1 Samuel 15:1-16:23 Prejudice is simply prejudging a person before we even get to know that person. We often make up our minds that we are not going to like a person simply because of his outward appearance. God warned Samuel when he went to anoint a new king of Israel not to look at the outer appearance of the man. He instructed Samuel to anoint one of the sons of Jesse. As each of Jesse’s sons passed by, Samuel knew the Lord had not chosen any of those seven sons. He asked Jesse if all the sons were present, and Jesse told him that the youngest was tending the sheep. His name was David. When David appeared on the scene, he was very good looking and had a beautiful countenance. God, however, did not choose David because of his outward appearance. He chose him because He knew David’s heart. David had a heart after God.

Psalm 113 tells us that God humbles Himself to see the hearts of men. It is an awesome thought that God sees and knows what is in my heart. What is so amazing is that when He looks into my heart and sees the potential for sin that is there, He still loves me. I had a vision once of the face of Jesus, and as I looked into the eyes of Jesus, I was overwhelmed with His compassion for me. First His eyes were like fiery laser beams that penetrated my whole being, and then His eyes were like dove’s eyes—tender and full of compassion. Yes, He knows my heart, even the dark parts of it, but He still loves me. When He sees the dark parts of my heart, He longs to shine the light of His love into those dark areas and grace my heart with His love. He wants me to confess my sins to Him so He can forgive me and cleanse me from all unrighteousness.

Jesus also warns us not to look on the outer appearance of people. He tells us that the scribes and Pharisees looked good on the outside, but on the inside they were rotting and decaying. He calls them whitewashed sepulchers full of dead men’s bones. God is not interested in the outer physical appearance. He is interested in the inner person of our souls. However, in the Law no priest could come into God’s presence that had a deformity of any kind. He was to be faultless in appearance. Thank God we now have Jesus, our High Priest, who is perfect inside and out. We now stand in His righteousness before the Father, not our own.

When David was anointed to be king of Israel, God knew even though David might sin, he would always repent and turn his heart to the Lord. A perfect heart in God’s sight is one that desires to go God’s way every day. David wrote this: “I will behave wisely in a perfect way. Oh, when will you come to me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart” (Ps. 101:2).

Let this be your prayer today.

READ: 1 Samuel 15:1-16:23; John 8:1-20; Psalm 110:1-7; Proverbs 15:8-10

Proverbs 15:5-7 Is your house filled with treasures? I remember visiting a home in New Jersey and our host showing us all the treasures he had collected from his travels all over the world. There were paintings, statues and every kind of bric-a-brac, each representing a country he visited. I thought to myself, This man’s life is wrapped up in his treasures and travels.

Jesus exhorted us not to lay up treasures on earth where moth and rust can corrupt them and thieves can steal them. He said instead we should lay up for ourselves treasures in heaven.

There are many ways we can add to our treasures in heaven, but one of the greatest ways is to witness and share God’s Word and love with people. People are precious to God, and they are God’s treasures. We are God’s inheritance, and whenever we invest in people, we are adding to our inheritance and God’s inheritance. One of my favorite scriptures is Proverbs 24:3-4: “Through wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established; by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches.”

Our home is not filled with treasures from our travels around the world, but we have had life, the Lord, our love and our home with a dear girl from China who spent five years with us. We also have a Russian son. Both are like a daughter and son to us.

One morning as I was sipping my coffee I realized how rich we were. Our home was filled with treasures—my husband, our three sons, our Russian son and our Chinese daughter. I gave thanks to the Lord for entrusting me for a season with such valuable treasures.

Help me to see every person in my life today as Your special treasure. Use me as Your instrument to care for and share Your love and Word with these precious treasures You have allowed me to be steward of on earth.

