A Double Portion

When the day came that Elkanah sacrificed, he would give portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and her daughters; but to Hannah he would give a double portion, for he loved Hannah

I Samuel 1.4-5a

Isaiah 61

1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners;

2 To proclaim the favorable year of the LORD and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn,

3 To grant those who mourn in Zion, giving them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.

4 Then they will rebuild the ancient ruins, they will raise up the former devastations; and they will repair the ruined cities, the desolations of many generations.

5 Strangers will stand and pasture your flocks, and foreigners will be your farmers and your vinedressers.

6 But you will be called the priests of the LORD; you will be spoken of as ministers of our God. You will eat the wealth of nations, and in their riches you will boast.

7 Instead of your shame you will have a double portion, and instead of humiliation they will shout for joy over their portion. Therefore they will possess a double portion in their land, everlasting joy will be theirs.

8 For I, the LORD, love justice, I hate robbery in the burnt offering; and I will faithfully give them their recompense and make an everlasting covenant with them.

9 Then their offspring will be known among the nations, and their descendants in the midst of the peoples. All who see them will recognize them because they are the offspring whom the LORD has blessed.

10 I will rejoice greatly in the LORD, my soul will exult in my God; for He has clothed me with garments of salvation, He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

11 For as the earth brings forth its sprouts, and as a garden causes the things sown in it to spring up, So the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations.

We too have been robed as a bride; we have been seated at His banquet table to feast with him with great joy.

Ephesians 1.3-4 says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him.”

John 10.10 says, “I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.” (TMSG)

That sounds like a double portion to me. A blessed, purpose filled, abundant life now and eternal life with our Lord then.

This is what our bridegroom has placed before us.

When I pray, why the delay? Pt. II

It came about in due time, after Hannah had conceived, that she gave birth to a son; and she named him Samuel, saying, “Because I have asked him of the LORD.” I Samuel 1.20

Why the delay indeed!

Lets look at the story working backwards.

The story of I Samuel follows right on the heels of one of the darkest periods in Israel’s history. The time of the Judges was at an end; the people, we are told, “did what was right in their own sight”.

God was about to change things. The nation was soon going to be asking for a king. God would begin to speak through the prophets giving direction and counsel and, at times, outright commands to these kings.

Israel’s first king would be a man by the name of Saul and the prophet that the Lord would use to speak into his life was about to become the answer to a humble woman’s prayer.

What I want you to consider is that there was a huge plan in motion, plans that would affect a nation. It was a significant turning point in the history of God’s chosen people.


Samuel was at the center of it all.

Samuel would anoint Israel’s first king. Not long after he would remove the scepter from his hand and place it in the hands of a shepherd boy with a sling.

• Samuel whom the Psalmist and the great prophet Jeremiah would both esteem alongside of Moses.
• Samuel, a man of prayer and passion and vision who stood in stark contrast to a compromising generation.
• That… is the boy the Lord was planning on sending. The one whose name means “asked of God”

So now back to Hannah.

For so long she longed for a child, year after year she yearned but no answer came. “Did I do something wrong Lord?”, “am I out of favor?”, “have I missed the blessing?”, “Is it that God doesn’t answer the prayers of a person like me?”, “how long Lord will You be silent, don’t You care?”

But, you see, it had nothing to do with any of that! God’s plan was in motion and the time would soon be right. What must have seemed like forever to Hannah was right on time to God.

AND…

Though Hannah in her simplicity and humility was simply asking for a son, the Lord had far more in mind for her. A son Hannah? I am going to give you Samuel… Samuel Hannah! A mighty man, an anointer of kings, a spokesman for the Almighty. Oh Hannah, not just any little boy but a special one.

Why does God delay at times?

Did you notince in our verse above that is says, "in due time"? Could it be that His plan and our part in it that plan have not yet intersected? When it is time for God’s plan to unfold nothing… nothing can stop it from taking place.

Could it be that the Lord wants to do far more than we are asking for? He loves us too much to allow us to settle for less than His best. And sometimes the best means we will have to wait a little longer.

When I pray, why the delay? Pt. I

She made a vow and said, “O LORD of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a son, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and a razor shall never come on his head.” I Samuel 1.11

Hannah was a woman in need, a woman who had a barren womb, how she longed for a child.

Not only was there a cultural stigma attached to a childless woman but she was hearing it in her own home. Peninnah, the other wife of Hannah’s husband Elkanah, was making life miserable for Hannah as she “provoked her bitterly to irritate her”.

