Monday, January 16, 2011 - We can make our plans but God determined our steps

5:00 a.m. Prayer/Devotion

5:45 pm. LifeTime - Weights (Upper/Lower body)

2 Samuel 14:1-15:22; John 18:1-24; Psalm 119:97-112; Proverbs 16:8-9

2 Samuel 14-15:22

New Living Translation (NLT)

2 Samuel 14

Joab Arranges for Absalom’s Return

 ¹ Joab realized how much the king longed to see Absalom. ² So he sent for a woman from Tekoa who had a reputation for great wisdom. He said to her, “Pretend you are in mourning; wear mourning clothes and don’t put on lotions.^[a] Act like a woman who has been mourning for the dead for a long time. ³ Then go to the king and tell him the story I am about to tell you.” Then Joab told her what to say.  ⁴ When the woman from Tekoa approached the king, she bowed with her face to the ground in deep respect and cried out, “O king! Help me!”
 ⁵ “What’s the trouble?” the king asked.
   “Alas, I am a widow!” she replied. “My husband is dead. ⁶ My two sons had a fight out in the field. And since no one was there to stop it, one of them was killed. ⁷ Now the rest of the family is demanding, ‘Let us have your son. We will execute him for murdering his brother. He doesn’t deserve to inherit his family’s property.’ They want to extinguish the only coal I have left, and my husband’s name and family will disappear from the face of the earth.”
 ⁸ “Leave it to me,” the king told her. “Go home, and I’ll see to it that no one touches him.”
 ⁹ “Oh, thank you, my lord the king,” the woman from Tekoa replied. “If you are criticized for helping me, let the blame fall on me and on my father’s house, and let the king and his throne be innocent.”
 ¹⁰ “If anyone objects,” the king said, “bring him to me. I can assure you he will never complain again!”
 ¹¹ Then she said, “Please swear to me by the LORD your God that you won’t let anyone take vengeance against my son. I want no more bloodshed.”
   “As surely as the LORD lives,” he replied, “not a hair on your son’s head will be disturbed!”
 ¹² “Please allow me to ask one more thing of my lord the king,” she said.
   “Go ahead and speak,” he responded.
 ¹³ She replied, “Why don’t you do as much for the people of God as you have promised to do for me? You have convicted yourself in making this decision, because you have refused to bring home your own banished son. ¹⁴ All of us must die eventually. Our lives are like water spilled out on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. But God does not just sweep life away; instead, he devises ways to bring us back when we have been separated from him.
 ¹⁵ “I have come to plead with my lord the king because people have threatened me. I said to myself, ‘Perhaps the king will listen to me ¹⁶ and rescue us from those who would cut us off from the inheritance^[b] God has given us. ¹⁷ Yes, my lord the king will give us peace of mind again.’ I know that you are like an angel of God in discerning good from evil. May the LORD your God be with you.”
 ¹⁸ “I must know one thing,” the king replied, “and tell me the truth.”
   “Yes, my lord the king,” she responded.
 ¹⁹ “Did Joab put you up to this?”
   And the woman replied, “My lord the king, how can I deny it? Nobody can hide anything from you. Yes, Joab sent me and told me what to say. ²⁰ He did it to place the matter before you in a different light. But you are as wise as an angel of God, and you understand everything that happens among us!”
 ²¹ So the king sent for Joab and told him, “All right, go and bring back the young man Absalom.”
 ²² Joab bowed with his face to the ground in deep respect and said, “At last I know that I have gained your approval, my lord the king, for you have granted me this request!”
 ²³ Then Joab went to Geshur and brought Absalom back to Jerusalem. ²⁴ But the king gave this order: “Absalom may go to his own house, but he must never come into my presence.” So Absalom did not see the king.

Absalom Reconciled to David

 ²⁵ Now Absalom was praised as the most handsome man in all Israel. He was flawless from head to foot. ²⁶ He cut his hair only once a year, and then only because it was so heavy. When he weighed it out, it came to five pounds!^{[c] 27} He had three sons and one daughter. His daughter’s name was Tamar, and she was very beautiful.  ²⁸ Absalom lived in Jerusalem for two years, but he never got to see the king. ²⁹ Then Absalom sent for Joab to ask him to intercede for him, but Joab refused to come. Absalom sent for him a second time, but again Joab refused to come. ³⁰ So Absalom said to his servants, “Go and set fire to Joab’s barley field, the field next to mine.” So they set his field on fire, as Absalom had commanded.
 ³¹ Then Joab came to Absalom at his house and demanded, “Why did your servants set my field on fire?”
 ³² And Absalom replied, “Because I wanted you to ask the king why he brought me back from Geshur if he didn’t intend to see me. I might as well have stayed there. Let me see the king; if he finds me guilty of anything, then let him kill me.”
 ³³ So Joab told the king what Absalom had said. Then at last David summoned Absalom, who came and bowed low before the king, and the king kissed him.

2 Samuel 15

Absalom’s Rebellion

 ¹ After this, Absalom bought a chariot and horses, and he hired fifty bodyguards to run ahead of him. ² He got up early every morning and went out to the gate of the city. When people brought a case to the king for judgment, Absalom would ask where in Israel they were from, and they would tell him their tribe. ³ Then Absalom would say, “You’ve really got a strong case here! It’s too bad the king doesn’t have anyone to hear it. ⁴ I wish I were the judge. Then everyone could bring their cases to me for judgment, and I would give them justice!”  ⁵ When people tried to bow before him, Absalom wouldn’t let them. Instead, he took them by the hand and kissed them. ⁶ Absalom did this with everyone who came to the king for judgment, and so he stole the hearts of all the people of Israel.
 ⁷ After four years,^[d] Absalom said to the king, “Let me go to Hebron to offer a sacrifice to the LORD and fulfill a vow I made to him. ⁸ For while your servant was at Geshur in Aram, I promised to sacrifice to the LORD in Hebron^[e] if he would bring me back to Jerusalem.”
 ⁹ “All right,” the king told him. “Go and fulfill your vow.”
   So Absalom went to Hebron. ¹⁰ But while he was there, he sent secret messengers to all the tribes of Israel to stir up a rebellion against the king. “As soon as you hear the ram’s horn,” his message read, “you are to say, ‘Absalom has been crowned king in Hebron.’” ¹¹ He took 200 men from Jerusalem with him as guests, but they knew nothing of his intentions. ¹² While Absalom was offering the sacrifices, he sent for Ahithophel, one of David’s counselors who lived in Giloh. Soon many others also joined Absalom, and the conspiracy gained momentum.

