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Posted on 07/01/2019 12:03:00 AM PDT by JustAmy
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yep...Sheer Joy! :-)
Bible in a Year : Psalms 94–96; Romans 15:14–33
The thing David had done displeased the Lord. 2 Samuel 11:27
Painfully, the evil that has long been swept under the rug—sexual abuse of many women by men who had power over them—has come to light. Enduring headline after headline, my heart sank when I heard proof of abuse by two men I admired. The church has not been immune to these issues.
King David faced his own reckoning. Samuel tells us that one afternoon, David “saw a woman bathing” (2 Samuel 11:2). And David wanted her. Though Bathsheba was the wife of one his loyal soldiers (Uriah), David took her anyway. When Bathsheba told David she was pregnant, he panicked. And in a despicable act of treachery, David arranged for Joab to have Uriah die on the battlefield.
There is no hiding David’s abuse of power against Bathsheba and Uriah. Here it is in full color, Samuel ensuring we see it. We must deal with our evil.
Also, we must hear these stories because they caution us against the abuse of power in our times. This was David, “a man after [God’s] own heart” (Acts 13:22), but also a man who needed to be held accountable for his actions. May we also prayerfully hold leaders accountable for how they use or abuse power.
By God’s grace, redemption is possible. If we read further, we encounter David’s profound repentance (2 Samuel 12:13). Thankfully, hard hearts can still turn from death to life.
Why is it important to prayerfully address the abuse of power in our midst and in our world? How did Jesus reveal the right way to live out true power?
God, I don’t know what to do with all the brokenness I see in my world, the brokenness in me. Will You shine Your light and heal us?
YOU Betcha, not Yopu Betcha.
Thank you.
Bible in a Year : Psalms 97–99; Romans 16
The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” Genesis 2:18
There’s a growing “rent-a-family” industry in many countries to meet the needs of lonely people. Some use the service to maintain appearances, so that at a social event they can appear to have a happy family. Some hire actors to impersonate estranged relatives, so that they can feel, if briefly, a familial connection they long for.
This trend reflects a basic truth: Humans are created for relationship. In the creation story found in Genesis, God looks at each thing He has made and sees that it’s “very good” (1:31). But when God considers Adam, He says, “It is not good for the man to be alone” (2:18). The human needed another human.
The Bible doesn’t just tell us about our need for connection. It also tells us where to find relationships: among Jesus’s followers. Jesus, at His death, told His friend John to consider Christ’s mother as his own. They would be family to each other even after Jesus was gone (John 19:26–27). And Paul instructed believers to treat others like parents and siblings (1 Timothy 5:1–2). The psalmist tells us that part of God’s redemptive work in the world is to put “the lonely in families” (Psalm 68:6), and God designed the church as one of the best places to do this.
Thanks be to God, who has made us for relationship and given us His people to be our family!
Who are the lonely people in your life who need you to be their family? How have your relationships with fellow believers sustained you through periods of loneliness?
God, help me to depend on others and to be a dependable friend as well.
Simply adorable. :)
"Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend.
Inside of a dog it's too dark to read."Groucho Marx
Happy Caturday, Dogurday and Bunnyday!
Awwwww...:) Thank you, friend!
Thank you.
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Bible in a Year : Psalms 100–102; 1 Corinthians 1
An angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.” 1 Kings 19:5 “Emotionally, we’ve sometimes worked a full day in one hour,” Zack Eswine writes in his book The Imperfect Pastor. Although he was referring specifically to the burdens pastors frequently carry, this is true for any of us. Weighty emotions and responsibilities can leave us physically, mentally, and spiritually exhausted. And all we want to do is sleep.
In 1 Kings 19, the prophet Elijah found himself in a situation where he was depleted in every way. We read that Queen Jezebel threatened to put him to death (vv. 1–2) after she discovered he had the prophets of Baal killed (see 18:16–40). Elijah was so afraid he ran away and prayed he would die (19:3–4).
In his distress, he lay down. An angel touched him twice and told him to “get up and eat” (vv. 5, 7). After the second time, Elijah was strengthened by the food God provided, and he “traveled forty days and forty nights” until he came to a cave (vv. 8–9). There, the Lord appeared to him and recommissioned him (vv. 9–18)—and he was refreshed and able to continue the work God had for him to do.
Sometimes we too need to be encouraged in the Lord. This may come in the form of a talk with another believer, a worship song, or time in prayer and God’s Word.
Feeling exhausted? Give your burdens to God today and be refreshed! He will carry your load.
What area in your life is calling out for encouragement? What form may this come in and how can you seek it out?
Loving God, help me to turn to You when I am worn out. Thank You that in You I find rest.
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Thank you.
Bible in a Year : Psalms 103–104; 1 Corinthians 2
No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city. Revelation 22:3
As the first immigrant to the US to pass through Ellis Island in 1892, Annie Moore must have felt incredible excitement at the thought of a new home and a fresh start. Millions would pass through there afterward. Just a teenager, Annie had left behind a difficult life in Ireland to start a new one. Carrying only a little bag in her hand, she came with lots of dreams, hopes, and expectations of a land of opportunity.
How much more excitement and awe will God’s children experience when we see “a new heaven and a new earth” (Revelation 21:1). We will enter what the book of Revelation calls “the Holy City, the new Jerusalem” (v. 2). The apostle John describes this amazing place with powerful imagery. There will be “the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb” (22:1). Water represents life and abundance, and its source will be the eternal God Himself. John says that “no longer will there be any curse” (v. 3). The beautiful, pure relationship God intended between Himself and humans will be fully restored.
How incredible to know that God, who loves His children and purchased us with the life of His Son, is preparing such an amazing new home—where He Himself will live with us and be our God (21:3).
What comes to mind when you think about heaven? How does this passage from Revelation encourage you?
Father, thank You for Your love! We’re excited as we wait for that day when we will live in peace with You and each other in heaven.
Thank you.
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Monday is not the best day of the week. :)
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