I think it is safe to assume that Hannah had prayed many times over many years that the Lord would grant her the desire of her heart and give her a child.

Her prayer was about to be answered, but why now, why after so long is this the day the Lord answers?

Vs 11 is the prayer that got answered. Was there something different in it than in previous prayers? Well, we can’t say for certain if it was different but we can see some distinctions:

• Once she had received the gift, she would give it back
• She made a commitment to dedicate her new son, from birth, to the service of the Lord (Nazarite vow)

Whatever you ask in My name

Jesus said, “Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do”; the “in My name” means “according to my will”. You see prayer isn’t only about God filing out my grocery list; it is about moving my heart into alignment with His purposes.

Have you ever noticed that as you tarry in prayer over days or weeks… even months or longer, that your prayer has a way of changing over time. This is the work of the Holy Spirit directing our prayers (Romans 8.26-27) until they are in alignment with His perfect plan.

Is it possible that what made this prayer of Hannah’s different than the ones before? Was this the time she was finally at the place the Lord wanted her to be in order to receive the answer she so desperately sought.

Do you have a long longed for request that remains unanswered?

May I suggest you ask the Lord to reveal His heart to you, His desire, ask Him to search out your motives; see if it might be possible that you are not yet truly centered in His will.

And watch and see what will happen when we truly pray, "in His name."

Good Brothers, Good Time!

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren (or sisteren - my addition) to dwell together in unity! Psalm 133.1

We just had our Friday morning S.T.A.N.D. study and man was it a great time.

Just a few guys getting together to share what the Lord has shown them in the word. "Tag-teaming" off of one anothers' observations, making applications from our own lives; it was rich.

There really is no substitute for fellowship. It is imperative that we get together, on Sundays and Wednesday night for sure... but anytime, as often as possible to just speak with one another about the Lord.

There is a really cool verse in Malchi that says:

Then those who feared the LORD spoke to one another, and the LORD gave attention and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the LORD and who esteem His name. Mal 3.16 (ever notice how many great verses are "3.16's"... but that is for another time)

He gave attention, or paid attention... "quiet, my kids are talking", he heard it, and he wrote it down. In my minds eye I can see the Lord with a writing tablet... "oh. that was a good one, man that's great, way to go Bob, good application Rob", just thrilled with what He is seeing and hearing.

Do you have a friend or two that you get with during the week, do you take time with your spouse in the Word, do you make an effort to spend time in the week with a brother or sister and just talk about the Lord.

I can't encourage you enough to find a partner or two, or join one of the small groups that are meeting almost every day somewhere, it will bless your heart.

And, oh by the way, He is listening, it blesses the Lord's heart too.

God Has Set Things Right

What Moses and the prophets witnessed to all those years has happened. The God-setting-things-right that we read about has become Jesus-setting-things-right for us. And not only for us, but for everyone who believes in him. For there is no difference between us and (the Gentiles) in this.

Since we’ve compiled this long and sorry record as sinners (both us and them) and proved that we are utterly incapable of living the glorious lives God wills for us, God did it for us. Out of sheer generosity he put us in right standing with himself. A pure gift. He got us out of the mess we’re in and restored us to where he always wanted us to be. And he did it by means of Jesus Christ.

God sacrificed Jesus on the altar of the world to clear that world of sin. Having faith in him sets us in the clear. God decided on this course of action in full view of the public—to set the world in the clear with himself through the sacrifice of Jesus, finally taking care of the sins he had so patiently endured. This is not only clear, but it’s now—this is current history! God sets things right. He also makes it possible for us to live in his rightness.


So where does that leave our proud Jewish insider claims and counterclaims? Canceled? Yes, canceled. What we’ve learned is this: God does not respond to what we do; we respond to what God does. We’ve finally figured it out. Our lives get in step with God and all others by letting him set the pace, not by proudly or anxiously trying to run the parade.


And where does that leave our proud Jewish claim of having a corner on God? Also canceled. God is the God of outsider non-Jews as well as insider Jews. How could it be otherwise since there is only one God? God sets right all who welcome his action and enter into it, both those who follow our religious system and those who have never heard of our religion.

Romans 3.21-30

Website is on the way

Our new website is actually in the works. You can check it out at lawrencestreet.org.

It isn't all working yet but parts of it are... take a look.

