1 Chronicles 27-29; Psalm 68: As a parent you want the very best for your children. You work hard and save to make their lives better. David too longed for his son Solomon to experience favor and blessings of the Father. His advice to him is recorded in 1 Chronicles 28
9″And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever. 10Be careful now, for the Lord has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary; be strong and do it.”
Solomon could experience what his father had if he would acknowledge the Lord and make Him the priority of his life. That is what David means when he tells his son to serve the Lord with all of his heart. I fear that Solomon though he did many great things and definitely was wise, he did not obey all that God had instructed him to do. He did many great things for the Lord including building the house of God. When he sought the Father he found great success, but when he satisfied the flesh he found it very empty. Soon we will read a love letter he wrote to one of his loves. We will also read his journal written later in his life. As he found so much of life meaningless and speaks of all he tried and found empty he comes back to this advice his father gives him. Truly all is meaningless when done without seeking the Lord with all your heart and being willing to do life His way. This can be scary because you don’t always see the next step and certainly can’t see days, weeks, months or even a year in the future, but that is why we are asked to follow the Father in a daily and choice by choice walk. You may say, but that is not secure, and in earthly terms you are right, but God is saying to us, “Trust Me.” Joy and peace come to us as we believe Him and follow His plan.

Psalms 131; 138-139; 143-145: Have you ever come to a point when you feel like your life has been flipped upside down? In a moment you can go from feeling great peace and security to anxiety, fear and loss? If you have or are feeling this way, these Psalms can be a healing balm to your weary soul.
Psalm 139:O Lord, you have searched me and known me!
2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from afar.
3 You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
4 Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.
5 You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is high; I cannot attain it
Maybe today you just need the assurance that God is with you. I love how the Psalm reminds us He is ahead of you and behind. His hand rests upon you. His hand is like that of a kind and loving Father directing His child in the paths He should go. How comforting to know! Not only does He see me, He knows my every thought. So when my stomach is reeling due to fearful or anxious thoughts, He knows. He longs for you to truth Him and know He will provide, defend, deliver, protect and so much more. It may not always be how you want it done or how it has been done in the past, but He will do what is best for you. Romans 8:28 reminds us that “all things work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose.”
Your upside down world may finally be turning right side up! God may be moving you into a place you have hoped for and dreamed of. He may still allow you to go through uncertain times until you get there, but hold His hand, trust His heart and know He loves you.

Psalms 108-109: Bullying is a word that we have heard often over the last few years. We are very sensitive to students in school to experience it. You may have been the recipient of harsh words or treatment when you were a child. You may even be experiencing it as an adult. What should a Christian’s response be to bullying. I believe that Psalm 109 gives us a clue.

Psalm 109:1 “Be not silent, O God of my praise!
2 For wicked and deceitful mouths are opened against me,
speaking against me with lying tongues.
3 They encircle me with words of hate,
and attack me without cause.
4 In return for my love they accuse me,
but I give myself to prayer.”

King David was the one who wrote these words and he knew the hurt of being accused of wrong doing without cause. He knew how it was for people to lie and wish evil on him. He also knew that some battles were not for him to fight. Look at verse 4. It gives you a major key to how David handled his accusers. He prayed for them. Now the things he prayed did get a little personal and even harmful, but in his honesty of heart he knew to take revenge was not his to do. God would take revenge for him. God knew what was going on and God would handle it. David’s job was to trust God and to hold to Him.

What a great reminder for us as well. God is the one who fights our battles. He can handle your bully. It may not come quickly, but as you remain faithful to the Father, His love covers you and His wrath is sufficient to take care of them. Again, it may not be on our timetable, but He is more than able to handle your bully and to care for you!

2 Samuel 24; 1 Chronicles 21-22; Psalm 30: I saw something today I have never seen before in this passage. I was familiar with David’s disobedience and the pestilence or plague that came as a judgement for his disobedience. I was familiar with his discussion with Ornan the land owner that David paid for his land to build and altar to the Lord on as a gift of thanksgiving for the pestilence being halted before it destroyed a multitude in Jerusalem. Now for what I did not realize. That same piece of land is where David built the “House of the Lord”. That is the Temple that Solomon built!

1 Chronicles 22:1 “Then David said, “Here shall be the house of the Lord God and here the altar of burnt offering for Israel.”

Even today the Jewish community is fighting the Arabic community over this same area. Muslims have built a mosque on it and yet it is the same place that at one time the Temple that represented the very presence of God sat.

Even as I thought about the land and the disobedience that prompted the need for a sacrifice of thanksgiving, I thought about how sin itself caused the pestilence of death, and separation from God. It was the sacrifice of The Lamb of God that stopped that same plague of sin and death. It is because of the mercy and grace of God we can receive that forgiveness and live forever. Just as King David said, He could not receive the land without paying a price for it. God provided The Lamb that cost Him His very own Son. How grateful I am for the Lamb that came at a great cost. He paid a price He did not know so that we could live. Praise the Lord! Now we are His temple where He abides! Glory!!

