2 Samuel 10-4.6.22
Scripture
2 Samuel 10:3 NLT
“the Ammonite commanders said to Hanun, their master, “Do you really think these men are coming here to honor your father? No! David has sent them to spy out the city so they can come in and conquer it!”
Observation-What does it say?
The Ammonite king, King Nahash, has just died. His son, Hanun has now stepped into his father’s footsteps as king. David sends some of his men to the new king to send his condolences for his father, and to show respect and loyalty to the new king because the king’s father was always loyal to him. But, as David’s men arrived in the land of Ammon, Hanun received some bad advice from his high ranking officers. They convinced Hanun that David’s men weren’t there to show loyalty and pay their respects to his dad. They were there to spy and conquer their city. Hanun believed and took the advice of his officers. As a result, instead of getting David’s loyalty and respect, Hanun waged war against David and his armies. They were soon defeated and became Israel’s servants.
Understanding-What does it mean?
You ever receive bad, ungodly advice?
King Hanun definitely received bad advice. Instead of getting David’s loyalty, blessings, and aid, he received David’s anger and ended up getting his people enslaved for it. In the previous chapters you see David’s heart. You see just how loyal David can be. David showed his loyalty to Johnathan, (Saul’s son). Even though Saul tried to kill David on multiple occasions, his son Jonathan forged a deep friendship with David, that David never forgot. Even though Jonathan had died, David took care of Jonathan’s family and their servants. So, when Hanun took the bad advice from his officers, he essentially rejected David’s blessings for his kingdom and instead caused his kingdom to crumble and become enslaved by the Israelites because of his foolish decision to take some bad advice; A decision I’m sure he regretted.
Life Application
Surround yourself with a good support team; A team that can give you godly counsel in time of need.
“Walk with the wise and become wise; associate with fools and get in trouble.” -Proverbs 13:20
Why is it whenever we have a tough decision to make, we turn to worldly things (magazines, social media, co-workers), instead of first turning to God and His people? The Bible tells us that true wisdom comes from God and if we want to make wise decisions, shouldn’t we turn to Him and take advice from godly people? It only makes sense right?!
That’s why I strongly encourage anyone out there that isn’t part of a small group (ITC Group at DSC), or who doesn’t have a person who is more spiritually mature than them discipling them, to definitely look into getting involved in both! It’s a great way to have accountability, fellowship, and the spiritual support we all need to make it in life. No man is an island and every Christian needs one another so we can help each other GROW! So what are you waiting for? Join a small group, or find someone to disciple you today. 😊
-Moses Gaddi
2 Corinthians 8-4.5.22
SCRIPTURE:
2 Corinthians 8:2
"During a severe testing by affliction, their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed into the wealth of their generosity."
OBSERVATION:
This was Paul's third missionary journey. He was making an appeal to the Corinthians regarding the need to gather funds to help the poor in Jerusalem. Paul gave the example of how well the Macedonian churches had willingly and generously given, even out of their deep poverty.
UNDERSTANDING:
Paul was testing the genuineness of their love, and then he reminded them of the genuineness of Christ's love and how generous Jesus had been to them. Though He, (Jesus) was rich, for their sake He became poor, so that by His poverty they might become rich. (verse 9).
The poor widow in the Bible had also given out of her poverty. She gave away what was needed beyond the needs of her own! In God's eyes, the Macedonian's and the poor widow had been more generous than the ones who had given out of their plenty.
These believers had FIRST GIVEN THEIR LIVES TO THE LORD, and then, what followed naturally was that they became generous givers to others.
LIFE APPLICATION:
When we are truly motivated by God's love, we will want to give back to Him by being generous to others. I pray that the motives behind my giving will be with a pure heart, and that my life will be a model of generosity because of the way Jesus has modeled such generosity to me.
-Robin Orefice
2 Corinthians 7-4.4.22
Scripture
2 Corinthians 7:10
“Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.”
Observation-What does it say?
“It helps if we remember the sequence of events. Things were going badly among the Christians in Corinth, and in an attempt to get them on track, Paul made a quick, unplanned visit that only seemed to make things worse (the “sorrowful visit” mentioned in 2 Corinthians 2:1). After the failure of this visit, Paul decided not to visit Corinth again in person at the time but instead sent Titus to them with a strong letter of rebuke. Paul was very worried about how the Corinthians would receive the letter and whether it would turn them to Jesus or just make them angry. When Titus came back with good news from the Corinthian Christians, Paul was greatly relieved.” (From enduringword.com)
Understanding-What does it mean?
Proverbs 27:5- Open rebuke is better than hidden love.
In Paul’s letter to the Corinthian church, he felt the need to rebuke them of something, and was hoping it would not make them angry, but lead them back to godly repentance…back to Jesus.
Life Application
Let us accept rebuke/correction with a humble and open heart, not a prideful heart, especially if it is by conviction of the Holy Spirit and/or a trusted spiritual leader.
Yesterday, Pastor Levi preached a great sermon on Overcoming Temptation. One thing he said was, “As your Pastor, I don’t want you to take sin lightly.”
The difference between worldly and godly sorrow is that worldly sorrow doesn’t lead to repentance or change. It’s basically just feeling sorry that we got caught. Godly sorrow leads to a heart change and 180 degree turn. It leads us back towards Jesus because it is accepted with a humble heart.
When a sin is pointed out to us or we are caught in a sin, do we have worldly sorrow or godly sorrow? None of us are perfect, but by His grace, we are continually in the process of looking more like Jesus (aka sanctification). Let us always pursue godly sorrow when convicted of sin so that nothing would hinder us from being fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.
-Michelle Gaddi