25. November 2009 by Bernice Davis.

Hello:

In today’s lesson, we see the response of David to Joab once he has found out that Joab was behind the plot to get Absalom home.

Here is our text:

II Samuel 14:21 The king said to Joab, “Very well, I will do it. Go, bring back the young man Absalom.” 22 Joab fell with his face to the ground to pay him honor, and he blessed the king. Joab said, “Today your servant knows that he has found favor in your eyes, my lord the king, because the king has granted his servant’s request.” 23 Then Joab went to Geshur and brought Absalom back to Jerusalem. 24 But the king said, “He must go to his own house; he must not see my face.” So Absalom went to his own house and did not see the face of the king.

As you can see in our text, David allows Absalom to return to Jerusalem but he is not to see the king but to return to his own house for David did not want to see him yet he longed for him. 

But…… was this a good idea.  What will Absalom become and has he changed or has he been humbled by his father allowing him to return from exile?  Tune in next week, as we continue our journey into the life of David as our second monarch king.

I just want to wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving.  I know I have friends in other countries who the Thanksgiving holiday does not apply to but I wish you a great week as well.

I was babysitting my niece and nephew on yesterday because they were out of school for the thanksgiving holiday and their parents were at work and as they went with me to run errands, I watched the crowds flock into the grocery stores preparing for the holiday meal and the traffic from everyone getting on the road trying to make it to their destination and people putting up their holiday decorations and it gave me just a really good feeling.

Everyone appeared to be happy and in great anticipation of  seeing their loved ones for the holidays.   I loved the traffic, the shopping ….. just everything about this holiday season…. Oohhhhhhhhhhhhh…. Yes and the food.  I think most of us will put on about 10 pounds over the next week and back to the gym on Monday. 

There are church services everywhere having thanksgiving services to celebrate and express their love to God for what they have and simply for who God is ….    It is a great season.   Let’s also remember to share.   There are so many people who are in need this year than previous years because of the declining economy. 

Find a family to help and even if it is just a little, share what you have to make someone else’s holiday great and demonstrate the love of Christ through your generosity.  If you can’t afford to help financially, you can always volunteer some time with other organizations that are helping.  There are so many feed the hungry programs that need volunteers just to help out even if you can’t financially support.   Your time is a valuable donation that is needed and will be highly appreciated by both the organizations and the people being serviced. 

If you really want to maximize the great feelings of love and warmth this holiday season then be a blessing to others and watch how it changes your life and blesses you.  While you intended it to bless others (and it will) the gift of giving actually blesses you also.  Life is not living unless you’re giving.

Be safe this holiday weekend, don’t eat too much (lol) and don’t forget to be kind to someone and love one another.

While the family gathers together, forgive, love, laugh, and enjoy.  Life is so short and you just never know.

God bless you all.   I will not post again until Monday.  

Have a wonderful thanksgiving.

Stay encouraged!

God Bless!!!!!!!

Don’t forget to pray and read God’s word daily.

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24. November 2009 by Bernice Davis.

Hello: 

In today’s lesson, we discovered David’s response to the woman from Tekoa. 

II Samuel 14:8 The king said to the woman, “Go home, and I will issue an order in your behalf.” 9 But the woman from Tekoa said to him, “My lord the king, let the blame rest on me and on my father’s family, and let the king and his throne be without guilt.” 10 The king replied, “If anyone says anything to you, bring him to me, and he will not bother you again.” 11 She said, “Then let the king invoke the LORD his God to prevent the avenger of blood from adding to the destruction, so that my son will not be destroyed.” “As surely as the LORD lives,” he said, “not one hair of your son’s head will fall to the ground.” 12 Then the woman said, “Let your servant speak a word to my lord the king.” “Speak,” he replied. 13 The woman said, “Why then have you devised a thing like this against the people of God? When the king says this, does he not convict himself, for the king has not brought back his banished son? 14 Like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be recovered, so we must die. But God does not take away life; instead, he devises ways so that a banished person may not remain estranged from him. 15 “And now I have come to say this to my lord the king because the people have made me afraid. Your servant thought, ‘I will speak to the king; perhaps he will do what his servant asks. 16 Perhaps the king will agree to deliver his servant from the hand of the man who is trying to cut off both me and my son from the inheritance God gave us.’ 17 “And now your servant says, ‘May the word of my lord the king bring me rest, for my lord the king is like an angel of God in discerning good and evil. May the LORD your God be with you.’ ” 18 Then the king said to the woman, “Do not keep from me the answer to what I am going to ask you.” “Let my lord the king speak,” the woman said. 19 The king asked, “Isn’t the hand of Joab with you in all this?” The woman answered, “As surely as you live, my lord the king, no one can turn to the right or to the left from anything my lord the king says. Yes, it was your servant Joab who instructed me to do this and who put all these words into the mouth of your servant. 20 Your servant Joab did this to change the present situation. My lord has wisdom like that of an angel of God–he knows everything that happens in the land.”  

