[Ohio-Communities-of-Faith] DONNIE DAILY GEMS FOR THURSDAY MARCH 31

[Donnie Parrett]

DONNIE DAILY GEMS FOR THURSDAY MARCH 31

WORD OF WISDOM

Be very careful as you get older because "Hip Hip Hurray" can turn into "Hip
Hip Replacement!"

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DAILY DEVOTION

God's Eternal Kingdom


And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom,
which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other
people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it
shall stand for ever. Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of
the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass,
the clay, the silver and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king
what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the
interpretation thereof sure.
Daniel 2:44-45

The ancient Mayan Empire once covered much of Mexico and Central America. It
was a highly advanced civilization for its time, developing great skill in
mathematics and astronomy. To the millions who lived there, it must have
seemed like it would last forever. Yet more than a thousand years ago, it
collapsed. Today, only a few ruins and fragments of records remain to show
that there was once a great kingdom that flourished. All human kingdoms have
a life cycle. They rise, and then they fall. God's kingdom is different; it
is eternal.
When Daniel interpreted the dream of the king of Babylon, God revealed to
him the vast sweep of human history that was to come. But God's plan does
not end with man. Instead He is the end and purpose of all that happens. He
is the stone shaped without human hands. He is eternal.
There is a great longing in the human heart for things that last. We desire
things that are dependable, because we realize so many things are not. Only
God can provide what we need and seek. Only God is able to set up an eternal
kingdom that will never be conquered or destroyed. Only God can truly offer
guarantees about things to come. That is such a comfort to those of us who
know Him because it gives us a lasting foundation on which we can build our
lives.
We can trust God's promises about the future because He will always be there
to keep them.

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DAILY BIBLE READING

2 Samuel 7-9 New King James Version
God's Covenant with David
7 Now it came to pass when the king was dwelling in his house, and the Lord
had given him rest from all his enemies all around, 2 that the king said to
Nathan the prophet, "See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of
God dwells inside tent curtains."

3 Then Nathan said to the king, "Go, do all that is in your heart, for the
Lord is with you."

4 But it happened that night that the word of the Lord came to Nathan,
saying, 5 "Go and tell My servant David, 'Thus says the Lord: "Would you
build a house for Me to dwell in? 6 For I have not dwelt in a house since
the time that I brought the children of Israel up from Egypt, even to this
day, but have moved about in a tent and in a tabernacle. 7 Wherever I have
moved about with all the children of Israel, have I ever spoken a word to
anyone from the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd My people
Israel, saying, 'Why have you not built Me a house of cedar?' " ' 8 Now
therefore, thus shall you say to My servant David, 'Thus says the Lord of
hosts: "I took you from the sheepfold, from following the sheep, to be ruler
over My people, over Israel. 9 And I have been with you wherever you have
gone, and have [a]cut off all your enemies from before you, and have made
you a great name, like the name of the great men who are on the earth. 10
Moreover I will appoint a place for My people Israel, and will plant them,
that they may dwell in a place of their own and move no more; nor shall the
sons of wickedness oppress them anymore, as previously, 11 since the time
that I commanded judges to be over My people Israel, and have caused you to
rest from all your enemies. Also the Lord [b]tells you that He will make you
a [c]house.

12 "When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set
up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish
his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the
throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be his Father, and he shall be My
son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with
the [d]blows of the sons of men. 15 But My mercy shall not depart from him,
as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before you. 16 And your house
and your kingdom shall be established forever before [e]you. Your throne
shall be established forever." ' "

17 According to all these words and according to all this vision, so Nathan
spoke to David.

David's Thanksgiving to God
18 Then King David went in and sat before the Lord; and he said: "Who am I,
O Lord God? And what is my house, that You have brought me this far? 19 And
yet this was a small thing in Your sight, O Lord God; and You have also
spoken of Your servant's house for a great while to come. Is this the manner
of man, O Lord God? 20 Now what more can David say to You? For You, Lord
God, know Your servant. 21 For Your word's sake, and according to Your own
heart, You have done all these great things, to make Your servant know them.
22 Therefore You are great, [f]O Lord God. For there is none like You, nor
is there any God besides You, according to all that we have heard with our
ears. 23 And who is like Your people, like Israel, the one nation on the
earth whom God went to redeem for Himself as a people, to make for Himself a
name-and to do for Yourself great and awesome deeds for Your land-before
Your people whom You redeemed for Yourself from Egypt, the nations, and
their gods? 24 For You have made Your people Israel Your very own people
forever; and You, Lord, have become their God.

25 "Now, O Lord God, the word which You have spoken concerning Your servant
and concerning his house, establish it forever and do as You have said. 26
So let Your name be magnified forever, saying, 'The Lord of hosts is the God
over Israel.' And let the house of Your servant David be established before
You. 27 For You, O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, have revealed this to Your
servant, saying, 'I will build you a house.' Therefore Your servant has
found it in his heart to pray this prayer to You.

28 "And now, O Lord God, You are God, and Your words are true, and You have
promised this goodness to Your servant. 29 Now therefore, let it please You
to bless the house of Your servant, that it may continue before You forever;
for You, O Lord God, have spoken it, and with Your blessing let the house of
Your servant be blessed forever."

David's Further Conquests
8 After this it came to pass that David [g]attacked the Philistines and
subdued them. And David took [h]Metheg Ammah from the hand of the
Philistines.