READ: 1 Samuel 14:1-52; John 7:31-53; Psalm 109:1-31; Proverbs 15:5-7

Proverbs 15:4 You have heard the phrase, “Divide and conquer.” When there is division of any kind that disturbs unity, we are much more vulnerable to the enemy. The enemy does not have to use mighty weapons against us in order to divide us. Instead, he uses the mightiest member of our body, our own tongue, to divide and conquer. Death and life are in the power of the tongue. James tells us the tongue is like the rudder on a ship and the bit in a horse’s mouth; this tiny member of our body has the power to control our whole body.

A person’s tongue also can affect his spirit. This proverb tells us that “a wholesome tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.” When we are perverse in our speech, we can cause a division in our spirit. It is called a divided heart. Some meanings for the word perverse are “crooked, wicked, false, froward, rash, rebellious” just to name a few.

You’ve also heard the expression, “He speaks with a forked tongue.” This means a person’s tongue is divided. Whenever we lie, are rash, rebellious or froward, we are speaking with a “forked tongue.” Our words not only can cause division in the lives of others, but also in our own lives.

One of my callings is to minister to the brokenhearted, and almost every brokenhearted person I counsel has had perverse words spoken over them. These perverse words have caused a division in their heart, and they have a continual battle with walking in a straight path with the Lord. When these word curses are broken over their lives, these brokenhearted people are healed.

A wholesome tongue gives life to others and to us. A wholesome tongue is a tongue that has the law of kindness upon it. We are to speak blessings, not curses, to others. Today make it your goal to only allow words that edify to come out of your mouth. Use your tongue today to glorify, extol and praise the Lord and to praise and edify others. Let the words you speak be words to build up, not to tear down; to unify, not to divide. Don’t allow the devil to walk on the red carpet of your tongue today and use your tongue against yourself and others.

Lord, help me to speak only those things that will bring life to others. You have the words of life, and let me speak them boldly today.

READ: 1 Samuel 12:1-13:23; John 7:1-30; Psalm 108:1-13; Proverbs 15:4

Psalm 107:1-43 A grateful heart is one of the keys to a joyful life. If we look carefully at the moments of our day, we will always see things worthy of our praise. This psalm lists many reasons to praise the Lord. If we do not see His hand in the moments of our lives, then we can praise Him for His very character and His works. Praise comes before worship, and one of the roots of this word is “worth.” God’s character and works are always worthy of praise. Praise is the first step we have to take when we enter His presence. Let’s look the steps the priests had to take to enter the holy of holies in the tabernacle.

Just as priests of Israel had to enter into the holy of holies by a special pattern given them by God, we also enter into His presence using this same pattern. In the early days of the tabernacle, only the high priest could enter into the holy of holies. He entered first into the tabernacle through the eastern gate. The psalmist wrote, “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise” (Ps. 100:4). Our first time in God’s presence should be spent in thanksgiving, then this should flow into praise.

After entering the eastern gate the priest offered the offerings on the brazen alter. These included a burnt offering, a meat offering, a peace offering, a sin offering and a trespass offering. This represents a time in which we offer our bodies as a living sacrifice to be used by Him that day. After this we can enter a time of confession so that we may receive the cleansing of the Lord. After all the offerings on the brazen altar, the priests washed, themselves in a laver filled with water. This laver was made of polished brass, which was used to make mirrors in the early days. Before washing, the priests could clearly see their own reflection in the shiny brass. We all need a time of reflection and judging ourselves before we continue our progress into the presence of the Lord.

The priests then entered a section of the tabernacle called the holy place. Here was a lamp, a table with twelve loaves of bread and an altar of incense. I believe the bread and the lamp represent His Word, which is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. The lamp also represents the sevenfold anointing of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word of God.” Before we make our requests known unto the Lord, it might be well to spend some time in God’s Word. To pray according to God’s will, we must know His Word because His Word is His will. Then the altar of incense represents our petitions and supplications to the Lord. Finally we enter into the holy of holies where we commune with Him. There is no veil of separation now because Jesus rent the veil. We can boldly enter His throne of grace through the blood of Jesus and find help in time of need. Remember we begin this journey by entering His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Use Psalm 107 to begin your journey today. You can praise the Lord for His character—He is good, merciful, loving and kind. You can praise the Lord for His works—He redeems us, delivers us, guides us, satisfies our souls and breaks our bondages.

