Lessons from David

Psalm 35 – Lessons from David

This psalm is a cry for vengeance. David has been slandered, offended, accused, and sinned against and this psalm is one where he is crying out to God to “make even” with his adversaries. The first lesson we see here is that David did not take matters into his own hands.

In our day and age, it is so easy to be accused or offended and immediately we reach for a sword to slash back. Go read any comment threads on Facebook or any other social media platform and you will see people getting vengeance. We need to learn from David and ask the Lord to do it on our behalf and to trust that someday Jesus will make His enemies (which are our enemies as well) His footstool.

Jesus states in the Sermon on the Mount, “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also” (Matt. 5: 38-39).

The context of this statement is in verbal accusations. Some passivists will use this as an example that people should not defend themselves at all. What this is trying to say is if someone insults you, turn your cheek and let them throw more insults. Don’t repay an insult with an insult. Speak life.
Read verse 13 and 14 again, “’But as for me, when they were sick, My clothing was sackcloth; I humbled myself with fasting; And my prayer would return to my own heart. I paced about as though he were my friend or brother; I bowed down heavily, as one who mourns for his mother.”

David mourned for them, he fasted on their behalf, and he interceded for them in their trials. He didn’t just turn his cheek, but spiritually, David went on offense for his adversaries.

To sum this all up, practically how do we respond when we are accused, shamed, or treated poorly by the world? In some cases, we need to defend ourselves and defend the faith, but in other cases it is better to relent and to actively show our love for those who persecute us (Matt. 5:44).

What do you fear?

Today’s Reading: Psalm 34 

After reading Psalm 34 and reflecting on the words from David I kept thinking about the fear I’m currently walking with and past fears.  What fears are you currently wrestling with?

This last week I have beeen part of moving my family and career to a new location which brings much excitement but also many fears.  I’ve noticed the more I distance my self from the truth and letting myself get caught up in the “what if’s” I ended up having much fear about things like failure.

Psalm 34 reminds me who is in charge of every aspect of my life. The One who goes before me and the One who is with me throughout.  My prayers are always to remember this truth.  To Seek Him and Submit myself to His Ways and direction He guides myself and my family throughout this time that carries many “what ifs”. I pray our Bible Journal friends will pray that for myself and our family as we find a new church family and as my children meet new friends.

I sought the Lord, and he answered me;
    he delivered me from all my fears.

Come, my children, listen to me;
    I will teach you the fear of the Lord.

The righteous person may have many troubles,
    but the Lord delivers him from them all;

Lord – help us to always seek You in the midst of all we have going on.  Lord help us to listen to understand and be obedient to Your word. Lord help us to know in the midst of any troubles You are near and have a purpose for all things.  Help us to not fear but trust in ALL plans You have for us.  Amen

 

Father’s Blessings

 

Today’s Reading: I Corinthians 16 

As we recognize and celebrate our father’s and father–figures, I see this message of Paul’s as a father‘s blessing to his children.

Over my lifetime, there have been many times when I have gone on a voyage or gone away to college and I would have conversations with my father and then we were start our goodbye before the departure.

Many times this will start in the house in one room. Then we would say our goodbyes and then proceed to the front room of the house. Then in the front room, we will have another conversation for about 2 to 5 minutes. Then we say our goodbyes. Next, we would go out to the car and spend another 2 to 5 minutes speaking about another subject. Then we say our goodbyes and give our hugs. So the full goodbyes take about 20 minutes or so.

These times that we saying goodbye are those lasting memories that you have with that person. You save for each moment because you never know when it might be the last.

Over my life, I have had several memories of last conversations of my loved ones. I remember the last conversation with my grandmother that was over 22 years ago. I remember my last conversation with my wife’s grandfather which was over 11 years ago. I remember each of the conversations I’ve had with my mother and my father and my in-laws over the last several years. We are still fortunate to have our parents, but each time that we leave them, I embrace and remember the last final words and blessings that they give us. In this last chapter of Corinthians, we can see that Paul is giving these blessings and pieces of knowledge to the next people.

