May 17 – Keeping the Course

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2 Samuel 16-18

Shimei was not a fan. When King David’s son Absalom decided to steal the kingdom from his dad, Shimei followed Absalom. Out with the old, in with the new, he may have been thinking.

Maybe it was a little like our modern world. I mean, old people like the old hymns. Let’s be progressive and bring in the bands. Old people believe in hard work and earning what you have. Let’s let the government just give us what we want. Out with the old… I digress.

Or do I?

All of us with differing opinions can learn from David’s example. Shimei was throwing stones, calling David names, trying to get people riled up against David by following the king around and advocating for David’s enemy.

Now, if this were a presidential debate, David would pick up a few stones himself and hurl them at Shimei. He’d think of meaner names to call Shimei, maybe even have some choice words to say about Shimei’s wife. David would probably demand Shimei be removed from his presence, or killed for disrespecting him.

But instead, David said; “Let him be” and the king kept walking. Shimei kept hurling stones but David kept the course.

I’m afraid we’ve come to believe life is a reality TV show. We so often get caught up in the drama. The truth is, we don’t have to react every time someone “disrespects” us, or disagrees with us, taunts us, or even lies about us.

That’s not to say we lie down and play dead, either. David didn’t just hand the kingdom over to Absalom because Shimei was treating him badly. Jesus said we were to turn the other cheek. But Jesus also overturned the tables in the temple.

Christian, when people say we are hate-filled bigots, let’s not prove them right by our response. Let’s, like David, refuse to get into a war of words. Instead, let’s keep the course. Remember, our enemies are not homosexuals, abortionists, murderers, or liars. Our enemy is Satan.

Jesus died for sinners. Let’s not forget that. Satan would have us lose focus and fight insignificant battles. My prayer is that we will keep our eyes on Jesus, that we will honor Him with our reactions as well as our actions.

And I pray that, as we keep the course, people will be drawn to the Savior.

 

May 16 – Again And Again

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Psalms 3-4, 12-13, 28, 55

There sure are a lot of psalms that speak about David’s anguish. He pleads with God. He cries out, moans, with fear and trembling. I have to admit I chuckled as I read 55:17 where David says he will complain and murmur evening, morning, and noon. At least he’s honest.

I notice that in these psalms where David is at his wits end, at the point of despair, he still trusts God. He tells God what is on his mind, and turns it all over to the Lord. I could learn something from David’s example.

What struck me today is the number of psalms that contain David’s expressions of helplessness, despair, and grief. Scripture tells us Saul, the source of much of David’s grief, pursued David for years. It wasn’t the case that Saul was mean to David, David prayed to God and complained about Saul’s unfair treatment, and God eliminated Saul.

Oh, that’s what eventually happened. But it took a lot of praying, a lot of tears, a lot of pouring himself out to the Lord, and a lot of trust in God before that happened.

My takeaway today is to take my requests to God morning, noon, and night if I need to. Lay it all out there. Again. And again.

Then trust God. Again. And again.

During those waiting years, David grew into someone who would be described as “a man after God’s own heart.” It just didn’t happen over night.

Oh God, refine me like you refined David, even when I get impatient and want my prayers answered according to my timeline. As I lay my burdens down, as I bring to You my heart’s desires, as I trust you again and again, please mold me into a woman after God’s own heart.

 

May 15 – The Deceiver

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2 Samuel 13-15

Absalom, King David’s son, was pretty devious. First he plotted, then carried out his plan to kill Amnon. Then he decided to turn his attention to his dad. Absalom wanted to be king. And he could be patient.

He started by sitting at the city gate, greeting people as they entered. What a nice guy, they must have thought. Then Absalom began talking to them, listening to them, sympathizing with them.

Next, after he had gained their confidence, he began throwing out little suggestions to undermine David’s kingship. “Too bad I’m not judge, ” he told them. “I’d take care of things for you.”

Pretty soon, Absalom had a following. Then he made his move.

Satan uses those same tactics. He doesn’t always present himself with pitchfork in hand. In fact, he can be charming, intelligent, funny, and patient.

