We can rest in the knowledge that God controls the universe and loves us.   ~~~   Don’t you love when someone is looking out for you? You don’t feel so alone. You know someone has your back. They care about what is in YOUR best interest. It’s a good feeling. As a mom, I have my girls back. They know I am always looking out for them. Have you seen the image of a lion cub and it’s mom right behind it. That’s me. Nothing would even think about going after the cub because mama lion is scary and she has that baby lion’s back. She is never far away. Her eyes are always on the lookout for the sole purpose of protecting her cub. With the recent winter weather that swept across the country, I was glad someone had our back. My area of expertise is not the weather, but I am thankful we have meteorologists that are always keeping an eye out. They can forecast what’s to come with science and technology so they can let us know for the sole purpose of keeping us safe. With the snow, ice and record low temperatures we had, students were out of school for over a week. As a parent, I’ll keep it real and tell you I was ready for them to go back. I love my girls, but I also love when they are in school. The last day they were out they were planning to go initially with a delayed start time. That morning, the district made the call to keep them home one more day. You know what, I wasn’t frustrated in the least. I found myself grateful. They wanted my girls, as well as every other student, safe. Their eyes were on it. That’s a good feeling. It gives you peace knowing someone that knows MORE than you or someone that can see the BIG picture is watching out for you and helping guide your steps. In life, you may feel today like no one’s looking out for you. You may even be very self reliant because maybe those that were supposed to be looking out for you, didn’t. I want you to know this, you are deeply loved and there has never been a day God hasn’t had His eye on you. Psalm 32:8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you. I love this! God wants us to KNOW Him and in knowing Him we WILL know the WAY we should go in every circumstance. How many sources do we go to for counsel? Just check your latest online searches. We have questions and we take it to google before we take it to God! God sees. God knows. God will instruct you. God will teach you and counsel you. He holds the entire world in His hand and still, his loving eye is on YOU. I can rest easy knowing that today. You can too. You don’t have to worry. Choose to trust. God sees where you’ve been. God knows the conditions of the road you’re traveling today and He wants to guide you through the storm that may be coming tomorrow. That’s the truth. It’s like the song says, His eye is on the sparrow and I know HE watches me. Go check out Psalm 121 and know His eye is on you. I’m Lori Cline.  

We must put in regular maintenance to keep our spiritual lives on track.

The kingdom of God is built on the backs of the rejects and outcasts of society.   ~~~   We have been watching the personal rise of David, the newly-anointed, soon to be King of Israel, along with the personal downfall of the current, Spirit-deficient King of Israel, King Saul. And now we have come to a part of the story where David’s kingdom, his following, begins to appear. He can’t seem to find an escape from Saul’s hitmen or Saul himself, so he is on the run. His first pit stop was at Nob to talk with Ahimelech, the priest. He gains some food and some weapons from Ahimelech. And we are told that a man named Doeg was there as well. Then David takes off for the city of Gath, Philistine territory, and puts on a show of deception when he fears his life is being threatened. All of this behavior, like we said last week, is odd for David, who, up until this point had been faithful to the LORD, and dependent upon the LORD. But the beginning of chapter 22 tells us that David departs from his previous Philistine location and comes to the cave of Adullam. While there, his brothers and family, who are no doubt also being hunted by Saul, join him in the cave. And then we are told that all those who were in distress, in debt, and discontented gathered to him. It appears that there is trouble in Saul’s kingdom, so that people are growing tired of his maniacal ways, and they are looking for another option. And they see in David a better option, a better choice. They see hope, godliness, humility, strength, courage; they see the type of leader they need. The type of leader they want to follow. 400 men. The start of what would become a glorious kingdom. And David is made captain over them. Does this, perhaps remind you of another leader who attracted to himself the outcasts of society? The downtrodden, the discontented, the poor? Of course it does. We see in David and small picture of the Christ to come. Jesus, by means of his teaching, by means of his godliness, compassion, humility, and strength, attracted to himself the outcasts. He called to himself fishermen, tax collectors, political zealots, demon-possessed women, prostitutes. People of no significant influence. People who possessed and wielded little if any worldly power. And yet, it was those distressed, in debt, and discontented people that God used to form the core of what would become a powerful force and kingdom. And it was those type of people that Jesus brought around himself who would form the core and nucleus of what would become a powerful force and church, led by God’s son, empowered by God’s Spirit. Even their enemies recognized this about the church when they called Peter and John “uneducated” and common, or profane men. What was happening in seed form in 1 Samuel 22, is fulfilled among us today! Do you realize that? The revival of God’s kingdom under the leadership and kingship of God’s chosen King, was underway, and we are the continuation of that under the greater David, King Jesus. We stand in a long line of rejects. We are the bands of the discontented and distressed. We are the outcasts and have found our hope our refuge our leader in Jesus. What God could with a group of people who realized their own nothingness and leaned into dependence upon God for everything! The battles that would be fought and won. The glory that would be exhibited. You see, the church is not a sit and listen organization. It is a hear and march army. Neither is it a personal or private spiritual pick-me-up. You are joined to something larger than yourself, greater than yourself, more important than yourself. There has been a calling and commission placed upon us that we have accepted in following our King. There is a mission. And that mission is to hold out hope to others who are discontented and distressed around the world. It is to hold up our King to those who have grown tired and hurt by the current king over their life, which is their own sinfulness and idolatry. Let me ask you? Are you a church member on mission, or are you just a sit and listen member? Are you marching in the cause of raising up disciples through the school, through your home, in your own life? Are you marching to send the gospel out overseas? As we press on here? You need to know, because sometimes, sometimes, when you are committed to this mission, it means gathering in a cave. It means remaining the outcasts of the world, strangers and aliens in this place.

