Josh1Eight

Scripture: Acts 20:24 "But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God." Observations: As Paul said farewell to the elders of the church in Ephesus, he informed them about his plans to continue preaching about Christ on his way to Jerusalem. God had revealed to him that he would in fact experience continued suffering in each city for the sake of Christ. But that didn't deter Paul from continuing on. Instead, he had already determined to keep preaching And sharing Christ everywhere no matter what it cost him personally. Where did he get such determination and motivation? He explained further that at some point in the past he had aready determined that his mission was more valuable than his own life. His motivation then had nothing to do with his circumstances or personal comfort- dead people rarely care about such things. He wasn't living fo...

Scripture: 1 Kings 2:31-34 31 "the king replied. "Kill him there beside the altar and bury him. This will remove the guilt of Joab's senseless murders from me and from my father's family. 32 The Lord will repay him for the murders of two men who were more righteous and better than he. For my father knew nothing about the deaths of Abner son of Ner, commander of the army of Israel, and of Amasa son of Jether, commander of the army of Judah. 33 May their blood be on Joab and his descendants forever, and may the Lord grant peace forever to David, his descendants, his dynasty, and his throne." 34 So Benaiah son of Jehoiada returned to the sacred tent and killed Joab, and he was buried at his home in the wilderness." Observations: Joab was one of the most powerful warriors in Israel's history, a trait that elevated him to a spot as commander of the army under King David. But his skill and ability as a warrior were also his weaknesses because of his temper, ve...

Scripture: 2 Samuel 12:7-9 7 Then Nathan said to David, “You are that man! The Lord, the God of Israel, says: I anointed you king of Israel and saved you from the power of Saul. 8 I gave you your master’s house and his wives and the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. And if that had not been enough, I would have given you much, much more. 9 Why, then, have you despised the word of the Lord and done this horrible deed? For you have murdered Uriah the Hittite with the sword of the Ammonites and stolen his wife." Observations: After David sinned, it was several months before anyone confronted him about his actions. Obviously because he was the King, even David's friends who knew full well about his transgressions turned a blind eye and didn't try to correct them because they were afraid for their lives. However, when God revealed David's actions to Nathan the prophet, he didn't hesitate to speak up and confront David with his sin even though he knew it could potentially co...