Veteran

Someone's son or daughter chose to fight for you. They stepped out in faith and duty and chose to fight for your freedoms. A selfless act that comes not out of personal or political gain but out of a desire to serve and sacrifice. Give thanks today for the people with strength and courage to serve in battles we are not strong enough to fight.

^{Hebrews 11:32}-40 And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.

These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.

Not alone. It is a surprise when reading Hebrews 11 to come to the last two verses. With all the faith they had to fight the battles they had not known Christ but together with us they will be made perfect.

Despite all of the service, sacrifice and faith it is still about us as a whole. It isn't about the individual, it is a battle won together as a Body of believers.

^{1 John 5:3-5}This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.

Sacrifice

Is it worth it? That thing that you have given up to follow Christ, is it worth it?

^{Luke 18:28}Peter said to him, "We have left all we had to follow you!"

²⁹"I tell you the truth," Jesus said to them, "no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God ³⁰will fail to receive many times as much in this age and, in the age to come, eternal life."

Even Peter wanted to know if it was worth it. There is no doubt that sacrifice is part of our relationship with God. In today's world there are many opportunities for us to sacrifice for our Savior. Being in this world and not of it can be one of the most difficult. Especially when our wealth allows us comfort and our lifestyles allow complacency.

What have you sacrificed? What is it that you have given up to follow Christ? We are given a promise in Jesus' Words....."receive many times as much in this age and, in the age to come, eternal life". Are you a living sacrifice knowing the promise of eternal life is a promised blessing?

Newsboys: In Christ Alone

A special praise today for my baby girl who will be 10 on Sat. Happy Birthday Madilynn!!

Prayer: I am still sick from the remnants of the pneumonia, really need my energy and my brain back. Please pray for a job that I applied for, that I would be the right one for the job and that I am doing it for the right reasons. Please pray for our new parenting techniques that we have put in place for the kids, they are actually doing really well with it, need protection from Satan. Please continue to pray for our business. It's been a bit of a struggle being sick.

Praises: Hayden is well this week, whatever she had she is over now. Hayley got her babysitting certificate and has a job, she's finally able to make and spend her OWN money. Praise for our business, things are picking up. We celebrate 13 years this winter.

Please continue to pray for Joanne A. May the Lord do a healing in her body.

Please pray for Ginny R. Cancer is back in her right lung. May the Lord touch her and heal her body.

Good

One of my favorite attributes of Jesus is his wit. I admire how in one sentence He tells the Rich Ruler that no one is good except God and then lists the commandments. Now, giving the ruler the opportunity to answer, the Rich man responds with how "good" he is.

^{Luke 18: 19}"Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good—except God alone. ²⁰You know the commandments: 'Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.'"

²¹"All these I have kept since I was a boy," he said.

I have to say, I probably would have responded in a similar fashion. It is all too easy to bring my religion to a list of good and bad. These are the rules to follow and I follow them, that must earn me some points, right?!! Me, you, the rich ruler...Do we earn a special place because we are "good"? I think when he went to Jesus he thought he had already done everything necessary to inherit eternal life. I have known people in my own life that assume they are inheritors because of their goodness. Do you assume?

Christ came and died for us because we aren't good. Plain and simple. There isn't anything you can do to change the fact that without the sacrifice of His son, you couldn't be in relationship with God. The rules and commandments remind us that we truly are unworthy, all of us. We need God and we needed Christ's sacrifice.

^{Galatians 2:16}know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.

A Plan

Do you ever find yourself in need of a plan? Something that says A, B and C are going to happen in just that order and it is going to work out exactly the way it should. I do. I like a good plan. I know how to prepare and pack and dress, etc.....

I think that is why Habakkuk had so many questions for God. He just couldn't see the plan. In the midst of struggle and hardship, it can be extraordinarily difficult to see through to the end. As Christians we look around and wonder, why so much evil, why so much hate, why so much dislike for our Creator.

