Day 144 2 Samuel 4:1‐6:23; John 13:31‐14:14; Psalm 119:17‐32; Proverbs 15:32 Even More Undignified What a beautiful picture of worship we see in 2 Samuel today. The Ark of the Covenant, the presence of the Lord, comes into the city, and King David is enthusiastically engaged in worship. The Israelites have just defeated the Philistine…
Day 143 2 Samuel 2:12‐3:39; John 13:1‐30; Psalm 119:1‐16; Proverbs 15:29‐30 The World Turned Upside Down Many historians cite “The World Turned Upside Down” as the tune played by a British fife and drum corps when British soldiers stacked their arms and surrendered to General George Washington at Yorktown, Virginia in 1781. For the British…
Day 142 2 Samuel 1:1‐2:11; John 12:20‐50; Psalm 118:19‐29; Proverbs 15:27‐28 The Challenge of Free Will “Even after Jesus had performed so many signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him.” – John 12:37 In this section of the Gospel of John, Jesus has revealed Himself and given the crowd a reminder…
Day 141 1 Samuel 29:1-31:13; John 11:54-12:19; Psalm 118:1-18; Proverbs 15:24-26 The Wellspring of Passion If you missed yesterday’s Gospel reading, you might not realize that “Jesus therefore no longer walked openly among the Jews” because He had resurrected His friend Lazarus, whose sisters were Mary and Martha. Because of this miracle, many believed while…
Day 140 1 Samuel 26:1-28:25; John 11:1-53; Psalm 117:1-2; Proverbs 15:22-23 I am the Resurrection and the Life The stage is set for a climactic revelation of Jesus’ glory through the resurrection of a dead man. The disciples are very much aware that a return trip to Judea could result in Jesus’ persecution and death…
Day 139 1 Samuel 24:1-25:44; John 10:22-42; Psalm 116:1-19; Proverbs 15:20-21 The Voice of the Shepherd Sadly, no matter what God does or says, there are certain people whose hearts are so hard to Him that they will never turn and believe. The root source of such hardness of heart can come from many places:…
Day 138 1 Samuel 22:1‐23:29; John 10:1‐21; Psalm 115:1‐18; Proverbs 15:18‐19 Finding Faith on the Run Who can forget the mid-60s TV series “The Fugitive,” with David Janssen on the run? In our Biblical narrative, David is also a fugitive running from King Saul who had put a contract out on his life. He spent…
Day 136 1 Samuel 18:5‐19:24; John 8:31‐59; Psalm 112:1‐10; Proverbs 15:12‐14 The Truth Sets Us Free In this section of John’s Gospel, Jesus is continuing to teach about what it means to be a true child of God. He makes a distinction about truth and lies versus freedom and slavery. Many of the people don’t…
Day 135 1 Samuel 17:1‐18:4; John 8:21‐30; Psalm 111:1‐10; Proverb 15:11 Due Diligence in the Everyday Task If you are like me, you have heard the story of David and Goliath for years. It is a classic story of overcoming fears and standing courageously for what the Lord calls us to no matter the situation….
Day 134 1 Samuel 15:1‐16:23; John 7:53‐8:20; Psalm 110:1‐7; Proverbs 15:8‐10 Are You Without Sin? Of all the offenses in the Jewish law, or Hallakhah, adultery was a one of the most heinous, and was punishable by death. While the Pharisees and Scribes were right to point out that under the law the adulterous woman…
Day 133 1 Samuel 13:23-14:52; John 7:30-52; Psalm 109:1-31; Proverbs 15:5-7 Declaring A Curse In the reading from 1 Samuel, King Saul selfishly puts his own glory ahead of his soldiers’ welfare, declaring a curse against anyone who eats – and his son Jonathan unknowingly disobeys the decree and is sentenced to death. In the…
