Morning Musing: 2 Samuel 11:2-3a

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“It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful. And David sent and inquired about the woman.”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

You’ve experienced it before. You finish dinner and you’re stuffed. To the gills. Any more food and you just might pop. And then the table next to you has their dessert delivered. It looks amazing. A huge brownie that you can see from a table over is just the right amount of gooey. A heaping scoop of vanilla ice cream centered perfectly on top of it that it just beginning to melt down the sides because the brownie is obviously fresh from the oven. And over the top of the whole thing a little drizzle of caramel sauce. Read the rest…

Digging in Deeper: 1 Timothy 6:3-5

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“If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain.”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

These are some pretty tough words by Paul. He really doesn’t leave much off the table when it comes to calling out those folks who teach doctrine that doesn’t agree with his own which he is confident is absolutely consistent with what Jesus and the rest of the apostles proclaimed. And, given that 13 of his letters got included in the New Testament, I think he has a pretty good case to make that he’s on target. Still and again, these are tough words. What are we to make of them? Read the rest…

Morning Musing: 2 Samuel 11:1

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“In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel. And they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.”  (ESV – Read the chapter)‬‬

David was not where he should have been. He was the leader of the armies of Israel. When they went out to battle, he was supposed to be at the front of the lines leading them valiantly. He had done this before many times over. But this time, while he was licking his wounds from the offense of King Hanun of the Ammonites, his troops were defending his pride without him. David was not where he should have been. Read the rest…

Digging in Deeper: 2 Samuel 1:14-16

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“David said to him, ‘How is it you were not afraid to put out your hand to destroy the Lord ‘s anointed?’ Then David called one of the young men and said, ‘Go, execute him.’ And he struck him down so that he died. And David said to him, ‘Your blood be on your head, for your own mouth has testified against you, saying, “I have killed the Lord ‘s anointed.”’”  (ESV – Read the chapter) ‬‬

I’ll be honest: I’ve been wrestling with this little story. I’m still not totally sure what to do with it. There are several different things to consider when trying to make sense of it. The truth is, though, sometimes even after we’ve considered all the different factors, we still can’t fully get our heads and hearts around a particular hard passage, and that’s okay. Here’s what I have so far. Read the rest…

Morning Musing: 2 Samuel 10:19

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“And when all the kings who were servants of Hadadezer saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they made peace with Israel and became subject to them. So the Syrians were afraid to save the Ammonites anymore.”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

Have you ever helped someone do something wrong? Let’s not go so extreme, though. Have you ever helped someone do something foolish? How’d that go for you? Did they get caught? Did you get caught with them? Did you face any consequences with them? Worse yet, did you face consequences that they didn’t face? Depending on either how close the relationship is or else how big the promise of potential reward is, there are times when we are sorely tempted to join in on something that just isn’t very wise. Read the rest…