Psalms 81; 88; 92; 93: The Psalms read like a real life diary. They speak of great anguish as the writer feels threatened and chased. They speak of great victories and give thanksgiving to God, but they also record times of discouragement and heartache. These are the places people rarely go in revealing their hearts because it shows our not so glamorous side. Times of discouragement are hard for friends who don’t like to see you down and want to fix whatever is broken.

In today’s reading the Psalmist is real in his heartache
Psalm 88:1 “O Lord, God of my salvation,
I cry out day and night before you.
2 Let my prayer come before you;
incline your ear to my cry!
3 For my soul is full of troubles,
and my life draws near to Sheol.
4 I am counted among those who go down to the pit;
I am a man who has no strength,
5 like one set loose among the dead,
like the slain that lie in the grave.”

The reality is there are just going to be some down days. There will be times of great heart break and discouragement. But just as these times are real, there is also a great reminder in the Psalms of how to deal with days like this.

Psalm 92 “1 It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
to sing praises to your name, O Most High;
2 to declare your steadfast love in the morning,
and your faithfulness by night,
3 to the music of the lute and the harp,
to the melody of the lyre.
4 For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your work;
at the works of your hands I sing for joy.”

The medicine for a discouraged heart is to praise the Lord and to look at how He has taken care of you and blessed you. As we focus on the good it may not bring us fully out of the hard time, but it will help and encourage. It will also remind you that you are not alone!

1 Chronicles 3-5: Do you ever wonder if you belong in a place? Maybe others make you feel like you don’t belong. In the scripture today we read genealogy again of David’s line. This passage was written as the Children of Israel were returning from captivity. The temple had been destroyed, their lives as they knew it were completely different. They were picking up pieces and trying to put life as they had once known it back together. There were some like Nehemiah rebuilding the physical wall. Everyone had a part in the construction in front of their homes. Others like Ezra where trying to rebuild the temple and not just the physical walls. Ezra knew that they were going to need priests and Levites to serve and lead the people back to a strong relationship with God. There were some trying to be apart of the temple that had intermarried over the 70 years of captivity. The leadership wanted to make sure the those who led and attended the temple were full blooded Jewish. The only way to do that was to trace the family lines. If they could trace their line back to one of the original sons, their position and leadership was affirmed.
Hence the great need for the lists and lists of genealogy. Those names did not just represent forefathers, but they represented present belonging to the nation and people. We too have been captive to sin in our former life. We too have returned by confessing our sin and receiving forgiveness. Now our family line includes the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Jesus and because of His blood we are granted entrance in to His Kingdom and glory forever. I am so thankful that I belong!

Psalms 49; 84; 85; 87: the passage we read today reminds me of a trip that we took to that region in the last few years. Here is how the Psalm reads.
84:5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
in whose heart are the highways to Zion.
6 As they go through the Valley of Baca
they make it a place of springs;
the early rain also covers it with pools.
7 They go from strength to strength;
each one appears before God in Zion.
8 O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;
give ear, O God of Jacob!

Our trip took us from the Mediterranean Sea through the mountains of Lebanon to eventually the Baca Valley. As we entered this valley the rocky terrain gave way to fertile dark soil where groves of grapes and produce grew. As you looked up you could see the mountains of Israel, Syria and Lebanon all cascading into this beautiful valley. There is a lake there that shares these borders as well. After one how ascended the mountains they would have found refuge in the is valley below.
In the days we were there we had come to minister to Syrian refugees who have taken up residence there until the war has passed in their country. As far as the eye could see were blue tarps held up on wooden polls making make shift homes for those who had fled with little to nothing. It truly was a place of refuge for them. As they hunkered down to a new life there the sounds of war were still not far away and the hope of return to their homeland sprung eternal in them.
The reason we were in Baca was to share the hope of the Messiah that this scripture points to. They do not know Him or His strength, but our hope is that as they are seeking wisdom and guidance they will find The Truth.
May we all go from strength to strength today in the power and knowledge of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

