1 Kings 10:1 “Now when the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to test him with difficult questions.”
Monthly Archives: April 2018
IF ONLY…
1 Kings 9:4-5 “‘4 As for you, if you will walk before Me as your father David walked, in integrity of heart and uprightness, doing according to all that I have commanded you and will keep My statutes and My ordinances, 5 then I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever, just as I promised to your father David, saying, “You shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.”’”
CHOICES HAVE CONSEQUENCES
A LITTLE BIRDIE TOLD ME
1 Kings 5:7 “When Hiram heard the words of Solomon, he rejoiced greatly and said, ‘Blessed be the Lord today, who has given to David a wise son over this great people.’”
SHARE THE GOOD NEWS
THE REBELLIOUS CHILD
1 Kings 1:5a “Now Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, ‘I will be king.’”
SOMETIMES IT’S NOT THE PARENTING
A PARENT’S LOVE
2 Samuel 18:33 “The king was deeply moved and went up to the chamber over the gate and wept. And thus he said as he walked, ‘O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!’”
STILL MY SON
SHOUT!
Psalm 95:1-2 “1 O come, let us sing for joy to the Lord, let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation. 2 Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving, let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.”
BUT LET IT BE WITH JOY
IS IT OKAY TO LIE?
2 Samuel 17:7 “So Hushai said to Absalom, ‘This time the advice that Ahithophel has given is not good.’”
YOU TELL ME!
BEWARE
2 Samuel 14:33b “Thus he came to the king and prostrated himself on his face to the ground before the king, and the king kissed Absalom.”
FALSE REMORSE
Have you ever had someone come to you and apologize, and you knew they didn’t really mean it? You know they were either being forced to do this or they had an ulterior motive. This is what we have here with Absalom. He wasn’t sorry. You can see that clearly if you continue to read in 2 Samuel. Absalom just wanted to come home so he could be “the king’s son” again.
Position has its privilege, and Absalom wanted the privilege. He was proud and cocky. He had no sooner seen the king after 5 years of exile (3 away and 2 back at home) than he began his plot to overthrow his father. You can’t always believe people. But David kissed his son anyway.
TEACHING MOMENT
Teaching our children to forgive is hard. There is really no way to do that other than modeling it for them. I am sure, as a parent, you have told your little Johnny to tell his sister he was sorry after hitting her. And he probably reluctantly did that, but you and his sister knew he didn’t mean it. Only time would tell if he really was sorry.
But we still have to teach them. We still have to forgive others. We still have to give them the benefit of the doubt. Just think how many times the Lord forgives you when you are less than honest with Him. He loves you and wants you to come to Him in repentance. Only time will tell if you are truly remorseful.
Are you forgiving others? Are you repentant yourself? Try today to truly forgive someone. Perhaps someone has wronged you in the past and you are holding on to that. Let it go. Maybe someone will approach you today and ask for forgiveness. Give it to them. Remember you too are in need of forgiveness every day.
Father in Heaven, forgive me today. Give me the strength to forgive others also. Help me model forgiveness and repentance to others.
DOING IT RIGHT
2 Samuel 8:15 “So David reigned over all Israel; and David administered justice and righteousness for all his people.”
LEGACY
Finally, David is able to rule and reign. Finally, he is able to concentrate on leading his people. Finally, he is able to be the king God had intended for His people. Why? Because David had honored God in each and every action. Continue reading
LOSING YOUR HEAD
2 Samuel 4:7 “Now when they came into the house, as he was lying on his bed in his bedroom, they struck him and killed him and beheaded him. And they took his head and traveled by way of the Arabah all night.”
THAT CAN MEAN A LOT OF THINGS
I am sure you have heard that expression “lost their head.” Most of the time when we hear that it means someone just went crazy for a bit. They got angry and spouted off. But in this story, Ish-bosheth literally lost his head, but it wasn’t for anything he had done. He was murdered. And to make the matter worse, the two who murdered him thought they were doing David, the new king, a favor.
In fact, those two men are the ones who lost their heads. They took matters into their own hands and acted on behalf of someone for whom they had no business representing. And it cost them their lives. David would have no part of an innocent man’s murder.
TEACHING MOMENT
Children can get upset and “lose their heads” sometimes too. As parents, one of our jobs is to teach them to maintain their cool. Emotionally stability is important. No one wants to be around someone who is constantly blowing up and railing at others. Your children need to learn to stop, breathe and ask the Lord for peace.
Now, this all sounds easy. It is not. But remember peace comes from within. The Spirit of God gives our children, if they are believers, the peace they need to handle any situation. The only real peace is that which comes from the Father. He is the ultimate peace maker and peace sustainer.
Are you a model of peace in your home or are you the one who is always “losing your head”? What will your children learn from you? Does the peace that transcends all understanding control you? Let His peace transform your mind today.
A Moment In Time 