2 Samuel 13-15 David’s son Absalom begins conspiring to overthrow his father’s rule.  As a result, David and his followers fled Jerusalem. This passage reads like a modern day spy thriller! David sent one of his friends back into Jerusalem to report back to him about Absalom’s plans. It seems that the men in David’s family had a problem with sex.  David himself could not discipline himself to resist Bathsheba.  Then his son Amnon wanted his half sister Tamar — he wanted her so badly that he was literally ill.  Instead of marrying her, he raped her.  When he got … Continue reading The sin that just keeps going

Psalm 32, 51, 86, 122 The rain beating against the windows while I am safely snuggled up with a sweet doggy in my lap casts a peaceful light on my spirit.  The rain beating against my face while I wrestle with an umbrella and an overloaded shopping cart in the parking lot is another story! Today I got to experience both scenarios, and as I write this I notice something curious.  One event — wind and rain — leads to a completely different perspective depending on my location with respect to it.  When I was protected from its lashing downpour, … Continue reading Facing the rain

2 Samuel 11-12; 1 Chronicles 20 The story of David and Bathsheba is a confusing one.  I can’t help but feel such sympathy for Uriah, who was killed simply because he was loyal to his king and would not go home to be with his wife (who was pregnant with David’s child).  I can only presume that Uriah had been out fighting for a long time…that must have been why David sent for him, never realizing that Uriah would not go be with his wife. David was not thinking.  He was simply reacting…and he certainly wasn’t asking God to illuminate … Continue reading For His Purposes

Psalm 65-67; 69-70 I confess being distracted this evening as I read through these Psalms.  I’ve been laid up today with pain and have become engrossed in a novel…so much so that I feel as if the characters are real.  That’s the problem I have sometimes with reading.  I get “into” them so much that I tend to walk around for awhile in my real life in a fog, going over the novel life in my thoughts. I’m struggling with this tendency especially since I am re-reading a book that I once put down — it’s the fourth Harry Potter … Continue reading Mining the Word

2 Samuel 10; 1 Chronicles 19; Psalm 20 The message today gives more insight to the way the Lord was with David. Those nations that insulted him ended up being completely routed…the Bible says that David killed forty thousand foot soldiers in one battle! Forty thousand is nearly four times the number of people who live in my small town! I like this verse from Psalm 20: Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.8 They are brought to their knees and fall, but we rise up and stand … Continue reading In God We Trust