David Escapes from Jerusalem

 ¹³ A messenger soon arrived in Jerusalem to tell David, “All Israel has joined Absalom in a conspiracy against you!”  ¹⁴ “Then we must flee at once, or it will be too late!” David urged his men. “Hurry! If we get out of the city before Absalom arrives, both we and the city of Jerusalem will be spared from disaster.”
 ¹⁵ “We are with you,” his advisers replied. “Do what you think is best.”
 ¹⁶ So the king and all his household set out at once. He left no one behind except ten of his concubines to look after the palace. ¹⁷ The king and all his people set out on foot, pausing at the last house ¹⁸ to let all the king’s men move past to lead the way. There were 600 men from Gath who had come with David, along with the king’s bodyguard.^[f]
 19 Then the king turned and said to Ittai, a leader of the men from Gath, “Why are you coming with us? Go on back to King Absalom, for you are a guest in Israel, a foreigner in exile. ²⁰ You arrived only recently, and should I force you today to wander with us? I don’t even know where we will go. Go on back and take your kinsmen with you, and may the LORD show you his unfailing love and faithfulness.^[g]”
 ²¹ But Ittai said to the king, “I vow by the LORD and by your own life that I will go wherever my lord the king goes, no matter what happens—whether it means life or death.”
 ²² David replied, “All right, come with us.” So Ittai and all his men and their families went along.

Footnotes:

1. 2 Samuel 14:2 Hebrew don’t anoint yourself with oil.
2. 2 Samuel 14:16 Or the property; or the people.
3. 2 Samuel 14:26 Hebrew 200 shekels [2.3 kilograms] by the royal standard.
4. 2 Samuel 15:7 As in Greek and Syriac versions; Hebrew reads forty years.
5. 2 Samuel 15:8 As in some Greek manuscripts; Hebrew lacks in Hebron.
6. 2 Samuel 15:18 Hebrew the Kerethites and Pelethites.
7. 2 Samuel 15:20 As in Greek version; Hebrew reads and may unfailing love and faithfulness go with you.

• <<
• <
• =
  =
• >
• >>

New Living Translation (NLT)Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Add parallel

• <<
• <
• =
  =
• >
• >>

Show resources

John 18:1-24

New Living Translation (NLT)

John 18

Jesus Is Betrayed and Arrested

 ¹ After saying these things, Jesus crossed the Kidron Valley with his disciples and entered a grove of olive trees. ² Judas, the betrayer, knew this place, because Jesus had often gone there with his disciples. ³ The leading priests and Pharisees had given Judas a contingent of Roman soldiers and Temple guards to accompany him. Now with blazing torches, lanterns, and weapons, they arrived at the olive grove.  ⁴ Jesus fully realized all that was going to happen to him, so he stepped forward to meet them. “Who are you looking for?” he asked.
 ⁵ “Jesus the Nazarene,”^[a] they replied.
   “I AM he,”^[b] Jesus said. (Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them.) ⁶ As Jesus said “I AM he,” they all drew back and fell to the ground! ⁷ Once more he asked them, “Who are you looking for?”
   And again they replied, “Jesus the Nazarene.”
 ⁸ “I told you that I AM he,” Jesus said. “And since I am the one you want, let these others go.” ⁹ He did this to fulfill his own statement: “I did not lose a single one of those you have given me.”^[c]
 10 Then Simon Peter drew a sword and slashed off the right ear of Malchus, the high priest’s slave. ¹¹ But Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword back into its sheath. Shall I not drink from the cup of suffering the Father has given me?”

Jesus at the High Priest’s House

 ¹² So the soldiers, their commanding officer, and the Temple guards arrested Jesus and tied him up. ¹³ First they took him to Annas, the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest at that time.^{[d] 14} Caiaphas was the one who had told the other Jewish leaders, “It’s better that one man should die for the people.”

Peter’s First Denial

 ¹⁵ Simon Peter followed Jesus, as did another of the disciples. That other disciple was acquainted with the high priest, so he was allowed to enter the high priest’s courtyard with Jesus. ¹⁶ Peter had to stay outside the gate. Then the disciple who knew the high priest spoke to the woman watching at the gate, and she let Peter in. ¹⁷ The woman asked Peter, “You’re not one of that man’s disciples, are you?”    “No,” he said, “I am not.”
 ¹⁸ Because it was cold, the household servants and the guards had made a charcoal fire. They stood around it, warming themselves, and Peter stood with them, warming himself.

The High Priest Questions Jesus

 ¹⁹ Inside, the high priest began asking Jesus about his followers and what he had been teaching them. ²⁰ Jesus replied, “Everyone knows what I teach. I have preached regularly in the synagogues and the Temple, where the people^[e] gather. I have not spoken in secret. ²¹ Why are you asking me this question? Ask those who heard me. They know what I said.”  ²² Then one of the Temple guards standing nearby slapped Jesus across the face. “Is that the way to answer the high priest?” he demanded.
 ²³ Jesus replied, “If I said anything wrong, you must prove it. But if I’m speaking the truth, why are you beating me?”
 ²⁴ Then Annas bound Jesus and sent him to Caiaphas, the high priest.

Footnotes:

1. John 18:5 Or Jesus of Nazareth; also in 18:7.
2. John 18:5 Or “The ‘I AM’ is here”; or “I am the LORD”; Greek reads I am; also in 18:6, 8. See Exod 3:14.
3. John 18:9 See John 6:39 and 17:12.
4. John 18:13 Greek that year.
5. John 18:20 Greek Jewish people; also in 18:38.

