Month: September 2025

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On What Are You Meditating?

Links for today’s readings:

Read: 1 Kings 2 Listen: (7:45)  Read: Psalms 19 Listen: (1:52)

Scripture Focus: Psalm 19.1-4b, 14

1 The heavens declare the glory of God;

the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

2 Day after day they pour forth speech;

night after night they reveal knowledge.

3 They have no speech, they use no words;

no sound is heard from them.

4 Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,

their words to the ends of the world…

14 May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart

be pleasing in your sight,

Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.

Reflection: On What Are You Meditating?

By John Tillman

John Lennox says, “The most incomprehensible thing about the universe is that it is comprehensible.” (God’s Undertaker: Has Science Buried God?) It doesn’t make sense that the universe makes sense unless there is a mind behind it.

In Psalm 19 the universe speaks. Heavens and skies pour forth speech, despite having no speech, words, or sound. Soundless voices and wordless words echo on earth as the heat of the sun gives everything life. How can a languageless universe lecture us and what could we learn?

Perhaps it is not that mathematics, physics, and other sciences don’t say anything about God. Perhaps we have forgotten how to read their alphabet and decode their vocabulary and grammar. But God doesn’t leave us with only this forgotten language to guide us. What is revealed by the universe leads us to discover God’s law, principles, and prophets.

The rest of the psalm describes the effects of remembering our “letters” to read the speech of the universe and the other means God uses to speak to us.

The ways of God affect our thinking, reasoning, and action. God’s law refreshes our souls and minds. God’s statutes cause the simple to act like the wise. God’s principles bring joy to our hearts. God’s commands brighten our eyes. The fear of the Lord sustains us forever. From our inner emotions and thinking, to our outward actions and perceptions, God’s law shapes us.

Pleasing God begins with meditation and continues with communication and action. The results of this meditation are rewarding. God’s words become more valuable than anything we treasure and more pleasing than anything we might taste. They protect us by warnings, detect hidden faults, and free us from the tyranny of our willful rebellions.

Divine means guide us to God’s blessings to make us a means of God’s blessings. By meditating on, speaking about, and acting in ways consistent with God’s truth, we bless ourselves and others.

On what are you meditating? Your meditations affect your speech and actions like seeds in soil—words and actions are their fruit. If we do not start with good seed, we will never blossom with good words or actions. Give ear to better “speech” than that of the algorithms that send you messages, news, and politics.

If speechless stars can speak, so can you. If wordless heavens can teach, so can you. Meditate on his glory so that your words and actions propagate his gospel.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons

The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” — Psalm 14.1

– Divine Hours prayers from The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summer
by Phyllis Tickle

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Read more: Meditation in Spiritual Rhythm

Meditation is a breathing apparatus to help us survive in a poisonous atmosphere polluted by anxiety and fear.

Meditation in Spiritual Rhythm :: Readers’ Choice
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Who Is the True King?

Links for today’s readings:

Read: 1 Kings 1 Listen: (7:52) Read: Psalms 18 Listen: (5:47)

Scripture Focus: 1 Kings 1.50-53

50 But Adonijah, in fear of Solomon, went and took hold of the horns of the altar. 51 Then Solomon was told, “Adonijah is afraid of King Solomon and is clinging to the horns of the altar. He says, ‘Let King Solomon swear to me today that he will not put his servant to death with the sword.’ ”

52 Solomon replied, “If he shows himself to be worthy, not a hair of his head will fall to the ground; but if evil is found in him, he will die.” 53 Then King Solomon sent men, and they brought him down from the altar. And Adonijah came and bowed down to King Solomon, and Solomon said, “Go to your home.”

Reflection: Who Is the True King?

By John Tillman

David is rightly remembered as the greatest of Israel’s kings. For generations, every good king will be described as following in David’s footsteps, and every bad king will be described as forsaking them. But David’s reign and personal life are far from perfect. The writers of the scrolls of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles go out of their way to show us that even the “man after God’s own heart” fell short.

The cracks caused by David’s flaws showed early. David’s taking of multiple wives and concubines and his inability or unwillingness to deal justly with crimes and corruption within his family explode into bloodshed over and over.

At the end of David’s reign, Israel found itself with two would-be kings. Which one is lawful? Which one is the usurper? Did Adonijah know David planned to place Solomon on the throne? Did David forget? Did Bathsheba or Nathan deceive David, making him think he forgot a promise he never made? Palace intrigue and conspiracy theories are always interesting to us.

Adonijah’s three older brothers were dead. According to tradition, he was the rightful heir. The writer carefully points out David’s failure to correct Adonijah or warn him about his presumptions. Adonijah and his supporters may have taken this as David’s tacit approval.

Some have proposed that Nathan and Bathsheba plotted against Adonijah by manipulating poor, old, senile David. However, David doesn’t seem weak or senile in his response. In addition, Chronicles has a fuller account of David’s public declaration that Solomon would be the next king. This public knowledge makes it hard to see Adonijah as innocent.