^{Habakkuk 2:3} For the revelation awaits an appointed time;
it speaks of the end
and will not prove false.
Though it linger, wait for it;
it will certainly come and will not delay.

God made a promise to Habakkuk, a plan was in motion.

There was a plan when God sent His son to die for us. Justification and Redemption.

Just as His promise to Habakkuk, God promises us relationship with Him. It may not be pretty to get there but He loves us enough to make the sacrifice. Do we love Him enough to trust in the plan?

Please continue to pray for Sue O

Obedience

Obedience from Balaam

The remaining story of Balaam is recorded in Numbers 22:39 - 24:25.

39 Then Balaam went with Balak to Kiriath Huzoth. 40 Balak sacrificed cattle and sheep, and gave some to Balaam and the princes who were with him. 41 The next morning Balak took Balaam up to Bamoth Baal, and from there he saw part of the people.
Numbers 23
Balaam's First Oracle 1 Balaam said, "Build me seven altars here, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me." 2 Balak did as Balaam said, and the two of them offered a bull and a ram on each altar.
3 Then Balaam said to Balak, "Stay here beside your offering while I go aside. Perhaps the LORD will come to meet with me. Whatever he reveals to me I will tell you." Then he went off to a barren height.
4 God met with him, and Balaam said, "I have prepared seven altars, and on each altar I have offered a bull and a ram."
5 The LORD put a message in Balaam's mouth and said, "Go back to Balak and give him this message."
6 So he went back to him and found him standing beside his offering, with all the princes of Moab. 7 Then Balaam uttered his oracle: "Balak brought me from Aram, the king of Moab from the eastern mountains. 'Come,' he said, 'curse Jacob for me; come, denounce Israel.'
8 How can I curse those whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce those whom the LORD has not denounced?
9 From the rocky peaks I see them, from the heights I view them. I see a people who live apart and do not consider themselves one of the nations.
10 Who can count the dust of Jacob or number the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, and may my end be like theirs!"
11 Balak said to Balaam, "What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies, but you have done nothing but bless them!"
12 He answered, "Must I not speak what the LORD puts in my mouth?"
Balaam's Second Oracle 13 Then Balak said to him, "Come with me to another place where you can see them; you will see only a part but not all of them. And from there, curse them for me." 14 So he took him to the field of Zophim on the top of Pisgah, and there he built seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.
15 Balaam said to Balak, "Stay here beside your offering while I meet with him over there."
16 The LORD met with Balaam and put a message in his mouth and said, "Go back to Balak and give him this message."
17 So he went to him and found him standing beside his offering, with the princes of Moab. Balak asked him, "What did the LORD say?"
18 Then he uttered his oracle: "Arise, Balak, and listen; hear me, son of Zippor.
19 God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?
20 I have received a command to bless; he has blessed, and I cannot change it.
21 "No misfortune is seen in Jacob, no misery observed in Israel. [a] The LORD their God is with them; the shout of the King is among them.
22 God brought them out of Egypt; they have the strength of a wild ox.
23 There is no sorcery against Jacob, no divination against Israel. It will now be said of Jacob and of Israel, 'See what God has done!'
24 The people rise like a lioness; they rouse themselves like a lion that does not rest till he devours his prey and drinks the blood of his victims."
25 Then Balak said to Balaam, "Neither curse them at all nor bless them at all!"
26 Balaam answered, "Did I not tell you I must do whatever the LORD says?"
Balaam's Third Oracle 27 Then Balak said to Balaam, "Come, let me take you to another place. Perhaps it will please God to let you curse them for me from there." 28 And Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, overlooking the wasteland.
29 Balaam said, "Build me seven altars here, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me." 30 Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.
Numbers 24
1 Now when Balaam saw that it pleased the LORD to bless Israel, he did not resort to sorcery as at other times, but turned his face toward the desert. 2 When Balaam looked out and saw Israel encamped tribe by tribe, the Spirit of God came upon him 3 and he uttered his oracle: "The oracle of Balaam son of Beor, the oracle of one whose eye sees clearly,
4 the oracle of one who hears the words of God, who sees a vision from the Almighty, [b] who falls prostrate, and whose eyes are opened:
5 "How beautiful are your tents, O Jacob, your dwelling places, O Israel!
6 "Like valleys they spread out, like gardens beside a river, like aloes planted by the LORD, like cedars beside the waters.
7 Water will flow from their buckets; their seed will have abundant water. "Their king will be greater than Agag; their kingdom will be exalted.
8 "God brought them out of Egypt; they have the strength of a wild ox. They devour hostile nations and break their bones in pieces; with their arrows they pierce them.
9 Like a lion they crouch and lie down, like a lioness—who dares to rouse them? "May those who bless you be blessed and those who curse you be cursed!"
10 Then Balak's anger burned against Balaam. He struck his hands together and said to him, "I summoned you to curse my enemies, but you have blessed them these three times. 11 Now leave at once and go home! I said I would reward you handsomely, but the LORD has kept you from being rewarded."
12 Balaam answered Balak, "Did I not tell the messengers you sent me, 13 'Even if Balak gave me his palace filled with silver and gold, I could not do anything of my own accord, good or bad, to go beyond the command of the LORD -and I must say only what the LORD says'? 14 Now I am going back to my people, but come, let me warn you of what this people will do to your people in days to come."
Balaam's Fourth Oracle 15 Then he uttered his oracle: "The oracle of Balaam son of Beor, the oracle of one whose eye sees clearly,
16 the oracle of one who hears the words of God, who has knowledge from the Most High, who sees a vision from the Almighty, who falls prostrate, and whose eyes are opened:
17 "I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel. He will crush the foreheads of Moab, the skulls [c] of [d] all the sons of Sheth. [e]
18 Edom will be conquered; Seir, his enemy, will be conquered, but Israel will grow strong.
19 A ruler will come out of Jacob and destroy the survivors of the city."
Balaam's Final Oracles 20 Then Balaam saw Amalek and uttered his oracle: "Amalek was first among the nations, but he will come to ruin at last."
21 Then he saw the Kenites and uttered his oracle: "Your dwelling place is secure, your nest is set in a rock;
22 yet you Kenites will be destroyed when Asshur takes you captive."
23 Then he uttered his oracle: "Ah, who can live when God does this? [f]
24 Ships will come from the shores of Kittim; they will subdue Asshur and Eber, but they too will come to ruin."
25 Then Balaam got up and returned home and Balak went his own way.


