Going Forward

One of the great dangers for anyone is taking on too much. We can allow ourselves to become like Titan and try to carry the world. For myself, I never see myself as having done enough, which can keep me from being lazy but can also force me into a frame of mind that doesn't allow me to rest as God commands.

Balance in life is not the old-fashioned scales, where we add to one side or another. Balance isn't equality in our lives. I say that because we are people and not measuring devices. Balance for people is often more nuanced.

Balance is often something we talk about, but in understanding it, we create something it isn't. Balance for a pregnant woman isn't the same as a teenage boy, or an unemployed steelworker, or a pastor. Balance is adding the right amount of force to the right areas of our lives to keep us from falling over or falling into error. It means turning off the TV or going home early from work to take care of a sick wife or child. It may mean taking an extra job to pay off debt. It may mean not watching TV or reading fiction to finish the master’s Program. It may mean doing nothing so that your body can recover.

To say it another way, balance for an introvert may mean only a few hours or less around people who drain you. For an extrovert, your balance is to be intact with more stimuli. For a cactus, balance is only a little water and lots of sun, but an impatiens needs lots of water and shade. As a Christian, you always need God and His word. For an infant or someone who is older, balance might mean taking a nap. Balance for you won’t be the same as for others.

Find the balance that God wants you to have and live into it, but remember to let God be your instructor in this.

PERSONAL APPLICATION: This is where it comes to me. I need to keep a balance. Currently, I am starting to work with a Bible scholar on reviewing the Bible Reflections Series. This is something due to our schedules that will take a lot of time. We will begin with Bible Reflections 5 and continue so that the book and the blog, https://biblereflections4you.blogspot.com will be as accurate as I can make them. To do this and not become overloaded, I will not be continuing to add more comments as we go through Bible Reflections, even though I am still doing the readings.

 

For the few who follow here, thanks for your understanding. I will still be posting, but less frequently and not about Bible Reflections. See you in 2026.

REMEMBER: Balance is adding the right amount of force to the right areas of our lives to keep us from falling over or falling into error.

Jeremiah 37

 

Don’t think this reprieve means you're getting off. There are times when it appears that people who are doing wrong are going to get away with consequences. The truth is that everyone will face judgment. Here, it seems they'll be okay, but God warns them they won't. What Judah should have done is take this time to call for people to repent and call out to God. What do we see? They arrest the prophet on trumped-up charges. Instead of seeking the prophet to return to God, they beat him and might have killed him if the king hadn't stepped in. The king, though protecting Isaiah, shows no sign of calling for repentance either. How sad.  

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Romans 16

 

Paul and Romans Chapter 16 has a list of people that are just one after another of people who are in Christ or are working for Christ or have helped in the work of Christ and it's amazing to see these names listed one after another, some of which are new people we haven't heard of before, some of which we can read about it in the Book of Acts. But it's amazing to see the number of people who came beside Paul and were working for the gospel.

Yet in the middle of all this, Paul says, greet them and do wonderful things to them and treat them right. Paul warns 16 and verse 17 to watch out for those who cause divisions, obstacles, and keep away from them. After saying "greet these people," do nice things. There's this warning: watch out for those who are causing division. Watch out for those who are causing trouble and serving themselves. And why? Because God wants us to be innocent about what is evil. Don't get caught up in those things that cause divisions that cause problems with those people who do that. But serve God faithfully. And as Paul says, "God of peace will crush Satan." You don't have to. I don't have to. And to me, that is a relief. I have things to do, you have things to do, but God will have the victory.

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Romans 15

 

As we look at Romans Chapter 15, Paul starts out in verse 14, 15, that he understands that the people in Rome are, they're doing good, they have knowledge, they have competence, they can instruct one another, but he says that he's, because of his ministry, he's spoken boldly on some points to remind them. And I'm reminded that the reason we go sometimes to church isn't just to help other people, which we should. It isn't just to hear new things. Sometimes we do. Sometimes it's good to be reminded. That's the ministry sometimes for our pastor. Just to remind people of what they already know.

Also, I found it interesting that at the end of this chapter, Paul asks for prayer. He asks him, he says, "Pray for me." Now, if anyone was good enough, it would have been Paul, we would think. But yet Paul the Apostle says, "I want you to pray for me." He realized that the prayers of others would help him in the things he was about to face.