2 Then he defeated Moab. Forcing them down to the ground, he measured them
off with a line. With two lines he measured off those to be put to death,
and with one full line those to be kept alive. So the Moabites became
David's servants, and brought tribute.

3 David also defeated Hadadezer the son of Rehob, king of Zobah, as he went
to recover his territory at the River Euphrates. 4 David took from him one
thousand chariots, [i]seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand foot
soldiers. Also David hamstrung all the chariot horses, except that he spared
enough of them for one hundred chariots.

5 When the Syrians of Damascus came to help Hadadezer king of Zobah, David
killed twenty-two thousand of the Syrians. 6 Then David put garrisons in
Syria of Damascus; and the Syrians became David's servants, and brought
tribute. So the Lord preserved David wherever he went. 7 And David took the
shields of gold that had belonged to the servants of Hadadezer, and brought
them to Jerusalem. 8 Also from [j]Betah and from Berothai,[k] cities of
Hadadezer, King David took a large amount of bronze.

9 When [l]Toi king of Hamath heard that David had defeated all the army of
Hadadezer, 10 then Toi sent [m]Joram his son to King David, to [n]greet him
and bless him, because he had fought against Hadadezer and defeated him (for
Hadadezer had been at war with Toi); and Joram brought with him articles of
silver, articles of gold, and articles of bronze. 11 King David also
dedicated these to the Lord, along with the silver and gold that he had
dedicated from all the nations which he had subdued- 12 from [o]Syria, from
Moab, from the people of Ammon, from the Philistines, from Amalek, and from
the spoil of Hadadezer the son of Rehob, king of Zobah.

13 And David made himself a name when he returned from killing eighteen
thousand [p]Syrians in the Valley of Salt. 14 He also put garrisons in Edom;
throughout all Edom he put garrisons, and all the Edomites became David's
servants. And the Lord preserved David wherever he went.

David's Administration
15 So David reigned over all Israel; and David administered judgment and
justice to all his people. 16 Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the army;
Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder; 17 Zadok the son of Ahitub and
Ahimelech the son of Abiathar were the priests; [q]Seraiah was the
[r]scribe; 18 Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over both the Cherethites and
the Pelethites; and David's sons were [s]chief ministers.

David's Kindness to Mephibosheth
9 Now David said, "Is there still anyone who is left of the house of Saul,
that I may show him [t]kindness for Jonathan's sake?"

2 And there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba. So when
they had called him to David, the king said to him, "Are you Ziba?"

He said, "At your service!"

3 Then the king said, "Is there not still someone of the house of Saul, to
whom I may show the kindness of God?"

And Ziba said to the king, "There is still a son of Jonathan who is lame in
his feet."

4 So the king said to him, "Where is he?"

And Ziba said to the king, "Indeed he is in the house of Machir the son of
Ammiel, in Lo Debar."

5 Then King David sent and brought him out of the house of Machir the son of
Ammiel, from Lo Debar.

6 Now when Mephibosheth[u] the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, had come to
David, he fell on his face and prostrated himself. Then David said,
"Mephibosheth?"

And he answered, "Here is your servant!"

7 So David said to him, "Do not fear, for I will surely show you kindness
for Jonathan your father's sake, and will restore to you all the land of
Saul your grandfather; and you shall eat bread at my table continually."

8 Then he bowed himself, and said, "What is your servant, that you should
look upon such a dead dog as I?"

9 And the king called to Ziba, Saul's servant, and said to him, "I have
given to your master's son all that belonged to Saul and to all his house.
10 You therefore, and your sons and your servants, shall work the land for
him, and you shall bring in the harvest, that your master's son may have
food to eat. But Mephibosheth your master's son shall eat bread at my table
always." Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.

11 Then Ziba said to the king, "According to all that my lord the king has
commanded his servant, so will your servant do."

"As for Mephibosheth," said the king, "he shall eat at [v]my table like one
of the king's sons." 12 Mephibosheth had a young son whose name was Micha.
And all who dwelt in the house of Ziba were servants of Mephibosheth. 13 So
Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem, for he ate continually at the king's table.
And he was lame in both his feet.

Footnotes
2 Samuel 7:9 destroyed
2 Samuel 7:11 declares to you
2 Samuel 7:11 Royal dynasty
2 Samuel 7:14 strokes
2 Samuel 7:16 LXX Me
2 Samuel 7:22 Tg., Syr. O Lord God
2 Samuel 8:1 Lit. struck
2 Samuel 8:1 Lit. The Bridle of the Mother City
2 Samuel 8:4 seven thousand, 1 Chr. 18:4
2 Samuel 8:8 Tibhath, 1 Chr. 18:8
2 Samuel 8:8 Chun, 1 Chr. 18:8
2 Samuel 8:9 Tou, 1 Chr. 18:9
2 Samuel 8:10 Hadoram, 1 Chr. 18:10
2 Samuel 8:10 Lit. ask him of his welfare
2 Samuel 8:12 LXX, Syr., Heb. mss. Edom
2 Samuel 8:13 LXX, Syr., Heb. mss. Edomites and 1 Chr. 18:12
2 Samuel 8:17 Shavsha, 1 Chr. 18:16
2 Samuel 8:17 secretary
2 Samuel 8:18 Lit. priests
2 Samuel 9:1 covenant faithfulness
2 Samuel 9:6 Or Merib-Baal
2 Samuel 9:11 LXX David's table