Balaam knew that he was to speak only what the Lord had told him. He took a long trip to get to Balak. Going through the agony of a crushed foot from his donkey, who later spoke to him. When he was asked to curse the Israelites, the Lord gave him only blessings to speak. This angered Balak and he chose not to reward Balaam with payment. Balaam did not just walk away without speaking truth from God, sharing the wisdom he received, that Israel would grow strong and that all those around would come to ruin.


Have you ever worked hard and not been compensated? Would you do it for God? Would you rather have fortune over speaking God's truth to others. Sometimes it happens in our own lives. Our employers ask us to go against our beliefs or to put our jobs first before the covenant of our own marriages, before our families. Sometimes speaking the truth and standing up for those beliefs causes us to fall back or set back from our growth in our job, but it leaves a lasting impression. God is always waiting to bless those who honor him and their covenants in marriage. Evaluate your career today. Is it ethical? Moral? Pleasing to God?

Dear Lord,
May we be willing to speak the truth at all times and work hard in your name even if there is no compensation. I love you Lord and pray that you will be blessed by our sacrifices. For they fall short to the one that have been made for us by your son Jesus Christ. It is in his name we pray. Amen.

Yearn, Day 3

Even as I grow in my faith and mature in my relationship with God I occasionally find myself in the pit of a pity party. Yep, the idea of having a repentant heart escapes me and I choose to dwell on all of my short comings. Admittedly the pity party's are fewer and farther between one another then they use to be but I can throw a pretty good party when the occasion calls for it.