Finally, if I may, verse 13 sounds like a great conclusion. "May the God of Hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Amen. Go with God today.

Psalm 86

 

There are two prayers in the chapter that have me thinking today. The first is that God would guard our lives, and the second is that God would give us an undivided heart. When I consider it, these aren’t two prayers but one; if our lives are going to be all that they need to be for God, our hearts can’t be divided. We have to be fully committed to God and his ways. James gives the warning that a divided heart won’t receive anything from God, so this is a real concern. The great thing is God knows our weakness and will help us when we find our heart divided between what He says and other desires that come up within us. God will if we let him give us undivided hearts, and in that He is guarding our lives.

2 Samuel 14

  

As I look into 2 Samuel 14, I see something that I see as a reflection of 2 Samuel 13. Jonadab gave advice to his brother. And now Joab is giving advice through someone else to David to try to make them feel better about themselves and about what's going on in their life. The problem is that both of these choices led to disaster, which is a reminder to me that we need to make sure to pick wise counselors and not just people who will tell us what we want to hear. 

If I'm on a diet, I don't need to ask the bakery owner, "Should I buy a donut?" Of course, he's going to say "yes." "He's going to say, one's not going to hurt you. It's okay". If I have a friend who just wants me to feel better, he'll say, "Yes, eat it." My doctor? Well, he's not going to say that. And real, honest, good advisors tell us what we don't want to hear, not just what we want to hear. 

Choose wisely.

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2 Samuel 13

  

Second Samuel Chapter 13, we find the story of Amon and Tamar, and then of Absalom's hatred toward his brother, and then the murder of his brother. The one thing that comes out to me in this is the fact that Absalon, it says, never said a word to Amon. In fact, we don't see that Absalom said anything to anyone. Not to David, not to Amon. He let this hatred simmer in his heart. And it simmered, and it simmered. And two years later, it came out. This is a reminder that if you hold on to bitterness and anger, it eventually leads to evil. Yes, you may never kill your enemy or the person you hate. But Jesus says if we hold on to hatred and bitterness in our heart, then we've already committed the sin of murder. Why is that? Because of our trajectory, our heart is already bent that way. And given enough time, without dealing with it, and without some sort of restraining influence, we too will follow in the steps of Absalon and murder those who have offended us. Now we might say Absalom was justified because the king, David, did nothing. And in one sense, yes. Ammon should have been killed according to the law. But ultimately, it wasn't in Absalom's hands. He was not the judge. He was not the government; his father, David, was. And we don't see that he even went to David and pleaded with him. He just held on to it until he finally worked it out in his life. Be careful what you let stay in your life. And remember this. God says we're to love our enemies, to pray for them. Why? Because ultimately, those actions, those attitudes, I should say, will destroy you, not just those people you hate.

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Jeremiah 36

 

The words Jeremiah had spoken hadn't caused the people to change, so perhaps a scroll written would? God is giving another way for people to hear his message, but what I see is that even when hearing this, the people didn't change. The elders were afraid, but other than telling Baruch and Jeremiah to hide (which was good), there is nothing that says they repented of their ways. They just took it to the king. My thought on this is that if someone's heart is turned against God, it doesn't matter what God does; he could speak from the mountain his commands (He did at Sinai), but the rebellious will not listen. As the old saying goes, "No one is so blind as the one who refuses to see."

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2 Samuel 12

  

In Second Samuel Chapter 12, several things caught my attention that I really hadn't noticed before. First was God's word to David. "I gave you all this. And if you wanted more, I would have given it to you." In verse number eight, God would have given David more. But no, David wanted what he wanted, and it was wrong.

Also, God's promise that what is done in secret will be shown openly. By the way, this is manifest again in the New Testament, where Jesus says that what is done in secret will be publicly acknowledged. So don't think you're hiding it. That's why it's so important to ask for forgiveness and have God come into you. He can give you the grace to accept it.

Also, David's acceptance of God's will when it came to the death of his child. He prayed and he prayed, he grieved in a very true way. But it wasn't grieving that was happening when the child was sick. It was calling out to God. And he stopped calling out to God when he saw that God wasn't going to heal his child. He accepted it. I'm sure he was. But he had come to understand now wasn't the time to try to call out to God to beg because God said no.

