2 Samuel 23:17d “These things the three mighty men did.”
“Here I come to save the day! That means that Mighty Mouse is on the way! Yes sir, when there is a wrong to right, Mighty Mouse will join the fight!” Continue reading
2 Samuel 22:29 “For You are my lamp, O Lord; and the Lord illumines my darkness.”
I sometimes go out on the lake to fish early in the morning or stay out on the lake until dark. If you are on the lake from dusk to dawn, you are required to have a bow light and a stern light illuminated. This allows other boats to see you and avoid a collision. Believe me, when you are on the water when it’s dark, it’s really dark. You want those lights on. Continue reading
2 Samuel 19:5-6 “5 Then Joab came into the house to the king and said, ‘Today you have covered with shame the faces of all your servants, who today have saved your life and the lives of your sons and daughters, the lives of your wives, and the lives of your concubines, 6 by loving those who hate you, and by hating those who love you. For you have shown today that princes and servants are nothing to you; for I know this day that if Absalom were alive and all of us were dead today, then you would be pleased.’”
This is a sad story. Continue reading
Psalm 62:6-7 “6 He only is my rock and my salvation, My stronghold; I shall not be shaken. 7 On God my salvation and my glory rest; The rock of my strength, my refuge is in God.”
Just look at the descriptions of God that David uses in these two verses. He calls God six different things – rock, salvation, stronghold, glory, strength and refuge. But look at those words. Those are great words! Those are great descriptors for God.
David knew God in all these ways. Think of the times God had saved him. Think of the many times God had been his strength in battle. Think of the occasions when God had stood as a rock, stronghold or refuge from Saul. David knew God in these ways!
And our children can know Him in the same ways, if they will just trust Him. You see, in all these ways David had to trust God. When our children learn to trust the God of the universe He can be their rock, salvation, stronghold, glory, strength and refuge. We, as parents, have to teach them how to trust Him. We have to give them opportunities to place their trust in God, starting with salvation.
Little Gertrude and Elrod can’t trust in our trust in God who is our rock, salvation, stronghold, glory, strength and refuge. They have to make the decision to make Him their own. All we can do is lay the groundwork and live out our faith before them. We can’t save them. Only God can. But they have to decide to let Him.
Are you trusting completely in the Lord? Is He your salvation and nothing else? You are missing so much if He is not also your rock and stronghold. Until you experience Him as your refuge and strength, you haven’t experienced the fullness of God in your life. Don’t you want to experience all of Him?
2 Samuel 16:10 “But the king said, ‘What have I to do with you, O sons of Zeruiah? If he curses, and if the LORD has told him, “Curse David,” then who shall say, “Why have you done so?”’”
The problem with vengeance is it doesn’t belong to us. Just look at this story. Shimei comes out and starts cursing David as he is leaving Jerusalem, fleeing from Absalom. David’s mighty men want to cut off Shimei’s head, but David says, “No, the Lord will take care of him.” Well, he doesn’t exactly say that. He really says he trusts the Lord to do what he should do with himself and Shimei.
Not me! I want vengeance. I want to get payback. Lol! How about you? We think we have the “right” to defend ourselves against harsh words or ill treatment. I am NOT saying we should be a doormat for others. I am saying, though, that we need to trust the Lord to defend us. Perhaps that person who is giving you such a hard time has been put there by God to build your faith.
There is no other way to teach our kids this truth than by living it out ourselves. We can preach it to them until we are blue in the face, but until they see someone else actually doing it, they don’t believe it can be done. And remember, you can’t do it. Only Christ in you can do it.
Others are going to turn against your children. They will have friends who call them names or try to ridicule or embarrass them. If they learn now how to handle that, they will be so much further down that road of maturity. The Lord will only allow to come into our lives what He knows we can handle. We have to trust that.
Are you trusting Him today to be your defender? Or are you taking up your sword against those who mistreat you? Ask yourself what Christ would do. Would He lash out at that person or would He love them? I am not saying it will be easy, but it is what He asks us to do.
I will be the first to step up to defend the weak and vulnerable. But I am also quick to try to defend myself. It is not easy to just “take it” when you know you have done nothing wrong. Let God handle it. He has a big enough back to shoulder the burden.
2 Samuel 13:21 “Now when King David heard of all these matters, he was very angry.”
I grew up with an older brother, an older sister and a younger sister. We loved each other, but, boy, did we ever fight. My brother and I would wrestle all the time. I would get mad at my sisters from time to time. But one thing my parents did is they made sure we made things right. Continue reading
2 Samuel 12:13a “Then David said to Nathan, ‘I have sinned against the Lord.’”
Here we are at probably one of the two most told stories about David. The other is when he kills Goliath. That’s a great story. But here…well…this is another side of David we haven’t seen. This is a story of his failure.
It starts out innocent enough. He accidentally sees a lady bathing on a rooftop. But that look turns to lust which leads to sin, which leads to another sin and another sin. You get the picture. Once David decided to go against God’s commandments, he started down a slippery slope.
Have you ever caught your child in a lie? They are caught red-handed, but they begin to fabricate a story to try to get out of it. One lie leads to another lie. That’s exactly what David did. This would be a great story to share with your child at such a time. Now, depending on their age, you may want to “adapt” what you tell them started all of this. But they need to see how lies can build until someone gets hurt.
