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Morning Devotional...

DAVID AND BATHSHEBA
2 Samuel 11:1-27 NLT

   1The following spring, the time of year when kings go to war, David sent Joab and the Israelite army to destroy the Ammonites. In the process they laid siege to the city of Rabbah. But David stayed behind in Jerusalem.

    2Late one afternoon David got out of bed after taking a nap and went for a stroll on the roof of the palace. As he looked out over the city, he noticed a woman of unusual beauty taking a bath. 3He sent someone to find out who she was, and he was told, "She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite." 4Then David sent for her; and when she came to the palace, he slept with her. (She had just completed the purification rites after having her menstrual period.) Then she returned home. 5Later, when Bathsheba discovered that she was pregnant, she sent a message to inform David.

    6So David sent word to Joab: "Send me Uriah the Hittite." 7When Uriah arrived, David asked him how Joab and the army were getting along and how the war was progressing. 8Then he told Uriah, "Go on home and relax." David even sent a gift to Uriah after he had left the palace. 9But Uriah wouldn't go home. He stayed that night at the palace entrance with some of the king's other servants.

    10When David heard what Uriah had done, he summoned him and asked, "What's the matter with you? Why didn't you go home last night after being away for so long?"

    11Uriah replied, "The Ark and the armies of Israel and Judah are living in tents, and Joab and his officers are camping in the open fields. How could I go home to wine and dine and sleep with my wife? I swear that I will never be guilty of acting like that."

    12"Well, stay here tonight," David told him, "and tomorrow you may return to the army." So Uriah stayed in Jerusalem that day and the next. 13Then David invited him to dinner and got him drunk. But even then he couldn't get Uriah to go home to his wife. Again he slept at the palace entrance.

   14So the next morning David wrote a letter to Joab and gave it to Uriah to deliver. 15The letter instructed Joab, "Station Uriah on the front lines where the battle is fiercest. Then pull back so that he will be killed." 16So Joab assigned Uriah to a spot close to the city wall where he knew the enemy's strongest men were fighting. 17And Uriah was killed along with several other Israelite soldiers.

    18Then Joab sent a battle report to David. 19He told his messenger, "Report all the news of the battle to the king. 20But he might get angry and ask, `Why did the troops go so close to the city? Didn't they know there would be shooting from the walls? 21Wasn't Gideon's son Abimelech killed at Thebez by a woman who threw a millstone down on him?' Then tell him, `Uriah the Hittite was killed, too.' "

    22So the messenger went to Jerusalem and gave a complete report to David. 23"The enemy came out against us," he said. "And as we chased them back to the city gates, 24the archers on the wall shot arrows at us. Some of our men were killed, including Uriah the Hittite."

    25"Well, tell Joab not to be discouraged," David said. "The sword kills one as well as another! Fight harder next time, and conquer the city!"

    26When Bathsheba heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him. 27When the period of mourning was over, David sent for her and brought her to the palace, and she became one of his wives. Then she gave birth to a son. But the LORD was very displeased with what David had done.
How often are you tempted to correct one sin by committing another?[/size][/color]

In the episode with Bathsheba, David allowed himself to fall deeper and deeper into sin. 

(1) David abandoned his purpose by staying home from war (v. 1).

(2) He focused on his own desires (v. 3).

(3) When temptation came, he looked into it instead of turning away from it (v. 3).

(4) He sinned deliberately (v. 4).

(5) He tried to cover up his sin by deceiving others (vv.6-15).

(6) He committed murder to continue the cover-up (vv.15, 17).  Eventually David's sin was exposed (12:9) and punished (12:10-14).

(7) The consequences of David's sin were far-reaching, affecting many others (11:18; 12:11, 14-15). 

David could have chosen to stop and turn from evil at any stage along the way.  But once sin gets started, it is difficult to stop (James 1:14-15).  The deeper the mess, the less we want to admit having caused it.  It's much easier to stop sliding down a hill when you are near the top than when you are halfway down.  The best solution is to stop sin before it starts.
The Best of the Bible--365 Must-Read Bible Passages[/i]

Judy Mc ~ Donna Marie.  She sometimes posts on SrNet.  She has met several people at the Atlanta Bash but I don't know when it was.

geegee

 Boy, that first one on the list gets you into trouble all the time.
I mean it got Adam and Eve. I wonder what adam and eve were doing examining the forbidden fruit in the first place? First they were near it, they looked at it, they ate it and then tried to hide and blame others. Not much different that what David did.

hi all!

looks like the rain has stopped, for now.

got a lot to do today, and i suppose ishould get started

The Greatest Fisherman


"Go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee" (Matthew 17:27).

