Today's Bible Reading:  2 SAMUEL 19:31-20:26, 21:1-22PSALM 7 1 CHRONICLES 20:4-8   2 Samuel 19:32  Barzillai was a very aged man, eighty years old. He had provided the king with food while he stayed at Mahanaim, for he was a very wealthy man.   For many of us we characterize senior adults as greedy, self-absorbed and set in their ways. It seems that their primary focus is themselves. They had worked hard and cared for others all their lives and now it was time to care for the

Today's Bible Reading: 2 SAMUEL 17:15-19:30; PSALM 3, 63 Psalm 63:1 O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you: my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.   We are eager for many things; for the check to come in, the semester to be over, the job to be done, the baby to be born and for the wedding to happen. Anticipation beckons action. Eagerness elicits earnestness. When one is genuinely earnest about something they

Today's Bible Reading: 2 SAMUEL 15:1-17:14    2 Samuel 16:12 “It may be that the LORD will look on the wrong done to me, and that the LORD will repay me with good for his cursing today.”   People will talk, yet the Lord sees and hears them. Their word is not final, His is. What truly is evil against you today, the Lord can turn to good tomorrow.   David was escaping Jerusalem. His son Absolom had “stolen the hearts of the people” away from him. He now had declared himself Kin

Today’s Bible Reading: 2 SAMUEL 5:14-16, 11:1-12:35; 1 CHRONICLES 3:5-9, 14:3-7. 20:1   Psalm 51:13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you.   Sinners need saints. Those engrossed in sin, need those who have escaped from sin. Those, whose sins are massive, need those whose sins found mercy. It is the experienced who educate those entangled.   David had sinned. It wasn’t insignificant. His insurrection was intense. His sin was substantial. His

April 27th Today's Bible Reading No Longer 2 Samuel 14:14 We must all die; we are like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. But God will not take away life, and he devises means so that the banished one will not remain an outcast. Often, we feel like we are outcast. We think that God has banished us. We presume that we are exiled from the exalted One.  It may be because of doubt or because of some sin that we feel this way. But our feelings are not

Today’s Bible Reading: 2 SAMUEL 8:15-10:19; 1 CHRONICLES 18:14-19-19   2 Samuel 9:13 So Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, for he ate always at the king’s table. Now he was lame in both his feet.   Mephibosheth was the last remaining descendant of Saul. He was Johnathan’s son and Saul’s grandson. David had a deep abiding friendship with Jonathan. Because of their relationship David made a covenant with Jonathan to care for his descendants forever (1 Sam 11:42). Jonathan died in

Today’s Bible Reading: 2 SAMUEL 7:1-8:14; 1 CHRONICLES 17:1-8:13; PSALM 60   Ps 60:11 Give us help from trouble. For the help of man is useless.     We all have troubling days. We experience moments when we are overwhelmed and overcome by life. We live the lyrics of the Beatles song Help : “ Help me if you can, I'm feeling down And I do appreciate you being 'round. Help me get my feet back on the ground. Won't you please, please help me .” We just need someone to help us get

Undignified Today’s Bible Reading: 2 SAMUEL 6:12-23; 1 CHRONICLES 15:1-16:43   2 Samuel 6:14 Then David danced before the Lord with and all his might; and David was wearing a linen ephod. So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting and with the sound of the trumpet.   Church should be a celebration. It should be a celebration of all that God is and all that He has done in our lives. It should be a jubilee of joy. His presence should penet

Today’s Bible Reading: 2 SAMUEL 5:1-6:11; 1 CHRONICLES 11:1-14:2   1 Chronicles 13:14 And the ark of God remained with the household of Obed-edom in his house three months. And the LORD blessed the household of Obed-edom and all that he had.   God’s presence makes a difference. Blessings follow those who bring the Lord’s presence into their home. His presence directs the dynamic of the home. His presence affects every aspect of family life. It shapes every relationship. It sw

Today's Bible Reading: 2 SAMUEL 3:6-4:12 2 Samuel 3:18 (1Sam 28:17) Now then, do it, (NKJV) for the LORD has promised David, saying, ‘By...

