Good Morning All!!
1 Samuel 22:2;
“And everyone who was in distress, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone
who was bitter in soul, gathered to him. And he became commander over them.”
As I have
told you before, I am a fan of movies.
The other day I was watching one of the Robin Hood movies and I tried to
figure out how many different versions that I had seen. There is the “real” one with Errol
Flynn. There was one with Sean Connery,
one with Kevin Costner, the newest one with Russell Crowe, Disney made two, one
animated and one with real actors and my favorite; “Robin Hood: Men in
Tights.” These are the ones I thought
of, there are probably others.
The basic premise was that a
group of people were suffering under a great injustice and eventually, a
nobleman who lost his estate became their leader. They “robbed from the rich and gave to the
poor.” Eventually they are vindicated
when the proper king returns and all is right with the world. A wonderful little tale and like many
wonderful little tales; it would seem that it has its origin in the Bible. The biblical story is based on David. He, essentially, became an outlaw as King
Saul tried to kill him and kill anyone who helped David. Thus men who had been beaten or punished by
the king turned to David and he became their leader, their commander.
In many ways, these two
stories, similar as they are, are somewhat representative of our relationship
with Jesus. You and I, as sinners, live
under the rule of a cruel ruler, the devil.
The devil wants you to live in distress.
He wants you to suffer the pain of sorrow and sadness. He wants you to feel the worry of paying the
bills tomorrow or facing the doctor, alone, or trying to deal with the
uncertainty of life. He wants you in
debt, so you have more to worry about.
He tempts us with tantalizing gadgets and things; that everyone else
seems to have and we just “need” in order to live. Yet above all, the devil wants you to be
bitter in soul. He wants you to go
through life feeling passed over, forgotten, unlovable, leave-able; someone not
worth worrying about or worth wanting.
Into this life, Jesus comes to
claim those whom the devil attacks. He
is there to comfort you in your distress.
He is there to give you hope beyond debt and above all; he is there to
relieve the bitterness in your soul. He
is there to take the bitterness of loneliness, and despondency and to restore
you to someone whom He completely loves.
He will never forget you, never find you unlovable, he will never leave
you. You are always someone whom Jesus
finds worthy of wanting. He wants you to
be loved by Him and to live with him in eternal paradise. He will show you the way to live in harmony
with God. He has shown us the path to
eternal life. His love for us endures
forever, especially for the distressed, the indebted and those who are bitter
in soul.
Gracious Lord, you came to
bring us out of distress and to sweeten our bitter souls. Continue to strengthen our faith and to lead
us to that life which you give us, one to prosper us. Be with those who feel the bitterness of
life. Show them your mercy. In your precious name we pray, amen.
God’s Peace,
Pastor Bret
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