To You Lord Jesus I give my gift of thanksgiving and praise. Thank you for accepting and loving me.

2 Samuel 11-12; 1 Chronicles 20; Psalm 51: “I will never be unfaithful.” That is the first step to falling to temptation. In David’s life, he was a man who loved the Lord. It is so evident in his writings, he had a personal relationship with Him and yet he fell. It is easier than we think to do it. Let yourself get pulled away from what you are supposed to be doing. David was home while his army was engaged in battle. David was idle of mind and his mind when to places it should never had been. He was up on the roof allowing his eyes to wander. He knew better and chose to satisfy his flesh. He made a mess trying to “correct” or and even better word “cover” his wrong.
The list could go on and on.

What can we draw from his experience? A phrase one of our American forefathers said, “An idle mind is the devil’s workshop.” Indeed it is. When we are net in control of where our mind goes we can wander into some dangerous places. Pornography is a prime example in this area. You don’t have to be looking at a magazine or even the internet in places you should not be. It can be in movies or even in books. Stop your mind before you get anywhere close to this. You can’t remove what you have allowed in. Once you have fallen once, it gets easier and easier to return.

It may not be pornographic, it may be a real relationship. I have heard way too many women who walked with Jesus say that they were “Niced” into relationships. It starts like this. He was just nice to me. Then he started texting and coming by my desk and commenting on how nice I looked. Eventually things just went further than they needed to. Even if her body was not involved yet, her heart and mind was. Oh friends. Don’t be deceived. Whatever gets your mind, gets you!

David’s found this out the hard way, then trying to cover his choices he made even worse ones. Stop yourself before you get to this point. Confess your sin to God. Confess it as far as it is known to the ones you have wronged. Then you too can say as David did in Psalm 51 “Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and grant me a willing spirit.” The willing spirit is huge to walking write with God again. Make my will Yours Father. Don’t allow my flesh and my mind to rule over me.

If you find yourself wrestling with guilt, be encouraged. God forgave David, and He will you too. The child conceived during the sinful season died, but to prove God’s forgiveness and love, Solomon was born to the Bathsheba and he became the next king. David was forgiven by God, but he also forgave himself. You can too, and your future may still have some conflict in it, but you can have peace with God.

2 Samuel 10; 1 Chronicles 19; Psalms 20; 53; 60; 75: Who do you listen to for counsel? Is it someone who is older and has experienced much? Is it someone who is a strong believer that has lived a life that matches their talk? Or is it a peer or someone who hasn’t got a whole lot of experience, but is willing to give their opinion?

In today’s scripture we see Hanun, a young ruler whose father had just died. King David sent ambassadors to convey his condolences. Hanun had some advisers that counseled him that David’s envoys were really spies and they were scouting his kingdom. In a bold yet senseless move Hanun had the men’s beards shaved and cut their robes off at the middle exposing them. The ambassadors returned home in shame. David’s intercepted them and had them stay in an outpost city until their beards grew back. David then took action and went to war with Hanun. David and his people won. This battle did not have to happen, but bad counsel drew King David into battle.

In our lives, have we taken bad counsel and experienced conflict because of it? Maybe you were dating someone who was not a believer and your Christian friends advised you to back away, but your unbelieving friends told you that you and this guy were perfect for each other. You really liked him so you took the advise and counsel of the wrong people. There may still be things you are dealing with because of this counsel.

This is just one example, but we could talk about job situations, family conflict, friend conflict and so many more struggles that could come from listening to the wrong people or even making more of something than is really there. Hanun certainly did that because David was just sending condolences because Hanun’s father had been kind to him. Do you over think things sometimes and cause conflict? You can even create problems that never exist.

Choose wisely who you take counsel from. Look for trusted Christian leaders who walk their talk. PRAY!!!! As the Great Counselor to give you wisdom and discernment. Don’t make more of something than what is there.

2 Samuel 7; 1 Chronicles 17; Psalms 1-2; 33; 127; 132: There is so much in all that we read today. David’s selfless heart toward God, wanting to make sure that His ark had a beautiful home because it represented the very presence of God. No wonder God loved him and wanted to sustain his family line on the throne. David realized that without God in his life everything else was meaningless and vain. Thus he writes:

Psalm 127:1 Unless the Lord builds the house,
those who build it labor in vain.
Unless the Lord watches over the city,
the watchman stays awake in vain.
2 It is in vain that you rise up early
and go late to rest,
eating the bread of anxious toil;
for he gives to his beloved sleep.

This weekend I taught on peace and we talked about the opposite of peace is anxiety and restlessness. When you build your life on Christ and rest on Him for your strength and to guide you, you truly do have security and peace. The security is not always in things always working out the way you want, but it is in the assurance that God’s got you in the midst of your storm. He will be your refuge and strength in times of trouble. He gives us sweet sleep and rest because we know He has got us and our situation. If he can lay the foundations of the earth and create everything from nothing, you know He can handle whatever is the storm of your life. Rest sweet child, He has got it and you.

