After two full years Absalom had sheep shearers at Baal-hazor, which is near Ephraim, and Absalom invited all the king’s sons. Absalom came to the king, and said, ‘Your servant has sheep shearers; will the king and his servants please go with your servant?’ But the king said to Absalom, ‘No, my son, let us […]
Daily Devotion 20th November 2018
Some time passed. David’s son Absalom had a beautiful sister whose name was Tamar; and David’s son Amnon fell in love with her. Amnon was so tormented that he made himself ill because of his sister Tamar, for she was a virgin and it seemed impossible to Amnon to do anything to her. But Amnon […]
Monday 19th November 2018
Unity does not just happen, we have to work at it. In the United Reformed Church, unity is one of the core values and the gift it offers to the wider Body of Christ; unity with our brother and sister, unity with other denominations and unity with those people who we find it difficult to […]
Daily Devotion 18th November 2018
Hopefully reading the first ten verses of this Psalm will encourage you to read the next eighteen! The writer gives us one verse of assurance, one of insecurity, and then eight of envy. But, if you read on, the writer is drawn close to God through a visit to the Temple and the Psalm ends, […]
Daily Devotion 17th November 2018
The Lord struck the child that Uriah’s wife bore to David, and it became very ill. David therefore pleaded with God for the child; David fasted, and went in and lay all night on the ground. The elders of his house stood beside him, urging him to rise from the ground; but he would not, […]
Daily Devotion 16th November 2018
But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord, and the Lord sent Nathan to David. He came to him, and said to him, ‘There were two men in a certain city, one rich and the other poor. The rich man had very many flocks and herds; but the poor man had nothing but […]
Daily Devotion 15th November 2018
“The shoe is on the other foot now!” The last Daily Devotion I wrote had David fleeing for his life from the murderous rage of King Saul. In contrast, David’s murderous actions against Uriah are cold, calculated, planned. In modern legal terms, it would be described as ‘with intent’ and ‘a significant degree of premeditation’. […]
Wednesday 14th November 2018
In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab with his officers and all Israel with him; they ravaged the Ammonites, and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem. It happened, late one afternoon, when David rose from his couch and was walking about on the roof […]
Daily Devotion 13th November 2018
Then King David went in and sat before the Lord, and said, ‘Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far? And yet this was a small thing in your eyes, O Lord God; you have spoken also of your servant’s house for a great while […]
Praying the Way with Matthew, Mark, Luke & John
Dear <<First Name>> The Rev’d Terry Hinks, one of our regular writers, and minister of Trinity Church High Wycombe and Cores End URC, has written a book of reflections entitled Praying the Way with Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. This is published by the Bible Reading Fellowship and priced at £10.99. It is a collection of prayers and reflections, […]