Considering An Abortion?

# 369 - Today's Du-votional comes from: 1Sa 26:20-25, "So now, do not let my blood fall to the earth before the face of the LORD. For the king of Israel has come out to seek a flea, as when one hunts a partridge in the mountains." 21 Then Saul said, "I have sinned. Return, my son David. For I will harm you no more, because my life was precious in your eyes this day. Indeed I have played the fool and erred exceedingly." 22 And David answered and said, "Here is the king's spear. Let one of the young men come over and get it. 23 "May the LORD repay every man for his righteousness and his faithfulness; for the LORD delivered you into my hand today, but I would not stretch out my hand against the LORD'S anointed. 24 "And indeed, as your life was valued much this day in my eyes, so let my life be valued much in the eyes of the LORD, and let Him deliver me out of all tribulation." 25 Then Saul said to David, "May you be blessed, my son David! You shall both do great things and also still prevail." So David went on his way, and Saul returned to his place. (1 Sam26:20-25) Perhaps someone hearing or reading this is pregnant and considering abortion. Please listen to what David is saying here before you make that decision to end your baby's life. He says “do not let my blood fall to the earth before the face of the Lord.” It is a plea to not spill innocent blood before the Lord who is ever watching. And then he says in verse 24, "And indeed, as your life was valued much this day in my eyes, so let my life be valued much in the eyes of the LORD, and let Him deliver me out of all tribulation." Value that life in your womb and let the Lord perform His promise to deliver you out of all tribulation. He doesn't promise to remove the tribulation, only to deliver you out of it. You WILL make it through this! “But what about me?” I didn't listen to the Lord, I didn't know of this promise of deliverance?! Beloved, it may be too late to undo your abortion, but it is never too late to come to the Lord and ask for forgiveness. There is no sin that you or I have committed that Jesus did not pay for on that cross. Isa 45:22 says, "Look to Me, and be saved, All you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other. Father help those in crisis situations to choose life, and heal and forgive those who have made wrong choices in the past.

Keep Me From Driving Others Away

# 368 - Today's Du-votional comes from: 1Sa 26:19 "Now therefore, please, let my lord the king hear the words of his servant: If the LORD has stirred you up against me, let Him accept an offering. But if it is the children of men, may they be cursed before the LORD, for they have driven me out this day from sharing in the inheritance of the LORD, saying, 'Go, serve other gods.' ( 1 Sam 26:19) David wants to get to the bottom of this deadly cat and mouse game with Saul. Is it the Lord's doing, or has Saul been riled up by those around him? David makes it plain that it is not a good idea for men to be behind this. Cursed be those people who's actions drive others away from the inheritance of the Lord! Because in effect, they are saying, “Go, serve other gods!” In Prov 6:16-18 we read, “These six things the LORD hates, Yes, seven are an abomination to Him: 17 A proud look, A lying tongue, Hands that shed innocent blood, 18 A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that are swift in running to evil, 19 A false witness who speaks lies, And one who sows discord among brethren. Is someone sowing lies and the seeds of discord into Saul's mind? ....Woe to them. Jesus speaks even more harshly to those who would act in such a way as to keep someone away from sharing in the inheritance of the Lord. He says in Lu 17:1,2, “Jesus said to His disciples, "It is inevitable that causes of stumbling should come; but alas for him through whom they come! 2 It would be well for him if, with a millstone round his neck, he were lying at the bottom of the sea, rather than that he should cause even one of these little ones (these children of God) to fall.” There are enough temptations and false teachings and attractions in the world to lure people away from the faith, let them never come from our own words or actions as followers of Christ. Oh God, do not let me be the cause of someone falling from the faith. Do not allow me to chase one soul away from the cross of Christ. Guard me from sending any message with my words or deeds that would excuse sin, denigrate Your Word, or trample on Your message of saving grace. In Jesus name, I pray, Amen!

