Day 1

LESSONS FOR TODAY

The books of 1st and 2nd Samuel were written long ago about people in a very different kind of society to any of ours today. Their lifestyle, concepts, moral standards and even religious understanding were different to ours. How can the stories of their lives be relevant to us today?

Well, although we live in a different world our human nature is the same and our human dilemma is identical. These two things will not change until God in Christ brings the history of his world to a close. We are all sinners, unable of ourselves to do anything about it. We are dependent on God to reveal himself and his solution for this problem to us. If we understand and accept our situation we are halfway to the secret of handling our lives effectively. Learning to use our faith in facing what life throws at us - crises, changes and challenges - day by day. Only in this way can we have the "abundant life" which Jesus offers to each of us (John 10:10). He remains constant amid change! (Hebrews 13:8)

None of us will ever know all the answers or get to the stage where we never make mistakes. But by walking humbly with God and learning from the way he has treated others in the past we can cope effectively with ourselves and the situations in which we find ourselves.