1 Samuel 12, Song of Solomon 1, 1 John 3

His Great Name. There was only one reason God put up with Israel's constant fickleness. His own great Name. He intended to demonstrate to the world his power and greatness by his acts toward Israel.

Samuel understood. He could easily have misunderstood and thought it was all about him. After all, he led Israel his entire life. But it was his relationship with the Lord, and communication every day with Him, that enabled Samuel to grasp God's motivation.

Rejection of God. So, when the people rejected Samuel, he took it for what it really was~rejection of God. I believe verses 1-5 give us a window to Samuel's emotional hurt. But after he aired it, he left it behind and followed God's will in anointing Saul.

Rejection is hard. It is the greatest fear for most people. It's mine. The way we handle rejection says perhaps more about our walk with the Lord than anything else we ever say or do. God showed us the right way. He kept on loving His people. Can we keep loving those who reject us? However, God's love for them did not make the Israelites immune to judgment and consequences.

Let it go. Those who reject us can be turned over to the Lord without us worrying that they'll never be held accountable. But accountability for them is not our job. We need to take our cue from Samuel. Let it go.

Love Relationship. The Song of Solomon, or Song of Songs, is a description of the love of God for his people and the love relationship between Jesus Christ and his bride, the church. How refreshing it is - especially after reading about rejection - to read about this all-consuming passion. Whatever rules we may have imagined, whatever fears or impositions we allow in our relationship with Christ all fade in the heat of His passion for us.

We need to  abandon all else for Him. You are loved. I am loved. Nothing else matters.

Pass it on. Solomon compares the relationship of Jesus Christ and the church to a marriage. John compares it to a Father and his children. What release to know I am loved like this! I am secure as a child. I cannot ever be anyone else's child. As the child of love, that love will pour out of me to others. Every action I take, every part of my behavior, results from love. If I focus on the love of God and how to let His love flow through me to others, I won't have to live by a set of rules. I will want to please the One Who loved me first.

Ruth 1, Proverbs 29, James 1

Why did Ruth stay with Naomi? The love between the girls and their mother-in-law is demonstrated by their tears at the thought of leaving her. Why did Ruth choose Naomi's God? Because Naomi introduced Him to her and lived out her faith and His love. She didn't have to. In legal and religious terms, her sons had disobeyed by marrying foreign women. Instead of judging them, Naomi loved them.

The wicked and the foolish are both contrasted with the righteous and wise. And no matter if a person is poor or a king, the Lord metes out justice. He is love, but He does judge sin. The blood of Christ covers our sins at salvation, so whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe. This was the ultimate decision of Ruth -- to trust in the One True God.

Proverbs 29 and James 1 say many of the same things. The wise person is slow to speak. God is the source of wisdom and love. The rich and poor are the same before the Lord. And keeping oneself "unspotted from the world" by righteous living pleases God.

Naomi must have lived a wise and righteous life to have such an impact on Ruth.

Do others see the difference in my life?

Deuteronomy 34, Psalm 134, Ephesians 5

When Moses died, it was the end of an era. The slavery experience, deliverance, wilderness experience, and tabernacle construction were finished. It was time to move on with a new leader. New beginnings are fresh starts, but they're even better than the first start because of the wisdom gained from what has gone before.

Yes, bless the Lord - the God of new beginnings. By standing in the house of the Lord at night, it indicates round-the-clock devotion and prayer and praise. Difficult times and good times should both drive us to our knees and lift our hands before our God.

Ephesians five can be summed up in two words: love and wisdom. If we love God and each other and pray day and night for wisdom, our new beginnings in Christ will be light-filled.

The Moses era was like night. Taking the Promised Land was a new day. When we are saved we pass from darkness to light. The Psalm passage is that--the passage--from dark to light.

Deuteronomy 33, Ps. 133, Ephesians 4

Just as Moses blessed each of the tribes before his death and told them what a good thing it was to belong to the Lord, we as Christians have that same blessing. We, too, are a people "saved by the Lord" and our enemies will submit to us and we will "tread down their high places" because of the power of the Holy Spirit living in us.

"How good and how pleasant it is" not only to be saved by the Lord, but to dwell together in unity. Christianity is not merely an individual, solitary life, although it certainly begins with God and me alone. The instant I stepped into a relationship with my Heavenly Father, I also began a relationship with His other children--my brothers and sisters. Despite the human propensity for sibling rivalry, it is good, the Psalmist reminds us, to live in unity and harmony!

And so, Paul found it necessary to instruct further, more specifically, on the topic of unity. We do need to remember that we all have the same Heavenly Father and the same Spirit living in us. But as Moses gave a unique blessing upon each of the tribes, emphasizing how God would use them--Levi to minister in the tabernacle, Judah to be a warrior, Asher to be strong, Benjamin to rest in the Lord, Gad to administer justice, Reuben to multiply in the land, and so on--similarly, Jesus Christ gives each of His children, you and me, grace gifts. We know them as spiritual gifts. It's important for us to live out these gifts for the building up of the body, the church. And it's also important to live in a way that pleases Christ.

"And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you." Eph. 4:32