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GIVE ME A MAN...

“Now the Philistines gathered together their armies to battle, and were gathered together at Shochoh,…and Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and pitched by the valley of Elah, and set the battle in array against the Philistines.” (1 Samuel 17:1, 2).    The Philistines were a nation of people who occupied the coastal region of Canaan along the Mediterranean Sea.  They were one of the nations that Israel was unable to conquer in the Promised Land, and became a constant vexation to them.  This story takes place during the reign of King Saul who was the first king of Israel.   The Philistines resented Israel’s rise to power in Canaan, and were constantly challenging that power.  Once again they had sent their armies against Israel to try to weaken them, and Saul had raised an army to oppose them.    “And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a ...
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JOSEPH: THE FORERUNNER

“Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life …and God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.  So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God .” (Genesis 45:5, 7, 8).   “ Whither the Forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus… ” (Hebrews 6:20).   In the book of Genesis we find the story of Joseph, a type and shadow of our Savior, Jesus Christ.   We also find a pattern by which the sons of God may attain full maturity in the Lord in these last days.   Just as Jesus was a forerunner, Who went before us and overcame all things to provide salvation and eternal life to all who receive Him, Joseph also fulfilled that role for his family and for the world by providing a way for them to be saved during a time of great famine.   Joseph was one of twelve sons born to the Jewish patriarch Jacob.   ...
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THORNS IN THE FLESH

“And he said, Who art Thou, Lord?  And the Lord said, I am Jesus Whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks .” (Acts 9:5).    “And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me , lest I should be exalted above measure.” (2 Corinthians 12:7).   The conversion of Saint Paul to the Christian faith was a very dramatic event.   Before his conversion, Paul was convinced that he was on the side of right and was God’s holy messenger, even though he was busy persecuting, arresting, and even responsible for the martyring of the followers of Jesus Christ.   He had been raised as a Pharisee, a Jewish religious sect, and was trained under one of the most renowned Hebrew teachers of the time.   Like most Jews of his time, Paul’s faith and confidence were in the Law, and not in any kind of personal relationship with Go...
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