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II Samuel 11

David stayed behind instead of going to warverse 1

And it came to pass – after the year was expired

at the time when kings go forth to battle

      that David sent Joab and his servants with him

and all Israel – and they destroyed the children of Ammon

      and besieged Rabbah

BUT David tarried still at Jerusalem 

David has a baby by Bath–shebaverses 2-5

And it came to pass in an eveningtide

that David arose from off his bed

and walked upon the roof of the king’s house

      and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself

and the woman was very beautiful to look on

      and David sent and inquired after the woman

And one said

Is not this Bath-sheba – the daughter of Eliam

the wife of Uriah the Hittite?

And David sent messengers – and took her

and she came in to him

and he lay with her

for she was purified from her uncleanness

                        and she returned to her house

And the woman conceived – and sent and told David

and said

                        I am with child

David sends for Uriah – Bath-sheba’s husbandverses 6-9

And David sent to Joab

saying

            Send me Uriah the Hittite

And Joab sent Uriah to David

            and when Uriah was come to him

                        and David demanded of him how Joab did

                                    and how the people did

and how the war prospered

And David said to Uriah

            Go down to your house – and wash your feet

And Uriah departed out of the king’s house

            and there followed him a mess of meat from the king

But Uriah slept at the door of the king’s house

with all the servants of his lord

                        and went not down to his house

And when they had told David

saying

Uriah went not down to his house

David said to Uriah

            Came you not from your journey?

                        Why then did you not go down to your house?

David’s conversation with Uriahverses 10-13

And Uriah

said to David

The ark – and Israel – and Judah – abide in tents

            and my lord Joab – and the servants of my lord

                        are encamped in the open fields

Shall I then go into mine house – to

eat – drink – lie with my wife?

As you live – and as your soul lives

I will not do this thing

And David said to Uriah

            Tarry here today also

and tomorrow I will let you depart

So Uriah abode in Jerusalem that day

and the morrow and when David had called him

he did eat and drink before him

            and he made him drunk

                        and at even he went out to lie on his bed with

the servants of his lord

                                                but went not down to his house

David puts Uriah on the front line of battleverses 14-17

And it came to pass in the morning

that David wrote a letter to Joab

and sent it by the hand of Uriah

And he wrote in the letter

saying

Set you Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle

and retire you from him

that he may be smitten – and die

And it came to pass – when Joab observed the city

that he assigned Uriah to a place where

he knew that valiant men were

And the men of the city went out – and fought with Joab

            and there fell some of the people of the servants of David

      and Uriah the Hittite died also

Joab sends a battle report to Davidverses 18-21

Then Joab sent and told David all the things concerning the war

and charged the messenger

saying

When you hast made an end of telling the matters of the war

to the king and if so be that the king’s wrath arise

and he say to you

Wherefore approached you so nigh to the city when you did fight?

Knew you not that they would shoot from the wall?

      Who smote Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth?

                                    did not a woman cast a piece of a millstone

                                                on him from the wall that he died in Thebez?

                        Why went you nigh the wall?

Then say you

            Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also

Messenger reports to Davidverses 22-24

So the messenger went

and came and showed David all that Joab

had sent him for and the messenger

said unto David

Surely the men prevailed against us

and came out to us into the field

and we were upon them even to the

entering of the gate

            and the shooters shot from off the wall on

your servants

            and some of the king’s servants be dead

                        and your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also

David accepted the reportverse 25

Then David

said to the messengers

Thus shall you say to Joab – Let not this thing displease you

for the sword devours one as well as another

                        make your battle more strong against the city

and overthrow it – and encourage you him

Bath-sheba has period of mourningverses 26-27

And when the wife of Uriah heard

that Uriah her husband was dead

she mourned for her husband

And when the mourning was past

David sent and fetched her to his house

      and she became his wife – and bare him a son

But the thing that David had done DISPLEASED the LORD

COMMENTARY:

DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers

: 1        And it came to pass, after the year was expired, at the time when kings go forth to battle, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried still at Jerusalem. (7843 “destroyed” [shachath] means corrupt, mar, waster, spoilers, battered, ruin, pervert, to act wickedly, or annihilate)

DEVOTION:  Wrong place at the wrong time!!! Has this every happened to you? You were someplace you shouldn’t have been and it gave you an opportunity to sin when you thought no one was looking?

