Good morning sir!  Welcome to day 7!   

The enemies of God can take you out or they can make you!

Join me in prayer: Lord, speak to my spirit today.  Open the eyes of my heart to see the spiritual power of connecting with other followers of Jesus!  Amen!

One of the main themes at the men’s retreat was ‘man sharpening man!’  Not every man sharpens another.  And we’re not designed to ‘sharpen ourselves!’ But being around the ‘right men,’ will actually temper you, and shape you into the man that God envisioned when He created you.

It’s amazing to me how he used the Amalekites, the same enemy, to bring death to one king because of selective obedience but bring humility and total obedience to a king in training.

Saul is on one battle front.  David is on another battle front, but both are fighting Amalekites.  

Saul, decides on his own, that instead of obeying fully the guidance of God, he thinks that it will be a good idea to keep the animals alive so we can sacrifice them to God.  

David, giving up on his own guidance, calls the priest (God) for guidance.  And obeys fully.

Saul is taken out by death.  David is in his last phase of waiting.

Saul gets the word, obedience is better than sacrifice.  David gets the word, you’ve recovered everything that was stolen!

And this is where every man needs help.  Whose voice will we obey?  I decide or I submit to God? The truth is this:  What we say, followed by what we do, is what we really believe.  And we need to be in relationships with other men to keep us on the ‘obedience anvil.’

Just this morning I took note of this little phrase of Jesus: ‘whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life!’ John 3:36

My prayer for today: Lord, ‘I will clothe myself with humility!’  (1 Peter 5:5) I pray that You will be fully released inside of my spirit so ‘my house will be built on the rock’ by empowering me always to hear and obey Your words!  (Matthew 7:24) Amen!