• <<
• <
• =
  =
• >
• >>

New Living Translation (NLT)Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Add parallel

• <<
• <
• =
  =
• >
• >>

Show resources

Psalm 119:97-112

New Living Translation (NLT)

   Mem
 ⁹⁷ Oh, how I love your instructions!
      I think about them all day long.
 ⁹⁸ Your commands make me wiser than my enemies,
      for they are my constant guide.
 ⁹⁹ Yes, I have more insight than my teachers,
      for I am always thinking of your laws.
 ¹⁰⁰ I am even wiser than my elders,
      for I have kept your commandments.
 ¹⁰¹ I have refused to walk on any evil path,
      so that I may remain obedient to your word.
 ¹⁰² I haven’t turned away from your regulations,
      for you have taught me well.
 ¹⁰³ How sweet your words taste to me;
      they are sweeter than honey.
 ¹⁰⁴ Your commandments give me understanding;
      no wonder I hate every false way of life.
   Nun
 ¹⁰⁵ Your word is a lamp to guide my feet
      and a light for my path.
 ¹⁰⁶ I’ve promised it once, and I’ll promise it again:
      I will obey your righteous regulations.
 ¹⁰⁷ I have suffered much, O LORD;
      restore my life again as you promised.
 ¹⁰⁸ LORD, accept my offering of praise,
      and teach me your regulations.
 ¹⁰⁹ My life constantly hangs in the balance,
      but I will not stop obeying your instructions.
 ¹¹⁰ The wicked have set their traps for me,
      but I will not turn from your commandments.
 ¹¹¹ Your laws are my treasure;
      they are my heart’s delight.
 ¹¹² I am determined to keep your decrees
      to the very end.

• <<
• <
• =
  =
• >
• >>

New Living Translation (NLT)Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Add parallel

• <<
• <
• =
  =
• >
• >>

Show resources

Proverbs 16:8-9

New Living Translation (NLT)

 ⁸ Better to have little, with godliness,
      than to be rich and dishonest.
 ⁹ We can make our plans,
      but the LORD determines our steps.

Thursday, January 12, 2012 - Are we relying on food more than God?

7:50 a.m. Prayer/Devotion

9:00 a.m. Weights: Bicep, Tricep, Chest

7:00 pm Zumba

January 12, 2012 Why Shouldn't I Indulge Lysa TerKeurst

"I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made." Psalm 139:14 (NIV)

God made you wonderful. Psalm 139 says so. You are beautiful and loved just the way you are, whether you're a size zero or a size thirty. But, if your size is a struggle or a place of defeat, God loves you so much He doesn't want you to stay there.

There was a time when I felt utterly defeated in the area of food and health. I knew I needed to make changes, but not because of the number on the scale or my clothing size. I knew it because of the battle that raged in my heart. I craved, I desired, I thought about, and arranged my life around food.

Yet I was a Bible teacher, a woman who loved Jesus. Why couldn't I figure this out? I had found victory in so many areas of my life, but this area alluded me. I constantly asked, "Why shouldn't I indulge?"

One day, I looked up the definition of the word indulge, which means to act in an unrestrained way. For me it was unrestrained eating. You see, eating in its proper context is not the problem. God gave us food for nourishment, strength and even celebration. The problem comes when pleasure is unrestrained.

I had to get honest enough to admit that I relied on food more than I relied on God. I craved food more than I craved God. Chocolate was my comfort and deliverer. Cookies were my reward. Salty chips were my joy. Food was what I turned to in times of stress and sadness … even in times of happiness.

I knew it was something God was challenging me to surrender to His control. Really surrender. Surrender to the point where I'd make radical changes for the sake of my spiritual health—perhaps even more than my physical health.

Part of my surrender was asking myself a really raw question. May I ask you this same question?

Is it possible we love and rely on food more that we love and rely on God?

Now before you turn your computer off, hear me out. This question is crucial.

We have to see the purpose of our struggle with food as something more than getting to wear smaller sizes and receive compliments. Shallow desires produce shallow efforts. These good things are nice, but not as appealing in the moment as a cinnamon roll, or those chips, or that brownie.

The process of getting healthy has to be about more than just losing weight and focusing on ourselves. It's not about adjusting our diets and hoping for good physical results. It's about recalibrating our souls so that we want to change for the right reasons: because we are fearfully and wonderfully made by God. And created to live in victory, not in defeat.

I discovered that pursuing a healthy eating plan for these very reasons was one of the most significant spiritual journeys I'd ever dared to take with God. Today, I invite you to journey with me.

Dear Lord, if I'm being honest with myself and You, I know sometimes I rely on food more than I rely on You. I want to recalibrate my soul and change for the right reasons. I want to see You in and through this entire process. Please be with me, Lord, each day. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

Related Resources:
If this devotion resonated with you, Lysa's book Made to Crave is just what you've needed. Click here to order your copy! This book can be a group Bible study by using these life-changing resources: Made to Crave Participant's Guide and Made to Crave DVD teaching series, also by Lysa.

Join a community of women who are doing a FREE Made to Crave online study led by Melissa Taylor. For more information, click here.

Visit Lysa's blog for a chance to win her book Made to Crave and her new 60 day Made to Crave Devotions book.

When you purchase resources through Proverbs 31 Ministries, you touch eternity because your purchase supports the many areas of hope-giving ministry we provide at no cost. We wish we could, but we simply can't compete with prices offered by huge online warehouses. Therefore, we are extremely grateful for each and every purchase you make with us. Thank you!

Application Steps:
There are many times when we feel utterly defeated in the area of food and health. What little changes can you begin to make starting today?

Reflections:
The process of getting healthy has to be about more than just losing weight and focusing on myself. It's not about adjusting my diet and hoping for good physical results. It's about recalibrating my soul so that I want to change for the right reasons.