1 Chronicles 1-2; Psalms 43-44: Once again we come to a part of the Bible that it is super tempting to scan or skim through. After all who can even pronounce those names. lol. Each time I read them though God puts together more pieces to the puzzle. These names as I read were very familiar, Abishai, Joab, and Asahel. We read in the last few days how Asahel chased after Abner an enemy commander and was speared and killed. Then later when Abner changed sides and came to David’s side to help bring him the Kingdom of Israel Joab killed Abner for revenge. David mourned and in the entire country saw his contrite spirit, but David did not forget what Joab did and in the end his wrong would be remembers through generations. Those things I remembered from our reading, but what I did not realize was that Joab, Asahel and Abishai were David’s nephews! WHAT??? As I read the genealogy it was right there.
1 Chronicles 2:13 “Jesse fathered Eliab his firstborn, Abinadab the second, Shimea the third, 14Nethanel the fourth, Raddai the fifth, 15Ozem the sixth, David the seventh. 16And their sisters were Zeruiah and Abigail. The sons of Zeruiah: Abishai, Joab, and Asahel, three.”
You may be saying, Okay Page so what is the big deal? The big deal is that with our western mind set we see places as broad and spread out. We don’t know most of the people in our government personally. We know our families but even they are not always close in proximity or relationship. That is not the way that Palestine or Israel was or is today. It is all super close. You can drive from one end of the country to the other in a matter of a couple of hours. People know each other, well. They know their families and their histories. Because there just aren’t near as many of them, many times people are family somewhere down the line. Therefore the genealogy is super important because as you trace a family line you find that blood can be thicker than water. In this case also Chronicles was written after the dispersion where Israel had been sent by God to Babylon. They were returning and the question of who would lead them spiritually was at hand. Again, the family lines were so important because a Davidic king no longer sat on the throne, but the temple needed to be lead by a priest from the right family line.
If Joab had not been family. I wonder if David would not have killed him. I know he would have handled the situation differently.
The challenge to us today is to not skim or scan even those scriptures that are hard. You never can tell when you will find a nugget that God wants you to treasure.

Psalms 16: Do you long to have joy and fullness of life? Psalm 16 is the place you need to run to then.

Psalm 16:11 ” You make known to me the path of life;
in your presence there is fullness of joy;
at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

Before you get to the joy, there is a pathway. That path is to walk in the Father’s will.

16:1 Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.
2 I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
I have no good apart from you.”
5 The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup;
you hold my lot.
6 The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.
7 I bless the Lord who gives me counsel;
in the night also my heart instructs me.
8 I have set the Lord always before me;
because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.
9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices;
my flesh also dwells secure.

As we dwell in His presence and journey our life in His way, we know peace and joy because we know we are abiding in Him. That is why dwelling in His presence there is FULLNESS OF JOY. Just like the passage says because we are walking right with God there are pleasures FOREVER MORE!

Fullness of joy and Pleasures forever more, now that is something to shoot for daily!

2 Samuel 1-4: As we have studied David’s life over the last few weeks something has stood out to me. Today’s passage made it even more evident, David was patient in waiting on God to make him king.

Most of us would have pressed in and wanted things to move quickly if we were to be appointed by God for a leadership role, and yet, David did not lift his hand against the life of Saul. He did not go immediately when Saul died to “claim” all of Saul’s kingdom. His love for Jonathan and even Saul caused him to grieve and even then he asked God about the timing to become King. When Saul’s son took the throne of Israel, though David was willing, he did not demand to be seated as Israel’s king choosing to keep the roll of King of Judah.

So what makes a man like that so patient? I have pondered that. Please feel free to comment below why you think he was so patient. Here are a couple of possibilities that crossed my mind.
He might have known the demands of kingship having watched Saul from behind the curtain of his home and knew it was not something he really wanted.
He might have enjoyed the freedom of not having to make all of the decisions and be able to roam where and when he wanted.
He might have just had the Father’s heart and knew that in God’s timing it would all just come to pass.

Whatever the reason, his patience in waiting on God’ timing should be a great reminder to us that we don’t have to push things uphill so hard if it is God’s plan. He will bring it about in His timing. Until then, do what you are to do. Be all in where you are in the journey and know that tomorrow will have enough struggles of its own.

Psalms 56: As a small child I remember being scared in the middle of the night. I would creep into my parents room and my mom would say, what is our verse? I would repeat Psalm 56:3-4 “What time I am afraid I will trust in thee, in God whose name I praise.” Mom and dad would assure me I was not alone and that God was with me. Since that time I have faced many other scary times. Each time I faced fear this verse was my constant companion as I stretched out my hand once again to the God whose name I praised. Maybe tonight you need to do the same thing. Here is just a small portion of this great Psalm. Better yet, turn there in your Bible and rest in the whole passage.

Psalm 56:3 When I am afraid,
I put my trust in you.
4 In God, whose word I praise,
in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.
What can flesh do to me?

9 Then my enemies will turn back
in the day when I call.
This I know, that God is for me.
10 In God, whose word I praise,
in the Lord, whose word I praise,
11 in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.
What can man do to me?
12 I must perform my vows to you, O God;
I will render thank offerings to you.
13 For you have delivered my soul from death,
yes, my feet from falling,
that I may walk before God
in the light of life.

