Tainted Love

~~~ Sirach 47:2-11 ~~~ Psalm 18 ~~~ Mark 6:14-29 ~~~

This is February, the month we celebrate Valentine's Day...
the month dedicated to love.
Oddly enough according to those who keep wedding statistics
 June is the most popular month for weddings.

The first reading lists all of the wonderful things David did;
making him one of the most loved leaders.
He tackled beast and man.
He slew the giant with a slingshot.
He was favored by God...God loved him.
The women sang his praises; in other words they loved him.

David did love God too.

With his whole being he loved his Maker
and daily had his praises sung;
What is not to love about David...he sings to the Lord in prayer.

The LORD forgave him his sins
and exalted his strength forever...
Love was the driving force for all that David
did for his people and his God.
This deep love made his personal failings that much more painful for him.

The gospel has an undercurrent of tainted love...
love that has gone sour...
love that has broken hearts...
love that has turned to taking another's life.

Herod is so confused by his sin
that he cannot identify the beautiful qualities of love.

His sinful love affair leads him to the brutal sin of murder.

Love never leads one into sin.
Herod does not even demonstrate healthy love with his daughter.
The mother daughter relationship is warped.
The daughter is willing to entertain her mother's revengeful heart.
She went out and said to her mother,
“What shall I ask for?”
Her mother replied, “The head of John the Baptist.”

Herod expressed his love by ordering
the beheading of someone he respected, John the Baptist.

He gave the head of John to the girl.
The girl gave the head to her mother.
This evil domino effect takes precedence over love.

God always blesses us with love.
What do we offer in return to him?
How do you love others?
Peace.

Sorrow...Loss

~~~ 2 Samuel 18:9-10, 14b, 24-25a, 30-19:3 ~~~ Psalm 86 ~~~ Mark 5:21-43 ~~~

More than anything a parent wants what is best for their child.
David now mourns over the death of Absalom as a result
of his hair getting tangled in a tree.

Who could have guessed?
The beauty of his long flowing hair would result in his death.

Because he cannot escape from the tree branches,
 Absalom becomes an easy target.

The king was shaken,
and went up to the room over the city gate to weep.
He said as he wept,
“My son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom!

No matter how much we are hurt by our children
 the underlying love mostly remains constant.
Even though Absalom wanted to over throw his father,
David still loved him.
His love was made evident in his weeping at the death of his son.

The Gospel today is one I have written about many times here on this blog.

Living Faith the Hemorrhagic Woman

Here is one previous post about this passage...
an official, an ill child, and a desperate woman
joined together for one purpose...calling out for God
to hear their broken hearts.

How does one's heart heal after losing a child?
This is not the death order we often imagine.
We believe the young should be allowed
to have their future days before them.

The undercurrent is always driven by great love.

How can we begin to express
our gratitude for every way in which God finds to bless us?
So many times in ways we could not envision on our own.
Peace be with you.

Conspiracy of Death

~~~ 2 Samuel 15:13-14, 30; 16:5-13 ~~~ Psalm 3 ~~~ Mark 5:1-20 ~~~

The third son of David, Absalom, suffers from over active ambition.
He conspires to strip his father of his kingship.
He carefully carries out his plot until David flees in despair.

David and his loyal armies leave the city of Jerusalem.
David leaves weeping and with his head covered.
He is devastated and probably did not see this coming from his own son.

As David went up the ascent of the Mount of Olives, 
he wept without ceasing. His head was covered, 
and he was walking barefoot. 
All those who were with him 
also had their heads covered and were weeping as they went.

David is deeply disturbed by the actions of his son taken against him.
He had only recently agreed to restore his relationship with Absalom
after he killed his own brother.

One of the most somber places we might go is a cemetery.
A cemetery is usually a fairly quiet place...
a place where only a handful of people frequent on a regular basis.
A cemetery, is where we find the main characters in the Gospel today.
Jesus gets out of the boat and is confronted with a myriad of evil spirits.

...a man from the tombs who had an unclean spirit met him.
The man had been dwelling among the tombs,
and no one could restrain him any longer, even with a chain.

This poor soul was alive, but completely consumed by these demons.
The demons never let him rest;
they tortured and tormented him night and day.

But when they see Jesus they know with certainty
 that he has come for them.

Jesus walking among the dead cast the demons into the herd of swine.

Swine were already considered unclean and not fit for human consumption.

In this cemetery Jesus has a confrontation about life and death
 in the very location where death remains.

The tormented man wants to be given life.
The evil demons had robbed him of his life,
just as sin robs us of life.

Jesus restores life no matter what the situation.
He is life...he has conquered death.
Absalom conspired with his own demons of death.
The legion of demons conspired to draw their life from the poor man.

Jesus wants us to  have life...life everlasting.
The life Jesus restores is the most amazing life;
a life like never before experienced.

“Go home to your family and announce to them
all that the Lord in his pity has done for you.”

God wants to bless us in telling others of his great love and mercy.

Actions Have Consequences

