1 Samuel 30:11-13
Now they found an Egyptian in the field and brought him to David, and
gave him bread and he ate, and they provided him water to drink. And they gave
him a piece of fig cake and two clusters of raisins, and he ate; then his
spirit revived. For he had not eaten bread or drunk water for three days and
three nights. And David said to him, "To whom do you belong? And where are
you from?" And he said, "I am a young man of Egypt, a servant of an
Amalekite; and my master left me behind when I fell sick three days ago. (NAS)
The Amalekites were the enem
As David pursued them he found one of their servants lying
in a field dying from lack of nourishment. As they gave him water and bread and
fig cake and raisins he revived. When David asked him, “to whom do you belong?”
he answered that he was an Egyptian and a servant of an Amalekite. He also said
that the Amalekite left him behind when he was sick.
The Amalekites were cruel. They represent the flesh that
is in all of us. The flesh is our emotion, mind and will outside the control of
God’s Holy Spirit. Our own flesh (Greek word sarx) is destructive and
yet appeals to our very deepest being to distrust God’s direction and control
in our life and live a selfish life. In truth the flesh delivers death.
The flesh is at war with the Spirit of God within every
believer and the flesh is a destroyer much like Satan is a destroyer. Never
trust the flesh to give you anything except to leave you for dead. Only God
gives life. Your flesh makes great promises, but never fulfills them. The flesh
promises prosperity, peace, excitement, popularity, and fun. The problem is its
inability to do so. It is a lack of belief that God is the provider of life.
The flesh will leave you in a field dying from the lack of God’s nourishment.
Trust God not your flesh. Do not end up in the field dying of the spiritual
necessities of life. Trust God and not your flesh.
Greetings from Starbucks in beautiful Tempe, AZ
What an incredible week in Quartzsite. I was actually there nine days and had the privilege of sharing the message of Jesus with many people. I also spoke seven times to the Campers on Mission and the Quartzsite church. My topic was "Remember" as spoken of in the Bible. God gave us all a great time of fellowship, prayer, Bible study, and preaching. Dr. David Johnson preached each evening. He preached all week from 2 Chronicles 7:14. He is the Executive Director of the Arizona Southern Baptist Convention. 
Sunday night we celebrated the 13th birthday of our grandson, Burke McAfee Wood. The whole family was at our home for dinner. Burke chose the meal, and of course Grammie gave him the ham, mashed potatoes, broccoli, fruit salad he had asked for. No meal though would be complete without gravy. We finished it off with yellow cake with chocolate icing and chocolate ice cream. Hope that all makes you hungry. If you have ever had one of Sandy's meals you know it was good.
Sandy and I both continue our teaching and preaching ministries. She is currently teaching the Book of Esther on Tuesday mornings to a group of YOUNG MOMS at First Baptist Church of Tempe at 9:30AM. I continue preaching the Intersect Service at 9:30 on Sunday mornings at First Baptist. We continue our study in Revelation. The last couple of weeks we have been working through the very difficult 17th chapter. Join me Sunday.
I keep getting these pangs of sorrow for all of you who live in the upper midwest and the northeast. BRRR. We are expecting 80 degrees before the week is over. What a great place to live. Come see us and enjoy the SUN in the Valley of the Sun. 
I do love hearing from you. If you know someone who might like to receive The Encourager just send me their name and email address. Praying that you have a really great week. May God bless you with an inner peace. ~ DGW
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