1 Samuel 21, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Mary - July 7, 2022

“Mary took…an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair” (John 12:3 NIV).

Marys are gifted with praise. They don’t just sing; they worship. They don’t simply attend church; they go to offer praise. And they don’t talk about Christ; they radiate Christ. Marys seem to have one foot in heaven and the other on a cloud.

Now, sometimes they need to be reminded that there are bills to be paid and classes to be taught. But don’t remind them too harshly. Marys are precious souls with tender hearts. And if they have found a place at the foot of Jesus, don’t ask them to leave. Much better to ask them to pray for you. That’s what I do. When I find a Mary, I’m quick to ask, “How do I get on your prayer list?”

1 Samuel 21

David Pretends to Go Crazy

David went on his way and Jonathan returned to town.

David went to Nob, to Ahimelech the Priest. Ahimelech was alarmed as he went out to greet David: “What are you doing here all by yourself—and not a soul with you?”

2-3 David answered Ahimelech the Priest, “The king sent me on a mission and gave strict orders: ‘This is top secret—not a word of this to a soul.’ I’ve arranged to meet up with my men in a certain place. Now, what’s there here to eat? Do you have five loaves of bread? Give me whatever you can scrounge up!”

4 “I don’t have any regular bread on hand,” said the priest. “I only have holy bread. If your men have not slept with women recently, it’s yours.”

5 David said, “None of us has touched a woman. I always do it this way when I’m on a mission: My men abstain from sex. Even when it is an ordinary mission we do that—how much more on this holy mission.”

6 So the priest gave them the holy bread. It was the only bread he had, Bread of the Presence that had been removed from God’s presence and replaced by fresh bread at the same time.

7 One of Saul’s officials was present that day keeping a religious vow. His name was Doeg the Edomite. He was chief of Saul’s shepherds.

8 David asked Ahimelech, “Do you have a spear or sword of any kind around here? I didn’t have a chance to grab my weapons. The king’s mission was urgent and I left in a hurry.”

9 The priest said, “The sword of Goliath, the Philistine you killed at Oak Valley—that’s here! It’s behind the Ephod wrapped in a cloth. If you want it, take it. There’s nothing else here.”

10-11 “Oh,” said David, “there’s no sword like that! Give it to me!”

And at that, David shot out of there, running for his life from Saul. He went to Achish, king of Gath. When the servants of Achish saw him, they said, “Can this be David, the famous David? Is this the one they sing of at their dances?

Saul kills by the thousand,
David by the ten thousand!”

12-15 When David realized that he had been recognized, he panicked, fearing the worst from Achish, king of Gath. So right there, while they were looking at him, he pretended to go crazy, pounding his head on the city gate and foaming at the mouth, spit dripping from his beard. Achish took one look at him and said to his servants, “Can’t you see he’s crazy? Why did you let him in here? Don’t you think I have enough crazy people to put up with as it is without adding another? Get him out of here!”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion    
Thursday, July 07, 2022

Today's Scripture
1 Samuel 22:1–5

Saul Murders the Priests of God

1–2     22 So David got away and escaped to the Cave of Adullam. When his brothers and others associated with his family heard where he was, they came down and joined him. Not only that, but all who were down on their luck came around—losers and vagrants and misfits of all sorts. David became their leader. There were about four hundred in all.

3–4     Then David went to Mizpah in Moab. He petitioned the king of Moab, “Grant asylum to my father and mother until I find out what God has planned for me.” David left his parents in the care of the king of Moab. They stayed there all through the time David was hiding out.

5     The prophet Gad told David, “Don’t go back to the cave. Go to Judah.” David did what he told him. He went to the forest of Hereth.

Insight

In 1 Samuel 22, David had fled from King Saul to a cave after unsuccessfully hiding out in Gath. In his commentary, David Guzik notes: “He couldn’t go to his house, he couldn’t go to the palace, he couldn’t go to Samuel, he couldn’t go to Jonathan, he couldn’t go to the house of the Lord, and he couldn’t go to the ungodly. But he could go to a humble cave and find refuge. . . . The name Adullam means refuge, but the cave wasn’t to be David’s refuge.” As the opening to Psalm 57 tells us, this psalm was written while David hid in that cave. There he sought and found refuge in “the shadow of [God’s] wings” (v. 1) so that he could declare, “I will praise you, Lord, among the nations; . . . for great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies” (vv. 9–10). By: Alyson Kieda

Hurry Up and Wait

Be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.
Psalm 27:14

“What will we do with all our spare time?” That thought was at the heart of an essay published in 1930 by the economist John Maynard Keynes. In it, Keynes proposed that within a hundred years, technological and economic advances would bring humans to a point where we would work only three hours a day and fifteen hours a week.

It’s been more than ninety years since Keynes published his famous essay. But technology, instead of creating more leisure, has made us busier than ever. Our days are full, and while everyday tasks like travel and meal preparation take less time, we’re still in a hurry.

One striking incident from David’s life shows us how to stay steady in life’s rush. When he was fleeing King Saul (who was trying to kill him), he asked the king of Moab, “Would you let my father and mother come and stay with you until I learn what God will do for me?” (1 Samuel 22:3, italics added). David had his hands full. He was trying to escape Saul’s murderous pursuits and also provide for his family. But even in his hurry, he took the time to wait on God.  

