1 Samuel 2:22-4:22
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First Samuel chapter 2 verse 25 stood out to me today when Eli says to his sons - "If someone sins against another person, God can mediate for the guilty party. But if someone sins against the LORD, who can intercede?" This is an interesting thing to consider. When we sin, are we sinning against other people and/or against God? I think generally speaking the answer is both. I have heard a pastor teach that "nobody sins in a vacuum." Not a literal vacuum of course :), but a "vacuum" meaning that your sin only affects you and you alone. This pastor went on to say that when we sin - even when we are alone - we end up affecting everyone else around us in our lives in some way. We may not consciously see how this happens, but our sin affects how we will treat others in the near future. So, it seems to me that when we sin we pretty much always sin against others, because we're in one sense letting down the community of people around us and we will behave differently to our community around us because of our sin. Now, in terms of sinning against God, I always think of Psalm 51 where David writes to God - "against you and you alone have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight." I think this is true as well - any sin we commit is a sin against God. It is interesting that David uses the term "you alone" about his sin. But, obviously, David's sin of adultery with Bathsheba affected the community around him in a big way. So, all this to say - I believe that when we sin we are sinning against God and the community of people in our lives at the same time. Eli asks in this verse above, "who can intercede for our sins against God?" Well, at that time, that was a very good question. However, in our time Jesus can and does intercede for our sins against God - if we'll ask him. We simply need to confess our sins to Jesus and ask for forgiveness and repent - in faith that Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. We are so very fortunate that we have someone - Jesus - who can intercede for our sins... This is why Jesus is called Savior. Jesus Saves us from our sins. Has Jesus saved you from your sins?
An awesome image is below for 1 Samuel 3:10 - "And the LORD came and called as before, "Samuel! Samuel!" And Samuel replied, "Yes, your servant is listening."
Bible.org's commentary on today's 1 Samuel readings titled "Samuel and the sons of Belial" is at this link. Commentary titled "The Rise of Samuel and the fall of Eli and Sons" is at this link.
Worship Video: Today's readings reminded me of the Chasen song and this powerful video for "On and On:"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rqh9sHTXcAI
Do you believe in Miracles? Click here for a Miracle!
Comments from You: What verses or insights stand out to you in today's readings? Please post up by clicking on the "Comments" link below!
God bless,
Mike
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