Category: Community and Friendship

Seeing the Speck in Another’s Eye – 2 Samuel 12 – 2025 Day 325.

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Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Psalm 113, 2 Samuel 12

In reading 2 Samuel 12, I noticed how quick David was to say, “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die,” not realizing that Nathan’s story about a rich man who stole a poor man’s little lamb was about him. How easy it is for me to see sin in others while willingly overlooking it in myself. That reminds me of one of my favorite parts of C. S. Lewis’s book, “Mere Christianity.”

I remember Christian teachers telling me long ago that I must hate a bad man’s actions but not hate the bad man: or, as they would say, hate the sin but not the sinner. …I used to think this a silly, straw-splitting distinction: how could you hate what a man did and not hate the man?

But years later it occurred to me that there was one man to whom I had been doing this all my life — namely myself.

However much I might dislike my own cowardice or conceit or greed, I went on loving myself. There had never been the slightest difficulty about it…

Christianity does not want us to reduce by one atom the hatred we feel for cruelty and treachery.  We ought to hate them….  But it does want us to hate them in the same way in which we hate things in ourselves: being sorry that the man should have done such things, and hoping, if it is anyway possible, that somehow, sometime, somewhere, he can be cured and made human again.”

C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

Heavenly Father, Forgive me for being quick to judge and slow to serve. Forgive me for being quick to see the speck in my brother’s eye while being slow to see the log that is in my own. Help me, please, to labor diligently to dig that log out, so that I can help my brother and glorify You, my perfect king. Help me to heed the words of Galatians 6, that I would restore with gentleness my brothers and sisters who are caught in any transgression, helping to bear their burden with humility and wisdom. Give me wisdom to talk to my Christian sisters and brothers with boldness, compassion, love, and empathy, remembering the words of Titus 3 that I myself was once foolish, disobedient, and led astray, a slave to various passions and pleasures, passing my days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another, that I was not saved because of my own righteous works but according to Your own mercy. Help me to remember that apart from Your incredible grace, I could fall as hard and far and fast as David did. It is by Your grace that I stand and by Your grace that I pray. In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?
Or how can you say to your brother,
‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’
when there is the log in your own eye?
You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye,
and then you will see clearly to take the speck
out of your brother’s eye.

Matthew 7:3-5 ESV
The Gospel Song – Sovereign Grace Music

Help! I Need Somebody! – 2 Samuel 10 – 2025 Day 323

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Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Psalm 111, 2 Samuel 10

And he said, “If the Syrians are too strong for me, then you shall help me, but if the Ammonites are too strong for you, then I will come and help you.”

2 Samuel 10:11 ESV

How often do I try to do it on my own, refusing to ask for help from others?

Sometimes I need help physically – carrying something, reaching something up high, opening a jar.

Sometimes I need help emotionally – someone to listen to me or give me a hug or speak an encouraging word to lift me up or a stern word to snap me out of a pity party.

Sometimes I need help spiritually – someone to pray for me or give me wise counsel or point me to an applicable passage of Scripture.

But, I’m afraid that all too often I want to do it myself like my younger daughter is famous for saying a few too many times. I’m reminded of Galatians 6:2-3, “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.” (ESV)

Heavenly Father, I need Your help, Your guidance and strength, Your encouragement and chastisement. But, Father, I also need help from others, from the body of Christ here on earth. I need others to be eyes and ears for me. I need others to be hands and feet for me. I need others to speak truth to me. Please, Father, help me to be humble and to ask for help when I’m in need. Help to see the great company of fellow workers who want to labor together side by side for Your kingdom and glory. In the Name of Jesus Christ I pray. Amen.

Angry with Man and with God – 2 Samuel 6 – 2025 Day 319

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Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Psalm 107, 2 Samuel 6.

Have you ever been mad at someone, not just for a few minutes, but for hours or days? Have you ever allowed your anger to stew like a 8-pound chuck roast left in a crockpot to bubble all day, causing a seed of bitterness to take root deep in your heart?

