Today's reading: II Samuel 16, 17, 18; Psalm 7, 37, 67, 97, 127; Proverbs 7
II Samuel 17:23, "And when Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not followed, he saddled his ass, and arose, and gat him home to his house, to his city, and put his household in order, and hanged himself, and died, and was buried in the sepulchre of his father."
Our topic for today is not something that anyone wants to really talk about. Unfortunately, it needs to be discussed. As I was reading our Scripture today I could not help but be drawn to the fact of Ahithophel taking his own life. This is so sad. I hope you do not think that I am being unkind or anything as I discuss this important topic.
There are so many families that have been touched by this tragedy. I call it a tragedy because it is a permanent solution to a problem that is more than likely temporary. I do not know what drives people to take their own life. I thought of two tragic situations where people that I knew took their own lives. As I think about it I begin to weep all over again.
One instance, a man who was in a position of leadership in the community took a gun and put it to his own head and sealed his own destiny with the trigger pull. I remember it like it was yesterday. His young children found him. I do not know how you can make it through a situation like this if you do not know Jesus Christ as your Saviour.
The second instance is one that is very close to me. A cousin to be exact. Nobody on this side of eternity knows "why". From this unfortunate instance there has come a book, "Suicide: how God sustained a family". You should read it (yes, I am prejudice as I know the author).
Parents, you need to talk with your children about this. We need to know our children so well that we see the signs. We need to pray for our children that God will protect them from this. It is not the unpardonable sin to commit suicide. It is tragic, however. We need to teach our children to delight in the Lord and His ways. Look at Psalm 37:23, "The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way."
I hope this tragedy never strikes your family; but, if it does I know that Jesus Christ will be there for you if you will lean on Him.
How are you doing?
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
April 6, 2010
Today's reading: II Samuel 13, 14, 15; Psalm 6, 36, 66, 96, 126; Proverbs 6
Psalm 66:18-20, "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me: But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God, which hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me."
I often have people ask me to pray for them. I am humbled by this. To think that someone would stake important things on the fact that they think I can pray and have my prayers answered is very humbling to me. I have been asked to pray in some dire situations. The sad reality is that if I were to have sin in my life that had yet to be confessed this would have been an exercise in futility. It would have been worthless.
To regard iniquity is to approve it. We see every day iniquity abounding and people approving it. People are trying to get laws passed to legalize things that God calls an abomination (something that makes God want to vomit). If I approve of this God will not hear my prayers. Wow! You cannot have your prayers answered and be living against God. It just will not work that way. God is Holy and He cannot be touched by sin. Because of this, He cannot hear the prayers of someone who is not righteous. How do we become righteous? Confess and forsake sin and iniquity. Keep a short account with God and you can know that you will have access to Him at any moment. You never know when you might need to get in contact with God in an emergency situation and there is no time to confess sin.
Are you keeping short account?
Psalm 66:18-20, "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me: But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God, which hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me."
I often have people ask me to pray for them. I am humbled by this. To think that someone would stake important things on the fact that they think I can pray and have my prayers answered is very humbling to me. I have been asked to pray in some dire situations. The sad reality is that if I were to have sin in my life that had yet to be confessed this would have been an exercise in futility. It would have been worthless.
To regard iniquity is to approve it. We see every day iniquity abounding and people approving it. People are trying to get laws passed to legalize things that God calls an abomination (something that makes God want to vomit). If I approve of this God will not hear my prayers. Wow! You cannot have your prayers answered and be living against God. It just will not work that way. God is Holy and He cannot be touched by sin. Because of this, He cannot hear the prayers of someone who is not righteous. How do we become righteous? Confess and forsake sin and iniquity. Keep a short account with God and you can know that you will have access to Him at any moment. You never know when you might need to get in contact with God in an emergency situation and there is no time to confess sin.
Are you keeping short account?
Monday, April 5, 2010
April 5, 2010
Today's reading: II Samuel 10, 11, 12; Psalm 5, 35, 65, 95, 125; Proverbs 5
II Samuel 11:1-2, "And it came to pass, after the year was expired, at the time when kings go forth to battle, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried still at Jerusalem. And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king's house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon."
Some people have a misconception about sin. They think their sin will not have an impact upon other. This is wrong. Think of it like throwing a rock into a calm lake. When the rock hits the water it forms ripples and they go on and on and on. This is how sin works. It keeps having that ripple effect.
