Bible in a Year: 2 Samuel 12:26-31; 1 Chronicles 20:2-3; 2 Samuel 13-14:33 (Actions speak louder than words!)

We read today that David’s oldest son Amnon rapes his half-sister Tamar, and then Amnon’s half-brother, Absalom, Tamar’s brother, ends up avenging Tamar by killing Amnon.

Yesterday regarding David, we read in 2 Samuel that because of David sinning, while David was forgiven and that he would not die, that the son born to him would die and that the sword would never depart from his house.

2 Samuel 12:9-10  Why did you despise the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. ¹⁰ Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.’

This is yet another example of consequences of sin and how a lot of times, it’s not just the person who sins who pays the consequences, but those close to that person as well.

What I also see in today’s reading is the importance of setting a good example to our children and the people around us.  We often hear that actions speak louder than words and that we should lead by our example, and it rings to prove true in this story.  David was eventually forgiven of his sin, but his actions had a very profound impact on his children.  I’m sure David raised his children to follow the Lord, but through his actions, he also taught them something else.

Amnon was obsessed with his beautiful half-sister.  He knew taking her for himself would bring disgrace on his sister, and he knew it was wicked in the eyes of the Lord, BUT he watched his father lust after a married woman, kill her husband, and take her as his own, and it appeared that he got away with it, so what did David really teach Amnon and the rest of his children?  Sadly, if a consequence doesn’t happen immediately after the sin, and sometimes it doesn’t, how does a child connect that that there was a consequence for wrong behavior?  We learn a lot by observing.  He followed not what his father told him, but what he watched his father do and followed in his father’s footsteps.  And we see that Absalom does the same thing.  He took matters into his own hands just as David did with Uriah.  He takes vengeance into his own hands and kills his brother for the rape of his sister.

I think back to the early years of raising my children – taking them to church every Sunday, trying to teach them to love the Lord and follow his commands, yet at the same time, I didn’t pay attention to my own actions.  When my girls hit early teenage years, imagine the rude awakening I got when I watched my children start disrespecting my husband.  At first I didn’t understand why they would do this after all I taught them about being good “Christian” children, and then it dawned on me …. ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS!  I was brought to my knees in disgrace realizing that the very thing I was trying to teach my children not to do, they actually learned to do through me because I was disrespectful to my husband.

As a matter of fact, it is still something I struggle with from time to time, so I can really identify with David and how he must have felt, feeling like he had failed his children by setting such a poor example, but as we see in David’s story, God does forgive, and he continues to bless when we are repentant of our ways.  I have to keep a very tight rein on not falling into old bad habits, but as a Christian mother, I have the opportunity to not only ask God’s forgiveness, I have the ability to be humble before my children, and apologize when my flesh wins over my spirit.  I love what a very dear friend of mine always reminds me of … imperfect parents with a perfect God, so I am reminded that even though I am not a perfect parent and have taught my children some bad ways, I have a perfect Father whose grace covers my shortcomings and I have the opportunity to shepherd my children’s hearts through my weakness, and God will do the rest!

Bible in a Year: 1 Chronicles 20:1; 2 Samuel 11-12:14; Psalm 51; 2 Samuel 12:15-25; 2 Samuel 5:14-16; 1 Chronicles 14:3-7; 1 Chronicles 3:5-9 (our response to sin when it does happen)

While I hate the story of David and Bathsheeba, even at our best, this is such a depiction of our humanness and our bent towards sin.  It would be great if we could always keep ourselves in check and resist sin, but that’s not how we were created.  Even David, who God had given everything to, and would have given him more, still desired something that was off limits to him:

2 Samuel 12:7-8 This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. ⁸ I gave your master’s house to you, and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you all Israel and Judah. AND IF ALL THIS HAD BEEN TOO LITTLE, I WOULD HAVE GIVEN YOU EVEN MORE.’

This says a lot about the nature of our Lord.  He loves us and he wants to bless us, but we must learn to keep ourselves in check.  We must learn to resist the temptations that come our way, and trust that the Lord’s way always brings blessing, and that while sin and wrongdoing may bring short-term fleshly fulfillment (and sometimes not even that), sin is always accompanied with consequences.