Many times in the Old Testament we find people trying to hide their sins from the LORD. Even a group of priests tried to hide in the lower part of the Temple and worship false gods but the LORD saw what was happening. There is no place we can hide from God. HE sees everything at any time of day.

David should have been with his army fighting the enemy. He was being lazy, which is, one of the traits we carry with us into our life with Christ. We have to watch ourselves that we don’t have too much idle time on our hands. It gives the devil time to work on us.

We need to focus on what the LORD has us to do each day, so that, we are not drawn away to sin. If we try to hide from our teachers in school to do something, we shouldn’t most of the time they will find us and know what we had been doing.

Also, we know today that there are cameras everywhere. We have our picture taken at least twenty times each day if we are out in public. There is no spot to hide anymore from other human beings let alone God. HE sees everything at all times.

The king was supposed to be out with his army fighting. Where are we supposed to be today? Are we trying to do something that we know is sin and thinking that we can get away with it? We have to correct our thinking.

Our goal should be to follow the LORD and allow HIM to help us do things that honor HIM instead of sinning against HIM.

CHALLENGE:  Rebellion against our parents and teachers is sin. Be sure your sin will find your out!!!!

DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers

: 4        And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in to him, and he lay with her; for she was purified from her uncleanness: and she returned to her house. (6942 “purified” [qadash] means to be holy, removed from common use, to purge of ritual impurities, or to set apart)

DEVOTION:  It usually takes two to sin. Many times it is at least a group of two that get together and start acting out in school or at work or just on a night out at a sport event. Most of the time, we don’t sin alone. This was true with David as well. He was at the wrong place at the wrong time by himself.

He goes out on the porch of his house and sees a woman bathing and asks about her and invites her to his home. This could have been prevented if he would not have yielded to temptation. He had plenty of wives and concubines at this time. He could have just called one of them.

The woman could have refused to come into the palace. She could have just said no that she was not available to the king. It would have been hard but it could have been done.

So, the two of them got together, in spite of the fact, that they were both married to someone else. It was wrong in the eyes of the LORD and in the eyes of the people. Here is a king whom the LORD put on the throne sinning is such a way.

The LORD is going to judge them for their actions. HE is going to judge us for our actions when we sin against HIM. Sometimes the consequences are not as great but there ar consequences to sin.

Each of us has an area in our life where we are tempted more easily than others. There is a besetting sin found in every family. Sometimes it is the same as David’s sin. Other times it can be a pride issue. Other times it can be an issue of lying? We know where we are weak and need the LORD’S help to overcome our besetting sin.

Ask the LORD for help to overcome. Don’t give in and if you do confess right away and ask for forgiveness.

CHALLENGE:  We can gain strength through the LORD who promises to give us strength to overcome temptation. HE promises to always give a way to escape!!!


: 15      And he wrote in the letter, saying, Set you Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retire you from him, that he may be smitten, and die. (7725 “retire” [shuwb] means to turn back, return, to go or come back to a place, condition, or activity where one has been before, to turn back, or abandon)

DEVOTION: This is not a good time in the life of David. He sent orders to his general to put Uriah in a very dangerous place and then to take the rest of the soldier away from him, so that, he would die.

The general went along with the command of the king. So he was just as guilty as David but the Bible held David fully responsible for his actions.

We sometimes think that we can act the same way as David and get away with sin but the LORD knows what is going on and HE will judge us for our actions. HE wants us to live lives that were pleasing to HIM.

HE had picked David to be king. HE had protected him for so many years from Saul. HE had provided wives for David. Too often we are not satisfied with all that we have and want more instead of thanking the LORD for what we have.

We need to realize that God wants us to be satisfied with what HE has provided for us. HE wants us to come to HIM if we want things. HE will provide what we need but not always what we want.

Are we just as guilty of wanting more than what the LORD has provided? Can we go to him with our requests and wait on HIM to provide in a way that is not sinful? Too often it a lack of patience that is the problem. HE wants what is best for us and will give it to us in HIS time.

CHALLENGE: Are we waiting on the LORD for his provision or do we try to run ahead of the LORD? The Bible tells us to “Wait on the LORD!”

DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers

: 25      Then David said unto the messenger, Thus, shall, you say to Joab, “Let not this thing displease you, for the sword devours one as well as another: make your battle more strong against the city, and overthrow it: and encourage you him”. (398 “devours” [’akal] means consume, slay, destroy completely, or eat)  

DEVOTION:  Have you ever justified a wrong action by saying that it just happened? Here is David giving a command that Joab put a man in the line of fire and then have those around him draw back so everyone is shooting at only him. That is what happened at the death of Uriah. He was put on the firing line and then his fellow soldiers were commanded to draw back and leave him alone to face the enemy.

It was a set up because David had sinned and wanted to cover it up by having Uriah come home to be with his wife. Uriah didn’t cooperate with David’s plan A so he had to come up with plan B. Sin will cause us to think we can get away with it by using our human thinking against a God who knows everything we say and do. HE even knows what we think. There is no hiding our sin from the LORD.

He might have been thinking he could hide his sin from other human beings but that didn’t work when he sent his plan to Joab. Joab now knew what he had done and became a party to his sin. He would remind David of his sin from time to time.

Trying to hide our sins from the LORD is useless. Our thinking is just wrong. We should know that the only way to deal with sin is to confess it to the LORD right away and ask HIM to forgive us if we are one of HIS children. HE will forgive. HE will sometimes let us face the consequences of our sins.

We should never try to justify our sins. David didn’t want Joab to be concerned with what he had done to Uriah. He wanted Joab’s conscience to be clean. It was impossible but he tried to get Joab to think those thoughts.

Have we ever tried to hide our sins from God? What plan did you come up with to hide your sins from God and your fellow believers? Remember that the longer you try to hide your sins the greater your guilt will grow. God wants us to come to him right away and confess our sin and allow HIM to get our life back on the right track again.

HE wants his servants to live their lives as sin free as they can. HE knows we are sinners from the day we are born until the day we die. We all sin daily so we have to go to him in prayer and ask for grace and mercy. HE will give it if our heart is right with HIM.

Anytime we think we can get away with sin our heart is not right with him. The consequences are greater the longer we try to hide our sin from God.

Ask forgiveness right away after we have sinned. HE knows our hearts and will forgive those who genuinely confess their sins.

CHALLENGE: Don’t make HIM come after you for a confession!!!


: 27      And when the mourning was past, David sent and fetched her to his house, and she became his wife, and bare him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD. (3415 “displeased” [yara] means evil, bad, discontented, look coldly on, behave objectionably, commit an evil deed or act wickedly.)

DEVOTION: Sin seems fun at the time it is committed. Satan makes disobedience look good. Here we have an example of a time with someone let their guard down and the enemy won a victory.

The Bible doesn’t hide the fact that all humans are sinners. Even David who was a man after God’s own heart fell into sin. It was not just the sin of gossip or stealing a candy bar from the local store. Even these sins are evil in the sight of the LORD. Too often it is the little foxes that spoil the vine. It is the little sins that cause us to fall.

However, we find David committing a lot of sins in a short time. The first sin was to not go to war when all kings went to war. The second was looking in the wrong places. The third sin was to act on his emotions instead of the Word of the LORD. He already had a number of wives. Fourth, he tried to cover his sin by inviting Bath-sheba’s husband home. This didn’t work, sin number five, ordering the death of Uriah. Finally, after learning of the death of Uriah, he encourages his general, who took part in the king’s sin.

We know that once we become a follower of Christ, we will still sin against the Holy Spirit by grieving HIM or quenching HIM with the sins of omission. When we quench the Holy Spirit, we don’t do what HE tells us to do. When we grieve the Holy Spirit, we do what we are told not to do.

David had grieved the Spirit of the LORD by his actions. David had sinned. He had committed adultery. David had taken another man’s wife for his own. He had committed murder to cover his tracks. This was set up by him being lazy and not going to war when he should have. He was being selfish because he already had other wives.

We carry our sin nature into our spiritual life after salvation and this causes us to continue to be selfish and lazy. The daily battle is real. David lost the battle on this occasion in his life. He had many victories over sin. When he consulted the LORD in prayer before he acted, he was a winning. That is the formula we should take note of and practice.