In our Scriptures today we see David committed a sin. He stayed home instead of going out to battle like he should. This seems like it could have been okay. He would not be killed in battle and other thing that might seem like good things. However, disobedience is never the right thing to do.
After David disobeyed by not going he was looking around and saw a woman and we all know about his great sin with Bathsheba. What a tragedy! As a result of this seemingly small sin of looking upon this woman as she was bathing, David got into deeper and deeper sin. He even involved other people too. He had Joab bring Uriah to him. When Uriah would not conform to his convoluted plan, David had him killed. David stooped from looking at a naked woman to committing murder and enlisting innocent people to do the "dirty work" for him.
Look at another result of David's sin. Look at II Samuel 12:22-23, "And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I said, Who can tell whether GOD will be gracious to me, that the child may live? But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me." Yes, she became pregnant and as a result of sin the child died. Sin has far reaching consequences and we need to remember that.
How are you doing?
II Samuel 11:1-2, "And it came to pass, after the year was expired, at the time when kings go forth to battle, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried still at Jerusalem. And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king's house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon."
Some people have a misconception about sin. They think their sin will not have an impact upon other. This is wrong. Think of it like throwing a rock into a calm lake. When the rock hits the water it forms ripples and they go on and on and on. This is how sin works. It keeps having that ripple effect.
In our Scriptures today we see David committed a sin. He stayed home instead of going out to battle like he should. This seems like it could have been okay. He would not be killed in battle and other thing that might seem like good things. However, disobedience is never the right thing to do.
After David disobeyed by not going he was looking around and saw a woman and we all know about his great sin with Bathsheba. What a tragedy! As a result of this seemingly small sin of looking upon this woman as she was bathing, David got into deeper and deeper sin. He even involved other people too. He had Joab bring Uriah to him. When Uriah would not conform to his convoluted plan, David had him killed. David stooped from looking at a naked woman to committing murder and enlisting innocent people to do the "dirty work" for him.
Look at another result of David's sin. Look at II Samuel 12:22-23, "And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I said, Who can tell whether GOD will be gracious to me, that the child may live? But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me." Yes, she became pregnant and as a result of sin the child died. Sin has far reaching consequences and we need to remember that.
How are you doing?
Sunday, April 4, 2010
April 4, 2010
Today's reading: II Samuel 7, 8, 9; Psalm 4, 34, 64, 94, 124; Proverbs 4
II Samuel 7:5, "Go and tell my servant David, Thus saith the LORD, Shalt thou build me an house for me to dwell in?"
Psalm 4:4, "Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah."
It is so sad to me as I look around and see such irreverence and disdain for God. My wife played the piano for a wedding this weekend of someone whom we have known since she was a child. The bride was great with child and still wore a white dress. It was cut very low in the back also. Her brother who was an usher refused to take off his hat in the sanctuary. It was so sad to us. The really sad part was that these children grew up in a Christian home and know what it right. Now that they are young adults they seem to be rebelling against everything they have been taught. I was nearly in tears.
If you and I have a correct view of God it will cause us to do certain things. One thing this verse says it to "Stand in awe". Have you ever just thought about God and His goodness to us? If you seriously meditate on the Scriptures and think about God it will bring you to a place of awe. I hope so anyway. It also says that we are to "sin not". If we are in love with God the way we should be we will have a desire not to sin against Him.
Next we are told to "commune with your own heart upon your own bed". I think this is a good thing. Sometimes I cannot sleep at night so I pray for people that I know and love and I do some soul searching. This is a good time to do such activities. It is quiet and there are less distractions. You should try getting alone in the quiet and just let God speak to you. It is truly awesome!
Lastly we are told to "be still. Selah." This is something that we do not do. It relates to what I just said. We need to get alone and be still so that God can speak to us. I like the word "Selah". It means to pause. We need to be still and contemplate what God is telling us. We live in a world with instant technologies so that we can be bombarded with information every minute of every day and we need to leave some of this stuff and get alone with God. Try it, you might like it. I know I do.
So, how are you doing?
II Samuel 7:5, "Go and tell my servant David, Thus saith the LORD, Shalt thou build me an house for me to dwell in?"
Psalm 4:4, "Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah."
