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

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

Gender Identity from a Christian Perspective – 2 Samuel 5 – 2025 Day 318

Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Psalm 106, 2 Samuel 5

Today as I asked God what I should write about in today’s blog post, I couldn’t shake the thought that I was supposed to write on the topic of genders. So, in fearful obedience, here it goes.

Growing up in the ’70s and ’80s, the thought that there were anything beyond two genders never even entered my mind. My sister and I were girls. My mom was a girl. My dad was a boy. My cat, Bandit, who I’d adopted off the streets as a stray was a boy, too. I always wished that my mom and dad would have another baby, a boy, so I could have a little brother to play with and boss around. My world was made up of two genders: boys and girls, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, men and women, males and females.

Though I wasn’t a Christian and though I believed that the world and everything in it had evolved through a series of random events, it was still clear to my rational , scientific brain that everything that reproduced was either a male or a female. Roosters and hens, bucks and does, worker bees and queen bees, males and females.

In today’s chapter, 2 Samuel 5, verse 13 says, “And David took more concubines and wives from Jerusalem, after he came from Hebron, and more sons and daughters were born to David.” David was a male, and every single one of David’s concubines and wives were female. All of David’s sons were male, and all of David’s daughters were female.

My dad and my cat both had operations that prevented them from fathering babies, but they were still male. In fact, my dad could have grown his hair long, and worn a mini skirt, heels and a stuffed bra, and it wouldn’t make him female. He could even have changed his name to something more neutral or feminine, and left my mom for a guy, but my dad would still have been a male. Why? Because that’s how he was born. Dare I say, that’s how he was made by His Creator? When my father was knit together in his mother’s womb, he received an x chromosome from his mom and a y chromosome from his dad, and he was born a boy.

This issue is especially personal for me for a whole myriad of reasons. I won’t go into all of them now, but one of them is this: when my sister and I were young, my parents usually kept our hair cut short and dressed us in very simple gender neutral clothing. I liked climbing trees and getting dirty. I didn’t like playing with Barbies. Most of my years growing up, my best friend was a boy. But did those things make me a boy? No, they didn’t. I was a girl, whether I liked it or not. That’s how I was born. That’s how I was made by my Creator. When I was knit together in my mother’s womb, I received an x chromosome from my mom and an x chromosome from my dad, and I was born a girl.

Back in the “rad ’80s,” when I was teenager, it was shameful to admit that you had homosexual desires. A person was said to “come out of the closet” when they confessed to homosexual tendencies.

Now here we are in the “roaring 2020s,” and it’s shameful to stand up for Biblical gender identities, but today I’m taking a stand. I refuse to hide in the closet, ashamed of the Bible’s very clear teaching that God gave David sons and daughters. David’s sons were boys and his daughters were girls. God created them male and female just like He’s been doing from the beginning of time and to say anything else is a lie, a lie that hurts both the Creator and the creature.

Will you join me in prayer?

Heavenly Father, I come to You with the deepest gratitude for making me to be me. Thank You for making me a girl and granting me the gift of being a mom. Thank You for giving me sons and daughters. I pray that You will encourage the people of this generation to love You as their Creator by accepting themselves for how they’ve been made – their hair color and skin color, their height and their gender. You don’t make junk. We do. We take what You have made and we ruin it, hurting others and hurting ourselves. And hurting You in the process. Forgive us, Lord. I pray that You will also encourage the people of this generation to stand up for what they know is true, what the Scriptures so clearly state, that You are the Creator and that You create male or female. Help us not to be ashamed of the gospel and not to be ashamed of the truth of Your Word. Please, Father, help us to defend our faith with gentleness, respect, and humility, for the glory of Your Name and the good of Your creation. In the Name of Jesus Christ I pray. Amen.

The Butterfly Song – Psalty
Where Can I Go – Ellie Holcomb

What You “Say in your Heart” Matters! – 1 Samuel 27 – 2025 Day 312

Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Psalm 100, 1 Samuel 27

Then David said in his heart, “Now I shall perish one day by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than that I should escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will despair of seeking me any longer within the borders of Israel, and I shall escape out of his hand.”

