Do you have regrets? Most of us do. Those things that every time we think of them we wish: If only I had not made that decision in that moment- everything would be different. David, from the Bible, had a reason for deep regret also. In a moment of desperation, he told a lie that […]

God has an astounding sense of humor. When King Saul’s hatred and jealousy of David became so great that he developed a Captain Ahab-type obsession with killing him, God used King Saul’s own children to thwart multiple attempts by the king on David’s life. Saul’s oldest son Jonathan became his best friend, and Saul’s youngest […]

The Philistine army was thoroughly enjoying playing cat and mouse with the Israelites. They had the Israelite army vastly outnumbered and so outgunned (so to speak) that actually defeating them in battle seemed almost boring. And that didn’t even count their hero Goliath. The Philistines are historically famous for being brilliant metal workers. They were […]

Have you ever not been picked for something that you really thought was important? In the book of First Samuel, David was anointed king right in front of his brothers, who had not been chosen. In this video devotion, Alicia discusses how we can get past the hurt of rejection and find joy.

We are a basketball family and my 10-year-old son, Clayton, is a really good shot. He’s also not afraid to shoot the ball from nearly anywhere past the half-court line. Much of the time, his shots hit their mark- and it’s exciting! Sometimes it doesn’t matter where he’s shooting from, his shots just won’t go […]

Saul, the first king of Israel, was a promising monarch. In fact, at the beginning of his reign, Saul had a few characteristics that we could all learn from. First, Saul allowed God to shape his future. Saul had a pretty solid idea of how his life was going to go. He wasn’t at all […]

Spiritual leaders have a unique and solemn responsibility toward their community. The larger their platform, the greater their obligation. That is no less true today then it was in Bible times. In the book of First Samuel, Samuel the prophet was a good and godly spiritual leader. However, all four of his sons were despicable […]

When you were in high school, did you ever do pranks on a rival school? Once, just before football season, some kids went mud running through our football field and tore the turf to shreds. It was so bad that we had to play all of our games “away” that year while we waited for […]

The Second Chapter of First Samuel makes us want to high-five and fist-bump and jump up and down. It is rightly entitled, “Hannah’s Triumphant Prayer,” and it is magnificent! Hannah’s prayer is full of joy and praise and thankfulness to God for answering her prayers for a baby. It’s the kind of prayer that we […]

Every representation that I’ve ever seen of the Biblical character of Ruth shows a woman with glowing, olive-colored skin, long, dark eyelashes and hair so shiny that it belonged in a shampoo commercial. Her robe was neatly ironed. She is lovely. It’s easy to see why Boaz would take one glance at her and fall […]