2011 November 14 - Morning Manna

But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the LORD hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the LORD commanded thee
(1 Samuel 13:14).

And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will (Acts 13:22)

Today’s Morsel: David, like his great grandmother Ruth, possess the traits of faithfulness, commitment, determination, and obedience as a young man in his time. If one is to be holy, then he too must possess the character traits of God. The fruit of the Spirit is not just fruit, but qualities and character traits of God. It’s called the fruit of the Spirit, because this is what the spirit brings into a life of a person. Even though David was a man after God’s own heart and he possessed these qualities, he also shows us how easy it is to allow ourselves to violate these qualities if we do not keep ourselves in check and accountable to someone.

J. Oswald Sanders wrote, “It was the breaking of the Tenth commandment (Coveting his neighbor’s wife) that led David to commit adultery, thus breaking the seventh commandment. Then, in order to steal his neighbors wife (thereby breaking the eighth commandment), he committed murder and broke the sixth commandment. He broke the ninth commandment by bearing false witness against his brother. This all brought dishonor to his parents and this broke the fifth commandment. In this way he broke all the ten commandments that relate to loving one’s neighbor as oneself (Commandments five through ten). And in doing so, he dishonored God as well, breaking, in effect, the first four commandments” (J. Oswald Sanders, Bible Men of faith, P. 13).

When God sent the Prophet to David, David didn’t blame someone else, but he repented of his sin, revealing the characteristic that made him a man after God’s own heart. Godly sorrow. As Paul said, “For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death” (2 Corinthians 7:10). Only when we are willing to repent of our sins, can we become what God wants us to be; people after His own heart.

Sing:I love Him too much to fail Him now; too much, to break my vow. For I promised the Lord that I would make it somehow. And now I love Him too much to fail Him now.