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Day 82, or March the 23rd. Standing on the shoulders

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of giants. Our thoughts today are rooted in 2

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Samuel, chapter 1, verse 23. Saul and Jonathan,

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in life they were loved and admired, and in death

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they were not parted. They were swifter than

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eagles, they were stronger than lions. First,

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the big picture surrounding this verse. With

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the death of Saul, 1 Samuel closes, and this

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important event is repeated at the beginning

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of 2 Samuel. The range of mountains where Saul

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died is cursed by David, and even today there

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is very little greenery on Mount Gilboa in northern

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Israel. David's reign begins in Hebron, but he

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finally rules the whole of Israel from his city

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Jerusalem, after a long war with the surviving

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son of King Saul. And now our action step for

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today. David pays his final tribute to King Saul

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and his son Jonathan with a song at the beginning

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of the book of 2 Samuel. What a refreshing idea

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that we respect those who were in authority before

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us. I was told some years ago that the best minister

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any church ever had is the one before last. It

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takes that long to forget their mistakes. However,

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David has respected Saul all his life as the

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Lord's anointed, and it's not surprising that

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this continues after Saul's death. If only this

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respect could spread through ministries and churches

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alike. It's not long since I was talking to someone

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in a well -established ministry about their founder

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who had moved on to other things. I was told

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that it would be better if we didn't talk about

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him when the current leader was around, as it

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could cause problems. How sad is that? All churches

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and ministries are different, and leaders are

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just as varied, but why not try to speak well

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of those who served the Lord in the past? It's

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so easy to simply blame them for all that is

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wrong and give little credit for their valued

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legacy. We are truly standing on the shoulders

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of giants. Try speaking of previous co -workers

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as part of your foundations rather than stepping

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stones for you to walk on.