If you recall from yesterday, the entire story was a setup by Joab the commander of David’s army to get David to bring Absalom home.  David is very gracious towards the woman and issues protection for the son that has killed his brother.   David ensures the woman that the son would be allowed to return home without harm and her heir would be safe. The woman then reveals to David that why does he not grant the same grace to his son and return him to the kingdom.   

I love the wisdom that this woman speaks.  She tells David that the king convicts himself with his actions towards her in not bringing back his own son.   She tells David that God does not take away life; instead, He devises ways so that a banished person may not remain estranged from him.   She convinces David that he needs to unite his son Absalom back to the inheritance that God has planned for them. 

David understands quickly that this entire plot must be at the hand of Joab and inquires to the woman as to who instructed her to come to the king.  The woman reveals as David assumed that it was Joab. 

Tomorrow, we will discover what David says to Joab once he confronts him about the what the woman has done. 

Stay encouraged! 

God Bless!!!!!!!  Don’t forget to pray and read God’s word daily. 

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23. November 2009 by Bernice Davis.

Hello Everyone:

I hope you had a wonderful weekend.  God answered a long time prayer for me on this past week and every time I think about it I simply blush.  God is so faithful.  Longevity of time can cause you to loose heart if you allow it.   But GOd is sooooooooooooo faithful.  WOW!!!!!!!!!  I am tearing up as I write it.   Thank you God.    Your mercies are new every morning because great is your faithfulness.

 Today we will pick back up our study of the monarchy.  We left off  with Absalom taking his brother Ammon’s life for the rape of his sister Tamar.   Absalom went into hiding and David mourned not only for the son that was killed but also for the one that was on the run.  Today in our story, it starts out by saying that David is still mourning for Absalom so Joab devises a plan to try to get Absalom home.

Here is our story:

 II Samuel 14: Joab son of Zeruiah knew that the king‘s heart longed for Absalom. 2 So Joab sent someone to Tekoa and had a wise woman brought from there. He said to her, “Pretend you are in mourning. Dress in mourning clothes, and don‘t use any cosmetic lotions. Act like a woman who has spent many days grieving for the dead. 3 Then go to the king and speak these words to him.” And Joab put the words in her mouth. 4 When the woman from Tekoa went to the king, she fell with her face to the ground to pay him honor, and she said, “Help me, O king!” 5 The king asked her, “What is troubling you?” She said, “I am indeed a widow; my husband is dead. 6 I your servant had two sons. They got into a fight with each other in the field, and no one was there to separate them. One struck the other and killed him. 7 Now the whole clan has risen up against your servant; they say, ‘Hand over the one who struck his brother down, so that we may put him to death for the life of his brother whom he killed; then we will get rid of the heir as well.‘ They would put out the only burning coal I have left, leaving my husband neither name nor descendant on the face of the earth.”

As you can see in our text, this entire scenario was a lie.  The goal of the trick is to get David to render a verdict that would protect the son that was in the wrong and then the woman would use the scenario to encourage David to do the same with his exiled son.   For the record, David never exiled his son.  Absalom went into hiding on his own.  We do not know what David would have done to Absalom if anything if he had stayed in Jerusalem.  What we do know is that David did not punish Amnon for the rape of his sister which could have possibly avoided this entire situation. 