The amazing thing is that this relationship, which should not have taken place between David and Bathsheba. There was a son finally born named Solomon, whom Nathan, the prophet, told him to name Jedediah, meaning beloved. Is it amazing that God can bring forth the beloved from something sinful? Like God brings us, sinners broken from the actions of our Adam and Eve and our parents, all the way down to our own disobedience. When we call out forgiveness, he takes and creates one who is beloved. I just think that's a man we see.

And then finally, the last chapter, when Job tells David, "You need to get down here and take credit for this, or I will." And it just hits me, if Joab had done this early on, told David, "Hey David, you need to get down here and not stay in Jerusalem," there wouldn't have been any of this problem with Bethsheba.

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Romans 14

 

As we turn to Romans Chapter 14, the key to this chapter is verse 8, where it says, "if we live, we live for the Lord, and if we die, we die for the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord." Everything in our lives needs to revolve around the fact that it belongs to God. 

What would Jesus do? Which is a real question. What would Jesus do in my life when it comes to these things that are vague or unclear in scripture? Like food sacrifice to idols or celebrating certain days. Some people want to get really bent out of shape. But Paul actually is saying we need to consider our brother higher than ourselves. If it's going to offend them, if it's going to drive them away from God, then it would be better for us not to do it.  I am a teetotler, just to tell you. Years ago, I was sitting with someone at a table, and there was a small bottle of wine available, but none of us were touching it. And there was a discussion about a communion service that was going to have wine. And I just made the statement that I could not partake of that because I am a teetotaler. I did not feel that it was good for me to partake of wine because of the alcoholic tendencies in my life and the alcoholic history in my family. The person across from me said, "Well, it's no big deal," and to prove their point, they poured themselves a glass of wine and drank it, then explained how good it tasted. Thankfully, though that hurt, because this was someone I respected, I let go of it and said, "She can do what she wants, I have to do what I believe God wants." And I don't want to judge this person's actions, but in light of scripture, I've got to ask myself or tell myself, I need to do better than that. I don't need to stand over someone else and say, I don't have a problem and do what would offend them. I need to consider their soul. This is not just if somebody's being petty, but if this is a sincere issue, then I need to let it go. I don't need to flaunt it in their face. Why? Because my life isn't my own. My life is Christ, and Christ would not hurt my brother or sister. As G. Campbell Morgan put it, "the test of which we are to judge is the welfare of our brother." And I think it's not just judging. It's in all that we do.

Psalm 51

I appreciate G. Campbell Morgan in his book, "An
Expository Exposition of the whole Bible," when he said that "the
penitent soul cried for forgiveness on the basis of confession." And he's
right. If we're going to get right with God, looking at David's example, we
have to be able to confess, be willing to admit, "Hey, I did wrong." 

Also, the progression that J. Campbell Morgan pointed
out was, first, David asked for pardon, for purity, for cleansing of his heart,
and finally a renewal of his spirit. And when I look at the work that Christ is
to do in our lives as Christians, it matches. We come to him and ask for
forgiveness. He imputes his righteousness to us. He begins cleansing our hearts
and renews our spirit by His Spirit coming in and renewing us and making us
more like him. That's the plan. The plan isn't that we are just to be forgiven,
but that we are supposed to have pure hearts and a new spirit. That's what God
wants for His people. And we see that in the heart of David in Psalm 51.

2 Samuel 11

 

When we look at Second Samuel Chapter 11, I can't help but think about Matthew Chapter 5 when Jesus said, "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." We see in Second Samuel chapter 11 that Uriah the Hittite did the right thing. Like Joseph, who refused to sleep with Potipher's wife, Uriah refused to lower his integrity and spend a comfortable time with his wife while his men were out to war. And what did Uriah get for his faithfulness to his men? For doing what is right? David killed him.

This is a reminder that when we look at what Jesus says and other places in the Old Testament, like the story of Joseph, doing the right thing sometimes has horrible consequences. You can do the right thing, and nothing goes right. This doesn't mean that God is against you. In fact, looking at the scriptures, God is blessed by those who suffer for righteousness’ sake. But that doesn't make it easy.

