Perceive: As part of their search for lost donkeys, Saul and his servant seek help from Samuel the prophet. Unexpectedly, Saul learns he has an incredible opportunity to be Israel’s first king. His initial reaction reveals a lot about his character and competence. After hearing Samuel’s commissioning speech he says, “Why do you say such a thing to me?” which demonstrates his feelings of inferiority. From his beginning what he said and did was selfish and laced with false humility. Although God called Saul and gave him a mission in life, he constantly struggled with jealousy, insecurity, arrogance, impulsiveness, and deceit. He was a half-heart in his commitment to God and His Word.
 
Practice: Real humility leads a person to be curious about and concerned for others. Humility is putting others first in thought, word, and deed.  It resists the temptation to be preoccupied with self. CS Lewis once said, "True humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less.”
 
Pray: Lord, help me to live in obedience, knowing that whatever you call me to do, I need to do wholeheartedly as though I am serving you and not man. Help me identify the times in my life I have thought of myself and not put others first.

​This devotional challenge comes from The Heart of a Lion - King David of Israel and is available on Amazon.com

Perceive: It is interesting to note that God uses some missing donkeys and a future king’s inept search to orchestrate a divine appointment. Far too often we view the random events in our life as something that just happens to us, but as we learn from so many stories in the Bible, God may use ordinary everyday moments to lead us where He wants us. Divine appointments happen daily and are designed to form us into the kind of people that God can use.
 
Practice: Take a few minutes to think about the good and the bad circumstances that have happened to you over the last few days or week. Can you see God's purpose in them?  God loves to use divine appointments to build into your life and lead you to serve Him in a new way or a new area.
 
Pray: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit enable me to see your power, presence, and purpose in my daily appointments. Show me where You are working and let me join You in advancing Your Kingdom. 

​This devotional challenge comes from The Heart of a Lion - King David of Israel and is available on Amazon.com

Perceive: Samuel’s characterization of Israelite kings is an excellent description of government yesterday and today. As the government grows, so grows the need for more resources. Just like human resources are wanted for a monarchy's maintenance, money and equipment resources are wanted for increasing entitlements for domestic causes as well as local and national defense. Unfortunately, large quantities of materials are needed to sustain a bureaucracy. The bigger the bureaucracy, the more resources are required. Unfortunately, take, and more take is the standard process for growing government.
 
Practice: Placing this growing burden on the backs of citizens eventually reduces them to slaves.  The people cried out for relief from the king as though he were an enemy, and the Lord was slow to answer and give them comfort. We too have a choice in whom we elect as our leaders. Poor decisions can have enormous consequences. Today, far too many people feel their leaders are an enemy to their way of life and it seems like the Lord is slow to answer. Could it be that we are reaping the consequence of misplaced faith?
 
Pray: Lord, help me today to pray for those who are in governing positions of our nation. Convict our political leaders of their need to see your face, to know Your word, and to make laws that help all the people live better lives. Convict them of their sin.

​This devotional challenge comes from The Heart of a Lion - King David of Israel and is available on Amazon.com

​​Perceive: Samuel was a godly man and even though the request of the people disturbed him, he took it to the Lord in prayer and the Lord answered him. His people wanted a change in their nation but not in their hearts. What they needed was a rekindled faith in God not a trust in a strong-willed man. When we seek God to lead us but continue to live by the world’s standards and values, our faith is flawed and weak. God must lead the heart and rule the mind.

Practice: The people wanted to be like the neighboring nations. Unfortunately, having a king would make it easy to forget that God was their real leader. The rule of God over Israel in a theocratic nation was the ideal. Samuel is concerned and possibly confused, so he prays for clarity and guidance.
 
Pray: O mighty God, help me see Your hand in my life and to continue giving Your full rule and reign over my heart and mind. Keep me from allowing the world to impact my faith but rather help me use my faith to impact the world. Help my home, church, state, and nation rekindle trust in You.