Struggle, Battle, Tribulation

# 367 - Today's Du-votional comes from: 1Sa 26:19 "Now therefore, please, let my lord the king hear the words of his servant: If the LORD has stirred you up against me, let Him accept an offering. But if it is the children of men, may they be cursed before the LORD, for they have driven me out this day from sharing in the inheritance of the LORD, saying, 'Go, serve other gods.' ( 1 Sam 26:19) In hindsight, we know the answer to this question is that God allowed a distressing spirit to come upon Saul because of Saul's own disobedience. It was this distressing spirit of jealousy that had riled up Saul and caused this life and death cat and mouse game with David. Why would God, in His sovereignty allow such a thing to happen to His anointed? (David) It's so tempting to ask that question of God in the midst of our own trials and temptations and begin to doubt the love of God, but if we study this portion of Scripture and read the Psalms that David wrote because of this experience we can see that God desires to teach us the realities of the spiritual warfare involved in following Christ. It's true, following Christ involves struggle, battle, tribulation! Yet, if we are willing, we can learn with David that “all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” (Rom 8:28) And no matter the struggle, God's love for us is not diminished. Ro 8:35-39 says, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? (Please note, these are all things that David experienced in his struggle with Saul) 36 As it is written: "For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter." 37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Be a conqueror! Cling to the cross, and know that in all your perils God never ceases loving you, and never ceases His desire to spend eternity with you. Father, help me through my trials today. Conquer my fears through Jesus!

The Secret To Reconciliation

# 366 - Today's Du-votional comes from: 1Sa 26:17-19a, “Then Saul knew David's voice, and said, "Is that your voice, my son David?" And David said, "It is my voice, my lord, O king." 18 And he said, "Why does my lord thus pursue his servant? For what have I done, or what evil is in my hand? 19 "Now therefore, please, let my lord the king hear the words of his servant: If the LORD has stirred you up against me, let Him accept an offering. (1 Sam 26:17-19a) David has had enough of this rift between he and Saul, and so he proposes that he and Saul send up an offering to God. I'm guessing the offering would've been a guilt offering as outlined in Le 5:17,18, "If a person sins, and commits any of these things which are forbidden to be done by the commandments of the LORD, though he does not know it, yet he is guilty and shall bear his iniquity. 18 "And he shall bring to the priest a ram without blemish from the flock, with your valuation, as a trespass offering. So the priest shall make atonement for him regarding his ignorance in which he erred and did not know it, and it shall be forgiven him.” David was saying, “Look Saul, if you are after me because God has stirred you up for a sin I have committed, or riled you up because of some sin you have committed. Let's make a guilt offering (confess our guilt) to God and be done with this!” Friend, this is timeless advice from Scripture and mirrors Jesus admonition to seek reconciliation with our brothers and sisters in Christ. I shall ever remember the time when there was a rift between myself and the pastor of our church. Long story short, one evening through a God-orchestrated event, we found ourselves in church praying. In a matter of minutes we were both silently drawn to the altar, and there, kneeling before the cross we experienced the joy of tearful reconciliation. You see, when we met at the cross, we both realized that the ground was level. Neither one of us was better than the other and with this realization, we were able to press on through our differences. I hope this helps those who are struggling with reconciliation in a relationship. It set both of us free and kindled a love for each other that still burns deep today. Thank You Jesus for the cross of reconciliation.

Dereliction of Duty Part 2

# 364 - Today's Du-votional comes from: 1Sa 26:13-16, “Now David went over to the other side, and stood on the top of a hill afar off, a great distance being between them. 14 And David called out to the people and to Abner the son of Ner, saying, "Do you not answer, Abner?" Then Abner answered and said, "Who are you, calling out to the king?" 15 So David said to Abner, "Are you not a man? And who is like you in Israel? Why then have you not guarded your lord the king? For one of the people came in to destroy your lord the king. 16 "This thing that you have done is not good. As the LORD lives, you deserve to die, because you have not guarded your master, the LORD'S anointed. And now see where the king's spear is, and the jug of water that was by his head." (1 Sam 26:13-16) Plain and simple, Abner is guilty of dereliction of duty, and as I mentioned last time, we become guilty of the same offense when we fail to heed Jesus' command to “watch and pray.” Jesus' concern was that His followers might fall into the trap of getting so caught up with the cares of this world that they would neglect some of the basic duties of the Christian life. Those duties include such things as evangelism, (Go) giving to the poor, fasting, praying, and even taking care of those in your household. 1Ti 5:8 says, “But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith (been derelict in his duty) and is worse than an unbeliever.” Try to look at it this way. When you were saved by grace through faith, you became a member of the household of God. As with every household, there are chores that need to be done to keep the household running smoothly. Sometimes, the managers of the house will post a list of duties for the members of the household. The Bible has a similar list of duties for the members of God's household. What are they? Pick up the Bible, prayerfully read it, and your duties will become clear. Your willingness to participate in the chores of the household of God serve as proof of the genuineness of your faith. Faith without works (performed duties) is dead. (James 2:17) Father, thank You for Your grace that saved me, help me now to respond to Your grace with joyful service in Your kingdom.