~~~ 2 Samuel 12:1-7a, 10-17 ~~~ Psalm 51 ~~~ Mark 4:35-41 ~~~

Create a clean heart in me, O God.

A violent squall came up and waves were breaking over the boat,

The Lord sends Nathan to pose a problem to David.
As the king David is in the position to make decisions
concerning the lives of others.
God uses Nathan to present a special situation...
the subject already dear to David's heart...a lamb.
David, of course, had been a shepherd.
He understands the tender relationship a shepherd has with his animals.
The story says the rich man orders the poor man to prepare his only lamb
for the guest's dinner.
David grew very angry with that man and said to him:
“As the LORD lives, the man who has done this merits death!

Eventually Nathan reveals the motive for the story.
David is faced with the gravity of his sinful escapades.
...you have despised me
and have taken the wife of Uriah to be your wife.’
Thus says the LORD:

Sometimes God sends another person to help us understand
how we have fooled ourselves with our sinfulness.
David and Nathan now can have an honest
conversation about what David has done.

The Lord does indeed forgive David, but he must pay a high price.
The Lord vows to take the life of his 'love child'.
We are all faced with the consequences of our actions.
Until now David thought he had gotten away with his scheme to deceive.

He woke up,
rebuked the wind,
and said to the sea, “Quiet! Be still!”

If God can quiet the wind and calm the violent sea;
surely it is possible for him to forgive our offenses no matter how grave.

David found himself in the depths of a storm.
A storm that he virtually created himself.
When we create our own storms through our sinfulness
God is there ready to forgive us and calm our storm.

Seek forgiveness from the Lord...
nothing is beyond his forgiveness.
We are Blessed to have a God
who graciously forgives us.

Create a clean heart in me, O God.

The Pothole

~~~ 2 Samuel 11:1-4a, 5-10a, 13-17 ~~~ Psalm 51 ~~~ Mark 4:26-34 ~~~

Of its own accord the land yields fruit,
first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.
And when the grain is ripe, he wields the sickle at once,
for the harvest has come.

Young David came from tending his father's sheep
 to being anointed as the King.
Perhaps it was too much too fast.
He had so much success that he let it get the best of him.
He let his emotions cloud his better judgement.
He let his greed and pride rule over his moral code.

He knew it was wrong to take the wife of Uriah,
but he was ready for the harvest.
David began to believe that there was nothing he could not do
and nothing he could not have for his own.

David was a human being and he fell into a giant pothole on his journey.
We all have those times in our life when the temptation
 to sin seems far more attractive than not.

David danced around the edge of the pothole...
he began by looking on the beauty of Uriah's wife.
Before he knew it he was all the way down into the pothole.
Once down in the dirt of his sin he tries to hide his guilt
 by planning to commit a sin more grave...
murder.

Lies, lies, and more lies.
Truth begets truth, but lies can only beget future lies.

God values the truth.
Sooner or later a person who lies
 is caught in a dilemma they have set up for themselves.

David does come to his senses eventually and he does repent,
but it did not have to happen to begin with.
David let his powerful position lead him into sin.

Blessings in holding the truth in high esteem.
Peace.

Snip of the Cloak

Memorial of Saint Francis de Sales
Bishop and Doctor of the Church

David bowed to the ground in homage and asked Saul:
“Why do you listen to those who say,
‘David is trying to harm you’?

David manages to hold respect for Saul
 in spite of the fact that he plotted to have him killed.

He gets close enough to snip a piece of Saul's
cloak without being detected.

Not sure if I had such an enemy that I would want to get that close.
I think I would want to at least wound such a foe.

David was given great wisdom.
It is only by the wisdom and grace of the Spirit
that he did what he did.

He could have become very arrogant and boastful
for his battle winnings,
but he is able to act with humility.

David bows, a gesture of humility.
God was with David and he acted accordingly.
David had pity for Saul because he was not thinking for himself.
Saul was listening to others who were filling
his head with evil thoughts.

One thing we can learn from David is not to retaliate
against our enemies.

Justice belongs to the Lord.

May God bless us to pray
for those who wish harm to come to us.

Peace.

This post today is late thanks to delayed
 traveling in icy winter weather.
Thanks for stopping by this blog.
I do appreciate each visitor.

Jealousy Corrupts