This is a similar method to how Nathan approached David when he had sinned with Bathsheba.  If you recall, Nathan tells David a story about a shepherd who only had one sheep which was taken by a rich man who could have had anything.  David was so furious with the incidence that he pronounced judgment on the man who had taken the sheep.   Nathan, responds by revealing to David that he is the one in the story.  

Tomorrow, we will study what judgment David will give to this woman of Tekoa for the scenario that she presented to him.

Stay encouraged and don’t forget to pray and read God’s word daily.

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20. November 2009 by Bernice Davis.

Hello Everyone:

I am so excited.   Just so excited about the God we serve.  God is sooooooooo good. 

It is Friday and as you all know I love my weekends.  I love being in the house of God with the saints of God.  I just love it all.

Today, I want to share with you some more from the book I have been reading entitled: “ I think, I thought, I Knew:  No Place for an Original Idea?” by Bishop Dwight Pate.

These statements come from the chapter entitled Your Wealth is in Your Mind.

There are six creeds or conditions that give birth to contentment and true wealth.

1.     Don’t worry- God’s word proclaims:  “Therefore I say unto you, take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on.  Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?  Did you ever see a bird with a worm pack on his back or trying to plow up a field to stock a barn? A bird simply eats its weight in food and sings a “tweedle dee” tune daily.  God says that you are better than a bird.

2.     Don’t hurry- You are right where you need to be for a great testimony to come forth, don’t hurry.  Haste makes waste.  Patience is a virtue because God is in control.  Your confession should be, “I will take my time and do God’s will.”  In this manner you will allow patience to complete a perfect work in you.

3.     Don’t murmur.  Murmuring is a spirit that caused the children of Israel to lose out on the blessing of the Promised Land.  The Bible cautions believers to “Do all things without murmurings and disputings.” 

4.     Don’t resent- When others are promoted in wealth or influence, guard your own heart and mind so that you don’t possess spiritual resentment.  There is a spirit around power and wealth that will cause men to betray you.  Remember money does not change a person; it only magnifies the type of person one already is. 

5.     Don’t push- You are right where God wants you to be.  Jesus says, “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will and it shall be done unto you.”  In short, God said if you don’t have it, He will design and make if just for you if you allow His words to live in your heart.  Don’t force what God is willing to simply give to you by faith in Him.  Don’t push your way out of God’s timing for perfect fulfillment.

6.     Don’t grab- Sometimes the very thing that you are anxious to reach out for will make a slave out of you.  A slave is controlled by the mind of masters that have been given a place of authority over him.  He or she lives to fulfill the thoughts of others; to gather wealth for others.  When you hear of something that is too good to be true and you want to reach out for it, it is generally and literally “too good to be true.”  But wherever peace and contentment is practiced, God will impregnate that mind with the wealth and power of heaven and money will find you on the earth.  The Virgin Mary in peace and contentment said “yes” to God concerning the idea of Jesus in her womb.  As a result, camels started loading up with gold, frankincense, and myrrh to travel from foreign countries to her dwelling in order to lay these treasures at her feet.  Allow your mind to conceive God’s ideas, allow your heart to believe them and God will use you to achieve it.  You don’t have to grabble and beg.  It’s a mind thing, it’s a yes thing, and it’s a God thing.  “I think, I thought, I knew” will be realized for you as truth through the word of God and His approval of a strong state of mind.  Live in peace…..

I hope you enjoyed the portions that I shared with you.  Please purchase the book should you want to be blessed by this phenomenal teaching on the mind.  You can go to his website at www.bishopdwightpate.com for ordering info.

Have a wonderful weekend and stay encouraged.

Don’t forget to pray and read God’s word daily.

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19. November 2009 by Bernice Davis.

Hello Everyone:

I just got back home.  Today was my traveling day and I am just now able to get to a computer for the first time.  You may have noticed that yesterday’s post was cut short.  My laptop went out on me in the hotel and I wasn’t able to finish yesterday’s post.  Guess I’ll be getting a new one soon.   I am so sorry for this crazy week.

To all my new friends in Batonrouge Louisiana, I just want to say that I love you and miss you already.  It was a glorious five days together and thank you for receiving me so graciously.      We were all tearing up a little bit last night as I was saying goodbye.  You  have really encouraged my heart and motivated me to do better and be better.   You have such a love for God’s word and I appreciate all the wonderful things that you shared with me.