For children of God there is always a line to draw with anything or anyone. We belong to Him now, so our aim is to glorify Him.

Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Hurry and meditation cant coexist. The definition of meditation is this. “a written or spoken discourse expressing considered thoughts on a subject.”

God places a unique calling on every person's life.

The amount of daylight we get can affect our mood.

What we see as setbacks are God’s way of setting the stage for a comeback.   ~~~   Have you ever experienced what you thought was a set back? When I was in the midst of finishing up school, I was in the final stages, writing the big thesis, the big project. When it came time to start submitting portions of that book for approval, we were leveled with a setback. The seminary emailed to tell me that there had been a new system of writing put in place, a new standard, that my current work did not fulfill those requirements, and that I had only a short window of time to get it fixed or I would have to start the program all over. I was upset, confused, stressed. I had put spent many late nights away from my family working on this thing, only to be told, “It doesn’t meet our new standard.” I wanted to quit. Write it all off as loss and just move on from there. But from great counsel from my wife, we stayed the course, and the set back really proved to be a refining moment in my life. It helped sharpen my focus on the project I was working on, and in many ways in the way I went about ministry. Many times, what we see as a set back is really God setting the stage for a comeback. Perhaps you have experienced something similar. Looking backwards in time, you see what was once thought to be a set back as a way of God orchestrating a come back. In Psalm 57, which is David’s looking back on the events of 1 Samuel 22, David prays in Psalm 57:4 “My soul is in the midst of lions; I lie down amid fiery beasts—the children of man, whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are shard swords.” And then he says, “Be exalted O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth.” It is a prayer, a cry, that comes from looking back into the past, and seeing that the enemy was fierce and had designs against David, yet God was glorified through it all. Perhaps you can look back over events in your life and see the same thing. The design and attack of the enemy was fierce, even successful, some might say, but now, from this perspective, you see it completely differently. You see God being exalted and His glory and plan coming to fruition. You couldn’t see it then, but you surely see it now. But if we have eyes to see, and ears to hear, and hearts and wills ready to conform to God’s word, then we will see that what we think of as set backs, even in the present or in the future, attacks of the enemy, are really God’s way of setting the stage for a come back.

