TODAY’S DAILY READING: 1 Samuel 6-7 & Psalm 7-8
Old Testament: 1 Samuel 6- Hard Heart
1 Samuel 6:6
“Why then do you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? When He did mighty things among them, did they not let the people go, that they might depart?”
Tucked away in the story of the Philistines return of the Ark to Israel, is this powerful exhortation regarding the danger of hardening our hearts to God. We are reminded of the difficulties Pharaoh endured because of his refusal to humble himself and obey the Word of God. The lessons from this exhortation are twofold.
First, we need to examine… Read More
1 Samuel 7- Will This Ever Work?
1 Samuel 7:13
“So the Philistines were subdued, and they did not come anymore into the territory of Israel…”
Israel faced a constant threat from the Philistines. They had come into the territory promised to Israel, taken land, and threatened the people. Earlier in 1 Samuel, the nation mustered all its strength to drive the Philistines out of their territories, only to suffer a devastating loss. In that earlier battle, the people gathered… Read More
Psalm 7- Fallen In
Psalms 7:15
“He made a pit and dug it out,
And has fallen into the ditch which he made.”
If we were writing a comedic screenplay, we might want to include a character who designs an elaborate trap, only to unwittingly catch himself. While it might be quite humorous on the big screen, it is tragic in the real world. The psalmist reminds us, one of the consequences of wicked living is, in the long… Read More
Psalm 8- Glory Of Creation
Psalms 8:1
“O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Your name in all the earth, Who have set Your glory above the heavens!”
Webster defines glory as “Great beauty and splendor, even magnificence.” David is declaring things about the magnificence of God. It seems this Psalm was penned as a result of looking at the beauty of creation, in light of the Creator. He realizes that as glorious as creation is, it pales by comparison to he Creator.
How sad, that we often neglect… Read More
1 Samuel 4 records some of the darkest days in Israel’s history. The people had lost sight of God, their armies had suffered defeat, the ark of the covenant had been taken in battle, the sons of the nation’s spiritual leader had been killed and upon hearing all this Eli the high priest fell over and died. In the midst of all of this we read of a woman dying while giving birth to a child. This woman was the daughter in law of Eli and her child would ultimately serve as a priest. With her dying breath she named her child Ichabod which means “The glory has departed.” When she assessed the circumstances around her she concluded that God was done working in the nation of Israel.
Long before Jerusalem was established as the capital of Israel, Shiloh was the ancient location of the Tabernacle. It was at Shiloh, where the High Priest would meet with the LORD on the Day of Atonement. It was there, where the glory of the LORD would fill the Holiest place like a cloud.
The Philistines mustered all their courage as they confronted Israel on the battlefield. They soon overpowered the Israeli army and took the spoils of war. In this battle, the spoils included the Ark of the Covenant. Upon returning to Ashdod, the Philistines placed the Ark in the their temple, and found themselves facing an interesting predicament; they now had two gods. As night fell, so did… 
On a regular basis, how would you describe your mornings? Do you wake up grumpy, dreading another day? Or late, rushing to get your responsibilities done? Or perhaps you arise and rush to get the morning paper, check the news, or peruse Facebook, or the web.
Have you ever heard the phrase, “You can do this,” as a mantra for finding the strength to face the challenge before you? Life often forces us to be stronger than we think we are and to stand up to the opportunity before us. In a passionate plea for the Corinthians to stand against the opposition they were facing, Paul declared,
I read an interesting quote this morning from D.L. Moody. He said, “Out of one hundred men, one will read the Bible. The other ninety-nine will read the Christian.”