To everyone else, I don’t have time to do justice to our study today so we will pick up on tomorrow or maybe tomorrow, I will finish some of the quotes that I promised you from the book I am reading on the mind and we will start afresh on Monday with our study of the monarchy.

I just want to say again that I appreciate everyone that follows me on the daily devotional and I thank God for the ones who continue to support me monthly with your prayers, finances, and words of encouragement.   I just want you to know that I do value the fact that you take the time out of your day to study with me daily.

I pray that everyone will be so blessed and encouraged and strengthened this holiday season and I am looking forward not only to the new year but to tomorrow.   I just love life and I love doing God’s business here on this earth.  Be encouraged everyone and don’t forget to pray and read God’s word daily.

Love you all

Bernice

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18. November 2009 by Bernice Davis.

Hello Everyone:

Today, I promised that I would share with you some quotes from a book that I am reading by Bishop Dwight Pate entitled “I think, I thought, I knew: No place for an original idea.”

Chapter two of the book opens up with the following:

There is no place for an original idea in the old mind and if a new idea is going to come, there must be a fight to recive and implement it. We don’t like to fight. Most of us are peaceful people

. Most of us don’t like making waves. When a new idea comes, it comes with a spirit of war because a spirit of resistance meets it. Don’t expect others to cheer you on when you think differently from them. The excitement of a new idea makes you want to tell everybody. The most violent thing that could happen to you is to think a thought that no one else has heard.

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17. November 2009 by Bernice Davis.

Hello Everyone:

As you know, I am in Batonrouge preaching until tomorrow night and I just don’t have the words to explain to you what I have experienced from God in these last three services.

I am here with CHurch Point Ministries where Bishop Dwight Pate is the Pastor  and they say that I am a blessing to them but I am the one being blessed.

In my humble opinion, Bishop Pate is the one of the greatest teachers of our day on the mind.  He has coined the phrase all over the world that “its  a mind thing.”   I have heard him personally testify and talk about the move of GOd that took place in Batonrouge years ago and about the thousands of members that were trained under him where he instructed them on the mind.

I was with him all day on yesterday and every corner we turned, we ran into sons and daughters that he mentored and raised up in the ministry who have implemented his teachings on the mind and “an original thought” and been instrumental in changing the city and many have become self-made millionaires.

Do not get me wrong, it is not the fact that they are wealthy that impressed me but their determination to act out the gospel in feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick, ministering to those that are in prisons and fighting for injustices of all kinds without compromising the gospel of Jesus Christ.

I have been reading his book this week entitled:”  I think, I thought, I knew!!! ” No place for an Original Idea?” and I feel so revive mentally and emotionally.

For the next few days while I am away from home, I would like to share with you some of the excerpts from the book and I encourage you to buy it.   It will change your life.

In the first chapter entitled “It’s a Mind Thing” he says the following:

The writer in Proverbs says, ” As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.”  As a man meditates and turns over the images of his mind, he becomes the very images that pass through his mind.

Merriam Webster’s definition of the mind is: “The element or complex of elements in an individual that feels, perceives, thinks, wills and especially reasons.:  The mind is the most wonderful gift that God has given you.  Through this gift, He has given you the ability to create the blessings of your life.  Many times you pray to God for the very things that you can create for yourself.  You have been told to wait upon the Lord for things that God has given you the power to bring to pass.  Whatever God brings to you (mind) he must bring through you.  In short, you ask for money that God has already given you in the form of ideas that you never allow to manifest.

God doesn’t want us dependently living for the need of miracles.  And he sure doesn’t want you living by the power of magic.   God wants you to live by faith in the knowledge of the Son of God, JEsus Christ; He wants you to have faith that there is more information to receive to help you walk life’s journey with purpose, health, and affluence.

It takes faith to renew your mind in spite of the information that you have already received in your mind through senses (what you have seen, felt,  touched, tasted and been told).  You must have faith:  the substance of things hoped for.  There is a better life for you out there as you explore the wisdom that is so liberally given in the word of God.