A few weeks ago, I blew. Overwhelmed by the recent testing by my 9 year old, my husband placed something in the wrong place. I know it sounds silly as I write it, but at the time it was a very significant moment. I broke, all of my emotional garbage came spewing out of my mouth like vomit. My wonderful husband stood unaware of what was really going on taking the brunt of my verbal assault. I am sure he was wondering if he could make a run for the door. I have a very unhealthy tendency to bottle my emotions until that one last thing piles on and *BOOM!!* #BAM# ~WACK~ my family is hit with the Tasmanian devil that resides in my flesh.

That evening and the next day I made amends with Ted and the girls and we talked about some ways to solve some of the issues I am having. Unfortunately, I didn't take it to God. I internalized it. I spent almost two weeks telling myself that I am a terrible wife and mother. I would share some of the horrific things I tell myself but they really aren't worth the time. Just know that when the door is open to self-defeating thoughts, it is a pretty dark place to keep yourself. It is wonder to me how I drive a wedge between God and myself. In the midst of my pity I was telling God His sacrifice wasn't great enough for my mess up this time. Okay, maybe not in so many words. But, that is what I was doing.

Instead of reaching out to God for forgiveness and guidance, I was telling Him that I messed up too big this time. "I have to handle this one on my own because it is just that ugly." Deception is a funny thing. I don't know that we see it coming but all of a sudden it is in our hearts, distorting the very knowledge we hold dear.

Why did I choose Yearn as my word this week? Because when I mess up I need to search for God. I need to desire that relationship above all else. Because I want to be consumed by His truth.

I am imperfect and He still died for me.

Heavenly Father~Your majesty and sacrifice overwhelm me. Forgive me for the times I don't allow that sacrifice to be enough for my sins. Continue to work in me, Lord. Creating in me a renewed mind, cleansed of deceptive thoughts that seperate me from you. Continue to create in me a desire and hunger, a yearning, for your Truth. ~In Your Precious Holy Name

Please continue to pray for Donna O this week.

Wonders, Day 2

There are days that I speak of grace and the perfect love that comes from a personal relationship with our Father.

There are days when I look around and see His majesty, His creation and I can't breath because He is so Big.

There are days I give testimony to his healing and miracles and I am confident in my adoption into His family.

There are days, like today, that I remember our King humbled himself, sacrificed, so that we all may be saved.

Zechariah
9:9Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!Shout in triumph, O daughter of
Jerusalem!Behold, your king is coming to you;He is just and endowed with
salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey,Even on a colt, the foal of a
donkey.

Matthew 21
The Triumphal Entry
1When they had approached Jerusalem and had come to Bethphage, at the Mount of
Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples,
2saying to them, "Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied there and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to Me.
3"If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, 'The Lord has need of them,' and immediately he will send them."
4This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:

5"SAY TO THE DAUGHTER OF ZION, 'BEHOLD YOUR KING IS COMING TO YOU, GENTLE, AND MOUNTED ON A DONKEY, EVEN ON A COLT, THE FOAL OF A BEAST OF BURDEN.'"
6The disciples went and did just as Jesus had instructed them,
7and brought the donkey and the colt, and laid their coats on them; and He sat on the coats. 8Most of the crowd spread their coats in the road, and others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them in the road.
9The crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were shouting, "Hosanna to the son of David; BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD; Hosanna in the highest!"
10When He had entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, "Who is this?"
11And the crowds were saying, "This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee."

Please continue to pray for Bonita E this week.

Surrender, Day 2

Give Up

Surrender

Do you ever feel like you have fought and fought and still are getting nowhere? Your working hard, doing the right things, pushing through with everything you have. Still, there is no answer, no solutions to the big questions you are asking.