Power Verses:
Ephesians 1:18-19a, "I pray that the eyes of your heart my be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe." (NIV)

January 11, 2011 - Choose Faith over Fear

9:00 a.m. Prayer/Devotion

Lunch Weights/Cardio

Evening: Zumba

January 11, 2012 Learning to Trust Again Micca Monda Campbell

"Then Jesus said, 'Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?'" John 11:40 (NIV)

After my husband died, I felt unloved and forgotten by God. I'd trusted Him and believed as His child nothing bad would happen to me. Yet when something tragic did happen, I bought the lie. "I knew it, God. I knew You really didn't love me!" He had promised never to leave or desert me, but there I was, alone. How could God betray me? I wondered.

Mary, Martha, and their brother Lazarus, were in Jesus' inner circle of friends. As part of the "in" crowd, Mary and Martha felt certain Jesus would come to them when Lazarus got ill. They had seen Jesus heal and minister to complete strangers. Surely, He'd rush to those whom He loved. However, we see in John 11:4-6 that was not the case.

Jesus indeed loved Mary, Martha and Lazarus. Yet, even after He heard Lazarus was sick, He stayed where He was two more days.

Let's pause here for a moment. It can be confusing. If Jesus loved His friends why did He wait to go to their side? These verses appear to validate a fear of rejection. "If Jesus ignored His friend Lazarus, then He can ignore me too."

Do you know that hollow, helpless feeling that accompanies the pain of rejection, loss and loneliness? It may be the loss of your home or of a pregnancy, too many weekends spent alone, or perhaps a loved one rejected you. That pain warns that trusting again is too risky.

The truth is, when we experience emotional or physical trauma, and God doesn't respond like we think He should, we have two choices. Either turn to God, trusting Him with the result; or run from God and feed on bitterness. It is possible for us to take the second choice out all together. We can learn to trust again.

Perspective is often limited by circumstances. God knows exactly what He's doing and it's always based on love. As a young widow, when I was overcome with fear, I wasn't really looking for answers. I needed the assurance that God was near, in control, and that He cared about my circumstances and me.

While others may reject us, you and I need not fear rejection from God. In the weeks and months after my husband's death, I began to understand God had not left me, but was in the pit with me. I started to see a deeper truth. Bad things are going to happen to me while on earth.

Sickness, abuse and death are part of life in a fallen world that God will someday restore. Until then, God may allow me to go through these things. It's not to cause me any undue pain, but rather He allows them and then uses them to accomplish spiritual growth. Charles Stanley explains, "Some things are so important to God that they are worth interrupting the happiness and health of His children in order to accomplish them."

This was true with Mary and Martha. Jesus told Martha that she would see the glory of God if she believed. If you and I choose faith over fear, we will see the glory of God turn our pain into life and blessings. Over the years, as I've turned to the Lord and away from my fears, I've seen His glory in the gifts of my new husband and three children.

As Mary and Martha believed, they witnessed the glory of God when He raised their brother from the dead. Their fears vanished and their faith was restored. If you and I want to exchange our fear for faith, we must believe that what Christ has in store for us is worth our present pain.

Dear Lord, even when I don't understand Your actions, help me trust that You have my best at heart. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Related Resources:
Do You Know Him?

An Untroubled Heart: Finding Faith that is Stronger than My Fears by Micca Campbell

Visit Micca's blog to hear more of her story and how she learned to trust God again.

Would you like to bring the message of Micca's devotion to the women of your church? Click here to find out more about considering Micca as your next retreat / key note speaker.

Additional Resources by Micca Campbell

When you purchase resources through Proverbs 31 Ministries, you touch eternity because your purchase supports the many areas of hope-giving ministry we provide at no cost. We wish we could, but we simply can't compete with prices offered by huge online warehouses. Therefore, we are extremely grateful for each and every purchase you make with us. Thank you!

Application Steps:
Jesus told them to remove the stone covering Lazarus' grave. The stone can represent our hurt, anger or pride. In order to see your miracle, you may need to remove the stone that has hardened your heart against trusting Christ.

Reflections:
Can looking at my circumstances from God's perspective lessen my anxieties?

Will I chose to trust God (again) today? Why or why not?

Power Verses:
Isaiah 54:10, "'Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,' says the Lord, who has compassion on you." (NIV)

Tuesday, January 10, 2011 - One Year Bible

7:00 a.m. Prayer/Devotion

2 Samuel 13:1-39; John 17:1-26; Psalm 118:81-96; Proverbs 16:6-7

2 Samuel 13:1-39; John 17:1-26; Proverbs 16:6-7 (New Living Translation)

Show resources

2 Samuel 13:1-39

New Living Translation (NLT)