God fills us with His goodness and sustains us.   ~~~   Have you ever been excited about a lemon? Well I have and I’ll tell you why! I got one for Christmas this year. It wasn’t wrapped in a box or anything, I actually picked it off of a tree. This wasn’t just any lemon off of any lemon tree. This was a lemon that grew on a lemon tree that my parents bought and planted in a pot. My Daddy was so proud of that little lemon tree. If they got at least 2 big lemons each year they were happy, because that meant at least one or two lemon meringue pies. My Daddy met Jesus face to face this past summer. Goodness how we miss him. We’re still in the year of firsts. This first Christmas without him, our family gathered. Even though Daddy’s no longer with us, he’s still everywhere around us. So much of who he was and what he loved and lived for, remains in us and in ways, in all things he left behind. One of the things he enjoyed was that lemon tree. This Christmas, it was full of lemons. Everybody got one. Round, yellow rays of sunshine in a way from Daddy. I’ve never been more excited about a lemon. Now something else you should know about me is I LOVE lemons. I am an avid lemon water drinker. I have been for a long time. So bringing one of the lemons that my Daddy loved home with me for Christmas was just about the best gift I could have gotten. I didn’t want to cut it at first. I wanted to just keep it, but I knew it would go bad if I didn’t. It was meant to be picked, and enjoyed. So I did. I sliced it up, filled a glass of water and squeezed a big slice in and let it float to the top. Do you think I enjoyed that glass of lemon water? Listen, I drank every drop. Then I filled it up again and drank all that. That wasn’t just any lemon water. That was lemon water from a fresh lemon off of a lemon tree my Daddy loved and cared for! That just made it taste that much better. It was good. I felt close to my Daddy and I was refreshed. Isn’t that the way this life is supposed to be lived? We have a father who is good. He is a giver of good gifts. He is our good shepherd and IN Him I shall not want. He refreshes my soul and IN Him I am blessed and filled up as I taste and SEE His goodness in my life. Psalm 34:8 Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him. When you savor something good, you want more. You can’t stop talking about it. You give five star reviews because you want people to know the goodness you’ve experienced. The Lord IS good. What I have tasted and seen in my life over and over keeps me abiding IN Him. I take refuge in Him. I am connected to the vine. He IS my portion. When I am poured out He fills me up yet again. He is ALL I need in and out of every season. When I see His moving in my life and when I simply must wait, I know He is with me working it all for my good, in HIS time. Nothing else compares to the Father’s love for me. It’s so sweet. I’m not sugar coating anything here. Life IS hard and sometimes you get lemons. But then again, sometimes you get lemons! Through it all, I can be refreshed, renewed and know He is with me. That’s the truth. Have you tasted the goodness of God? It’s good water. I’m Lori Cline.

Do you talk to your loved ones or friends with the same respect privately that you do in public?

The mission of God is evident and manifest through the entire Bible.

The love of God is upon all who are His. We must remember He sees all of it, and loves us through it.

We can be confident that we will never be put to shame with God reigning over us.   ~~~   As we think about the events of 1 Samuel 21 that we have been studying, we should also consider Psalm 34. This psalm, it is believed was written about 1 Samuel 21, in particular when David when to Gath in the latter portion of the chapter. And he is looking back on that event and saying, “It wasn’t my so called wisdom and smarts that delivered me. It was God.” In that Psalm David exclaims: Oh magnify the LORD with me, let us exalt his name together. I sought the LORD, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears. Those who look on him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed. This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him and saved him out of all of his troubles. Oh taste and see that the LORD is good” Think about that line “their faces shall never be ashamed” and remember back to David bringing shame on himself by drooling all over his face and beard. What David ultimately realizes is that even though that may have been a foolish feat, God’s people will never be put to ultimate shame because God is a faithful deliverer.

In our most desperate times, our thoughts should still be set on Jesus.   ~~~   God is a portion and a deliverer that the fire cannot burn, the floods cannot drown, the thief cannot steal! A man can take away your goods, but he cannot take away your God. Sickness can take away your health and strength, death may take away your family and friends, government may take your liberty or your life, but none of these can take away your God! You have a Savior in God who does not abandon His people, but delivers His chosen ones in their times of desperation! Why would he redeem us, only to forsake us? So set your sights on God through Jesus Christ, even in the lonely, desperate time. Because being anywhere with Jesus is far greater than being anywhere without Him, even when that anywhere is a desperate situation. Why is that so? Because there is no greater portion, no greater friend, no greater savior, no greater peace, no greater joy, no greater contentment, no greater wisdom, no greater healer, no greater God than who we have in Christ!

The snow fell in the hills here in Arkansas, so Shaun's headed out to shoot some rabitts. But he's not the only one with the same target.