READ: 1 Samuel 10:1-11:15; John 6:47-71; Psalm 107:1-43; Proverbs 15:1-3

John 6:22-46 I’ll never forget hosting a Russian Jewish lady on her birthday. The table was set with the finest china, and fresh flowers provided the centerpiece for the table. All the food was presented well, and I felt everything was near perfect. The moment I sat down at the table after much diligent preparation in the kitchen, the guest of honor said in her heavy Russian accent, “I need some bread. Where is the bread?” She sincerely felt she could not even begin her meal unless bread was on the table. I later found out why she was desperate for bread. Her hands were arthritic, and she used bread to help push things on her fork. Often she would just forget to use the fork and raised her food to her mouth on pieces of bread.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we had the same desperate desire for the bread of life—Jesus Christ? In this passage Jesus identifies Himself as the true bread of God sent from heaven to give life to the world. He said, “I am the bread of life.” It is interesting that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, which means “House of Bread” in Hebrew. Bread is often called the staff of life. Jesus is the bread that is the staff of life in this life and the next. He is the only One who can give us lasting sustenance that will sustain us through all the circumstances of life. Every Lord’s Supper we partake of the bread, remembering His body that was broken for us. There is nothing that smells any better than fresh baked bread. One of my happiest memories about my college years was the smell of the Colonial Bread Company that was located on my drive to college. The smell of fresh bread baking, however, cannot compete with the sweet aroma of the Lord’s presence.

Today you will probably eat bread with every meal. When you eat your bread at mealtime, think of Jesus, the bread of life, and how much you need Him in your life. Jesus, the bread come down from heaven, will give strength not only to your physical body, but also to your soul and spirit.

Lord, I need You to sustain me today. Only You can satisfy my longing soul, and only You can give me the spiritual food that lasts forever. Help me not to miss any meals with You today.

READ: 1 Samuel 8:1-9:27; John 6:22-46; Psalm 106:32-48; Proverbs 14:34-35

Psalm 106:13-31 All mankind has three things in common. We all have three major lusts in our souls: the lust of the flesh (seeking to fulfill our five senses in an overindulgent way); the lust of the eye (greedy longings in the mind that can cause greed and covetousness; pornography is caused by this lust); and the pride of life, which is trusting our own resources and ourselves more than we trust in God. All of these lusts are located in our souls—our minds, wills and emotions. These three lusts are the buttons Satan is constantly pressing with his seducing spirits. James tells us that God never tempts us, but we are led astray by our own lusts. The devil cannot make us do anything. We first have to open the door to him through one or more of these lusts.

When we lust for certain things, God may allow us to experience what we lust for as He did with the children of Israel. They asked for food other than manna, which was God’s provision. Because they were not grateful and lusted for more than God’s provision, God sent leanness to their soul. We forget that the first step in the cycle of sin is an ungrateful heart. Romans 1 tells us all about the downhill spiral of sin. When we fulfill our own lusts, we may be satisfied for a season, but soon we will be empty again. Leanness will come to our souls. Many of us suffer from bulimic souls. We have stuffed ourselves through fulfilling our own lusts, but we are anemic spiritually because we have neglected the things of God that really count. When we fill ourselves full of God’s Spirit and His Word, we will be fulfilled, or filled full. If we walk in the spirit, we will not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

Lord, forgive me for seeking my own pleasure, for filling my mind with the wrong things and for trusting in myself more than I trust in You. I want to be filled with Your Spirit daily, and then I will not fulfill my own lusts. Help me today, Lord, to stay close to You.