~~~ 1 Samuel 18:6-9;19:1-7 ~~~ Psalm 56 ~~~ Mark 3:7-12 ~~~

...my tears are stored in your flask;
are they not recorded in your book?...

Jealousy...
...Saul was jealous of David.

Saul was greatly disturbed by the success David had on the battle field.
He had just slain one of the most feared, Goliath, with one shot.
Saul becomes blinded by his jealousy, but his son Jonathan loves David.
Jonathan admires David as a model warrior...fearless and confident.

Jealousy...
can haunt your soul...

David was the youngest of his father's sons.
He would periodically return home to Bethlehem to care for the sheep.
He was not a trained warrior.
David, sent by his father, went out to bring grain and cheese to his brothers.
They were preparing to enter into battle with the Philistines.

Jealousy...
 can turn you into a monster.

Saul's son, Jonathan, intercedes on behalf of David.

Jealousy...
taints the color of your world.

Saul listens to his son, who not soiled by jealousy,
is thinking more clearly.

Jealousy...
keeps you from experiencing personal joy.

Saul decides to let David live...
at least for now.
Once you let jealousy stake a claim in your heart
it takes dedicated effort to override it.

Jealousy will keep rearing its ugly head stabbing your heart...
filling it with lies and egotistical thoughts.

Jealousy...
is reason enough to shed tears, for your selfishness.

Blessings come in the grace to see the good in others.
In being able to know that another person's success
does not equate to your destruction.

Peace be with you.

Keeping the Sabbath

~~~ Memorial of Saint Agnes, Virgin and Martyr ~~~

~~~1 Samuel 16:1-13 ~~~ Psalm 89 ~~~ Mark 2:23-28 ~~~ 

...the LORD looks into the heart...

The Lord sent Samuel to the house of Jesse;

where he will find the one whom God has chosen to be King.

God does not consider the physical appearance or the spoken words;

rather the Lord sees into the depths of one's heart.

Your words and actions can be tailored to fit the occasion.

but the heart remains steadfast.

It is much more difficult to change your heart.

The journey was long the food was scarce,
but the disciples were hungry.

It was the Sabbath...no work was allowed.

It was set aside as a day of rest.

This may have been a matter of interpretation of the law,

the disciples did indeed pluck and consume the grain from the stalks.

Was that work? Were they just hungry?

Did they really take nothing for the journey?

Jesus consistently places compassion above the law .

So what do you think?

Were they breaking the law?

Would you be willing to break the law 

when presented with a situation of compassion?
God sees into your heart. 

Blessings as we walk through the fields today.
Peace.