It is so sad to me as I look around and see such irreverence and disdain for God. My wife played the piano for a wedding this weekend of someone whom we have known since she was a child. The bride was great with child and still wore a white dress. It was cut very low in the back also. Her brother who was an usher refused to take off his hat in the sanctuary. It was so sad to us. The really sad part was that these children grew up in a Christian home and know what it right. Now that they are young adults they seem to be rebelling against everything they have been taught. I was nearly in tears.
If you and I have a correct view of God it will cause us to do certain things. One thing this verse says it to "Stand in awe". Have you ever just thought about God and His goodness to us? If you seriously meditate on the Scriptures and think about God it will bring you to a place of awe. I hope so anyway. It also says that we are to "sin not". If we are in love with God the way we should be we will have a desire not to sin against Him.
Next we are told to "commune with your own heart upon your own bed". I think this is a good thing. Sometimes I cannot sleep at night so I pray for people that I know and love and I do some soul searching. This is a good time to do such activities. It is quiet and there are less distractions. You should try getting alone in the quiet and just let God speak to you. It is truly awesome!
Lastly we are told to "be still. Selah." This is something that we do not do. It relates to what I just said. We need to get alone and be still so that God can speak to us. I like the word "Selah". It means to pause. We need to be still and contemplate what God is telling us. We live in a world with instant technologies so that we can be bombarded with information every minute of every day and we need to leave some of this stuff and get alone with God. Try it, you might like it. I know I do.
So, how are you doing?
Saturday, April 3, 2010
April 3, 2010
Today's reading: II Samuel 4, 5, 6; Psalm 3, 33, 63, 93, 123; Proverbs 3
II Samuel 4:4, "And Jonathan, Saul's son, had a son that was lame of his feet. He was five years old when the tidings came of Saul and Jonathan out of Jezreel, and his nurse took him up, and fled: and it came to pass, as she made haste to flee, that he fell, and became lame. And his name was Mephibosheth."
I could not help but think while reading this passage how we are like Mephibosheth. Notice that he was injured as a child. He could not help the fact that his nurse had fallen and caused his injury. It was a tragic thing that affected him for the rest of his life. Why would I think that this person represents you and I? It is simple really. Mephibosheth was injured as a child. You and I were born with a sin nature. We are not sinners because we sin. We sin because we are sinners. You see; our father Adam has handed down a sin nature to all of us that we get at conception. We are sinners at birth. This makes us unable to make it to heaven on our own. It takes a sinless Person to pay the penalty for our sin (the sin of Adam).
Mephibosheth was helpless in and of himself to do what needed to be done. He was assigned a nurse to care for him. You and I have been given Pastors, teachers and godly friends and acquaintances to help us. I am so thankful for godly friends and family members who help us in our walk with God. It is the same way with salvation. We cannot save ourselves. We need Jesus!
I hope the next time you read this passage you will take a little time and learn from Mephibosheth and not just breeze over his seemingly difficult name.
How are you doing?
II Samuel 4:4, "And Jonathan, Saul's son, had a son that was lame of his feet. He was five years old when the tidings came of Saul and Jonathan out of Jezreel, and his nurse took him up, and fled: and it came to pass, as she made haste to flee, that he fell, and became lame. And his name was Mephibosheth."
I could not help but think while reading this passage how we are like Mephibosheth. Notice that he was injured as a child. He could not help the fact that his nurse had fallen and caused his injury. It was a tragic thing that affected him for the rest of his life. Why would I think that this person represents you and I? It is simple really. Mephibosheth was injured as a child. You and I were born with a sin nature. We are not sinners because we sin. We sin because we are sinners. You see; our father Adam has handed down a sin nature to all of us that we get at conception. We are sinners at birth. This makes us unable to make it to heaven on our own. It takes a sinless Person to pay the penalty for our sin (the sin of Adam).
Mephibosheth was helpless in and of himself to do what needed to be done. He was assigned a nurse to care for him. You and I have been given Pastors, teachers and godly friends and acquaintances to help us. I am so thankful for godly friends and family members who help us in our walk with God. It is the same way with salvation. We cannot save ourselves. We need Jesus!
I hope the next time you read this passage you will take a little time and learn from Mephibosheth and not just breeze over his seemingly difficult name.
How are you doing?
Friday, April 2, 2010
April 2, 2010
Today's reading: II Samuel 1, 2, 3; Psalm 2, 32, 62, 92, 122; Proverbs 2
II Samuel 1:10, "So I stood upon him, and slew him, because I was sure that he could not live after that he was fallen: and I took the crown that was upon his head, and the bracelet that was on his arm, and have brought them hither unto my lord."