Note the humility of the Lord. He, the King of kings, submitted to paying a tax. The Creator of the entire Universe owns it all but stooped so as not to offend. In addition, He paid Peter's tax and taught honesty.

Jesus also was and is the greatest fisherman of all time. In our text, Jesus was speaking to a good fisherman. On another occasion, also speaking to Peter, the Lord directed him to "Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught" (Luke 5:4). The lesser fisherman protested: "Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net" (v.5).

Results? The catch was so huge that nets began to break. Another boat, called in for assistance, became full and began to sink, too. Peter, recognizing divine intervention, responded, "Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord" (v.. It is good for us, too, to recognize our unworthiness in the presence of the Holy God.

The Lord also directs nonhumans in fishing! Have you ever seen a skimmer bird flying just above the surface of the waters with lower mandible actually gliding through it? It's seeking to touch a small fish. As soon as it does, its bill snaps shut; head tilts back; and the small fish is swallowed—all while still flying. Psalm 104:24 says that "in wisdom" the Lord made all creatures. They function skillfully because they are so designed. Psalm 104:28 affirms of Jesus: "thou openest thine hand, they are filled with good." Creatures of sea, land, and air "wait all upon thee [Jesus]; that thou mayest give them their meat in due season" (v.27). PGH

Nita my medications are also free but I am willing to pay the OTC price for a drug that works as well or better than the Zocor or Lipitor which are statin drugs and have many side effects that I want no part of. Especially the liver damage that seems to effect all who take the drugs whether it be now or later damage. Personally I would rather take something more on the natural side than a prescription any day. That is why I refuse to take pain pills.But that is just me, it may not be the same of anyone else.

I have even stopped using Splenda and sugar and am using Stevia a natural sweetener that come from the Leaf of the Stevia tree and has no additives at all to it. It only takes a few drops to sweeten my coffee. However when I go to make my jams I will use the Splenda to sweeten the jam as Stevia is $7.00 an ounce. I don't use the Stevia for cooking purposes.

Etta Sue thank you for the lesson on David and Bathsheba.

I am going to try to take Versal to the Seniors Meeting at the church today after I go to Jan's, I won't be going to Fay's until late this afternoon.

TTYL

Hello friends ... I just wanted to stop in and say HELLO.  Hope that all is going well with all of you. It's a full day for me ... I am attending a funeral for my former bosses wife ( from the A & W ) and so ... I will be gone for most of the day for that so then ... I will be back later so take care & I do need some help for someone ... I got a message from K4J and she is needing some help with something so below is her message so if someone can help me just PM me the information so that I can pass it along to her so take care and thanks to all who can help out !!

K4J message:
I need you to do me a favor & check out what size appropriate photo's, etc. R at Christian Photographers. For we not only want them resized, but we'd also like them to be compremissed here. Although, this website is free it doesn't mean that I have unlimited web space here on the forum. I say this in regards to the size photo & the uncompressed photo at this link below.

SmokeytheDog ~ Glad you saw the comparison of David to Adam and Eve.  Where in Michigan do you live?  I have a niece that lives near White Cloud.

Karma ~ Bright and sunny here in Indiana. I am planning a do-nothing day.  Wonder if it will happen....

Marilyn ~ Thanks for the devotion on fishermen.  BTW...where do you buy Stevia?  I have several recipes that call for Stevia in my LoCarb cookbook but I don't know where it is.  Is it liquid or dry?

Karen ~ I was wondering where you were.  Was about to call you to see if you were okay.  As for the pictures, CP and SrNet...I size my photos to 500 pixels on the longest side and compress/optimize them to 35kb or less. 

As I said to Karma, I plan to do nothing today.  I am behind on my TV shows...remember I have Ultimate TV and record the shows I like and watch them when I like plus fast-forward through the commercials so I do save time.  It is bright and sunny but a cool 44° at 9 a.m.  I called the hospital and they said that Jerry rested better last night.  He was aggitated yesterday...restless.  God is good....all the time.

Don has a physical this morning and we are going to babysit an active 8-year-old grandson for a long weekend.  I did the treadmill and had fake eggs for breakfast with no bread.  Miss my bread. 

