1 Chronicles 29:11-13 - Thanksgiving

“Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power and the glory. The victory and the majesty; for all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours, Yours is the kingdom, O Lord,  and You are exalted as head over all. …Now therefore, our God, we thank You and praise Your glorious name.”

1 Chronicles 29:11-13

The anointing of the Holy Ghost is upon these scriptures. Jesus rules over all and makes all work together for our good, so we can cast all our cares upon Him and be thankful and grateful in all things. Thanksgiving is the most therapeutic of our attitudes. It is good for the soul and it is one of our most pleasant emotions. It’s the opposite of complaining and grumbling. And we know that God dislikes it when we complain and grumble. It grieves Him. 

William Law wrote in his classic book A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life:

Would you know who is the greatest saint in the world? It is not he who prays most or fasts most; it is not he who gives most alms, or is most eminent for temperance, chastity, or justice; but it is he who is always thankful to God, who wills everything as an instance of God’s goodness, and has a heart always ready to praise God for it. …If anyone would tell you the shortest surest way to all happiness and all perfection, he must tell you to make it a rule to yourself to thank and praise God for everything that happens to you. For it is certain that whatever seeming calamity happens to you, if you thank and praise God for it, you turn it into a blessing. Could you, therefore work miracles, you could not do more for yourself than by this thankful spirit, for it heals with a work speaking, and turns all that it touches into happiness.

Father, may we begin to walk in thankfulness and have a thankful spirit. May we praise and give thanks to You for the things that happen in our lives. Turn our calamities into blessings. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power and the glory. Yours, O Lord, is the victory and the majesty.  Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power and the glory. Yours, O Lord, is the victory and the majesty over everything that happens to us. All that is in heaven and in earth is Your. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord,  and You are exalted as head over all. We thank You and praise Your glorious name. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Acts 9:36 - A Good Deed Brightens a Dark World

“At Joppa there was a certain disciple named Tabitha, which is translated Dorcas. This woman was full of good works and charitable deeds which she did.”

Acts 9:36

I like the fact that Tabitha was referred to as a disciple. She did a lot of small acts of kindness and good, charitable deeds. These were visible to all who were around her. She wasn’t well known because of her preaching, teaching or evangelizing, but her good deeds spoke volumes and touched hearts and lives. The little things we do are so much grander than the things we do that are considered great. My husband opening the door for me, giving me a cup of freshly brewed coffee or giving me a kiss when he leaves home shows me so much more love than him sending me flowers on our anniversary. His kindness throughout the year shows me his heart. And his heart shows me his love. Sometimes the thought of doing big things overwhelms us and weighs us down. But the little things we do bring much joy to our hearts. You can never go wrong walking in love and doing good, charitable deeds for those He impresses on our hearts to do so to. Colossians 3:17 says “And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” 1 Peter 4:10 says “As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” I encourage you to continually plant seeds of kindness. It will speak volumes! 

An old song that I love to sing is “Bringing in the Sheaves.” It goes like this:

1. Sowing in the morning, sowing seeds of kindness, sowing in the noontide and the dewy eve, waiting for the harvest and the time of reaping: we shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves. (Chorus) Bringing in the sheaves, bringing in the sheaves, we shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves. Bringing in the sheaves, bringing in the sheaves, we shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.

 

2. Sowing in the sunshine, sowing in the shadows, fearing neither clouds nor winter’s chilling breeze; by and by the harvest and the labor ended: we shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves. (Chorus) Bringing in the sheaves, bringing in the sheaves, we shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves. Bringing in the sheaves, bringing in the sheaves, we shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.

3. Going forth with weeping, sowing for the Master, though the loss sustained our spirit often grieves; when our weeping’s over He will bid us welcome: we shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves. (Chorus) Bringing in the sheaves, bringing in the sheaves, we shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves. Bringing in the sheaves, bringing in the sheaves, we shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.

Father, may we sow seeds of kindness all day long. May we be full of good works and charitable deeds. Help us to impact and touch lives by doing little things that show them Your love. May we reap a harvest that brings glory to Your name. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen. 