Although we do not see the big picture of God’s plan, we can trust that He does.   ~~~   Are you ready to turn the page? Yep, me too. What is it about January that at times feels like it lasts forever? It’s 31 days. There are other months that have 31 days, but why does January feel like it has 47? Needless to say, with all the winter weather we’ve had, I’m ready to turn the page into February and move one day closer to Spring! Let this season pass on by, because I can’t see any growth. I need to SEE something grow! Things burst out of the ground in the Spring and I can get OUT and GO! In Winter, everything is cold and still, including me. We’re not very good at being still are we? Does it take a layer of ice and snow or an arctic blast to force us to be still? Sometimes it does. The beautiful rhythms of time and rotation of seasons is no accident. Each one fulfills a purpose. The growth we see in Spring would not come without the rest and renewal of winter. It’s easy to forget there is purpose in a bitter cold season of stillness with no visible growth. It’s a reminder we are NOT in control and it’s in that stillness and surrender we KNOW God IS. God IS always at work. Even when I don’t see it. What God is doing in a season of winter is unique and beautiful, just like each snowflake that falls to the ground. A unique design being formed AS it falls. Beauty through surrender. It’s the same in our life. Surrender, even in a cold season of NOT seeing, IS bringing forth something beautiful in a season to come. That’s the way God works. We don’t have to see it to believe it. We TRUST and KNOW He is working through all things and there IS purpose in every divine moment. I love what Jesus said to Peter when Peter didn’t want Jesus to wash his feet. John 13:7 Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” Peter couldn’t see the big picture. Jesus did. It wasn’t for Peter to see, he needed only to surrender, serve and follow. Today, remember you can’t see the big picture. You weren’t meant to. This season may not look the way you had hoped, it’s ok. Simply surrender, serve and follow. Trust God is in control. Trust requires letting go of wanting so desperately to SEE God move when and where and how you want Him to in your life. We can’t realize or understand what He is doing, but later maybe we will. Still we surrender, serve and follow. For now, we simply REST where we are, in THIS season. Even in the cold, even in what we can’t see. We can be still and know God IS at work and HE is the only one who brings restoration, renewal, revival and He will make all things new in the season to come. That’s the truth. Don’t question in the cold of winter, the goodness God has shown you in the Spring, Summer and Fall. His will WILL be done as we surrender, serve and follow. I’m Lori Cline.

God will use both allies and adversaries to deliver us from adversity.   ~~~   David is a fugitive on the loose, with Goliath’s sword in hand, thinking that he would be safer in Philistine territory than in Israel. I would tend to think that there were 200 very sore Philistine men, along with 10,000 widow women who would disagree about David’s safety among the Philistines. But this is what desperation does, isn’t it? It can drive us to do some pretty strange things. David enters the town of Achish, with Goliath’s sword in tow. I’m pretty sure that thing was hard to hide in the luggage. And as soon as he enters, the people recognize him, particularly the servants of Achish, who is the ruler in Gath (Goliath’s hometown), and they start to question, “Isn’t this the great one of Israel?” So David’s cover is blown and he is very afraid now. Very concerned. And he decides the best course of action, again, is deception. He pretends to be a lunatic, a mad man, someone who has gone crazy. He drools all over himself, which was a mark of shame by the way. Wars were started over the pulling of a man’s beard. It was a shameful thing to mess with a man’s beard. How much more so to defile yourself by drooling all the way down your beard. David resorted to other antics as well, such as marking on their gates. And yet, in all of this, God is the one who delivers David from the grasp of the Philistines. David here, has a sword; David is a mighty warrior, but he is too afraid to fight. He is desperately afraid. And yet, God delivers. God uses allies to deliver David, and God uses adversaries to deliver David. God is providential and uses primary and secondary causes to accomplish His will. And he does the same thing in your life. How can I be sure? Well, like we said last week, David is just a human. A man of the dirt. He was on the run, he had no place to rest his head. He was under pressure, alone, desperate. And he stumbled a bit under that pressure. We see that happen regularly in patriarchs of the faith. Abraham did it. Jacob did it. Moses did it. And now David does. But there was a moment when Jesus was under immense pressure too. Alone. Desperate. And God brought him to this moment. But in that moment, he didn’t lie; he didn’t deceive; he didn’t stumble. He simply said, “Not my will, but thy will be done.” In Jesus’ most desperate moment, God delivered Jesus over to death. God handed Jesus over to suffer the wages of sin that he did not commit. God handed Jesus over to death, and then delivered His chosen one from the grave and death so that God could deliver His people from hell, and give life and joy and peace in the resurrected Jesus, even as we walk down desperate roads. God will not abandon His chosen ones. God will provide for His chosen ones all that they need during their times of desperation. He put Jesus in the grave and then resurrected Him from the dead to make this point abundantly clear to us!