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2 Samuel 10

 

Second Samuel Chapter 10 reminds me that there are times we should not listen to our advisors. Hanun was asking what's going on, and his advisors, his princes said, "No, David's a bad guy, my paraphrase, watch out," and he responded, This is why it's so important to have good advisors. Because bad advisors will get you into a world of trouble. Just as they did, Hanun here. First of all, by telling him, "David's bad," treating his advisors or comforts badly, and then by preparing for war. When they should have just apologized. 

Choose advisors carefully.

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Jeremiah 35

 

God's reward to the Rechabits, to always have someone in their household who will serve God, can be contrasted with what God is promising is coming on Jerusalem, destruction. God is reinforcing the teaching that obedience brings blessing. We may not like it and want to argue that God isn't fair, but that is about as foolish as saying gravity isn't fair when you jump off a building. If you do something wrong, there are consequences whether you like it or not. 

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2 Samuel 9

 

In the midst of Second Samuel 9 and David's actions toward Jonathan's son, we see something interesting, not in the fact that Jonathan's son was taken care of, that is kind of expected, understanding David's character. But what I've noticed in this chapter is what Mephibosheth named his son. Names often tell what the parent is thinking and feeling or what they believe. And Micah means who is like God. For a man who was crippled, who was part of a royal family but is not now, for him to name his son, who is like God, shows me that Mephibosheth must have had great faith like his father.

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Romans 13

 

We should consider the first and last verses of Romans Chapter 13. The first part says "everyone must submit himself." I'll pause there and then go to the last verse: "Rather, clothe yourself with the Lord Jesus Christ and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature". These two points of this chapter are important and nearly sum it up.

We have to remember that Paul's world, the Roman authorities, were not the good guys. They weren't nice, yet Paul was saying submit. Now, how much we should submit and how much we shouldn't, and if we have a dictator like Hitler, is it right to oppose him or to do something against them? Were the Founding Fathers right or wrong in what they did? That's a discussion for another day. 

What I wanted to point out is that everyone must submit. That's part of the problem with humanity. We don't want to submit to the authority that God has placed around us and through us. We don't want to submit to our parents, we don't want to submit to the government, we don't want to submit to our bosses or our coworkers (If they've got a good idea). We want to be the guy in charge. If we're going to be Christians, we have to be willing to submit. And part of that submitting is loving our neighbors, which is what's mentioned in the middle of the chapter. Paul wraps up this thought by saying, clothe ourselves. Part of submitting to God means we need to put on Christ and not think about how we gratify the desires of the sinful nature. In other words, we need to be focusing on serving Christ and clothing ourselves (allowing us to be more like him), rather than planning to do those things that aren't right.

This is the thing I've noticed in life. Sometimes, we aren't doing the thing that's wrong, but we're thinking about it. The problem with thinking about it is clear. Jesus says thoughts will become your actions. Where you're thoughts go, you will go. Thoughts will produce those sins. If you lust after a woman in your heart, in your mind, that is, you've already committed adultery. Why? Because you're on that trajectory. However, if we're going to follow Christ, if we're going to submit to Christ, we have to stop thinking and planning how we're going to indulge. But instead, clothe ourselves in Jesus Christ and love our neighbor. Because that's part of what Jesus calls us to do. 

What do you see in this chapter?

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Psalms 60

 

In verse four, God has given those who fear God a banner. Banners in war were set so that troops would have a rallying point or a place they should be. One of the most dangerous times in a battle that I have read is when a group or a person isn't where they are supposed to be during a battle. Equally dangerous, and goes along with that, is when you can't tell where you are supposed to be. I remember reading somewhere that someone got lost and found themselves surrounded by the enemy, and they just kept marching with them until they found their own forces. God, however, has offered us a banner, a sign, to those who fear him, and I would say that rallying point is God himself. He is the one we need when we are in danger. 

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2 Samuel 8

  

When we come to Second Samuel Chapter 8, there's an interesting thing that happens. David defeats the Moabites, who had previously given sanctuary to his parents. But once he defeats them in the battle, because evidently something changed, he made them lie on the ground, measured them off of the cord, and cut off two lengths of them, putting two-thirds to death and one-third were left alive. The reason this happened was not clear. According to tradition, the Moabites turned against David, or maybe a portion of the Moabites turned together against David. According to tradition, David's parents were killed. Possibly, this is why David took such actions against captured soldiers. By the way, having people who had committed horrible crimes lie down to be killed was a cultural thing in the East. Typically, it was not seen in the people of God, but here it seems David did it. Again, we're not explained why in the Bible, but tradition seems to say David was correct. Or at least it seems to be.