How can we teach our children the importance of always telling the truth and doing what’s right? Simple. Teach them God’s Word. Teach them to follow His commands. If they do that, they are safe. But the moment they decide to do things their way…well…they are subject to failure.
How are you doing with this? Are you making your decisions based on what you think is best or what you want to do? Or are you seeking the Lord before you make that decision? We are just as tempted as our children to do what we think is best. We are just as tempted to follow the example of David, if we think we won’t get caught.
Decide today to not take that first step. Don’t put one foot on that slippery slope. If you do, it’s downhill from there. The only way out is confession. If that’s where you are, then confess it now. Stop what you are doing and let Him cleanse you.
2 Samuel 10:2 “Then David said, ‘I will show kindness to Hanun the son of Nahash, just as his father showed kindness to me.’”
No one really knows the story behind Nahash’s kindness to David. Scripture does not tell us. We do know that Nahash was Saul’s enemy, so many speculate he was kind to David since “the enemy of my enemy is my friend”, or so they say.
Regardless of the reason the kindness was shown, David feels obligated to repay the kindness toward Nahash’s son, but the son rejects it and even “spits in the face” of David by humiliating David’s servants he had sent. Not cool! There are lessons to be learned here.
Our children need to learn two things from this lesson. First, they should repay kindness shown. When someone blesses them, they should find a way to repay that. It’s just the right thing to do. A thank you card is appropriate or some other way to show their gratitude.
Secondly, don’t spurn a kindness shown from anyone, even from someone you “think” is your enemy. You don’t know their motive. Perhaps the Lord is working on them. This act of kindness may be of the Lord. As believers, we need to accept this act as Christ would. Now, don’t be gullible, but be loving.
Is there someone to whom you need to show a kindness? Who has blessed you lately and you failed to thank them? Our children are watching how we respond to others. What better way to teach them these lessons from David than for them to see us do the same.
Now, if the other person turns your kindness away don’t put together an army and attack them. Lol. Let’s leave that to David. The Lord knows your motive. He will defend you. Trust Him to do that. You just need to be obedient to follow the Lord’s direction toward others.
2 Samuel 9:7 “David said to him, ‘Do not fear, for I will surely show kindness to you for the sake of your father Jonathan, and will restore to you all the land of your grandfather Saul; and you shall eat at my table regularly.’”
This story of Mephibosheth has always blessed me. After David has solidified his kingdom he starts thinking about his old friend, Jonathan, Saul’s son. They had been covenant brothers. David had promised to protect Jonathan’s family once he became king. So, David seeks out any of the family who may still be alive.
Can you imagine, though, Mephibosheth’s fear when the king’s soldiers arrived at his house to take him to David. He probably thought this was it. The day had finally arrived when David would kill him in order to rid the land of any of Saul’s descendants. He probably had no idea of the covenant between his father and David. What a wonderful surprise and blessing when he was received by David with such love.
Promises are something we need to teach our kids about. When we give our word, it means something. When we give our word, we need to keep it, not matter how long that means. Childhood promises made may not mean a lot when they are made, but the whole idea of making promises should not be taken lightly.
Probably the most visible “promise” your children see in you is the promise you made to your husband or wife (if you are married). They need to see you keeping your promises to love, honor and cherish each other. You are teaching them, in the way you do that, how they will treat their spouse one day. Promises made should be promises kept.
What promise have you broken? What covenant relationship has become a forgotten one in your life? It’s not too late to make that right. I doubt the other person has forgotten it either. Now, you can’t make the other person keep their side of the covenant. But you can make sure they know you are sorry you failed to live up to your side.
2 Samuel 6:9 “So David was afraid of the Lord that day; and he said, ‘How can the ark of the Lord come to me?’”
This is one of the most misunderstood stories in the Old Testament. David is bringing the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem when Uzzah is killed for touching the ark while trying to keep it from falling. David didn’t understand this. Why would God kill a man for protecting the ark? David had not researched or been told that the proper way to transport the ark was NOT on a cart. It should have been carried on two poles by four men, men of a certain tribe of Israel.
David was always so careful to follow the Lord’s directions. We see that over and over in his stories. But this time, in his zest to worship and glorify God, he failed to seek it. Sometimes worship can be misdirected, can’t it?
We need to teach our children that there is a right way and a wrong way to worship. I am not talking about the type of music or the clothes we wear (well maybe a little, lol). I am talking about what we bring attention to in worship. We should never worship in such a way that people look at us rather than the Lord. We should not be a distraction to others. All they should see is Jesus.
In these days of “wide open” worship services where it seems anything is accepted, we need to be careful to teach our children that reverence is still needed. David failed to show reverence to God by the way he instructed the men to carry the ark. That may sound simple and maybe a little stupid to some. But God demands reverence and expects His children to follow His instructions.
As you go to worship this week, think about how you are worshipping. As you celebrate the Savior, are you pointing others to Him? Do you worship in such a way that others are drawn to Jesus? Don’t let anything you do or say point them toward you.
A Moment In Time 