Marilyn:  So good to hear that your washer/dryer were not harmed.  Don takes Lipitor and is doing fine - he says so many good things are in the statins and they keep finding so that he wants to always take it.  He has tests about 3 X per year for liver & it is fine.  But  I certainly agree with you about trying not to take too many pills. 

Ruth Ann:  Thinking of you on your test concerns.

Janet:  Do hope your eye problem is healing. 

Etta Sue:  It is always nice to hear that Jerry had a good day or night as in the case of your note today.  Good to take care of yourself and have a quiet day as well.

Pat:   Another walk with Geordie!  It is just great that you are feeling well enough to go for a walk.

We will be babysitting and then company arrives.  Take care all.

Carol

Etta Sue I have emailed you about the Stevia.

Carol I have also heard good things about the statin drugs, but for me I prefer the more natural healing ways to drugs. For me drugs are the last resort. I do take drugs for my Allergies and Asthma, those I cannot do without. But I take lots of vitamins and minerals too.

Hi everyone.  Just wanted to check in.  I haven't felt very good the past couple of days, espeically yesterday, and am finding it hard to concentrate today so am just going to say I have read all the postings and will try to get back later if I am feeling better.  Plan to rest this afternoon.

Larry, do rest!  And I hope you feel much better later.

My eye is all better today, and I feel good about not having to drive 130 miles and pay for a doctor's office call!

One of the doctors on TBN is very much against the statin drugs, and says if you DO take them, be sure to take co-Q-10 as well.  I just know that they cause my shoulders to start hurting when I take them.  Everyone is not affected the same ways by the same drugs.  I asked my doctor today when I took Beth in, about the Cholest-off and he said it is a good thing and getting good results.    So I will order me some, if I can find that link Marilyn gave us again.  Could you email me that link, Marilyn?  Thanks.

Pat, good you are feeling well enough to walk with Geordie.  I know you both enjoy it.

Etta Sue, good devotional today.  Hope Jerry is feeling better.

Gotta run!

Hi Everyone! 

THANKS so much, Etta Sue for the devotional today.  Sure makes you think!  Glad you're having a "do nothing" day.  We all need them from time to time.

Larry, rest.  For sure you need your rest. 

TBear, we use the same measurements on here as we've used on SeniorNet for years and that's 35K for posting in a topic and 500 pixels wide or high although I think 400 pixels is better.  Gives a nice area around the photo.  It's terrible I know when we don't have that much space on the server.  That's the way CP has been for a long time but the Lord has blessed it just the same.

Hi to the rest of you...  Janet and Carol and Smokey!

Marilyn, just be careful with the drug replacement if you've been told to use something.  Sometimes we really need to have the drugs to stop some organs from being damaged.  I just wish that Jack had started his staten drug earlier and maybe his kidneys wouldn't have been so damaged as to need dialysis when he did.

But our God is Sovereign I know and it's easy to have "hindsight"  LOL

Well, I finished my coffee so I better get back to the Avon packing.

Talk to you all later.

April 14   

Prayer: Teach Me to Listen

Now the Lord came and stood and called as at other times, "Samuel!
Samuel!" And Samuel answered, "Speak, for Your servant hears."
--1 Samuel 3:10

Lord, teach me to listen. The times are noisy and my ears are weary
with the thousand raucous sounds which continuously assault them.
Give me the spirit of the boy Samuel when he said to Thee, "Speak,
for thy servant heareth." Let me hear Thee speaking in my heart.
Let me get used to the sound of Thy voice, that its tones may be
familiar when the sounds of earth die away and the only sound will
be the music of Thy speaking voice. Amen.
The Pursuit of God, pp. 82-83

"Speak, for Thy servant heareth. Amen."

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The devotions sure gave something to think about.

Janet glad that your eye is better but I cannot see myself pulling a plug out the thought sends shivers.   

The unknown problem with my eye comes and goes and right now it seems to be gone.

Pat: I am glad that you are able to go for little walks and as for the sun here in Nobleton we are getting lots. But now that it is 8:45 p.m. the sun had gone into hiding.

Marilyn: It must be very stressful seeing the wrecking crew.

Larry: Please take good care of yourself.

Ruth

Thanks for the hymn links and the great devotion of Dr. Tozer, Chris.  Oh that we might all learn to listen for the still small Voice.

Yes, Ruth, it's great and Geordie so loves to walk.  It's about 9 pm now and I'm going to walk up the road again with him.

Janet I have sent you that link you asked for to Cholest-off.

Time to lock the door...

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