Today's Reading: Psalm 10, 14, & 15

The Fool

The dictionary defines “fool” as a person who acts unwisely or imprudently; a silly person; a person who lacks good sense or judgment. The word “fool” in Psalm 14:1 comes from a Hebrew root word which means a person who has no perception of ethical and spiritual truth. This person is senseless, empty-headed, and foolish. It doesn’t mean “unintelligent” in the academic sense. Atheists are often very intelligent and bright people – from a scholastic point of view.

The reality is that an overwhelming majority of people believe in God, or in some form of “higher power” or “intelligent designer.” A 2017 study by the Pew Research Center confirmed that 84 percent of the global population believes in God or “a god.” This same study confirmed that only 7 percent of the world’s population openly claims to be atheistic.*

Why do so many of us believe in God or higher powers? Because God has placed that belief into the heart of every human being. Our DNA is “hard-wired” with the instinctive sense that there is a Supreme Being. Recent University studies in the fields of developmental psychology and cognitive science propose that our “foundational belief in theism is ingrained in our DNA.”* Thus, atheism is an acquired position taken only by a very small percent of people. They take this position by choice as we are told in Romans 1:28, that “they did not like to retain God in their knowledge.”

It is a sad reality that some people choose darkness over light and knowingly reject their inborn awareness of God. David calls these people “fools” because, by rejecting the knowledge of God, they are in-fact acting against their own best interest. They may have great intellect, but they lack good sense and judgment when it comes to the things of eternity. Tragically, those who make the choice to deny the truth about God will be given up to their foolish beliefs. As Romans 1 goes on to tell us, "and even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting... who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death..." (Romans 1:28 & 32) 

As we consider the Christ-follower’s approach to an unbelieving world around us, we should keep a couple of things in mind. First, that a majority of people we meet recognize deep within their soul that there is “a god” of some sort. We must be always ready to guide these people to a saving faith in the one true God and salvation through His Only Son, Jesus Christ. Second, although there is a small minority who have convinced themselves to reject God’s truth, we have no way of knowing who they are. Thus we must always be prepared “to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.” (1 Peter 3:15)

*Person of Interest; © 2021 by J. Warner Wallace

Today's Reading: Psalm 8 & 9

Glory Above The Heavens

In today’s Psalm (8), the Psalmist is taking a journey in his spirit to a far-away place… a place “above the heavens”! There, he senses the majesty and glory of Yahweh, the God of Eternity.

In David’s day, the “majesty” of a king was represented by the size or scope of his realm. If he ruled over a small town or city, his majesty was minimal. But if he ruled over many cities or regions, his majesty was considered great. How majestic was the king who ruled powerful nations. The word “glory” was used to describe the grandeur of the ruler as measured by the realm he reigned over. The king over a powerful nation was said to have great “glory” or “grandeur.”

In this context, David is declaring the majesty and glory of the LORD, his God.  His reign and “majesty” extend not simply to towns, or cities, or regions, or even nations. Yahweh’s majesty (scope of His realm) extends to all the Earth. Thus, the Lord is high above all nations and all kings or rulers. In fact, David goes on to say that God’s glory (the grandeur of His kingdom) extends into and beyond the heavens above the Earth. He rules over all of the seen and unseen realms and over all beings in all of existence. As Buzz Lightyear would put it, God’s grandeur extends “to infinity and beyond!”

The Lord has set His glory above the heavens.  This means He is superior to all princes, rulers, governors, kings, presidents, and bodies of people in the world. It also means He is superior to all of the unseen beings of the spirit world (angels, cherubim, demons, etc.)  Whereas, the glory of earthly monarchs is confined to this lower world, and to meager divisions of it, the glory of God not only fills the Earth, but Heaven too! There it is celebrated by thousands and myriads of blessed angels.  His kingdom is so high that it is far higher than heaven, being infinite and incomprehensible.

The LORD, our God needs no kingdom or realm to be majestic. He is majestic. He is glorious. But, for us finite human beings to even grasp the majesty of God, we must use language and terminology which is, by definition, insufficient to describe Him and His glory. Thus, David draws a comparison to earthly kings and declares that God’s glory and majesty are vastly superior to anything or anyone on our tiny planet.

So, how big is your problem today? Is there something that you’re facing that is burdening your heart and weighing you down? To you it may seem to be an especially big and difficult challenge or problem. But if you put it into the context of your loving God’s majesty, how big is it really?  Remember, the size of any problem is always measured by the agent doing the work. If you cast your burden on Him, it is but a tiny speck to the One whose majesty and glory is “above the heavens.” Let Him solve your “big” problem. He is majestic. He is glorious. He can do it!

