Above Rubies Daily Encouragement Blogs

Large numbers of people die early in life through drug overdose—70,000 last year in USA alone! Suicide is at epidemic proportions. Ever-increasing numbers are daily being shot down and killed in many of our large inner cities.

Behind this culture of death are demonic spirits who want to destroy man who was born to be the bearer of the glorious image and likeness of God.

It’s high time for the church to rise and go to war, not with weapons of the sword, but with the weapons of the spiritual world. I am sure you remember singing the hymn: “Onward Christian soldiers, marching as to war, With the cross of Jesus going on before.” Let’s do it.

Militant prayer should be the order of every day. We must learn to bind the powers of darkness through the power of Jesus’ name and the authority of His precious blood. We cannot accept the devil’s carnage across the nations of this world any more. Not a day longer.

We are born again to fight. We don’t fight against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers.

If we do not fight, we will lose.

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell

We must train both ourselves and our children in spiritual warfare.

Our God is a Man of War (Exodus 15:3).

Our Lord Jesus Christ is also a Man of War (Revelation 19:11-16).

Considering this truth, it is obvious that we who are His followers should also be men of war. We should also be training our families to be committed to fight in the Lord’s battles. And currently we are in a huge battle in our nation. It needs all spiritual warriors on deck.

However, our warfare is not against flesh and blood. Ephesians 6:12, 18: “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places . . . Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.”

Behind all physical evil is the driving and motivating force of demonic powers. These are the real giants that no physical weapon can touch, let alone destroy. In Matthew 16:23: Jesus rebuked Peter for trying to turn Jesus away from the cross: “Jesus turned, and said unto Peter, GET THEE BEHIND ME, Satan: thou art an offense unto me: for thou savorest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.” Do you notice that we must now allow Satan in front of us. We must put him BEHIND US! (Luke 22:31, 32 and Acts 5:3).

The Second Amendment of our Constitution gives us the right to bear arms. However, none of these weapons, no matter how powerful, can cause even the slightest alarm to the real giants that are in the spiritual realm. When it comes to fighting and praying against political enemies, etc. we have no right to use physical weapons for we wrestle not against flesh and blood (Ephesians 6;12).

The New Testament exhorts us to arm ourselves with spiritual weapons (Ephesians 6;10-18). I think that most Christian men are more familiar with physical weapons than spiritual weapons. In this critical time, we must learn more about the use of our spiritual weapons. This is the only way to bind the powers of darkness that are over this nation and the nations of this world and lose the multitudes that are bowed down by the enmy.

Evil, dark, and sinister forces bind the multitudes in North Korea and Middle Eastern countries including Syria, Afghanistan, and Iran, etc. The only way to ultimate victory and to bring righteous peace amongst the nations is through the use and skill of the spiritual weapons God has provided for us in Christ Jesus.

In Numbers 14:9 Caleb and Joshua tried to calm the people of Israel when they feared the giants and the high, thick walls of the cities they had to conquer: “Only rebel not ye against the LORD, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defense is departed from them, and the LORD is with us: fear them not.”

What do the words “their defense is departed from them” mean? Joshua and Caleb had spiritual insight to know that God had bound the demonic spiritual forces that were behind their physical enemies.

Even the harlot, Rahab had more spiritual insight than the heads of the tribes of Israel (Numbers 13:2, 3). Forty-five years after the Israelites left Egypt to come into the land, she said to the spies: “I know that the LORD hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you” (Joshua 2:9).

We must exercise our God-given authority over the powers of darkness for He has given us the power to bind and loose. Matthew 18:18: “Verily I say unto you, whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

Psalm 2:8: “Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.”

Psalm 149:6-9: “Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand;
To execute vengeance upon the heathen, and punishments upon the people;
To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron;
To execute upon them the judgment written: this honor have all his saints. Praise the Lord.”

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell

P.S. To receive a document of 42 biblical prayers to pray over President Trump’s enemies, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

It is kingly to go to war against the enemy. Are we in the battle or sitting on the sidelines?

Proverbs 20:8: “A king that sitteth in the throne of judgment scattereth away all evil with his eyes.”

