God chooses mercy and grace when dealing with sin. God offers us relationship because of His grace. He offered us Jesus because of His mercy. Our salvation is fully accomplished through both mercy and grace. Having claimed Mephibosheth for his own table, David reorganizes Mephibosheth’s estate. The Hebrew Law
God desires to elevate us and give us an inheritance because of who we are in Christ. We are saved because of who God is, not because of who we are. God calls us into relationship because of what Jesus did for us, not because we deserve it. David wants
David ensures his kingdom has future leadership. While needing to deal with the problems of the moment, he also plans for the future. The kingdom God told David to build needed solid leadership now as well as in the future. This means appointing leaders to whom he can delegate. David
When we step up into the role suited for how God created us, we thrive. God blesses us with gifts, and He desires us to use them. It feels good to live into God’s design. When we allow God’s design for our life to lead us, we find
Life is easier when our focus is on the right spot. When the randomness of life happens, we can get caught up in chaos. When we have a brilliant idea, we can get enthralled by our own genius. Whether we are in the mountain or the valley or somewhere inbetween,
It’s always better to get on board with what God is doing than hope God is on board with what we are doing. We can make good plans. We can have impressive dreams. We cannot ever dream as big as God can plan. David goes to the prophet Nathan
As they say, pride goes before the fall. How many people, myself included, are down-to-earth rational human beings until they get a dose of popularity? When notoriety comes around, we want more. It changes us. It alters who we are and what we desire. As the ark comes
As a prelude to this post, I acknowledge taking an unpopular path with respect to this passage. I understand there are plenty of solid theological thoughts running contrary to my words here. This passage evokes great debate. In moments of success, it is easy to see our focus slip away
Sometimes our sin is not disobeying God, but making assumptions about what God wants in the first place. We can be lured into places certain activities into the categories of always good or always bad. That’s not necessarily true, though. To be good, it needs to originate with the
Sin is a master at tarnishing the goodness God brings to our life. This doesn’t mean sin is more powerful than God. The problem is our free will. Even when experiencing success in God’s glory, we still feel the temptation of sin in our lives. David consolidated the
Success is wonderful, but it is not without its dangers. Success brings reputation. Success brings honor. Success brings fame. Success brings the eye of the world. Success brings the temptation to shift our focus onto the results and away from what got us there in the first place. David goes
God desires to use His followers to call people into relationship with Him. He may not always make His plan clear from the start. He may take His time developing His agenda. Whether we can feel it or not, God does have a plan to use His people. With Ish-
2 Samuel
Those who take the place of God have a higher power to answer for their crimes. This is the essence of the first commandment given to Moses. The Lord is God, and He is a jealous God. We have no other gods before Him. With Abner dead and the elders
2 Samuel
When we live lives of forgiveness, we allow people to see God dwelling within us. The world doesn’t forgive. The world competes. The world plots revenge. The world distrusts. The world shows up its enemies and puts them down. God forgives. God turns anger into love. David is appalled
2 Samuel
If we have been forgiven much, we should forgive much. I deserve condemnation. My sinfulness deserves to live eternally separated from God. Blessedly, that is not my fate. Despite my sinfulness, God embraces me, calls me home, and forgives my wrongdoing. God welcomes me into eternal life with Him not
2 Samuel
Just as God forgives us, He expects us to forgive others. Jesus gives us a parable in the New Testament about a person who is forgiven by their lord, but who turns around and refuses to forgive someone who owes him a debt. Jesus uses the story as a negative
2 Samuel
It is easy to forget the Lord’s ways when we are focused on the world. We deal with the world often, and it is easy to get sucked into thinking like the world. The world often wants actions it can justify by its own standards, so we work to
2 Samuel
When we fail to rely upon God for His provision, we always take the matter of our needs into our own hands. We think we know best. We think we understand ourselves. We think our dreams will fulfill our desires. The relationship sours between Abner and Ish-bosheth. The real
2 Samuel
Devotional: Sin knocks at the door when we think we can do better than the Lord can do for us. Sin wants what is not good for us to have. Sin corrupts us because it pulls us away from God and His provision. With the threat from Abner resolved, David
2 Samuel
God is our greatest source of strength in times of trouble. When we are weak, He is strong. When we feel alone, He is still by our side. There is no battle He cannot win. Abner is pursued by Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. These three individuals were David’s nephews,
2 Samuel
We can always be assured of victory in the end when we fight on God’s side. This doesn’t mean the world will not have its day. The Bible affirms the possibility of human rebellion periodically taking form. In the final days, human rebellion against God will make life
2 Samuel
I believe life is best served in humble submission to God. Who among us can know the future? We know what we want, but our desires are often fleeting. We frequently feel less contentment with our heart’s desire after we acquire it than during the pursuit of our heart’
2 Samuel
While conflict is sometimes inevitable, solving our problems peacefully is always the safer course of action. Not everyone wants to resolve a situation peacefully, but everyone deserves the opportunity to do so. We have police, prisons, and military strength because there are people in our world who force violence. Society
2 Samuel
There is no better place from which to lead than from your knees before God. We can only guess at what the future will hold, God knows. We can only hope our plans will bear fruit; God’s plans always bear fruit. Leadership is done best when it ultimately originates