When life’s frenetic pace sweeps us along, we can trust the One who can keep us in His peace (Isaiah 26:3). David’s words sum up the matter well: “Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord” (Psalm 27:14). By:  James Banks

Reflect & Pray

In what ways can you wait on God even when life’s busy? Where do you need His help to trust Him today?

You are my calm in every rush, Father. Thank You for giving me Your peace as I continue to trust You.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, July 07, 2022

All Efforts of Worth and Excellence Are Difficult

Enter by the narrow gate….Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life…. —Matthew 7:13-14

If we are going to live as disciples of Jesus, we have to remember that all efforts of worth and excellence are difficult.  The Christian life is gloriously difficult, but its difficulty does not make us faint and cave in— it stirs us up to overcome.  Do we appreciate the miraculous salvation of Jesus Christ enough to be our utmost for His highest— our best for His glory?

God saves people by His sovereign grace through the atonement of Jesus, and “it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13). But we have to “work out” that salvation in our everyday, practical living (Philippians 2:12). If we will only start on the basis of His redemption to do what He commands, then we will find that we can do it. If we fail, it is because we have not yet put into practice what God has placed within us. But a crisis will reveal whether or not we have been putting it into practice. If we will obey the Spirit of God and practice in our physical life what God has placed within us by His Spirit, then when a crisis does come we will find that our own nature, as well as the grace of God, will stand by us.

Thank God that He does give us difficult things to do! His salvation is a joyous thing, but it is also something that requires bravery, courage, and holiness. It tests us for all we are worth. Jesus is “bringing many sons to glory” (Hebrews 2:10), and God will not shield us from the requirements of sonship. God’s grace produces men and women with a strong family likeness to Jesus Christ, not pampered, spoiled weaklings. It takes a tremendous amount of discipline to live the worthy and excellent life of a disciple of Jesus in the realities of life. And it is always necessary for us to make an effort to live a life of worth and excellence.

Wisdom From Oswald Chambers

God engineers circumstances to see what we will do. Will we be the children of our Father in heaven, or will we go back again to the meaner, common-sense attitude? Will we stake all and stand true to Him? “Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.” The crown of life means I shall see that my Lord has got the victory after all, even in me.  The Highest Good—The Pilgrim’s Song Book, 530 L

Bible in a Year: Job 34-35; Acts 15:1-21

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, July 07, 2022
Never a Day Without a Sunrise - #9259

Yes, I'm one of those morning people. You know, the kind the Bible is talking about when it says, "If a man loudly blesses his neighbor early in the morning, it will be taken as a curse" (Proverbs 27:14). There's so much for the morning people! Actually, I love that verse. I mean, even if you can't stand us morning people, you have to admit there are some advantages to those early hours of the day, getting started on things before there are interruptions, beating the world to the punch, and best of all, the sunrises. Yeah, I love them! I've got a nice view out the east window of my study, and I never tire of watching that sun start to climb above the trees. Sure, once in a while I can't see the sun rising. Maybe I'm feeling sick or well, or I might be feeling excited or "blah," up or down. But take it from a long-time early morning eyewitness, that sun always rises.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Never a Day Without a Sunrise."

For me, those sunrises are a visible symbol of a spiritual fact that is really "make it or break it" truth for your life and mine, that God Himself lights every new day, no matter what that day holds. And days are God's fundamental building blocks in our life.

Our word for today from the Word of God is only seven words. It was at the beginning of the year that I asked our whole team to build the year on this promise. Zephaniah 3:5. You know what it says? "Every new day, He will not fail." Wow! Maybe I could just read that over and over for the rest of our time together. I mean it's what makes every day - every day - doable. Your coworkers will fail you some days, your boss will, your family will, even your mate will, your church, fellow believers, even spiritual leaders. But "every new day, He will not fail."

I'm so glad God has based some of His central promises on daily delivery, because we don't experience our life as weeks, or months, or years. What do we do? We do a day, and so does God. He meets our needs in the form of "daily bread" (Matthew 6:11). "His mercies are new every morning" (Lamentations 3:22-23). All you have to do each morning is grab your mercy basket and go pick up what you need, just like that Old Testament manna. In Psalm 68:19, we're told that God is our "Savior, who daily bears our burdens." That's a good thing, because isn't that how we experience our burdens-the weight of this particular day.

Deuteronomy 33:25 promises "your strength will equal your days." You will never have a day for which you do not have matching strength, even if some days give you more to carry than you have ever carried before. The Apostle Paul tells us one big reason why we never need to "lose heart" He says In his words, "Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed (here it comes) day by day." So, no matter how battered you got yesterday, God has promised that He will give you a renewing, rejuvenating, re-energizing touch each new day.

Look, some days you're going to wake up anxious. Some days you're going to wake up dreading the day. Some days you're going to be excited about what's ahead. Other days you're going to be overwhelmed by what's ahead, or some days you may be discouraged, or eager, or exhausted. But however you are, no matter what the day holds, the sun is going to come up again. It always does. And God is going to light this day, no matter what. So why don't you claim God's seven-word guarantee for yourself. In fact, say it with me now because you need to hear yourself say it. You ready? "Every new day, He will not fail!"