It is so aggravating how frustrating life gets sometimes. I don't get it. If I am working hard enough, why aren't there more blessings in my life? If I take care of myself, why do I get sick? I love my children, why don't they obey? I make my marriage a priority, why is intimacy so difficult?

Why not just give up?

Actually, that is exactly what you should do. Stop fighting. Stop pushing for the things of this world but focus on things eternal.

Time to wave the white flag. Surrender to the only one that can answer all of your questions with His Life.

May I remind you once again, faithful servant, that there isn't a single thing you can "do" to earn more blessings from God. You have already been given the greatest gift, free(Eph 1:6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved) Grace gives you eternal life(Titus 3:7 so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.) . Sacrifice of His Son covers your sin (Hebrews 9: how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?).

You see, there is very little hope when you are separated from God. When we surrender and find rest in Him, we find purpose in everything. It is in our time of surrender that we find the nourishment, purpose and strength to keep going.

1 Corinthians 23-25 I do all things for the sake of the gospel, so that I may become a fellow partaker of it. Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.

Please continue to pray for Anna B this week.

Love, Day 4

I know that I will ever be able to truly Love anyone as much as God has loved me. I am thankful that I am a work in progress. I am thankful that each day I am given an opportunity to make sacrifices for the people I do love. I am grateful for the example that has been given to me. I pray daily that this Love, the Love of Christ, is poured out into the world. May they know the Love of our God through the Love we give freely to our family and friends.

John 15:12-17

Disciples' Relation to Each Other

"This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.
"Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.
"You are My friends if you do what I command you.
"No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.
"You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you.
"This I command you, that you love one another.

Please pray for Danielle D this week.

Please send in your Prayer and Praise to share for tomorrow. Also, if you have a testimony of how God's Love changed you please share it with us.....

Jealousy, Day 4

Godly Jealousy

Our God is a jealous God. Since the fall of Adam God has been attempting to reconcile us back into covenant and relationship with him. He created us with free will so that He could be chosen by us. When law didn't work he gave us grace. He made the ultimate sacrifice of love. He gave us His son.

He wants you in His family so much that he sacrificed his son for you.

1 Timothy 2:3-6 This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,
who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time.

Grace, a free gift of pure unconditional love. Faith by grace that saves us. Mercy that brings us into relationship with our Creator, Our Father.

Our Lord calls out to us "Come back to me". Are you listening? Are you answering his call? Are you responding to his Love? He wants to be chosen above all else in your life.

Please continue to pray for Connie W this week.

Freedom Day 3

Because of Adam, we are all born to sin; death. We are separated from God

Because of Jesus, we are a new creation; alive. We are in relationship with God.

What is Freedom in Christ? Christ paid the price for you. He is the living sacrifice. You have been given the opportunity to live a life filled with the same spirit that rose Christ from the dead.

Romans 8:1-2 With the arrival of Jesus, the Messiah, that fateful dilemma is resolved. Those who enter into Christ's being-here-for-us no longer have to live under a continuous, low-lying black cloud. A new power is in operation. The Spirit of life in Christ, like a strong wind, has magnificently cleared the air, freeing you from a fated lifetime of brutal tyranny at the hands of sin and death.

Romans 8:3-4 God went for the jugular when he sent his own Son. He didn't deal with the problem as something remote and unimportant. In his Son, Jesus, he personally took on the human condition, entered the disordered mess of struggling humanity in order to set it right once and for all. The law code, weakened as it always was by fractured human nature, could never have done that.
The law always ended up being used as a Band-Aid on sin instead of a deep healing of it. And now what the law code asked for but we couldn't deliver is accomplished as we, instead of redoubling our own efforts, simply embrace what the Spirit is doing in us.

Do me a favor today, look at your life and ask yourself if people that see and know you believe you live a life of freedom. It is easy for some to believe, it is easy for some to have knowledge, it is even a gift to trust God for provision. In our world of to-do and need-to-succeed, even our Christian walks become competition. We spend days in prayer wondering what God wants us to do and how he wants us to respond. Although this is important, sometimes it takes away from the confidence we should have in our Savior.

