May 15

1 There was a long war between the house of Saul and the house of David. And David grew stronger and stronger, while the house of Saul became weaker and weaker.

2 And sons were born to David at Hebron: his firstborn was Amnon, of Ahinoam of Jezreel;

3 and his second, Chileab, of Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel; and the third, Absalom the son of Maacah the daughter of Talmai king of Geshur;

4 and the fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith; and the fifth, Shephatiah the son of Abital;

5 and the sixth, Ithream, of Eglah, David's wife. These were born to David in Hebron.

6 While there was war between the house of Saul and the house of David, Abner was making himself strong in the house of Saul.

7 Now Saul had a concubine whose name was Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah. And Ish-bosheth said to Abner, "Why have you gone in to my father's concubine?"

8 Then Abner was very angry over the words of Ish-bosheth and said, "Am I a dog's head of Judah? To this day I keep showing steadfast love to the house of Saul your father, to his brothers, and to his friends, and have not given you into the hand of David. And yet you charge me today with a fault concerning a woman.

9 God do so to Abner and more also, if I do not accomplish for David what the LORD has sworn to him,

10 to transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul and set up the throne of David over Israel and over Judah, from Dan to Beersheba."

11 And Ish-bosheth could not answer Abner another word, because he feared him.

12 And Abner sent messengers to David on his behalf, saying, "To whom does the land belong? Make your covenant with me, and behold, my hand shall be with you to bring over all Israel to you."

13 And he said, "Good; I will make a covenant with you. But one thing I require of you; that is, you shall not see my face unless you first bring Michal, Saul's daughter, when you come to see my face."

14 Then David sent messengers to Ish-bosheth, Saul's son, saying, "Give me my wife Michal, for whom I paid the bridal price of a hundred foreskins of the Philistines."

15 And Ish-bosheth sent and took her from her husband Paltiel the son of Laish.

16 But her husband went with her, weeping after her all the way to Bahurim. Then Abner said to him, "Go, return." And he returned.

17 And Abner conferred with the elders of Israel, saying, "For some time past you have been seeking David as king over you.

18 Now then bring it about, for the LORD has promised David, saying, 'By the hand of my servant David I will save my people Israel from the hand of the Philistines, and from the hand of all their enemies.'"

19 Abner also spoke to Benjamin. And then Abner went to tell David at Hebron all that Israel and the whole house of Benjamin thought good to do.

20 When Abner came with twenty men to David at Hebron, David made a feast for Abner and the men who were with him.

21 And Abner said to David, "I will arise and go and will gather all Israel to my lord the king, that they may make a covenant with you, and that you may reign over all that your heart desires." So David sent Abner away, and he went in peace.

22 Just then the servants of David arrived with Joab from a raid, bringing much spoil with them. But Abner was not with David at Hebron, for he had sent him away, and he had gone in peace.

23 When Joab and all the army that was with him came, it was told Joab, "Abner the son of Ner came to the king, and he has let him go, and he has gone in peace."

24 Then Joab went to the king and said, "What have you done? Behold, Abner came to you. Why is it that you have sent him away, so that he is gone?

25 You know that Abner the son of Ner came to deceive you and to know your going out and your coming in, and to know all that you are doing."

26 When Joab came out from David's presence, he sent messengers after Abner, and they brought him back from the cistern of Sirah. But David did not know about it.

27 And when Abner returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside into the midst of the gate to speak with him privately, and there he struck him in the stomach, so that he died, for the blood of Asahel his brother.

28 Afterward, when David heard of it, he said, "I and my kingdom are forever guiltless before the LORD for the blood of Abner the son of Ner.

29 May it fall upon the head of Joab and upon all his father's house, and may the house of Joab never be without one who has a discharge or who is leprous or who holds a spindle or who falls by the sword or who lacks bread!"

30 So Joab and Abishai his brother killed Abner, because he had put their brother Asahel to death in the battle at Gibeon.

31 Then David said to Joab and to all the people who were with him, "Tear your clothes and put on sackcloth and mourn before Abner." And King David followed the bier.

32 They buried Abner at Hebron. And the king lifted up his voice and wept at the grave of Abner, and all the people wept.

33 And the king lamented for Abner, saying, "Should Abner die as a fool dies? 

34 Your hands were not bound; your feet were not fettered; as one falls before the wicked you have fallen." And all the people wept again over him. 

