David and his men were holed up in the Desert of Maon where a wealthy landowner with thousands of sheep and goats pastured his livestock…his name of Nabal. He was married to a beautiful and intelligent woman named Abigail. David and his men had protected Nabal’s shepherds and sheep…so when shearing started, his men had come with greetings, looking for favor…but instead, found insults being hurled at them by Nabal. When David got wind of this, he gathered his men to launch an assault on the household. Meanwhile, Abigail had been told of her husband’s faux pas and quickly intervened by packing up a large quantity of provisions, and setting off to intercept David. When their paths crossed, Abigail was able to very eloquently and diplomatically change David’s mind…and so halting the annihilation of her entire household.
Tag: THE WORD
I Chronicles 17:20 ” There is no one like You, O Lord, and there is no God but You, as we have heard with our ears.”
Maybe it’s hearing someone’s answer to pray…maybe it’s a praise report…or maybe it’s hearing that someone you’ve been praying for has finally come to know the Lord. Whatever it is, joy and thanksgiving almost explodes from us as we listen to others praising and thanking our Heavenly Father. Sharing God’s miraculous works is so important to all of us. For when we share…we all become encouraged and uplifted!
Proverbs 10:4 ” Lazy hands make a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth.”
Having been in Nursing Administration most of my life, I’ve interviewed and hired a lot of staff. And the one thing I always looked for was a good work ethic. A first-rate candidate needed to be hardworking, thorough, and patient…while someone who seemed inconstant, lax, and careless would be looked over for the position. Proverbs 12:24 tells us that, “Diligent hands will rule but laziness ends in slave labor.” Developing a good work ethic will get you far, not only in your career, but your life.
Job 14:1-2 “Man born of woman is of a few days and full of trouble. He springs up like a flower and withers away; like a fleeting shadow, he does not endure.”
From the moment we draw our initial breath, to the last… our lives are but a brief time here on earth. Our bodies, just temporary vessels, that continue to fade and wither more with each passing year. Yes, our mortal life is like a fleeting shadow…passing and momentary. But our spirit within is enduring…everlasting and eternal.
I Corinthians 9:19 “Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible.”
Paul wasn’t legally, socially, or personally obligated to anyone…but he willingly relinquished his freedom for the sake of winning others to Christ Jesus. And as Believers, we too are free…but that freedom was bought with a heavy price. And in realization of that mind-boggling freedom…it compels us to submission…first, to yielding our will to His… and then, to thinking of others before ourselves. Yes, we are free indeed…but in love, we need to submit one to another.
Revelation 20:10 ” And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.”
The ending has already been written…Satan’s doom is inevitable, and he knows it. The Accuser and Slanderer of God is well aware of how his story will end…and it’s not pretty. Satan knows that his time is short and so he’s bound and determined to take as many deceived souls with him into that abyss. Pray then, that people’s eyes and ears will be open to the Truth…the Truth of the living God.
James 1:19-20 ” My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.”
The next time you’re in a heated debate, take notice of your body language. Are your arms tightly crossed over your chest? You’re being defensive and resistive to the person and words that are being spoken to you. Are you shaking your head ” No “as someone is speaking to you? You’re not listening, but rather formulating what you want to say in response as soon as that person takes their next breath. This scripture shows that the art of communication is listening deliberately, speaking carefully, and not allowing knee-jerk reactionary anger to prevail.
Mark 4:16-17 ” Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the Word and at once receive it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the Word they quickly fall away.”
In these verses from the Parable of the Sower we see the Word of God being sown over rocky ground. The plants spring up, but because they have no adequate root system, they die off quickly. In the Amplified Version of the Bible it gives us insight into this shallow faith. It states in Mark 4:17, ” And they have no real root in themselves, and so they endure for a little while; then when trouble or persecution arises on account of the Word, they immediately are offended (become displeased, indignant, resentful) and they stumble and fall away.” So how can we pray for this person? They have to go deeper. In I Timothy 3:9 it talks about keeping ahold of the deep truths of the faith…the divine secrets, revealed truths, and revelations from God. To move from shallow faith to a vibrant and intimate relationship with the Lord, a person has to go deeper with God…allowing Him to speak to them through the Scriptures, revealing important truths to them. And with these new revelations, they are then able to send roots of trust down deep.
John 4:13-14 ” Jesus answered, ‘Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.’ “
We’ve all been very thirsty. An interesting note about the human body…hunger pangs will eventually subside, but thirst will never go away, for our bodies need water to operation and maintain homeostasis, (a stable and normal condition of all systems within the body.) In this Scripture, Jesus is offering the Samaritan woman the kind of water that will not only satisfy immediately, but will become an Artesian well within her. Like a spring rising up with a new and constant supply of fresh water, this living water fills and quenches our thirst unlike anything the world can offer.
I Samuel 13:19 ” Not a blacksmith could be found in the whole land of Israel, because the Philistines had said, ‘Otherwise the Hebrews will make swords or spears!’ “
Israel was weaponless…the armaments to protect and defend themselves- swords and spears – were absent…leaving them vulnerable to the enemy. We too can be open to attack from the enemy if we are swordless, for it says in Ephesians 6:17, “Take up the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.” The Word of God…the Bible, is the mightiest weapon we have in our arsenal against the enemy. Without our sword of the Spirit, we are as unprotected as the Israelites facing the Philistine army were. That’s why memorizing Scripture is so important…for you never know when you might be ambushed and need that trusty sword at your side.
Safetypinlove 