Recently I was reading through the book of 1. Samuel. Samuel is a very interesting prophet. Even before he was conceived he was dedicated to God. His mother said that if she will have a son she will give him into the full service of God. When he arrived at the place of worship he was a very little boy but was dedicated to serve God. While being there he hears the voice of God for the first time but he thinks it was his mentor talking to him. After 3 times the mentor knew that it was God talking to Samuel and he started listening. And the first message God gave him is a challenging one where God called out his Mentor. Imagine that, God gives you a strong word for someone that so far just spoke into your life, that must have been scary. But Samuel shared it fully with him and totally obeyed God.

A while later God extended his responsibility after he saw how trustworthy Samuel was. He tried to speak wisdom to Israel  through Samuel when they wanted a King and with that rejected God. But after people didn’t listen to him and he shared all the consequences with them, God used him to anoint the first King of Israel Saul. After Saul disobeyed God, Samuel brought the hard truth from God to him even knowing that it could cost him his life. Saul kept disobeying God but Samuel kept obeying God by sharing Gods words with Saul.

Eventually God used Samuel to anoint David as King which again could have meant his death. Anointing a king while the other king is still in power is not a great idea, especially if the other King is a little bit on the jealous side. But Samuel kept obeying God till the end of his life. He didn’t succeed in every area of his life especially with his sons who didn’t totally follow God well. But that shows even more how this man was human and had his struggles. Succeed in one area in your life doesn’t mean that you are perfect in every area.

So Samuel obeyed God during his life no matter what. That is one of the key things I want to point out. It’s more important to God that we obey him without delay. Even if it is hard at times and it can cost us a lot, it is always worthied. As more as we obey Him as more He can trust us with greater things. Samuel started as a young boy obeying God, but we can start any day doing that.  Let’s start with the things we already know, like loving our neighbor!

Hey our friend

This was a special week for us! We celebrated our 6 year anniversary on May 12th. Its crazy how time flies.  We still remember our wedding as if it was yesterday. Its also amazing how much our love grew for each other in that time through fun and hard times and everything in between. You can only experience certain things if you are in for the longhaul and that is not just true for marriage. We see that in our neighborhood with all the friendships we have with neighbors. As more and as longer you know people as more you invest into each other as closer you get. Very simple and logical, but many times the most simple things are the most effective. So keep working on your long term relationships!!

Remember this week Samuel didn’t succeed in every area of his life but he obeyed and loved God!

God bless you

Markus and Jen