Zoe Dallas

The responsibility of a king requires faithfulness despite limitations, difficulties, and loneliness. In a series of encounters, David's responses to each of these men show us what it means to do the right thing, while pointing us to our need for a Savior who pardons, judges, and rewards perfectly.

The same report can be both good news and bad news. Absalom’s death is a victory for Israel, but how can David be at peace when his beloved son is gone? But even when there is no easy solution, that doesn’t mean there is no hope. In lose-lose situations, we must remember that nothing is too hard for our Lord who keeps all his promises.

We tend to care a lot about our reputation and our legacy: what people think of us now and what people will remember about us in the future. What we often overlook is the most important thing: what God thinks about you.

The new year is a time when people focus on their physical health. But going beyond that to consider our spiritual health, we must understand what it means to truly live by the word that God has given. His words are all we need to experience the good life.

While we long for the comforts of home at Christmastime, the larger human problem is that our perfect home has been corrupted by sin. The good news of Christmas is that Christ came into our brokenness to welcome us home: into his presence forever.

We might not usually associate Christmas with the ideas of fear and submission, but a deeper look at the gospel of Luke reveals the greater authority with which Christ has come into this earth.

Jesus is so much more than what people think of him this season as a baby. The gospel of Mark shows us that Jesus is from God, heaven breaking through to earth. He has entered into our fallen world and broken humanity, and has called us to go his way.

In the incarnation, we must remember that Jesus became part of a real human family, with a heritage filled with real victories and real baggage. He was born not only into a world of suffering and sin, but into a family legacy of suffering and sin. In his genealogy we see God’s grace from the beginning.

Thanksgiving is one of the qualities of the truly Spirit-filled life, but to have to give thanks always and for everything is indeed a lofty standard. How are we to grow in thankfulness as evidence of our faith?

God us the source of all comfort, and only his comfort is true and eternal. We can trust his promises to come alongside us in our time of distress, to give us courage in the face of suffering, and to provide comfort in such abundance that it will overflow as we share his comfort with others.