1 Samuel 27:1 ESV

Be careful what you allow yourself to say to your heart, those things that are too dreadful or foolish to speak out loud, things you’d never utter to your husband or sister or parent or pastor because you know they’re not true and not right.

Some of us are prone to saying discouraging words in our own hearts. We need to remember what the Lord said in Deuteronomy,

If you say in your heart, ‘These nations are greater than I. How can I dispossess them?’ you shall not be afraid of them but you shall remember what the LORD your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt, the great trials that your eyes saw, the signs, the wonders, the mighty hand, and the outstretched arm, by which the LORD your God brought you out.”

Deuteronomy 7:17-19a ESV

Some of us are prone to saying boastful words in our own hearts. Again, we need to remember what the Lord said in Deuteronomy,

  • Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ (Deuteronomy 8:17 ESV)
  • Do not say in your heart, after the LORD your God has thrust them out before you, “It is because of my righteousness that the LORD has brought me in to possess this land,” whereas it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD is driving them out before you. (Deuteronomy 9:4 ESV)
  • Beware lest there be among you a root bearing poisonous and bitter fruit, one who, when he hears the words of this sworn covenant, blesses himself in his heart, saying, “I shall be safe, though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart.” This will lead to the sweeping away of moist and dry alike. (Deuteronomy 29:18b-19 ESV)

Remember the warnings of Psalm 10. The wicked man says in his heart, “I shall not be moved; throughout all generations I shall not meet adversity,”  renouncing God and saying in his heart, “You will not call to account”? while the helpless man says in his heart, God has forgotten, he has hidden his face, he will never see it.”

Rather, let us say to our hearts these words of David’s son, Solomon, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding,” and “The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is safe.”(Proverbs 3:5, 29:25 ESV)

Heavenly Father, help me to be careful what words I say aloud, but also what words I say to my own heart, those things that no human being will ever hear. You know them, and I know them. You know my thoughts before I speak them. Help me to guard my heart for it is the wellspring of life.  Help me to think about what is good and excellent and true and praiseworthy. Help me to take sinful thoughts captive and make my thoughts obey you. I recognize that I am unable to do this on my own. I need Your strength. Please help me do it for Your glory and for my good. In the name of Jesus Christ who saved me and redeemed me and rules over me, I pray. Amen

Psalm 100 (Enter In) – People and Songs

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

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

When You’re Married to a Fool – 1 Samuel 25 – 2025 Day 310

Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Psalm 98, 1 Samuel 25

Nabal is described as a rich man. David Guzik writes, “There are four kinds of riches. There are riches in what you have, riches in what you do, riches in what you know, and riches in what you are — riches of character. Nabal was a very rich man, but only rich in what he had. He had the lowest kind of riches.”

Abigail, on the other hand, was both “discerning and beautiful.” She was rich outwardly and inwardly. She was a wise woman married to a foolish man.

Many women find themselves in that position. Sometimes that happens because you came to faith in Christ after you’re married, but sometimes it happens simply because you were naive and chose a foolish man unwittingly. Either way, now you’re married. What are you going to do?

  1. Humble yourself. Rather than focusing on that splinter in your husband’s eye, remind yourself of the log in your own. Matthew 5-7 is a great place to look.
  2. Seek his good and not his harm. Leave vengeance up to God. Choose to overcome evil with good. Choose kindness. Choose to bless rather than curse. Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 13 are good passages to study on this.
  3. Trust God. The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” The foolish woman tears down her own house with her hands. Be wise and put your trust in God – not in yourself, not in your husband, not in your wealth or position or family name. Trust in God.

My blog post titled Making and Keeping Vows from Judges 11 might be helpful, too.

Fret not yourself because of evildoers;
be not envious of wrongdoers!

For they will soon fade like the grass
and wither like the green herb.

Trust in the LORD, and do good;
dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.

Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the LORD;
trust in him, and he will act.