The Old Testament was written to give us an example of the good, the bad and the ugly of those who claim to be followers of Jesus Christ. Remember that no human being is perfect except Jesus Christ. HE was the God/man who lived for thirty some years and died for our sins. Remember that confession is necessary for continued fellowship with the LORD after we sin. If we lose fellowship it doesn’t mean we lose our salvation. However, if there is no chastening, we should examine our lives to see if we are genuinely a follower of Christ. Those who are followers of Christ can commit the sin unto pre-mature death as I Corinthians and I John warns those who don’t examine their lives before taking communion.

CHALLENGE: Ask the LORD for guidance daily. Keep short accounts with the LORD. Confess sin immediately. Remember the LORD watches over HIS children. HE wants us to stay close.


DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:

BODY

Chastity (Purity in living)

Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)

Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)

Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)

Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)

SOUL

Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)

Frugality (wise use of resources)

Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)

Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)

Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)

SPIRIT

Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)

Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)

Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)

Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)

Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)


DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:

Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)

God the Father (First person of the Godhead)

LORD – Jehovah (Covenant keeping, Personal)verse 27

God the Son (Second person of the Godhead – God/man, Messiah)

God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)

Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)

Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)

Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)

Children of Ammonverse 1

Uriah the Hittiteverses 3, 6-17, 21, 24. 26

Came home from battle

Slept at door of king’s house

Dead

Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)

David stayed at homeverse 1

David took another man’s wifeverse 4

David tried to cover up sinverse 6

David ordered death of Uriahverse 15

David pleased with death of Uriahverse 25

LORD displeased with actions of David verse 27

Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)

Israel (Old Testament people of God)

Davidverse 1

Sent Joab to battle instead of going himself

Tarried in Jerusalem

Saw woman taking a bath

Took her to himself

Letter to Joab to kill Uriah

Joabverses 1, 6, 7, 11-19, 22, 25

Israelverses 1, 11

Bathshebaverses 2-5, 26, 27

Daughter of Eliam

Wife of Uriah the Hittite

Purified from her uncleanness

Conceived after being with David

Told David

Mourned her husband

Judahverse 11

Abimelechverse 21

Church (New Testament people of God)

Last Things (Future Events)


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QUOTES regarding passage

Ver. 11. And Uriah said unto David, &c.] As an apology for his conduct: the ark, and Israel, and Judah, abide in tents; meaning not the people of Israel and Judah in the land of Canaan; for they did not now dwell in tents, though indeed the ark of the Lord did, ch. 7:2. which some think is here referred to; but the armies of Israel and Judah besieging Rabbah, with whom it seems the ark was, which sometimes was carried with them when they went out to war, 1 Sam. 4:4 and 14:18. though Abarbinel thinks this was not the ark in which were the two tables of stone, and therefore is not called the ark of the covenant, but an ark which was made to put the ephod, and Urim and Thummim in, that they might upon occasion inquire of the Lord by them: and my lord Joab, and the servants of my lord, are encamped in the open fields: around Rabbah they were besieging; he calls Joab his lord, because he was the chief general under whom he served, and the rest of the commanding officers he calls the servants of his lord, as distinguished from the common soldiers. The Jew’s, who are for excusing David from blame in the case of Uriah, observe, that he was guilty of rebellion against David, and so worthy of death, not only because he disobeyed his command, in not going to his house when he ordered him, but by calling Joab my lord, in his presence: but this was only a respectable character of his general, and no overt-act of treason lo his king; nor did David so understand it, nor in the least resent it: now seeing such great men, who were fur superior to him in rank and office, were obliged to lie on the bare ground, he argues: shall I then go into mine: house, to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife? if he had any suspicion of David’s crime, he might purposely add the last clause; and if not, it was enough to awaken the conscience of David, and cut him to, the quick, had he not been greatly hardened through the deceitfulness of sin, to observe, that a faithful subject, and a soldier of his, would not allow himself the enjoyment of lawful pleasures, when his fellow-soldiers were exposing their lives to danger for their country; and yet he, under such circumstances, indulged to sinful lusts and criminal pleasures: as thou livest, and as thy soul liveth, I will not do this thing; he swears to it, for the confirmation of it; this he did to prevent any further solicitations from the king, or his wife, unto it, who were both anxiously desirous of it; for though no mention is made of his wife, yet no doubt she did all she could to prevail upon him to come to his house, but all to no purpose; his mind was so bent to the contrary, through the overruling providence of God, to which it must be ascribed. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 2, pp. 606–607). London: Mathews and Leigh.)


