Tuesday, April 7, 2015

A REASON TO DANCE

Today’s Reading: 2 Samuel 6

Click scripture link to read online or HERE to listen online (then click the symbol of the audio speaker above the scripture portion).

 

Here are the remains of a column rising out of the ground in ancient Laodicea, the home of the “lukewarm church,” one of the seven churches of the book of Revelation (Rev. 13:14-22).

GOOGLE MAPS – To see where the photo was taken, click HERE.

 

Key Verse: 2 Samuel 6:14-15

Then David danced before the Lord with all his might; and David was wearing a linen ephod. So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting and with the sound of the trumpet.

Psalm 68, a song, may have been composed by King David for the occasion of bringing the Ark up to Jerusalem. David writes, “Yes, let them rejoice exceedingly. Sing to God, sing praises to His Name.” He also tells of a procession into the sanctuary: “The singers went before, the players on instruments followed after. Among them were the maidens playing timbrels” (Psalm 68:24-25). The Apostle Paul quotes a verse from Psalm 68:18 refering to Christ’s ascension into Heaven (Ephesians 4:8-10). There was at least one person who was not happy on the day the Ark was brought to Jerusalem. Saul’s daughter, Michal, was miserable. She had been manipulated by her father, and it seems that David didn’t love his first wife. Back in 1 Samuel 17:25 it is stated that Saul’s daughter would be given to the man who defeats Goliath. We can be sure that Michal had no say in the matter. Nevertheless, she came to love David (1 Samuel 18:28), and they were married. In the next chapter, Michal saves David’s life (1 Samuel 19:11-17). Then Saul intervenes again and gives Michal to another man. Now, after David took her from the other man, it seems there was no love there. Michal and David had been deeply hurt. Perhaps this history will help us understand David’s later conduct with other women (no excuse), and Michal’s bitterness and outburst against him…and why she was childless.

PRAYER FOR TODAY:

Lord God, I ask for healing of hurts from the past. I ask for a greater measure of joy and for freedom to express that joy before You in my worship of You. In Jesus’ Name. Amen!

100 PERSONAL WORDS:

I’ve been thinking of the words of Isaiah which Jesus read from the scroll when He announced His mission before His hometown congregation (Isaiah 61:1 & Luke 4:18). As I meditated on the messed-up relationship between David and Michal, I’ve been feeling sad. Now, however, I’m starting to rejoice as I read Isaiah and Luke. Jesus declared that the Spirit of the Lord has “sent Me to heal the brokenhearted” and “to set at liberty those who are oppressed.” Yes! Yes! I’ve seen Jesus do this again and again. Jesus is our “Ark.” He is the manifest presence of God in our lives. In fact, I’m thinking of two married couples I know well whose hearts were broken. Recently I sat in a restaurant with one of these couples and heard these words from both husband and wife: “Jesus has healed us so powerfully that we love each other more than ever before.” Only Jesus can do that. Jesus changes everything! Rejoicing fills my being as I think about Jesus.

Yours for expressing the joy of the Lord!

David

P.S. Norma-Jean showed me her facebook link to Budapest, Hungary. Here is a dance of joy from their celebration of Jesus’ resurrection. They call this a “Flash Mob.” To think that just over 20 years ago their communist government was trying their best to eradicate faith in God from all Hungarian people. I say to all killjoy atheists: Give up! You’ll never win! (click here) Celebrate Jesus!

In today’s reading, David brought the Ark of the Covenant up to Jerusalem. The sacred Ark contained the two tablets with the Ten Commandments, the rod of Aaron that blossomed and a pot of manna.

GOOGLE MAPS – To see where the photo was taken, click HERE.

9 thoughts on “Tuesday, April 7, 2015

  1. Thank you for the message, prayer and link to the flashmob dance via Norma-Jean, this morning, David. The power and exhilerating freedom to celebrate the Lord by the Hungarian people is incredible! Praise God!

    I can relate to holding onto the “pride” of being hurt by other Christians and having it defeat me from growing and moving forward in my relationship to honour and celebrate the Lord. The pinning ot the adversary is broken through our relationship with Jesus! I give thanks for gaining a deeper personal understanding from today’s scripture. Wishing all saints a blessed day!

  2. Wonderful! I clicked on the button for “see 39 cities” (or something like that) and it showed many cities of young people praising God in dance and song. So joyful.

  3. The next generation of Christian followers is alive and vibrant in Budapest, Hungary! Amen!

    “This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.”

    Have a great day blog friends…

  4. What Joy in the dance …thank you Rev. David and Norma-Jean for sharing…brought tears of joy to my eyes!!!

    My marriage ended in divorce many years ago…Praise God He is the healer of the brokenhearted…especially the children!!! as mentioned in Psalm 68 He is the Father of the fatherless and Husband to the widow!!! He is Faithful!!!

  5. King David seemed to be such an ingrate to Michal. She saved his life! I think they both would have benefited from reading “Love and Respect”:)
    Watched the DVD, Story in the Stars by Joe Amaral. I really enjoyed all the info and explanations as well as the beautiful shots of God’s grandeur in the sky. The only problem I had with the video was the lettering which had some light behind it in places, making it difficult to read. Otherwise it was great!
    Love my bible study! Thank you Rev. Mainse for dedicating your time and patience.
    Blessings dear saints and hope everyone had a joyful and meaningful Easter holiday.

  6. I hope u and your family had a wonderful EASTER .”
    I was watching different programs on Jesus over the weekend
    I did not know Jesus had four brothers and two sisters can u tell me more about them?

  7. Wonderful link to the dancing of Praise in Hungary thank you.

    Our son’s marriage was beautifully restored by The Grace of Our Lord. It has been wonderful to be a part of seeing it happen. So often it is easy to give up but through much prayer and repentance God gave triumph.

    Blessings fellow saints.

  8. Thank you so much David and Norma-Jean for sharing that wonderful video of the Hungarian people celebrating Jesus! My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed watching it over and over again a few times! Blessings to you and all our blog friends!

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