July 13

Today's Reading

1 Chronicles. "...King David skipping about and laughing with joy..." I hope that someone with Michal's attitude didn't see me and a bunch of other adults at children's camp this week. I'm certain that our worship would look less than "proper" to them. The person after God's heart is willing to look undignified in worship. It doesn't matter if it's a king or a pauper. By the way, David gave gifts to the people on that day of celebration, including loaves of bread. Since he was from Bethlehem -- house of bread -- I'm sure he knew where to get it!

Romans today is a graphic word picture of sliding down a slippery slope. It mentions three levels of sin, each more depraved than the one before. In each case, "God abandoned them" at that level and the sin got worse. It's a dangerous thing to shut out the conviction of God's Spirit and fail to repent while we can.

Psalms. The humble who seek God may have great difficulty now, but God's salvation is ahead. The wicked may think they are getting away with sin, but judgment is coming.

Proverbs. The world tends to disregard the poor. There are those who call attention to the poor, yet their ultimate goal is for their own gain. God's people, however, naturally have compassion on the poor -- it's from God's heart. On the other hand, many Christians in our own nation have chosen to shut down the influence of the Holy Spirit in this area.

And your thoughts today? Do you have questions?