1 SAMUEL 8:4-5 "Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel and said unto him; behold thou art old: now make unto us a king to judge us like all the nations." (7) And the Lord said unto Samuel, "Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected ME, that I should not reign over them." This is a message God gave to His old faithful prophet, Samuel. It should have been a strong warning to God's people in the history of their time: but they made a very unwise decision to reject God's rule over them by desiring to live like sinful people of the world. I believe this is a greatly needed message for America and the entire world at this present time; because there is undeniable evidence that a vast majority of today's people are choosing the same way to live, as those unworthy people did. I feel God's Spirit has directed my attention to this Biblical message; but I have been reluctant to write it. I felt it could not be clearly explained in the short space of a biblical Gem. In the verses following our text; God clearly warned the people what would happen when they turned to the pleasures of the world and failed to live by His rule. Those people did not realize God knows the future just as well as He does the past, and He was telling them their decision would bring many unwanted happenings that would not be blessings for them. Do you think the people of today are making the same mistake by seeking the pleasures of the world instead of living by God's ways and promises? It would take a book length effort try to show the disastrous results of the lifestyles that are dominating every news casts because of the world wide trend to turn from the ways and rule of God and live like worldly people. It is shocking to realize everything God warned His people in the distant past is beginning to be seen in today's society. We are living in spiritual darkness if we do not see that many of the unusual happenings in our world today may be our Loving God's effort to warn us like He did for His people's welfare in the past. Will we be as unwise as those people?

Most people have heard, Jesus said, "If you follow ME, the world will hate you, because it first hated ME." Jesus did never speak idle words. That verse serve is a red flag and warning to us. If you know any persons that is eager to let you know they intend to never go to church, and have no respect for those who do, you will be wise to avoid any dealings with them. You have seen them and so have I. They are always very greedy and untruthful people. They will often hurt innocent people to get what they want by dishonest means. Their wants are never satisfied and they will never be able to find the peace and happiness that comes to the people who do try to live by God's rule. You can feel sorry for those people enough to try to be a Santa Clause to them and give and give to them, but they will never appreciate it, and will still be dishonest towards you. The wisest decision any person can make in the effort to be happy and find the peace that God wants to give is to fully accept His rein over them in this short life of the flesh. The future for this present life is short at best; but if we have faith there is an eternal life after this one, we can overcome the hurt some of the greedy may have caused us, and make our highest priority to seek to do God's will in our short future. I want that to be my number one priority and I hope it is yours also. It will give rest and peace while on your bed.