We live in a time when many of our male leaders have been so feminized that they have no heart to go to war and fight for what is right. It is more politically correct to tolerate evil speeches such as Death to America, the burning of our flag, burning effigies of our president, and despising our police force. They allow evil forces and terrorists to illegally come into our beloved country and build their cells of destruction and discontent, using their religious buildings to propagate evil.

Thank God we now have a president who takes a strong stand against this wimpy, feministic nonsense that is destroying the moral backbone of our nation. We must pray for him. There are many in this country who would rather see him dead, rather than the real enemies of our righteous constitution and Republic.

WHERE ARE THE SOLDIERS?

How can we go to war to win a battle against hordes of evil powers when so many are deceived by the influence of Margaret Sanger who indoctrinated the United States against raising the children who would grow up to be the fathers and mothers who would raise the soldiers to fight on the battlefields of today’s world?

Masses of mothers are no longer in their homes raising their children to be soldiers who will stand up and fight against what is evil, sinful, and wicked in today’s world. Instead, they have forsaken their homes. Instead of raising their families, they are raising their businesses and working in offices and factories. Now there are not enough men to meet the need for our booming economy.

Our great God is a Man of War. Exodus 15:3: “The LORD is a man of war: the LORD is his name.”

Our Lord Jesus Christ is also a man of war. Revelation 19:11-16: “And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.
His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were any crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.
And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.
And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, and with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”

Fathers, you are called to be a king and to fight. You are called to be a soldier and resist all the ungodly doctrines of men who are controlled by the dark spirits of this world. Y

You are called to lead your family in the fight. You are also called to raise sons and daughters to be soldiers of the cross. Encourage your wife to mother your children in the home and teach them the way of truth. The state school is no place for your children.

Be a good soldier. Give your family your very best effort. Get involved in the Lord’s work. Refuse all half-heartedness. And pray like you have never prayed before.

We win or lose.

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell

It’s time to start praying for the leadership of our nation now or it will be too late.

1 Timothy 2:1-4 is an exhortation from the Apostle Paul about what to do FIRST when we come together. We all know that it says to pray for those in leadership.

Last Sunday night my wife and I attended THE DEATH OF A NATION, produced by Dinesh D’Souza for the second time. We attended with our son, Rocklyn, and his wife and family. They were positively affected and after the movie we all stood in the corridor discussing the profound way this movie educates people regarding the history of Fascism, starting from Mussolini to Hitler to some of our own presidents in the United States.

This movie exposes the evil of Fascism, especially in one of our major political parties from the beginning of our political history.

It also interviews leaders of extreme right group and exposes them to not be extreme right after all, but rather extreme left in their views.

Once you see the movie you cannot help but wonder what we as Bible-believing Christians can do to get this nation reeducated with the truth which is being withheld in our public schools and colleges of our nation.

The media, except Fox, is also misleading this nation.

If you do not believe that true Christians should be involved in politics, I say: What do we do about 1 Timothy 2:1-4?

As we fathers gather our families together for Family Devotions each day, the first thing we should do is pray for our kings (leaders) and all that are in authority.

Let’s read it again: “I exhort therefore, that FIRST OF ALL, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks for all men;
For kings, and for ALL THAT ARE IN AUTHORITY; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.
For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior;
Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.”

Most Christians don’t know the names of hardly any of those who take major realms of authority in this nation, let alone “ALL that are in authority.” Ask young people today who is the Secretary of this or that and they don’t have a clue. And yet how can we pray for them if we don’t know who they are. Shame on us.

To help us remember we have written their names on cards and include them in our NATION CHANGING PRAYER BOX.

Can I lovingly ask you fathers this question? Are you leading your family to pray for the leaders of this nation? If not, why not?

What about your church? Do you as a congregation FIRST OF ALL pray for those who are in authority?

How long do we have left in this tumultuous world where so many cracks and factions are causing our foundations to be destroyed? Can a “quiet and peaceable life” last forever if we don’t pray?

Will we be able to live in “all godliness and honesty” if we don’t pray?

The Bible reminds us that these are our FIRST OF ALL prayers.

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell

Tickets for Death of a Nation:
https://tickets.deathofanationmovie.com/

Donald Trump is our president, and as such, he definitely needs our prayers. Praying for our president is of major importance. My wife and I and all who are with us pray daily for him at our morning and evening devotions. We pray at church and at our weekly prayer meeting each Wednesday evening.

