I Thessalonians 1  The church was standing firm in spite of persecution from unbelieving Jews.  Paul  states that their "trust" or faith produced action;  their love produced hard work; and their hope produced perseverance.  He reminded them that they were chosen and loved by God.  He reminded them that they received the word "in power".. by the Holy Spirit.. with "full conviction" and that they were an example for others. This is also an example for us.. the church today.

The church's reputation spread throughout the region.  They were serving God.  And.. they were waiting "for His Son Yeshua, whom he raised from the dead to appear from heaven and rescue us from the impending fury of God's judgement." ( v10) 

It is this last statement that strikes me this morning.  We talk of Christ's return with great joy.. and rightfully so.. but we cannot  downplay the fact that when Jesus comes, He comes as the Judge of all mankind. Those without faith in Jesus Christ will face that "impending fury of God's judgement". 

 The Judge is coming..  as James writes.. "behold the Judge is standing at the door"  (5:9)  and  He will come "in righteousness" to  judge and "wage war" - (Revelation19:11) Because this in true we need to take note of what Paul writes to  Timothy (2 Timothy 4:1) "I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom; preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort,  with great patience and instruction." 

Our faith must lead to action; our love must be a labor of love; and our hope must persevere for the sake of our coming Lord and for the sake of those who will stand before the Righteous Judge one day soon.  Let us preach the word.  Let us be bold, patient, and honest. Let us stop being weighed down by worldly distractions. Let us turn our eyes, our hearts, and our lives to Him -fully convinced of the Truth.. Jesus is coming soon and those who do not know Him will experience the "wrath to come". 

Father, raise up Your church to be  all that You have chosen us to be. Forgive us for failing to speak up as we should. Send Holy Spirit power upon us that we might win others to Christ Jesus.  We ask this in His mighty name, Amen. 

 II Samuel 21-24

These last few chapters of II Samuel add some details about David's reign over Israel. The highlight is chapter 22 which records a song of David to Adonai.  David's relationship with the Lord is a great example that can encourage us in our walk of faith.  Like David we can stand on the Truth of who our God is and grow more and more in love with Him... 

"Adonai is my Rock, my fortress, and deliverer." (v2)   He is the One who will give us shelter, who will be our shield and who will save us from the enemy. 

We can always call out to the Lord when we are in distress and know that He will hear us. ( v5-7)

David felt the earth shake, the heavens tremble, and the Presence of God in the darkness. We can too .

No matter what calamity we face.. "Adonai [will be] our support." v19

Our God will rescue us. (v20)

He will treat us with mercy, purity, and honesty.. when we walk in uprightness. (v25-27) 

Adonai will "light up my darkness"... just like He did for David! (v29)

He will be our "strength and protection; he [will make] my way go straight.." (v 33)

Only our great God is a "tower of salvation". (v51)

He is truly worthy of all our praise!

Father in heaven,  speak these words of Truth deeply into our hearts and minds, that we might draw nearer to Your heart. May we stand firm, girding ourselves with this belt of Truth.  No matter what the days ahead hold for us, personally or nationally.. You are our Light, our Rock, our Refuge, and our tower of Salvation. We cling to You. Make our paths straight, Mighty God, that we might honor You with every part of our lives. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 

 2 Samuel 16-20  This portion of scripture records the events from the time David flees from Jerusalem to the time he returns.   David loses and grieves deeply for the his son Absalom... perhaps the most significant event in this account.  David is so lost in his grief that it makes the people who fought for him feel ashamed of their victory.  Joab comes and rebukes David and helps restore him back to leading as he should. 

But, David is a changed man.  This grief has effected him in every way. He returns to Jerusalem and resumes his life as king of Israel. He sends Joab to put down further revolts. But, it seems that David is no longer enthusiastic about being king. Perhaps this is what brought David to turn his focus more on the Lord and His Kingdom as opposed to the physical kingdom of Israel. 