David met an Amalekite and asked him how the battle went. Sadly this man chose to put his own spin on the situation. He very well might have been trying to gain favor with David. For some reason he chose not to tell the truth. He even brought the king's crown and bracelet to try to substantiate his "story".
So, what really happened? Look at I Samuel 31:4, "Then said Saul unto his armourbearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith; lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and abuse me. But his armourbearer would not; for he was sore afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword, and fell upon it." This man had a real lapse in character. He had the opportunity to tell the truth and he chose not to do that.
How many times do we do the same thing? This is a practice that should not be in the lives of those who name the Name of Christ. We are people of the truth and we should always tell the truth. Deception should not be a part of the Christian's life. Unfortunately, it is.
Notice David's reaction to the story of the Amalekite. Look at II Samuel 1:14-16, "And David said unto him, How wast thou not afraid to stretch forth thine hand to destroy the LORD'S anointed? And David called one of the young men, and said, Go near, and fall upon him. And he smote him that he died. And David said unto him, Thy blood be upon thy head; for thy mouth hath testified against thee, saying, I have slain the LORD'S anointed." Was David wrong for killing an innocent man? Yes; but, he did it based upon the admission of so called guilt by the man himself. So, ultimately he was not guilty. I am sure that if this man knew that lying would bring him to a place of being executed he would have reconsidered his decision to lie.
I hope you are a person of truth in all of your dealings. If you are one of God's children then you must be a person of truth. Remember, "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." John 8:32. How sad that this man was killed because of his serious moral failure. No matter what the reason for doing it was; he still lost his life because he lied.
Do you tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
II Samuel 1:10, "So I stood upon him, and slew him, because I was sure that he could not live after that he was fallen: and I took the crown that was upon his head, and the bracelet that was on his arm, and have brought them hither unto my lord."
David met an Amalekite and asked him how the battle went. Sadly this man chose to put his own spin on the situation. He very well might have been trying to gain favor with David. For some reason he chose not to tell the truth. He even brought the king's crown and bracelet to try to substantiate his "story".
So, what really happened? Look at I Samuel 31:4, "Then said Saul unto his armourbearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith; lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and abuse me. But his armourbearer would not; for he was sore afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword, and fell upon it." This man had a real lapse in character. He had the opportunity to tell the truth and he chose not to do that.
How many times do we do the same thing? This is a practice that should not be in the lives of those who name the Name of Christ. We are people of the truth and we should always tell the truth. Deception should not be a part of the Christian's life. Unfortunately, it is.
Notice David's reaction to the story of the Amalekite. Look at II Samuel 1:14-16, "And David said unto him, How wast thou not afraid to stretch forth thine hand to destroy the LORD'S anointed? And David called one of the young men, and said, Go near, and fall upon him. And he smote him that he died. And David said unto him, Thy blood be upon thy head; for thy mouth hath testified against thee, saying, I have slain the LORD'S anointed." Was David wrong for killing an innocent man? Yes; but, he did it based upon the admission of so called guilt by the man himself. So, ultimately he was not guilty. I am sure that if this man knew that lying would bring him to a place of being executed he would have reconsidered his decision to lie.
I hope you are a person of truth in all of your dealings. If you are one of God's children then you must be a person of truth. Remember, "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." John 8:32. How sad that this man was killed because of his serious moral failure. No matter what the reason for doing it was; he still lost his life because he lied.
Do you tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
Thursday, April 1, 2010
April 1, 2010
Today's reading: I Samuel 29, 30, 31; Psalm 1, 31, 61, 91, 121; Proverbs 1
I Samuel 30:1-2, "And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the south, and Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire; And had taken the women captives, that were therein: they slew not any, either great or small, but carried them away, and went on their way."
I remember in high school a young man had a very nice car. It was a Dodge Charger and it was nice. I also remember the day he came to school and told us that he did not have the car anymore. We were all deeply saddened by this fact. We all loved his car. Why did he no longer have his car? He was out for a drive and decided to see how fast it would go. Oops! The police stopped him going over one hundred (100) miles per hour. They called his father and he came to the place where he was stopped. After a scalding, one sided discussion between the student and his father the car was hooked to a wrecker and towed to a local wrecker yard. It was at this wrecker yard the car met with destiny. The car was put into the crusher and crushed into a metal cube of twistedness (pardon my english skills). You see the father of this young man was also a police officer with the same department as the officers that stopped his son. This young man never saw his prized car again. I think it became pop cans just to spite him even further. This way ever time he had a pop he could think about his car and his great transgression.