These prayers of David are powerful prayers to pray against “principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12).

In the fear of the Lord, we can rebuke and bind the powers of darkness that spew out such evil hatred and lies through the media and opposition political forces. It is the powers of darkness that drive our left-wing fake media and we can overcome them with the same prayers that righteous David prayed over his enemies.

We can pray against the powers of darkness that are teaching the nation’s youth extreme socialist philosophies and doctrines that are far from being biblically based. King David called them “strange children; whose mouth speaketh vanity, and their right hand is a right hand of falsehood” (Psalm 144:7, 8, 11). He asked God to rid him and deliver him from such “strange children.”

We can use the power of Jesus’ name, the power of His precious holy blood, the word of our testimony, and love not our lives even if it means death when our enemies attack us (Revelation 12;11).

We should stand up against our enemies by speaking the truth and exposing their lies, always in the love and grace of Christ who was prepared to lay down His own life to have His resurrection victory on our behalf.

If you are interested to receive these prayers, 42 different prayers straight from God’s Word, that will help you in praying against the enemies of President Trump, email my wife at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and she will be happy to send them to you.

You could pray one each day. Or preferably, because there are 42 prayers, you could pray six of them each day for a week and start again the next week!

Here’s an example:
24. May his enemies FALL INTO THE PIT THEY ARE DIGGING FOR HIM (Psalm 35:7; 9:15; 7:15, 16; 57:6; 55:23; and Jeremiah 18:19-23).

You can print them off and use them at family prayer time.

Be encouraged,

Colin Campbell

We desperately need God to hear our prayers at this time in our nation’s history. We should not do or say anything that would hinder our prayers. As fathers who seek to be an example to our families, we must be very careful how we speak against leadership in the land, whether it be in the federal, state, or local government. We should also encourage our wives and children to be careful in this matter.

I repent for my loose, unbridled tongue in speaking against those in authority who are not consistent with the Word of God. Even though they are the enemies of truth, we should not let our hearts get into a state where we cannot pray for them in a way that God would be able to answer our prayers.

Colossians 3:19: “Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them.”

1 Peter 3:7: “Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them (your wives) according to knowledge, giving honor unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers be not hindered.”

Men, God will not hear our prayers if we are bitter toward our wives. The same principle applies if we are hateful and bitter against our fellow man.

1 Timothy 2:1-4: “I exhort therefore, that FIRST OF ALL, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks for all men;
For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.
For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior;
Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.”

The first thing we should do when we gather together is to pray for our leaders, not denounce them.

Ephesians 6:12: “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”

We can scripturally bind the forces of darkness that motivate and control our physical enemies. However, there is need for great carefulness when we glibly show bitterness and disrespect for those who are in places of authority. We should always respect the office even when we cannot, by any means, respect or condone the deeds done by those holding the office. However, we can pray the Scriptural prayer of David in Psalm 109:8: “Let another take his office.”

We see on the News increasing disrespect, turning over cars, smashing windows, speaking evil of police, and the use of expletive, foul language concerning those in authority. Will God hear the prayers of these people, if they ever do pray to Him? Yes, in His mercy He will hear them if they repent of their own sins.

Jesus teaches what our response should be to those who persecute us and say all manner of evil against us.

Matthew 5:10-12: “Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness; sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.”

Most of us here in America experience very little persecution for our faith compared to Middle Eastern and North African countries, and North Korea. And yet we mouth off so disrespectfully and proudly against those we do not agree with. Because we have freedom of speech in our nation’s constitution, it doesn’t let us off the hook. We will have to give an account for every idle word before the Judge of all the earth (Matthew 12:36).

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell

1 Corinthians 12:28: “God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.”

Ephesians 4:11, 12: “And he gave some, apostles, and some, prophets, and some, evangelists, and some, pastors, and teachers: For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.”

I believe that we who believe in freedom of speech need to be very careful how we speak against any who have been anointed by the Holy Spirit to fulfil any one of these ministerial gifts, even if they have wandered off the tracks. Read Jude 1:8-16).

Even when Jesus was falsely struck by the officer of the High Priest for allegedly speaking disrespectfully of the High Priest during his trial, Jesus answered him: “If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil: but if well, why smitest thou me?” (John 18:19-23).

