Emmanuel Church App Resources

1 Samuel 30:1–31:13 Reacting is easy. What’s difficult is overcoming emotions especially in a time of adversity. Although emotions are not bad, they can lead us astray. By the same token, when we go too far in the other direction and rely entirely on reason, we risk acting without empathy. The answer to this dilemma is not to use emotions against reason, but to pray instead. Throughout his life King David struggles to balance emotion and logic. At times he was emotionally wrecked; at other times he is so calculated that he seems heartless. Yet when he sought the Lord in prayer, even when it would be more convenient not to do so, he was better off.   In 1 Samuel 30:1–6, David returned to the town of Ziklag to find that his two wives along with the wives of his warriors had been captured, and the city had been burned down. The Bible describes the emotional atmosphere that existed: “David and the people who were with him raised their voices and wept until there was no...

1 Peter 2:1–2 We can't solve every problem, but sometimes we can resolve issues by simply readjusting our focus i.e. seeing them in a different light.   In his first letter, Peter could have focused on people’s sin and their need to repent. But then their attention would be on the problem, and not on solving it. So he shifts the focus: “Therefore, ridding yourselves of all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, like newborn infants long for the unadulterated spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up to salvation” (1 Pet 2:1–2). Peter calls them to see their Christian experience as a newborn longing for milk. They must make the Bible a priority so that it becomes something they need and long for. As they imbibe it, their sinful behavior is resolved. We can always choose where to place our attention. We often turn our attention toward preventing something like sin at the expense of actually doing something good i.e. growing in the Lord. ...

1 Samuel 22:1–5 Distress can unite people. In difficult moments, in shared pain, we discover our true friends. When David fled from King Saul, his divided family was suddenly supportive of him, as was every man in the region who was distressed or indebted (1 Sam 22:1–2; cp. 1 Sam 17:28–30). A shared sense of despair reveals the humanity in us all, helping us to get past our disputes and work together for one purpose. For a fragmented band of brothers to be united beyond their immediate circumstance, they must have one purpose. That’s exactly what David them: They would fight Israel’s greatest enemies - the Philistines - together (1 Sam 23:1–5). David took a crisis and turned it into an opportunity. It took courage derived from faith to act. When most people would have been paralyzed by fear, David was prepared for action. David’s strength in adversity enabled him to unite God’s people for a purpose, and his God-centered focus helped them. When things get difficult, ...