2 Samuel 13

The Rape of Tamar

 ¹ Now David’s son Absalom had a beautiful sister named Tamar. And Amnon, her half brother, fell desperately in love with her. ² Amnon became so obsessed with Tamar that he became ill. She was a virgin, and Amnon thought he could never have her. ³ But Amnon had a very crafty friend—his cousin Jonadab. He was the son of David’s brother Shimea.^{[a] 4} One day Jonadab said to Amnon, “What’s the trouble? Why should the son of a king look so dejected morning after morning?”
   So Amnon told him, “I am in love with Tamar, my brother Absalom’s sister.”
 ⁵ “Well,” Jonadab said, “I’ll tell you what to do. Go back to bed and pretend you are ill. When your father comes to see you, ask him to let Tamar come and prepare some food for you. Tell him you’ll feel better if she prepares it as you watch and feeds you with her own hands.”
 ⁶ So Amnon lay down and pretended to be sick. And when the king came to see him, Amnon asked him, “Please let my sister Tamar come and cook my favorite dish^[b] as I watch. Then I can eat it from her own hands.” ⁷ So David agreed and sent Tamar to Amnon’s house to prepare some food for him.
 ⁸ When Tamar arrived at Amnon’s house, she went to the place where he was lying down so he could watch her mix some dough. Then she baked his favorite dish for him. ⁹ But when she set the serving tray before him, he refused to eat. “Everyone get out of here,” Amnon told his servants. So they all left.
 ¹⁰ Then he said to Tamar, “Now bring the food into my bedroom and feed it to me here.” So Tamar took his favorite dish to him. ¹¹ But as she was feeding him, he grabbed her and demanded, “Come to bed with me, my darling sister.”
 ¹² “No, my brother!” she cried. “Don’t be foolish! Don’t do this to me! Such wicked things aren’t done in Israel. ¹³ Where could I go in my shame? And you would be called one of the greatest fools in Israel. Please, just speak to the king about it, and he will let you marry me.”
 ¹⁴ But Amnon wouldn’t listen to her, and since he was stronger than she was, he raped her. ¹⁵ Then suddenly Amnon’s love turned to hate, and he hated her even more than he had loved her. “Get out of here!” he snarled at her.
 ¹⁶ “No, no!” Tamar cried. “Sending me away now is worse than what you’ve already done to me.”
   But Amnon wouldn’t listen to her. ¹⁷ He shouted for his servant and demanded, “Throw this woman out, and lock the door behind her!”
 ¹⁸ So the servant put her out and locked the door behind her. She was wearing a long, beautiful robe,^[c] as was the custom in those days for the king’s virgin daughters. ¹⁹ But now Tamar tore her robe and put ashes on her head. And then, with her face in her hands, she went away crying.
 ²⁰ Her brother Absalom saw her and asked, “Is it true that Amnon has been with you? Well, my sister, keep quiet for now, since he’s your brother. Don’t you worry about it.” So Tamar lived as a desolate woman in her brother Absalom’s house.
 ²¹ When King David heard what had happened, he was very angry.^{[d] 22} And though Absalom never spoke to Amnon about this, he hated Amnon deeply because of what he had done to his sister.

Absalom’s Revenge on Amnon

 ²³ Two years later, when Absalom’s sheep were being sheared at Baal-hazor near Ephraim, Absalom invited all the king’s sons to come to a feast. ²⁴ He went to the king and said, “My sheep-shearers are now at work. Would the king and his servants please come to celebrate the occasion with me?” ²⁵ The king replied, “No, my son. If we all came, we would be too much of a burden on you.” Absalom pressed him, but the king would not come, though he gave Absalom his blessing.
 ²⁶ “Well, then,” Absalom said, “if you can’t come, how about sending my brother Amnon with us?”
   “Why Amnon?” the king asked. ²⁷ But Absalom kept on pressing the king until he finally agreed to let all his sons attend, including Amnon. So Absalom prepared a feast fit for a king.^[e]
 28 Absalom told his men, “Wait until Amnon gets drunk; then at my signal, kill him! Don’t be afraid. I’m the one who has given the command. Take courage and do it!” ²⁹ So at Absalom’s signal they murdered Amnon. Then the other sons of the king jumped on their mules and fled.
 ³⁰ As they were on the way back to Jerusalem, this report reached David: “Absalom has killed all the king’s sons; not one is left alive!” ³¹ The king got up, tore his robe, and threw himself on the ground. His advisers also tore their clothes in horror and sorrow.
 ³² But just then Jonadab, the son of David’s brother Shimea, arrived and said, “No, don’t believe that all the king’s sons have been killed! It was only Amnon! Absalom has been plotting this ever since Amnon raped his sister Tamar. ³³ No, my lord the king, your sons aren’t all dead! It was only Amnon.” ³⁴ Meanwhile Absalom escaped.
   Then the watchman on the Jerusalem wall saw a great crowd coming toward the city from the west. He ran to tell the king, “I see a crowd of people coming from the Horonaim road^[f] along the side of the hill.”
 ³⁵ “Look!” Jonadab told the king. “There they are now! The king’s sons are coming, just as I said.”
 ³⁶ They soon arrived, weeping and sobbing, and the king and all his servants wept bitterly with them. ³⁷ And David mourned many days for his son Amnon.
   Absalom fled to his grandfather, Talmai son of Ammihud, the king of Geshur. ³⁸ He stayed there in Geshur for three years. ³⁹ And King David, now reconciled to Amnon’s death, longed to be reunited with his son Absalom.^[g]

Footnotes:

1. 2 Samuel 13:3 Hebrew Shimeah (also in 13:32), a variant spelling of Shimea; compare 1 Chr 2:13.
2. 2 Samuel 13:6 Or a couple of cakes; also in 13:8, 10.
3. 2 Samuel 13:18 Or a robe with sleeves, or an ornamented robe. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
4. 2 Samuel 13:21 Dead Sea Scrolls and Greek version add But he did not punish his son Amnon, because he loved him, for he was his firstborn.
5. 2 Samuel 13:27 As in Greek and Latin versions (compare also Dead Sea Scrolls); the Hebrew text omits this sentence.
6. 2 Samuel 13:34 As in Greek version; Hebrew reads from the road behind him.
7. 2 Samuel 13:39 Or no longer felt a need to go out after Absalom.