​This devotional challenge comes from The Heart of a Lion - King David of Israel and is available on Amazon.com

Perceive: Changes in leadership often reveal the real character of followers. In this situation, Samuel’s sons were so bad that even their father could not deny the people’s concerns. It is in the solution, Samuel struggles. The people wanted a king to lead just like other nations. In reality, the people were rejecting God and His divine leadership for a nation that runs on human inspiration and presence. The situation for us is similar: Do we rely on God’s strength and direction or follow the way of the world and human reasoning?
 
Practice: The people wanted a king, thinking a new leader and a new system of government would bring about real change for the nation. Because their fundamental problem was disobedience, their other problems would continue regardless of who was leading and or governing. They needed a united faith, not a uniform ruler. Our obedience is weak if we ask God to lead our personal life and continue to live by the world’s standards and values.
 
Pray: O Lord, show me when I have placed myself on the throne of my heart. Help me live each day according to Your word and Your will. 

​This devotional challenge comes from The Heart of a Lion - King David of Israel and is available on Amazon.com

Like most years, this last one had some great moments and some deep lows that tested my faith and if you are a person of faith, most likely it tested yours. While it may be difficult, all of God's people need to recognize He is sovereign over events, kings, and history. He inserts leaders, and He removes them. He is also sovereign over life and death. Here is a Psalm I wrote during a period of heartache and grief.
 
When people come alongside my life today, what will they see, what will they hear? Words of self-pity, or a song of trust? Will they hear a sigh of sorrow, or a psalm of praise?

O great and mighty God praise and honor be to You. You are my God no matter what happens to me or the people I love. You are sovereign in the day and sovereign in the night. You are sovereign in the calms and sovereign in the storms. You are sovereign in good health and sovereign in sickness. You reign in righteousness and truth. I know I can trust You.

Your loving kindness and Your truth has and will continually surround me throughout my life. Help me to stay strong as a man of God. Help me demonstrate Your love to my wife, family, and friends. Enable me to see those who need comfort and to comfort others with the comfort You are giving me. You are my help and my deliverer, my shield, and my rampart. I know I can trust You. 

Open my eyes that I may see You in the land of the living. There are things You reveal and there are things You have hidden that force me to walk by faith. Help me stay strong by never doubting in the darkness what You have revealed in the light. Continue to open my eyes that I may behold wondrous things from Your word and to be filled with Your inward abiding Holy Spirit.
 
May the Lord bless you mightily as you hear His voice, sense His presence, and obey His word. And may your 2024 bring a greater sense of His power, presence, and purpose for your lives. 

In the strength of His grace, 

Brad 

Perceive: This is a very fitting psalm with which to end the book of Psalms from the life of David. In this psalm, David extols the righteousness and goodness of the Lord to people in general and His people in particular. Early temple worshippers sang this as an acrostic for the Hebrew alphabet. It has five distinct sections or topics. In the first section, he describes God's greatness in depth and breadth (1-7). In the second, he describes God's goodness as slow to anger and filled with compassion (8-9). In the third section, he describes God's glory, majesty, and splendor (10-13). In the fourth section, he describes God's faithfulness, graciousness, and how He lifts the fallen, feeds the hungry, and rescues the persecuted (14-20). In the last section, He tells us why and when to praise God (21).
 
Practice: All of us at times feel we have fallen and need God’s help to get back up. As you have read repeatedly in the life of king David, he has had numerous ups and downs. Throughout them all, he has called out to God and spoke about his burdens to the Lord. You may or may not be under a crushing burden today, but when you are, consider our hero and dive into praying for the Lord to act on your behalf. Turn to God and ask Him to lift you up, protect you, and enable you to sense His power and His presence.
 
