So just what is goodness? How do you define it?

According to the dictionary it goes as follows:

1. the state or quality of being good.
2. moral excellence; virtue.
3. kindly feeling; kindness; generosity.
4. excellence of quality: goodness of workmanship.
5. the best part of anything; essence; strength.
6. a euphemism for God: Thank goodness!

The person in relationship with God will not flirt with sin. Instead, we will live in such a way as to avoid even the appearance of evil. It is this fruit of goodness that causes you and me to make this our aim. If you don't aim at it, you'll never hit it. I'm not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but I do aim for the mark and will do my best to finish strong.

Yours in Christ,

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Day 2

Now I don't want to sound like a jerk here, but why wasn't Saul going after Jonathan first? Saul knew that Jonathan and David loved each other like brothers and he knew that his son had helped David escaped before. Saul even brought Jonathan with him on the hunt and didn't watch where he went while he left camp.

And talk about self-control! David was close enough to Saul to kill him outright, but only cut a corner of his robe... then felt sorry he did it! To top it off, he called out to Saul and showed it to him! I think I'd mail it myself! David was very brave and very faithful. Of course, he was the annointed king of the Israelites upon the passing of Saul, so this is a bit of life insurance, but you can only count on that assurance if you have faith. For that reason, David gets some mega-kudos from me! Saul was obviously impressed as well, and it looks like there will be peace between the two. That's just the first instance in this reading where it is shown that vengeance is the Lord's. Not ours.

Day 3

1 Chronicles 12:1-7 and 19 These were the men who came to David at Ziklag, while he was banished from the presence of Saul son of Kish (they were among the warriors who helped him in battle; they were armed with bows and were able to shoot arrows or to sling stones right-handed or left-handed; they were kinsmen of Saul from the tribe of Benjamin): Ahiezer their chief and Joash the sons of Shemaah the Gibeathite; Jeziel and Pelet the sons of Azmaveth; Beracah, Jehu the Anathothite, and Ishmaiah the Gibeonite, a mighty man among the Thirty, who was a leader of the Thirty; Jeremiah, Jahaziel, Johanan, Jozabad the Gederathite, Eluzai, Jerimoth, Bealiah, Shemariah and Shephatiah the Haruphite; Elkanah, Isshiah, Azarel, Joezer and Jashobeam the Korahites; and Joelah and Zebadiah the sons of Jeroham from Gedor. Some of the men of Manasseh defected to David when he went with the Philistines to fight against Saul. (He and his men did not help the Philistines because, after consultation, their rulers sent him away. They said, "It will cost us our heads if he deserts to his master Saul.")

Here we go again! It looks like I spoke too soon about Saul's peace with David. Of course, if David believed it at the time, he would have returned to his normal duties before the troubles. Again, David finds Saul in a vulnerable moment, spares him, and asks why he is being hunted. Again Saul repents and again David knows not to return, but to flee. This time he is spared in Philistine country, but all the while, he is killing Philistines and raiding them. This guy had some serious guts!

Did Saul ever pay attention to the teachings of the time? Did he know any of the Laws of God? Of course he did, but here he is consulting one of the mediums that were to be put to death by the command of God. I'd say Samuel was gentle with him in how he answered the question.

Day 4

11 Chronicles 12:20-22, 9:40-44 and 2 Samuel 4:4 When David went to Ziklag, these were the men of Manasseh who defected to him: Adnah, Jozabad, Jediael, Michael, Jozabad, Elihu and Zillethai, leaders of units of a thousand in Manasseh. They helped David against raiding bands, for all of them were brave warriors, and they were commanders in his army. Day after day men came to help David, until he had a great army, like the army of God. The son of Jonathan: Merib-Baal, who was the father of Micah. The sons of Micah: Pithon, Melech, Tahrea and Ahaz. Ahaz was the father of Jadah, Jadah was the father of Alemeth, Azmaveth and Zimri, and Zimri was the father of Moza. Moza was the father of Binea; Rephaiah was his son, Eleasah his son and Azel his son. Azel had six sons, and these were their names: Azrikam, Bokeru, Ishmael, Sheariah, Obadiah and Hanan. These were the sons of Azel. (Jonathan son of Saul had a son who was lame in both feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel. His nurse picked him up and fled, but as she hurried to leave, he fell and became crippled. His name was Mephibosheth.)