Look at the highlighted scripture above. 1st says that we are no longer slaves, "freed from tyranny". AMEN!! Second says to "embrace what the Spirit is doing in us". Freedom isn't about what you are doing, how you are serving or how successful you are at your Christian life. It is about what the Spirit is doing.

Okay, for all of you that are wondering how to do this, I don't have that answer for you. I think it is a very personal experience. In my own life I embrace the Spirit in times of worship, in praise and thanksgiving. When I am acknowledging God's amazing grace, my perspective is transformed. My freedom in Christ isn't about how I feel when I get up everyday or how I end the day. For me, it is about knowing my God has conquered the world (John 16:33). I try to focus on things bigger then my struggles. Part of me refuses to live my life consumed by the bumps in the road when I know that in the end I will be with the Creator of the Universe, my Papa.

Heavenly Father, Your beautiful words from Romans 8 reminds me of Your sacrifice and my need for You in my life. You know my heart Lord, overwhelmed by Your grace and desiring nothing more then to live in response to You. Forgive me when I loose focus and cloud the freedom You have given me. Show me Lord the fruit of an embraced Spirit in my life. Some days, I am so human and desire the how-to's and the to-dos. Remind me today that it is our relationship, my reaction to your love that keeps my perspective focused on the things of you. ~Desiring more of You in your Precious Name.

Please continue to pray for Julz Y this week. Tomorrow is Friday so send in your Prayers and Praises to share. If you have a testimony of how Christs gift of freedom changed your perspective toward a situation, we would love to hear it. Please email us at womenofworship1@gmail.com or simply add it to the comment section. God Bless

Michal

Day 1

Michal "Who is like God?"

Michal was a women of strong emotions, she was unable to control the important circumstances of her life. Forcibly separated from two husbands, she lost her father and her brother, who were savaged by their enemies.

Her sorrow: That she was ensnared in the drawn-out battle between Saul and David.

Her Joy: Though short-lived, she enjoyed a passionate love for David.

Key Scripture:
1 Samuel 18:20-29
20 Now Saul's daughter Michal was in love with David, and when they told Saul about it, he was pleased. 21 "I will give her to him," he thought, "so that she may be a snare to him and so that the hand of the Philistines may be against him." So Saul said to David, "Now you have a second opportunity to become my son-in-law."
22 Then Saul ordered his attendants: "Speak to David privately and say, 'Look, the king is pleased with you, and his attendants all like you; now become his son-in-law.' "
23 They repeated these words to David. But David said, "Do you think it is a small matter to become the king's son-in-law? I'm only a poor man and little known."
24 When Saul's servants told him what David had said, 25 Saul replied, "Say to David, 'The king wants no other price for the bride than a hundred Philistine foreskins, to take revenge on his enemies.' " Saul's plan was to have David fall by the hands of the Philistines.
26 When the attendants told David these things, he was pleased to become the king's son-in-law. So before the allotted time elapsed, 27 David and his men went out and killed two hundred Philistines. He brought their foreskins and presented the full number to the king so that he might become the king's son-in-law. Then Saul gave him his daughter Michal in marriage.
28 When Saul realized that the LORD was with David and that his daughter Michal loved David, 29 Saul became still more afraid of him, and he remained his enemy the rest of his days.