As in the earlier verses of chapter 11 (vv.1, 3, 4, 5), so also in vv.6–27, the verb šlḥ (“to send”) continues to be prominent (vv.6 [ter], 12, 14, 18, 22, 27 [“had her brought”]) as an index of royal power (see comments on v.1 and introduction to 10:1–19). But another verb now rears its ugly head: mwt (“to die,” vv.15, 17, 21 [bis], 24 [bis], 26)—the ever-present potential fate of the powerless victims of royal sending run amok. Uriah the Hittite, loyal subject and servant of King David, is soon to die by regnal fiat, his only crime being that he gets in the way of royal lust and power through no fault of his own. (Youngblood, R. F. (1992). 1, 2 Samuel. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel (Vol. 3, p. 932). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)


11:6–13. The crisis brought by the pregnancy required some kind of suitable resolution, so David determined to “legitimize” the impending birth by bringing Uriah back from the Ammonite campaign, thus making it possible for him to enjoy the intimacies of marriage. But the subterfuge did not work, for though David resorted to two schemes (vv. 8, 13) to induce Uriah to go home and be with his wife, the noble Hittite refused. (Though the Hittite Empire had ended by 1200 b.c., pockets of ethnic Hittites continued to exist in Syria and even Israel. Uriah was from one of these.) Why should he, he argued, be allowed the comforts of home and a conjugal visit while his friends in combat were deprived of them? Even after David plied him with wine, Uriah’s sense of loyalty to his comrades prevailed over his desire for his wife. (Merrill, E. H. (1985). 2 Samuel. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 467). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books)


11:11 The ark. The ark of the covenant was residing in either the tent in Jerusalem (6:17) or in a tent with the army of Israel on the battlefield (1Sa 4:6; 14:18).

11:13 made him drunk. Failing in his first attempt to cover up his sin, David tried unsuccessfully to make Uriah drunk so he would lose his resolve and self-discipline and return to his home and his wife’s bed.

11:15 he may … die. Failing twice to cover up his sin with Bathsheba, the frustrated and panicked David plotted the murder of Uriah by taking advantage of Uriah’s unswerving loyalty to him as king, even having Uriah deliver his own death warrant. Thus, David engaged in another crime deserving of capital punishment (Lv 24:17). This is graphic proof of the extremes people go to in pursuit of sin and in the absence of restraining grace. (MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (2 Sa 11:11–15). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.)


11:11–13 The ark accompanied the army on their military campaign (15:24; 1 Sam. 4:3).

11:14–17 Whatever his thoughts, David is desperate now. One sin leads to another. Something unthinkable now becomes a possibility and a plan of action. David now acts in deceit and treachery. (Radmacher, E. D., Allen, R. B., & House, H. W. (1999). Nelson’s new illustrated Bible commentary (p. 404). Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers)


10–13. By the servants telling David of Uriah’s not going to his house, it seems they were in the plot; and, no doubt, someone, at least, must have been privy to David’s vileness with Bath-sheba. But David, still going on in a progression of evil, now reasons with Uriah on the subject. And, had not sin exceedingly, for the time, hardened his heart, the speech of Uriah was enough to have stung him to the soul. Still, however, bent on this dreadful business, David contrives a more effectual method, as he thought. For this purpose he brings him to his table, makes him drunk, that he might be the more unconscious what he did, hoping that this would effectually answer the design. But here again, no doubt the Lord’s hand overruling, Uriah went not down to his house. (Hawker, R. (2013). Poor Man’s Old Testament Commentary: Deuteronomy–2 Samuel (Vol. 2, pp. 691–692). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software)


FROM MY READING: 

(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)


Why Go To Church?

A Church goer wrote a letter to the editor of a newspaper and complained

that it made no sense to go to church every Sunday. “I’ve gone for 30 years,”

he wrote, “and in that time I have heard something like 3,000 sermons.

But for the life of me, I can’t remember a single one of them. So, I think I’m

wasting my time and the pastors are wasting theirs by giving sermons at all.”

This started a real controversy in the “Letters to the Editor” column, much

to the delight of the editor. It went on for weeks until someone wrote this

clincher:

“I’ve been married for 30 years now. In that time my wife has cooked some

32,000 meals. But, for the life of me, I cannot recall the entire menu for a

single one of those meals. But I do know this. They all nourished me and gave

me the strength I needed to do my work. If my wife had not given me these

meals, I would be physically dead today. Likewise, if I had not gone to church

for nourishment, I would be spiritually dead today!”