Taken from Page 1 and 2 of The book ” I think, I thought, I knew by Bishop Dwight Pate.

Be blessed everyone.  On tomorrow, I will share with you some of his famous mind quotes and I hope that will bless you and help you on your journey of renewing the mind as it is blessing me.

Stay encouraged and don’t forget to pray and read God’s word daily.

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16. November 2009 by Bernice Davis.

Hello Everyone:

In Batonrouge preaching all this week. have been out all day with the Bishop I am preaching for and I haven’t been able to get to a computer. will post tomorrow. i am sending this from my phone. be blessed….

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13. November 2009 by Bernice Davis.

Hello Everyone:

As we close out our study for the week, we will look at the response of David and Absalom (Tamar’s brother) to the rape of Tamar by her brother Amnon.

Here is our story:

II Samuel 13: 21 When King David heard all this, he was furious. 22 Absalom never said a word to Amnon, either good or bad; he hated Amnon because he had disgraced his sister Tamar

23 Two years later, when Absalom’s sheepshearers were at Baal Hazor near the border of Ephraim, he invited all the king’s sons to come there. 24 Absalom went to the king and said, “Your servant has had shearers come. Will the king and his officials please join me?” 25 “No, my son,” the king replied. “All of us should not go; we would only be a burden to you.” Although Absalom urged him, he still refused to go, but gave him his blessing. 26 Then Absalom said, “If not, please let my brother Amnon come with us.” The king asked him, “Why should he go with you?” 27 But Absalom urged him, so he sent with him Amnon and the rest of the king’s sons. 28 Absalom ordered his men, “Listen! When Amnon is in high spirits from drinking wine and I say to you, ‘Strike Amnon down,’ then kill him. Don’t be afraid. Have not I given you this order? Be strong and brave.”

29 So Absalom’s men did to Amnon what Absalom had ordered. Then all the king’s sons got up, mounted their mules and fled. 30 While they were on their way, the report came to David: “Absalom has struck down all the king’s sons; not one of them is left.” 31 The king stood up, tore his clothes and lay down on the ground; and all his servants stood by with their clothes torn. 32 But Jonadab son of Shimeah, David’s brother, said, “My lord should not think that they killed all the princes; only Amnon is dead. This has been Absalom’s expressed intention ever since the day Amnon raped his sister Tamar. 33 My lord the king should not be concerned about the report that all the king’s sons are dead. Only Amnon is dead.”

34 Meanwhile, Absalom had fled. Now the man standing watch looked up and saw many people on the road west of him, coming down the side of the hill. The watchman went and told the king, “I see men in the direction of Horonaim, on the side of the hill.” 35 Jonadab said to the king, “See, the king’s sons are here; it has happened just as your servant said.” 36 As he finished speaking, the king’s sons came in, wailing loudly. The king, too, and all his servants wept very bitterly. 37 Absalom fled and went to Talmai son of Ammihud, the king of Geshur. But King David mourned for his son every day. 38 After Absalom fled and went to Geshur, he stayed there three years. 39 And the spirit of the king longed to go to Absalom, for he was consoled concerning Amnon’s death.

In our story, David is furious about what his son has done to his daughter but he refuses to punish him.   The text gives us no evidence at all that Amnon was ever confronted for his crime.   Absalom hated Amnon and never spoke to him concerning the event.  We don’t know if Amnon thinks Absalom did not know or if he thought Absalom knew and did not have an opinion on the matter or what.   The text teaches us that Absalom never said a word to Amnon good or bad.

Two years passed by and Absalom throws a party for his sheep-shearers and invites the entire royal family.  David refuses to go and Absalom begs that all his brothers come especially Amnon. 

Once the party is in full swing and Amnon is in high spirits from drinking an order was given by Absalom to kill Amnon.

Amnon gets killed that night and Absalom is now on the run. 

The news gets back to David and now he is mourning for two sons, the one that was just killed and the one that is on the run.

This is the third disaster that befalls the house of David for his sin with Bathsheba.

Have a great weekend everyone.   Next week, we will continue our journey concerning the life of David, our second king in the monarchy.

Stay encouraged and don’t forget to pray and read God’s word daily.

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12. November 2009 by Bernice Davis.

