SCRIPTURE: Ephesians 1 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. [Ephesians 1:11-12] Paul is gushing as…
Author: Norm
happy birthday buddy
Oh my, look who’s 17! All growed up, actually taller than me. Thanks for being a great, fun kid. Looking forward to seeing how God is going to use you to bless others! Here is my prayer for you: May today there be peace within. May you trust God that you are exactly where you…
sin and sacrifice
SCRIPTURE: 2 Samuel 24 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: David built an altar to the LORD there and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. Then the LORD answered prayer in behalf of the land, and the plague on Israel was stopped. [2 Samuel 24:25] Lord, did You cause the census (2Samuel 24:1] or Satan [1Chronicles 21:1]? Why were You angry with them, was there…
Jesus-shaped living
If I am going to be a Jesus-follower, I need to be intentional about relating with Jesus, interacting with Him through my day to day experience. What makes this hard is that the conversation seems one-sided. I do not hear Him speak, I only ‘sense’ His direction or guidance of wisdom. It’s a thought or…
leadership lessons
SCRIPTURE: 2 Samuel 23 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: The God of Israel spoke, the Rock of Israel said to me: ‘When one rules over men in righteousness, when he rules in the fear of God, he is like the light of morning at sunrise on a cloudless morning, like the brightness after rain that brings the grass from the earth.’…
Lord, if I’m honest…
Lord, I need to be honest. Reading 2 Samuel is not proving to be inspiring for my faith. It is actually causing me to struggle with how I view the bible. It also challenges how I think about God. That’s not a bad thing, struggling and being challenged can be a good thing. But I…
my own song of praise
SCRIPTURE: 2 Samuel 22 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: David sang to the LORD the words of this song when the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. [2 Samuel 22:1] Lord, I sense in David a deep awareness that his success and security are in You, because of You. He sees the circumstances…
grieving with hope
SCRIPTURE: 2 Samuel 21 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: Lord, as I read 2 Samuel 21, I am stuck. I do not find this inspiring, I am not sure what You want me to learn. I don’t get that there is a famine because Saul killed the Gibeonites. I appreciate that he broke the treaty with them, but I don’t get why THIS…
a troublemaker crushed
SCRIPTURE: 2 Samuel 20 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: Now a troublemaker named Sheba son of Bicri, a Benjamite, happened to be there. He sounded the trumpet and shouted, “We have no share in David, no part in Jesse’s son! Every man to his tent, O Israel!” [2 Samuel 20:1] I had a tough time finding a lesson in this reading. I was…
humility and mercy
SCRIPTURE: 2 Samuel 19 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: When Shimei son of Gera crossed the Jordan, he fell prostrate before the king and said to him, “May my lord not hold me guilty. Do not remember how your servant did wrong on the day my lord the king left Jerusalem. May the king put it out of his mind. For…