speaking of ramifications

the current sermon series at church has been on David and his long journey to kingship over Israel. tonights sermon dealt with Saul and the witch of Endor (as Beff put it, she was an ewok) vs. David's inquiry of the Lord whether he should take revenge of the sack of Ziklag by the Amalekites. the point of the sermon was Saul's response to fear at the sight of the Philistine army was to find a quick fix (the Lord wasn't responding to his requests, so he did what he shouldn't to get an answer) whereas David's response to being at the bottom of the pit of despair was to take strength in the Lord. there was a lot more involved, and the two experiences were tied together better than what I just presented, but I'm not trying to relay the whole sermon, just give a brief recap.

cause I was reading while pastor Brandon was speaking, and noticed that Samuel condemned Saul to die for not executing God's judgment on the Amalekites.

and David's city (where all of his wives and children, and the wives and children of his followers who wanted to stone him after the sacking) was razed by the Amalekites.

Saul failed in his responsibility. and it cost David.

I'm sure the connection has been made a lot, and perhaps I'd heard it before, but for whatever reason I just put it together. Saul's failure cost David. David's faithfulness restored him and his men.

my failure won't just cost me. Saul lost his life, and his sons were cut off as well, because of his failure, but his mistake cost more than just his own life.

I'd better be awfully darn careful with what I do and keep myself from screwing up, cause I may be ruining someone else's life too.

when in Rome

I'm helping Bethany lead a small group for church. sign-ups started today, lasting through the beginning of February. it's a small group that aims to help a local charity organization. the whole acting out your faith thing.

certainly hope I'm ready to put my money where my mouth is. I'd rather not put my foot where my mouth is.

I'm gettin hitched

I proposed to Beff over Christmas, the Sunday before Christmas in fact.

so I finally get to marry her in 6 months.

words can't describe my joy at this. so I won't try.