A Tale of Two Women

~~~ 2 Samuel 12:7-10, 13 ~~~ Psalm 32 ~~~ Galatians 2:16, 19-21 ~~~ Luke 7:36—8:3 ~~~

 

David lusted after Uriah's wife, Bathsheba.

He became so intent on possessing her for his own

that he set up the death of her husband.

 

The sins of David were serious, but God never hesitated to forgive him.

God waited patiently until David came to an understanding

of the gravity of his sins.

 

Then David said to Nathan,
“I have sinned against the LORD.”
Nathan answered David:
“The LORD on his part has forgiven your sin:
you shall not die.”

 

Bathsheba was taken in the sin of adultery by her murderous King.

As a woman she had to obey when summoned by David.

Of course this does not excuse her part in their sin of adultery.

 

 

I think we are given these two serious sins, murder and adultery,

 in the same reading today so that we might better understand.

There is no sin, no matter how grave or serious,

 that God is not capable of forgiving. 

 

Paul says

...I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me...

 

The woman in today's gospel realized she was a sinful woman.

She came to pay homage to the one she believed to be the Messiah.

 

'...she stood behind him at his feet weeping...' 

 

 She did not want to interrupt his meal she just wanted to serve him.

She came in repentance for her sins.

She came bringing the finest ointment she had.

She did not leave her gift sealed in the jar.

She cracked it open revealing the fragrant ointment.

This was the fragrance of her remorse for hers sins.

Her tears fell upon the feet of Jesus.

She used her hair, symbolic of her feminine beauty, to wipe his feet.

These feet that had walked down the dusty dirty road to the house.

 

Her humility was greater than her concern for protocol.

 She proceeded to kiss his feet.

Whose feet would you kiss today?

Tiny baby feet are typically the feet I would most likely want to kiss.

 

I can only imagine this woman's joy when she heard these words form Jesus...

“Your sins are forgiven.”

 

“Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” 

She came to Jesus because in her heart she believed

 he would accept her as she was...

a sinful woman. 

 

Bathsheba was ordered to appear before David.

They committed their sin together.

Two women one coming for forgiveness the other coming to commit sin.

 

God forgives all sin if we seek his forgiveness.

If we do not seek this forgiveness

how can we expect to be forgiven?

 

Two women one with beauty the other with tears.

God draws us into his presence

so that we will desire his forgiveness. 

Once forgiven we too can join Paul in proclaiming...

...I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me...

The Grace Connection

~~~ 2 Peter 3:12-15a, 17-18 ~~~ Psalm 90 ~~~ Mark 12: 13-17 ~~~

"...grow in grace and knowledge

of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ."

How do we grow in grace?

First you would want to have a relationship with one

who bestows grace upon us; God.

How could you grow in grace if you do not know God?

Furthermore if you are not communicating with God,

 how would you know if you were growing in grace?

Growing in grace directly connects with practicing the virtues

we discussed yesterday.

Growing in grace is staying connected to God

through the teachings of Jesus and the gifts and fruit of the Spirit.

Growing in grace is about following the Good Shepherd,

taking up your cross, and living like you believe.

The more you spend time with scripture

the more you will come to appreciate all that has been done for you.

And the more you understand the gifts you have been given

you will naturally come to grow in grace.

When you answer God's call to follow him you will grow in grace.

When you walk with God or the Blessed Mother at your side

you will grow in grace.

When you love others as you love yourself,

you are growing in grace.

St. Paul, St. Peter, and David are examples of what growing in grace

can do for your spiritual life. Paul was converted and became one of the greatest disciples of Jesus. Even though Peter greatly loved Jesus he denied him three times

yet was able to return to support Jesus.

King David allowed power to cloud his better judgement and yet through grace

he seeks a new heart...a clean heart...he seeks the mercy of God.

Grace leads us into greater communion with God..

the father, son, and holy spirit.

Without grace we would be like a fish out of water...

flailing around on the dock

gasping for air...choked by dryness...

at the total mercy of others for life.

As we grow in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ

we cannot help but to also grow in love and in grace.

But for the Grace of God where would any of us be today?

Grace keeps us desiring to love God more.

If we love God more then we will be a better man or woman...

we will be a true child of God.

Grace is about God's unconditional love for you.

~The Dark Side of Power~

2 Samuel 11:1-4a, 5-10a, 13-17

Lust, Kidnapping, Rape, Deceit, Lies, Murder....