READ: 1 Samuel 5:1-7:17; John 6:1-21; Psalm 106:13-31; Proverbs 14:32-33

Proverbs 14:30-31 This proverb says that envy is rottenness to the bones. Envy is a sin that brings only evil consequences. Some sins are a pleasure for a season, but of course, sin always births death in our lives in some way. The Bible tells us that the person who commits adultery kills his own soul. It may be years before we reap what we have sown, but beware, our sins will find us out. If we do not confess our sins and turn from them, there will be eternal consequences also. We will not lose our salvation unless we commit the sin of denying our faith in Christ, but we will lose some rewards in heaven if we do not deal honestly and openly with our sins here on earth. When we confess our sins, God is faithful and just not only to forgive our sins, but also to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. We can go to heaven with a clean slate if we have not hidden iniquity in our hearts by refusing to confess our sins and turn from them.

Envy is a sin that will cause even physical consequences. It will cause our bones to rot. The death in our lives that is caused by envy is experienced right away. Envy causes a death to our relationships. The first murder in the Bible was caused by envy. Cain envied Abel because God favored Abel’s sacrifice over his own. Envy will also bring death to peace in our lives. Envy always causes strife. James tells us, “But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthy, sensual, demonic. For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there” (James 3:14-16).

When envy is present, strife will soon occur; this then opens the door to confusion and every evil work. The spirit of jealousy is what caused the first murder, so whenever we are jealous of another, in a sense we may wish that person dead. Envy occurs when we feel we have not been treated fairly. The way we can kill envy instead of allowing it to kill us is to humble ourselves.

We need to esteem others higher than ourselves. If we do, we will never be envious. Pride is the root of envy, and we destroy pride when we gladly take upon ourselves the form of a servant just as Jesus did. Life is not fair. Some people have more than others in intelligence, wealth, meaningful relationships, etc. God is just and merciful, however, and if you determine to humble yourself under the mighty hand of God, He promises to lift you up.

At the foot of the cross, we are all at the same level. We need to remain at the foot of the cross daily, and envy will never invade our lives to destroy it.

Lord, keep me near the foot of Your cross. Help me to operate with Your mind today. You humbled Yourself, came as a servant and made yourself of no reputation. Give me a servant spirit today.

READ: 1 Samuel 2:22-4:22; John 5:24-47; Psalm 106:1-12; Proverbs 14:30-31

1 Samuel 1:1-2:21 It was not until this morning that I realized I have been singing often in my private worship time Hannah’s song. When Hannah brought Samuel to the temple to lend him to the Lord as her thanks to God for the conception and delivery of this precious son, she prayed a powerful prayer that acknowledged the sovereignty and power of God: “There is none holy as the Lord: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God” (1 Sam. 2:2, KJV).

Often in the morning I sing this song, and my heart is comforted because I know He is sovereign. In the midst of troubles, He is in control, and because He is my rock, I have a refuge to run to when the going gets rough. There truly is none holy as the Lord. As I hear the birds praise the Lord every morning as the sun comes up, I am overwhelmed by His awesome power. This is my time in the morning to meditate on His holiness, and I think of the angels, saints and every creature in heaven and earth praising and singing in unison in one great symphony of praise. They are all singing, “Holy, holy, holy. Holy is the Lord.”

I recently heard the testimony of a man who had a vision of heaven. He saw the cherubim and seraphim circling the throne of God, and they were saying, “Holy, holy, holy.” He asked the Lord if the seraphim and cherubim got tired of circling the throne. The Lord responded, “No, they never tire of circling the throne of God, because every time they circle it, they discover a new attribute or aspect of God they never knew before.” We have not even begun to search the depths that are in our mighty heavenly Father, but we can make a beginning this morning. Try singing that old familiar song, “Holy, Holy, Holy.” It goes like this: “Holy, holy, holy, all the saints adore thee. Casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea. Only thou art holy, there is none beside thee. Perfect in power, love and purity.” There are many more words to this great hymn. Learn them and join the cherubim and seraphim, the saints, and every creature on earth every morning as they sing, “Holy, holy, holy.”