At the end of the day, we should always do to others as God would have us, not according to the cultures of the day, or because of anger or vengeance. But that's a subject for another day.

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2 Samuel 7

 

In Second Samuel Chapter 7, we see Nathan starting off thinking, "It's good what you're thinking, David," and telling David to go about. God, however, corrected Nathan. This shows you that sometimes what may seem like a good idea and a godly thing, God may say no to. Not every great and good idea is good for you or for me.

The other thing I notice in this chapter is that when David gets the news that his family line is going to be blessed, he accepts it. He praises God, saying that God is like no other, that God is going to confirm his word. He takes it by faith, in a sense saying, This has happened. David is praising God like he already has the answer in front of him, like he already sees it. But he can't see it. He doesn't know what the future will hold, but he knows God. And therefore, he can praise God because he knows he will fulfill it.

It's like for us in the New Testament when we are told to give God thanks in all things, not necessarily for all things, but in all things. Why? Looking back to Romans 8, because “God can work and will work all things to good for those who love him, for those who are called according to his purpose.” So let's praise God, because he's got it.

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Jeremiah 34

Just a side note on the way God deals with people. I find that God can be very ironic at times. God told the people to give liberty to their servants, but they didn't. God says He will give liberty to those who disobey, liberty to face the sword, the freedom to enjoy pestilence and famine; basically, God will free you from the burden of life. What God is really giving them is what they have given to others, but the way God says it has a sarcasm to it that I find fascinating.

2 Samuel 6

 

What a change has taken place. Michal, whose love for David caused her to defy her father, now condemns him because of his dance and his choice to wear a linen ephod. This type of clothes might not have been see-through, but with light behind it would most likely make it possible for people to see the outline of a person's body. The dance spoken of here was usually performed by women, but David did it himself, to probably show the importance of this occasion. Michal didn't care but was impressed by David's actions. Though it is possible that Michal had no children due to an action of God, it is more likely that David refused to sleep with her again. Considering her contempt for him, I wouldn't have blamed him.

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Psalm 84

 

Though verse 6 can have some disagreement over what the valley of Baca is, it is clear that those on pilgrimage will receive water from a well and from rain. In our pilgrimage in life as Christians, we will find that there are struggles we will face, but God will provide for us, and if this verse is read like it says, the presence of the pilgrim will cause wells to appear. The advantage of a well is that it can provide for those who come by later. How true is it that when we see the struggles/lives of other Christians, it can give us refreshment, like drinking cool water. 

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2 Samuel 5

 At the end of this chapter, we see how David handled the fight with the Philistines in the valley of Rephaim the two times they came against him. Both times, David inquired of God, even though the second time looked exactly like the first. God had David attack differently, though the battle looked the same as before when they won. To me, it is a reminder that we should always seek God's wisdom no matter how things look. It may seem that the way done before might work, but God knows for certain. We need to trust His wisdom.

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2 Samuel 4

 In the middle of this chapter on Abner and Ish-Bosheth's deaths, we get this story about Jonathan's son. This seems out of place and breaks the narrative flow, and we can only guess why. My own thought is that with the death of Ish-Bosheth, the author is bringing out that there was actually a son who was in a more direct line to the throne. Yet this boy is ignored, one could guess because he is crippled. It is sad, but Israel wasn't interested, it seems, in a criple as a king. David will step into this story, but that is later. Right now, we have a boy who could be king, but because of the fear of others was crippled. 

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Jeremiah 33

 "How much we owe to prison visions and literature! Shut up in the court of the prison, Jeremiah saw God as the unconfined creator of all things (33:2), the unlimited scope of intercession (verse 3), the evidence of future blessing (verse 6-9), and the liberating and righteous Messiah (verses 14-17).* 

When the chapter ends, God makes it clear that he isn't done with Israel or David's seed. God makes it clear that the sun rising and setting will end before he forsakes his covenant. To say it another way, God keeps his promises no matter what things look like to us. 

