Each time I read the book of 1 Samuel, I'm always struck by the significance of verse 1 of chapter 3, "...the word of the Lord was precious in those days..." Sadly, that cannot be said of the day and time in which we live. This past week, I've been reading thorough the book again ,  and I  noticed a fundamental difference between the lives of Samuel and Saul, having to do with their view of the Word of God. I believe it explains why one was used of God throughout his life, and the other rejected by God early on. 1 Sam. 3:19, "And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him, and did let none of His words fall to the ground." Samuel counted the Word of God as very precious, and each word, important enough to obey. Contrast this with the life of Saul, who did not obey the word for the Lord, and in 1 Sam. 15:9, we see that in disobedience, Saul did not utterly destroy the Amalekites as God had commanded him to do, but kept the 'best" alive. Saul rebelled against and disobeyed God and His instructions because he was not committed to the Will of God with all his heart. He felt God's Word was good but not so sacred that it must be followed in every detail.

Which category do we fit in? Are we like Samuel or Saul? May God help us to love His Word with all our hearts, to count it precious and to let none of His words fall to the ground!

In this day of liberalism, the Biblical doctrine of Sanctification has become almost lost. What is it? I love how J.C Ryle explains it, in his classic Book "Holiness".

"Sanctification is the outcome and inseparable consequence of regeneration. He that is born again and made a new creature receives a new nature and a new principle, and always lives a new life. A regeneration which a man can have, and yet live carelessly in sin, or worldliness, is a regeneration invented by uninspired theologians, but never mentioned in Scripture. In a word, where there is no sanctification, there is no regeneration, and where there is no holy life there is no new birth."   ~ "Holiness" by J.C. Ryle, pg 21

I was so blessed by reading Leon Morris' commentary on John 14:21, from his book Reflections on the Gospel of John, (pp 508-509). I wanted to share it with you in it's entirety. 

John 14:21, :"He that hath my commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me..."

    "It is perhaps unexpected that from this wonderful truth of the gift of life, the gift that means Christ lives in his people and they live in him, Jesus moves on to the commandments (v. 21). These days any emphasis on the commandments is bound to run into criticism. We are warned against thinking that obedience to a set of rules has anything to do with Christianity and are urged to put all our emphasis on love. Now nothing should be said to minimize the significance of love. In a Christian context how could it? But we should not overlook the fact that, as he has done before (v. 15), Jesus links love with the keeping of his commandments. It is, of course, possible to cultivate a hard, legalistic mentality that puts all its emphasis on conformity to a written code and cares for nothing else if only the outward letter of the law has been kept. But people who develop this outlook know nothing of the sacrificial love that is at the heart of Christianity.
    It is also true, though, that those who really love, those who have steadily looked at Calvary and seen what sacrificial love really is and have responded with all their heart, those people have a special regard for the commandments. They see them not as a harsh set of external requirements, but as the guidance needed by weak and imperfect people as they respond in love to the wonderful love of Christ. It may be that we should see the expression "has my commandments" as full of meaning. This is a very uncommon way of speaking about commandments; mostly there are references to "keeping" the commandments or "obeying" them or even "loving" them. But to "have" them is a very unusual way of talking about them. Jesus does not explain it further, but he seems to mean that there are some people who make the commandments their own. They take them to their inner being, they meditate on them, and by God's grace they make a determined attempt to live them out. It is the person who keeps the commandments who loves Christ. When someone claims to be a Christian but takes no notice of what Christ has commanded his followers to do, there is something hollow about his profession. Real Christianity is not like that. To love Christ means to keep his commandments. Do not all those who love anyone delight to do what they know is pleasing to the one they love?"

"The days and times wherein we live call aloud for holiness. Oh, the pains, the care, the cost, the charge, that God hath been at, and that God is daily at, to make us holy! What do holy ordinances call for, but holy hearts and holy lives? I suppose there is nothing more evident than that the times and seasons wherein we live call aloud upon everyone to look after holiness, and to labor for holiness." ~ Rev. Thomas Brooks, 1662

This statement spoken so many years ago, still rings true for the day and age in which we live. We  serve a Holy God and read a Holy Bible! Why then is there so little holiness in our personal lives? Is it not because we fail to implement His Truth to our hearts and live it out on a daily basis? May God help us to repent, consecrate our lives to Him wholly, and allow Him to conform us into the image and likeness of Jesus Christ!