When you are DOWN to nothing….. God is UP to something!

Faith sees the invisible, believes the incredible and receives the impossible!

Thank God for our physical AND our spiritual nourishment!

Some people choose not to read the Bible because they’re afraid it will contradict what they’ve already made up their mind to do. (p. 71, Taking Back the GOOD BOOK by Woodrow Kroll)


Breakpoint states: To name but a few grim examples, 63 percent of teen suicides are from fatherless homes; 90 percent of homeless children and runaways are from fatherless homes; and 71 percent of all high school dropouts are from fatherless homes.


UNDERSTANDING TRUTH

But we have the mind of Christ.
1 Corinthians 2:16
In 1 John 2:21-22 John is dealing with the particular truth of the birth of our Lord: I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth. Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. These people, because they had the Holy Spirit and His enlightenment, understood the doctrine concerning the person of the Lord Jesus Christ and the work that He had come to perform. If they had not received the Spirit, they could not have done that; but they did understand these things. They understood the doctrine of the two natures in one person. They had an unction that enabled them to explain these things we have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16).
This is the wonderful thing that is true of Christians. They may not have much natural ability, but if they have the Holy Spirit they can understand this truth, and that is why the Christian faith is not only a faith for philosophers it is a faith for anybody. It is not something that depends upon the natural man’s ability; it is an enlightenment, an unction. The Holy Spirit enables men and women to see and to understand something of the glorious nature of salvation. Though they may be simple, though they may be ignorant, though the world may dub them as being unintelligent, if they have this enlightenment they understand things that the greatest natural philosopher cannot understand.
That is what John says: “You understand these things; the other man does not.Or we can put it like this: Because they have this anointing, Christians understand error and are able to save themselves from deviations from the truth. Simple people have heard and recognized the centralities of the faith when the more learned have become confused and have tended to go astray.
A Thought to Ponder: The Holy Spirit enables men and women to understand something of the glorious nature of salvation. (From Walking with God, pp. 126-127.

                         (By Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)


An overwhelming majority of evangelical pastors believe it is morally wrong for an individual to change genders, according to a new Lifeway Research survey that revealed a divide on the issue among various Protestant traditions.

The poll of 1,007 Protestant pastors found that evangelical pastors are more than twice as likely to agree that it is “morally wrong to change the gender you were born with through surgery or taking hormones.” A full 90 percent of evangelical pastors but only 37 percent of mainline pastors agreed with the statement.

Among all Protestant pastors, 77 percent believe it is morally wrong to change genders through surgery or taking hormones.

Pentecostal (96 percent) and Baptist pastors (94 percent) are the most likely to agree with the statement, followed by Christian/Church of Christ pastors (75 percent), Lutherans (69 percent), Methodists (48 percent) and Presbyterian/Reformed (49 percent).

“American culture increasingly views morality differently than historic Christianity,” said Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research. “When pastors articulate Christian teaching, it often sounds very different from the cultural narrative because it rejects a basis for morality centered on the individual.”

The survey also asked Protestant pastors if they believe it is “morally wrong for an individual to identify with a gender different than the sex they were born” – an identification that does not necessarily include surgery or hormones.

On that latter question, 72 percent of Protestant pastors agree with the statement. Among various traditions, the answers mirrored the other question: Pentecostals (90 percent) and Baptists (89 percent) are the most likely to agree that it is “morally wrong for an individual to identify with a different gender from the biological sex they were born,” followed by Christian/Church of Christ pastors (69 percent), Lutherans (60 percent), Presbyterian/Reformed (45 percent) and Methodists (43 percent). Evangelical pastors are more than twice as likely to agree than mainline pastors (84 percent vs. 32 percent).

About half of Protestant pastors (48 percent) say they know someone who is transgender.

“Despite close to half of pastors saying they personally know someone who identifies as transgender, most still view identifying as a different gender as immoral,” McConnell said. “As lawmakers debate establishing protections for those who identify as a different gender from their biological sex at birth, it waits to be seen if Congress will seek to force pastors and their churches to implement changes contradictory to their religious convictions.”

Photo courtesy: ©Getty Images/Nito100


Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Postthe Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel. (Christian Headlines)


Mark 6

Jesus performs two astounding miracles in His hometown of Nazareth.

