? Afraid? How about someone super famous or a person of Royalty fully decked out? Doesn't these kinds of encounters cause our knees to shake a bit, give honor where honor is due, make us stand a little straighter, choose our words a little more carefully? Why? Because we have a healthy fear of them, one that entails honor and respect; and while we are in their presence we adjust ourselves to their protocol.

So ya'll, how much more should we fear the God of the universe? He speaks and things become. He hurls lighting bolts, they report back to Him, He takes dirt and creates man, He blows His breath into Him and he comes to life, He established the laws of nature, the boundaries of the seas, and keeps the earth, the sun, stars and other planets at their proper distance. As God, He cannot be seen with the human eye, because He dwells in unapproachable light

Still He humbled himself, came to earth, took on the form of man, conquered the darkness, in order to become the light in every man who receives Him. He is timeless, always was, always will be. He is the creator of Heaven and Hell. He is both Lamb and Lion. He is meek and fierce...He is not made in my image, but I/we are made in His... He is not a God to be taken lightly or disregarded. He is always on the side of the broken, the humble and is ever against the arrogant and proud. He defines LOVE

These are a few things I know about Him. LOL :-) Because I am always in HIS presence, I bow my life to Him. I want to live and walk in a way that pleases Him. When I mess up, I confess it, turn my back on it and come to Him to clean me up. He is my Dad and He is the King. Before I run to my Father in HIS throne room, where I find mercy and grace, I stop and bow first, acknowledging that He is still the King...He is Captivating and I am filled with awe and wonder

grace and peace y'all