1 Samuel 19:11-17
11 Saul sent men to David's house to watch it and to kill him in the morning. But Michal, David's wife, warned him, "If you don't run for your life tonight, tomorrow you'll be killed." 12 So Michal let David down through a window, and he fled and escaped. 13 Then Michal took an idol and laid it on the bed, covering it with a garment and putting some goats' hair at the head.
14 When Saul sent the men to capture David, Michal said, "He is ill."
15 Then Saul sent the men back to see David and told them, "Bring him up to me in his bed so that I may kill him." 16 But when the men entered, there was the idol in the bed, and at the head was some goats' hair.
17 Saul said to Michal, "Why did you deceive me like this and send my enemy away so that he escaped?" Michal told him, "He said to me, 'Let me get away. Why should I kill you?' "

2 Samuel 6:16-23
16 As the ark of the LORD was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD, she despised him in her heart.
17 They brought the ark of the LORD and set it in its place inside the tent that David had pitched for it, and David sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings [f] before the LORD. 18 After he had finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD Almighty. 19 Then he gave a loaf of bread, a cake of dates and a cake of raisins to each person in the whole crowd of Israelites, both men and women. And all the people went to their homes.
20 When David returned home to bless his household, Michal daughter of Saul came out to meet him and said, "How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, disrobing in the sight of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!"
21 David said to Michal, "It was before the LORD, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the LORD's people Israel—I will celebrate before the LORD. 22 I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in honor."
23 And Michal daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death.

Day 2

Worship

Sacrifices and offerings were an important part of worship in Old Testament times. Since sin separated the worshiper from God, sacrifice was needed to reestablish the relationship and make true worship possible.

God makes it clear that he won't be satisfied with only the forms of worship. Sacrifices and music and dancing have no meaning apart from a heart and life truly dedicated to the Lord. God's words to the prophet Micah (6:6-8) clearly state this truth:

With what shall I come before the LORD and bow down before the exalted God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

Michal's contempt for her husband David reveals her own lack of true dedication. she was content to be critical spectator rather than a true worshiper of God. Whenever anyone puts appearances or tradition or from above a true desire to worship our God and Savior, we'd best step carefully... and read the words of God to Micah the prophet, which are as true today as they were for the Israelites of the prophet's day.

Day 3

2 Samuel 6:16-23
16 As the ark of the LORD was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD, she despised him in her heart.
17 They brought the ark of the LORD and set it in its place inside the tent that David had pitched for it, and David sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings [f] before the LORD. 18 After he had finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD Almighty. 19 Then he gave a loaf of bread, a cake of dates and a cake of raisins to each person in the whole crowd of Israelites, both men and women. And all the people went to their homes.
20 When David returned home to bless his household, Michal daughter of Saul came out to meet him and said, "How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, disrobing in the sight of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!"
21 David said to Michal, "It was before the LORD, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the LORD's people Israel—I will celebrate before the LORD. 22 I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in honor."
23 And Michal daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death.

Why do you think Michal reacted as she did? Why do you suppose she was in her room watching the scene from the window instead of in the crowd participating?

How often do you merely watch worship rather than participate in it? What needs to happen in order from you to become a participant instead of a spectator?

How often are you more concerned with appearances than you should be? Why? What can you do to change?

What is David trying to tell Micah here? Do you think Michal had any idea of the depth of love David had for God? Why or why not?

How hard would it be from you to claim verse 22, as David does here? Do you think God wants this sort of submissiveness from everyone? Why or why not?

Day 4

Promises in Scripture

... ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name. Bring an offering and come before him; worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness. ~1 Chronicles 16:29

"Blessed be your glorious name, and may it be exalted above all blessing and praise. You alone are the LORD. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you. ~Nehemiah 9:5-6

Come let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; for he is our God. ~Psalm 95:6-7

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. ~Psalm 100:4

Day 5

Reflect on: 1 Samuel 19:11-17; 2 Samuel 6:16-23

Praise God: Because he is the same--yesterday, today and forever.

Offer thanks: That God gives us the freedom to choose how we will respond to him.

Confess: Allowing skepticism or cynicism to infiltrate your faith.

Ask God: To increase your awe of him.

Heavenly Father, thank you for the chance to be in intimate relationship with you. May you find joy in our worship. Give each one of us the strength to worship on the outside the way we feel in our hearts. Help us Lord set aside our ideas of what may be appropriate to the world around us so that we may experience all that you have planned for us.