I think this is why it is so important to find a person or persons in our lives who will help hold us accountable.  David, as king over the land, appears to have been enticed by his royal position and didn’t have or think he needed someone to help hold him accountable, and we see the consequence for his sin led to the life of his child.

Another point is that none of us are immune to sin, so it’s not if we’ll sin, it’s what our response is when we do sin. It’s unfortunate that David goes about his merry way and doesn’t repent on his own, but we see here he doesn’t get away with it forever.  I love David’s heart when he is confronted by Nathan. He quickly acknowledges his sin (1 Samuel 12:13 “I have sinned against the Lord.”), he repents, is accepting of the consequences no matter how steep, he asks God to forgive him, to give him a pure heart, and he asks to be reminded of God’s salvation so that he can help others to turn to the Lord.

Psalm 51:3-4 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. ⁴ Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge.  Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. ⁸ Let me hear joy and gladness;  let the bones you have crushed rejoice. ⁹ Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. ¹⁰ Create in me a pure heart, O God,  and renew a steadfast spirit within me. ¹¹ Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. ¹² Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. ¹³ Then I will teach transgressors your ways, so that sinners will turn back to you.

This is a beautiful visual of what our response to sin should look like, whether we catch it ourselves or are confronted by someone else.  It’s also a reminder that once our sin is forgiven, we need to move forward.  David knows he’s a sinner, and that his iniquity deserves nothing more than death, yet he asks for forgiveness and turns his focus to the lost.  I’ve seen so many times where Christian people get so discouraged by their sin or having to pay consequences for sin that they are literally unable to do anything good for the Lord.  They get sucked into their own little pity party and therefore cannot be used by the Lord.  David simply got over it.  He knew he would always be a sinner, but he doesn’t let it hold him back from being used by God, as if he was no good.  He used his sin as a reminder of God’s good salvation, and he shared it with others.

Isn’t that ultimately what we want the world to know about the Lord?  Coming to the Lord has nothing to do with being perfect before we can come to Him, it’s acknowledging that we are sinners, that we will always be sinners, yet if we accept God’s grace, we will be saved sinners!  Our sin covered with God’s grace should therefore be the driving factor behind sharing our faith with the rest of the world!

Romans 5:6-8 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷ Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. ⁸ But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 4:6-8 David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the one to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:  ⁷ “Blessed are those whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. ⁸ Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord will never count against them.”

Bible in a Year: 2 Samuel 6:12; 1 Chronicles 15:1-28; 2 Samuel 6:12-16; 1 Chronicles 15:29; 2 Samuel 6:17-19; 1 Chronicles 16:1-43; 2 Samuel 6:19-23 (stop judging someone because they don’t worship God like you do!)

 

2 Samuel 6:16  As the ark of the Lord was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she despised him in her heart.

6:20  When David returned home to bless his household, Michal daughter of Saul came out to meet him and said, “How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, going around half-naked in full view of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!”

²¹ David said to Michal, “It was before the Lord, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the Lord’s people Israel—I will celebrate before the Lord. ²² I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in honor.”

²³ And Michal daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death.

Growing up in the Catholic church, I remember everything being very proper.  You wore your Sunday best, you followed along in your Missals, you stood when the congregation stood, sat when they sat, knelt when they knelt, recited when they recited, partook in communion in a structured and processional manner, sang songs in a very proper way with the organ, you kept your eyes on the priest, you dared never to allow a smile to erupt on your face and you certainly gave no expression other than being reverential and “holy.”

When we left the Catholic church, our next experience was much more lax.  We still wore our Sunday best, but there weren’t so many traditions.  The one thing I remember that most stuck out to me was the singing.  It was one of my favorite things to do because I loved the four-part harmony.  We weren’t allowed to use any kind of instrument because I was told that was never instructed to be part of worship by the Bible.  As well, however, singing was very proper and reverential, and the only smile that ever erupted from one’s face would be if you were throwing a smile at a friend, but smiling was never an expression of worship.

In my 30’s, I was introduced to a plain ol’ Christian Church, and there were no traditions here.  As a matter of fact, I had to be shown scripturally, as we read today, that instruments were used in worship and that it was not wrong to worship the Lord with expression on our faces, yet I really didn’t understand expression until my relationship with God started to deepen.

