Key Verse: 2 Samuel 12:7a
Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man!…”
In today’s Bible reading we learn that it is impossible to hide from God. God told the prophet Nathan all about David’s sin. David had tried to cover it up. God will rip the covers off in His time and for His purpose. Perhaps because David had been so blessed by God, he thought he would be an exception and that God would let him get away with his sin. When we read together the Psalms, we’ll see that David has a special relationship with God. Is it possible that David thought God would let him get away with adultery and the deliberate act of ensuring Uriah’s death? Perhaps David no longer feared God as he once did. Psalm 111:10 tells us, “The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom.” Jesus is quoted in each of the first three Gospels saying, “There is nothing covered that will not be revealed” (Matthew 10:26). This should put “the fear of God” into us. David, when he was caught, repented. He wrote Psalm 51 at this time. Let’s take time to read it together. In 51:7b he states his confidence that God washes away his sin and makes him “whiter than snow.” While God forgives, the circumstances don’t always forgive, as we will see in tomorrow’s reading.
PRAYER FOR TODAY:
Lord God, I join King David in his prayer of repentance: “Have mercy upon me” (Psalm 51:1). “Cleanse me from my sin” (51:2b). “Create in me a clean heart” (51:10a). I pray this through Jesus, Who bore my sin on the cross and Who washes me clean in the blood that He shed (1 John 1:7b – let’s read all of 1 John chapter one). Amen!
100 PERSONAL WORDS:
I believe that “repentance” is a constant in my life. John the Baptist began his ministry with the word “repent” (Matthew 3:2). Jesus did the same (Matthew 4:17). Is this a top priority for a believer? That’s for sure! To me, “repentance” means a 180 degree turn! At 179 degrees, I’m still moving away from God. Daily Bible reading and prayer keeps me focused like the surveyor I saw with a transit scope the other day. I must not look away from God’s will for my life. David did, and look what it cost him.
On one occasion, I had the joy of skiing at Whistler, British Columbia. The lifts were full and I found myself sharing a three-person chair with two young ladies from Quebec. The move to separate from Canada was big then. They told me they would vote for Quebec as an independent country. I said, in my best French, “Look around you. British Columbia is your country now. It won’t be if you separate. How could you possibly give up all this beauty?” They answered, “We’ll think about that.” Then I asked them to think about Someone else… God. I quoted Job 38:22 – “Have you considered the treasures of the snow?” (that’s my rough translation from French). That opened the conversation for the next few minutes to talk about the Lord! Good seed was planted in their hearts. I saw them from a distance twice more that day, and they waved and gave me their biggest smiles. Perhaps they we’re laughing at my accent, but I think not! Je pense non! Oui?
Yours for “whiter than snow,”
David
P.S. Over a three-year period some 50 years ago, I read the French Bible daily in my time of devotions. I suggest that this is a great way to learn a language, holding in one hand the English text, and the French in the other.
Up Next in Year 1 | April
-
100 Words - YR1 April 11 - INCEST and...
Key Verse: 2 Samuel 13:15a, 28
Then Amnon hated her exceedingly, so that the hatred with which he hated her was greater than the love with which he had loved her…Now Absalom had commanded his servants, saying, “Watch now, when Amnon’s heart is merry with wine, and when I say to you, ‘Strike Amnon... -
100 Words - YR1 April 12 - HERE COMES...
Key Verse: 2 Samuel 14:14
For we will surely die and become like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. Yet God does not take away a life; but He devises means, so that His banished ones are not expelled from Him.In this chapter we read of King David’s General Joab, who...
-
100 Words - YR1 April 13 - STOLEN HEARTS
Key Verse: 2 Samuel 15:31
Then someone told David, saying, “Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.” And David said, “O Lord, I pray, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness!”Now, David prays. He’s in big trouble. From Chapter 12 onward, David’s story, and that of his fami...