The Home Devo (Page 17)

  BIBLE READING: 1Kings 1-2                  I can vividly remember the day before my father passed away.  My father had suffered for years with a great deal of health issues that ranged from diabetes to heart failure.  In the last few years of his life he was granted some extra time on this earth when he received a heart transplant.  Those last few years are some of the most special to me.  What may be the most special was…

  BIBLE READING: 11 Samuel 23-24 A doctor was working in a remote area of Minnesota many years ago when a Native American family begged him to come and help their elderly grandmother who was gravely ill. He went, diagnosed her condition, and then gave them detailed instructions for her care. The woman recovered, and a few weeks later the entire family made the journey to the doctor’s office in town. They ceremoniously presented him with a 150-year-old pair of…

  BIBLE READING: 11 Samuel 21-22                 One of my favorite songs to lead when conducting devotionals of chapel is “I Will Call Upon the Lord”.  Notice the lyrics; in fact, you might rather sing them to yourself: “I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised. So shall I be saved from my enemies… I know the Lord live’th and blessed be the Rock and let the God of my salvation be exalted! I know the…

  BIBLE READING: 11 Samuel 19-20                 I don’t know a single person who likes to admit when they are wrong.  It must have something to do with the way our brains are wired, but no one enjoys being wrong.  Have you ever done something to someone with the assumption that you were in the right, only to discover later that you were really in the wrong?  Then after you uncover your mistake, you must make that trip to that…

  BIBLE READING: 11 Samuel 16-18   “O my son Absalom—my son, my son Absalom—if only I had died in your place.”   — 2 Samuel 18:33 Family members grieved deeply when 32-year-old Cindy died, but they also experienced great comfort. They knew that Cindy had a strong personal faith in Jesus. They also were confident that she left this world knowing she was greatly loved. And when she died, they had no regrets because they had enjoyed a good…

  BIBLE READING: 11 Samuel 12-13   It is never easy to tell someone we care about that they are wrong. It is even harder to have someone tell us that our own behavior is out of line. Nathan knew that he had to give King David some difficult correction from God. He was probably nervous about how the powerful king would respond. Nathan chose a gentle way to help David understand the situation from another point of view. Nathan helped…

  BIBLE READING: 11 Samuel 8-11                   In 2 Samuel 11 we see the story of David, Bathsheba, and Uriah. This is the story of David’s most well-known sin in committing adultery with Bathsheba and essentially murdering her husband Uriah. Most of us know this story but knowing this story and figuring out how we can learn from David’s sin are two totally different concepts. There is a lot we could focus on in this passage to learn from David,…

  BIBLE READING: 11 Samuel 4-7                             We all know the story of how God struck down Uzzah because he touched the holy Ark of the Covenant, but why was God so angry?  To begin with, God had given them strict orders that they were not touch the Ark in Numbers 4.15.  Secondly, they were also given specific instructions on how to transport the ark in Exodus 25.14.  Uzzah and the Israelites had disobeyed both commands when transporting the…

  BIBLE READING: 11 Samuel 1-3                 After the death of King Saul and Jonathan, the Bible records a lament from David.  Within this lament David refers to Saul as “pleasant and lovely” (2 Samuel 1.23).   Wow!  Wait a minute…I can see David saying this about Jonathan, but Saul.  Isn’t this the same Saul that had made it his life’s mission to kill David?  If I am being honest, if someone was trying to kill me it would be very…

  BIBLE READING: 1 Samuel 28-31                   Panic has hit the camp of David.  While David is returning from his rejection by the Philistines, the Amalekites have raided David’s camp in Ziklag.  They burned the camp with fire and have taken the women and children as hostages.   David and his men begin to panic.  Are their families still alive?  What did they do with them?  Where did they take them?  With all these unknowns, David’s men quickly turn on…

  BIBLE READING: 1 Samuel 25-27                 What do people think about you when they hear your name?  Do they recall some of the times that the two of you spent together?   Does an image of your face appear in their minds?  Do they have pleasant thoughts concerning you, or are their thoughts more negative?  For instance, if I say the name Adolph Hitler, you instantly have negative thoughts about him because of what you know about him.  On the…

  BIBLE READING: 1 Samuel 18-20 This chapter presents an interesting shift in Israel’s regard from Saul to David. Saul’s initial enthusiasm for David quickly deteriorated into suspicion and fear, as David’s popularity and prominence in Israel grew. Every step upward for David seemed to be a step downward for Saul. Every attempt Saul made to squelch David’s popularity had the opposite effect, making him even more admired. Saul, instead of honoring his pledge to release David, decided to conscript…