“Now concerning the collection for the saints: as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do. On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come…

I will visit you after passing through Macedonia, for I intend to pass through Macedonia, and perhaps I will stay with you or even spend the winter, so that you may help me on my journey, wherever I go…

But I will stay in Ephesus until Pentecost …

When Timothy comes, see that you put him at ease among you, for he is doing the work of the Lord, as I am….  

Now concerning our brother Apollos, I strongly urged him to visit you with the other brothers, but it was not at all his will to come now. He will come when he has opportunity… 

Let all that you do be done in love….  

I rejoice at the coming of Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicus, because they have made up for your absence, The churches of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Prisca, together with the church in their house, send you hearty greetings in the Lord…

The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you…

My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen.”

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭16‬:‭1‬-‭2‬, ‭5‬-‭6‬, ‭8‬, ‭10‬, ‭12‬, ‭14‬, ‭17‬, ‭19‬, ‭23‬-‭24‬ ‭ESV‬‬

With these blessings that we received from Paul let us also remember the blessing that we communicate with others. Now that I am a father as well, I try to give small nuggets of wisdom each time my kids go on a trip or away from me for a period of time. Each one of these times I remember their face, their hug, and their smell.

I have learned not to take goodbyes and hellos for granted. I have learned that these special moments, even though they might take a moment to do these could be the things that last for a lifetime in my memory.

Lord allow us to be with you and be with others in our most vulnerable spots. Allow each of the conversations that we have to be meaningful and to be remembered. Allow us to enjoy each other as if each moment could be our last. May you continue to smile upon us and give us grace and give us peace. Amen.

Be blessed.

Spiritual Gifts

Today’s reading is 1 Corinthians 14.

Our reading today continues Paul’s writings on spiritual gifts which he began discussing and listed in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10. In this chapter he primarily focuses on speaking in tongues and prophesy. These spiritual gifts have become a controversial topic in the Church today with some taking a cessationist view that these gifts have stopped due to interpretation of 1 Corinthians 13:10 saying they pass away when “perfect comes.” They interpret “perfect” being the completion of the Bible and that those spiritual gifts were only given to the first apostles so the Bible could be completed. They believe now that the Bible has been written Scripture teaches they have stopped because they aren’t necessary anymore. Continualists do not believe these spiritual gifts have stopped. They believe the “perfect” referenced in 1 Corinthians 13:10 to be the coming of Jesus again which has not yet happened, so thus these spiritual gifts are still alive and active today.

Let me just say this discrepancy in beliefs among the Church and Christians on this topic is not a salvation issue. Those believing both views will go to Heaven if they confess their sins and believe Jesus died on the cross for their forgiveness and was raised on Easter. Let me also say that although this is a controversial topic, I am writing on it because I believe http://biblejournal.net is just that..a journal of everyday Christians to share their thoughts and what they feel God may be laying on their hearts related to Scripture. So..here we go.

In my observation (and I’ve probably heard others say this before), one interprets Scripture by a combination of the following….

  • What you feel the Holy Spirit is teaching you and laying on your heart through reading it
  • Other Scriptures on the same or similar topic
  • What pastors and spiritual leaders who you respect for consistently following God’s Word say on the Scriptures and topic
  • Your personal experiences related to the topic and how you’ve seen God move or work related to it in your life

Pastor Gary Hamrick of Cornerstone Chapel in Leesburg, VA preached on this topic back in December of 2024 which you can find here using this link  https://cornerstonechapel.net/teaching/20241208/ . Pastor Gary interprets Scripture in a way that makes him a continualist. He references Pastor John MacArthur who is a cessaitonist and even had a 3-day conference on the topic. Pastor MacArthur is someone who I have also listened to sermons as a resource for my past Bible Journal writings. From my experiences, both follow God’s Word in their teaching..they just have a different interpretation on the Scripture for this topic.