One day, God will not just renew old things, but make all things brand new.   ~~~   Do you believe that what’s been done can’t be undone? It depends doesn’t it. I can tie my shoe and then I can untie it, but I can’t go back and undo the first tie. So while I can reverse the action of tying my shoe, I can’t untie tying my shoe. Clear as mud right? To undo something you basically reverse the effect of what you did. Oh how many of us would love to reverse the effect of things we have said or done in the past. One of my favorite commands on a keyboard is UNDO! Wouldn’t that be nice to have in real life situations. What did I just do?? UNDO. UNDO. Programmers can do this when they roll back commands. It’s like they never happened. Well we can’t roll back or hit undo in life. There are consequences to our actions and our choices. We may not be able to hit the undo key, or even call for a REDO like we did when we were little, but we can try to reverse the effects or make things right. God works through us and our circumstances to redeem moments and seasons. I’m so very thankful He does. I’ve experienced that in my own life. What the enemy meant for evil or maybe something I chose to do was forgiven, grace was extended and over and over something beautiful grew as a result. What was broken was mended. What was lost was restored. God meets us in our every need, failure and fear with provision, grace and love. I love how God met Adam and Eve in the garden after they sinned. They tried to cover themselves. They tried to undo a little of their shame. God met them with tunics of animal skin to wear. Blood was shed to cover their sin. The world is still under the curse of sin, but for those IN Christ, we are now redeemed and covered by the blood of the Lamb. Jesus’ death on the cross brings us back into fellowship with the Father. What was done in the garden was undone on the cross. The good news now is that the hope we have because of Jesus, is that one day, He will come again and one day to come ALL THINGS will be made NEW. Revelation 21:1-5 Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth, ”for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” This is not describing a fixer upper heaven and earth, this is a MADE NEW heaven and earth. A new Jerusalem, a new earth, no longer plagued by the powers of evil, sin and death. The presence of God will very much be WITH us and every tear will be wiped from our eyes. Can you even imagine no more death, sorrow, crying or pain? What a day that will be. That’s what all things made NEW looks like. It’s not an UNDO it’s a made new. John got a glimpse of it for us in Revelation and I’m so glad he did. Praise God for His word, because it is in fact, worthy and true. That’s the truth! If you missed any of this months broadcasts where I’ve been digging deeper into scripture around the word NEW for this NEW year, you can find them all at lifeword.org. God wants to do something new in your life! Don’t take my word for it, get into His word every day and discover the NEW He has for you. I’m Lori Cline.  

God does not abandon us in our times of desperation.   ~~~   Don’t be so quick to overlook the simple blessings of God as signs and tokens of his sustaining care of you along the way. We ended Day by Day last week by noting David’s desperation in running from Saul, which leads to a desperate request from David to the priest Ahimelech. We are in 1 Samuel 21 and we have this interchange about type of bread is available. It is the holy bread, the showbread, that only the priests were allowed to consume. This bread was replaced every day in the tabernacle, and the priests would eat the leftover. In other words, this bread was not just handed out to anyone. Only the holy. Only the purified. Only the priests. Ahimelech knew that this was a desperate situation, and knew that mercy in this situation was called for; that preserving a life didn’t break the law but fulfilled it. But we also have a little more commentary from Jesus Himself. Matthew, Mark, and Luke record the instance of Jesus and his disciples passing through a grainfield on the Sabbath. And the pharisees saw the disciples grabbing some grain, rubbing it in their hands to remove the shell, and eating. In the Pharisees’ mind, this was equivalent to doing work on the Sabbath, and they accusingly ask Jesus why he allows this. Jesus then says, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him?” Jesus was referring to this event in 1 Samuel 21. Jesus goes on to say that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath, and that God desires mercy. In other words, when there were desperate situations, extenuating situations, when a life was on the line, then the priest had the authority and duty to preserve life, not the law. This is how we know that David was in a desperate situation. He has no food. There wasn’t a fast food joint on every corner. He was a wanted man. He couldn’t just pop into any house. He didn’t know who to trust, so he goes to the priest, and the priest gives to him what is not normally lawful to give to anyone but another priest. Then the narrator gives us another question that David asked Ahimelech—“Do you have any weapons?” Lo and behold, they have at that tabernacle the very sword of Goliath. The sword David himself swung down in order to remove Goliath’s head from his body. God takes care of His chosen one in their times of desperation. God does not abandon us in our desperation. What are we to make of this, especially in light of David’s deception? If we look back, we will see that bread is actually a sign of the LORD’s blessing and confirms God’s purpose. In chapter 2, Hannah praises God by saying, “Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread, and those who were hungry have ceased to hunger.” Back in chapter 10, Saul was given two loaves of bread, as a sign to him that God had anointed him as King over Israel. The presence of bread, the giving of bread to David is a quiet sign that God is blessing him, providing for him, in the midst of his desperation. Don’t be so quick to overlook the simple blessings of God as signs and tokens of his sustaining care of you along the way.