In this chapter of Scripture the men that followed David were angry with him and wanted to stone him because their possessions and wives were stolen from them. What was David's reaction?
First, David encouraged himself in the Lord. I Samuel 30:6, "And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God." Sometimes you fee like everyone has deserted you; but, there is still One who will not. The Lord will always be there for His children.
Second, David enquired of the LORD. I Samuel 30:8, "And David enquired at the LORD, saying, Shall I pursue after this troop? shall I overtake them? And he answered him, Pursue: for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all." Notice that David's first response after being distressed was to seek the Lord. This needs to be our reaction also. I wish I could say that it has always been my first reaction. Most of the time my first reaction is poor, pitiful me. I remember a Preacher one time saying, "RRRuuun to the Lord" (run to the Lord). This needs to be our reaction every time. God help us!
Thirdly, David effected a recovery. I Samuel 30:18, "And David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away: and David rescued his two wives." If you notice the last phrase of verse 8 also says, "and without fail recover all." This was God's response to David when he sought God. David did things God's way and reaped a great reward. So many times in our lives we try to do things our own way and we cannot accomplish what we want. That is the problem; it is what we want and not what God wants. If we walk with God and seek His face in prayer and Bible study we will be in tune with Him and His wants will become our wants and His likes will become our likes. You see where we are going here? I hope so.
Have you lost it all? If so, how did you respond?
(Author's note: As I was typing this today the website flashed and I lost everything I had written. The post was completely done and ready to publish. Then in a flash it was gone. There was over an hour of work gone. This David did not recover all in this situation so I just started over. God is so good!)
I Samuel 30:1-2, "And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the south, and Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire; And had taken the women captives, that were therein: they slew not any, either great or small, but carried them away, and went on their way."
I remember in high school a young man had a very nice car. It was a Dodge Charger and it was nice. I also remember the day he came to school and told us that he did not have the car anymore. We were all deeply saddened by this fact. We all loved his car. Why did he no longer have his car? He was out for a drive and decided to see how fast it would go. Oops! The police stopped him going over one hundred (100) miles per hour. They called his father and he came to the place where he was stopped. After a scalding, one sided discussion between the student and his father the car was hooked to a wrecker and towed to a local wrecker yard. It was at this wrecker yard the car met with destiny. The car was put into the crusher and crushed into a metal cube of twistedness (pardon my english skills). You see the father of this young man was also a police officer with the same department as the officers that stopped his son. This young man never saw his prized car again. I think it became pop cans just to spite him even further. This way ever time he had a pop he could think about his car and his great transgression.
In this chapter of Scripture the men that followed David were angry with him and wanted to stone him because their possessions and wives were stolen from them. What was David's reaction?
First, David encouraged himself in the Lord. I Samuel 30:6, "And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God." Sometimes you fee like everyone has deserted you; but, there is still One who will not. The Lord will always be there for His children.
Second, David enquired of the LORD. I Samuel 30:8, "And David enquired at the LORD, saying, Shall I pursue after this troop? shall I overtake them? And he answered him, Pursue: for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all." Notice that David's first response after being distressed was to seek the Lord. This needs to be our reaction also. I wish I could say that it has always been my first reaction. Most of the time my first reaction is poor, pitiful me. I remember a Preacher one time saying, "RRRuuun to the Lord" (run to the Lord). This needs to be our reaction every time. God help us!
Thirdly, David effected a recovery. I Samuel 30:18, "And David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away: and David rescued his two wives." If you notice the last phrase of verse 8 also says, "and without fail recover all." This was God's response to David when he sought God. David did things God's way and reaped a great reward. So many times in our lives we try to do things our own way and we cannot accomplish what we want. That is the problem; it is what we want and not what God wants. If we walk with God and seek His face in prayer and Bible study we will be in tune with Him and His wants will become our wants and His likes will become our likes. You see where we are going here? I hope so.
Have you lost it all? If so, how did you respond?
(Author's note: As I was typing this today the website flashed and I lost everything I had written. The post was completely done and ready to publish. Then in a flash it was gone. There was over an hour of work gone. This David did not recover all in this situation so I just started over. God is so good!)
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