We must also remember that we are all priests and kings before God. Therefore, we must not speak evil of our fellow priests/kings for this doesn’t go down well with God.

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell

Go to this movie. It puts the record straight. This is an absolute must to see and please take your young people who are so easily duped and fooled by the false media.

I was saddened at the poor attendance at the first weekend showing where we went to see the movie. Apart from the young people we took, there were no other young people there. And yet it is so important that our young people know the truth.

There is plenty of action in the movie and everything is based on historical documented truth. Don’t miss and take your young people if you, even if you must drag them there.

Check the Internet for the nearest theater. You may have to travel as it is not in all theaters. If it is not in the one near you, call the manager and ask why.

~ Colin Campbell

Are you leaving a godly legacy for your family?

Because believers in Christ Jesus are all kings and priests unto God our Father, it is important that the realm we reign over be established through righteousness.

Romans 5:17 says: “For if by one man’s offense death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of the righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.”

The above Scripture confirms Proverbs 16:12 which says: “For the throne is established in righteousness.” The abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness enables us to reign in such a way that our kingdom (sphere of reign) which is our individual life, our marriage and family lives, and all that we do be established.

Because of disobedience, pride, self-importance, and the fear of man king Saul’s reign could not be established. However, David’s kingdom and reign were established by righteousness.

Having an affair with another women who is not your wife will not allow your kingdom to be established in righteousness. Watching anything that stirs up lust in you will not allow your kingdom to be established in righteousness. Refusing to actively promote holiness in your life by the way you speak, dress, and act will in the end destroy the generational reign of righteousness in your life.

Like David, leave your family a legacy of righteousness. Like David be quick to repent for repentance is a righteous action. Even though David sinned seriously, he was quick to repent. This enabled his kingdom to continue to be established.

David was strong in prayer, praise, and worship. He depended heavily on God for his strength to fight in the battles of life.

David would not kill Saul when he had many opportunities to do so. David knew that Saul had been anointed with holy oil. Even though David had also been anointed to be king of Israel, he understood that to take the life of an anointed man could only happen through God’s command.

Psalm 105:15 says: “Touch not my anointed and do my prophets no harm.”

Abimelech took Abraham’s wife thinking she was his sister and God told him, “Behold, thou art but a dead man” (Genesis 20:3). Why? Because he was touching the Lord’s anointed, even though he was ignorant of the full truth that Sarah was Abraham’s wife.

God’s anointing was upon Abraham and God called him a prophet. Genesis 20:7: “Now therefore restore the man his wife; for he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live: and if thou restore her not, know that that thou shalt surely die, thou, and all that are thine.”

David would have been familiar with this testimony and it was a warning not to kill king Saul. Righteous David had great respect for the anointing.

There is a lesson for all of us: do not in any way seek to destroy a person who has been anointed. God is well able to take care of you even if you have been wrongly treated. Live your life in the holiness that comes through Christ.

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell

While Saul admitted his sins of disobedience, he didn’t show any evidence of godly sorrow and genuine repentance towards God. Saul was more interested in his own fame and establishing his own dynasty. He resisted God’s will and actively fought against David who was anointed to be his successor. He actively spent considerable time seeking to kill David.

On the other hand, God used the persecution caused by Saul to mold David and show him what happens to a king when God leaves him.

God was pleased to establish the kingdom of David for generations to come.

2 Samuel 7:11-16 says: “Also the LORD telleth thee that he will make thee a house.
And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom.
And he shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men:
But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee.
And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established forever before thee: thy throne shall be established forever.”

David’s kingdom brought forth the Messiah, Jesus Christ who would take on Himself the iniquity of the people and be beaten with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men.

Psalm 89:19-27 greatly supports 2 Samuel 7:11-16. Check it out.

Psalm 89:32: “Then will I visit their transgression with the rod and their iniquity with stripes.”

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell

Our God is a generational Father God. He continually looks for men He can trust to be righteous, generational fathers. King Saul failed to measure up to the righteous standards of humility and absolute obedience that God desires of men who desire to be pattern men—righteous prototypes to whom succeeding generations can look up to, or look back on, as the type of men our Father delights to bless (Genesis 18:17, 18 and Psalm 112:1, 2).

In my mind, the men who stand out as the most powerful prototype leaders and presidents in the politics of this nation would be Abraham Lincoln, Ronald Reagen, and who knows, the next one could be Donald Trump.

