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Today's Chapter: 1st Samuel 16

Read it now with the BIBLE READER to the left of this post, or at http://www.bible.com/.

Don't judge a book by it's cover.

We hear it a lot, maybe everyday. It can apply to books, or places, or even people. And today's reading went perfectly hand in hand with this phrase. Have you even heard of the story of David and Goliath? If not, then it's perfectly fine, because we're reading it tomorrow.

It's about a boy named David (obviously,) but the funny thing is, David is scrawny and tiny. Samuel (the leader of the Israelites at the time,) was told that the Israelites wanted a King. After finding one and realizing he wasn't fit for the job, he was sent by God to find a new one.

God told Samuel to go to a man named Jesse, and find one of his sons to be the new King of Israel. Samuel obeyed, and went to Jesse asking him to bring out his sons. Jesse brought them out, one by one, and each one he brought, Samuel was convinced that HE should be the new King.

But each time he selected a son, God told him, "keep going down the line, that's not him yet. There's a better one coming up." Samuel was a little angry, because each time he passed by a son, he was tall, and muscular, and fit to be a King.

Samuel 16:

7But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.’

So, Samuel continued, and once he got through the line, he must have been pretty confused, right? He asked Jesse, "are these all your sons?" And Jesse said that he had one more son, the youngest.

He called to his youngest in the field, and out came little David, ruddy and scrawny, and the youngest out of all Jesse's sons. But God said "Get the preparations made, this is him. He shall be King."

This scripture gives me chills. First off, it insures that God always makes the right decisions. He was always sure of himself, which tells us that God does everything for a specific reason.

And then, God goes and picks the least likely son of Jesse to be a KING of Israel! Maybe David was closest to God, or maybe he followed God throughout his life. And if that is true, then it gives a pretty good message for the day, that God looks at you based on your heart. He doesn't judge based on how cool you are, or how tall you are.

He loves you for YOU, and nothing else. He loves EVERYONE for the content of their heart, which is so comforting to me.

Alright, so you probably get my point. God loves everyone, and he picks the unlikely to be of great importance. What can I do today (and forever) to portray that message? Can you think of someone that's an outcast around you? Is there someone that needs Jesus today? I'm almost positive that someone comes to mind, and if God judges people on their heart, you better go and help that person out!

It doesn't matter if they're weird, or cool, or mean. God judges you on the content of your heart, and you should do the same to people around you. Got it?

Good. Adios, and PEACE.

Comments

Granny said…
I know we are not to "judge" or condem people, but we are human, and sometimes we see the "cover" of the book and make an opinion that it is not going to be good reading..when it can really fool us, and be so interesting and informative, that we can't put it down, and that is true of how we see other people. God is the ULTIMATE JUDGE, but he gives us a brain and we are to determine and make opinions if certain people are good for us in our lives, or if we should follow or hang with them. We have to use our God given brain to make good use of our actions in life. If we stay true to what God teaches us, and try to live up to that, we will treat others how we should, and steer clear of what we can't change in people.
March 24, 2010 at 10:08 PM
Carly said…
I agree with what you said for the most part. Sometimes there ARE people who might not be the smartest choice to hang with. But I wasn't really focusing on which people we should be friends with... I was trying to say we shouldn't judge people and be unfriendly towards them based on what we see on the outside. If we are truly trying to be Godlike, we should follow His commands and follow His actions. God doesn't judge based on a glance at a person, (or even after a short conversation, for that matter,) He looks on the HEART. It's pretty hard for us to base our decisions on someone, because we aren't God. We can't look at someones heart very easily. However, we can never go wrong by being friendly to everyone-- no matter what they look like.
March 26, 2010 at 8:25 PM
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