Acts 2:33 - Don't give up! Continue to be a good witness to the Lord Jesus Christ!

“we are all witnesses.”

Acts 2:33

Do you witness for Jesus Christ? According to the Word, we are all His witnesses. Make the most of every opportunity that You have to witness to others. Sometimes you may be tempted to get discouraged. Don’t. Self-pity is of the devil. He wants you to get discouraged and to quit being a light. Just continue to share Jesus and His love even if you may wonder if anyone’s listening or being impacted by what you say or do. We may insert our personal testimonies into our everyday conversations with others, we may share our faith on Facebook, we may give out scriptures to others that can help them in their walks with Christ and to deal with things that they are coping with and going through, we may give people bibles, we may give people Christian literature, we may share the gospel, and we may invite friends and family member’s to church, bible studies, church events, and dinner. We may not know if what we are doing is making a difference. Know today that it is. No good thing you do for the Lord is ever in vain. Only in heaven will we know how God has used our words and testimonies. We are all His witness. Be a good one!

Father, thank You for making us all Your witnesses. Help us to be good ones. Use us to bring others to You and a life with You. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen. 

Romans 12:12 - God transforms us into a new person

“… let God transform you into a new person …”

Romans 12:2

Every once in a while something happens and you realize that God has changed you. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says “… those who become Christians become new persons. They are not the same anymore, for the old life is gone. A new life has begun!” This happened to me last week when I was attempting to make baked corn. I had put the creamed corn and kernel corn in a bowl and went to get the Jiffy cornbread mix. I bumped the bowl and it went falling to the ground. Both the kernel and creamed corn went flying out of the bowl. Corn was on the kitchen cabinets, the rug in front of the cabinets, and the floor. The basement door was open and the corn was on the steps that led down to the landing. There was even creamed corn on the wall behind the back door (that leads down to the basement as well). My first thought was one of shock. And then I had complete peace. I immediately remembered that we should give thanks in everything for Ephesians 5:20 says “give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” So I gave thanks. I looked into the bowl and there was still some corn in there. I was thankful that at least that corn didn’t end up somewhere where I would have to clean. I can remember thinking that if this had happened years ago I would have complained and grumbled. I didn’t know that God had changed me. But this showed me that He did. To that I am thankful. I can’t take any credit for the change. God made me a new person. I am not the same anymore. The old life is gone. A new life has begun.

Father, thank You for transforming us into new persons. Thank You that we are not the same anymore. Thank You that the old life that we used to live is gone. Thank You that a new life has begun in us. Continue to change us where progress can be made. Make us more and more like Your Son. Change us from the inside out by the power of Your love. We may not realize at the time that You have done a work inside of us. But when certain things happen, then we will realize and we will be eternally grateful and thankful. We love You, Lord, with all our hearts. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

1 John 5:21 - May Nothing Take God's Place in Your Heart

“Little children, keep yourselves from idols.”

1 John 5:21

God does not want us to have idols in our lives. An idol is anything that takes God’s place in your hearts. I like what the New Living translation says. It says “Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts.” We feel empty inside but we don’t know why. It may be that we have an idol in our lives, which depletes us spiritually. Sometimes it is hard for us to admit or see that we have an idol in our lives. We may not see it, but others can. God may reveal it to you through the mouth of other people. There was a time when the girls were small that Dave wasn’t happy with the way I was keeping house. I told him that I wasn’t able to find the time to give it the attention I needed. He ended up telling me that I had time to watch Regis and Kathie Lee everyday and talk on the phone with my friends. This hurt my feelings and I went crying to the Lord. The Lord ended up speaking to my heart and telling me that David was right. I had idols in my life. The television and the phone were the two idols I had in my life at the time. It was an arrow that penetrated deep into my heart. If David wouldn’t have said anything, I might not have realized it. I confessed my idolatry to David and to the Lord. Then I made the necessary adjustments in my life. The phone and television are no longer idols in my life. Examine your heart. What takes away time from God and His Word in your life? What takes God’s place in your heart? What do you spend a lot of time doing but makes you feel depleted and empty in your life afterwards? Ask the Holy Spirit if it’s an idol. If it is, confess it as sin and make the necessary adjustments in your life. You will be spiritually blessed because of it.

