In 2 Samuel 1, David learns of the deaths of Saul and his sons. An Amalekite claims he delivered the fatal blow to Saul, assuming the mortally wounded king could not survive. David has the man executed for killing Saul because Saul was the Lord’s anointed king, and David believed it was wrong for anyone…
Up until now, 1 Chronicles has been a dense forest of genealogy—which, I’ll admit, I’ve just been skimming pretty fast. While it’s great to remember that God never stops working through the generations, it hasn’t exactly been a real page-turner. That all changed today. Suddenly, Samuel’s grim prophecy comes alive. Saul and his sons fought…
In 2025, I set a goal to read and study through the Bible every year. I wish I had set that goal in 1980. We are 45% of the way through reading the entire Bible this year. Today’s reading is Matthew 20, and the verse of the day is 1 Corinthians 13:4. As I read…
1 Samuel is a great book; I find myself wanting to hurry up and find out what’s next. In today’s reading of 1 Samuel 28, we find Saul terrified as the Philistine army closes in. Saul asks God what he should do, but God doesn’t answer. Saul takes matters into his own hands, disguises himself…
Today’s readings were 1 Samuel 26 and Matthew 18. In 1 Samuel 26, Saul continues his hunt for David. David gets the opportunity to kill Saul again, but he refuses. David trusted God to take care of the problem, putting his faith into immediate action. Hopefully we don’t have an angry king actively hunting us…
We are cruising along in reading the Bible this year. It’s day 160, and there’s a lot of cool stuff going on in today’s readings. In Matthew 17, we learn about a demon-possessed young man. A sinister reality unfolds: the demon is actively trying to kill the boy. His distraught dad brings him to the…
‘Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save…
Jesus worked many miracles; in Matthew 12, he healed a man with a withered hand. And the leaders still want to kill him. ‘Then he said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” So the man held out his hand, and it was restored, just like the other one! Then the Pharisees called a meeting…
Imagine having a friend who puts your welfare above their own. That’s what we find in the friendship between Saul’s son Jonathan and David in today’s readings of 1 Samuel 20. Dark forces influence Saul, and he wants to kill David. David feels he’s one step away from death. Jonathan vows to help David. ‘So…
There’s so much going on in today’s readings, but what really struck me is the courage and the trust the apostles had in Jesus. He sends them out to witness to the people of Israel with nothing but authority and instructions. ‘Jesus called his twelve disciples together and gave them authority to cast out evil…