Judah and Israel were no longer separated. David was no longer on the run. Enemies were defeated. God was blessing. Life was good! This would seem like a time of continued devotion to the Lord. A time of continued praise and resting in the goodness of God. Times were good for David the king. Why is it that when there appears…

2 Samuel 8 gives a summary of David’s military victories. As verses 7 & 14 tell us, “and the Lord gave victory to David wherever he went.” Verse 15 says, “So David reigned over all Israel. And David administered justice and equity to all his people.” David uses his power as king to do good for the…

Your obedience is never to be done in the hope that you will get something, but rather in recognition of what you have already been given.  (Paul David Tripp, New Morning Mercies)   As I was reading in a devotional and my Bible, I found, as often happens, the Lord bringing truths to my attention.…

Since last Monday, I finished reading 1 Samuel and began the first few chapters of 2 Samuel. I am reminded that if I ever hear anyone say again that the Bible is boring, I’ll assume they haven’t read it! If you like suspense and action books, the Bible has its share. As I preached on Easter, in…

Perhaps you have heard it said, “Life is not fair.” Often life does not go as we would like it to. People do not respond and behave like we’d like them to. Sometimes the reward of doing “the right thing” isn’t immediate and embraced by those around us. Life can be hard. We look again at 1…

Easter – a time each year where were celebrate the resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ! It is preceded by Good Friday, the day we observe as the day that Jesus went to the cross and was crucified. Yes, I realize this year taking time to recognize and celebrate these incredibly important days will look different for…

This past weekend the sermon I shared with you was from Mark 4:35-41. In the message, I contrasted two types of fear: being afraid and being in awe. The more we know and, by faith, trust Jesus – who He is and what He has done – the less afraid we should be. At the same time,…

Our God is an awesome God! One of the attributes of God is that He is omnipotent – all powerful. As I looked at 1 Samuel 19 this morning, that was the thought I came away with. As I have shared, Saul was rejected by God as king of Israel. His failure to obey and honor the Lord…

We are starting our third week facing a “giant” challenge. Most of us have been confined to our homes and encouraged to stay there as our country faces an unseen enemy – a coronavirus. Over the past couple weeks, I have talked to many of you by phone and I am encouraged to hear that you are…