We see today that David stripped down and leapt and danced before the Lord … and it says he did this UNDIGNIFIED … there was NOTHING reverential about what he did before the Lord … he just celebrated and worshipped the Lord and let nothing get in the way of that.  The people around him were playing musical instruments, singing (there was even a choir), shouting, and I’d guess some were dancing too!  Can you visualize this in your head?

Have you ever sat in church during worship and felt embarrassed because someone raised their hand, had a smile on their face, clapped, danced?  I have.  I used to be frightened by it, I was embarrassed by it, I thought anyone who did it was crazy.  I looked down on them and I judged them.

As my relationship with Christ has deepened, however, I fully get what David said when he told his wife, “It was before the Lord … I will celebrate before the Lord.  I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes.”  Now I can’t help but have a smile on my face or raise a hand in submission as I am reminded of what the Lord has accomplished in my life and how much He really loves me!

If David didn’t care who was watching or what they were saying as he unabashedly worshipped the Lord, why do we?

Counterfeit Christians (1 John 3:1–10)

I wish I could write like this man …

Joe Quatrone, Jr.

The United States Treasury Department has a special group of men whose job it is to track down counterfeiters. Naturally, these men need to know a counterfeit bill when they see it. How do they learn to identify fake bills? Oddly enough, they are not trained by spending hours examining counterfeit money. Rather, they study the real thing . They become so familiar with authentic bills they can spot a counterfeit by looking at it or, often, simply by feeling it.

This is the approach in 1 John 3, which warns us in today’s world there are counterfeit Christians—“children of the devil” (1 Jn. 3:10). But instead of listing the evil characteristics of Satan’s children, Scripture gives us a clear description of God’s children. The contrast between the two is obvious.

The key verse of this chapter is 1 John 3:10: a true child of God…

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Bible in a Year: 2 Samuel 5:1-3; 1 Chronicles 11:1-3; 1 Chronicles 12:23-40; 2 Samuel 5:17-25; 1 Chronicles 14:8-17; 2 Samuel 5:6-10; 1 Chronicles 11:4-9; 1 Chronicles 3:4; 2 Samuel 5:13; 2 Samuel 5:4-5; 2 Samuel 5:11-12; 1 Chronicles 14:1-2; 1 Chronicles 13:1-5; 2 Samuel 6:1-11; 1 Chronicles 13:6-14 (what do you mean, I shouldn’t just trust my pastor?)

Another reminder today that even though something seems right to us, it is important that we know what God expects from us.  During Saul’s reign, the ark sat for 40 years at the house of Abinadab.  We also know that no one inquired of it during Saul’s reign (1 Chronicles 13:3 Let us bring the ark of our God back to us, for we did not inquire of it during the reign of Saul.”), so maybe this is a deeper look into why Saul was rejected, because even though he was a religious man, he really did reject seeking God’s will and trusted in his own wisdom and reasoning.

I’m curious.  We see in our reading today that David confers with each of his officers, and then he says to the whole assembly of Israel, “If it seems good to you …”  Now he also says, “if it is the will of the Lord our God,” but then we read, “The whole assembly agreed to do this, BECAUSE IT SEEMED RIGHT TO ALL THE PEOPLE,” but nowhere do we read that David actually inquired of the Lord as we see he did before attacking the Philistines (2 Samuel 5:19, 23 and 1 Chronicles 14:10, 14).  You’d think in something so important as the ark of God, David would have inquired of the Lord, but he didn’t.

As a matter of fact, either 40 years had passed and it slipped David’s mind or David was not aware that God had given very specific rules about who and how the ark of the Covenant could be moved.  So is he mad at God because God carried out what He said would happen to anyone who wrongly touched the ark or is he mad at himself or the people around him who should have known the law?  Is he frustrated that he didn’t inquire of God first?

We also see in 1 Chronicles 13:12 that David is afraid of God and wonders, “How can I ever bring the ark of God to me?”  SPOILER ALERT:  I read ahead a couple of chapters, and we find three months later that David now knows who and how the ark may be moved to Jerusalem, and does so God’s way and it works!