* Dr. Lockyer, All the Books and Chapters of the Bible. Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 1966

2 Samuel 3

 

With all that is happening in this chapter, it might be easy to miss something. David has gone from 2 wives (not including Saul's daughter) to 6 wives and one of them from a foreign king. David may have been a man after God's own heart, but he disobeyed the law by marrying her (Deuteronomy 7:3; Joshua 23:12). This is going to have consequences later, but for now, it only seems like a happy time as David's power and family are growing. The seeds for future problems have literally been born here. 

Side note: Abner knew that David was anointed by God, but it was only when he was offended that he decided to support God's choice. 

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Romans 11

 

A cursory glance at this chapter, and one might assume that the reason God came to the Gentiles is because he didn't have another choice. It was plan B. He couldn't have the love of the Jews, so he'll accept the love of the Gentiles. That idea makes the Gentiles a lesser choice. This is a mistaken idea. What God gave to the Jews was a way to be a blessing to all nations and peoples. The Jews first in their disobedience to the law and then in their rejection of Christ have forsaken what God wanted to give them. 

God's foreknowledge meant he knew this, so their actions didn't take God by surprise. God, by his grace, is now using those whom the Jews were supposed to be the blessing to (the Gentiles) as the ones who will, you could say, offer it back to them. This wisdom of how God does things is celebrated in what has been called the doxology at the end of the chapter. All glory to God, for he is worthy.

Proverbs 18

 

In this chapter, there are eight different pieces of wisdom about words. In today's world, people allow words to flow out, and I agree they are like deep waters (verse 4), and they can drown us if we are not careful. With the abundance of Social media platforms that show us what we want to hear, it is especially easy to get drowned. So, some advice from verse 17, the first person who speaks sounds correct, until they are cross-examined. Always try and find the whole story.

2 Samuel 2

 

The fight between the twelve men has some debate over it. Some see it as just a playful wrestling match that went awry; others interpret it as a kind of duel to be held rather than start a civil war. What seems to have happened was that both sides fought so desperately that all twenty-four men lay dead. This brought about the battle that perhaps Abner was trying to avoid. It is impossible to know. What happened was a horrible battle where fellow Israelites killed each other. 

The death of Joab's brother that Abner tried to avoid: first by trying to talk him out of following, and second by the use of the blunt side of his spear. Yet at the end, Abner, in trying to defend himself, killed Asahel. This will come back to cause trouble later.

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2 Samuel 1

The way is clear, and David can move in to become king, and what does he do? David prepares a lament for the very man who was trying to kill him. David takes the time to praise the strengths of Saul. David isn't so weak that he hides the strength of Saul and Jonathan and the blessing they brought to Israel. David demands that these words be learned and saved. To me is another example of David's greatness, he isn't intimidated by the success of others but celebrates it. 

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Jeremiah 32

God in this chapter isn't just promising that the people will return, though that is part of it, but promising to create a people who will follow him faithfully. The chapter ends with the promise that God will create a people who have singleness of heart and action. God will create a people from Israel who will be faithful. God will have a people that he can bless continuously. This ultimate promise is seen in the work that God is going to do in Jesus. The people that Jesus redeems will become a people that will have hearts that never turn from him. God do that work in me, I pray. 

1 Samuel 31

 

G Campbell Morgan says about this chapter that, as Saul killed his own morality, now he will go further and take his own life. Saul was so afraid of how he might die that he killed himself. Saul had no proof that his death would be more terrible under the Philistines, but he was afraid it might be, so he acted. This is a reminder that our expectations and not reality can drive us to do destructive things. Guard your expectations and keep them focused on God. 

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Romans 10

 If, as some claim, God determines who is saved and who isn't, then why is Paul praying for their Salvation? The answer is found in this chapter, it is that they have not submitted to God's righteousness (verse 3) found in Christ. What opens us up to God's salvation is faith in Jesus, and that is all. It isn't works or even knowledge, it is faith that causes action (confession, being of one mind). It is this faith that will cause you to be righteous and to live as God wants and nothing else. 

Psalm 83

 

Don't just stand there, do something! This line has been said in many books and movies to persons who have the power to intervene and are not. As we have noted before, this is something we face in our lives. There are times when we wish God would do something. We know he is able, but it seems he is ignoring us. What we do know about God is that he is righteous and will do what is right, but I appreciate that God doesn't tell us to be quiet and accept what is happening, but is okay with us asking him this question. 