John 17:1-26

New Living Translation (NLT)

John 17

The Prayer of Jesus

 ¹ After saying all these things, Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son so he can give glory back to you. ² For you have given him authority over everyone. He gives eternal life to each one you have given him. ³ And this is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth. ⁴ I brought glory to you here on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. ⁵ Now, Father, bring me into the glory we shared before the world began. ⁶ “I have revealed you^[a] to the ones you gave me from this world. They were always yours. You gave them to me, and they have kept your word. ⁷ Now they know that everything I have is a gift from you, ⁸ for I have passed on to them the message you gave me. They accepted it and know that I came from you, and they believe you sent me.
 ⁹ “My prayer is not for the world, but for those you have given me, because they belong to you. ¹⁰ All who are mine belong to you, and you have given them to me, so they bring me glory. ¹¹ Now I am departing from the world; they are staying in this world, but I am coming to you. Holy Father, you have given me your name;^[b] now protect them by the power of your name so that they will be united just as we are. ¹² During my time here, I protected them by the power of the name you gave me.^[c] I guarded them so that not one was lost, except the one headed for destruction, as the Scriptures foretold.
 ¹³ “Now I am coming to you. I told them many things while I was with them in this world so they would be filled with my joy. ¹⁴ I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. ¹⁵ I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. ¹⁶ They do not belong to this world any more than I do. ¹⁷ Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth. ¹⁸ Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world. ¹⁹ And I give myself as a holy sacrifice for them so they can be made holy by your truth.
 ²⁰ “I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. ²¹ I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.
 ²² “I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. ²³ I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me. ²⁴ Father, I want these whom you have given me to be with me where I am. Then they can see all the glory you gave me because you loved me even before the world began!
 ²⁵ “O righteous Father, the world doesn’t know you, but I do; and these disciples know you sent me. ²⁶ I have revealed you to them, and I will continue to do so. Then your love for me will be in them, and I will be in them.”

Footnotes:

1. John 17:6 Greek have revealed your name; also in 17:26.
2. John 17:11 Some manuscripts read you have given me these [disciples].
3. John 17:12 Some manuscripts read I protected those you gave me, by the power of your name.

Proverbs 16:6-7

New Living Translation (NLT)

 ⁶ Unfailing love and faithfulness make atonement for sin.
      By fearing the Lord, people avoid evil.
 ⁷ When people’s lives please the Lord,
      even their enemies are at peace with them.

What are you putting off for tomorrow? Lord, direct my Time!

January 9, 2011 Today is Tomorrow Melissa Taylor

"Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed." Proverbs 16:3 (NIV 1984)

I didn't want to do or think about what needed to be done today, so I put it off until tomorrow. Then tomorrow got pushed back until the next tomorrow. When I finally did what I'd put off, I was stressed out, rushed, in a bad mood or convinced I didn't need to do my task at all. Here are a few of my I'll do it tomorrow's:

I'll start my diet...tomorrow.
I'll read my Bible and pray...tomorrow.
I'll clean my house...tomorrow.
I'll call my friend...tomorrow.
I'll have lunch with my son...tomorrow.
I'll take brownies to my neighbor...tomorrow.
I'll spend quality time with my husband...tomorrow.

God gave us 24 hours in each day. How I use them is up to me. I may not be able to complete every task assigned to me in a single day. But to continue to put off important things that need doing is not being a good steward of the time and tasks God has given me.

There was a season of my life I was so bad about putting goals and tasks off until another day that I got behind in everything. I wanted things to change, but my choices didn't reflect that. Sleeping took precedence over getting up for quiet time. Burgers and fries filled my plate instead of healthy soup and salad. Magazines occupied my hands instead of laundry. Television was preferable to exercise. And time with friends was chosen over time with my husband.

Day after day, I had good intentions to make changes.
Day after day, I put them off until tomorrow.
Eventually, I felt like a failure.

It took a simple sentence from my then three-year-old daughter to move me from apathy to action. A few years ago we planned a family trip to Walt Disney World. I made the mistake of telling Haley Grace months in advance. Each day she'd ask, "Are we going to Disney World today?"

Repeatedly, I'd answer, "Not today. We aren't going for three more months... five more weeks... eight more days..." The night before we left, I announced the news she'd been waiting for. "Hayley Grace, we are going to Disney World tomorrow!"

The next morning she woke early and ran into my room before I was out of bed. "Mommy, Mommy, is today tomorrow?" I was thrilled to reply, "Yes! Today is tomorrow!"

Things clicked for me and I decided then that I was going to start making today my tomorrow.

Instead of wasting precious time, I started spending it in prayer, asking God to show me what tasks He'd like me to complete that day. I prayed for strength and perseverance to accomplish what He'd given me. And I brought a few friends along with me to be encouraged and to be an encouragement to them in finishing their goals.

I put into action today what I'd been putting off till tomorrow.

What changes, goals, or intentions have you been putting off until tomorrow? Let's make our "to-do" list our "to-day" list. Not only will we have a sense of accomplishment, but we'll also make an impact today. Today is tomorrow!

Dear Lord, it never seems like there are enough hours in the day to do everything. Help me discern the difference between what's important and what's unimportant and set my priorities in a way that is pleasing to You. I pray for discipline and motivation to get started each and every today. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Related Resources:
Join us online tonight where Melissa will be Lysa TerKeurst's guest on her FREE webcast: No More Excuses. This is the exact motivation you need to make today your tomorrow, and embrace a healthy journey that is fun and successful. Find out more and reserve your spot now by clicking here.

Visit Melissa's blog for a chance to win a Made to Crave book and conference call series. Also, be sure to sign up for her upcoming Made to Crave online study. For more information, click here.

Application Steps:
Make a list of changes you've been putting off making. Rank them in the order you believe God would have you do them. Pray and decide how you can implement these changes. Call a friend and ask her for accountability.

Reflections:
What is keeping me from doing what needs to be done today?

Power Verses:
Proverbs 3:5-6, "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." (NIV 1984)

Monday, January 9, 2011 - David suffers and his baby dies

7:00 a.m. Prayer/Devotion

One year Bible

2 Samuel 12:1-31; John 16:1-33; Psalm 229:65-80; Proverbs 16:4-5

2 Samuel 12:1-31

New Living Translation (NLT)