So here’s what I take from this … good intentions aren’t enough when it comes to our Christian walk.  David had good intentions.  He wanted to restore the ark to the temple.  He wanted to be a man of God and inquire of the Lord through the ark as had been done in generations past, but we see that even though he had good intentions, he did not know what the Lord’s instructions were and it resulted in the life of Uzzah.

The practical application that can be drawn from this is simple:  We are each responsible to know what the Word of God says.  Trusting that the pastor of a church is teaching us the truth, trusting our parents, trusting a teacher, a friend, a spouse, a book, a blog, or even our own wisdom … because they sound “good” or what they’re teaching sounds “right” … this is not enough.

When you think about eternity and where you will spend it, would you wager your soul trusting man rather than knowing for yourself what the scriptures taught?  David was appointed king of Judah and eventually king of Israel, he was in the lineage of Christ himself, he was a godly man, yet someone under his rule lost their life because of his either forgetting or not knowing what the law was!

So let’s make it practical.  If you profess to be a Christian where do you stand on these topics in your own life (I am NOT suggesting you judge others, this is for personal application) ….

• Drunkenness
• Sleeping with someone outside of being married (including everything but the act of sexual intercourse)
• Living with someone before you get married, even if you’re “engaged”
• Using foul language
• Lust
• Having an affair
• Hating someone
• Getting even
• Lying
• Anger
• Looking at pornography
• Stealing (even a pen from work)

Regarding your eternity, do you know what it really takes to become a Child of God and what living as a Christian means or do you just trust what someone told you?  There are many denominations within the Christian religion and it might surprise you to know there are many beliefs on what it takes to be saved, but not all of them can be right, yet they each have pretty convincing arguments if you don’t have a good understanding of the Bible.

I don’t know about you, but I’m not willing to sacrifice my eternity trusting that someone else did their homework properly!

Proverbs 16:25 There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.

If Christ arose, what is the significance to us?

Luke 24:1-8 On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. ² They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, ³ but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. ⁴ While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. ⁵ In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “WHY DO YOU LOOK FOR THE LIVING AMONG THE DEAD?⁶ HE IS NOT HERE; HE HAS RISEN!  Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ⁷ ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ” ⁸ Then they remembered his words.

 If Christ did not rise from the dead, the Christian religioun is worthless.

1 Corinthians 15:14 And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. 

However, if He is the Son of God, and He did rise from the dead, it is important that we know:  

• God seeks and wants a relationship with each of us.

Acts 17:24-27  “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. ²⁵ And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. ²⁶ From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. ²⁷ God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.

• This is personal and meant for each one of us.  God cares about you and me.

Jeremiah 29:11-14 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. ¹² Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. ¹³ You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. ¹⁴ I will be found by you,” declares the Lord.

• All scripture is God-breathed, and we can trust the Bible is God’s word and not haphazardly written by a bunch of different men with their own agendas.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, ¹⁷ so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

2 Peter 1:20 Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things.

• The Word of God is living and active.

Hebrews 4:12-13 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. ¹³ Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

• We’re all sinners.

Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

• Sin separates us from God.

Isaiah 59:1-2 Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear.  ² But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear. 

• The wages for our sin is death.

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death.

• The only way to heaven is through Jesus Christ, the Messiah.

John 14:6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

• Christ came to save sinners.

 1 Timothy 1:15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.

• God sent his son for anyone who would believe that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of God.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

• If you believe, God gave you the right to become his child.

John 1:12-13 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— ¹³ children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

• If you love God, you will obey him.

John 14:15 If you love me, keep my commands.

• What is required of us?

Mark 16:16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.

• How should we live?

Luke 9:23-25 Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. ²⁴ For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. ²⁵ What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self?

• Do we have to do everything he commands?

Matthew 7:21-23 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²² Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ ²³ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

1 John 2:4-6 Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. ⁵ But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: ⁶ Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.

• Regardless of what you believe, you will give an accounting for your life.

Romans 14:12 So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.

• What are we to once we become Christians?