The sins of a normal person harm the individual, friends, and family. But even the tiniest flaws in rulers are multiplied by their wealth, influence, and power—and they slay multitudes. The warning tremors of instability we see during David’s lifetime grew after his death. Solomon’s reign would end with a nation-splitting earthquake of a civil war that cost tens of thousands of lives.

More powerful rulers are more likely to do greater harm, even with good intentions.

There are no perfect rulers on Earth, but that doesn’t mean character is a poor political strategy or that victory outweighs virtue. As we select rulers, remember: The more powerful rulers are, the more important character becomes. And in a democracy, the true king is the voter. And God will hold us to account.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Request for Presence

Be seated on your lofty throne, O Most High; O Lord, judge the nations. — Psalm 7.8

– Divine Hours prayers from The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summer
by Phyllis Tickle

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Listen to: Victory Over Violence

Violence is a complex topic in scripture, made more complex for those who have experienced it in their lives.

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Whose Victory Songs?

Links for today’s readings:

Read: 2  Samuel 22 Listen: (5:22)  Read: Psalms 13-14 Listen: (1:43)

Links for this weekend’s readings:

Read: 2  Samuel 23 Listen: (5:38)  Read: Psalms 15-16 Listen: (2:03)

Read: 2  Samuel 24 Listen: (4:48)  Read: Psalms 17 Listen: (1:58)

2 Samuel 22.1-37

1 David sang to the Lord the words of this song when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. 2 He said:

“The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
3 my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield  and the horn  of my salvation.
He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior—
from violent people you save me.

Psalm 18.1

1 I love you, Lord, my strength.

Reflection: Whose Victory Songs?

By John Tillman

David’s victory song from 2 Samuel 22 is also recorded as Psalm 18, with one added line: “I love you Lord, my strength.”

“Victory songs” in the Bible aren’t like “fight songs” from your favorite sports teams.

This past weekend, retired NFL center Jason Kelce made a surprise cameo playing saxophone in the “Marching Ravens” band. The Ravens went on to win the game. Like Kelce, I played saxophone in my high school band. Unlike him, I continued in college.

Marching bands play the same songs regardless of the outcome on the field. Bands play fight songs even when their teams have very little fight. Bands play victory songs even when the team is losing. Fight songs proclaim their team’s might, even when they are weak and threaten defeat to opponents that, short of a miracle, the team will never outscore. Sometimes, we had such a great time playing, the score didn’t matter. Bands raise the spirits of the crowd, not the score on the board.

Even though victory songs in the Bible are not focused on the earthly scoreboard, they are not oblivious to or disconnected from the outcomes on the field like stadium fight songs are. They aren’t just trying to raise spirits and ignore the score. They acknowledge crushing losses. They tell the truth about hopeless situations. They do not downplay the dominating strength of our opponents or the imminent danger of defeat.

David’s victory song is honest. He was in trouble. There was no escape. His strength was gone. Then, God showed up. God shook the foundations of the earth with his steps, scattered lightning from his fists, and spewed smoke and fire from his nose and mouth. There was no doubt whose victory this was.

David testified that the Lord became his strength. Biblical victory songs are about God’s victories, not ours. However, when we trust in God, he gives to us from his strength and shares with us his victories. You don’t need strength when life is easy. Muscles atrophy without strain. Therefore, you can only experience God’s strength when life is impossible without it.

Whatever your life’s scoreboard reads, sing biblical victory songs to God without skipping any stanzas of hymns of heartbreak. Let harmonies of hardships ring. When God brings you his victory and strength say with David, “I love the Lord, my strength.”

Divine Hours Prayer: The Call to Prayer

Search for the Lord and his strength; continually seek his face. — Psalm 105.4

– Divine Hours prayers from The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summer
by Phyllis Tickle

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Listen to: Victory Over Violence

Violence is not a solution to disputes or conflicts. It normally escalates rather than de-escalates.

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Take Refuge in Hope

Links for today’s readings:

Read: 2  Samuel 21 Listen: (4:34) Read: Psalms 11-12 Listen: (1:59)

Scripture Focus: Psalm 11

1 In the Lord I take refuge.

How then can you say to me:

“Flee like a bird to your mountain.

2 For look, the wicked bend their bows;

they set their arrows against the strings

to shoot from the shadows at the upright in heart.

3 When the foundations are being destroyed,

what can the righteous do?”

4 The Lord is in his holy temple;

the Lord is on his heavenly throne.

He observes everyone on earth;

his eyes examine them.

5 The Lord examines the righteous,

but the wicked, those who love violence,

he hates with a passion.

6 On the wicked he will rain

fiery coals and burning sulfur;

a scorching wind will be their lot.

7 For the Lord is righteous,

he loves justice;

the upright will see his face.

Reflection: Take Refuge in Hope

By John Tillman

David knew these poetic images in a raw and real, physical sense.