2 Samuel 12

Nathan Rebukes David

 ¹ So the Lord sent Nathan the prophet to tell David this story: “There were two men in a certain town. One was rich, and one was poor. ² The rich man owned a great many sheep and cattle. ³ The poor man owned nothing but one little lamb he had bought. He raised that little lamb, and it grew up with his children. It ate from the man’s own plate and drank from his cup. He cuddled it in his arms like a baby daughter. ⁴ One day a guest arrived at the home of the rich man. But instead of killing an animal from his own flock or herd, he took the poor man’s lamb and killed it and prepared it for his guest.” ⁵ David was furious. “As surely as the Lord lives,” he vowed, “any man who would do such a thing deserves to die! ⁶ He must repay four lambs to the poor man for the one he stole and for having no pity.”
 ⁷ Then Nathan said to David, “You are that man! The Lord, the God of Israel, says: I anointed you king of Israel and saved you from the power of Saul. ⁸ I gave you your master’s house and his wives and the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. And if that had not been enough, I would have given you much, much more. ⁹ Why, then, have you despised the word of the Lord and done this horrible deed? For you have murdered Uriah the Hittite with the sword of the Ammonites and stolen his wife. ¹⁰ From this time on, your family will live by the sword because you have despised me by taking Uriah’s wife to be your own.
 ¹¹ “This is what the Lord says: Because of what you have done, I will cause your own household to rebel against you. I will give your wives to another man before your very eyes, and he will go to bed with them in public view. ¹² You did it secretly, but I will make this happen to you openly in the sight of all Israel.”

David Confesses His Guilt

 ¹³ Then David confessed to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.”   Nathan replied, “Yes, but the Lord has forgiven you, and you won’t die for this sin. ¹⁴ Nevertheless, because you have shown utter contempt for the Lord^[a] by doing this, your child will die.”
 ¹⁵ After Nathan returned to his home, the Lord sent a deadly illness to the child of David and Uriah’s wife. ¹⁶ David begged God to spare the child. He went without food and lay all night on the bare ground. ¹⁷ The elders of his household pleaded with him to get up and eat with them, but he refused.
 ¹⁸ Then on the seventh day the child died. David’s advisers were afraid to tell him. “He wouldn’t listen to reason while the child was ill,” they said. “What drastic thing will he do when we tell him the child is dead?”
 ¹⁹ When David saw them whispering, he realized what had happened. “Is the child dead?” he asked.
   “Yes,” they replied, “he is dead.”
 ²⁰ Then David got up from the ground, washed himself, put on lotions,^[b] and changed his clothes. He went to the Tabernacle and worshiped the Lord. After that, he returned to the palace and was served food and ate.
 ²¹ His advisers were amazed. “We don’t understand you,” they told him. “While the child was still living, you wept and refused to eat. But now that the child is dead, you have stopped your mourning and are eating again.”
 ²² David replied, “I fasted and wept while the child was alive, for I said, ‘Perhaps the Lord will be gracious to me and let the child live.’ ²³ But why should I fast when he is dead? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him one day, but he cannot return to me.”
 ²⁴ Then David comforted Bathsheba, his wife, and slept with her. She became pregnant and gave birth to a son, and they named him Solomon. The Lord loved the child ²⁵ and sent word through Nathan the prophet that they should name him Jedidiah (which means “beloved of the Lord”), as the Lord had commanded.^[c]

David Captures Rabbah

 ²⁶ Meanwhile, Joab was fighting against Rabbah, the capital of Ammon, and he captured the royal fortifications.^{[d] 27} Joab sent messengers to tell David, “I have fought against Rabbah and captured its water supply.^{[e] 28} Now bring the rest of the army and capture the city. Otherwise, I will capture it and get credit for the victory.” ²⁹ So David gathered the rest of the army and went to Rabbah, and he fought against it and captured it. ³⁰ David removed the crown from the king’s head,^[f] and it was placed on his own head. The crown was made of gold and set with gems, and it weighed seventy-five pounds.^[g] David took a vast amount of plunder from the city. ³¹ He also made slaves of the people of Rabbah and forced them to labor with^[h] saws, iron picks, and iron axes, and to work in the brick kilns.^[i] That is how he dealt with the people of all the Ammonite towns. Then David and all the army returned to Jerusalem.

Footnotes:

1. 2 Samuel 12:14 As in Dead Sea Scrolls; Masoretic Text reads the Lord’s enemies.
2. 2 Samuel 12:20 Hebrew anointed himself.
3. 2 Samuel 12:25 As in Greek version; Hebrew reads because of the Lord.
4. 2 Samuel 12:26 Or the royal city.
5. 2 Samuel 12:27 Or captured the city of water.
6. 2 Samuel 12:30 Or from the head of Milcom (as in Greek version). Milcom, also called Molech, was the god of the Ammonites.
7. 2 Samuel 12:30 Hebrew 1 talent [34 kilograms].
8. 2 Samuel 12:31 Or He also brought out the people of Rabbah and put them under.
9. 2 Samuel 12:31 Or and he made them pass through the brick kilns.

New Living Translation (NLT)Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Add parallel

Show resources

John 16:1-33

New Living Translation (NLT)

John 16

   “I have told you these things so that you won’t abandon your faith. ² For you will be expelled from the synagogues, and the time is coming when those who kill you will think they are doing a holy service for God. ³ This is because they have never known the Father or me. ⁴ Yes, I’m telling you these things now, so that when they happen, you will remember my warning. I didn’t tell you earlier because I was going to be with you for a while longer.

The Work of the Holy Spirit

 ⁵ “But now I am going away to the One who sent me, and not one of you is asking where I am going. ⁶ Instead, you grieve because of what I’ve told you. ⁷ But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate^[a] won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send him to you. ⁸ And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment. ⁹ The world’s sin is that it refuses to believe in me. ¹⁰ Righteousness is available because I go to the Father, and you will see me no more. ¹¹ Judgment will come because the ruler of this world has already been judged. ¹² “There is so much more I want to tell you, but you can’t bear it now. ¹³ When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. ¹⁴ He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me. ¹⁵ All that belongs to the Father is mine; this is why I said, ‘The Spirit will tell you whatever he receives from me.’