We go through seasons in life. Some are calm and pleasant, while others seem to be like violent storms, with waves crashing upon us from almost every direction. While we may feel as though we are under assault, this is not a new phenomenon. King David, Israel’s most godly king, was no stranger… 
As A child, I spent a lot of time on the ocean. My dad loved sailing and we would spend time every summer living on the boat. I can remember times when the seas were so rough that we had to put anything breakable on the floor of the cabin, so it would not be knocked down and broken. In seas like that, it became very difficult to walk. I can… 
Ruth was not an Israelite, nor was she born in Israel. She was a foreigner from the neighboring country of Moab. The Moabites had a long and sorted relationship with Israel that would add to the stigma associated with this young foreigner. When Ruth arrived in Bethlehem, all that was known of her was that she was the widowed daughter-in-law of… 
In addition to being a beautiful and timeless love story, Ruth is also a picture of redemption. Ruth was a descendant of Moab and as such was born under a curse (Deuteronomy 23:3-4). Naomi and her family had left Israel and dwelt among the Moabites and, no doubt, returned to the land with the stigma of being a backslider. Perhaps some thought the loss of her family… 
When establishing the government of the United States, the founding fathers saw that man was created with certain inalienable rights. They believed it is the right of every person to be able to pursue personal happiness. They were not alone in this thinking. Many philosophers spoke of happiness as the chief goal… 
As we reach the end of ourselves and cry out in desperation to God, prayer is the place where we express our greatest desires. We have found ourselves on our knees pleading with God for direction, the healing of a loved one, or to fix a mess we have created through our own foolishness. I wonder though, when is the last time we pleaded with God for those … 
To say that Naomi had been through some difficult times is a colossal understatement. Because of a severe famine throughout Israel, she and Elimelech made the difficult decision to leave their homeland, family and friends, in search of … 
After the ship ran aground and all the passengers and crew arrived safely on shore, it would not take long for the onlookers to see who was who. Even after saving the lives of the entire crew, Paul is still treated as a criminal, and is sent to gather sticks for the fire. While reaching for a stick, Paul encounters what many… 
The book of Judges ends on a tragic note. Personal immorality, social chaos, and civil war mark the close of the book. This was certainly one of the darkest times in the history of the people of God. The rape and murder of a young woman led to a heated battle between the tribes of Israel. Instead of facing their true enemies, Israel was caught up in civil infighting that cost… 
After appealing to Caesar, Paul was sent on the long journey to Rome. He was to stand trial for the accusations brought against him by the religious leaders of Jerusalem. Paul was released from his Caesarean prison and placed in the care of Julius, a Roman centurion. Acts 27-28 records the story of their… 
Israel had forsaken the Word of God and fallen into a place of spiritual confusion. We read of “homemade religions” with their own gods, priests and theology. As the story unfolds, we will see this spiritual confusion leads to social chaos and immorality… 
The closing chapters of Judges paint a dark picture of life in ancient Israel. We read of drunkenness, murder, rape, idolatry, spiritual confusion and moral indifference. It seems the people have lost their moral compass and are allowing their desires to determine right from wrong. This was never the way God intended for man… 
It has been said, if we can believe the first four words of the Bible, we should have no problem with the rest of its claims. “In the beginning God…” The Bible is filled with stories of the mighty workings of God. We read of Him speaking the worlds into existence, delivering a nation from the threat of death, parting the seas, providing food in a desert, knocking down the walls of Jericho, raising a shepherd boy to the palace, healing the sick… 
The story of Samson is both fascinating and tragic. His feats of strength are paralleled only by legendary super heroes. He defeated lions, carried city walls, and fought off platoons of soldiers, with nothing more than skeleton bones. As far as Biblical characters go, he was the most gifted of all. Sadly, those gifts were never really used for the work of God. Each of his feats of strength was only used to get him out of difficult situations that his disobedience…
The story of Micah is all too familiar. In a time when the Word of God was being neglected, Micah created his own “homemade religion.” He used terminology familiar to true religion, he had a priest and an ephod. However, his god, his worship, and his lifestyle, was really nothing more than a product of his own imagination. As time went on, his religion…
Jesus instructed His followers that their lives are to be lived as a testimony to the world. He taught “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven”(Matthew 5:16). In other words, the way we live should testify of a living… 
Few people have ever had the kind of talent Samson had. He was gifted far above anyone else in his generation. Tragically, however, Samson wasted his gifts by consuming them in search of his own pleasures. Two truths seem to cry out from his story.
Time is an interesting thing. We are always spending it and it cannot be saved. Failing to do something today, does not guarantee we will have the time for it tomorrow. Felix’s encounter with the Gospel message teaches us something important about how we use this moment for eternal things.
Jim Gallagher 