 

Today's Reading: 2 Samuel 4 & Psalm 6

 

God is Listening to You

Here’s an astonishing truth – The Creator of the Universe hears the prayers of those He has befriended. This truth is confirmed in 1 Peter 3:12 - "For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer.” Imagine that! God’s ears are attentive to your prayers. This is one of the most amazing and shocking facts in all the Bible. The truth of God’s listening ear is repeated often throughout the Bible. Here are just two of those references:  "Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." (Jeremiah 29:12-13) And,  “God has surely listened and has heard my prayer. Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me!" (Psalm 67:20)

God hears everything, including prayers. He is God. Nothing gets by Him. He is sovereign over everything He created. So, the question is not whether God is aware of your prayer (He is), but whether God is tuning in to your prayers with an intent to answer them. To know this, you must consider the following conditions to having your prayers answered.

First, you must be His child, follower, and disciple. Nowhere in Scripture does God promise to answer the prayers of those who have not placed their faith and trust in Him. The ears of the Lord are only attentive to the prayers of those who have been made righteous through their faith in the redemptive work of Christ.

Second, you must not harbor sin in your heart.  Psalm 66:18 says, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.” Unconfessed sin and unrepentance blocks your communication with God. He is there. He wants to hear. But sin is “jamming” the signal.

Third, you must not ask for things just to satisfy your own selfish desires. “When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” (James 4:3)

Fourth, you must ask in accordance to His will. “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.” (1 John 5:14) God loves you too much to grant requests that are inconsistent with His plan and purpose for your life.

Finally, you must ask in faith. Jesus said, “I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” (Mark 11:24)

In today’s key verse (Psalm 6:9), David the Psalmist, takes a moment to reflect on the amazing truth that "the Lord has heard my plea and accepts my prayer." Get your prayer life aligned with God’s plan and you too will be rejoicing and celebrating God’s answered prayers for you!

Today's Reading: 2 Samuel 3

 

The People Were Pleased

Monk and poet John Lydgate once said, “You can please some of the people some of the time, you can please all of the people some of the time, but you cannot please all of the people all of the time.” A very insightful quote about how difficult it is to please everyone.   Trying to please everyone is actually a characteristic of our fallen human nature. The psychologists say it is a disease called co-dependence. It's unhealthy and hurts those who try to be everything to everyone. Examine your Bible and you will see that there is not a single verse that tells you to try to make everyone happy.   It does say, however, that we should do our best to please God.

David was relatively new at this king thing. He didn’t really know the proper political protocols in many situations. He didn’t know how to please the people. In today’s chapter he was rebuked by Joab for his “blunder” in not imprisoning his sworn enemy, Abner, when he had the chance to do so. David wasn’t a “polished” monarch with decades of experience. But David’s heart was set on pleasing the Lord. And because of this, the Lord made it so that the people were pleased at his actions. In fact, verse 36 says “Everything the king did pleased the people.”

Proverbs 16:7 says, “When a man’s ways please the Lord, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.”  It is an astonishing thing, but when God approves of your life, even your enemies will end up shaking your hand. They will recognize the quality of your character and the soundness of your decisions. This doesn’t mean that if your ways please the Lord, you will never have an enemy. Everyone will not agree with all you do but they will be “at peace” with you.

So why are we so worried about pleasing other people? If you are worried about pleasing other people, you need to change your priorities and put all of your focus on pleasing God.  He is the most important Person in your life.  When we please God we may not be pleasing everyone around like David, but we are staying in tune with the reason we were created.  God creates us, He saves us and He gives us life.  Your value comes only from God and will never come as a result of people pleasing. The only applause we should be seeking is that of His nail-scarred hands.

 

Today's Reading: 2 Samuel 2

A Turbulent Transition

After the death of Saul, David “inquired of the Lord” (2 Samuel 2:1). He didn’t simply waltz into king Saul’s throne room and take over – even though God had chosen him for this assignment. He “inquired” of the Lord first. This was a common practice in David’s life. In this case, David sought God’s guidance about the where, when, and how the transfer of power should take place. David knew that when we seek the counsel of God, He gives us inside information and insight on every situation we may encounter or find ourselves in. David inquired of the Lord, and the Lord directed him to go to the town of Hebron where he would be inaugurated as the next king of Israel.

Verse 4 says, “And the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah.” This is actually the second time David was anointed as king. It was Samuel the prophet who first anointed him as king at God’s direction – even though Saul was still on the throne (1 Samuel 10:1). God’s intention was to replace Saul with David as the new king of Israel. But not everyone in Israel was submitted to that intention.

It is noteworthy that verse 4 doesn’t say the “house of Israel.” This is the first sign of a political division in the nation. David was anointed as king of “Judah.” Meanwhile, Abner (the commander of Saul’s army) had other plans. He took Saul’s son Ishbosheth and anointed him as king. The house of Judah followed David, while many other tribes followed Ishbosheth. So the kingdom was divided.

This political division led to a turbulent transition for king David. Abner and his men fought with Joab (the commander of David’s army). First in hand-to-hand combat, which escalated into all out war between the factions. There was a long war between the house of Saul and the house of David. It was a turbulent transfer of power caused by two groups of people with conflicting political ideologies.