Father, may we keep ourselves from idols. May nothing take Your place in our hearts. If we have any idols in our lives, reveal it to us now. We want to confess it as sin and we want to make the necessary adjustments in our lives. We want You to be first place in our lives. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Matthew 16:19b - Binding and Loosing

“... whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

Matthew 16:19b

God has given us the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 16:19a says “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven.” This means that He has given us authority. Jesus tells us in Matthew 16:19 that we should bind and loose. He repeats this in Matthew 18:18-20 “Assuredly, I say to you whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Since Jesus told us this twice, it means that he was trying to get an important message across to us. Binding and loosing is a command. It lets us move into the devil’s territory and take authority over him. If you have never bound and loosed things begin to in the mighty name of Jesus. You have the authority in Christ Jesus if you are a believer. God wants us to bind the evil and loose the opposite. Dispel the powers of darkness. Loose the Holy Ghost to work in your life as well as the lives of those we know and love. Some examples are: fear vs. faith, confusion vs. clarity of mind, pride vs. humility, bitterness vs. forgiveness, rebellion vs. obedience, hatefulness vs. love. There are so many things we can take authority over. Let’s begin to do what He has commanded us to do.

Father, You have given us authority over evil and the evil one. Greater is He that is within us than he that is in the world. You have given us the keys to the kingdom. May we begin to use them by binding and loosing as You have instructed us. We thank You for this authority that comes in the name of Jesus. May we believe with all our heart that You have given us this authority so that we can go forth and use it in the mighty name of Jesus.  In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

1 Thessalonians 5:15 - Don't repay evil for evil

See to it that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all.”

1 Thessalonians 5:15

God doesn’t want His children to “render evil for evil” … to anyone. I believe that God desires this even in our homes. James 1:19 says “So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” James 1:26 says “If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless.” Romans 12:17-21 says “Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, bur rather give place to wrath; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord. Therefore ‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” The other day the Lord impressed on my heart that when a spouse or someone else gets angry with you, if you respond by raising your voice and getting mad back choosing to defend yourself and spout off that that is a form of taking vengeance upon yourself and repaying evil for evil. Ouch! We need to confess this as sin. And keep our peace in the future. I had never thought of it that way.

Father, we come to You this day and we thank You for the Holy Spirit’s teaching in our lives. You want us to be holy, even in our homes. You want our lives to bring glory to Your name. Be with us Lord. Help us to be slow to speak, slow to wrath, patient and kind, even in our own homes and with people we love most. May we not be overcome by evil, but may we overcome evil with good. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen. 

Jeremiah 3:22 - God wants to restore the backsliders

“Return you backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings.”

Jeremiah 3:22

God desires for those that have backslid to come back to Him. He wants to heal them. I have at least a handful of Christian friends that continually pray for their backslidden children/grandchildren to come back to the Lord. Jeremiah 3:12 says “‘Return, backsliding Israel,’ says the Lord; ‘I will not cause My anger to fall on you. For I am merciful,’ says the Lord; ‘I will not remain angry forever.’” Some of them have been bound by the enemy. God wants to free them and restore them. Jeremiah 31:16-17 says “Thus says the Lord: ‘Refrain your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears; for your work shall be rewarded; says the Lord, and they shall come back from the land of the enemy. There is hope in your future, says the Lord, that your children shall come back to their own border.’” Be encouraged today. Stand on God’s Word. Pray that He do a work in their hearts and mind. He is able.

Father, You tell us to keep our heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life. Please reach out to those that we know and love that have backslidden. May they come to the point where they keep their heart with all diligence. These have been taught of You. They heard about You when they were sitting in their house, when they walked by the way, when they lied down, and when those awakened each morning. Proverbs 22:6 says “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” Be merciful and draw them back to You. Restore them to a right relationship with You. Deliver them and set them free. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.   