POWER....

Who are we talking about? No, it cannot be. We cannot be talking about the one anointed by God through Samuel. The one who repeatedly spared Saul's life. The one who killed the giant with a single stone. The composer of psalms of love. How can it be that today we are reading about the same person?

I think it can be summed up in one word and that is POWER. David, a brilliant leader, has been consumed by his position. No one person is more powerful than God; this is a fact.

When people come into positions of power all too often they lose sight of who they are. We see this all the time in various walks of life from politics and the cooperate to even among some who claim to be ministers.

When in a position of power you have been given a certain amount of control. In David's case he has control over entire armies of men who have pledged their loyalty to him. Men willing to lose their lives on his behalf.

If power corrupted David how can we expect to be exempt from the pitfalls of power?

If you are in a position of power you have a daunting task to stay focused and exercise wisdom in all your decisions. There used to be a little bracelet inscribed with the phrase "What would Jesus do?" I used to think it was a little corny in a way. If we would, however, all take those words more serious we might be blessed to live in a very different world.

David certainly had a relationship with God. He composed beautiful psalms of praise on his harp. But somewhere along the way he crossed to the 'dark side'. I do not think this reading was just about the lust he felt for Bathsheba in her beauty. It was his mind set of I can have anything I want including orchestrating the death of Uriah.

We can find hope in this story because if someone like David can fall to such depths and still be loved by God then we can turn to God too. We have a merciful and all powerful God.

Psalm 51:3

"Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;

in your abundant compassion blot out my offense."

This is the beginning of David's repentance. His Miserere. With help David is led to understand how serious his actions were. He could not hide behind the mask of his human power when faced with the boundless power of a merciful and forgiving God.

In the gospel excerpt from Matthew today we can also see an example of power...in this case the magnificent power of God. God uses his power to make evident his kingdom to us even through something as tiny as the mustard seed.

All too often we fool ourselves into thinking that power makes us more important than God. We pretend that we are invincible that nothing can touch us or that we have all of the answers. We assume that power gives us the 'right' to act in ways that are not at all of God.

Perhaps this is why we have the scripture from Isaiah 55: 8    

"My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts," says the LORD. "And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine." New Living Translation

Truly God's ways are far beyond anything we could imagine, but we can aspire to be a better person. Remembering when we are in a position of power we can act with God's ways in mind.

Power positions do not give us 'carte blanche' over others...

it is not 'anything goes' as long as it is my way.

David was intoxicated with his position of power...drunk on himself...his own desires.

What would Jesus do? is not such a corny phrase after all.

Original picture is of a wooden figure of a person slumped next to an hourglass. I chose this picture because power can take the natural life out of a person.

This kaleidoscope image if you look closely appears that the image is reflecting itself. When corrupted by power you see only the image of yourself..no one else matters...

it is all about the I.

Beloved and Cherished

Samuel, the one who anointed Saul and David, is now dead. To escape Saul's insanity David flees to the land of the Philistines in refuge. Saul pursues David...visits a soothsayer...and learns of his fate  and of his son Jonathan's as the spirit of Samuel reveals it to him.  The sad story continues like a tragic series of falling dominoes until finally Saul and Jonathan are both killed.

David is now in mourning over the death of Saul and his son. David composes a beautiful elegy for them which he sings. Music brought comfort to Saul when David first came into his service. Now David sins to bring comfort to himself, "...Alas!...how can the warriors have fallen!"

It is striking that in spite of all the times Saul came after David he was still able to hold in his heart affection for him. "Saul and Jonathan, beloved and cherished...", verse 23.

Beloved and Cherished

Beloved and cherished are two of the most beautiful words to me. God calls Jesus his beloved son only twice; once at his baptism and again at the transfiguration. Beloved is a special term of endearment; it means dearly loved. How could David continue to think of Saul as beloved? This is some example of loving your enemies. We have difficulty loving those who reject us for whatever reason, but Saul was activiely trying to kill David.