He’s a funny gay couple in your favorite sitcom. He’s a rationalization for a sin you’ve committed. He’s a look at someone else with whom you compare yourself and say, “I’m not as bad as she.” He’s a talk show host who promotes positive thinking, or a TV preacher who says you have power within you to get what you want. It’s the popular notion that you must put yourself first in order to be happy. It’s the pressure to tolerate false beliefs and sinful choices. It’s that “Don’t judge” abuse of His Word.

Satan has been called “the deceiver.” Do we recognize his tactics to take our eyes off Jesus, to doubt our faith, or compromise that which God wants us to hold firm? Let’s use Scripture as our plumb line, our rule book and guide. If what we hear doesn’t agree with the Bible (and not just a verse here and there) let’s reject it as an attempt by Satan to subtly win us to his side.

Father, I pray for your children. May we be grounded in Your Word, may we recognize the lies, and stand up for the Truth. Defeat Satan in our lives, in the lives of our loved ones, and in the world.

May 14 – I Need A Shower

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Psalms 32, 52, 86, 122

David wrote psalm 51 after he had committed adultery with Bathsheba. I imagine everyone of us have felt like David felt while dealing with the guilt of sin. Psalm 32 says that when David held on to sin, even his body wasted away, he groaned all day long because God’s hand was heavy upon him.

Been there. Done that.

God doesn’t want us being ok with sin in our lives. That’s why He invented guilt. The feeling of guilt is a good thing. It can make us unhappy enough to ask God to forgive us, to take our guilt upon Himself, and set us free from that burden.

The psalms also express the joy that comes from confession, from the assurance our sins are forgiven, and we are guilty no longer.

Whiter than snow!!

The other day I decided to skip my morning shower. The forecast called for a chilly rain all day, so I figured I’d get up, do some housework, and not step foot outside. My nephew had a baseball game scheduled that evening, but I was sure they wouldn’t be able to play because of the weather.

Was I surprised when I got a text from his dad at the field, saying “Game On.”

Oh NO! No time to get cleaned up. So I put on a ball cap to cover my dirty hair, grabbed my umbrella and an extra jacket, and rushed to the game.

I felt awful! I felt dirty and ugly. I enjoyed watching my nephew play ball, but I was embarrassed the whole time.

When I finally stood under my shower and let warm water pour over my body, when I massaged that shampoo into my hair and felt the bubbles rinse down, I stood there and sighed. It felt so good! Every cell in my body relaxed.

That’s the feeling I get from reading these psalms. David, once dirty and ugly and miserable in his filth, allowed God to forgive him and wash him clean. What joy! What peace! What relief!

Are you carrying the burden of guilt because of unconfessed sin in your life? Give it to the Lord. Ask Him to forgive you, something He’s anxious to do. And enjoy the feeling of being really, really clean.

 

May 13 – Accepting Forgiveness

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2 Samuel 11&12, I Chronicles 20

King David had sex with another man’s wife. Then, when he found out he had gotten her pregnant, and that her husband had been away fighting David’s own war, he had the man killed. Then he married the woman.

By all accounts, this woman’s husband had been an honorable man. He certainly didn’t deserve the treatment he had received by his king.

When David was confronted with his sin, he repented. And God forgave him.

You might be tempted to think that David didn’t deserve to be forgiven. He was king. He took advantage of this woman and murdered her husband. Didn’t he deserve to rot in hell?

The answer is yes.

But so do we. Your sins, my sins, are as loathsome to God as David’s sins. I may not have murdered anyone, but that doesn’t make me less a sinner than David. I have fallen short of God’s holiness, and holiness is what he demands.

Enter grace.

When Jesus died on the cross, his blood bought our forgiveness. All of it. We are forgiven for stealing that paper clip, or for robbing that bank. We are forgiven for lying to our moms about eating that cookie before dinner, or for having an affair with our co-worker.

Do we deserve to be forgiven? Not in and of ourselves. But no sin is too small or too great to be covered by the precious blood of Jesus.

David repented and accepted God’s forgiveness. He didn’t try to justify his actions or convince himself he deserved to be happy. He recognized sin as sin, and asked God to forgive him. And God was faithful to forgive.