Psalm 37:1-5 ESV, a Psalm of David

Heavenly Father, I pray for my sisters all across my nation and around the world who are married to foolish men. Give them strength when they are weak. Give them discernment when they don’t know what to do next. Give them patience to wait upon Your deliverance and justice. Increase their faith. Help them trust in You and You alone. In the name of Jesus Christ, my Savior and Lord. Amen.

Trust in God – Elevation Worship

God is BIGGER than Goliath – 1 Samuel 17 – 2025 Day 306

Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Psalm 94, 1 Samuel 17

Goliath was big. God is bigger.

Goliath’s armor was strong. God’s armor is stronger.

Goliath’s spear was mighty. God’s sword of the Spirit, the Word of God, is mightier.

Just like we shouldn’t judge little David by external appearances, we shouldn’t judge our circumstances by external appearances. Put on your armor, take up your sword, and get in the battle! Quit standing on the sidelines.  Remember what David said to Goliath, “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.” 1 Samuel 17:45 ESV

Heavenly Father, help me to look at life through the lens of Scripture and truth, to remember that You are on my side. Thank you for that mighty sword that I hold in my heart and in my right hand. Remind me to use it. Thank you for that armor that is mine and fits me like a glove. Remind me to put it on. Hide me behind the cross. Shelter me under Your wings. You are my mighty fortress. I have nothing to fear.

A Mighty Fortress is our God – Desert Hills Bible Church

A Prayer from Hannah’s Prayer – 1 Samuel 2 – 2025 Day 295

Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Psalm 83, 1 Samuel 2.

Let’s pray and worship the Lord together with Hannah and believers around the world.

My heart rejoices in You, Lord. You have  raised me up from the ash heap and set my feet on the solid rock of salvation in Jesus Christ, our Lord.

I rejoice in You, my God, for there is none holy like You. There is none besides You, Father. Indeed, there is no rock like our God.

Keep me humble, Father. Let me not become arrogant or proud. Help me to remember that You are a righteous judge, knowing and seeing all things, both visible and invisible. Help me to see the log in my own eye. Keep me on my knees in humility before Your throne of grace.

Increase my faith, Lord. You break the bows of the mighty, and You give strength to the weak. You make the full hungry and the hungry full. You give children to the barren, and You take children from those who have many. The number of every man’s days are held in Your hand.

You have given Your only Son, Jesus Christ, that we may be forgiven and redeemed and receive the gift of eternal life with You. Make us ambassadors for Your kingdom, sharing the good news to all four corners of the earth and making disciples of all the nations.

You, Father, are the giver of every good gift, of children and wealth and power and wisdom. Help us to be good stewards of these gifts. Make us instruments of Your peace, blessing the needy with all that You have blessed us, our time, talents, treasures, and testimonies.

The whole world is in Your hands, Father. We pray for the leaders of our nation and the nations around the world. Guide them. Grant them wisdom. Give them strength. Humble and exalt in Your perfect wisdom and timing, and help us to trust and worship You no matter the cost.

In the Mighty Name of Jesus Christ who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, we pray. Amen.

Instruments of Your Peace

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Ruth and the Proverbs 31 Woman – Ruth 3-4 – 2025 Day 292

Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Psalm 80, Ruth 3-4

My husband sent me this picture from his John MacArthur study Bible, saying that John MacArthur compares Ruth to the virtuous wife in Proverbs 31.

Ruth Baker, in her January 2, 2019 blog post at GoThereFor.com digs further into this idea. Read it here.

Heavenly Father, help me to be a virtuous woman, to take good care of my husband and children, and to work diligently day after day. May I do my husband good and not harm all the days of my life. May the teaching of kindness be on my tongue. May I open my mouth with wisdom. May I remember that charm is deceitful and beauty is fleeting, but that a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. In the name of Jesus Christ, my Lord and redeemer, I pray. Amen.

Proverbs 31:30 song

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Blessings Hidden Just Around the Bend – Ruth 1 – 2025 Day 290

Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Psalm 78, Ruth 1

[Naomi] said to [the women in Bethlehem],  “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went away full, and the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, when the LORD has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?”

Ruth 1:20-21 ESV

I wish I could tell Naomi not to lose hope, to trust that joy was just around the next bend. 

I once heard God’s sovereignty compared to a stoplight which controls traffic in a construction zone. This light is provided to stop people from a head-on collision with oncoming traffic hidden by the bend in the road. Sometimes a person might be tempted to ignore this light, to just assume that no one is coming and give up waiting for the light to turn. As a loving God who knows the future, He asks us to wait on Him rather than barreling forward because of His great care for us.

The point was then made that God is good to not reveal the future to us for if we knew about the tragedy that lies just around the bend we would spend our lives fretting, rather than living each day in itself.

While I do wholeheartedly agree with this sentiment, I can’t help but recognize our human propensity to dwell on the negative, on the coming trial, rather than the coming joy. Several years ago, the Holy Spirit convicted me that when I spend my time fretting about what the future might hold, I end up missing out on having HOPE, trusting in God’s sovereign goodness, waiting expectantly for what hidden joy might lie just around the bend.

Paul writes in his letter to the Romans, “Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.” (Romans 8:24-25) Remember, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1) If we could see what was just around the bend, whether tomorrow or a hundred years from now, then we would have no need for HOPE, no need for FAITH. God grows our faith, our trust in Him, by having us wait upon Him.

So, the next time when things look bleak and hopeless and we’re tempted to despair that all hope is lost, let’s remember that God holds the future and that He is worthy of our trust. May we be joyful in hope, patient in affliction and faithful in prayer. (Romans 12:12)

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” Romans 15:13

“The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.” Psalm 28:7

“Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act.” Psalm 37:5

“I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning. O Israel, hope in the Lord! For with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption.” Psalm 130:5-7

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God Chooses Foreigners – Ruth 2 – 2025 Day 288

Read through the Bible in 2 years: Psalm 76, Ruth 2

Ruth, a widowed Moabite woman, found safety in the providence of God and in the fields of Boaz, her Israelite kinsman redeemer.

Have you ever considered the fact that God called a man named Abram, who was living in Ur, to come to Canaan to be the great father of the Israelite nation? God could’ve chosen someone already living in the Promised Land, but He didn’t. God chose a foreigner named Abram to leave his people and his land, and go to a land that He would show him.

Likewise, God chose a foreign-born woman, Ruth, to be the great-grandmother of King David, the forefather of Jesus Christ Himself. God could’ve chosen Naomi, a Jew, but He didn’t. God chose a foreigner named Ruth to leave her people and her land, and accompany her mother-in-law to her land.

And now, three thousand years later, God chose me, a young woman running from God, blaspheming His name, scoffing at His followers, to carry His Word across the world wide web to a foreign nation on the other side of the globe. He could’ve chosen someone who grew up in church, but He didn’t. God chose me to wake up before dawn, turn on my computer, and teach, and I’m trying my best to obey. 😁

Jesus said in Acts 1:8 ESV, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Is God calling you to GO?

Heavenly Father, have Your way with me. Help me to trust You and walk humbly with You, my God. You are the God of Redemption and Power, the God of Holiness and Second Chances. You are the Tapestry-Weaving God of Life and Purpose. We worship You, Lord, and thank You for Your mercy. Help us to reach out to the foreigner dwelling among us for Your glory, never forgetting that You desire the worship of people all over the globe. We want to be faithful to make disciples of all nations. In the Name of Jesus Christ I pray. Amen.

Are you looking for a family friendly devotional to use this Christmas season? A few years ago, I put down in print what had been in my heart, head, and mouth for a decade with my own kids. I hope it blesses you. It’s available in paperback or ebook versions. Download a PDF of all 25 ornaments free here.

“From Creation to Christ: A Family Advent Devotional Tracing the Story of the Savior Through Scripture, Stories, Songs, and Pictures”
by Kim Endraske

Day 11 of the Devotional shares the story of Ruth and Boaz.

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2
Emmanuel (God with Us Forever) Bryan and Katie Torwalt
Great Is Thy Faithfulness – Maranatha Music
FORMERATHEIST58

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If you would like prayer, please leave a comment below or send me a message. I’m happy to pray for you.

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