It is unbelievable to me when a victim of a terrible crime can reach out to the person who harmed them. Without saying the words of forgiveness their actions speak for themselves. The Amish community come to mind first. After the murder of so many in their community. They did not want to harbor hatred in their hearts.

David shows forgiveness to Saul through this beautiful musical tribute. David had several opportunities to kill Saul and each time he turned and removed himself from the  situation.

David can inspire us to walk away from our enemies. David can inspire us to think differently about our enemies. I am not trying to pretend David was perfect because we know he has his flaws as well.

As a woman I want to feel cherished. Cherish means to hold dearly, to treat with affection and tenderness. When you cherish someone like a family member you can overlook all sorts of hurts.

Who do you cherish most in your life? Is it your spouse? Your children or grandchildren? Your friends? Some even cherish their home land.

For years songs have been written about the word Cherish. Kool and the Gang had a very popular song titled Cherish, before that the Association and more recently Madonna.

Beloved and Cherished together are the pillars of a lasting relationship. In David's case even if the person wants you dead.



Cherish Moments...Cherish Living

Original photo of a single white daisy.

This kaleidoscope image captures the pure beauty of being cherished and beloved.

                 

Jealousy...the Disease

1 Samuel 18:6-9, 19: 1-7



The book of Samuel continues...This is better than any prime time drama. The plot thickens as today we see jealousy and death wishes unravel  in a few verses.
Saul is jealous of the attention the women are giving David as they sing and dance in celebration of his victory over Goliath. He, as their King, believes he is entitled to their highest praises and acknowledgment. Sound familiar?

We see here a common human short coming; we are constantly comparing ourselves to others. Saul is doing what comes naturally. Within families we even see jealousy among siblings. It is a common dilemma for parents to not show favoritism. Jealousy is usually fueled by fear of loss. The loss can either be perceived or real.

We all want the recognition we think we deserve. Sometimes we begin to spread false accusations others. Sometimes we try to minimize the accomplishments of our competition. When in reality it would be much better if we could support one another...building up the Body of Christ together. We are all one Body, one Body in Christ. Lyric from a great song taken out of scripture.

Back to our drama...Saul shares his death plan for David with his son Jonathan. Jonathan though has developed a fondness for David and now comes to his defense. That's what friends are for, right? Friends come to your aid. Friends stand by you.

Jonathan appeals to his father's better side, reminding him of how he really is pleased with David's service and devotion. We all benefit from friends who will speak on our behalf. This is a reminder to be vigilant as I speak about others. Am I building them up or am I contributing to their surmise?

I sometimes wish I could return to innocence of childhood. Jonathan is looking through the eyes of a child and can see that David is a good person. Jonathan is able to convince Saul to spare David's life.

We have stark contrast between this episode and the betrayal of Jesus by Judas. Judas was more than a friend of Jesus; he was one of the apostles. He was well aware of all that Jesus had done for others and yet he went forward with the ultimate betrayal. We can only guess as to what may have motivated Judas to betray Jesus.

So what can we do about jealousy in our own lives? Definitely food for thought. Recognize it, Admit it, Evacuate it from you life...

I recently read this by an American Science fiction writer, Robert Heinlein :

"Jealousy is a disease, love is a healthy condition. The immature mind often mistakes one for the other, or assumes that the greater the love the greater the jealousy....but in fact they are almost incompatible; one emotion hardly leaves room for the other. Both at once can produce unbearable turmoil."

Saul and Judas were both in great turmoil. Saul was given the blessing to listen to his son; Judas hastily separated and isolated himself from any hope.

I chose this original picture of a male peacock because of it's brilliant tail feathers.

This kaleidoscope image captures some of this brilliance.

What if the other birds were jealous of the peacock's feathers?

I pray for the grace to appreciate more sincerely.

  

Five Smooth Stones

1 Samuel 17:32-33, 37, 40-51

Often when we are familiar with a story from the Bible we tend to not listen as we should. Today's story of David and Goliath is one such story. Even children can tell you all about how David slew the giant with only one stone from his sling shot.