35 Then all the people came to persuade David to eat bread while it was yet day. But David swore, saying, "God do so to me and more also, if I taste bread or anything else till the sun goes down!"

36 And all the people took notice of it, and it pleased them, as everything that the king did pleased all the people.

37 So all the people and all Israel understood that day that it had not been the king's will to put to death Abner the son of Ner.

38 And the king said to his servants, "Do you not know that a prince and a great man has fallen this day in Israel?

39 And I was gentle today, though anointed king. These men, the sons of Zeruiah, are more severe than I. The LORD repay the evildoer according to his wickedness!" - 2 Samuel 3

1 When Ish-bosheth, Saul's son, heard that Abner had died at Hebron, his courage failed, and all Israel was dismayed.

2 Now Saul's son had two men who were captains of raiding bands; the name of the one was Baanah, and the name of the other Rechab, sons of Rimmon a man of Benjamin from Beeroth (for Beeroth also is counted part of Benjamin;

3 the Beerothites fled to Gittaim and have been sojourners there to this day).

4 Jonathan, the son of Saul, had a son who was crippled in his feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel, and his nurse took him up and fled, and as she fled in her haste, he fell and became lame. And his name was Mephibosheth.

5 Now the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, Rechab and Baanah, set out, and about the heat of the day they came to the house of Ish-bosheth as he was taking his noonday rest.

6 And they came into the midst of the house as if to get wheat, and they stabbed him in the stomach. Then Rechab and Baanah his brother escaped.

7 When they came into the house, as he lay on his bed in his bedroom, they struck him and put him to death and beheaded him. They took his head and went by the way of the Arabah all night,

8 and brought the head of Ish-bosheth to David at Hebron. And they said to the king, "Here is the head of Ish-bosheth, the son of Saul, your enemy, who sought your life. The LORD has avenged my lord the king this day on Saul and on his offspring."

9 But David answered Rechab and Baanah his brother, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, "As the LORD lives, who has redeemed my life out of every adversity,

10 when one told me, 'Behold, Saul is dead,' and thought he was bringing good news, I seized him and killed him at Ziklag, which was the reward I gave him for his news.

11 How much more, when wicked men have killed a righteous man in his own house on his bed, shall I not now require his blood at your hand and destroy you from the earth?"

12 And David commanded his young men, and they killed them and cut off their hands and feet and hanged them beside the pool at Hebron. But they took the head of Ish-bosheth and buried it in the tomb of Abner at Hebron. - 2 Samuel 4

1 My heart is steadfast, O God! I will sing and make melody with all my being! 

2 Awake, O harp and lyre! I will awake the dawn! 

3 I will give thanks to you, O LORD, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations. 

4 For your steadfast love is great above the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. 

5 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth! 

6 That your beloved ones may be delivered, give salvation by your right hand and answer me! 

7 God has promised in his holiness: "With exultation I will divide up Shechem and portion out the Valley of Succoth. 

8 Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine; Ephraim is my helmet, Judah my scepter. 

9 Moab is my washbasin; upon Edom I cast my shoe; over Philistia I shout in triumph." 

10 Who will bring me to the fortified city? Who will lead me to Edom? 

11 Have you not rejected us, O God? You do not go out, O God, with our armies. 

12 Oh grant us help against the foe, for vain is the salvation of man! 

13 With God we shall do valiantly; it is he who will tread down our foes.  - Psalms 108

11 I have been a fool! You forced me to it, for I ought to have been commended by you. For I was not at all inferior to these super-apostles, even though I am nothing.

12 The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with utmost patience, with signs and wonders and mighty works.

13 For in what were you less favored than the rest of the churches, except that I myself did not burden you? Forgive me this wrong!

14 Here for the third time I am ready to come to you. And I will not be a burden, for I seek not what is yours but you. For children are not obligated to save up for their parents, but parents for their children.

15 I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls. If I love you more, am I to be loved less?

16 But granting that I myself did not burden you, I was crafty, you say, and got the better of you by deceit.

17 Did I take advantage of you through any of those whom I sent to you?

18 I urged Titus to go, and sent the brother with him. Did Titus take advantage of you? Did we not act in the same spirit? Did we not take the same steps?

19 Have you been thinking all along that we have been defending ourselves to you? It is in the sight of God that we have been speaking in Christ, and all for your upbuilding, beloved.

20 For I fear that perhaps when I come I may find you not as I wish, and that you may find me not as you wish-that perhaps there may be quarreling, jealousy, anger, hostility, slander, gossip, conceit, and disorder.

21 I fear that when I come again my God may humble me before you, and I may have to mourn over many of those who sinned earlier and have not repented of the impurity, sexual immorality, and sensuality that they have practiced. - 2 Corinthians 12:11-21

1 It was now two days before the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to arrest him by stealth and kill him,

2 for they said, "Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar from the people."

3 And while he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he was reclining at table, a woman came with an alabaster flask of ointment of pure nard, very costly, and she broke the flask and poured it over his head.

4 There were some who said to themselves indignantly, "Why was the ointment wasted like that?

5 For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor." And they scolded her.

6 But Jesus said, "Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me.

7 For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you want, you can do good for them. But you will not always have me.

8 She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for burial.

9 And truly, I say to you, wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her."

10 Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went to the chief priests in order to betray him to them.

11 And when they heard it, they were glad and promised to give him money. And he sought an opportunity to betray him. - Mark 14:1-11

Who's Cramming What?

BIBLE MEDITATION

“And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve…But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord”

Joshua 24:15 

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT

It’s always amazed me when critics say, “These evangelical Christians are trying to cram their values down the throats of other people.”

In response, I want to ask:

Who is it that redefined when life begins?

Who is it that has changed the way Americans think about premarital sex?

Who is telling us what is decent and what is not?

Who wants to dictate when and where you can pray and when you can’t?

Are they not the same ones that want to decide who lives and who dies?

ACTION POINT

We have people out there who are trying to remold and remake society in their own image. It’s time God’s people said, “Enough is enough!” Make this a time of prayer, for we are in a spiritual battle for the hearts and minds of our nation, neighbors, and loved ones.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Ideas Have Consequences

The aim of our charge is love. (1 Timothy 1:5)

Victor Frankl was imprisoned in the Nazi concentration camps of Auschwitz and Dachau during the Second World War. As a Jewish professor of neurology and psychiatry he became world renowned for his book, Man’s Search for Meaning, which sold over eight million copies.

In it he unfolds the essence of his philosophy that came to be called Logotherapy — namely, that the most fundamental human motive is to find meaning in life. He observed in the horrors of the concentration camps that man can endure almost any “how” of life, if he has a “why.” But the quote that stirred me recently was this:

I am absolutely convinced that the gas chambers of Auschwitz, Treblinka, and Maidanek were ultimately prepared not in some ministry or other in Berlin, but rather at the desks and in the lecture halls of nihilistic scientists and philosophers. (“Victor Frankl at Ninety: An Interview,” in First Things, April 1995, p. 41.)

In other words, ideas have consequences — consequences that bless or destroy. People’s behavior — good and bad — does not come out of nowhere. It comes from prevailing views of reality that take root in the mind and bring forth good or evil.

One of the ways that the Bible makes plain the truth that ideas have practical consequences is by saying things like, “Whatever was written in former days was written . . . [that] we might have hope” (Romans 15:4). The ideas presented in the Scriptures produce the practical consequence of hope.

Again, Paul says, “The aim of our charge is love” (1 Timothy 1:5). The imparting of ideas through a “charge” or through “instruction” produces love.

Hope and love do not come from nowhere. They grow out of ideas — views of reality — revealed in the Scriptures.

Another way the Scriptures show us that ideas have consequences is by using the word “therefore” (1,039 times in the NASB). “Therefore” means that what follows comes from somewhere. For example, “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1). Or: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). Or: “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow” (Matthew 6:34).

If we want to live in the power of these great practical “therefores,” we must be gripped by the ideas — the views of reality — that go before them and stand under them. Ideas have consequences. So, let’s bring all our ideas under the authority of God’s word.

John Piper 

May 14

1 After the death of Saul, when David had returned from striking down the Amalekites, David remained two days in Ziklag.

2 And on the third day, behold, a man came from Saul's camp, with his clothes torn and dirt on his head. And when he came to David, he fell to the ground and paid homage.

3 David said to him, "Where do you come from?" And he said to him, "I have escaped from the camp of Israel."

4 And David said to him, "How did it go? Tell me." And he answered, "The people fled from the battle, and also many of the people have fallen and are dead, and Saul and his son Jonathan are also dead."

5 Then David said to the young man who told him, "How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?"

6 And the young man who told him said, "By chance I happened to be on Mount Gilboa, and there was Saul leaning on his spear, and behold, the chariots and the horsemen were close upon him.

7 And when he looked behind him, he saw me, and called to me. And I answered, 'Here I am.'

8 And he said to me, 'Who are you?' I answered him, 'I am an Amalekite.'

9 And he said to me, 'Stand beside me and kill me, for anguish has seized me, and yet my life still lingers.'

10 So I stood beside him and killed him, because I was sure that he could not live after he had fallen. And I took the crown that was on his head and the armlet that was on his arm, and I have brought them here to my lord."

11 Then David took hold of his clothes and tore them, and so did all the men who were with him.

12 And they mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and for Jonathan his son and for the people of the LORD and for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.

13 And David said to the young man who told him, "Where do you come from?" And he answered, "I am the son of a sojourner, an Amalekite."

14 David said to him, "How is it you were not afraid to put out your hand to destroy the LORD's anointed?"

15 Then David called one of the young men and said, "Go, execute him." And he struck him down so that he died.

16 And David said to him, "Your blood be on your head, for your own mouth has testified against you, saying, 'I have killed the LORD's anointed.'"

17 And David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and Jonathan his son,

18 and he said it should be taught to the people of Judah; behold, it is written in the Book of Jashar. He said:

19 "Your glory, O Israel, is slain on your high places! How the mighty have fallen! 

20 Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Ashkelon, lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised exult. 

21 "You mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew or rain upon you, nor fields of offerings! For there the shield of the mighty was defiled, the shield of Saul, not anointed with oil. 

22 "From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, the bow of Jonathan turned not back, and the sword of Saul returned not empty. 

23 "Saul and Jonathan, beloved and lovely! In life and in death they were not divided; they were swifter than eagles; they were stronger than lions. 

24 "You daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who clothed you luxuriously in scarlet, who put ornaments of gold on your apparel. 

25 "How the mighty have fallen in the midst of the battle! "Jonathan lies slain on your high places. 

26 I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan; very pleasant have you been to me; your love to me was extraordinary, surpassing the love of women. 

27 "How the mighty have fallen, and the weapons of war perished!"  - 2 Samuel 1

1 After this David inquired of the LORD, "Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah?" And the LORD said to him, "Go up." David said, "To which shall I go up?" And he said, "To Hebron."

2 So David went up there, and his two wives also, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel.

3 And David brought up his men who were with him, everyone with his household, and they lived in the towns of Hebron.

4 And the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah. When they told David, "It was the men of Jabesh-gilead who buried Saul," 

5 David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh-gilead and said to them, "May you be blessed by the LORD, because you showed this loyalty to Saul your lord and buried him.

6 Now may the LORD show steadfast love and faithfulness to you. And I will do good to you because you have done this thing.

7 Now therefore let your hands be strong, and be valiant, for Saul your lord is dead, and the house of Judah has anointed me king over them."

8 But Abner the son of Ner, commander of Saul's army, took Ish-bosheth the son of Saul and brought him over to Mahanaim,

9 and he made him king over Gilead and the Ashurites and Jezreel and Ephraim and Benjamin and all Israel.

10 Ish-bosheth, Saul's son, was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and he reigned two years. But the house of Judah followed David.

11 And the time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.

12 Abner the son of Ner, and the servants of Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon.

13 And Joab the son of Zeruiah and the servants of David went out and met them at the pool of Gibeon. And they sat down, the one on the one side of the pool, and the other on the other side of the pool.

14 And Abner said to Joab, "Let the young men arise and compete before us." And Joab said, "Let them arise."

15 Then they arose and passed over by number, twelve for Benjamin and Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, and twelve of the servants of David.

16 And each caught his opponent by the head and thrust his sword in his opponent's side, so they fell down together. Therefore that place was called Helkath-hazzurim, which is at Gibeon.

17 And the battle was very fierce that day. And Abner and the men of Israel were beaten before the servants of David.

18 And the three sons of Zeruiah were there, Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. Now Asahel was as swift of foot as a wild gazelle.

19 And Asahel pursued Abner, and as he went, he turned neither to the right hand nor to the left from following Abner.

20 Then Abner looked behind him and said, "Is it you, Asahel?" And he answered, "It is I."

21 Abner said to him, "Turn aside to your right hand or to your left, and seize one of the young men and take his spoil." But Asahel would not turn aside from following him.

22 And Abner said again to Asahel, "Turn aside from following me. Why should I strike you to the ground? How then could I lift up my face to your brother Joab?"

23 But he refused to turn aside. Therefore Abner struck him in the stomach with the butt of his spear, so that the spear came out at his back. And he fell there and died where he was. And all who came to the place where Asahel had fallen and died, stood still.

24 But Joab and Abishai pursued Abner. And as the sun was going down they came to the hill of Ammah, which lies before Giah on the way to the wilderness of Gibeon.

25 And the people of Benjamin gathered themselves together behind Abner and became one group and took their stand on the top of a hill.

26 Then Abner called to Joab, "Shall the sword devour forever? Do you not know that the end will be bitter? How long will it be before you tell your people to turn from the pursuit of their brothers?"

27 And Joab said, "As God lives, if you had not spoken, surely the men would not have given up the pursuit of their brothers until the morning."

28 So Joab blew the trumpet, and all the men stopped and pursued Israel no more, nor did they fight anymore.

29 And Abner and his men went all that night through the Arabah. They crossed the Jordan, and marching the whole morning, they came to Mahanaim.

30 Joab returned from the pursuit of Abner. And when he had gathered all the people together, there were missing from David's servants nineteen men besides Asahel.

31 But the servants of David had struck down of Benjamin 360 of Abner's men.

32 And they took up Asahel and buried him in the tomb of his father, which was at Bethlehem. And Joab and his men marched all night, and the day broke upon them at Hebron. - 2 Samuel 2

1 Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever! 

2 Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble 

3 and gathered in from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south. 

4 Some wandered in desert wastes, finding no way to a city to dwell in; 

5 hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted within them. 

6 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. 

7 He led them by a straight way till they reached a city to dwell in. 

8 Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man! 

9 For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things. 

10 Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, prisoners in affliction and in irons, 

11 for they had rebelled against the words of God, and spurned the counsel of the Most High. 

12 So he bowed their hearts down with hard labor; they fell down, with none to help. 

13 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. 

14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and burst their bonds apart. 

15 Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man! 

16 For he shatters the doors of bronze and cuts in two the bars of iron. 

17 Some were fools through their sinful ways, and because of their iniquities suffered affliction; 

18 they loathed any kind of food, and they drew near to the gates of death. 

19 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. 

20 He sent out his word and healed them, and delivered them from their destruction. 

21 Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man! 

22 And let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving, and tell of his deeds in songs of joy! 

23 Some went down to the sea in ships, doing business on the great waters; 

24 they saw the deeds of the LORD, his wondrous works in the deep. 

25 For he commanded and raised the stormy wind, which lifted up the waves of the sea. 

26 They mounted up to heaven; they went down to the depths; their courage melted away in their evil plight; 

27 they reeled and staggered like drunken men and were at their wits' end. 

28 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. 

29 He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed. 

30 Then they were glad that the waters were quiet, and he brought them to their desired haven. 

31 Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man! 

32 Let them extol him in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the assembly of the elders. 

33 He turns rivers into a desert, springs of water into thirsty ground, 

34 a fruitful land into a salty waste, because of the evil of its inhabitants. 

35 He turns a desert into pools of water, a parched land into springs of water. 

36 And there he lets the hungry dwell, and they establish a city to live in; 

37 they sow fields and plant vineyards and get a fruitful yield. 

38 By his blessing they multiply greatly, and he does not let their livestock diminish. 

39 When they are diminished and brought low through oppression, evil, and sorrow, 

40 he pours contempt on princes and makes them wander in trackless wastes; 

41 but he raises up the needy out of affliction and makes their families like flocks. 

42 The upright see it and are glad, and all wickedness shuts its mouth. 

43 Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things; let them consider the steadfast love of the LORD.  - Psalms 107

1 I must go on boasting. Though there is nothing to be gained by it, I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord.

2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven-whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows.

3 And I know that this man was caught up into paradise-whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows-

4 and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter.

5 On behalf of this man I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except of my weaknesses-

6 though if I should wish to boast, I would not be a fool, for I would be speaking the truth; but I refrain from it, so that no one may think more of me than he sees in me or hears from me.

7 So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited.

8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me.

9 But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. - 2 Corinthians 12:1-10

32 "But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

33 Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come.

34 It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake.

35 Therefore stay awake-for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning-

36 lest he come suddenly and find you asleep.