INSIGHT

Jesus’ miracles are often more than acts of kindness; they are also profound object lessons given to train His contemporary and future followers.

After feeding the 5,000, Jesus again sends the Twelve out onto the Sea of Galilee, knowing a storm will come. Then He walks out on the water to reveal to them more deeply the reality of who He is. By their reaction, the disciples show that their idea of Christ is too small. He is more — much more — than they think He is. (Quiet Walk)


THE PRIMARY MEANING OF “SANCTIFY

But ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.  1 Corinthians 6:11
You will find that the primary meaning of the word sanctify is often applied to Christian people. Read, for instance, 1 Corinthians 6:11, where Paul tells the Corinthians that there was a time when some of them were guilty of terrible sin—drinking, adultery, etc. “But,” he says, “ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.” You notice he says they are “sanctified” before he says they are “justified.” Now with our superficial and glib ideas about sanctification, we always say, “Justification first and sanctification afterward.” But Paul puts sanctification first, which means that they have been set apart by God and taken out of the world. That is the primary meaning of sanctification, and in that sense it comes before justification.
Or take 1 Peter 1:2: “…elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.” Sanctification comes before believing and sprinkling with the blood and justification. So in its primary meaning this word is a description of our position. It means that as Christians we are separated from the world. Our Lord has already said that in John 17:16: “They are not of the world.” Now He says, “Sanctify them through thy truth” (John17:17). “They have been set apart,” He says in effect; “set them still more apart.” It means separation from the world. In 1 Peter2:9 this is applied to the Christian church: “Ye are . . . a peculiar people,”a special possession for the Lord. The same is true of all Christian people. We are a holy people, set apart for God and for His service and for His purpose. That is the primary meaning.
A Thought to Ponder: Notice that Paul says they are sanctified before he says they are justified.  (From 
Sanctified Through the Truth, pp. 9-10, By Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)


Be Sure
“But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out.” (Numbers 32:23)

Most things in this life are uncertain; nevertheless, there are some things about which we can be absolutely sure. Just as God warned Adam that if he disobeyed His Word, he would “surely die” (Genesis 2:17), so He warns us that we can be sure our sins will ultimately be exposed. “The foundation of God standeth sure” (2 Timothy 2:19).

On the other side of the coin, we can also be sure of God’s mercy and faithfulness, and we can be sure of the truth of His Word. “We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place” (2 Peter 1:19). We also can be sure of His promised salvation. “Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast” (Hebrews 6:19). Thus, we can, through faith and patience, show “the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end” (Hebrews 6:11).

Finally, we can be sure that our Lord Jesus, who came once to die for our sins, will come back again to complete His work of redemption and reconciliation. The very last promise of the Bible consists of His gracious words: “Surely I come quickly” (Revelation 22:20).

However, each of us must first make sure that we believe His sure Word and have appropriated this sure hope. “Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:10-11). We can be sure that our sins must be judged, but we also can be sure of His forgiveness if we believe His sure promises and receive His sure salvation. (HMM, The Institute for Creation Research)


Small Yet Mighty

We are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works. Ephesians 2:10

There are times late at night in North America’s harsh Sonoran Desert where one can hear a faint, high-pitched howl. But you probably wouldn’t suspect the source of the sound—the small yet mighty grasshopper mouse, howling at the moon to establish its territory.

This unique rodent (dubbed the “werewolf mouse”) is also carnivorous. In fact, it preys on creatures few would dare mess with, such as the scorpion. But the werewolf mouse is uniquely equipped for that particular battle. It not only has a resistance to scorpion venom but can even convert the toxins into a painkiller!

There’s something inspiring about the way this resilient little mouse seems custom-made to survive and even thrive in its harsh environment. As Paul explains in Ephesians 2:10, that kind of marvelous craftsmanship characterizes God’s designs for His people as well. Each of us is “God’s handiwork” in Jesus, uniquely equipped to contribute to His kingdom. No matter how God has gifted you, you have much to offer. As you embrace with confidence who He’s made you to be, you’ll be a living witness to the hope and joy of life in Him.

So as you face whatever feels most menacing in your own life, take courage. You may feel small, but through the gifting and empowerment of the Spirit, God can use you to do mighty things.  (By Monica La Rose, Our Daily Bread)


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