Most kids today, however, have not ever seen a sling shot much less tried to use one and accurately hit a moving target.

Today I came to a new realization about this familiar story.

When David left Saul to battle this 'giant' he refused to take the common battle gear. David had faith that the Lord was with him. David, as we know, selected 5 smooth stones from his shepherd's bag. This is a great lesson...when you go into battle use what you are most familiar with, this is the best plan of action.

We are all faced with situations in our own lives where our faith is challenged. What do we take into the battle? Yes, sometimes it can be a battle. David bravely took 5 stones, to be on the safe side. If today you had to pick 5 statements or actions to defend your beliefs what would you chose?
That is what these stones represent for me today. It is an invitation to look at my individual beliefs. Would I be willing to fight for these beliefs? I honestly cannot say for sure.

What 5 things do I really believe?

I believe God is always with me and that I live and breathe and move through him.

I believe in the Trinity.

I believe in the power of God's love.

I believe in the Eucharist.

I believe all things are possible with him.

Pause here and reflect on your beliefs. Write them down; things written seem to carry more weight.

The story holds another detail I would like to address; the single blow...the stone embedded itself in his (Goliath's) brow. In listening to some conversion stories it always amazes me the number of times the conversion was a direct result of study...knowledge. The intellect was the instrument with which the Holy Spirit was able to reach the person's soul.

David stunned the giant...he did not play around he went straight to the intellect. Goliath had already won the battle in his own mind. He was not prepared for the action David took against him.

Goliath was suffering from a 'hardened heart'. David attacked his intellect instead.

When we are faced with defending our faith it may be wise to come prepared to use the dual approach...heart and mind or intellect. Appeal to the heart, while speaking with knowledge.

This original photo was of a stone path.

This kaliedoscope image represents to me how David, through one stone, found courage

to exercise his Faith in God.

May we too be blessed with such deep Faith.

The Lord Looks into the Heart

"How long will you grieve...?" 1Samuel 16:1

"Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light for my path..." Psalm 119:105

"Not as man sees does God see...

the Lord looks into the heart." 1Samuel 16:7

The scriptures are so rich today I can only hope to skim the surface and invite you to return to them in your prayer time.

The story of Samuel continues...he is sad because Saul is not doing well he suffering from depression and can no longer be the King. Samuel must feel like he can fix this since he is anointed by God, but instead God says...move on...I have found another one whom I will anoint to be King.
Having dealt with depression in my own family I know how frustrating it can be; you want to make the person feel better.

Samuel, being a faithful servant does as the Lord asks and finally the seventh and youngest son of Jesse is summoned and anointed as the King. You see God had big plans for David. He was blessed with the gift of playing the harp.

It happens that one day Saul's servants speculate that music will soothe his soul. Music does indeed have healing qualities; more on that later. The Lord's plan begins to unfold; David comes to reside with Saul and plays beautiful music on his harp. Saul quickly becomes fond of David and allows him to remain in his service. We learn much more about David in subsequent verses.

This was young David's humble beginning. Samuel found David because he listened to the words of God, even though he was hesitant. When we listen and act on the word of God ; the path is illuminated for our every step. (Amy Grant sings a lovely song about verse 105 from Psalm 119 which you can find on youtube.)

Psalm 119, the longest of the psalms, dwells on the wonders of the word of God. I like to believe David composed the beautiful Book of Psalms while strumming on his harp. And if he did he most likely sang them to comfort Saul. Even if Saul did not understand the words the melodies would engulf and lift up his spirit.

How do you feel about God being able to look into your heart?

God led Samuel to David, because looking into the heart of David God saw a faithful servant.

God did have great plans for David, which are detailed for us in later chapters.

God has great plans for you too.

Are you willing to allow him to work in you...to use you in ways you never dreamed?

"...the Lord looks into the heart"

I chose this original photo of a solitary man walking on the sunlit path into the woods because when you allow God's word to light your path the possibilities are endless.

This Kaleidoscope image represents, to me, the infinite beauty of the soul as God sees it.

Rejoice and be glad for 'the Lord has done great things for us'. Ps. 126:3