Despite his radically “out of the norm” style of leadership, he has tremendous tenacity and pluck to turn his enemies into his friends. We will soon see what will happen with North Korea, Iran, Russia, Syria, Iraq, Europe, and Afghanistan, etc.

Despite his enemies on the both sides of the aisle, God is favoring him with victory after victory. The economy is roaring ahead like a run-away freight train and many amazing things are happening at record speed, never seen before in the history of this nation.

We must all pray for him that God will give him incredible wisdom, that he will fear God and not man, that he will be bold and yet humble, and always give the glory of his successes to God. Do you pray together as a family for him each day (1 Timothy 2:1-3?

I wonder sometimes whether God has allowed his critics and enemies to be his “thorn in the flesh” like the apostle Paul experienced to keep him humble—that he will learn like King David of old that he must always look to God to deliver him.

This country has been deceived more than enough by men who have the gift of sounding very presidential, but sadly lack the tenacity, backbone, and moral courage to put into action the godly principles that are right in the sight of God and for the good of our country.

I notice that, despite his flaws, all his family are movers and shakers. All speak very highly of him and look up to him.

Like King Cyrus of the Persian empire, God is delivering His people again. I never thought in my wildest imagination that this man, Donald Trump, could ever turn things around for good so quickly. Donald Trump has thrown an axe down on all the chains of the one world government mindset. By the grace of God, he is a huge wrecking ball on all the liberal agenda that is currently duping millions of American youth to go the way of extreme socialism. The future one world order is man’s answer to problems, but definitely not God’s answer.

I would say to the youth of America, where would you want to go to start a business? Cuba? Venezuela? China, where the government controls the profits? Or even socialized Europe? There is no country in the world that is better to start a business than right here in the USA under the leadership of Donald J Trump—if he continues to depend upon the one true God.

However, we must pray for him more than ever. It is very possible that the great sin of innocent blood being shed day by day in this nation could be brought down. God is a God of life, not of death. He is the Judge of all the earth and He is giving us an opportunity to bring all legalized abortion crashing down to the ground.

Please pray that Brett Kavanagh will be established in the Supreme Court quickly. God is on the move and things are happening very quickly. Praise be to our Father God!

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell

Although Saul was relatively obedient, he was not totally obedient (relative meaning “good enough, partial.”) If Saul had only been explicitly obedient to the words God gave him his ancestral kingdom would have been established.

There is conflict of opinion as to how long Saul reigned because of numerical gaps in the Hebrew manuscript. However, Acts 13:21 states “by the space of forty years.” Forty years of reigning over Israel was quite a long time. However, because of his disobedience to the explicit word of the Lord, he lived most of his reign without the presence of God.

1 Samuel 15;35 says that “Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death.” 1 Samuel 16:14 states: “But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him.” Saul became more of a hindrance than a blessing to Israel after God left him.

We as Christians have been called to be kings over the realms God has given us, primarily our own individual lives, our marriages, our families, and our occupations in life. But does our reign affect the next generation for God?

The fact that Saul still reigned over Israel for forty plus years does not negate the fact that his kingdom was not established. It never passed on to the next generation. The generational reign was given to David until Jesus Christ, Israel’s Messiah and ours also came, who is the seed of David.

Acts 13:22,23: “And when he had removed him (Saul), 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 fulfill all my will. Of this man’s seed that God according to this promise raised unto Israel a Savior, Jesus.”

Let us learn this lesson thoroughly. The success of our own realm of reigning in Christ depends upon our obedience to the explicit, clear words of Christ (Matthew 7:24-28.

Saul relied on partial obedience and situational ethics. This is a false reliance and will not stand the test on judgment day.

When David sinned, he repented with all of his heart and cried out in prayer: “Take not thy Holy Spirit from me” (Psalm 51:11). He was aware what happened to king Saul, for he had to duck to miss the javelin from Saul on more than one occasion.

As kings and priests in Christ Jesus may our reign over our lives and families be thick and rich with all the anointing of God’s Holy Spirit. May our godly reign affect the generations to come.

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell

Israel’s first king sadly lost his throne because of unrighteousness. His unrighteousness was revealed in the two tests God gave him in regard to defeating Israel’s enemies.

