1 Chronicles 11:1-3

“Then all Israel came together to David at Hebron, saying, ‘Indeed we are your bone and your flesh. Also, in time past, even when Saul was king, you were the one who led Israel out and brought them in; and the Lord your God said to you, “You shall shepherd My people Israel, and be ruler over My people Israel. “‘ Therefore all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord. And they anointed David king over Israel, according to the word of the Lord by Samuel.”

My father-in-law uses the phrase,“So soon,”to chide anyone who is late. I personally have heard the term more times than I care to admit. The basic idea behind it is “I am glad you are finally ready, but what took you so long.” I cannot help…

1 Chronicles 10:13

“So Saul died for his unfaithfulness which he had committed against the Lord, because he did not keep the word of the Lord, and also because he consulted a medium for guidance.”

I can remember as a child standing in line to enter Disney’s Haunted Mansion. While I have forgotten most of the details about this particular attraction, the epitaphs on the gravestones left an indelible mark on my memory. One reads, “Here lies good old Fred, a great big rock fell on his head”. Another read, “Dear departed brother Dave, he chased a bear into a cave”. I wonder what will be said of me when my time reaches it’s end.

For each of us, there will come a day when this life has reached its end. The way in which we die is not nearly as relevant as the way in which we live. For Saul…

Psalm 103:11-13

“For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. As a father pities his children, so the Lord pities those who fear Him.”

It is common advertisement to attempt to sell an item by comparing it to something else. We might see a car commercial with a cheetah running, to convince us of the speed of the vehicle; or a flowing river, to reveal the thirst quenching power of a soft drink. David is, in a sense, attempting to sell us on the greatness of God. He knows the Lord and wants everyone to taste and see for themselves that the Lord is good. To do this he makes a series of comparisons, to convince us to trust in…

Psalm 101:3

“I will set nothing wicked before my eyes; I hate the work of those who fall away; It shall not cling to me.”

One of the saddest experiences in life, is to see a close friend fall away from the Lord. From the outside, the process often looks the same. A person, who once walked closely with the Lord and was involved in Christian service, begins to drift ever so slightly. First, their conversation changes. Instead of talking about the Lord, sharing from their times of Bible reading or service, they begin to talk only of the waves and the weather. Next, we begin to see them a little less frequently around the church. In some cases, only the responsibility of a service commitment keeps them coming; until finally they step down from their responsibility, and seem to vanish. Sometimes, it will take weeks or even months…

1 Chronicles 4:9-10

“Now Jabez was more honorable than his brothers, and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, “’Because I bore him in pain.’ And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, ‘Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!’ So God granted him what he requested.”

Tucked away in a sea of names, we find the brief story of a man named Jabez. From the bits of data recorded about him, we learn he was an honorable man who left a mark upon his world. His name reveals much regarding his upbringing. Jabez meant “to cause pain.” He received that name because of the difficulties surrounding his birth. It seems as though his mother never got over that trauma, because Jabez grew up…

Psalm 100:3  

“Know that the Lord, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture.”

Have you ever heard the phrase, “you should have known better”?  We use it when we view evidence so compelling that a particular conclusion is obvious. “I didn’t know that would happen!” This statement, response to throwing a firecracker into the barbecue pit, or bringing a handgun through airport security, is an unreasonable response;  “You should know better.” It seems equally as surprising to me, that the Psalmist would need to remind us that man is a creative work of God  and did not spring into being as a result of his own innate ability. As surprising, and even preposterous as it may be, we hear all of the time, how highly intelligent and well educated people will choose to believe that man is not a byproduct…

2 Kings 25:2

“So the city was besieged until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah.”

Imagine sitting on Mount Scopus just a little northeast of Jerusalem as the Babylonian forces surrounded the city. Before long, the walls were penetrated, and the city taken. First the leaders were gathered and executed, then the city was plundered and burned. What had once been a glorious testimony to the goodness of God, now told an entirely different message. All who watched the city fall should have learned the devastating effects of sin. Even after a contingency returned to rebuild the temple, Jerusalem would still bear scars from its fall.

For years, two different messages were being heralded within the city. There were the politicians who believed the secret to success was to form an alliance with Egypt and fight the Babylonians, while the prophets declared that it was time to submit to Babylon…