Matthew 10:26b - God can help us find missing items

“For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known.”

Matthew 10:26b

I came across this scripture last week and I got to cling to the verse and stand on it as I couldn’t find a missing item. I had felt led to go up to Cookies on Demand in Montpelier and send the girls some of their favorite cookies. They are in college and I have their address written in my address book. We always keep the address book in a certain spot in David’s grandmother’s secretary. When I went to go to town I went to the secretary to retrieve the address book. It wasn’t there. I looked and looked in the secretary. It wasn’t there. I began to look elsewhere. I couldn’t find it anywhere. I looked again in the secretary. I still couldn’t find it. Finally I decided to pray. I said “Father, Your Word says that there is nothing covered that will not be revealed. There is nothing hidden that will not be known. Please help me find the address book. May the Holy Spirit impress upon my heart in where it is.” It wasn’t long and the Holy Spirit impressed on my heart to go to the hall tree and look in a plastic bag. There it was! I know God was watching over His Word and bringing this to light. I find it neat that he cares about even the mundane things. He is so good!

Father, we thank You for the gift of the Holy Spirit. We thank You that the Holy Spirit impresses things on our heart. We thank You that You hold all of life’s answers in Your Word. Even lost items can be made known to us. You are a good and awesome God. We love You! In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Deuteronomy 8:6 - God wants us to love Him with our ALL

“Therefore you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him.”

Deuteronomy 8:6

Nowhere in God’s Word are we instructed to be partially devoted to the Lord. The Old Testament tells us in Deuteronomy 6:5 “You shall love the Lord your God with ALL your heart, with ALL your soul, and with ALL your strength.” Jesus reminds of these words in Mark 12:30 “And you shall love the Lord your God with ALL your heart, with ALL your soul, with ALL your mind, and with ALL your strength.” Our praise and worship should be with our WHOLE heart as well. Psalm 9:1 says “I will praise You, O Lord, with my WHOLE heart.” It should not be lip service, it should be done with the heart. The book of Revelations is a reminder to us about how we should be living before Him. He takes note if He is not first place in our lives. There were seven churches and only one was he pleased with. This should be a warning to us. Most of the churches had done many things that were right. He told them that He had seen this. But they had done some things that He was against. These things were: 1) they had left their first love, 2) they let people eat things that were sacrificed to idols, 3) they allowed sexual immorality, 4) they allowed wrong doctrine which caused the people to stumble, 5) they allowed someone that called themselves a prophet—the woman Jezebel—to teach, 6) they allowed Jezebel to seduce His servants, 7) one church was completely dead—they had a reputation for being alive, but they weren’t, and 8) another church was neither cold nor hot. God wished they were one or the other. Since they weren’t He was going to vomit them out of His mouth. They said they were rich and had need of nothing, but they didn’t realize that they were wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked. He wanted them to remember from where they had fallen, repent, and do the works that they had done in the beginning. Let’s allow the Holy Spirit to examine our lives today. Do we love God with ALL our hearts, ALL our souls, ALL our minds, and ALL our strength? Let’s make sure we are not partially devoted to the Lord. Let’s give Him our ALL.

Father, may we fear You and walk in Your ways. May we love You with ALL our hearts, ALL our souls, ALL our minds, and ALL our strength. Examine our hearts today. Show us where we are wrong. Remind us to how much we have fallen. May we repent and do the works that we had done in the beginning. We don’t want to be partially devoted to You. We want for You to consider us “hot.” We want to give it our ALL. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Psalm 51:9 - God can heal us from the guilt of our sins

“Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.”