When we read and reread the Bible and reflect upon it, it can provide deeper understanding.

Every day we must rely anew on God’s strength.   ~~~   Turn your attention to verse 1. David goes to Nob to Ahimelech the priest. Nob is located 5 miles or less, southeast of Saul’s home in Gibeah. When Ahimelech sees David coming, Ahimelech is trembling. He is afraid. He in all likelihood knows who David is, knows what David’s role is in King Saul’s kingdom as being a warrior and a leader of a thousand. So it surprises Ahimelech that David is seemingly by himself. We come to learn that David has picked up a few men, who are very possibly hiding out, but right here, David is alone and this perplexes Ahimelech to the point that he possibly thinks David is there as a threat to him. To all of this, David responds, “The king has charged me with a matter and said to me, ‘Let no one know anything of the matter about which I send you, and with which I have charged you.’” Up until this point, David’s words and actions have been spot-on. He has been blameless, sparkling and pure. So much so, that in chapter 20, David asked Jonathan, “What have I done wrong? What is my sin that your father is hunting me down for?” Think about what David could have said—“Your dad is crazy! He’s nuts! What is wrong with that lunatic?” But he doesn’t! He examines his own heart. He is humble. But here, David is in a desperate situation. Here is the one who marched out in front of Goliath with no armor and no fear. Here is the one who had been relying on the LORD at every turn. He has had victory after victory, and yet has remained faithful and humble. But this pressure is so great upon him that instead of turning to the God who has led him thus far, David turns to deception. We can ask why he does this. Does he do this as a means of protecting Ahimelech? Does he do it as a means to protect himself? To grease the wheels on Ahimelech’s heart so he can get what he is going to request? We can’t be sure. But we do know that King Saul did not send David on a secret mission. David is lying. David is being deceitful. The pressure, the turmoil of the situation turns this young man desperate, and he tries to use deception to get what he wants. And here are two things we must understand about David. Yes, he was a man after God’s own heart, but he was also a man from the dirt. He had feet of clay. Anxiety, panic, pressures, got to him. And this is actually one of the beautiful transparencies of the word of God. David is not held up for us as an example to follow. The bible does not hide from us the realities of David’s humanity. The second thing we learn is that past faithfulness is not a guarantee of future faithfulness. Out of all the people we have encountered so far, who has seen God move and provide and deliver as much as David? Who has the back log of events and history of God’s faithfulness and deliverance? It is David. David, the shepherd boy, raised up above his brothers. David toe to toe with Goliath. David, who has killed his tens of thousands. David, who has been blessed with the King’s daughter in law. David, who has escaped the spear. David, who has seen the Spirit, very actively, protect Him from Saul’s lynchman and Saul himself. Here, at this point in 21, seemingly forgets it all, or at least does not thing God will or can handle this current situation of desperation. My friend, don’t ever think that great spiritual progress, great spiritual victories from the past are guarantees on your faithfulness to the LORD in the future. There must be a daily, hourly, moment by moment clinging to the LORD. Listen to me, you must admit day by day, every day that you get up, before you hit the ground running, you must admit and confess, no matter what happened yesterday, that you do not have what it takes to get through today. There is no such thing as spiritual coasting. Proverbs 8:34 “Blessed is the one who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting beside my doors.”

What do love and obsession have in common?