No matter what you face today, Our Great God is right there with you fighting for you and listening for your every care.

1 Samuel 17-20, Psalm 59: So many things to write about today but I must narrow them. We see the contrast between Saul and David. Saul’s hiding when called, David’s taking on a giant, Saul’s arrogance and anger, David’s compassion and love for Jonathan, Saul’s jealousy, David’s caring, there are just so many contrasts that reminds us when God’s spirit left Saul he responded in the flesh which is why the spirit left him to begin with.
The other thing that really stood out to me is Michal Saul’s daughter. What kind of woman must she have been for Saul to giver her to David to try to hurt him. Her spirit must have been demanding or possibly even sour. We don’t see it at first because of her love for David, but later on we will see her pitch a fit when he enters the city with the Ark dancing. She loathes him and puts her thoughts into words to hurt him. The end result is that David chooses not to be with her and God closes her womb.
Isn’t it interesting how the hearts of people can change? I wonder if the change was in love for David that changed her from the bitter woman she was into a caring person if only for a short while. Maybe that is why Saul thought her a stumbling block. Maybe she was just spoiled and demanded her way. Her love for David finally put someone else on the throne of her life if only for a short while. Maybe she got tired of David always being away and hiding from her father. Maybe during that time her heart became cold or even fond of another. She was given to someone else for a while if I remember correctly.
No matter, the thought of her being used as a weapon by her father makes me ask a couple of questions.
*Does my attitude at times serve as a weapon against those around me?
*Am I self centered and demanding of my way?
*Is my heart a place of anger and hurt?
As we self evaluate it can be a healing time to turn those frustrated or even selfish attitudes over to God. In the end loving God and others makes us a much happier person.

1 Samuel 13-16: Timing…. Timing is so important in many things. It is important when it comes to hitting a baseball. It is important to telling a good joke. It is important to preparing a delicious recipe. God’s timing is also important to having the best life we can have.

God has purpose in His timing in our lives. Sometimes He is moving all parts into place before He send us into the picture. Sometimes He is testing us to see if we will obey. Sometimes it is critical to the effectiveness of His plan. In the story of Saul we see that Saul’s timing was not God’s timing. Saul was told to wait for Samuel to offer a sacrifice to God before the battle. Instead of waiting, Saul took the job of Priest into his own hands and offered the sacrifice himself. When Samuel got to the battle front just after the sacrifice was given he asked Saul, “What have you done?” It wasn’t just the timing issue, but it was also the disobedience that followed.

It is easy to look at Saul’s life and see his failure in that area, but it is more difficult when it comes to my own life. I find myself frustrated at God’s timing more times than I can count. I get impatient, question, wonder if He remembers I am still here. He must shake His head and say, “When will she ever learn.” When it comes down to it, it is a trust issue. If I trust God, then His timing is always perfect. Even when I don’t trust Him His timing is still perfect! I just pay the consequences of my disobedience. There I said it, I am more like Saul than I want to admit. May we all be able to admit our failure in this area and ask God to forgive us and help us to trust Him more. The key to having the best life is to trust God and His timing.

1 Samuel 9-12: Have you ever experienced the difference that being filled with the Spirit makes? In today’s reading we see a great picture of that difference. Saul was an ordinary young man on a mission looking for his father’s donkeys when he encountered Samuel. Samuel informed Saul that God had chosen him and that within a few hours he would be filled with the spirit and prophecy with the other prophets. Samuel’s words came true as Saul worshiped and joined the other prophets. He was so transformed that people could not believe it was him. Then when the need arose he led Israel’s army against the Ammonites. His skills as a leader and even his willingness to lead was a complete departure from the young man who hid in the luggage when appointed as king. God’s spirit filled this ordinary man and his confidence as a leader grew as God filled him.

How about you? When God’s spirit fills us we are able to do much greater things than we ever thought possible. We are still ourselves, but God’s power gives us boldness, leadership ability, wisdom beyond our own capacity, guidance and knowledge, even the right words to say at the right time. If you are a believer, the Bible tells us that His Spirit came into us the day we accepted Jesus as Lord. Now the challenge is to allow Him to fill you and lead you in His way. Hold on! The ride could be a great adventure. Pray for His will to open the doors in your life He desires and give you the boldness to walk through. When He uses you in mighty ways, don’t be surprised. You are not living and working in your own strength, but in the power of the Spirit who is within you.