How did that effect your relationship with that person? How was your attitude toward them? Did that bitterness ever make it hard for you to think kind thoughts or speak kind words about them?

Now, how about your feelings toward God? Have you ever been mad at God for days or weeks? Have you ever felt like He didn’t treat you or a loved one the way He should’ve? Did you ever let that anger plant a seed, no matter how small, of contempt toward God?

How did that effect your relationship with or your attitude toward God? Did it make it hard for you to meet with Him or submit to His commands?

In my life, I’ve noticed that often my bitterness
toward a person is intimately tied to
my disappointment with God.

Maybe a friend, a parent, a sibling or even a spouse has hurt you deeply. They’ve let you down. They’ve attacked you and disappointed you. They’ve done you wrong. Maybe it’s substance abuse or pornography. Maybe it’s lying and deceit. Maybe it’s an emotional or physical affair. Maybe it’s a lack of regard for your thoughts and feelings.

How has that relationship with a human being effected your relationship with God?

How have your feelings toward a person effected your feelings toward God?

In today’s passage in 2 Samuel 6, we read about Michal, King Saul’s daughter and David’s first wife, who despised David in her heart when she witnessed his joy before the Lord. Michal had been hurt again and again by David, a man she had loved. David had taken other wives and then had allowed her to be sent away, only to be brought back after she’d married another man. I don’t know that Michal ever trusted in God. In fact, Michal may have been a pagan idol-worshipper, but we do know that it grieved her deeply to see David dancing with reckless abandon in the presence of God and all the house of Israel. Click here to read through an overview of Michal’s life in the scriptures.

Thinking through Michal’s response to David’s joyful worship, I asked myself these two questions:

  1. When have my feelings of disappointment toward a fellow human being resulted in me treating them with disdain and contempt rather than love and forgiveness?
  2. When have my feelings of disappointment with my Heavenly Father resulted in me turning my back on Him rather than turning my face toward His open arms?

Heavenly Father, Your ways are certainly not our ways. You are always holy and righteous and good, and we are not. You have told us what You require of us, yet we have disobeyed You again and again. We have shunned Your scriptures. We have mocked Your Words and Your workers. We have treated Your Creation and Your commands with contempt. We have blamed You for circumstances that we have brought upon ourselves. We have turned our backs to You instead of our faces. Please, Father, forgive us. Remove the root of bitterness from our hearts, bitterness toward our fellow sinful man and bitterness toward You, our perfect Father. Renew a right spirit in us. Give us a new heart, a new mind, and a new soul. Strengthen us to love others as You have loved us. Help us to love You, our Lord and God, with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. Help us to cast all our cares upon You and to trust that You care for us. Help us to fully believe that You are at work, working all things together for good for those who love You and have been called according to Your purposes, bringing beauty out of the ashes of our lives. In the Name of Jesus Christ who died in my place I pray. Amen.

Whate’er my God Ordains is Right – T4G live

Love God? Love His Body – 1 Samuel 29-31 – 2025 Day 314

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Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Psalm 102, 1 Samuel 29-31

1 Samuel 29-31 meets 1 Corinthians 12-13.

Heavenly Father, help us to love one another and to recognize that everything that we have is a gift from You. Make us active members of the body of Christ here on earth, willingly sharing our time, talents, treasures, and testimonies, with all who need them. You are the only all-powerful One and You alone are worthy. In the Name of Jesus Christ, Your Son. Amen.

Rise with the Sun – CityAlight

When You Find Yourself Fighting the Wicked – 1 Samuel 26 – 2025 Day 311

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Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Psalm 99, 1 Samuel 26

Imagine for a moment being in David’s shoes. Your very life is in danger, as you’re being hunted down by the father of your best friend, a man who had once been your advocate, and was now your king.

I’ve been in some tough spots before, but never anything like that! Talk about fighting against the wicked.