Psalms 15; 23; 24-25; 47: When I read Psalm 23 I can’t help but picture a young shepherd sitting on the hillside watching his sheep thinking about how He is cared for as his precious sheep. I wonder as he watched his sheep if he was thinking how good God is to allow him too feel peace as God cared for his every need. His word picture of green pastures and still waters are the simple shepherds way to say, I have no needs that the Father hasn’t met. His statement “He restores my soul” may have been his heart at rest from prey and dangers of weather. After sleepless nights and anxious days when much could go wrong he was possibly lounging truly resting and being revived. Thus his heart might be thinking back to those dangerous times in the valley of the shadow of death when he was anxiety laden and yet God’s rod and staff, the shepherds very tools and weapons were a reminder of the father’s defense and refuge. The shepherd did not fear the evil that lurked because God had been with him and His presence has been a weapon of protection.
As the shepherd looked around he must have thought about predators not just of the animal variety but human as well. Thus his comment about God preparing a table for him in the midst of his enemies. In David’s earlier days those “enemies” could have been his jealous brothers or even other shepherds that thought he got too much attention. As he aged, maybe it was even Saul or other enemy combatants. No matter who he was referencing, David knew God’s gift of provision even in the hardest of times. I love how he ended with thanksgiving in how his cup ran over with blessings. He knew that goodness and mercy would follow him all of the days of his life because of His relationship with The Shepherd.
How about you? You may not get all of the nuances of a shepherd, but have you seen God’s provision, His defense on your behalf, His presence as a guide and comfort? Have you known the security of His plans for you. This Psalm is a reminder that what David experienced we can too. We can know this peace. It is a matter of recognizing His abiding presence with us and celebrating His daily gifts. May you know this peace, comfort and joy.

2 Samuel 5:11-6:23; 1 Chronicles 13-16: Why is it that joy suckers come into our lives? You know what I am talking about, it is the person who when you are having a great day and things are going so well look at you and with one sentence can take all of the joy out of your sails. If you have someone like that in your life or several someones like that, you are not alone.

In our passage today King David was celebrating because the Ark of the Covenant which represented the very presence of God had come to rest in Jerusalem, the City of David. David had prepared with the Levites and Priests a huge celebration with dancing and music as the Ark entered the city. To David it was a reminder of God’s blessing on his kingdom and his kingship. He was elated. Then he comes home to his wife Michal who was the daughter of Saul. She belittled David for dancing in the linen ephod before the entire kingdom. Her snarky attitude was an attempt to steal the joy he had. David spoke over her his displeasure. God closed her womb and she never bore children.

How sad for Michal. She was not happy for David, but she did not respect or honor the Lord and the reality of the what the Ark’s presence could mean to her or her family. She was bitter and angry. I don’t have all of the reasons why, but her behavior is an indicator that her heart was sour toward her husband and his God. In the end the enemy used her to try to attack her husband and to steal the joy of all God was doing.

Right now you may be saying sister I know that attitude because I have someone in my life just like her. If that is true, I am so sorry. Take note of how David dealt with the situation. He recognized that the problem was hers and did not allow her attitude to rob his joy. That is a great reminder to us. If you are the one who is bitter, I urge you to get to the bottom of why you are so angry. If you can get to the root you can identify what makes you so bitter toward others. You may say, “I am not bitter.” That may be so, but I you are constantly negative or find yourself pouring a bucket of reality on someone’s joy, you may need to check your heart to find out why. In the end Romans 12 reminds us to rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. Don’t be a Michal in a David world. Find your dancing shoes and join the party.

1 Chronicles 7-9: God is not “fair”. He doesn’t make everyone and everything the same. In His divine plans some are given more or chosen for a special assignment and given more of whatever they will need. As we read the list of names again today I am reminded that the purpose of this list was to delineate who was a part of Israel and who was not. The only way the people after the exile could serve in leadership in the temple was to prove their family line.
Later we will study Nehemiah and the struggles with Tobiah and Sandbalot. These two men were leaders but they were not from the pure family line. They were not God’s chosen and they did appreciate those coming back and messing up their plan. As the wall was built they caused confusion and they had no desire for their leadership to be questioned.
They may have been leaders in the community, but God is the one who said they would not be leaders in the church.
As I prayed about how this might be applied in my day and time I thought about the unrest in churches today. Praise God we are a part of a church that follows pastoral leadership and is seeing God’s blessing on that, but even yesterday I spoke to a woman who said, “I feel sorry for the pastor that goes to _______ church because the congregation is the one that will run that church.” My heart grieved even as the truth came out of her mouth. God has set pastors over churches to lead them, and when the congregation is telling the pastor what to do instead of the pastor leading that is just as upside down as the wife telling her husband and family what they will be doing. It may work for a while, but it is upside down to how God planned and organized the leadership roles. If we want to see God bless, we must do it His way! It was true for Israel and it is true for us. It doesn’t mean that the wife or the congregation are not great leaders or some may even be smarter and better, but it is not God’s way. Just as Sandbalot and Tobiah were not God’s plan.
May we all be blessed by being in a church and family where God is the head, the pastor and husband lead and the rest of us follow. May we see many blessings for our obedience.