Dear Daily Message Readers,
READ: 2 Samuel 11
2 Samuel 11:2 (NASB) "Now when evening came David arose from his bed and walked around on the roof of the king's house, and from the roof he saw a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful in appearance."
What do you do when no one is watching? Do you act the same way you do when you around other people? These questions were answered recently on a reality-based TV show. With a hidden camera recording several peoples every move, some money was placed before them on a street. The camera showed how many individuals in the experiment ran off with the money without giving it another thought. But some people earnestly searched around for the proper owner. In the end, the show was able to expose the greedy, sinful side of humans while no one was watching.
Whether they know it or not, the latter participants passed a test that was as big as any they will ever take in college or anywhere else. It is the test of whether they (and we) will do what is right even though we are convinced that no one is watching.
We face tests like these every day of our lives. Some we will pass, and some we will fail. Some, like the one David faced, can have catastrophic results (2 Samuel 11-12). After rising from his bed late at night, David opened his sleep-deprived eyes to the beauty of Bathsheba bathing in the distance. What occurred after this event were some of David's darkest days. Instead of asking the Lord for forgiveness, he had the husband of Bathsheba sent to the front of the battle lines, causing him to die quickly upon arrival. David then used his authority as king to arrange a marriage between Bathsheba and him. Finally, the prophet Nathan spoke words from the Lord to David and he repented of his sin.
One way to prepare for tests on our character is to remind ourselves that Someone is always watching us. Even in the dark, when the doors are locked, and when no one else around us knows what we are thinking, God knows and sees. And He, more than anyone else in the world, longs for us to pass the test. And He gives us the strength to do it. Faith Lesson: Your true character shows when you think no one is watching you live your life.
In Christ,
Darin Smith
Do you know Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior?
READ: 2 Samuel 11
2 Samuel 11:2 (NASB) "Now when evening came David arose from his bed and walked around on the roof of the king's house, and from the roof he saw a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful in appearance."
What do you do when no one is watching? Do you act the same way you do when you around other people? These questions were answered recently on a reality-based TV show. With a hidden camera recording several peoples every move, some money was placed before them on a street. The camera showed how many individuals in the experiment ran off with the money without giving it another thought. But some people earnestly searched around for the proper owner. In the end, the show was able to expose the greedy, sinful side of humans while no one was watching.
Whether they know it or not, the latter participants passed a test that was as big as any they will ever take in college or anywhere else. It is the test of whether they (and we) will do what is right even though we are convinced that no one is watching.
We face tests like these every day of our lives. Some we will pass, and some we will fail. Some, like the one David faced, can have catastrophic results (2 Samuel 11-12). After rising from his bed late at night, David opened his sleep-deprived eyes to the beauty of Bathsheba bathing in the distance. What occurred after this event were some of David's darkest days. Instead of asking the Lord for forgiveness, he had the husband of Bathsheba sent to the front of the battle lines, causing him to die quickly upon arrival. David then used his authority as king to arrange a marriage between Bathsheba and him. Finally, the prophet Nathan spoke words from the Lord to David and he repented of his sin.
One way to prepare for tests on our character is to remind ourselves that Someone is always watching us. Even in the dark, when the doors are locked, and when no one else around us knows what we are thinking, God knows and sees. And He, more than anyone else in the world, longs for us to pass the test. And He gives us the strength to do it. Faith Lesson: Your true character shows when you think no one is watching you live your life.
In Christ,
Darin Smith
Do you know Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior?