Hello Everyone:

As we begin Chapter 13, we also will begin to watch the punishment pronounced upon David’s household unfold.   

Let’s look at the story:

II Samuel 13: 1 In the course of time, Amnon son of David fell in love with Tamar, the beautiful sister of Absalom son of David. 2 Amnon became frustrated to the point of illness on account of his sister Tamar, for she was a virgin, and it seemed impossible for him to do anything to her. 3 Now Amnon had a friend named Jonadab son of Shimeah, David’s brother. Jonadab was a very shrewd man. 4 He asked Amnon, “Why do you, the king’s son, look so haggard morning after morning? Won’t you tell me?” Amnon said to him, “I’m in love with Tamar, my brother Absalom’s sister.” 5 ”Go to bed and pretend to be ill,” Jonadab said. “When your father comes to see you, say to him, ‘I would like my sister Tamar to come and give me something to eat. Let her prepare the food in my sight so I may watch her and then eat it from her hand.’” 6 So Amnon lay down and pretended to be ill. When the king came to see him, Amnon said to him, “I would like my sister Tamar to come and make some special bread in my sight, so I may eat from her hand.” 7 David sent word to Tamar at the palace: “Go to the house of your brother Amnon and prepare some food for him.” 8 So Tamar went to the house of her brother Amnon, who was lying down. She took some dough, kneaded it, made the bread in his sight and baked it. 9 Then she took the pan and served him the bread, but he refused to eat. “Send everyone out of here,” Amnon said. So everyone left him. 10 Then Amnon said to Tamar, “Bring the food here into my bedroom so I may eat from your hand.” And Tamar took the bread she had prepared and brought it to her brother Amnon in his bedroom. 11 But when she took it to him to eat, he grabbed her and said, “Come to bed with me, my sister.” 12 ”Don’t, my brother!” she said to him. “Don’t force me. Such a thing should not be done in Israel! Don’t do this wicked thing. 13 What about me? Where could I get rid of my disgrace? And what about you? You would be like one of the wicked fools in Israel. Please speak to the king; he will not keep me from being married to you.” 14 But he refused to listen to her, and since he was stronger than she, he raped her. 15 Then Amnon hated her with intense hatred. In fact, he hated her more than he had loved her. Amnon said to her, “Get up and get out!” 16 ”No!” she said to him. “Sending me away would be a greater wrong than what you have already done to me.” But he refused to listen to her. 17 He called his personal servant and said, “Get this woman out of here and bolt the door after her.” 18 So his servant put her out and bolted the door after her. She was wearing a richly ornamented robe, for this was the kind of garment the virgin daughters of the king wore. 19 Tamar put ashes on her head and tore the ornamented robe she was wearing. She put her hand on her head and went away, weeping aloud as she went. 20 Her brother Absalom said to her, “Has that Amnon, your brother, been with you? Be quiet now, my sister; he is your brother. Don’t take this thing to heart.” And Tamar lived in her brother Absalom’s house, a desolate woman.  

In our text today, what is interesting is that this crime did not have to be committed.  Amnon is in love with his half sister.  They do not have the same mother and she is the sister to David’s son Absalom who becomes a key figure in this story later.  It was not illegal to marry your half sister.  If you will remember, Sarah was the half sister of Abraham and when he told the Pharaoh that she was his sister that is what he was referring to.   Tamar begs Amnon to ask the king for her and he goes on to say that the king will not deny him but he refuses.  After he rapes her, the text says that he despises her and now the hate for her is greater than the love and he throws her out.

Amnon still has a chance to do the right thing by her because though he raped her, he could have still asked the king for her hand in marriage.  Sending her away with the loss of her virginity made her a disgrace among her people and sentenced her to a life of solitude for all Israelite men in those days wanted virgins as their wives. ( unless they were adhering to the kinsman law that required them to take care of the widow of their nearest relative.)

If you will remember, the prophet Nathan told David that God said the sword would be in his own household.  This was the second disaster after the loss of his newborn of the tragedies that would befall David and his household. 

Tomorrow, we will study what David’s response will be when he finds that his daughter was raped by his son.

Stay encouraged and don’t forget to pray and read God’s word daily.

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