Today's Reading
2 Samuel: God used David's own weakness regarding the people he loved to set up the promised judgment of David's sin with Bathsheba an Uriah. David's son Amnon had raped Tamar and David did nothing about it so Absalom murdered his half-brother. David did nothing about that and Absalom decided to steal the kingdom from his dad. What pain and misery from the failure to make hard decisions. I often learn from this passage because I -- at one time -- also failed to take strong action with a rebellious staff member and our entire church suffered for it.
John describes today the dark scene of Jesus' arrest, along with the beginning of His trials and the first denial of Peter.
Psalm 119: praying this prayer today has reminded me of the importance of learning God's Word. As I meditate on it, I am shown the way to be protected from sin and to stand in the face of my soul's enemies.
Proverbs makes me think of the homes in the Beverly Hills area where I recently drove. The lure of riches is huge. The constant temptation, "These things I will give you if you will bow down and worship me," is enough to have destroyed many good people. May we walk in God's truth and not be fooled by the lie!
Your thoughts?
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Sean here. The scene in today’s reading from John has often puzzled me. Specifically when Simon Peter cuts off the ear of Malchus. This is an act of violence spurred on by a desire to protect not only another human but Jesus. For that scene the emotions must have been intense, people must have been on a heightened alert, and there was probably some potential for things to get out of control beyond the act by Simon Peter. I don’t fully understand the scene but what is impressive is the resolute calmness of Jesus who simply redirects the atmosphere and submits to the arrest, knowing it is the will of God.
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