Psalm 51:9

Psalm 51 is so good for us mentally. If we take it to heart it can help us have a spiritual mental breakthrough. We all experience failures or setbacks. None of us is perfect. Psalm 51 can be used to breathe new life into us. When we commit sin, it hurts our relationship with God. It can cause us to experience pain deep in our heart and souls. We also feel shame, remorse, and guilt. There is no doubt about it, falling into sin inflicts us. If we don’t take it to the Lord, we may never heal. Psalm 51 is powerful chapter in the Bible. David penned it when he was remorseful over committing adultery with Bathsheba. He knew that he tried to cover up her pregnancy by giving Uriah an opportunity to unite with her (which he didn’t take). So he took matters into his own hand and had her husband murdered. Here in Psalm 51, David sincerely poured his heart out to the Lord. His words to the Lord were: “Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me by Your generous Spirit. Deliver me from the guilt …” (Psalm 51:9-14). Guilt is a hard thing to live with. If you have experienced a personal failure or setback, read Psalm 51 over and over. Ponder it. Meditate on it. Use it in a prayer to the Lord as if it were coming your own heart. God will extend His mercy. He will forgive you. He will breathe new life into you. And you will once again receive the joy of your salvation. How much more can we ask?

Father, we thank You that we don’t have to live with the guilt from our sins. We can go freely to You and You will receive and welcome us. If we confess our sins you are faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. This frees us as we can actually feel and sense You removing our sins and casting them as far as the east is from the west and remember them no more. We are cleansed, made whole, and made right with You. Thank You, Lord, for Your mercy and grace. Thank You, Lord, for everything. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.  

2 Samuel 5:23-25 - Make it a habit to inquire in the Lord in what you should do

Therefore David inquired of the Lord, and He said, ‘You shall not go up; circle around behind them and come upon them in front of the mulberry trees. And it shall be, when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, then you shall advance quickly. For then the Lord will go out before you to strike the camp of the Philistines. And David did so, as the Lord commanded him; and he drove back the Philistines from Geba as far as Gezer.’”

2 Samuel 5:23-25

Once again David inquired the Lord in what he should do. We can see from this that David was in the habit of inquiring of the Lord. David did not trust in his own wisdom when making choices. He trusted in the Lord. He also was obedient to the Lord and His guidance and direction in his life. Because of this he was successful in these endeavors. Inquiring of the Lord, listening to God, and obeying the Holy Spirit are essential to walking with God. Let’s get in the habit of inquiring of the Lord. Let’s allow God to direct our hearts. Let’s obey and do the Lord’s will. God will never steer us wrong.

Father, David was in the habit of inquiring of You in what He should do. May we be in the habit of that too. May we not trust in our own wisdom when making choices. May we trust in You. May we be obedient to You and Your guidance and direction in our lives. We know that You will never steer us wrong and our efforts will be successful. We want to walk closely with You, Lord. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

2 Samuel 5:19 - Take the time to inquire of the Lord in what you should do

“So David inquired of the Lord, saying, ‘Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will You deliver them into my hand?’ And the Lord said to David, ‘Go up, for I will doubtless deliver the Philistines into your hand.’”

2 Samuel 5:19

As long as David inquired the Lord for guidance, his efforts were successful. When he did things apart from the Lord, he landed in trouble, even though he was anointed and appointed by God. The same is true for us. Take time to be with the Lord each and every day. It is never wasted time. It is time well spent. Be sure to inquire of the Lord for His guidance. He will lead and guide you. He will impress things upon your heart. Don’t base your decisions and do things apart from Him. You don’t want to find yourself in trouble. You may be called. You may be anointed. You may be appointed. But You still need the Lord’s guidance and direction in your life for your efforts to be successful. Even Jesus spent time with the Lord and was instructed by Him each and every morning. If He needed to, how much more do we.

Father, we see yet again another time where David inquired in You in what He should do. We can see in His life that when he inquired of You his efforts were successful. We can also see where he landed in trouble when he went ahead and did what his flesh wanted to do. May this be an example for us. May we inquire of You in what we should do. May we not go ahead and do what our flesh wants to do apart from You. We want our efforts to be successful. We don’t want to end up in trouble. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

2 Samuel 5:10 - Be an utensil that God can use

“So David went on and became great, and the Lord God of hosts was with him.”