When we walk in joy celebrating God, it becomes contagious.   ~~~   Have you ever had an ear worm? And no I’m not talking about an actual worm. Ew. No I’m talking about what happens when you get a song stuck in your head! We have a friend who would intentionally hum or whisper the Kenny Rogers song, ‘lady’ in our ear just for the purpose of waiting to see if we would start humming it or singing it at some point. We usually would. It was so funny and frustrating at the same time. Isn’t there some song that if you hear it, it will be in your head for days? There’s a reason for that. It was played A LOT at radio. Some of these songs fall into the most annoying category, which makes it even worse. One such song is ‘We Built This City’ by Starship. It debuted in 1985 and was a HUGE hit. The band used a lot of synthesizer and a lot of hair spray. You gotta love the eighties. Unfortunately they wanted us to know so badly that they built this city on rock and roll that they repeated that line over and over in the song at least 15 times. Over the years the song came to be, what we call in radio, a high burn. It’s fried and crispy. Please don’t ever play it again. We’re full force into a new year. Are you already a little fried and crispy, tired of singing the same old song? I don’t know what you’ve walked through or what you may be walking through right now, but often don’t we settle into the circumstance and get oh so weary feeling like we’re never going to sing anything new. The same routine. The same song, maybe a different verse. You’re not alone. Look up. God is with you even now and has a new song for you to sing, not just this new year, but this new day. Psalm 40:1-3 ​​I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in him. God hears your cry today. He’s listening and He is oh so near. No matter what this life brings, when our feet are firm on the rock of Jesus, we can sing for joy and give thanks to the Lord in ALL things for He IS good. He is at work in your life and IN whatever you are facing. His love for you never ends. We see new songs rise throughout scripture from hearts that have experienced God’s goodness. God has a new song for you to sing as well. The old is gone and a new melody is being written even now in your story. Shout for joy and sing a new song for what God is doing and will do as you trust Him. When we begin singing a new song it becomes contagious in a good way. You might even find someone else getting hooked on the rhythm of joy and hope your walking in step with. A really good song has a way of doing that. While a new song rises in the here and now, one day to come there will be a new song like no other, sung throughout the heavens. You can read more about it in Revelation 5 starting with verse 8. Creatures and elders begin the first verse then angels, too many to count, join in for the second. It’s too great to not sing along so every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea will join in for the last verse. Blessing and honor and glory and power be to Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, forever and ever! It will be an eternal praise, a song we will never tire of hearing or singing. That’s the truth. Look to Jesus for a new song. He has one for you today. And I promise you this, once you start singing it, you won’t be able to stop. I’m Lori Cline.

God provides for His chosen ones during their time of desperation.   ~~~   I had to be in 7th grade when I first discovered the band, The Eagles. The transition from cassette tapes to compact discs was underway at that time, so I had some Eagles tapes, and then some Eagles CD’s. I wore those tapes out, listening to them over and over again. I love the simple melodies, the harmonies, the Randy Misner voice, the Don Henley and Glen Fry lyrics, the Joe Walsh guitar solos. I love the southern rock sound. But there was one song that I listened to probably more than any other—Desperado. The ache that is in that song; the way the verses paint a clear picture in your mind of a lonely cowboy out riding fences, weathered, hardened; the stubbornness and pride of being on your own, not needing anyone. Maybe I identified with the song because as a young teenager I was searching for more and more independence in my life. We have a desperado among us today, in our text. Someone who is out on their own, secluded. The difference is that this desperado doesn’t want to be alone. This life of being a desperado was not of his own choosing. He was forced into this. And it wasn’t even a result of his own bad choices. He had done everything right. He was a man after God’s own heart. He had was walking the path of righteousness and faithfulness, and yet, became a desperado—a desperate person, in despair, in distress. Can you identify with that person at all? Have you ever felt like you were all alone, or that no one really understood your life context and situation? Have you grown tired or desperate? Has walking with the LORD been what brought you to the desperation, because it very well can lead to that? We say this all the time around here, that walking with the LORD oftentimes leads you into the valley of the shadow of death; it makes the enemy become more concerned about you and concentrate his sights on you more intently. And it can lead to isolation. Living with Jesus, walking with Jesus very much will lead to losses and crosses (Thomas Brooks). And when you are in the thick of it, it can be suffocating. It can feel like you can’t catch your breath. It can feel like you will never return to normal. But we learn something about our God in this story of this desperado in our text. We learn that God provides for His chosen ones during their times of desperation.