But David handles this battle with patients, faith, humility and kindness. Once again David overcomes evil with good – like he had earlier against Saul and like Abigail had in the previous chapter.

Next time you find yourself locked in a battle with an enemy, whether with or without a spear, try killing them with kindness, try showing them grace, and see what happens.

Today’s reading in 1 Samuel really reminded me of Psalm 37. Hope this reading blesses you – or better yet, go read it for yourself!

Isn’t He Good? – Phil Wickham

3 Lessons from 1 Samuel 23-24 – 2025 Day 309

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Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Psalm 97, 1 Samuel 23-24

FormerAtheist58
When I Think about the Lord – Christ for the Nations

Where Can the Needy Find Shelter? – Judges 19 – 2025 Day 283

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Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Psalm 71, Judges 19

I think Judges might be my least favorite book of the Bible. 🥺 Chapter after chapter we read how vile, wicked, foolish, and inhumane people can be. This chapter must be the worst of all!

First off, why does the Levite have a concubine in the first place? Then, why was the concubine unfaithful to him and why would she leave him to live with her father? And then, why does her father keep insisting on keeping the Levite so late into the evening? But it gets much worse from there … You’ll have to read it for yourself.

This morning, though, what I’m still thinking about for myself, is that this Levite didn’t want to stay the night in Jebus because it was a city controlled by heathens. He insisted that they keep traveling to the town of Gibeah, an Israelite town, where he expected to find safety and hospitality. And yet, Gibeah is the very city where his concubine was violated and abused all night, to her death. 😫

I find myself asking questions like these:

Are Christians today so perpetually angry, bitter, and selfish that we, likewise, are unable to be places of mercy for the wounded traveler looking for help?

Are Christians today safe spaces for our brothers and sisters in Christ to get a few moments of peace in the midst of the storms of life?

Are Christians today hospitable and generous to the stranger in our midst?

Are Christians today committed to protecting the hurting and needy, or do we send them on down the street to be devoured by wolves and taken in by frauds?

Are Christians today humble and kind to the broken, or are we so busy feeding our own flesh that we can’t be bothered to take care of others who need someone to throw them a lifeline?

Let’s be faithful to inspect our own eyes for the logs that are lodged there, instead of just pointing fingers at lost people doing what lost people do.

Oh, Heavenly Father, break my heart for what breaks Yours. Thank You for Your saving grace. Thank You for pursuing me and bringing me into the safety of Your fold, for hiding me under the shelter of Your wings. Help me to do likewise. Give me eyes for the needy, the helpless, the hurting. Burden my heart for them. Set the captives free, Lord! Free those chained to addictions of all kinds, pornography and gambling, alcohol and drugs, selfishness and greed, laziness and gluttony. We need Your grace, Lord. Help us, Father, by Your steadfast, powerful mercy. In the Name of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, we pray. Amen.

Psalm 71 Hymn – Psalm Musicals

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Aiming for Restoration – 2 Corinthians 13 – 2025 Day 264

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Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Psalm 52, 2 Corinthians 13

My heart breaks with Paul as he closes this letter. I know what it’s like to desire reconciliation and harmony with people who keep going back to their sin. It’s hard to stand by and watch as people continue to turn their backs on the goodness of God’s grace. But, ultimately, we aren’t in charge. We speak words of grace and truth, and we pray, and leave the results up to God.

Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

2 Corinthians 13:11-14 ESV

Heavenly Father, I trust you in the good things and in the hard things. I know that often the hard things are the good things. Please encourage my heart so that I can encourage others. I pray for unity in the body of Christ. And I pray that the body of Christ would be a holy, separate people, unstained by the world. I pray that your children would be faithful to exhort their brothers and sisters to love and good deeds and to share the good news with the lost. Conform us to the image of your Son, Jesus Christ. May we be humble and kind and gentle and bold and courageous. In His Name I pray. Amen.

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Genuine Generosity – 2 Corinthians 8-9 – 2025 Day 261

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Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Psalm 49, 2 Corinthians 8-9

Have you ever thought about the idea that true love cannot be forced?

I can make my kids do lots of stuff. Sometimes all I have to do is ask, but sometimes my request needs more incentives, maybe offering a reward (or a punishment) for compliance.

  • “Sweetheart, would you please go empty the dishwasher?”
  • “Honey, please go clean your bedroom?”
  • “After you finish mowing the lawn, I’m going to take you out for ice cream.”
  • “If you don’t get all your schoolwork finished by 4 o’clock, there will be no media for the rest of the day. Get going!”

But, does love work that way? Can I compel my children to love something … or someone? I may be able to force some kind actions, but genuine love from the heart, by definition, requires a person to freely and willingly give of themselves.

Likewise, genuine generosity can never be forced. If your parents, your pastor, or your government demands that you share your stuff with someone else, then you are no longer being generous.

Part of what makes the Macedonian churches’ generosity in 2 Corinthians 8 so remarkable is that they were giving generously “beyond their means, of their own accord.” (2 Corinthians 8:3) I want to be more like that. I want to give generously, willingly, and cheerfully, of my time, treasures, talents, and testimony, in both my abundance and my lack.

Heavenly Father, You delight in a cheerful giver. Help me to give sacrificially and cheerfully. Help me to give freely, rather than under compulsion. Help me to be generous with my time as well as my money. Help me to remember how much You have given to me, that there is nothing I have that I have not been given. Make me more like Jesus and less like the world. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.

Want more? Listen to this great sermon, “Generosity & Grace” by Austin Cox at Collierville Bible Church. 

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Building Up the Body – 1 Corinthians 14 – 2025 Day 249

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Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Psalm 37, 1 Corinthians 14

I remember many years ago when my oldest daughter was about five years old and playing on our town’s youth soccer team. My husband was the coach, and I was standing on the sidelines keeping one eye on our two-year-old son and one eye on the game. Midway through the game, the ‘soccer mom’ standing next to me struck up a conversation with me. Somehow she ended up asking me where I went to church and if my church was spirit-filled. I didn’t really understand what she meant, and I just replied with a brief, somewhat confused, ‘Yes, we were,’ because, well, we believe that people are filled with the Holy Spirit when they are born again by faith in Christ. After talking to her more, I came to understand that she was asking me if we spoke in tongues. Why, I wonder, has “Spirit-filled” come to mean, “Speaking in tongues”?

Maybe because of my background as an atheist, I have always really struggled with the pettiness of so many denominational differences, so I have really enjoyed studying Paul’s words on spiritual gifts here in 1 Corinthians chapters 12 – 14. 1 Corinthians 14:12 sums up my thoughts really well.

So with yourselves, since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in building up the church.

1 Corinthians 14:12 ESV

Sadly, in my experience, including that day 20 years ago on the sidelines of a soccer field, the people who have talked to me about the gift of speaking in tongues have been more concerned with building up themselves than with building up the body. The scriptures are clear. If the Lord gives you a gift, it is to be used for building up others and glorifying God, not yourself. We ought to see ourselves as stewards of whatever it is that the Lord has given us, whether that’s time, treasure, talents, testimony, or a spiritual gift of speaking or serving.

Heavenly Father, thank you for the gift of your Holy Spirit, who guides me and convicts me. Please help me to exercise the gifts You have given me for the building up of the body of Christ and for Your glory. Remind me that any good thing that I have is a gift from Your merciful hand, and any good thing I do is the fruit of Your work in my life. Keep me humble and grateful that Your light will shine such that people’s attention is drawn to You, the Gracious Giver of every good and perfect gift. In the name of Jesus Christ I pray. Amen.

God, the Uncreated One (King Forevermore) Official Lyric Video – Keith & Kristyn Getty
Today’s Podcast on YouTube

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