TODAY’S DAILY READING: 1 Samuel 12-13 & Psalm 13-1
Old Testament: 1 Samuel 12- It Stands To Reason

1 Samuel 12:7
“Now therefore, stand still, that I may reason with you before the Lord concerning all the righteous acts of the Lord which He did to you and your fathers . . .”

After a great battle in which the men of Jabesh Gilead were rescued from certain… Read More

1 Samuel 13- Compelled 

1 Samuel 13:12
“Therefore I felt compelled, and offered a burnt offering.”

As the second year of king Saul’s reign began to unfold, the nation of Israel was in trouble. The Philistines who occupied the southwest portion of the land were seeking to expand their territories by defeating Israel. When Saul’s army saw the Philistines… Read More

Psalm 13- Sing To The Lord

Psalms 13:6
“I will sing to the Lord,
Because He has dealt bountifully with me.”

As this psalm begins to unfold, we find David facing some pretty difficult times. He describes himself as feeling forgotten and being overcome by sorrow. Without giving details, he describes his enemy as threatening to prevail against him. Yet, in all this, he wrote of singing to the Lord. It is the song of triumph that will often lead to release from despondency. Instead of waiting for circumstances to change, David determined to worship in the midst of … Read More

Psalm 14- True Fools

Psalm 14:1
“The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’”

A modern dictionary defines a fool as, “someone who lacks judgment,” or “a deranged person lacking in common powers of understanding.” As a form of illustration, this sentence was used: “You would be a fool to believe what he tells you.” Often, the Christian is portrayed as a fool, and ometimes, belief in God is treated as folly. More commonly, believing God is looked at as … Read More

TODAY’S DAILY READING: 1 Samuel 10-11 & Psalm 11-12
Old Testament: 1 Samuel 10- Selective Service

1 Samuel 10:6
“Then the Spirit of the Lord will come upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man.”

Saul was first chosen by God, then equipped for service. This seems to be a pattern. Saul, along with Moses, Jeremiah, and Peter, all resisted the idea of being selected for service by God. Their objections stemmed from a realization of their own shortcomings. What they failed to realize, was God would equip them for whatever He … Read More
1 Samuel 11- Anger Aroused

1 Samuel 11:6
“Then the Spirit of God came upon Saul when he heard this news, and his anger was greatly aroused.”

Saul heard news that the Ammonites had surrounded Jabesh Gilead and were threatening the lives of the people. His reaction to the news was that his anger was aroused. Rather than this being rebuked we are told that his emotional state was a result of the moving of … Read More
Psalm 11- Flee To The Mountains

Psalms 11:1
“How can you say to my soul,’Flee as a bird to your mountain’”?

Life hurls a vast array of difficulties at the child of God. We are struck with the common problems of every man, as well as those that are peculiar to attempting to follow Jesus, in the midst of ever increasing ungodliness. The question we are faced with… Read More

Psalm 12- Help!

Psalms 12:1
“Help, Lord, for the godly man ceases!
For the faithful disappear from among the sons of men.”

Have you ever been in a situation where you were forced to cry for help? A good friend of mine told me a story of a time when he was cutting tree branches to make some extra cash. He leaned his extension … Read More

TODAY’S DAILY READING: 1 Samuel 8-9 & Psalm 9-10
Old Testament: 1 Samuel 8- The Way I Am Feeling

1 Samuel 8:6
“But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, ‘Give us a king to judge us., So Samuel prayed to the Lord.”

Samuel was given some very bad news. He was informed that the people no longer wanted to be governed by God, and personal… Read More

1 Samuel 9- Great Expectation

1 Samuel 9:23
”And Samuel said to the cook, ‘Bring the portion which I gave you, of which I said to you, “Set it apart.”‘”

The intersection where Samuel and Saul meet is a crossroad between two fascinating story … Read More

Psalm 9- Trust

Psalms 9:10
“And those who know Your name will put their trust in You; For You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You.”

A few years back I was teaching in a Bible school in Ghana on the subject of trust. I invited one of the students to come … Read More

Psalm 10- Consider God

Psalms 10:4
“The wicked in his proud countenance does not seek God; God is in none of his thoughts.”

The Psalmist points out at least four characteristics of the wicked. First, he declares that they do not think about God. One of the surest ways to live a life … Read More