Sadness Will Be Turned to Joy

 ¹⁶ “In a little while you won’t see me anymore. But a little while after that, you will see me again.” ¹⁷ Some of the disciples asked each other, “What does he mean when he says, ‘In a little while you won’t see me, but then you will see me,’ and ‘I am going to the Father’? ¹⁸ And what does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don’t understand.”
 ¹⁹ Jesus realized they wanted to ask him about it, so he said, “Are you asking yourselves what I meant? I said in a little while you won’t see me, but a little while after that you will see me again. ²⁰ I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn over what is going to happen to me, but the world will rejoice. You will grieve, but your grief will suddenly turn to wonderful joy. ²¹ It will be like a woman suffering the pains of labor. When her child is born, her anguish gives way to joy because she has brought a new baby into the world. ²² So you have sorrow now, but I will see you again; then you will rejoice, and no one can rob you of that joy. ²³ At that time you won’t need to ask me for anything. I tell you the truth, you will ask the Father directly, and he will grant your request because you use my name. ²⁴ You haven’t done this before. Ask, using my name, and you will receive, and you will have abundant joy.
 ²⁵ “I have spoken of these matters in figures of speech, but soon I will stop speaking figuratively and will tell you plainly all about the Father. ²⁶ Then you will ask in my name. I’m not saying I will ask the Father on your behalf, ²⁷ for the Father himself loves you dearly because you love me and believe that I came from God.^{[b] 28} Yes, I came from the Father into the world, and now I will leave the world and return to the Father.”
 ²⁹ Then his disciples said, “At last you are speaking plainly and not figuratively. ³⁰ Now we understand that you know everything, and there’s no need to question you. From this we believe that you came from God.”
 ³¹ Jesus asked, “Do you finally believe? ³² But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when you will be scattered, each one going his own way, leaving me alone. Yet I am not alone because the Father is with me. ³³ I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”

Footnotes:

1. John 16:7 Or Comforter, or Encourager, or Counselor. Greek reads Paraclete.
2. John 16:27 Some manuscripts read from the Father.

New Living Translation (NLT)Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Show resources

Error: 'Psalm 229:65-80' not found for the version: New Living Translation.

Proverbs 16:4-5

New Living Translation (NLT)

 ⁴ The Lord has made everything for his own purposes,
      even the wicked for a day of disaster.
 ⁵ The Lord detests the proud;
      they will surely be punished.

Friday, January 6, 2011 - Are you too tired to pray?

6:50 a.m. Prayer
11:00 a.m. Devotion
6:00 p.m. Weights "Total Body"

January 6, 2012 Too Tired to Pray Wendy Pope

"Then I prayed to the God of heaven..." Nehemiah 2:4 (NIV)

I'm the survivor of some tough challenges. Challenges with a sting that won't quit! As one day fades into the next, I wonder how I will have the energy to make it through. These challenges can steal my energy, my zest for life and my belief that things could change.

During difficult days, my godly friends offer wise counsel. They point me to Scripture with aspirations of encouraging me and bringing hope to what I deem hopeless. My friends hold me up in prayer and remind me to pray. However, there are times when the weight of my circumstances are so heavy, when I bow my head to pray, I sometimes find I am just too tired.

I am tired of moving forward one day, only to run into another obstacle that prohibits progress the next. I am tired of expelling my energies trying to make a difference, only to find myself right back where I was. When a situation robs me of spiritual, mental and physical energy, I feel too tired to pray.

Until I remember a man in the Bible who found himself in a challenge that had the potential to rob him of spiritual, mental and physical strength. He ran into one obstacle after another. He worked hard each day trying to make a difference. But, unlike me, this man was not too tired to pray.

Nehemiah wept and mourned over the seemingly hopeless and ruined condition of Jerusalem when the exiles returned home from captivity in Babylon. He was motivated to help his people rebuild. Having the favor of the king and the presence of God on his side, you wouldn't think the assignment would be a challenge. However, government officials made it their personal business to undermine the rebuilding. They leered and jeered and attempted to defeat the progress every step of the way. Nehemiah responded to each insult and obstacle the same way: he prayed.

For Nehemiah and the Israelites, prayer was the needed prescription to revive them, restore their energy and continue building! Through the power of prayer their enemies were defeated and the wall was rebuilt. What a wonderful lesson for anyone struggling through life's challenges, too tired to pray.

Nehemiah's prescription for those who are overwhelmed can be remembered easily with the acronym SAP (Stop and Pray). Interestingly, the word sap means energy and vitality. Vitality is defined as exuberant physical strength or mental vigor; power to live and grow. Nehemiah had it right. He made prayer his first choice, not his last resort. He discovered prayer would revive his spirit and restore the mental and physical energy needed to overcome challenges.

Do you find yourself facing a challenge? Have you felt just too tired to pray? Join me today as I SAP — stop and pray. Let's allow the power of prayer to revive our spirit and restore our physical and mental vigor. By following Nehemiah's example we will have the energy needed to defeat the enemy and thrive in the midst of our challenges.

Dear Lord, through the power of prayer, today's challenge can be tomorrow's victory. Forgive me when I make prayer my last resort instead of my first choice. Help me remember the truths You have taught me today. Help me SAP when adversity comes my way. Thank You for prayer and the power I receive when I turn to You. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Related Resources:
Do You Know Him?

What to do in the W.A.I.T: Finding Contentment in God's Pauses and Plans by Wendy Pope

Visit Wendy's blog to join her and thousands of women in an in-depth study of Psalms. You only need a Bible and your computer to participate.

Application Steps:
Write the word SAP and its meaning (energy and vitality) on several note cards. Place them in your home, car, work and Bible, to remind you to SAP.

Each time a difficult situation occurs, no matter how small, SAP.

Reflections:
How do I feel about my prayer life?

Am I currently in a tough life challenge? Do I really believe prayer can change it? Why or why not?

Nehemiah made prayer his first choice, not his last resort.

Power Verses:
Daniel 9:19a, "O Lord, hear. O Lord, forgive. O Lord, listen and act!" (NLT)

Habakkuk 1:5, "Look at the nations and watch and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told." (NIV)

Ephesians 3:20, "Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us." (NIV)

Romans 8:26-27, "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will." (NIV)