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Drawing closer to the Lord

Isn’t it amazing how much we read in a month? Years ago, I had made a commitment to the Lord to read my Bible at least as much as I read other materials (books, magazines and now I need to add time spent on the Internet). Yes, we need to spend more time with the Lord as we see our world falling apart, may we run and embrace Christ who gives us our strength and our hope and our peace of mind.


We start with looking at 2 Samuel 11:1-5 “It happened in the spring of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the people of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.”


This decision to stay behind rather than going to war like David had done in the past, ended up bringing David to his knees. But before that happened, his sin was such that many would say that he had lost favor with the Lord. Certainly, after committing adultery and then killing the husband of the woman he impregnated should have humbled him but it seems it wasn’t until Nathan came to him with a parable that David cried out, “I have sinned against the Lord.” (2 Sam 12:13)


And with that confession the Lord forgave David. David did not make excuses or justify his actions. Nathan confronted him with the facts and David confessed immediately. Immediately! May we be as quick to ask God’s forgiveness by confessing when we fall short. We are all vulnerable to some sort of sin that can pull us down to the pit of hell, ask the Lord to give you understanding to know and do the right thing.


Have you ever been betrayed by a trusted friend? We all have had a time when someone we thought was a dear friend used their words and actions to stab our heart and leave us bleeding. The most important part of such actions is that the Lord still wants you to forgive them. But we must remember that they are no longer to be trusted. Be careful who you invite into your inner circle; although all sin and fall short, not all use what they know about us to wound us. Guard your heart and trust it to people who stay close to the Lord Jesus Christ. And may we ask the Lord to keep us from wounding a friend.


I can never read 2 Kings 17:14-15 without at least making a small comment. I still go back to the New International Translation (c. 1997, not a later edition) which reads, “But the Israelites would not listen. They were as stubborn as their ancestors and refused to believe in the Lord their God. They rejected His laws and the covenant He had made with their ancestors, and they despised all His warnings. They worshiped worthless idols and became worthless themselves.” (emphasis are mine)


Let’s take it one step further, reading Acts 14:15 “Friends, why are you doing this (calling Paul and Barnabas gods)? We are merely human beings like yourselves! We have come to bring you the Good News that you should turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth, the sea and everything in them.”


These last two paragraphs pretty much sum up what is happening in the United States today—we have rejected God as a nation so we’ve lost the only Person who can truly give us esteem, worshipping worthless idols and now so many feel worthless. Our worth comes from no other source, only God the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.


Today I finished day 100 in Faithful Promises of God and would like to close with the prayer:


Heavenly Father, You care deeply for me and allow me to go through the pains of life to help me mature in Christ. Help me to learn my lessons quickly so I am pleasing to You. In Jesus name, Amen

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