Proverbs 14:26-27 This proverb tells us that the fear of the Lord will give us strong confidence, and our children will have safety because they have a place of refuge. One of the major problems in America is that our children are not being taught to fear the Lord. I just recently taught an eight-week study on the fear of the Lord, and we learned that the fear of the Lord is not caught; it is taught. Parental instruction in the Word of God seems to be waning, and we are reaping the consequences. We see the shootings in the high schools in America, and recently there was even one in the first grade. We learn in this proverb that the fear of the Lord is a fountain of life and keeps us from the snare of death.

Teaching our children to fear the Lord is a vital part of their training. Deuteronomy 7:1-2 exhorts Israel to teach the commandments, the statues and the judgments of the Lord to the generations to come. The promises in Deuteronomy 7:2-3 given to those who obey the commandments are that they will increase mightily and things will go well with them; their days will be prolonged. Most children who were raised in church cannot quote the Ten Commandments. Is this the fault of the church? No, it is the fault of parents. They are instructed by God to teach the commandments to their children when they are walking and sitting and in every activity.

The question to ask yourself is, “Can I recite the Ten Commandments?” If you cannot, then today make it your goal to memorize and meditate on the Ten Commandments this week. Just recently I heard of how a whole church came into revival simply because the pastor exhorted his congregation to meditate daily on the Ten Commandments. He suggested that parents have the Ten Commandments framed on a wall near their dining table so that they can discuss one or more commandments at meal times.

I challenge you to look up every blessing that is promised to those who fear the Lord. I know if you do this, you will want to instruct others in the fear of the Lord.

Lord, I confess my neglect of learning and teaching the Ten Commandments. It is not too late for me to make this a top priority in my life and the life of my family. Help me to be diligent to teach the fear of the Lord to others.

READ: Ruth 2:1-4:22; John 4:43-54; Psalm 105:16-38; Proverbs 14:26-27

John 4:5-42 Immediately after Jesus told the woman of Samaria that she had five husbands and that the man she now had was not her husband, she changed the subject. She saw that this Man knew well her history, but she was not willing to go into it with Him. She proceeded to ask Him a theological question. How like human nature. When someone is getting too close to the truth in our own lives—our own sin and shortcomings—we want to change the subject. The woman asked Jesus where He believed was the correct place of worship. The answer Jesus gave is revealing. “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him” (vv. 21-23).

True worship is not dependent upon the location. It is dependent upon our being led by the Spirit of God. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. The Father seeks those who will worship Him in spirit and truth. What does this mean? We must allow the Holy Spirit to interpret God’s truth to us. Without Him the Word of God is just black words on white paper. It is the Holy Spirit that ignites the Word in our hearts. I recently went to a wedding, and it was lovely. The pastor read from Scripture, and it was good, but it lacked the anointing. He was just reading words without submitting to the power of the Holy Spirit who is able to make every word in God’s Word have dynamite power. The Holy Spirit is able to impart faith to us, and faith must be mixed with the Word for it to avail anything.

Our pastor is well aware of the importance of the Spirit of Truth conveying God’s truth to us. One Sunday as usual he had prepared for his message, but as he began to read the Word, he knew there was something missing. The anointing that breaks every yoke of bondage was not there, so he closed his Bible and told us to go home and seek the Lord on our own. This was probably the best thing that ever happened to some of us because we saw how we cannot be dependent upon a pastor. We must be dependent upon the Holy Spirit to be our teacher and our worship leader. Worship without the anointing of the Holy Spirit is not pleasing in God’s sight. He desires for us to worship Him in both spirit and truth. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth, and only He can impart God’s Word to us and lead our worship in the way that pleases God.

Lord, let me be led by the Holy Spirit as I worship You.

READ: Judges 21:1-Ruth 1:22; John 4:5-42; Psalm 105:1-15; Proverbs 14:25