When Fear Makes You Fake

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Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Samuel 21:1-15.  As usual, I encourage you to open your Bible and read the passage yourself first.  See what you can glean with the Holy Spirit’s help. Then read the GAME sharing below.  Let’s go! 
 
1 Samuel 21:1-9 (NIV)
1  David went to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest. Ahimelech trembled when he met him, and asked, “Why are you alone? Why is no one with you?”
2  David answered Ahimelech the priest, “The king charged me with a certain matter and said to me, ‘No one is to know anything about your mission and your instructions.’ As for my men, I have told them to meet me at a certain place.

On verses 1-9:  When David runs away from Saul, the first place David flees to is Nob, “the town of the priests” (see 1 Samuel 22:19).  There David meets Ahimelek the priest, who gives David bread and a sword:

– The bread which Ahimelek gave David was known as “the bread of the presence” (or the “showbread”) and was supposed to be eaten by the priests (Leviticus 24:9).  Ahimelek saw that David needed the bread more than he did, so out of compassion for David, Ahimelek gave his bread to David.  In a way, this points to Jesus our high priest who saw our need and in compassion gave us what He had.

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Getting By With A Little Help From My Friends

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Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Samuel 20:24-42.  As usual, I encourage you to open your Bible and read the passage yourself first.  See what you can glean with the Holy Spirit’s help. Then read the GAME sharing below.  Let’s go! 
 
1 Samuel 20:24-29 (NIV)
24  So David hid in the field, and when the New Moon festival came, the king sat down to eat.
25  He sat in his customary place by the wall, opposite Jonathan, and Abner sat next to Saul, but David’s place was empty.
26  Saul said nothing that day, for he thought, “Something must have happened to David to make him ceremonially unclean–surely he is unclean.”
27  But the next day, the second day of the month, David’s place was empty again. Then Saul said to his son Jonathan, “Why hasn’t the son of Jesse come to the meal, either yesterday or today?”
28  Jonathan answered, “David earnestly asked me for permission to go to Bethlehem.

On verses 24-29:  Here we see Jonathan protecting David as he had promised and speaking to his father on David’s behalf.  Jesus does the same for us (see 1 John 2:1).

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Jesus is Showing You the Way

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Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Samuel 20:1-23.  As usual, I encourage you to open your Bible and read the passage yourself first.  See what you can glean with the Holy Spirit’s help. Then read the GAME sharing below.  Let’s go! 
 
1 Samuel 20:1-8 (NIV)
1  Then David fled from Naioth at Ramah and went to Jonathan and asked, “What have I done? What is my crime? How have I wronged your father, that he is trying to take my life?”
2  “Never!” Jonathan replied. “You are not going to die! Look, my father doesn’t do anything, great or small, without confiding in me. Why would he hide this from me? It’s not so!”
3  But David took an oath and said, “Your father knows very well that I have found favor in your eyes, and he has said to himself, ‘Jonathan must not know this or he will be grieved.’ Yet as surely as the LORD lives and as you live, there is only a step between me and death.”

On verses 1-8:  Before David made the big decision to run away from King Saul, he confided in his friend Jonathan, the Prince of Israel.  David told Jonathan his troubles, asked Jonathan to speak into his life, and looked to Jonathan for guidance.  What can we learn from this?  Before you make a big decision, it helps to consult people who have godly character and whom you respect and trust. 

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The Third Type of Person God Uses to Protect You

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Hi GAMErs,

Today in 1 Samuel 19:18-24 we learn a third way that God protects us. 

1 Samuel 19:18-24 (NIV)
18  When David had fled and made his escape, he went to Samuel at Ramah and told him all that Saul had done to him. Then he and Samuel went to Naioth and stayed there.
19  Word came to Saul: “David is in Naioth at Ramah”;
20  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.

On verses 18-24:   When David was fleeing from Saul, the first person David wisely went to for help was the prophet Samuel (v18).  There with his spiritual leader, David was safe.

In a similar albeit a strange and more indirect way, Saul also goes to Samuel his pastor.  (Samuel was technically still Saul’s spiritual mentor and pastor, although by this time Saul was living as if he had no pastor and was accountable to no one.  Even his going to Samuel was not because he wanted to see Samuel but because he knew David was with Samuel.)  As Saul stood there in the presence of his spiritual leader Samuel and in the presence of the Holy Spirit, the damage that spiritually unhealthy Saul could have done was neutralized (v19-22). 

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Two Ways God Protects You

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Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Samuel 19:1-17.  As usual, I encourage you to open your Bible and read the passage yourself first.  See what you can glean with the Holy Spirit’s help. Then read the GAME sharing below.  Let’s go! 
 
1 Samuel 19:1-7 (NIV)
1  Saul told his son Jonathan and all the attendants to kill David. But Jonathan was very fond of David
2  and warned him, “My father Saul is looking for a chance to kill you. Be on your guard tomorrow morning; go into hiding and stay there.
3  I will go out and stand with my father in the field where you are. I’ll speak to him about you and will tell you what I find out.”