TEST NO. 1 * 1 Samuel 13:8-14:
God, through the prophet, Samuel, told Saul that he was not to take any action against the Philistines who vastly outnumbered his small army of 3,000. The Philistines, on the other hand had “30,000 chariots and 6,000 horsemen, and people as the sand which is on the sea shore in multitude.” All these came and drew the battle against Saul’s pitiful 3,000 man army.

The first thing King Saul had to do was to wait for the prophet Samuel to arrive and offer a burnt sacrifice to the Lord, plus peace offerings. After seven days of waiting for Samuel to arrive and great pressure mounting, Saul committed his first act of unrighteousness. He disobeyed the word of the Lord. Through impatience, he offered the sacrifice himself! This act of disobedience began the de-establishment of his throne. It was sad, and understandable from human reasoning. But our human reasoning is no excuse for disobedience from God’s sovereign point of view, no matter how extreme the pressure.

The greater the pressure, the greater opportunity for God to show Himself strong on the behalf of those whose heart is perfect toward Him.

Despite Saul’s disobedience, God gave Israel an amazing victory over the Philistines through his son, Jonathan. Praise God for his amazing grace.

Sadly, Saul did not learn from this experience. Even though God put to flight the Philistines, He never realized the importance of being completely obedient to God. Therefore, his kingdom continued to become weaker.

To be continued.

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell

King Saul had a wonderful opportunity to establish his kingdom forever (1 Samuel 13:13, 14). What a privilege to be Israel’s first king. However, because of unrighteousness he lost his crown and King David became Israel’s most beloved king, even to this day.

How sad to read the following words: “For now would the LORD have established thy kingdom upon Israel forever. 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.”

This means that if King Saul had lived righteously and been obedient to the word of the Lord, all of Israel’s kings would have descended from his family tree. What an enormous loss and disgrace to the first king of Israel, but also the tribe of Benjamin, and the family of Kish.

When you read 1 Samuel 9:1, 2 you can’t help but love the young man, Saul. However, by the deeds of unrighteousness his throne was not able to be established. It goes to prove that it is not enough to come from a family lineage that is famous (his great-great-great grandfather was “a mighty man of power”).

Saul himself was described as . . .
1) a choice young man
2) goodly
3) more handsome than any other man in Israel
4) stood head and shoulders above all other the people
5) Little in his own eyes (1 Samuel 15:17)

Obviously, his humility was a factor in God’s choice of Saul. Unfortunately, like so many, humility quickly vanished after he rose to power.

To be continued.

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell

The Hebrew word for “establish” in this Scripture is “kuwn,” pronounced “koon.” It means “to set up, stand perpendicular, to establish, to fix, to render sure, proper or prosperous.”

As followers of our great King of kings we are called to be kings and priests (Revelation 1:6 and 5:10). As kings we have been given a throne. The Hebrew word for “throne” is “kicceh,” pronounced “kis-say.” It means “to be covered, i.e. a throne (as canopied), seat.” It is a position of rulership and authority over an empire, country, city, town, or a family home.

It can also be a church. 1 Timothy 3:5 says: “For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?”

Proverbs 16:32: “He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.”

Proverbs 25:28: “He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls.”

The word “righteous” is “tsedaqah” and means “rightness, justice.” Righteousness is not a matter of doing what is right in our own eyes, but what is right in the eyes of the Lord.

Proverbs 21:2: “Every way of man is right in his own eyes: but the LORD pondereth the hearts.”

When Samuel judged Israel, God told him to anoint one of Jesse’s sons to be king of Israel in place of Saul. 1 Samuel 16:6,7 states: “He looked on Eliab, and said, Surely the LORD’S anointed is before him.
But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance or on the height of his stature: because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.“ Samuel could not see Eliab’s heart. Obviously, there was something unrighteous about his heart.

It is interesting that our President has nominated Brett Kavanaugh for our next Supreme Court Judge. He looks and sounds like a great Supreme Court Judge, but only God knows his heart. If he rules in the righteousness of God’s holy Word, as well as the constitution, I pray that he will be established on the throne of our country’s Supreme Court.

In a smaller degree, all Christians are called to rule in righteousness. King Saul lost his throne because his heart was not right with God. God looks for heart righteousness. Make sure your heart is right.

To be continued.

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell