I Really Mean It!
Read: John 3:1-15 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (v. 3) “I mean it, mister!” “I’m not kidding this time!” “Don’t make me pull this car over!” “I mean business!” Maybe you heard some of those expressions when you were growing […]
A Human Family
Read: Matthew 1:1-16 David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah. (v. 6) My father has become very interested in our family’s genealogy. He has done a tremendous job in collecting old photographs of our ancestors. It’s interesting to note a “family resemblance” in the pictures and stories of long-passed relatives—both saints and […]
A Respected Counselor
Read: 1 Kings 1:11-31 Bathsheba bowed and paid homage to the king, and the king said, “What do you desire?” (v. 16) Bathsheba was not merely the woman who committed adultery with David. She was his wife and the mother of Solomon, who would be king during Israel’s greatest reign. She became a trusted counselor and […]
A Severe Mercy
Read: 2 Samuel 12:15-25 The LORD loved him and sent a message by Nathan the prophet. So he called his name Jedidiah. (vv. 24-25) In his autobiography, A Severe Mercy, Sheldon Vanauken reflects on the death of his wife with these words: “That death, so full of suffering for us both . . . was yet a severe mercy. […]
A Shocking Accusation
Read: 2 Samuel 12:1-14 You did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel. (v. 12) When our children were young, my husband would teach them Bible verses by reciting them together as a chant. One of their favorite verses was Numbers 32:23: “Be sure your sin will find you out.” No one […]
A Murderous Act
Read: 2 Samuel 11:14-27 The thing that David had done displeased the LORD. (v. 27) Each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire,” James warns us in the New Testament. “Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death” […]
An Adulterous Affair
Read: 2 Samuel 11:1-13 David sent messengers and took her, and she came to him. (v. 4) The account of David and Bathsheba is one of the most famous stories in Scripture. It’s focused on David and his actions—as well it should be, since David is a central figure in Scripture, and a forefather of Jesus. […]
A Heeded Correction
Read: 1 Samuel 25:32-44 Blessed be your discretion, and blessed be you, who have kept me this day from bloodguilt. (v. 33) How do you respond when someone offers you a word of correction? Often, our first reaction is to argue or to defend ourselves from what we may perceive as an attack. But Proverbs 9:8 […]
A Compelling Plea
Read: 1 Samuel 25:23-31 The LORD has restrained you from bloodguilt and from saving with your own hand. (v. 26) When I visited the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC, I was impressed with the huge marble columns and the 19-foot seated statue of Abraham Lincoln. Magnificent! But it was Lincoln’s own words, inscribed on the walls, […]