You are forgiven. David still had to make sacrifices, shed more blood, to fulfill the requirements for forgiveness. We don’t. Jesus died once and for all. His blood fulfilled all the requirements perfectly. All we have to do is accept it.

No excuses. No rationalizations. No denial. No thinking your sins are too great or too many for God to forgive. You might think you deserve to rot in hell. And you do.

But you don’t have to. Oh, God will condemn you to eternity without Him, to hell, if you refuse to accept His forgiveness. He doesn’t want to. He died so He wouldn’t have to. But He won’t force you to accept what is already yours.

If you have never asked God to forgive you, to allow Jesus’ blood to cover your sins, then do it now. What’s stopping you? You are forgiven.

Accept it.

May 12 – Confession Before Petition

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Psalms 65-67, 60-70

If I regard wickedness in my heart, the Lord will not hear. (Ps 66:18)

I think too often we think God is our celestial bellboy. We call – he jumps to fulfill our requests. And if we think that to be the case, we can get pretty angry at God for not answering our prayers.

As I consider this Bible I love so much, I realize the only prayer God answers every time is the one from a repentant heart: Father, forgive me.

I John 1:9 says, If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Every time.

But when we go to God with our demands, or beg Hm for answers, yet harbor hatred toward someone, or tolerate sin, or live in disobedience, the psalmist seems to be saying: save your breath.

In my experience, when I confess my sin and go to God out of a pure heart with a request, I can ask, even plead, then leave my request at His feet and trust Him completely to answer for my good and His glory. His answer might not come like I’d imagined, but His answer is always right.

The psalmist reminds me today that , before I go to my Lord with any request, I need to check my heart. Confession needs to always come before petition.

May 11 – Red Rover, Red Rover

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2 Samuel 10, I Chronicles 19, Psalm 20

Have you ever played Red Rover? Two teams line up opposite each other. One team invites an opponent to “come over” and try to break through their strongest defense. If the opponent is successful, he takes one of the defensive team members to join him on his team. If the defense holds, that player must join the defenders and become part of their stronghold. (ah-great memories of Oxford Street)

I Chronicles 19:19 says, “So when the servants of Hadadezer saw that they were defeated by Israel, they made peace with David and served him. Thus, the Arameans were not willing to help the sons of Ammon anymore.”

Red Rover, Red Rover, let the Arameans come over!

Got me thinking about people who consider themselves enemies of Christianity. I understand why they hate us. They hated Jesus, and Jesus told us they’d hate us, too. But I’m wondering if we give them reason to come over to our side.

Why should they want to join us if we don’t look or act any differently than they? If we are as miserable, or as dishonest, or as self-satisfying as they, what would draw them to our Savior? And if they are more loving and generous, if they look at us as ignorant or prejudice, why wouldn’t they put themselves above us? They certainly won’t see a reason to change.

God is asking me about my own stronghold. Is it grounded in Scripture? Do I know what I believe and why I know it’s true? Am I totally committed to Jesus? Do I call sin sin and still love the sinner?

Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:16 that we are to let our light shine in such a way that people will recognize our good works and glorify our Father in heaven.

Does that ring true in my life? Do I, by my words and actions and attitude and faith shine a spotlight on my Savior? And when I ask someone to join me, will they see that what I have with Jesus is so much better than what they have without Him?

Father, I am convicted this morning. I want to be Your voice, Your arms and legs. I want to represent You in such a way that people are running toward You to be on Your team. Forgive my tendency to hold on to the world just a little bit, weakening my stronghold with You. Forgive the sin in my life that would keep people away.  Help me to love them like You love them, to be ready to give an answer for the hope I have in You. And may Jesus be glorified.

May 10 – Our Only Hope

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Psalm 50, 53, 60, 75

I am once again in awe of how relevant God’s Word is today, thousands of years after it was written. God still has no use for sacrifices or service from people who say they follow Him, but whose hearts are still unyielding. How dare you even speak God’s Word, He asks them. I think God must hold a special contempt for those who use His Words to rationalize their evil.