Preparing for the Day of Distress

If you are slack in the day of distress, your strength is limited.
If you fall to pieces in a crisis, there wasn’t much to you in the first place. Proverbs 24.10 (NASB/TMSG)

Oh, I am not trying to be a pessimist, but life does happen; "in this world you will have tribulation", right?

And it can come at us fast too. A phone call, a doctor visit, a meeting with the boss and what was a moment ago relative calm immediately becomes a very distressful situation.

Is there a way to prepare for the unexpected? I believe there is and we are given a couple examples in Scripture.


The first is of Abraham in Genesis 14

There was a war taking place in the area near where Abe lived. Five kings of the Canaanites went to war against another group of four kings that were nearby. Well the four kings won and one of the cities they earned as a prize was Sodom.

Well it happened that Lot, Abe's nephew was living in Sodom at the time so... Abraham "led out his trained men, born in his house, three hundred and eighteen, and went in pursuit..." Gen 14.14

Its that word trained that catches the attention. These were his everyday household helpers, his shepherds, his cooks, etc: but when the call came to armor up and go to battle the men were prepared both in arms and in deployment.

Abraham made sure that he was prepared lest a day came that would require him to go to war.


The second lesson is Jesus in Luke 17

Jesus was coming down from the mount of transfiguration when he encountered quite a comotion. A father had brought his demonized son to Jesus to be healed but with Jesus gone, the disciples tried, to no avail, to deliver the young boy from his condition.

Jesus, always prepared, dismisses the evil spirit with word. What He says to the disciples is the noteworhy part as fas as it relates to our discussion.

In Verse 21 it says, "This kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting". Now that instruction on the part of Jesus only makes sense if He is talking about a discipline of prayer and fasting. In other words the work done here and now was made possible by care taken earlier.


Hit the weights

You could use the illustration of an athletic event requiring practice ahead of time, time in the weight room, etc. Or, as Lynn and Ruben did earlier this summer; spent months running steps at Hayward field so they would be ready when the day came to climb Sisters.

Am I preparing, bulking up, building up, training myself, for the day of distress? Am I being nourished on the Word? Getting the needed rest in the Lord? Being made aware of the "wiles" of the opponent? Being encouraged by God's promises? Exercising my faith so it is strengthened?

Today is the day to prepared for that day!

For Annie, Justin and Jeffery

Remember my affliction and my wandering
The wormwood and bitterness.

Surely my soul remembers and is bowed down within me.
This I recall to my mind, Therefore I have hope.

The LORD’S lovingkindnesses indeed never cease,
For His compassions never fail.

They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness.

“The LORD is my portion,” says my soul,
“Therefore I have hope in Him.”

The LORD is good to those who wait for Him,
To the person who seeks Him.

It is good that he waits silently
For the salvation of the LORD.

Lamentations 3.19-26

His Workmanship (Eph 2.10)

The potters: with hands and wheel
The painter: his brush, his canvas, his palette
The architect: with pencil, and steel
The sculptor his stone, his chisel, his mallet

The poet with meter and rhyme
The composer: his verse, his staff, his chord
The weaver: with loom and time
The craftsman: his plane, his saw, his board

Before the work begins;
Seeing the end from the start
Each stroke, each note building on another
Each an expression of his heart

With precision and tireless care
He makes something out of nil
A marvel is in the making
A work that represents the Masters’ will

We are that work in progress
A masterpiece not quite finished
But the One who envisioned the whole
Will not allow the work to diminish

A day will come
When hammer will no longer be heard
When the loom will stand quiet;
When He’s written the last word
A day when the portrait is complete;
No more need for the pen
A time when the wheel will stop turning,
But until then…

Day by day, from glory to greater glory
His masterpiece in mind
Conformed into His image
Until the day we are two-of-a-kind

Hebrews 10.35-39 (TMSG)

Remember those early days after you first saw the light? Those were the hard times! Kicked around in public, targets of every kind of abuse—some days it was you, other days your friends. If some friends went to prison, you stuck by them. If some enemies broke in and seized your goods, you let them go with a smile, knowing they couldn’t touch your real treasure. Nothing they did bothered you, nothing set you back. So don’t throw it all away now. You were sure of yourselves then. It’s still a sure thing! But you need to stick it out, staying with God’s plan so you’ll be there for the promised completion.

It won’t be long now, he’s on the way; he’ll show up most any minute. But anyone who is right with me thrives on loyal trust; if he cuts and runs, I won’t be very happy.

But we’re not quitters who lose out. Oh, no! We’ll stay with it and survive, trusting all the way.