Pray:  Thank you, Lord, for always being available no matter what I face or where I go. Help me always to lean in and trust You no matter what. 
​
​This devotional challenge comes from The Heart of a Lion - King David of Israel and is available on Amazon.com

Perceive: This is often called the Kings Psalm. David appreciates how God honored him and made him a successful warrior and king. He also wanted the Lord to continue blessing the people. This psalm contains two main sections. In the first section, David acknowledges the power, protection, and preparations for war (1-8). In the second section, he sings a victory song where he rejoices and acknowledges the way God rewards His people in their homes, fields, and streets (9-15). In this psalm, he sang his witness to Jehovah, the God of Israel, and then reminded his people that their God was not like the gods of their neighbors.
 
Practice: No matter who you are, you only have so much time here on this earth. The psalm could be summarized, “Life is short. Pray hard.” David reminds the reader that life is like a breath and that our days are like a fleeting shadow (4). James reflects this same thought when he writes, “You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away” (James 4:14 NASB). Whatever time you have left should be lived for God by His rules and reign. Do you have a purpose for living out the rest of your life?
 
Pray: Thank You, Lord, for impressing upon me the need to make each day count for You. Help me accept each divine appointment and make the most of every second I live from this day forward. 

​This devotional challenge comes from The Heart of a Lion - King David of Israel and is available on Amazon.com

Perceive: David may have written this psalm as a young man. He wants God to hear his heart and honor his words. It contains three main sections. In the first section, he calls upon the Lord to hear his prayers, help him with his speech, and guard his inner thought life (1-4). In the second section, he describes his companions and his desire for God to judge his enemies (5-7). In the third section, he asks for protection and the self-destruction of his enemies (8-10). Psalm 41 illustrates how to pray for accountability, to avoid compromise, and sense God’s protection during personal attacks. During the second-temple Judaism, worshippers sang this psalm as part of the evening sacrifice in the temple (2).
 
Practice: Very few people like being criticized, and even fewer would consider it a kindness, yet that is how David expresses his heart in verse 5. Even though it is tough to hear and accept something that is critical, it can have benefits when it is given with wisdom and received with humility. Whenever someone criticizes you, listen patiently, consider it a kindness, and don’t fight back or get defensive. Thank the person and take some time to pray to see if God affirms their issue.
 
Pray: Thank You that some people have the heart to help when they constructively criticize others. Help me to see the difference in helping with kindness compared to hurting with firmness. Help me to deliver any criticism with the right spirit of wisdom and humility. 

This devotional challenge comes from The Heart of a Lion - King David of Israel and is available on Amazon.com

Perceive: Once again David writes a song of thanksgiving for God’s answering his prayers as he faces all sorts of difficulties. This psalm contains three main sections. In the first section, David describes his personal help from God in the form of His love, faithfulness, promises, and answers (1-3). In the second section, he describes the universal worship of God by kings and other peoples (4-6). In the third section, he describes the way God’s power saves him and by His loving-kindness cares for him (7-8). Some scholars think this psalm was David’s response to God when the Lord gave him the Davidic covenant (2 Samuel 7:1-16).
​
Practice: According to the Tyndale Bible Dictionary, thanksgiving also known as gratitude, was a natural expression of thanks in response to blessings, protection, or love. In the Judeo-Christian tradition, gratitude is not a tool used to manipulate the will of God. It is never coerced or fabricated in one’s mind; rather, gratitude is a joyful commitment of one’s personality to God. In the Old Testament, gratitude to God was the only condition in which people enjoyed life. Even with bad news, they also gave thanks, trusting that He was a just and loving God (Job 1:21).[i]  Unfortunately, as humans, we often take our relationships for granted, including our relationship with God. Take some time today to express your thankful heart to the Lord.
 
Pray: My Lord and my God, I am thankful for many of the rich blessings You provide on a daily basis. Today I am specifically thankful for ____.

​This devotional challenge comes from The Heart of a Lion - King David of Israel and is available on Amazon.com

[i] Elwell, W. A., & Comfort, P. W. (2001). In Tyndale Bible dictionary (pp. 551–552). Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.