Matthew 28:19-20 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

 

Bible in a Year: 2 Samuel 2-3:5; 1 Chronicles 3:1-4; 2 Samuel 23:8-17; 1 Chronicles 11:10-19; 2 Samuel 23:18-39; 1 Chronicles 11:20-47

1 Chronicles 10:13-14  Saul died because he was unfaithful to the Lord; he did not keep the word of the Lord and even consulted a medium for guidance, and did not inquire of the Lord.  So the Lord put him to death.

Just thinking through the past few days of reading about Saul … here was a man who God had chosen to lead the Israelites (because the Israelites begged the Lord to be like the other countries around them 1 Samuel 8:4-5 So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. ⁵ They said to him, “You are old, and your sons do not follow your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.”).  We note that the Spirit of God came upon him at times and he inquired of the Lord throughout his reign, he offered sacrifices to the Lord, so on all accounts, he was a godly man.

Unfortunately, he let his position go to his head, and while he did a lot of godly things, he also disobeyed the Lord on numerous occasions to the point that God rejected Saul as king.

1 Samuel 15:11, 23 “I greatly regret that I have set up Saul as king, for he has turned back from following Me, and has not performed My commandments.”  “For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He also has rejected you from being king.”

I’m not sure how long he had been King when the Lord finally rejects him, but we know from our reading, that even though he was rejected, the Lord allowed him to reign as king until he was 72 years old.  We also know he had not yet started his pursuit to kill David yet, and from the research I did, it appears he pursued David for eight years, close to the end of his reign.

So what’s my point?

Don’t take your position in Christ lightly or for granted.  Being a Christian and being given the free gift of forgiveness of sin doesn’t mean we have a free ticket to do whatever we want and expect that we will get away with it.  There are always consequences to pay for the bad choices we make.  Saul was confronted and rebuked time and time again, and on two occasions, God even goes the distance of warning Saul by delivering him into David’s hands.  He gave him every opportunity to repent, but what do we see?  Saul refuses to be repent, and eventually everything including his life is taken from him.

God’s mercy is long lasting, but he cannot be mocked, and He will give us over to our depravity if we continue to take his mercy for granted.  He knows we are flesh, he knows we will be disobedient, and he does grant mercy to anyone who will repent and turn from their wickedness, but the key is repentance.  Those who call themselves Christians should always be open to turning from sin, and redirecting back to the Lord.

God disciplines.  We will never escape the consequences of our disobedience, even though it may come YEARS after the actual sin, as it did in the case of Saul.  He was allowed to continue in his reign for many years, yet he was afflicted by an evil spirit, and eventually his sons were killed, and he takes his own life.

It reminds me that being a Christian isn’t about a status, it isn’t about what we do or don’t claim to be, but it is about how we live our lives.  It is about relationship, our lives being reflective of what we say we profess … humility, obedience, kindness, grace, repentance, mercy, love, etc.

What has God restored for you?

One of our pastors at church asked the question this week, “What has God restored in your life?”  I’ll share what he has restored for me …

He restored in me a belief that Christianity is for sinners!  I grew up in a church setting where if people sinned, you never heard about it unless they were being kicked out of the church.  So the misconception was that God only loved people who had it together, who didn’t struggle with sin.  Well, I struggled with sin, and therefore, spent most of my teens and early 20s living a double life … lying to myself and others, thinking that if I could fool fellow Christians into believing I never sinned, maybe I could fool God too, but sadly, all my sin seemed to do was take me further and further away from God.

 

I was involved in sexual immorality, impurity, drunkenness.  I had fits of rage, I was selfish, and I cursed.  Heck, you name it, I more than likely did it.  I even ended up having two children out of wedlock.  How could a perfect God EVER love me?  I was trash.  I was convinced that Hebrews 10:26 (If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.) meant I could never be accepted back into his graces, but something inside me kept calling me to Him.

After my 10 years in the desert, I returned to church still living in sin, embarrassed, and broken, but  I couldn’t let my beautiful baby girls grow up not knowing God, so I had to at least give it one final try.  At my new church I learned a whole lot about God’s grace, and now having two baby girls, I was finally getting a picture of what grace really looked like.  Those who surrounded me at church didn’t pretend they never sinned; in fact, some probably took advantage of God’s grace and sinned a little more than they ought, but all of that has brought me to a place of balance at our new church … knowing I am flesh and will continue to struggle with sin, but not to deliberately take advantage of that grace (Romans 6:1-4 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? ² By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? ³ Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? ⁴ We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.).