On verses 1-7:  King Saul wanted to kill David, but Saul’s son Jonathan, the Prince of Israel, stood up for his best friend, declaring his innocence.  Because this prince spoke in David’s defense, David’s life was spared.
Similarly, we too are protected and saved because a prince spoke in our defense.  When our sin made us objects of God’s wrath, Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, stood up for us and spoke in our defense, declaring us innocent.

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God’s Grace Makes Us Work Harder

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Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Samuel 18:17-30.  As usual, I encourage you to open your Bible and read the passage yourself first.  See what you can glean with the Holy Spirit’s help. Then read the GAME sharing below.  Let’s go! 
 
1 Samuel 18:17 (NIV)
17  Saul said to David, “Here is my older daughter Merab. I will give her to you in marriage; only serve me bravely and fight the battles of the LORD.” For Saul said to himself, “I will not raise a hand against him. Let the Philistines do that!”

On verse 17:  Because Saul envied David, Saul wanted to David dead.  So he devised a plan that would hopefully get David killed without getting Saul himself in trouble.  Saul would try to offer David one of his daughters – first his oldest daughter Merab and, then later, his younger daughter Michal – in marriage on the condition that David fights against the Philistines, hoping that David would be killed in battle.  Yet David would not be killed and would take Michal as his wife.

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Shut the Door on Jealousy and Fear

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Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Samuel 18:1-16.  As usual, I encourage you to open your Bible and read the passage yourself first.  See what you can glean with the Holy Spirit’s help. Then read the GAME sharing below.  Let’s go! 
 
1 Samuel 18:1-2 (NIV)
1  After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself.
2  From that day Saul kept David with him and did not let him return to his father’s house.

On verses 1-2:  It is not surprising that Jonathan and David got along so well and became “one in spirit” with one another.  Both of them were young, courageous leaders who had led Israel to military victories against incredible odds.  More importantly, they were men who loved God and had a can do attitude fueled by their faith.  

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Move Forward with Faith

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Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Samuel 17:41-58.  As usual, I encourage you to open your Bible and read the passage yourself first.  See what you can glean with the Holy Spirit’s help. Then read the GAME sharing below.  Let’s go! 
 
1 Samuel 17:41-43 (NIV)
41  Meanwhile, the Philistine, with his shield bearer in front of him, kept coming closer to David.
42  He looked David over and saw that he was only a boy, ruddy and handsome, and he despised him.
43  He said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.

On verses 41-43a:  Goliath made fun of the weapons David brought to the battle.  A similar thing happens when people of the world see God’s people praying, reading God’s Word and taking church seriously.  They think, “What good will that do?”  Little do they know that our weapons have power that the things they trust in do not have: power to demolish strongholds, power to bring the most significant changes to people’s lives.  As Paul says in 2 Corinthians 10:3-4, “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.” 

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In Jesus’ Eyes, You Are The Prize

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Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Samuel 17:20-40.  As usual, I encourage you to read the passage yourself first and see what you can glean with the Holy Spirit’s help, then read the GAME sharing below.  Let’s go! 
 
1 Samuel 17:20 (NIV) 
20 Early in the morning David left the flock with a shepherd, loaded up and set out, as Jesse had directed. He reached the camp as the army was going out to its battle positions, shouting the war cry. 

On verse 20:  David was responsible.  Before leaving for the next mission his father gave him, David found a qualified person to be in charge of his flock.  What can we learn from this?  The way to expand how much territory we manage is through wise delegation, planning and involving others.  There’s only so much you can do by yourself.  Whether it’s in your home, ministry, workplace or elsewhere, is there a role, a responsibility or a skill that you need to start training others to do?

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There’s Bread For You

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Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Samuel 17:1-19.  As usual, I encourage you to read the passage yourself first and see what you can glean with the Holy Spirit’s help, then read the GAME sharing below.  Let’s go!

The story of David and Goliath is one of the best known stories in the Bible and shows us that with God nothing is impossible.  But also, when read through a New Testament  lens, this story is also a powerful picture pointing to the day when our Lord Jesus Christ would defeat Satan, our biggest enemy, for us.

1 Samuel 17:1-3 (NIV)
1  Now the Philistines gathered their forces for war and assembled at Socoh in Judah. They pitched camp at Ephes Dammim, between Socoh and Azekah.
2  Saul and the Israelites assembled and camped in the Valley of Elah and drew up their battle line to meet the Philistines.
3  The Philistines occupied one hill and the Israelites another, with the valley between them.

On verses 1-3:  The Philistines gathered in Judah, a territory belonging to the nation of Israel, God’s chosen nation.  “Judah” literally means “praise”.  What’s the lesson here?  The first place your biggest enemy Satan will try to occupy in your life is the place of praise.

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