I get the impression that the band of fighters with David here walks too fine a line between Life and Death. David had nothing to do with the raid that took the families of his raiders and he had lost as much as any of them, yet they were speaking of stoning him! Nonetheless, he did the right thing and inquired about his next move with God. This is so refreshing! After recovering their losses, David also let those troublemakers know that the plunder was to be shared among them all equally.

Next we have the death of Saul and his sons. Trust and Obey. After David's mercy on Saul, I'm a bit saddened at this loss, but know that this occurred on God's timeline. He knows the number of days each of us is allotted and what His plan for our lives is. What happens next is up to us.

When David learned that Saul and his family was dead, I imagine the flurry of emotions was intense. The joy of not having to run and hide any longer. The sorrow of losing his best friend. The sadness that the Lord's annointed was no more. The responsibility of a nation. That's enough to send most people for counseling. David did some hard mourning over this.

Day 5

1 Chronicles 3:1-4 and 2 Samuel 3:1-5 These were the sons of David born to him in Hebron: The firstborn was Amnon the son of Ahinoam of Jezreel; the second, Daniel the son of Abigail of Carmel; the third, Absalom the son of Maacah daughter of Talmai king of Geshur; the fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith; the fifth, Shephatiah the son of Abital; and the sixth, Ithream, by his wife Eglah. 4 These six were born to David in Hebron, where he reigned seven years and six months. David reigned in Jerusalem thirty-three years. The war between the house of Saul and the house of David lasted a long time. David grew stronger and stronger, while the house of Saul grew weaker and weaker. Sons were born to David in Hebron: His firstborn was Amnon the son of Ahinoam of Jezreel; his second, Kileab the son of Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel; the third, Absalom the son of Maacah daughter of Talmai king of Geshur; the fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith; the fifth, Shephatiah the son of Abital; and the sixth, Ithream the son of David's wife Eglah. These were born to David in Hebron.

Saul had a son still alive who took control over much of Israel for a while. This resulted in a civil war. David's men were much better fighters and he slowly began to win the war, but it must have chafed him to be killing Israelites! David's mighty men were probably the greatest warriors of their time. To fight many armed opponents and kill them all is an astounding feat!

Day 6

This is a reading of transition. David was growing in power and there was some violence involved. This is recorded for the ages, but I'm not seeing many lessons here other than David dispensing quick justice to anyone who attacks the family of Saul. Because I don't see any other lessons, I'll speak for a moment about the psalms that we have begun to explore.

I read a book last year called Gettin' There by Steve Farrar. Actually that was the second time I had read it, but it is such a great book, I had to read it over. It discusses how the paths we walk in our days are fraught with dangerous choices we can make and shortcuts that seem to always run into peril. It also shows that this path of life, this trail as Steve puts it, is one that is a marked trail, with vital information on where you should go, where to rest, where to find comfort and so on. These trail markers are found in the psalms. Before reading this book, I figured the songs in the Bible to be mostly "sissy stuff," but the book pointed out that many of them were written by one of the greatest warriors in the history of humanity, a real man named David. A man with godly tendencies and human faults.

I won't give up too much here, but Steve points out that every Psalm has a beginning, a middle, and an end. Most of them discuss the heartache or problems of the writer and end up with praise given to God, for He is the one that can solve all of your problems. The book is written from a male perspective, or is meant for that audience, but I saw very little content that was specifically meant for men and not women. There is a bit about fatherhood, but other than that, it's a universal book. If you've ever regretted a decision you've made and want to return to God's trail for your life, this book needs to be on your home!

One other note, you've never seen an advertisement in this newsletter, and I plan to complete the year with this policy, so this should not be seen as an ad, but rather as a strong reccommendation. If you check the book out from the library, you'll be glad you did.

Day 7

Weekly Link http://www.cse.unsw.edu.au/~geoffo/humour/flattery.html Automatic Flatterer: Whenever I'm down in the dumps and it seems that nobody will be my friend, I usually stop by this site for a quick dose of self affirmation. OK, not really, but it is a cute site. Just enter your name and let the site take care of the rest!

I hope you enjoyed this e-zine. If you know anyone else who would enjoy this newsletter, please forward this e-mail to them or direct them to http://www.coffeeswirls.com/weeklybible/
Thanks for sharing my goal of reading the Bible in its entirety this year!