1 Samuel 11, Ecclesiastes 12, 1 John 2

Saul was a young man full of promise. But only when the Holy Spirit came upon him did he do a great thing. The way our promise is fulfilled is through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Solomon encourages us to receive the Lord when we are young. He indicates that it is possible to wait too long. If we are saved in our youth, then the Holy Spirit can work and our full potential be realized. If we wait, we suffer many lost years.

Solomon also recommends staying committed and finishing well. He saw his own wasted potential at the end of his life. He took his eyes off God and allowed himself to indulge in every pleasure. Then he realized wanton pleasure brought no gain. He wants his son to do better than he. Solomon sums up his advice in verse 13. "Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man's all . . ." It was true for Solomon and Saul. And it's true for us today.

1 John 2 is both discouraging and encouraging to read. There will be, and are, false teachers leading people astray and doing it for their own gain. The saddest of all, they ensnare by their eloquent speech. Those who attend church and then go after these false teachers, ending up in lives of sin, are the worse for it because they heard and understood true doctrine and could have accepted it.

We must keep our eyes open and compare all teaching to the Bible. Each of us is responsible for our own spiritual growth.