The Essential 100, Day 35 What are we attempting to do for God? If we say we love God, how are we demonstrating our love to him? For king David, he wanted to build a house for the Lord to show his love. Read 2 Samuel 5-7. God had established David as the king over the land. Now, David is looking around himself and realizes that God has given him so much and he is so incredibly thankful. The question then becomes, what can David do for God? While God didn’t allow David to be the one to build a house for him, God loved and appreciated that David was…

The Essential 100, Day 34 Difficult people. The world seems to be full of difficult people. We have people who we struggle to get along with and David gives us great examples as he dealt with Saul. Read 1 Samuel 23:22-24:7. Unfortunately, we are never going to be universally loved. There are going to be people we struggle to get along with and people who are committed to seeing bad things happen to us. Saul was that person for David. The key is how David responded. David continued to follow God, but he refused to try to do anything to Saul himself. David knew that was God’s job. God must…

The Essential 100, Day 33 Giant in your path? We all experience giants to overcome, including giants of our own making. How do we face them? Read 1 Samuel 16:1-18:16. David had been annointed king, but wasn’t king yet. He had several obstacles in his way, and one actual giant. He knew that God had a plan for him and he continued to move through obedience, taking on one giant at a time. What giants are we facing? Are we willing to be obedient to go out and confront them in God’s strength? Do we rely on God to guide us and to fight our battles for us? Only God…

The Essential 100, Day 32 “We want a king.” The Israelite people decided they needed an actual, flesh-and-blood king to lead them instead of listening to and relying on God. Read 1 Samuel 8-10. Samuel was upset by this, but God reminded him that the people weren’t rejecting Samuel, but God. When we think about the rulers and governments that we have, do we seek people who are Godly and follow God first? Do we desire to truly follow God first and then follow leaders second? If God were our king, would we follow or rebel? When we look at our leaders, we have a responsibility to try to help…

The Essential 100, Day 31 God speaks to us. We have the opportunity to hear God’s word every single day. Read 1 Samuel 1-3. Yes, Samuel had an amazing encounter with God. God spoke directly to him on that one occasion. However, the Bible clearly states that Samuel learned about God and deepened his relationship with God through His Word. How much focus do we give God’s word? How much time? If we are going to grow in our relationship with God, it will depend on how much time we spend in study of His word. Even Samuel, one of the heroes of the faith, learned through God’s word. So…

The Essential 100, Day 30 Love. We love our family and we love friends, and most importantly, we love God. Read the 4 chapters in the book of Ruth. Naomi was in a difficult situation. Widowed and alone, she made the decision to go back to her homeland and Ruth came with her. All through out this story we see how Ruth loves Naomi and how Naomi loves and cares for Ruth. Ultimately, we see Boaz’s love and care for Ruth and Naomi. When we look at our lives, how many ways can you identify God’s love for you? In what ways do you demonstrate your love for God? How…

The Essential 100, Day 29 Pride is a very dangerous thing. Samson learned this the hard way. Read Judges 13-16. Samson thought he had everything made. He was stronger than anyone, and he did whatever he liked, whenever he liked. God used him in amazing and awesome and wonderful ways to judge the Philistines and to help free the Israelites from their bondage. However, Samson struggled with pride. He was stronger than anyone else and he knew it. He stopped relying on the Lord to fight his battles for him. This became such an issue that even when the Lord had left him, he didn’t realize it. Do we rely…

The Essential 100, Day 28 “Who me? You don’t really mean me, right?” Sometimes when we see what God is leading us to do, our first thought is, “I can’t possibly do that.” We’re not alone. Read Judges 6-7. The Israelites were in trouble again and God was going to move through a cowardly, scared, man named Gideon. When God told him what was planned, Gideon said, “Who, me?” Are we afraid to be used by God? Most of us claim to want God to use us, but when He starts to move, we back up in the opposite direction. What is God calling you to do? Are you being…

The Essential 100, Day 27 Do we have a spiritual mentor? Who do we go to to check ourselves and ask questions and learn more about who God is and how God wants to work and move in our lives? Read Judges 4-5. Deborah was the leader of Israel at this point. People from all over the country used her as their spiritual mentor. They came to her and asked questions and looked for guidance. She ultimately lead them to one of their greatest victories. We need spiritual mentors. While it is true that we can learn everything we need to about God from his holy word, having other people…

The Essential 100, Day 26 To obey or not to obey, that is the question. As the Israelites continue, they were not completely obedient to the Lord. As a result, as the years go by, many of the nations that would be a temptation and lead the Israelites astray were left in the country. Read Judges 2:6-3:6. The Israelites got stuck in a pattern of disobedience, repentance, salvation, and more disobedient it. Unfortunately, they never made a commitment to the Lord that they would keep for years and years and through generations and generations. However, we must understand that in the end, our decision to obey the Lord is truly…