Day 124

1 Samuel 23 starts out with David's men going into battle.  David goes against the Philistines that are attacking Keilah.  This does not seem to be like a very important thing, but I feel that it is.  In my opinion it is a cornerstone to the building of David's empire.  The remaining portion of this chapter is about Saul chasing after David.  It amazes me how many times Saul gets close and David gets away.  It really shows how much God is in control.

Psalm 54 is very short yet very insightful into Davids fight.  We see David once again calling out to God for help.  I love how David is not afraid to go to God.  Even for the smallest of decisions we see David asking advice from God.

Psalm 63 is almost a whole other side of David.  We have been reading over and over about David going to God for help about an upcoming crisis.  This chapter however shows David longing just to be near God.  How he wants to praise God to worship Him.

The end of Luke 22 is drawing us near to the end of Jesus physical life.  Our reading today starts with the group coming to arrest Jesus.  As Judas approaches I think Jesus throws him off by knowing how he is going to betray Him.  I would have to think by this time Judas has to be thinking am I prepared for what I am about to do.  Jesus' other disciples try and prevent this and draw their swords until Jesus puts an end to this.  I wish that I could show that much control if I knew what was about to happen.  Jesus knows that He is about to be lead to his torture and death, yet knows that He is doing exactly what God wants him to do.  If we could all live like that could you imagine how the world would be today.  The next portion is about Peter disowning Jesus three times just as Jesus told him he would.  How he did not realize what he was doing still floors me.  You would have thought by the second time he would have smacked himself in the forehead and said this is exactly what Jesus was telling me about.  The final portion of this chapter is the beginning of Jesus' trial.  Jesus tells them that He is the Son of Man.

Tomorrow's reading is:
1 Samuel 24, 25, 26, 27 and Luke 23:1-25

Day 123

Psalm 52 has me at a loss.  Since I was not able to really understand what it was talking about, I turned to my friend Google.  With the help of Google I stumbled upon this website talking about this particular Psalm.  It helped shed some light on this passage for me.

Psalm 57 I absolutely love.  The side notes in my Bible say that this is a song from David.  Reading it just filled me with the spirit that David had for his Creator.  David sings this Psalm with not a single doubt in his mind who is in charge of his life.  He shows such a great faith in God and is willing to put his entire life in God's hands.  He sings of how people are trying to overtake him and they stumble every time because they are not with God.  I particularly like the verses 7 through 11. 

"My heart is steadfast, O God, 

my heart is steadfast; 

I will sing and make music.

Awake, my soul!

Awake, harp and lyre!

I will awaken the dawn.

I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations;

I will sing of you among the peoples.

For great is your love, reaching to the heavens;

your faithfulness reaches to the skies.

Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;

let your glory be over all the earth."

To me those verses really show that David has an amazing grasp on what God is all about.  He knows that God's word needs to be spread and that should be his personal responsibility.  

Psalm 142 shows what I think is the troubled side of David.  David knows he is in trouble and is calling out to God for help.  He shows that he is at a loss but knows that God will direct him in the correct path.  His faith really reminds me of Job.  I wish my faith was like that all the time.  It is one of my biggest struggles.

Our reading in Luke continues further into Jesus being betrayed.  Peter learns that he will denounce Jesus 3 times before the rooster crows and scoffs at it.  Peter does not imagine how he could ever do that.  They are all kind of taken up in arms saying they will do whatever is necessary to not let this happen, but Jesus tells them that it has to happen this way.  Then we see Jesus do what He does so many times.  He goes off by himself to pray.  This is a very common sight that you may not have picked up on while reading.  Jesus often goes off by himself to pray, it is noted several times after all of his sermons.  It really does show a side of Jesus that we can be like.  We will never be sinless as he was but we can always pray like He did.

Tomorrow's reading is:

1Samuel 23, Psalms 54, 63 and Luke 22:47-71

Day 122

1 Samuel 22 starts us out with David on the run.  Even on the run it seems like David is collecting a large following.  He is hiding in a cave and somehow gathers around 400 men to follow him.  I would have liked to see all of them hiding in that cave.  The next portion of this chapter is very saddening.  I never expected Saul to be this jealous.  He is so overcome with anger that he is acting out in rash decisions and kills off the Lord's priests.  How does Saul not realize that what he is doing is not in the favor of the Lord?  I foresee the life of Saul coming to an end very soon.  For the one that escaped to David I do feel sorry for him and can only imagine the anguish he must have felt.  To lose your entire family in one day has to be the worst fate that could happen.

Psalm 56 is one I have not read before.  I am amazed at the strength that David shows even after being captured by the Philistines.  Not once did he doubt God.  He knows that God is watching over him and that He will take care of him no matter what.  I wish I could say my faith is that strong.  Many times I feel that I am to worried about what the world thinks of me when I should not care.  I should know that as long as I have faith God will provide for me.  We read before about how God provides for the birds of the air and the flowers of the field and that we are greater then these.  Since we are greater then these we should know that God will take care of us as well.  If you want to look that verse up again it is in Matthew 6, but ever since reading it I think of it often.

Luke 22 is the beginning of the plotting of Judas the Iscariot.  I think this has to be the first time I have ever actually read this part.  I was shocked when I read that Satan actually entered Judas.  Never once did I imagine Satan entering Judas.  Now, I had thought that a demon possessed him but for it to be the one in charge of the demons altogether I was not expecting.  The remaining portion of our reading begins the last supper.  The preparations for the last supper happen just like I expected them to.  The disciples asked Jesus what they were to do and He tells them exactly what is going to happen.  Sure enough they go to town and it happens just like He said it would.  Time and time again we read stories like this and I just have to wonder if the disciples ever got tired of hearing it.  For some reason I can hear the disciples saying "Wow, that's amazing" in the voice of the guy on the Staples commercial.  During the supper Jesus then goes about telling them that His time on Earth is about to end and that the person that will betray him is with them at this very moment.  I can just picture everyone of the disciples being awestruck at that very moment.  Everyone of them thinking surely it is not I.  The one thought that I can not grasp though is that of Judas.  I really wonder what he is thinking during all of this.  Is he sitting there with laughter in his head saying "ha ha you have know idea what I am about to do to you."?  I mean honestly Judas this is Jesus Christ we are talking about.  He formed you, He knew you before you were you.  The really important part of this reading though is that of the broken body and spilled blood.  Jesus gave us a covenant before he passed away on the cross and rose from the dead on the third day.  A covenant is a very import thing.  It is not something to enter into lightly.  It is a dedication to be made and held onto for your entire life.  For those of you reading this that have entered into that covenant I would like you to take a deep look into and truly exam it.

Tomorrow's reading is:
Psalms 52, 57, 142 and Luke 22:24-46