2 Samuel 5:10

When we follow after God with all our heart as David did, the presence of the Lord will be with us. David continued on in his journey with the Lord and he became great. God wants you and me to continue on in our journey with Him and make us great too. Not for us, but for Him. He wants to use us for His purposes and plans in this world. He has an eternal perspective. Surrender your life to him each and every day. He is at work in us. Keep your heart pure. 2 Timothy 2:2 says “If you keep yourself pure, you will be a utensil God can use for His purpose. Your life will be clean, and you will be ready for the Master to use you for every good work.” Let Him make something great out of you.

Father, we humble ourselves before You this day. You are great and You are worthy of our praise. Help us to keep ourselves pure and unspotted from this world. We want to be a utensil You can use for Your purposes. We want our lives to be clean so we will be ready for You to use for every good work. May Your presence always be with us and may we follow after You with all our hearts. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

2 Samuel 4:8 - Please give us spiritual discernment

“And they brought the head of Ishbosheth to David at Hebron, and said to the king, ‘Here is the head of Ishbosheth, the son of Saul your enemy, who sought your life; and the Lord has avenged my lord the king this day of Saul and his descendants.’”

2 Samuel 4:8

Ishbosheth heard that Abner had died. He lost heart. Ishbosheth had two captains. One was Baanah and the other was Rechab. Baanah, Rechab, and the sons of Rimmon went to Ishbosheth’s house and saw him laying in his bed. They stabbed him in the stomach. Baanah and Rechab escaped. They took Ishbosheth’s head to David. David was not pleased. He reminded them that when someone had thought they had done good with Saul and come and told him that he arrested them and had them executed. So David commanded his young men to execute them, cut off their hands and feet, and hang them. The young men took Ishbosheth’s head and buried it in the tomb of Abner in Hebron.

David was not impressed by the men who tried to sound spiritual. He saw their evil heart as well as their evil deeds. David was a man after God’s own heart. He could not and would not delight in wickedness, even if it appeared to benefit him.

   

Father, help us to have spiritual discernment when dealing with others. May we be able to discern their hearts and see their deeds. May we not delight in wickedness, even if it appears to benefit us. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

2 Samuel 3:37 - May our actions line up with our words

“For all the people and all Israel understood that day that it had not been the king’s intent to kill Abner the son of Ner.”

2 Samuel 3:37

Joab found out that David had sent Abner away. Joab felt that Abner had gone to David to deceive him. He thought that Abner was trying to find out the king’s coming in and going out, and to know all that he was doing. Joab didn’t trust him so he sent for him. When Abner came back Joab took matters into his own hands. He took a knife and stabbed him in the stomach. Abner died. When David heard the news, he was displeased. He said “My kingdom and I am guiltless before the Lord forever of the blood of Abner the son of Ner” (2 Samuel 3:28). He went on to say “Let it rest on the head of Joab and on all his father’s house” (2 Samuel 3:29). David mourned for Abner. They buried him and at Abner’s gravesite David “lifted up his voice and wept” (2 Samuel 3:32). The people that were there wept too. Then David lamented in a song. The people wept over him some more. David also wouldn’t eat. The people were able to see for themselves that it wasn’t David’s intent at all that Abner was killed. David innocence shone brightly. David acted wisely to back up his words with how he was feeling. His words and his actions lined up. When our words and our actions line up, everyone benefits. Psalm 17:2 says “Declare me innocent, for you know those who do right.” May our innocence, as David’s innocence, always shine brightly.

Father, we try our best to walk with integrity before you. We can’t make other people’s decisions for them. They are going to do what they want to, but may we act wisely. May we back up our words with how we are feeling. May our words and actions line up. When our words and actions line up, everyone around us benefits. Declare us innocent, for You know we are always trying to do what is right. May our innocence always shine brightly. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

2 Samuel 3:9 - Don't hold on to things too tightly - Love the Lord with all your heart

“May God do so to Abner, and more also, if I do not do for David as the Lord has sworn to him.”