In the psalm, someone tells David to “flee like a bird to your mountain.” In the Asia Bible Commentary, Federico Villanueva notes the ostracization inherent in this advice. They say “flee to your mountain” as if David doesn’t belong where he is. Go away. You don’t belong here.

David knew what it was like to be a refugee fleeing to the mountains and wilderness. He knew the terrible power of wicked leaders attacking him. When David described being shot at, it was more than a metaphor. He knew the sound of arrows from the dark ripping through the air.

For David, and many who sang this psalm after him, violence was a physical reality, not merely a metaphysical parable. David also knew what it was like to stand up to unjust, unrighteous, wicked power.

My youthful fistfight-level dealings with violent bullies were tame compared to others’ experiences. But even those with no direct experience of violence can feel the hopelessness of David’s first three lines. When foundational things such as justice, compassion, empathy, and righteousness are attacked before our eyes, what can the righteous do?

Hopelessness can affect areas of our lives beyond the spiritual. We may hide or flee from problems with work, our health, our family conflicts, or our communities. Villanueva connects the hopelessness of verses 1-3 to the political hopelessness of some in his native country of the Philippines. The rich get richer, the poor get poorer, and those who can often flee the country. But if everyone flees, Villanueva asks, who will work for needed changes?

David imagines standing firm instead of fleeing—taking refuge in the Lord. Rejecting hopelessness, David focused not on the mountains but on the true temple of God in heaven. The help David sought would come from there.

No matter the seriousness of the situations we face, we share David’s source of hope. We can focus our mind and hopes on the same temple David did. Not one injustice will go unnoticed by God. Not one careless, callous word will go unheard by him. Not one victim’s tear will go unfelt by his finger wiping it away.

But gospel hope is not pie-in-the-sky, do-nothing hope. It is hope that dares to make a difference, despite earthly opposition. Take refuge in hope. Take action in righteousness. Be a blessing to others.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Request for Presence

For God alone my soul in silence waits; truly, my hope is in him. — Psalm 62.6

– Divine Hours prayers from The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summer
by Phyllis Tickle

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Read more: David’s First and Last Giants

In David’s first battle, he felled a giant. In his last, he fell before one. Both times, he praised God.

David’s First and Last Giants
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Wisdom Talking

Links for today’s readings:

Read: 2  Samuel 20 Listen: (4:51) Read: Psalms 10 Listen: (2:13)

Scripture Focus: 2 Samuel 20:15b-16, 22a

15b While they were battering the wall to bring it down, 16 a wise woman called from the city, “Listen! Listen! Tell Joab to come here so I can speak to him.”

22 Then the woman went to all the people with her wise advice…

Proverbs 4:6b-9

Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you;
    love her, and she will watch over you.
7 The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom.
    Though it cost all you have, get understanding.
8 Cherish her, and she will exalt you;
    embrace her, and she will honor you.
9 She will give you a garland to grace your head
    and present you with a glorious crown.

Reflection: Wisdom Talking

By Erin Newton

What is wisdom? Take a moment. How would you define the word?

We often think about Proverbs when we talk about wisdom in the Old Testament. We consider the collection of sayings that cover a myriad of topics: how to get along with others, how to make good financial decisions, the value of working hard, the value of being quiet in the mornings, and so on and so forth.

A good life is one that exercises the skills of wisdom, and wisdom has faith as its foundation. “Fear God” is the beginning of wisdom.

The story of Joab’s mission, a gruesome tale, has a plot twist in 2 Samuel 20. The siege ramps were built and his troops were battering the walls, trying to force their way into the city.

It was a loud and terrifying time for the inhabitants. I imagine the people were screaming and crying out in fear with little hope of escape. But one voice cried out for peace. This one voice saved many.

The men in this story play the role of power, might, and violence. The woman here plays the role of an intercessor for the people. She seeks peace over violence. She understands that nothing good will come from a battle. She is called “wise” because she skillfully averts war.

I think the men and women in the story are serving a literary function and not necessarily designating one characteristic to one gender. There are both wise women and wise men in the Bible, but it is more startling when women are the focus and when they save entire populations from destruction (see also Esther). God highlights the true strength of the meek, the mild, and the marginalized.

The juxtaposed images of might versus wisdom grant us an opportunity to look at our own circumstances. We are given a chance to consider how one small voice can save many—as long as it has been developed through wisdom.

There is no lack of words these days. Everyone has a post to gather “likes.” All opinions seem to be vying for the same attention. But are these voices wise? Do our words seek peace?

We ought to be like this woman interceding for our communities. To do so means we must grow in wisdom, constantly learning, ceaselessly examining our world, and courageously speaking.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons

Protect my life and deliver me; let me not be put to shame, for I have trusted in you.
Let integrity and uprightness preserve me, for my hope has been in you. — Psalm 25.19-20

– Divine Hours prayers from The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summer
by Phyllis Tickle

Read more: Tribalism and Insurrection

Divisive leaders appeal to our tribal instincts and desire for power. They belittle opponents and call for conflict and conquest.

Tribalism and Insurrection
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