If you are a fellow Christ follower who holds a cessationist view, meaning you believe these gifts are no longer active, please don’t hold it against me that after using some of the above methods, I would call myself a continualist. If we both believe in Jesus, that’s all that really matters. And yet again, http://biblejornal.net is just a way our writers to share what’s on their heart.

My interpretation after reading these Scriptures and listening to Pastor Gary are that things are not yet “perfect” as 1 Corinthians 13:10 says they will be when these spiritual gifts pass away. I can look around and see that things are far from perfect and although the Bible teaches us a lot about God’s heart, will, and plan..there is still a lot we don’t know that only God does. I don’t know it all or how understand all that is going on in the world around us. Do you? My interpretation of perfect is when Jesus comes again, not with completion of God’s Word in the Bible.

The other reason my interpretation of these verses is that these spiritual gifts are alive and have not yet ended are my personal experience. About 6 years ago I made a decision to step away from one half of a dual role I served in my company. This was a big decision. That one half of the dual role was the reason we moved from the Springfield area to the Bloomington area in 2011, and for many years I thought that role was the role God was calling me into to impact many others throughout the rest of my career. For various reasons which I won’t go into here and through prayer and experiences, I began to believe that may not be the case. While I felt it was the right decision to step down from this role, there was still uncertainty and fear of if this was the right decision and what was next.

When I went to tell my Managing Partner in Champaign I was stepping down from this role one early morning in late 2019, my wife was the only person who knew. I had told no one else. As I drove back to Bloomington-Normal to meet with a newer financial representative I was mentoring in the role I was stepping down from, my mind was elsewhere still wondering what was next for my family and me and our future. Had I made the best decision? When he sat down he said he wanted to tell me something before his coaching session started. He said he doesn’t tell many, but he has the spiritual gift of prophesy which was not for him and his life experiences, but to share with others. He said for many years he has observed these prophetic visions come true. He told me God had laid it on his heart during his prayers time that morning that he didn’t know exactly what, but that I was going to have a major change or promotion in my career and what I did with my company. He said whatever that change was, it was going to be a really good thing and that I would be able to bless others and blessings would come to my family in this new role. It was all I could do to keep it together. When he left that coaching session which was supposed to be for him, I broke down into tears. I was so humbled God gave him that message to deliver to me to give me peace and affirmation that my decision was the right one.

While there are always challenges that come with change, it has been clear he was correct and the change in roles has not only been good for me professionally but given me more bandwidth to coach my kids’ teams and get involved in other charitable and church and mission type work for His glory that I may or may not have thought had the time for previously.

The purpose of my writing today is not to convince you to be a continualist when it comes to spiritual gifts, but just to share with you my personal interpretation through some methods you also might find helpful to interpret Scripture and my experiences. Most importantly, my prayer is that we listen to God’s voice and the ways he may be speaking to us through His Word and through others.

Faith, Hope and Love

1 Corinthians 13

The first thing I thought of after reading 1 Corinthians 13……who stood up and read this at my wedding??  I can’t be the only one that thought about weddings!  Second thing I thought of and went straight to spotify to play for some inspiration…..Alan Jackson – Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning?  Heck, I just listened to it again.  That song in itself can be the summary of this chapter!

Paul reminds us all that without LOVE, nothing else matters.  Love is patient, love is kind.  I was told to be patient and kind as young as I can remember.  My wife still tells me that today.  We tell our kids that.  Love doesn’t envy or boast meaning don’t show off or resent other people.  Again, things and principles we were told growing up and what we continue to tell our children.  I feel like from now on I should say to my kids each day on the way out the door, “First Corinthians, chapter 13!”, but it doesn’t quite have that ring to it.

I think the word love can be abused, overused, taken advantage of.  We need that reminder of what the bible says it means and Paul does that here.  Many things like knowledge, prophecy, and spiritual gifts are temporary.  But LOVE is eternal.  Someday, when we fully understand everything and see God face-to-face, we’ll realize love was the most important thing all along.

We all certainly know what love is and what it means when it comes to our loved ones or special events like the birth of a newborn or the day we get married.  But what Paul does here is go a little deeper and reminds us about that Alan Jackson type of love that we need to show towards everyone.  It is not just about the love on the good days and people that are close to you but also the love on the not so good days and everyone else in the world.