This is what happens when the peoples of a nation don’t share a common purpose or political agenda or moral values. In this case, those who “inquired of the Lord” and sought to follow His will, sided with David. Those who chose to ignore God’s intentions and implement their own humanistic government, sided with Abner and Ishbosheth. With two differing views of the future and two political ideologies, it is common for one faction to begin to battle with the other. The “United Tribes” of Israel became the “Divided Tribes.” At this point, the patriotism which led to a common cause get polarized into tribal rivalries that sow resentment and hatred and violence toward one another.

The only solution is for the nation to humbly pray, seek God’s forgiveness, and return to His ways. 

 

Today's Reading - 2 Samuel 1

Mourning Over the Fallen

The battle had pressed hard against king Saul and his sons Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchi-shua. The Phillistines struck them down. Israel’s king Saul and his sons have fallen. They were killed in the line of duty as they fought on the front lines against their fiercest enemy. It was a terrible defeat and awful loss.

Now, you would think that David might take this unfortunate turn of events and begin to rejoice a bit in his heart that he can finally rest from the hounding and hunting of Saul. After all, David had spent months (years) running from Saul, hiding in caves and rocks, living a meager existence, and constantly in fear of his life. No one would find fault with David if he was just a little bit happy that Saul was finally out of the picture.

But that’s not how David felt. In fact, David was sorrowful over the heart-rending loss of Israel’s King and Commander in Chief. We are told that he “lamented over Saul and Jonathan, his son.” The word “lamented” in Hebrew means “to strike a musical note of sorrow, wailing, and mourning.” David was truly grieved over the loss of Israel’s king and the loss of his best friend, Jonathan. He began to chant and wail a funeral song to express his grief, “Oh, Gazelles of Israel, struck down on your hills, the mighty warriors—fallen, fallen!  Saul and Jonathan—beloved, beautiful! Together in life, together in death.”

In spite of all Saul’s hostility toward him, David was generous to Saul in the song he composed in his memory.  He cursed the place where Saul died, praised the bravery of Saul, and recalled the prosperity that Saul had brought to the people. It is of interest that David's eulogy of Saul made no reference to his faults and sins.

In the course of his song, David cursed Mount Gilboa, the place where Saul was killed. "Let there not be the dew of heaven, or rain fall upon thee. Let there not be wheat fields grow upon thee." It is very interesting that if you go to Israel even today, and look at Mount Gilboa, it's a rocky, barren, desolate mountain. All around it the mountains are just covered with trees and lush, beautiful greenery. But Gilboa stands out because of its barrenness.

David mourned over the fallen. His grief was genuine. He truly was broken-hearted to see his fellow Israelites, his brothers, his companions struck down. This is a reminder to all of us that we should not rejoice in the calamities or suffering of others. Even if they have been our opponents in life. The loss of life is a mournful thing.

 

Today's Reading: Psalms 128, 129, & 130

Who Could Stand?

If God kept records of our wrongdoings, who would stand a chance? Who would ever survive? Think about that. What if God wrote down every time you had an evil thought, or a selfish motive, or hurtful words, or broke His commandments. How would your list look? If He were to call you into His judgment hall and ask you to defend yourself, would you succeed? Who would? Not a single one of us. We have all sinned and fallen short of God’s standards. We all have a “rap sheet” that is miles long, with indictment after indictment. No mortal could stand justified in the sight of God.

To truly appreciate God’s grace and forgiveness, it is vital that we all have a sense of our own sinfulness. We must grasp the truth of our own guilt and the depth of our own depravity. We must understand that if God decided to charge us with iniquity, that we are guilty as charged. If He should judge us as we are - we would have no hope. If you don’t understand the problem of your own sin, then you don’t understand God’s grace and forgiveness.  If you’re still entertaining the delusion that you are a “pretty good person” or that you’re “not as bad as the next guy,” then you’ve missed the whole point of God’s salvation. God doesn’t save us because we’re “pretty good” or because “we gave it a great big try.” God saves us even though everyone of us is undeserving of His salvation.

Which brings us to the awesome truth that God doesn’t save us because of some goodness within us, He saves us solely based upon the GOODNESS THAT IS WITHIN HIMSELF. If the Lord should mark our iniquities, none of us would stand. But listen to the rest of today’s verse – “With You there is forgiveness that You may be feared.” What an amazing and astonishing truth! There is forgiveness with God! The most holy and pure Creator can and does take depraved sinners and forgives them for their sin and transgressions. We are justified in His sight because of His great act of forgiveness.

Jesus went to the cross and died in our place to take the punishment for our sins. Because of this, and ONLY because of this, God offers us forgiveness, and cleansing, and salvation, and eternal life. He takes the vilest sinner and blots out the record of his/her wrongdoing based solely upon his/her faith in the work of Christ on the cross. Jesus took your “rap sheet” and your punishment upon Himself.

Realizing that we are forgiven, as grateful worshippers we are now ready to enter God’s temple in holy worship. The importance of the occasion fills us with such a sense of awe that we are genuinely humbled before God. We confess that we cannot understand all about God and his ways, though at the same time we rest in the knowledge that “with You there is forgiveness.” Because the Lord no longer keeps an account of our iniquities, we can stand!