2 Samuel 3:9

The war between the house of Saul and the house of David continued on. During the war Abner was trying to gain power for himself. Saul’s son, Ishbosheth, confronted Abner about sleeping with one of his father’s concubines, Rizpah. This caused Abner to lose his temper with Ishbosheth. He felt that he had personally saved Ishbosheth from David and his men. He was not happy that Ishbosheth made an issue out of sleeping with Saul’s concubine. Abner then and declared his loyalty to David. He would help David accomplish the transferring of the kingdom from the house of Saul to David so that David would be king of both Israel and Judah. Abner wanted David to make a deal with him so that he could bring the whole country of Israel over to David. David agreed on one condition. He wanted Saul’s daughter, Michal, to come back with him. We learn that Abner must have known that David was supposed to be king, but he had been helping Ishbosheth try to become king instead. For some reason he was acting against the will of God. One wonders why. It appears that He was trying to gain power for himself. He wanted to hold on to his position. The thing is that anything you hold too tightly, you will lose. Abner was holding tightly to his position of power. It is best to keep God first place in your life. 1 John 5:21 says “Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts.” Your loyalty belongs to the Lord. The Lord should be at the center of your heart. Anything else is an idol. If you hold on too tightly to an idol, you will lose it.

Father, may You alone be at the center of our hearts. May You be first place in our lives. May we not have any idols in our lives. We want You to be on the throneroom of our hearts. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

2 Samuel 3:1 - It sometimes takes a battle before His will comes to pass

“Now there was a long war between the house of Saul and the house of David. But David grew stronger and stronger, and the house of Saul grew weaker and weaker.”

2 Samuel 3:1

Just because the Lord had anointed David to be king when he was a young lad it took awhile for the kingdom to be given to David, His beloved. And just because Saul was dead did not mean that the kingdom was handed to David overnight. It took a long time for David to finally bring the nation together under his rule. Ishbosheth and his men and David and his men fought for quite a long time. Yet what our Father promises, He delivers—even if it takes longer than we had expected. We grow stronger and stronger as we wait for the promise to come to pass. Don’t be discouraged if you have received a promise in the Lord and it tarries. God knows your situation and in His timing it will come to pass. Stay closely related to Him. Spend lots of time in the Lord’s presence praying, praising, and worshiping Him. There may be a battle going on in the spiritual realm, but we know who wins. God always gets the victory. As you stand in faith and worship and adore Him, you will be encouraged and your faith will grow stronger. He is faithful and He will bring your promise to pass.

Father, we thank You for everything. We know that You have a plan and a purpose for all of us. We are Your beloved’s, the apple of Your eye.. What You promise, You deliver. Even if it takes longer than we expected. We grow stronger in our faith as we wait for You to bring Your promises to us to pass. We ask You today to loose Your angels to war in the spiritual realm for our behalf. Bring Your will, purposes, and promises to us to pass. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

2 Samuel 2:10 - Acquire things in the will of God

“Ishbosheth, Saul’s son, was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and he reigned two years. Only the house of Judah followed David.”

2 Samuel 2:10

The Philistines killed Saul’s son’s Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua. Saul had fell on his sword by his own choosing. He still had another son that was alive and his name was Ishbosheth who was forty years old. The son of Saul’s army, Abner, made Ishbosheth “king over Gilead, over the Ashurites, over Jezreel, over Ephraim, over Benjamin, and over all Israel” (2 Samuel 2:9). He reigned for two years. Notice that Abner chose Ishbosheth to be king. God is not the one that chose him. He was not appointed by the Lord and anointed for the job. Since it wasn’t God’s choosing, it brought nothing but heartache to the people. Whatever we acquire outside of God’s will eventually turns to ashes. Make sure that what you do is inside the will of God. Proverbs 3:5-6 says “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” Trust in the Lord. Don’t lean on your own understanding. Acknowledge Him. He will direct your paths and blessings will follow you. Be wise and acquire things inside the will of God. Don’t acquire things on your own outside the will of God. You don’t want those situations to turn to ashes.

Father, we can see from the life of Saul’s son, Ishbosheth, that we shouldn’t make decisions on our own. We should trust in You and Your guidance and direction. We want to acquire things in the will of God and have Your blessings. We do not want to acquire things outside the will of God. We don’t want things to turn to ashes. May we trust in You, lean not on our own understanding, and acknowledge You. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.