Country music fan or not, I urge everyone to listen to that song at least once today and reflect on where and how you show your love to those around you and those far away.

Faith, Hope and Love will always matter, but LOVE is the greatest.  It is the foundation of real relationships, real growth, and real faith.

God’s Guidance for the Spiritual Design of Marriage

Today’s Reading: 1 Corinthians 11

How awesome that by the publishing of this post, we will celebrate the marriage this weekend of our daughter. We are very blessed and happy that our daughter is marrying a Godly-man and their faith in Jesus Christ is a central part of their relationship. Praise God!

Marriage, as designed by God, is a sacred covenant that reflects His character, order, and love. From the beginning, Scripture teaches that marriage is not merely a social contract, but a divine institution created by God to unite a man and woman in a lifelong, faithful partnership (Genesis 2:24). At its core, marriage reflects the covenant relationship between Christ and His Church (Ephesians 5:25-32), built on love, sacrifice, mutual respect, and spiritual unity.

God’s design for marriage begins with headship and partnership. In 1 Corinthians 11:3, Paul outlines a spiritual order: “the head of every man is Christ, the head of a woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.” This structure reflects not superiority, but divine alignment. Just as Jesus submits to the Father in love and unity, so are husbands called to lovingly lead their wives, and wives to respond with respect and support. This mutual submission (Ephesians 5:21) fosters unity, trust, and flourishing.

Marriage is also a sanctifying relationship, where both spouses are shaped more into the image of Christ. Through selfless service, forgiveness, and shared spiritual pursuit, a husband and wife grow in faith together. God calls couples to love each other deeply, bear with one another’s weaknesses, and remain faithful through all seasons.

At its heart, God’s spiritual design for marriage is about reflecting His love to the world. A Christ-centered marriage puts God first, values prayer and Scripture, and commits to building a home grounded in grace and truth. It is a daily choice to love as Christ loves—sacrificially, joyfully, and unconditionally.

When couples honor this design, their marriage becomes more than companionship—it becomes a testimony of God’s glory, faithfulness, and redeeming love.

Written with the assistance of ChatGPT

Trust your Conviction

1 Corinthians 8 (Wednesday June 4th)
To preface this entire post, I want us all to read 1 Cor. 10:31, “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” Be above reproach. Be a man or woman of good reputation because you represent our great God.

If you have been a Christian for any amount of time, you have had the question okay well what do I do if the Bible doesn’t talk about a certain topic? For example, the Bible doesn’t always give us specific verses on if you can or cannot take in certain media, to smoke, to drink alcohol (the Bible clearly warns against getting drunk Eph. 5:18), and many other hot topics in our culture. So, what do we do?

This passage of scripture was specifically for the Corinthian church. There were many pagans turned Christians in this church. Something that they would have done in their previous worldview was to sacrifice meat to the various idols they worshipped. Then that same meat would be sold in the market. So, the Christians are now asking okay now that we worship Jesus, can we still eat this meat, or should we not eat this meat? Paul’s answer is simple. He says that some people have the knowledge in their heart and mind that all other idols are not true gods, therefore their conscience is not weak when they eat the meat that was offered to these idols. Then there are the people who may have practiced the actual offering before and their conscience is weak towards this practice because it reminds them of idolatry they previously committed.

So, let’s make this more personal. Say you had a sin struggle with getting drunk before you came to Christ for salvation. Now after you are a Christian, you understand that just having a drink is okay, but because you have abused it, your conscience is weak towards even having a drink. Obviously that Christian should not drink because going against their conscience would be sin.

Now, Paul goes back to everyone and clarifies some things.

1. Our freedom should not be a stumbling block for another Christian (v.9).
2. Give up your freedom for the sake of others (v.13).