The psalmist says it’s a fool who denies the existence of God. I read some blogs where so-called atheists spout their intellectual sounding opinions, and realize how true God’s Word is. They don’t even know how foolish they sound. God is real whether we want to believe it or not. And he is no fool. Don’t you be.

I look at our world with its terrible unrest, our own country with two arrogant, ungodly presidential candidates, our churches where blatant sin is tolerated and even proclaimed, and recognize what the psalmist says in 60:1.

O God, you have rejected us. You have broken us. You have been angry. O restore us.

Is restoration even possible at this late date? Scripture gives us one example after another of restoration. When God’s people humble themselves, when they call on God and repent of sin, He heals every time.

Get on your knees, Christian. We are the only hope for this world.

May 9 – Making A Name For Ourselves

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2 Samuel 8&9, I Chronicles 18

Scripture tells us David made a name for himself. (2 Sam 8:13) He had soundly defeated his enemies, and news of that traveled far and wide. David was a warrior. David was a mighty king. David honored God and was blessed by God. Don’t mess with David.

My nephew’s high school senior class did the traditional, “Best Smile,” “Most likely to succeed,” “Best Athlete” thing this year. But, like many high schools, they threw in some “funny” ones, like “Goofiest Smile,” “Most likely to procrastinate,” “Biggest Ego.”

I hate this tradition! I mean, who wants to be remembered as the worst procrastinator or the person with the most annoying laugh? It’s not funny to most of them today, and it certainly won’t be funny twenty years from now.

The truth is, we are all making a name for ourselves. You may be identified on your job as a hard worker, or someone you never want to be stuck on a project with. Your friends might identify you as caring and honest, or a gossip and self-centered. Your family might identify you as loving and nurturing, or cold and way too busy.

God has me thinking about the name I am making for myself. Is it a name that honors Him? Is it a name I even want? What is it people really do see when they look at me?

May God be pleased with how I live my life, my reputation, and may people identify me first and foremost with my Savior. God and I have some work to do.

 

May 8 – Mothers Without Children

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Psalms 25, 29, 33, 36, 39

Today is Mother’s Day. It’s a day for these precious women to be pampered and celebrated. If you are a Mom, I hope it’s a blessed day for you with your family. My own mother, who has lived with Jesus for twenty years now, is a blessing to me still. I wish I could give her a hug.

But Mother’s Day isn’t a happy day for every woman out there. Some mothers have buried children and feel their loss more deeply today. Some mothers are estranged from their children. Some mothers carry burdens for their children; those who are not living for the Lord, or have devastating illnesses, or are struggling because of choices made. I pray for you, if your heart is heavy on this Mother’s Day.

There are some women out there who have been unable to give birth. Their hearts long to be Moms, and their inability is exaggerated today. It’s hard to sit back and watch other people celebrate, when your heart is broken. I’m praying for you, too.

But there is another group of women I’d like to celebrate today. It’s those of you who chose life for your child, who allowed your children to be raised by other parents. I hate the term, “gave a child up.” In reality, you “loved your child up.”

Years ago, I knew a 16 year old girl who chose life and adoption for her daughter. The lawyer handling the adoption said something I never forgot. She said the girls who are mature enough to make this decision would probably make decent mothers. Their selfless love wants only what is best for their children. This girl realized that at 16, without her family’s support, she could not provide the best life for her little girl. That takes enormous maturity and strength.

As a school counselor I dealt with several too-young mothers. I remember sitting in my office, talking to the mother of a pregnant 14 year old. That mother decided her daughter would have an abortion because, “I can’t take care of it, and there’s no way I could let someone else raise my grandchild.”

So she killed her grandchild.

That’s what saddens me. Abortion is acceptable in our society. The killing of babies happens every day. It’s those of you who choose life who are often scorned and carry the shame.

I want you to know there is one person who is celebrating you today. I pray for your children, that their homes are happy, that they are being raised with the love of the Lord and their parents. And I pray that you can take a measure of satisfaction that you did what was best for that little one, even as your heart might be missing them today.

Happy Mother’s Day. Let yourself rejoice in the fact that you are a mother who “loved her child up.”