By Henrik Berg on
5/28/2010 7:38 AM
The day of the big battle has arrived, and David has two things on his mind: the first is to make sure that his army is ready to achieve their objective; the second is the welfare of his son.
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By Henrik Berg on
5/27/2010 7:47 AM
written by Dave Knight
In today’s reading, verses 24-26 tell us more about the “Family Feud” that has involved just about every one of David’s relatives (by name!) in his struggle against his son, Absalom. Find a good Bible dictionary (there are several available on line or in any library) and trace the relationships to see who is related to whom and who is supporting which faction.
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By Henrik Berg on
5/26/2010 6:21 AM
written by Dave Knight
Did you ever say something at home, and then hear it back, transformed, from your child’s teacher? Many people have been embarrassed to hear how their innocent comments have been misinterpreted by their children because of a lack of sophistication or an incomplete understanding of the situation.
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By Henrik Berg on
5/25/2010 7:00 AM
written by Dave Knight
Like David, I tend to make quick decisions. Also like David, I tend to let the emotions of the moment cloud my judgment, instead of thinking about the long-term effects of some of my choices. And very much like David, I don’t always take the time to hear both sides of the story before I make my assessments.
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By Henrik Berg on
5/24/2010 8:05 AM
written by Dave Knight
Kathy and I have a son who works in what the participants commonly call “The Industry.” (If you listen to them closely, you can even hear the capital letters when they talk!) No matter where they may physically be around the world, their lives and their world-view are centered around Hollywood.
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By Henrik Berg on
5/20/2010 7:00 AM
by Steve Pelton
The passionate Absalom, as we could have guessed, eventually lets power go to his head. The line from Galatians 6:7, “A man reaps what he sows,” acts as a fine—but tragic—description of what we see happening to Absalom in today’s reading. His power increases, his influence spreads, and as people fall for his charm, generosity, and charisma, Absalom begins to dream big for himself.
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By Henrik Berg on
5/20/2010 7:00 AM
by Steve Pelton
Absalom really makes you wonder. What was going on in that man’s head? It’s not surprising, I suppose, to hear of royalty acting a bit oddly. History has plenty of examples of kings and queens and princes and princesses behaving badly. Maybe it’s the price of privilege. And privilege is something that Absalom probably had in abundance. But it’s more than just that.
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By Henrik Berg on
5/19/2010 7:00 AM
by Steve Pelton
It should be clear to us that God wants broken relationships to be healed. Our passage today says as much (2 Samuel 14:14). He wants reconciliation, and to have the reconciled people turn back to him. But, as is usually the case, what stands in the way of such healing is us. Bitterness may have set in, perhaps anger has taken control, or perhaps there is an assumption that the hurt that has occurred is so deep that nothing could ever take it away.
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By Henrik Berg on
5/18/2010 7:00 AM
by Steve Pelton
Revenge often seems so basic to humanity. It’s in our films, our tabloid magazines, in Shakespeare, and in our dealings with neighbors and coworkers. It’s as human a feeling as love and courage. But unlike those feelings, revenge can burn us from the inside out, turning us into things that we no longer recognize. We become obsessed with getting even, with hurting those who hurt us, with inflicting pain and suffering on others in order to meet some need within ourselves.
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By Henrik Berg on
5/17/2010 7:00 AM
by Steve Pelton
To say that the Bible contains stories about bad family dynamics is a huge understatement. We always seem to be reading about brothers killing brothers, sons plotting against fathers, husbands mistreating wives. Solomon marries countless women from the neighboring pagan nations.
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By Route 365 on
5/14/2010 6:00 AM
Written by Roger Morton
This remarkable passage demonstrates Joab’s ability to submit to leadership. In 2 Sam 11:14 -21 we see how Joab faithfully performs David’s evil command to have Uriah killed. Now in this passage we see that Joab is still prepared to follow leadership. In fact, he is living out the edict “Your job is to make your boss look good.” He holds off conquering the city so that David can go there and get the glory.
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By Route 365 on
5/13/2010 6:00 AM
Written by Roger Morton
Praise God, that His Word–the Bible–not only gives us a vivid account of David’s sin (2 Sam 11) and Nathan’s God-guided encounter with David (2 Sam 12), but it also gives us Psalm 51, David’s heartfelt repentance of the sin that Nathan had so vividly exposed. This is a wonderful prayer for us to pray when we repent of our sin. It covers so many aspects of our relationship with God. It is so relevant to us and the culture in which we live.
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By Route 365 on
5/12/2010 6:00 AM
Written by Roger Morton
Notice how David accepts the Lord’s sovereignty and authority to deal with his sin. He doesn’t rebel, but he does plead for mercy for this first son from the woman he desired.
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By Route 365 on
5/11/2010 6:00 AM
by Roger Morton
It is hard to believe after reading David’s wonderful writings in Psalms that he neglected to repent of his adultery with Bathsheba and authorized the murder of her husband Uriah. Sometimes sin so blinds us that we do not realize we are doing wrong. Our culture says “Be yourself,” “Go for all you can get,” or “All that matters is winning.” These ideals do terrible damage to God’s desire for us to put Him and His Son Jesus first.
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By Route 365 on
5/10/2010 6:00 AM
by Roger Morton
The words we read today have shaped civilizations. Twice God gave the Ten Commandments to Moses (he smashed them the first time when he saw the bad behavior of the Israelites). These commandments have, over the last 3,400 years, proved to be fundamental to stable, nurturing cultures
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By Route 365 on
5/7/2010 7:42 AM
written by by Melinda Messick
“Sin always has fine print.” I once heard a pastor make this comment about today’s scripture, and the notion has stuck with me. David began his sin innocently enough, by not being where he was supposed to be (v1), but quickly moved on to lust, adultery, murder, and lying.
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By Route 365 on
5/6/2010 9:19 AM
written by by Melinda Messick
Process engineering. That’s what I did when my work was paid. While we process engineers were working to improve the manufacturing process, there were product engineers who were working to improve the final product itself. So what does this have to do with God and King David? In verse 12 Joab says, “Be strong and let us fight bravely for our people and the cities of our God.
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By Route 365 on
5/5/2010 7:46 AM
written by by Melinda Messick
The events in these chapters fly by as David gets his ducks in a row. Having purged Israel’s enemies, dedicated everything to the Lord, and set up the government, in this chapter he now looks for a way to honor past relationships. He decides to show kindness to the relatives of his deceased friend, Jonathan. Actually, in verse 3, he says he speaks of his desire to show “God’s kindness” to them.
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By Route 365 on
5/4/2010 7:45 AM
written by by Melinda Messick
It’s nice to read a victorious passage. Repeatedly, I see King David defeating his enemies and the Lord’s hand at work in giving these victories. I also see King David then turning and acknowledging the Lord by dedicating all the plunder to Him. And finally, King David reigns “doing what was just and right for all his people.”(v15) In reading this, it’s easy to see why David is referred to as the greatest ruler of Israel.
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By Route 365 on
5/3/2010 7:54 AM
written by by Melinda Messick
Grumpy from trying to get my family moving, I sat down to read this scripture. Wow! It hits hard, pretty convicting. I read – from a king, by the way – “Who am I, Sovereign Lord, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far?”(v18). Sometimes I forget how far God has brought me and my family, especially days like today when things don’t go how I want them to.
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