So, to put this all together, there are some areas where you have freedom to trust your conscience that God created in you and the Spirit He put in you. BUT you should never favor your liberty over your brother and sister in Christ. AND you should be willing (not that you must) to give up your liberty, even though your conscience is not weak, for the sake of someone else.

Happy Anniversary

Today’s Reading is 1 Corinthians 7.  When reading and reflecting on these words from Paul there will be a part for everyone no matter where you at in your relationship journey.  For myself my wife Jennifer and I will be celebrating our 16th wedding anniversary which includes many situations of hills and valleys.

Thankfully in all these moments I can see God at work and also recognize the times where He was present and I was the one absent in my obedience.

We are in the middle of a big move for our family.  New place, new community, new everything.  The moments of excitement seem to have disappeared as we say goodbye to friends and things that make you feel comfortable and content.   In these high stress times hearing His Words are a reminder how I should be treating Jennifer always.

Stay faithful – the world is full of temptations and our devices we carry allow these temptations to be present 24/7.   In her presence or not am I “giving” to her?

Devote yourself to prayer – our physical world makes us believe we can do all things ourselves.  We don’t need help. The truth is we all need help.  Do I seek my help from the One who does provide all the TRUE answers.  God.  Pray, pray, pray.  Every decision we make can be lifted when we look to Him.

However many years the Lord gives us do I devote them to prayer? I can be vulnerable in saying this has been a shortcoming which I need to do better with.

Lastly, live as we are called.  Like I started, no matter where you are at with a relationship – are you leading a life that is obedient to our Lord .  Are you keeping His commandments?  If not – confess, pray to Him and ask for forgiveness, and turn away from the sins that can seek you daily.  Stay faithful, the Lord is near to Him that call on Him.

Happy Anniversary Jennifer.

Blessings to everyone!

Relationships

 

Today’s Reading: I Corinthians Chapter 6 

Every interaction that we have deals with a relationship. There are three main relationships that can cover all relationships. 

The relationship with God and man. 

The relationship with men and self. 

The relationship with man and others.

 

Each of these relationships are fluid. Throughout the course and a journey of a relationship there will be highs and lows, but the commitment to each other is the main solidifying bond in that relationship.

Daily  our relationship in those three categories has to be renewed. Each day we have to make a commitment to push ourselves to connect with the other. When we do this intentionally, we create in ourselves, peace and harmony. 

In relationships there has to be a two-way communication. Sometimes there is a breakdown of communication which leads to low points in a relationship. But when it happens, there has to be an intentional movement on one or the other in the relationship to foster that connection.

When one of you has a grievance against another, does he dare go to law before the unrighteous instead of the saints? 2 Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? 3 Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life! 

  • I Corinthians 6:1-3

In this chapter, Paul reveals that when the communication breakdown and relationship breaks down, we accuse each other and are not able to understand or empathize with each other. When we lose the connection, then we attempt to have others to mediate for us, but we need to connect with the person and mediate together to create harmony.

Relationships can be easy when they are going well. But relationships can be challenging when not everything is going well. We see this in Corinthians where if there’s a disagreement in the relationship, the Christians are attempting to have outside influence to help them. But that outside influence only makes things worse. They have to go to each other and go to God to help to reconcile together.

In all the relationships, we have to first reconcile ourselves with God.  This is just starting and maintaining the relationship.  This could be as simple as acknowledging God in your life each day. This could be 30 seconds to a minute.  Once you establish this routine, then it gets easier to extend it daily and further.  This relationship establishment will help to facilitate the other relationships.  The Love of God that is given through Christ will continue to  move in all relationships.

What You Allow, You Become

1 Corinthians 5

The Corinthian church turned a blind eye to the reckless behavior of some of its members. ‘We are all Christians,’ they reasoned. But over time, sin became normalized. What once shocked them now seemed ordinary. A few had infected the whole.

Could the same be happening in your church? Maybe — but the first place to look is within.

Where are you making small compromises?

    • “What you watch”
    • “What you listen to”
    • “What you say”
    • “What you do”
    • “Where you go”
    • “What you give – or withhold”

Small sins shape your soul — and our souls shape the church.