37 And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake." - Mark 13:32-37

Sweet Sweet Undeserved Grace

Oh that we could grasp our unworthiness!

Grace is purely based on a Sovereign God who is able to save your soul from Hell.

Christ alone has the power, through His precious blood by command from God the Father.

Though you seek Him as if it is your own doing, so far from the truth, He sought You from the foundation of the world.

Unwarranted grace, undeserved, but freely given on the cross. 

Christ alone!!

18 And the LORD has declared today that you are a people for his treasured possession, as he has promised you, and that you are to keep all his commandments,

19 and that he will set you in praise and in fame and in honor high above all nations that he has made, and that you shall be a people holy to the LORD your God, as he promised." - Deuteronomy 26:18-19

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. - Ephesians 2:10

But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. - 2 Thessalonians 2:13

according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you.  - 1 Peter 1:2

"For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. - Deuteronomy 7:6

who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, - 2 Timothy 1:9

25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,

26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,

27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. - Ephesians 5:25-27

he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, - Colossians 1:22

For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. - 1 Thessalonians 4:7

Trash Talking from a Heathen Giant

8 He stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, "Why have you come out to draw up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me.

9 If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants. But if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us."

10 And the Philistine said, "I defy the ranks of Israel this day. Give me a man, that we may fight together."

11 When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid. - 1 Samuel 17:8-11

A faithful servant answers:

23 As he talked with them, behold, the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, came up out of the ranks of the Philistines and spoke the same words as before. And David heard him.

24 All the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were much afraid.

25 And the men of Israel said, "Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to defy Israel. And the king will enrich the man who kills him with great riches and will give him his daughter and make his father's house free in Israel."

26 And David said to the men who stood by him, "What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?" - 1 Samuel 17:23-26

The Lord's victory:

32 And David said to Saul, "Let no man's heart fail because of him. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine."

33 And Saul said to David, "You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are but a youth, and he has been a man of war from his youth."

34 But David said to Saul, "Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. And when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock,

35 I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth. And if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him.

36 Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God."

37 And David said, "The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." And Saul said to David, "Go, and the LORD be with you!"

38 Then Saul clothed David with his armor. He put a helmet of bronze on his head and clothed him with a coat of mail,

39 and David strapped his sword over his armor. And he tried in vain to go, for he had not tested them. Then David said to Saul, "I cannot go with these, for I have not tested them." So David put them off.

40 Then he took his staff in his hand and chose five smooth stones from the brook and put them in his shepherd's pouch. His sling was in his hand, and he approached the Philistine.

41 And the Philistine moved forward and came near to David, with his shield-bearer in front of him.

42 And when the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him, for he was but a youth, ruddy and handsome in appearance.

43 And the Philistine said to David, "Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?" And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.

44 The Philistine said to David, "Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the beasts of the field."

45 Then David said to the Philistine, "You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.

46 This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel,

47 and that all this assembly may know that the LORD saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the LORD's, and he will give you into our hand."

48 When the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine.

49 And David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone and slung it and struck the Philistine on his forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the ground.

50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. There was no sword in the hand of David.

51 Then David ran and stood over the Philistine and took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him and cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled. - 1 Samuel 17:32-51

Faith in the Lord for all:

6 For not in my bow do I trust, nor can my sword save me. 

7 But you have saved us from our foes and have put to shame those who hate us. 

8 In God we have boasted continually, and we will give thanks to your name forever. Selah  - Psalm 44:6-8

so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the LORD is mighty, that you may fear the LORD your God forever." - Joshua 4:24

17 But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion's mouth.

18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen. - 2 Timothy 4:17-18

Your Marriage as God Intended

BIBLE MEDITATION

“For this reason shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church”

Ephesians 5:31-32 

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT

Now, wait a minute. Is Paul talking about a man and his wife or about Jesus and the church? Paul is talking about both.

You see, marriage, when it is right, is one of the sweetest, most sublime things we know here on earth.

Of course, when it is wrong, it’s very wrong. I know some people who, rather than being married by a Justice of the Peace, were married by the Secretary of War. But I'm not talking about that kind of marriage. I'm talking about marriage as God intended it to be. Then, the physical relationship, the psychological, and the spiritual relationship between a husband and a wife are but an illustration of the greater spiritual relationship of Christ and the church.

ACTION POINT

Seek the Lord today on how you can be a better picture of Christ and the Church in your marriage.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers