1 Chronicles 11 – For 20 years David waited. As a young man, Samuel came to his household and anointed him the future king. These 20 years…
samuel
89 posts
1 Chronicles 10 – For 9 chapters we have read of Israel’s genealogy from creation all the way through the Exile which took the rebellious people into…
1 Chronicles 9 – Let’s say you have an important meeting. It’s one you’ve anticipated with another about a project or even a heartfelt conversation. You’ve set…
1 Chronicles 8 – The tribe of Benjamin played an important role in the life of Israel. It would be from this tribe warriors rose, the first…
1 Chronicles 1 – The Workman clan descends upon Columbia City once a year. As many who can make it, New Year’s Day has been set aside…
Judges 17 – It is the strangest of stories. Judges 17 sets the table for the remaining chapters with Israel’s moral decline and the people following their own ways…
Judges 1 – What began under Moses would be carried by his successor Joshua. The land of Canaan would become the land of the Israelites. The book of Judges…
Job 20 – I havent seen the movie in years, but what I recall from Ray Bradburys novel turned film, “Something Wicked This Way Comes” involves a traveling carnival,…
Ezra 2 – Genealogies were very important to the Jewish people. For them, if they could prove they had descended from Abraham, they were considered true Jews and could…
Joshua 18 – Joshua 18:3 Joshua said to the children of Israel, “How long will you neglect to go in to possess the land, which Yahweh, the God…
Joshua 10 – Throughout the Israelites taking of their new land we see Joshua’s integrity and faith. He was called to victory and acted upon it. When the kings…
Proverbs 21 – We make excuses all the time. We excuse decisions we made because we wanted something. We justify speaking our mind even though we may be wrong…
2 Samuel 24 – The Holy Spirit convicts us of our waywardness – even in things of everyday or…
2 Samuel 23 – When we think of a Last Will and Testament being read it is usually after the passing of someone. Family members gather to…
2 Samuel 22 – It’s good and right to look back at God’s faithfulness. We forget that too often. It seems that for many of us, when…
2 Samuel 21 – It is the strangest of stories. Israel was under a 3 year famine and it fell back to a sin of Saul that…
2 Samuel 20 – Loyalty – it’s showing faithfulness to our commitments, vows or an allegiance to someone or a cause. The political scene is difficult..
2 Samuel 19 – What a mess. After the death of Absalom David is in overwhelming grief and it’s affecting the army who just fought for him….
2 Samuel 18 – It’s absolutely insane. “Deal gently for my sake with the young man Absalom.” 2 Samuel 18:5 Are you kidding me?! After everything Absalom…
2 Samuel 17 – “You can run, but you can’t hide…” the famous statement goes. I’m not sure who coined this phrase but it plays deeply…
2 Samuel 16 – The devastation David is hit with here seems never ending. He’s manipulated by one man, cursed by another. His own son rides into…
2 Samuel 15 – One by one Absalom won the hearts of the people. He cleverly laid out his approach, gave an impression he was one of…
2 Samuel 14 – Pride. It’s an insidious attribute that destroys inwardly and outwardly. We’re too proud to admit we failed. Too proud to say we’re genuinely…
2 Samuel 13 – Like father, like son – so the saying goes. In this case, like father, likes sons. The unraveling of David’s household is revealed…
2 Samuel 12 – All was well, or so David thought. Nothing had been found out concerning the affair with Bathsheba and murder of her husband Uriah;…
2 Samuel 11 – There has been much written about the failure of David’s act of adultery with Bathsheba, his botched cover up leading to the murder…
2 Samuel 10 – Rejection is a terrible thing. In particular it’s a hard pill to swallow when you did the right thing, or tried to show…
2 Samuel 9 – He lived in fear. Hidden from the public, he attempted to be a forgotten prince. A remaining son of Jonathan, his life would…
2 Samuel 8 – I love this chapter! We read of David’s victories over the surrounding nations and setting up his government cabinet. At the heart of…
2 Samuel 7 – It was a moment of reprieve. The enemies of Israel had gone silent, for now. Rest was given, for now. And in these…
2 Samuel 6 – Sometimes we become too familiar with God or Jesus. Meaning sometimes we forget how He is the Creator of the World. He is…
2 Samuel 5 – Waiting. We all hate it. When waiting on the timing of God, it can seem like the most excruciating amount of time. We…
2 Samuel 4 – “For just $19.99 you can find all the essentials in discovering the will of God,” states one televangelist. “You too, can find the…
2 Samuel 3 – Strong-willed by definition is being determined to do something regardless of what is advised against it. This mindset is really a double edged…
2 Samuel 2 – As reality settles in of Saul’s death, David is crowned King over Judah. The remaining 11 tribes do not acknowledge this crown and…
2 Samuel 1 – I love a good cup of coffee. In fact, putting a pot of Joe on in the morning is the first thing of…
1 Samuel 31 – In a grisly end, Saul’s death comes as predicted within 24 hours. In the heat of the battle, the Philistines overtake Saul, killing…
1 Samuel 30 – “But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.” David left King Achish and with his men all returned…
1 Samuel 29 – In a most fascinating history according to Wikipedia, the gesture of crossing your fingers traces all the way back to the early church….
1 Samuel 28 – Saul was at the end of himself. He would literally be at the end within 24 hours. This most bizarre and troubling story…
1 Samuel 27 – “David said to himself…” David was tired. He had been on the run for months stretching into years. Empty promises…
1 Samuel 26 – Same story, different day. Let’s see, Saul makes a promise to not pursue David. Saul breaks the promise and takes 3000 men to…
1 Samuel 25 – Sometimes it seems that if it’s not one thing, it’s another. This is the case for David. During a reprieve of Saul’s antics…
1 Samuel 24 – In the political age of which we live, we all have opinions about the current status of our country. We hold thoughts about…
1 Samuel 23 – Drunk on the fresh blood of priests murder, Saul is out to destroy David. Ruthless in his attempts he leads his army in…
1 Samuel 22 – The disgruntled and discontent join together; the ruthless ever-growing paranoid behavior acts out in murder; the innocent are slaughtered. Oh the intentions…
1 Samuel 21 – David the fugitive; David the man on the run; he resorts to lying to seek protection. It is the strangest story here as…
1 Samuel 20 – Deep, genuine friendships are hard to come by. These rare relationships that stir a kindred spirit between 2 individuals seemingly rarely happen. One…
1 Samuel 19 – “The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the defense of my life; whom shall I…
1 Samuel 18 – Relationships hold highs and lows for us. There are those that are such a gem and we treasure greatly. There are others which…
1 Samuel 17 – There are many things which have been written about David and Goliath’s encounter. This magnificent storyline is incredibly inspiring and applicable to so…
1 Samuel 16 – Sometimes the moving on from a saddened heavy burden is one of the toughest things to get beyond. The opening sentence states how…
1 Samuel 15 – I will tell you, this is one of the saddest chapters. It truly brought pain to my heart on so many different levels….
1 Samuel 14 – By all accounts, Saul had now been the king of Israel for several years. This chapter peels back the miserable leader he was….
1 Samuel 13 – I’ve always wondered if Samuel purposely showed up late. It set things in motion as to bad choices which were justifiable in Saul’s…
1 Samuel 12 – Take a moment to consider the goodness of God. Yes, even if at this point of whatever is going on, your heart has…
1 Samuel 11 – We see the making of Saul as a leader within this chapter as when taking the role of king, crisis hits. Isn’t that…
1 Samuel 10 – Samuel boldly speaks to Saul of his calling and role he is about to play for Israel. He anoints him king. He tells…
1 Samuel 9 – Life is filled with so many common events. What would our perspective be if we looked at even the common occurrences of life…
1 Samuel 8 – There’s a saying, “Be careful what you ask for. You may just get it.” There is such truth to this as often we’re…
1 Samuel 7 – Twenty years – it took twenty long years for the people of Israel to get to the point they were ready to follow…
1 Samuel 6 – The Philistines knew they had to send the ark back to Israel. When it was first captured, it was put on display as…
1 Samuel 5 – Dagon was the chief god of many in the ancient world of whom the Philistines worshiped. He was responsible for the rain and the harvest or so they believed…
1 Samuel 4 – One statement, that’s all there is. Chapter 4 opens, “Thus the word of Samuel came to all Israel.” We read nothing more of…
1 Samuel 3 – God has never done things the ‘normal’ way. Ever. It seems that every story within the Bible is chock full of examples where…
1 Samuel 2 – Hannah sings praise to God for hearing her heart cry. He’s seen her affliction, her struggle and now feels vindicated on every level…
1 Samuel 1 – The ache of sorrow finds its ways to the deepest parts of our hearts. When it comes, we feel it as we breathe…
Romans 1 – Paul had never been to Rome; neither had the church leaders of Jerusalem. It’s widely believed the church was started from people who were in…
2 Kings 9 – Elijah had prophesied years before that Ahab, his family and dynasty would be destroyed. This prophecy was about to be fulfilled…
1 Kings 5 – Sometimes God says “No”. Or maybe a better phrase is, “Not yet.” David desired greatly to build a temple for God. His heart…
Zechariah 10 – “Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.” – Ephesians 6:10 Standing strong in the face of difficulty is one of the…
Obadiah 1 – The shortest book of the Old Testament, Obadiah’s words go out against Edom, blood relatives of Israel from Esau…
Psalm 145 – Psalm 145 – Crossroads. Sometimes as we approach these on our journey we struggle. Many a time coming to such a place has left our footprints behind of burdens…
Psalm 89 – It is a psalm declaring the tremendous reign of David. Through Samuel’s prophecy, God called Him to be the mightiest king on earth. He made a…
Psalm 60 – The sting of defeat cripples us physically, emotionally, mentally. Sometimes it has the power to harm us spiritually as well. When…
Psalm 52 – We’ve all encountered it. A situation or a person seemingly gets away with murder. In fact, this is what David wrestles through as he revisits the…
Psalm 51 – Psalm 51 is a beloved writing of hope for all Believers for centuries. James Boice notes, “It was recited in full by Sir Thomas More and…
Psalm 24 – It speaks toward the greatness of God. Everything in creation is His. No man can stand before the eternal Creator on his own. Psalm 24 is…
Psalm 23 – God is far more interested in our being than our doing. He cares much more about our ongoing relationship with Him rather than the things we…
Psalm 18 – It’s one of the most beautiful songs of thanksgiving. An almost identical poem is found in 2 Samuel 22 as David was coming to the end…
Psalm 3 – We’ve all been there. Everything imaginable could and did go wrong. To some degree we’re living in the consequence of our own choice. This is something…
Deuteronomy 17 – Leftovers. It’s an inevitable thing that after a meal usually there is something left that is put in a Tupperware and refrigerated. Nothing really tastes as…
Numbers 3 – God, being that of order and organization, began to give assignments to the people. First on deck were the Levites. This makes sense as the tabernacle was…
Ezekiel 14 – Are there idols in your heart? Have your decisions put stumbling blocks before your path of which you continue to tumble over? The word of God…
Revelation 15 – It feels as though the book of Revelation has these endless rounds of a heavyweight, worldwide championship boxing or wrestling match. There seem to be these…
Jeremiah 41 – People suffer when another individual sins. The ripple effect is far-reaching. Often we don’t think along these lines due to our own waywardness, but the ramifications…
Jeremiah 32 – It certainly would be a foolish thing to do. Jerusalem had been under siege for a year. Jeremiah was a prisoner of the palace. Yet, in…
1 Chronicles 27 – As Colonial Mustard so brilliantly stated in the movie Clue, “This is War Peacock!” there is such truth to this one of many…
1 Chronicles 15 – The school of hard knocks is not a place any of us want to attend. It’s the place where through mistakes we’ve made,…