Today's Bible Reading: 2 SAMUEL 2:1-3:5, 23:8-39; 1 CHRON 3:1-4, 11:10-47 2 Samuel 23:9-10 And next to him among the three mighty men was Eleazar the son of Dodo, son of Ahohi. He was with David when they defied the Philistines who were gathered there for battle, and the men of Israel withdrew. He rose and struck down the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand clung to the sword. And the LORD brought about a great victory that day, and the men returned after him o

Today's Bible Reading:   1 SAMUEL 30:1-31:13; 1 CHRON, 9:40-10:14,12:20-22;2 SAMUEL 1:1-27, 4:4   1 Samuel 30:6 And David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because all the people were bitter in soul, each for his sons and daughters. But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God.   There are many things that can bring distress in our lives; situations can sourer, circumstances can crush us, predicaments with family can frustrate us and incidents

Today's Bible Reading: PSALM 56;1 SAMUEL 26:1-7, 27:8-29:11; 1 CHRON 12:1-7,19 Psalm 56:3 When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.   Everyone is afraid eventually. Our text doesn’t say “if” I am afraid, but “when” I am afraid. Fear is unavoidable. It is certain. Most think of fear as terror or fright, but it can manifest itself in various ways such as dread, dismay, disillusionment, depression and doubt. Anxiety and angst also are forms of fear. Even uneasiness and worry can

Today's Bible Reading:   PSALM 54; 1 SAMUEL 23:13-25:44 Psalms  54:4   Behold God is my helper; the Lord is the upholder of my life   There are times that we need help. We all have moments when we just can’t seem to figure things out, we can’t move past something or we don’t have the strength to bear it. We all need someone to help us through crisis, conflict and life’s complexities. The Lord is that helper.   Saul’s forces were finally closing in on David and his companions

Today's Bible Reading: PSALM 52, 57, 142; 1 SAM, 22:1-23:12; 1 CHRON. 12:8-18   Psalm 52:8-9 But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God. I trust in the steadfast love of God forever and ever. I will thank you forever, because you have done it. I will wait for your name, for it is good, in the presence of the godly.   There is a marked difference between the godly and the ungodly. Their pursuits and passion are diametrically opposed to one another. Their beliefs are

Today’s Bible Reading: 1 SAMUEL 20:1-21:15, PSALM 34      Psalm 34:7 The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them.   Trouble will find us. Difficulty will devise its destructive measures against us. Trials will taunt us. There is no way to evade or avoid them, but there are those that stand with us in them.   David had a dilemma. His enemies were all around him. Saul was pursuing Him and the Philistines were in front of Him. He was alone and afra

Today’s Bible Reading: 1 SAMUEL 17:32-19:17-24, PSALM 59 1 Samuel 17:37 And David said, “The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and the LORD be with you!”   One writer said of this text: He did not save us from the beasts of the forest to let a giant kill us.  (Spurgeon)   As David did, we encounter battles in our life. His struggle was against paws and Phi

Today’s Bible Reading: 1 SAMUEL 15:1-17:31   1 Samuel 16:7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearances, but the Lord looks on the heart.”   We are a world deceived by appearances. What looks good on the outside may not be good. What appears to be acceptable may be rejected. We select by sight. We choose by countenance. We pick b

Today’s Bible Reading: 1 CHRON 9:35-39, 1 SAMUEL 13:1-23, 14:1-52 1 Samuel 14:6 Jonathan said to the young man who carried his armor, “Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised. It may be that the LORD will work for us, for nothing can hinder the LORD from saving by many or by few.”   Many times, we find our faith floundering when we face impossible situations. Too often during these encounters we find ourselves restraining God. We do this either by unbelief

Today’s Bible Reading: 1 SAMUEL 9:1-12:25   1 Samuel 12:23 Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by ceasing to pray for you, and I will instruct you in the good and the right way.   There is no greater gift we can give to someone than to pray for them, to place their name before the Lord, to intercede on their behalf and to let their need be made known to the one who meets needs.   Samuel had served the people well. His name was honored by