Our True Friend

The enemy is constantly plotting to get us off track so we need help along the way to stay on the path. This New Year, we can trust God because He has a plan for us that gets us out of our circumstances with our true friend Jesus.

Noted in the previous passage was that David had been a bad influence on others as a father and leader. We know about the adulterous relationship of David with Bathsheba. Then to cover up this wrong doing, he had her husband set up to be killed while off at war. For punishment, God had promised calamity upon his household

Reading in 2 Samuel 13, we see that judgment is fulfilled as calamity is brought to David’s household. It all starts when the son of David named Amnon was in love with his half-sister named Tamar. He consoles with a friend or adviser.

It can be good to seek advice from friends but we need to continue to ask questions and seek answers; especially from our true friend Jesus who provides the Holy Spirit to counsel each of us in making decisions and taking the right path.

Unfortunately as noted in today’s passage, Amnon gets some wrong advice from Jonadab. They develop a scheme to get Tamar alone into Amnon’s bedroom. Amnon puts himself into a similar situation as David did with Bathsheba years ago.  Now David’s own son named Amnon sets up a scenario for himself that results in sinful acts that begin to domino out of control.

We continue reading that Amnon’s scheme to get Tamar alone in his bedroom didn’t go as planned. Tamar rejected the advances Amnon makes on her and Amnon ends up raping Tamar. This event is just one of many that fulfills the promised calamity upon David’s household.

Tamar was disgraced and her brother named Absalom found out what had happened. Absalom hated Ammon for what he did and eventually David found out too. A couple of years went by but Absalom continued to carry his anger inside. Finally, he devises a scheme to get Amnon alone by hiding his true intentions. While meeting in the countryside with the sheepshearers on what seemed to be business, Absalom orders his men to kill Amnon.

With You Lord, there is no division, conflict, and calamity. With Jesus our True friend, there is confidence because all we have to do is follow and the amazing will be done. We seek Your advice today as we face the things of this world that want us to get off track. Help us stay on track by following Your Way. The Way that leads to peace and paradise. Amen.

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Poetry Friday 12-30-2022

A poem posted at my other blog Step Ahead to give inspiration for those getting ready for the New Year.

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Call for Help

And call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me. –  Psalm 50:15

As pointed out in “Digging Out of the Hole”, we live in a broken world that knocks us down to the ground, but faithfulness brings recovery and hope. We should faithfully pray and trust in God that things will become forever better because we have access to more power than we could ever imagine.

We can be pulled up out of the hole to experience new highs in life.

To call for help, pray and trust God. Join in praise today with the song Heaven Help Me by Zach Williams. Like the song points out, we can’t walk this path alone and can’t do this on our own. We just need to hear God say everything will be okay. He will help us see it so we can believe it.

Index of devotionals

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Digging Out of the Hole

“Bing.” Microsoft. N.p., n.d. Web. Images >.

In the previous passage, we noted the bad decisions of David. One thing led to another and then to cover for his sin, David committed more sin. Bad decisions of the past can put us in a hole for the future but God has a way to pull us out of that hole. Jesus has sent us a rope to pull us out of the hole. If we just stop digging deeper, we can begin to gain confidence for a brighter future.

The Lord initiates action by sending out people to help. Reading today in 2 Samuel 12, the Lord sends Nathan to explain how He feels about David’s actions. Nathan tells a story of a rich man who takes a lamb away from a poor man as food for a guest. He explains to David that he is the rich man in the story.

Because David set up the situation for Uriah to be killed in war and took his wife Bathsheba to be his own, God would bring calamity on David’s life. His son from Bathsheba would die of sickness. David says this in verse 23, “Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.” During the difficult times of losing a loved one, David’s attitude was to keep in mind that someday he would be able to see him again in heaven.

We live in a broken world that knocks us down to the ground but faithfulness brings recovery and hope. We should faithfully pray and trust in God that things will become forever better because we have access to more power than we could ever imagine. We can be pulled up out of the hole to experience new highs in life.

God’s in charge and during difficult times, it is up to us to simply stop digging the hole deeper, decide what we can do to pull ourselves out, and start doing what we can by trusting God who will take care of the rest. Let us live in the moment and be pulled up by the plan He has for us.

We live in a broken world that puts us in a hole. There is inflation, there are health issues that set us back, and other difficulties faced but we can reach out for help and be pulled to new heights. Jesus has taken it all on himself. His sacrifice on the cross fulfills the plan so in His holy name we pray … Amen.

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Renewed in the Spirit of Your Mind

Put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind. –  Ephesians 4:22-23

Learned in the passage about David and Bathsheba and written about in “Keeping the Mind on the Tasks at Hand”, is that aimlessness leads to a lack of discipline which appeals to harmful desires that encourage wrongdoing.

Having a purpose keeps our thoughts on building a life that matters. Join in on the praise with the song One Day at a Time by Jeremy Camp. As the song says, press on one day at a time with a purpose to take in God’s word and share with others.

Index of devotionals

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