What will open our eyes to the things "unseen"?  What grief or pain, what betrayal or disappointment? What rebellion or persecution?  We will face trials and difficulties in this life.. the Word makes that very clear.  And we are told to "count it all joy".. ( James 1:2) BECAUSE- God uses those trials to produce good fruit in our lives.  Without troubles we would not learn to endure. Without learning endurance we will not be made complete in all that God has for us.  Peter wrote , "In this you greatly rejoice even though now for a little while, if necessary you have been distressed by various trials, that the proof of your faith, being more precious that gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ." ( I Peter 1:6-7)

David certainly endured through trials and his faith proved to be imperishable.  He endured. He wasn't perfect, but he left a testimony that we can be encouraged by..  "We are waiting for Adonai; he is our help and shield. For in Him our hearts rejoice, because we trust in His holy name. May your mercy, Adonai, be over us, because we put our hope in You." ( Psalm 33:20-22)

May this be our prayer today. Amen. 

 2 Samuel 13-15

  Amnon, David's first born son, lusted after Tamar, his half-sister.  He was a wicked man who ended up raping Tamar and being killed by his brother Absalom because of his actions. The words of Nathan the prophet were fulfilled, ".. Adonai says, 'I will generate evil against you out of your own household...'" ( 12:11)

When I think of these accounts of David, I feel... disappointed.. sorrowful. The situation with Bathsheba, the failure as a father ( did you realize David had 19 sons and 1 daughter!)... and running away from Jerusalem because of Absalom.. These actions don't sit well when we think of King David, the man after God's own heart.  Yet, we know that David loved the Lord and desired to walk in His ways. We know he trusted God in spite of his many enemies.  David wrote this in Psalm 32:  

" How blessed are those whose offense is forgiven, those whose sin is covered!  

How blessed those to whom Adonai imputes no guilt, in whose spirit is no deceit!" 

David's faith in God's forgiveness and cleansing brought him to praise and rejoice and proclaim the wonderful Name and grace of Adonai.  "Be glad in Adonai; rejoice you righteous! Shout for joy, all you upright in heart!" 

Father in heaven, Adonai, our God, we give praise and thanks to You.. for when we acknowledge our sins and confess our offenses to You, You forgive us and remove our guilt.  Surround us with Your grace, Lord. Instruct us and teach us in the way we should go. Counsel us and watch over us, Mighty Lord.  We trust in You alone and believe Your Word that tells us that You love us and will never leave us.. even when we fail. Keep us in Your Hand and help us to be pure and holy, blameless before You, in Christ Jesus our King.  We ask this in His name. Amen. 

 2 Samuel 10-12  It starts out with a noble intent... David sends a message of comfort to Hanun, the king of the Ammonites, when his father died.  But, Hanun's advisors foolishly think that David has evil intentions and insult David by humiliating his servants.  This leads to war. 

Amon is in trouble and they know it. They hire some additional help from the Arameans and from the kings of Maacah and Tob.  However when Israel sends their army, the Arameans end up running away and the Ammonites retreat.  A second try resulted in the defeat of Arameans.  But, the war with Amon continued. 

It is at this time that David decides to stay in Jerusalem and send the army out to the battle that spring. It is at this time that he sees Bathsheba, sends for her, and commits adultery with her.  This leads to her pregnancy, the scheme to get Uriah back in town to cover it up, and then sending him back to battle so that he would be killed.  Verse 27 of chapter 11 sums it up -- "But the thing that David had done was evil in the sight of the Lord." 

We know the story... Nathan confronts David.  David repents. The baby dies. But, by God's grace,  David and Bathsheba have another son - Solomon....a child that was special from the start, for  "Adonai loved him.. " 

The consequences for David's sins were severe. There would be evil within David's own family, his wives would be abused by others, and the baby would die.  Even though David himself was spared physically, the conflicts that would come later were devastating.  David still loved the Lord and was still considered a man after the Lord's heart.. but there is a radical change in David's life, family, and leadership after this. 