Dereliction of Duty

# 364 - Today's Du-votional comes from: 1Sa 26:13-16, “Now David went over to the other side, and stood on the top of a hill afar off, a great distance being between them. 14 And David called out to the people and to Abner the son of Ner, saying, "Do you not answer, Abner?" Then Abner answered and said, "Who are you, calling out to the king?" 15 So David said to Abner, "Are you not a man? And who is like you in Israel? Why then have you not guarded your lord the king? For one of the people came in to destroy your lord the king. 16 "This thing that you have done is not good. As the LORD lives, you deserve to die, because you have not guarded your master, the LORD'S anointed. And now see where the king's spear is, and the jug of water that was by his head." (1 Sam 26:13-16) Safely out of Saul's camp, David levies the charge of dereliction of duty against Abner. Any veteran will tell you that this is a very serious offense. During times of war one could be sentenced to death if found guilty of dereliction of duty. Wikipedia defines it in part as a person who has incapacitated himself in such a way that he cannot perform his duties. Such incapacitation includes the person falling asleep while on duty. So how are you doing with our Lord's command to watch (stay awake) and pray? If the Lord returned today, could you be found guilty of “dereliction of duty? Do you not know Christian, that we are engaged in war? Do you not know that eternal life and death hang in the balance? Listen to the words of Jesus in Lu 21:34-36, "But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly. 35 "For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. 36 "Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man." To be counted worthy is not about “doing,” it's about “being” found in Christ through faith! Guard your faith! Don't let it play second fiddle to partying and the cares of this life! When all is said and done, only those who have placed their faith in Jesus will be found doing their duty. Father, the world is ever luring me to sleep, drawing me away from my faith, keep me alert and on duty by the power of Your Holy Spirit!

God Has A Stun Gun, And He's Not Afraid To Use It

# 362 - Today's Du-votional comes from: 1Sa 26:11,12, “The LORD forbid that I should stretch out my hand against the LORD'S anointed. But please, take now the spear and the jug of water that are by his head, and let us go." 12 So David took the spear and the jug of water by Saul's head, and they got away; and no man saw it or knew it or awoke. For they were all asleep, because a deep sleep from the LORD had fallen on them. (1 Sam 26:11,12) What a miracle! David sneaks in camp and sneaks out with Saul's spear and canteen, and no one wakens because God caused a deep sleep to fall on Saul and his troops. The word sleep here comes from a root word that means to stun or stupefy, and the point I want to make here is that God has a stun gun, and He's not afraid to use it! God is capable of creating spiritual stupor. He is not a spiritual switch that we can turn off and on at our whim. Ps 76:6 says, “At thy rebuke, O God of Jacob, both rider and horse lay stunned. Don't be so haughty that you discount the fact that God can knock us off of our high horses anytime He chooses. Just ask the Apostle Paul! This same word for sleep is used elsewhere in Scripture to describe a heavenly imposed spiritual slumber. Isa 29:10 says, “For the LORD has poured out on you the spirit of deep sleep, and has closed your eyes; He has covered the prophets and your heads, the seers.” This spiritual stupor spoken of in Isaiah resulted in the Bible becoming a closed Book. No revelation! And no revelation equals no salvation, and no revival. For faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God! (Rom 10:17) Why did God bring this stupor upon His people? Isa 29:13 says, “Because this people draw near Me with their mouth, and with their lips honor Me, but have removed their heart far from Me, and their fear toward Me is taught by the command of men;” In a word, hypocrisy and legalism invite spiritual slumber into the church and across a land. God has a stun gun and He is not afraid to use it. Let us seek to cooperate fully with the Holy Spirit to guard us against these two dangers. Lord, show me any hypocrisy in my own life, and deliver me from the poison of my tendencies toward legalism.