God wants us to come to him and ask him to intervene. This isn't because he has an ego, but because there are times when our prayers make a difference. I can't say how, but they do according to God's own word. God may say no, but he does listen. What makes the difference for us is our attitude when we come to him. An attitude of humility and even desperation is okay; an attitude of anger and blame isn't. Come before God.

Romans 12

What is worship? For many, it is the songs we sing before the message, or the slow songs after the fast ones, in a service. They can be, but it is only part of true worship. True worship, as defined by Paul, is when we present our bodies to God as a living sacrifice. There is nothing in Paul's teachings that says that our salvation is a separate thing for our bodies than it is for our spirit. If we are going to be Christians, our bodies, our actions are just as important as our spirit. Worship is the holy use of our bodies for God. This can be singing, but it can also be doing taxes if we are doing it as unto the Lord.

Paul says lust be sincere and follows that with hating what is evil (what not who). Love in the Christian sense isn't let and let live or ignoring evil. It involves clinging to what is good. 

1 Samuel 30

 

David did something that became an ordinance in Judah that all who are part of an army share in the rewards. The men who stayed behind weren’t cowards; they were exhausted. These men didn’t have the strength to fight, but they stayed behind, and it seems they guarded the things that they didn’t take with them. David wasn’t setting up a communist ideal;
He was saying that all who were in the army, front-line fighters and support, deserved the spoils of the victory. We see this as just fair today, but in those days and still in many places today, it is only those who fight who enjoy the spoils.  

The Dragon's Queen: Revelation

Blurb for my new book coming out late November 2025.

Princess Sarah of Rishona, the last royal heir, has found herself enslaved by a tyrannical dragon and a kind and brilliant giant. The oddity of this is that the dragons of Adamah are good, and giants aren’t known for their intelligence or kindness. For Sara, the goal is simple: learn the skills she needs to survive, escape, and then find her way home, but nothing is ever that simple.  

About the Author

Charles (CS) Areson lives with his family in Indiana. He enjoys reading, board games, D&D, and writing a variety of fiction and religious non-fiction. His current focus is to take his stack of finished but unedited works and prepare them for publication. These works include (the working titles): Carpenter Tales, The House of a Thousand Rooms, Closing the Door, Teia and the Dragon, Braydon the…, The Max and Link Trilogy, and of course, The Dragon’s Queen Trilogy. Got an hour? Ask him about them. 

His children’s book, The Bee in the Blackberry Bush, is available in Lao, Spanish, and English. His children’s book, The Heirs of Nosera, is a mostly true fantasy written for the love of his grandchildren. 

Jeremiah 31

When I read verse 24, I couldn't help but think of the musical, Oklahoma. In it, there is a song that argues that the farmer and the cowman should be friends. Understand that historically, their different roles caused a lot of conflict. The song is saying that the territory folks should stick together for a better future. We see this fulfilled in Jesus. Jesus even in his choice of disciples picked people that would normally be on different sides of issues that could have caused conflict, but in Jesus, there was unity. 

Don't know if they will keep this up forever, but here it is at least now, https://youtu.be/biNrKEgg8jg?si=UQhLlajB3agEWNrs

Photo by Kiy Turk on Unsplash

1 Samuel 28

 

The outcome of the chapter is pretty clear: Saul is going to die. Yet, I have to wonder if things could have ended better for Saul. Saul was fasting, and though this could have been the act of a man who was desperate and depressed, it was also a sign of repentance. Could Saul have had a final change of attitude toward God had he refused to eat? We will never know, but what is true is that repentance is always the right choice, no matter what others may say.

Photo by Jametlene Reskp on Unsplash

Romans 9

 Israel had so many benefits, yet many, according to Paul, are not really Israel. Yet as Paul goes on in this chapter, it can be seen why some believe that God makes people behave the way they do. Everyone's choices, however, do matter. This is what John Wesley sees in this chapter. God has the right to show mercy on those who believe and to harden those who are hard. If we truly believe that God is the creator (the potter), then God has the right to do what he thinks is right. God doesn't have to show mercy on your or my sins if we don't repent. The fact that he does when we repent is because he has chosen, not because we earned it. John Wesley didn't see this passage, according to his notes, as proof that God predestines every action, just his reaction to every action.  