What has He further restored?  After 10 years of marriage, my husband became a Christian, my marriage has been restored, both my daughters now know the Lord, and I have friends who accept that I am a sinner, and who aren’t afraid to challenge and encourage me, and keep me walking on the right path.

What has he restored in your life?

Good Friday – commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary (graphic video/prophecies fulfilled chart)

 

44 Prophecies about Jesus Christ, the Messiah, Fulfilled
	Prophecies About Jesus	Old Testament Scripture	New Testament Fulfillment
1	Messiah would be born of a woman.	Genesis 3:15	Matthew 1:20 Galatians 4:4
2	Messiah would be born in Bethlehem.	Micah 5:2	Matthew 2:1 Luke 2:4-6
3	Messiah would be born of a virgin.	Isaiah 7:14	Matthew 1:22-23 Luke 1:26-31
4	Messiah would come from the line of Abraham.	Genesis 12:3 Genesis 22:18	Matthew 1:1 Romans 9:5
5	Messiah would be a descendant of Isaac.	Genesis 17:19 Genesis 21:12	Luke 3:34
6	Messiah would be a descendant of Jacob.	Numbers 24:17	Matthew 1:2
7	Messiah would come from the tribe of Judah.	Genesis 49:10	Luke 3:33 Hebrews 7:14
8	Messiah would be heir to King David‘s throne.	2 Samuel 7:12-13 Isaiah 9:7	Luke 1:32-33 Romans 1:3
9	Messiah’s throne will be anointed and eternal.	Psalm 45:6-7 Daniel 2:44	Luke 1:33 Hebrews 1:8-12
10	Messiah would be called Immanuel.	Isaiah 7:14	Matthew 1:23
11	Messiah would spend a season in Egypt.	Hosea 11:1	Matthew 2:14-15
12	A massacre of children would happen at Messiah’s birthplace.	Jeremiah 31:15	Matthew 2:16-18
13	A messenger would prepare the way for Messiah	Isaiah 40:3-5	Luke 3:3-6
14	Messiah would be rejected by his own people.	Psalm 69:8 Isaiah 53:3	John 1:11 John 7:5
15	Messiah would be a prophet.	Deuteronomy 18:15	Acts 3:20-22
16	Messiah would be preceded by Elijah.	Malachi 4:5-6	Matthew 11:13-14
17	Messiah would be declared the Son of God.	Psalm 2:7	Matthew 3:16-17
18	Messiah would be called a Nazarene.	Isaiah 11:1	Matthew 2:23
19	Messiah would bring light to Galilee.	Isaiah 9:1-2	Matthew 4:13-16
20	Messiah would speak in parables.	Psalm 78:2-4 Isaiah 6:9-10	Matthew 13:10-15,34-35
21	Messiah would be sent to heal the brokenhearted.	Isaiah 61:1-2	Luke 4:18-19
22	Messiah would be a priest after the order of Melchizedek.	Psalm 110:4	Hebrews 5:5-6
23	Messiah would be called King.	Psalm 2:6 Zechariah 9:9	Matthew 27:37 Mark 11:7-11
24	Messiah would be praised by little children.	Psalm 8:2	Matthew 21:16
25	Messiah would be betrayed.	Psalm 41:9 Zechariah 11:12-13	Luke 22:47-48 Matthew 26:14-16
26	Messiah’s price money would be used to buy a potter’s field.	Zechariah 11:12-13	Matthew 27:9-10
27	Messiah would be falsely accused.	Psalm 35:11	Mark 14:57-58
28	Messiah would be silent before his accusers.	Isaiah 53:7	Mark 15:4-5
29	Messiah would be spat upon and struck.	Isaiah 50:6	Matthew 26:67
30	Messiah would be hated without cause.	Psalm 35:19 Psalm 69:4	John 15:24-25
31	Messiah would be crucified with criminals.	Isaiah 53:12	Matthew 27:38 Mark 15:27-28
32	Messiah would be given vinegar to drink.	Psalm 69:21	Matthew 27:34 John 19:28-30
33	Messiah’s hands and feet would be pierced.	Psalm 22:16 Zechariah 12:10	John 20:25-27
34	Messiah would be mocked and ridiculed.	Psalm 22:7-8	Luke 23:35
35	Soldiers would gamble for Messiah’s garments.	Psalm 22:18	Luke 23:34 Matthew 27:35-36
36	Messiah’s bones would not be broken.	Exodus 12:46 Psalm 34:20	John 19:33-36
37	Messiah would be forsaken by God.	Psalm 22:1	Matthew 27:46
38	Messiah would pray for his enemies.	Psalm 109:4	Luke 23:34
39	Soldiers would pierce Messiah’s side.	Zechariah 12:10	John 19:34
40	Messiah would be buried with the rich.	Isaiah 53:9	Matthew 27:57-60
41	Messiah would resurrect from the dead.	Psalm 16:10 Psalm 49:15	Matthew 28:2-7 Acts 2:22-32
42	Messiah would ascend to heaven.	Psalm 24:7-10	Mark 16:19 Luke 24:51
43	Messiah would be seated at God’s right hand.	Psalm 68:18 Psalm 110:1	Mark 16:19 Matthew 22:44
44	Messiah would be a sacrifice for sin.	Isaiah 53:5-12	Romans 5:6-8