Father in heaven, it is only because of Your great grace and infinite goodness that any of us can find redemption and forgiveness for our sins. We have all fallen and come short of Your glory and holiness. We want to be pure and righteous before You, but we cannot do it on our own.  How thankful we are for Jesus our perfect Redeemer!  Thank You for showing us such kindness.  Thank You for loving the sinner, healing the broken, rescuing the lost, and strengthening the weak. Thank You that we can learn from the examples in Your Word, to fear You and honor You; to repent and submit to You, and to always hope in You... no matter what else happens.  You are our refuge and rock. With David we say, "I trust in you, Adonai; I say, 'You are my God'" ( Ps. 31:14) We rejoice in Your goodness and bless Your Name. Thank You that we can come to Your throne room in the name of Jesus our great Savior asking for Your grace and peace to fill us and for Your Spirit to lead and guide us in Your ways.  Amen. 

2 Samuel 8-9  David was successful in subduing all the nations around Israel.  "Adonai gave victory to David wherever he went". ( v6 and14)  These people became subjects of David and paid tribute to him. He also received great quantities of gold, silver, and bronze, which he dedicated to the Lord. 

"David ruled over all Israel; David administered law and justice for all his people." (v15)  What a profound statement for a human king... this is what we desire more than anything for our country too... yet it is something that rarely happened in God's chosen nation of Israel, let alone in any other country in this fallen world. 

But... one day.. we will have a King who will rule every nation.  Listen to this description of His coming from Revelation 19: 11 "And I saw heaven opened; and behold, a white horse, and He who sat upon it is called Faithful and True; and in righteousness He judges and wages war." The "King of kings and Lord of lords" will reign with "a rod of iron".  He will judge with righteousness.   And, He will dwell with His people forever and ever.  Hallelujah!

David was victorious over other nations and the Lord was blessing him greatly.  Yet, it is at this time that David stops to inquire about Jonathan's family.  He did not forget the covenant he had with his dear friend even after everything that happened.  Jonathan's son Mephibosheth was the only one left.  David summoned him to come see him, which was pretty terrifying I'm sure... but he came and bowed at David's feet.  Instead of revenge against Saul..David showed grace and kindness because of Jonathan.  He didn't know what kind of a man Mephibosheth was and it didn't matter to David.  He was determined to show kindness because of Jonathan. 

No matter what our circumstances may be... successes or failures...may we be like David in this manner.. may we be determined to show kindness to others..  and may we do it because of the kindness of Jesus, our eternal King. 

Father, may we remember that when we cry out for justice, it's not asking for everything to be how we want things to be.. but for what is right in Your eyes to be judged as right.. and for what is evil in Your eyes to be judged as evil. There are many people yelling and clamoring for justice...when they need to be repenting and crying out for mercy.  Your Word makes it clear that the King will come and He will judge in righteousness.  To those who are His, He will give living water; He will wipe away our tears and take away our grief.  But to those who are "cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone.. " ( Rev. 21 ) This is true justice.  O Lord God, forgive us and show us kindness and mercy, turning hearts back to You, to Your word which is True and Faithful.  Thank You for being always True, always Just, and always Kind.  All honor and glory and praise we give to You.  In Jesus' name. Amen. 

 2 Samuel 7  When David speaks to Nathan the prophet about building a house for the Lord to replace the tent, Nathan tells him to do it.. but, the Lord changes the plan... 

Adonai's plan goes far beyond anything David could imagine.  A house would be built.. but it would be for David's descendant - the One who would come and rule forever and ever.  The Messiah's royal throne would be far greater than anything David could build. 

Like David, let us pray, ".. Adonai Elohim, you alone are God; your words are truth; and you have made this wonderful promise to your servant.. " 

We are watching and waiting for that glorious day.. for the King of Glory to come and rule His kingdom and we will see every Word and every promise completed.  "Come Lord Jesus".. continues to be our prayer!

Father,  we cannot add any other words to this mighty and simple prayer.  Let Your Kingdom come and Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Amen and amen!