Photo by Paolo Chiabrando on Unsplash

Psalm 82

 

You are gods, but you will die like men. What a fall. Yet it reminds me today that though we might start off well, we can end poorly. I was reading about Hezekiah today, a king of Judah who started off great but ended in a place of pride and disobedience. Starting great can be a great boost, but none of that matters if you don't cross the finish line. For many, they start out with lots of energy on a project or even in ministry, but burn out as the trials of life wear them down. 

This is why maybe God gave us the Sabbath. It was a reminder that we can not keep going all out, even if we think we can. It is also a reminder that we need to trust God. Then I wondered if the saying attributed to both St. Augutus and Ignatius, as we take it, is accurate: "Pray as if it all depends on God and work as if it all depends on you." Shouldn't we pray that it all depends on us (which means we are desperate in our prayers) and work like it all depends on God (which means freedom to sabbath). 

This may seem a far cry from what this chapter is teaching, but I don't think so. Ultimately, our trust and our work need to depend on God and his faithfulness. 

In looking up who made the quote, I came across this article, which summed up what I was thinking. 

Work as if Everything Depends on God

ByJim Manney

There’s an old saying that we should “pray as if everything depends on God, and work as if everything depends on you.” It’s been attributed to St. Ignatius, who said something similar, if not using those exact words, as reported in Vida del Bienaventurado Padre Ignacio de Loyola by Pedro de Rivadeneira. Many think the phrase captures the Ignatian spirit: turning it all over to God in prayer and then working tirelessly and urgently to do God’s work.

I prefer to reverse it: “pray as if everything depends on you, and work as if everything depends on God.” This means that prayer has to be urgent: God has to do something dramatic if everything depends on me. It also puts our work in the right perspective: if it depends on God, we can let it go. We can work hard but leave the outcome up to him. If God is in charge we can tolerate mixed results and endure failure.

Ignatius writes about work and human effort in a letter to an aristocrat named Jerome Vines, whom I imagine was a busy, hard-charging, Type A character who was getting upset about the fate of his many projects. A busy man, Ignatius writes, “must make up his mind to do what he can, without afflicting himself if he cannot do all that he wishes. You must have patience and not think that God our Lord requires what man cannot accomplish.” He concludes with this: “There is no need to wear yourself out, but make a competent and sufficient effort, and leave the rest to him who can do all he pleases.”

https://www.ignatianspirituality.com/work-as-if-everything-depends-on-god/

Photo by Alex Kotliarskyi on Unsplash

1 Samuel 27

 

I have discussed before about David's actions and my thoughts on them, so I won't go into it here, but I would like to look at Achish's assumption. Achish assumed David was an outcast and would be his servant because he had no place else to go. This, of course, was not true. David's loyalty to Israel was just as strong as ever, but Achish couldn't see it. David was an obvious enemy of the Philistines, but Achish couldn't see it. This tells me that we should never assume someone else's motives. Yes, action can show intent, but the truth was Achish didn't see the actions, only words. For Christians, the person we can always assume is for us is God. 

Photo by Alireza Attari on Unsplash

1 Samuel 26

God protected David when he snuck into Saul's camp. This protection also gave David a chance to show his worth and Saul another proof that David wasn't a threat to his life and power. However, I do see that even knowing that God protected him and would protect him, David didn't rejoin Saul. Saul requested that David come to him, and though Saul might not have tried to kill him then, David knew that Saul's attitude might change. David trusted God, but he also didn't purposely put himself in danger, and neither should we. Yes, there are times when God calls people to stand firm, though it may mean their life, and other times God expects us to use wisdom and not put ourselves in danger. As I heard it said, God may save you if the Devil pushes you off the top of a building, but if you jump on your own, God will let you try and fly on your own too.  

Photo by Yeshi Kangrang on Unsplash

Jeremiah 30

 

God promises his people that they will non be destroyed utterly. However, God says that he will discipline them with justice/justly and he won't let them go unpunished. God can't discipline the nations and just let Israel and Judah off when they have committed the same sins. There has to be justice, and God is just. We see his mercy in the promise not to wipe them out, but they have done terrible things. Their sin in made worse because God had blessed them and taught them the right way to go. They had special revelations from God and ignored them, and worse, didn't share them with their neighbors. For God to be just and loving, he has to punish wrong. However, that isn't the end of the story. God said I will restore my people. 

If you don't understand, that is okay, because the chapter ends with this promise, "In days to come you will understand this."