Bible in a Year: 1 Samuel 23:13-29; Psalm 54; 1 Samuel 24-25:44 (Why shouldn’t we get even with those who wrong us?)

One of the lessons I take from this morning’s reading, as we saw yesterday, is to let the Lord avenge wrongdoing.  Is there a purpose for letting God avenge rather than taking it into our own hands?

First, we find David in a position where he could easily have taken Saul’s life.  And why shouldn’t he?  After all, Saul has been pursuing David day after day, probably month after month, to take his life even though David has done nothing wrong at all; completely innocent.  And then, the Lord delivers Saul right into David’s hands inside a cave.  If God provided him the opportunity to get Saul off his back, why does he call his men off the “kill” when it seems like God is avenging him.  Why does David become conscience-stricken and let Saul go?

A second time, we find David in the wilderness with his men, they’ve been on the run, they’re hungry, and they come upon a man whose property and flocks they have previously watched over.  David sends some men to ask for any food he can spare, and Nabal denies them.  So David assembles his men and is on his way to not only kill Nabal, but all of the males who belong to him.  And then Abigail arrives on the scene, asking pardon on behalf of her husband.  She challenges him that her husband is but a fool and that it is not worthy of taking vengeance into his own hands, and to remember God’s promises concerning himself, and David listens to her words of wisdom.

I have really struggled over the last couple of months with wanting to “get even” with a friend who continues to destroy lives, refuses to repent, blames it on everyone and everything else but herself, and in the course, has tried to make me look like the unsupportive friend while she twists her web of blatant lies to anyone who will listen, and seems to be getting away with it.  It takes all I have within me to bite my tongue and not lash out to the entire world against her for the sake of the truth, as if it was up to me to get the truth out, but when I listen to the small voice within me, I am reminded by the Scriptures that it is God’s place to avenge.

And we will find out in upcoming chapters that God does avenge David … Saul not only loses the kingship of Israel, but he will lose his life as well, just as Nabal loses his life to natural causes, and David, who has sought higher ground by not avenging himself and leaving it in the Lord’s hands, will assume kingship over Israel and much blessing.

The wiser route then seems to be letting God deal with the wickedness in a person’s heart, because truthfully, ALL of us have wickedness within us that God must help us overcome.  While I may not be guilty of my friend’s sin, if I don’t keep my own heart attitudes in check, am I any better?  So I believe, as we see here, that letting God “get even” frees us up to enjoy blessing as we seek to work on our own hearts!

For my friend, I am sadly reminded that she may be at risk of losing her eternal soul (Romans 1:28 Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done.), and that if I truly love her, rather than seeking “justice” against her here in this life, I need to remain focused on what truly does matter … her soul.  Therefore, I will remain on my knees in prayer that God will have mercy over her.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 ⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. ⁸ Love never fails.