16 SEPTEMBER DARKEST BEFORE DAWN (2) “Then he waited seven days, according to the time set by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him. So Saul said, “Bring a burnt offering and peace offerings here to me.” And he offered the burnt...

15 SEPTEMBER DARKEST BEFORE DAWN “Then all the children of Israel, that is, all the people, went up and came to the house of God and wept. They sat there before the Lord and fasted that day until evening; and they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord.”...

14 SEPTEMBER SHE WON HIS FAVOUR (ESTHER) “Now the young woman pleased Hegai and found favour with him. So he quickly provided her with beauty preparations and her [portion of] food, and he gave her seven choice maids from the king’s palace; then he transferred her and her maids to...

13 SEPTEMBER SHE WON HIS FAVOUR (RUTH) “Then Boaz said to his servant who was in charge of the reapers, “Whose young woman is this?”  (Ruth 2:5, NKJV) Was it Ruth’s external beauty that attracted Boaz? She was different from the Jewish women. Was that the attraction? I imagine that...

12 SEPTEMBER SHE ASKED TO WORK “And she said, ‘Please let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves.’ So she came and has continued from morning until now, though she rested a little in the house. (Ruth 2:7, NKJV) Ruth, the Moabitess asked her Jewish mother–in–law, Naomi,...

11 SEPTEMBER SERVICE WITHOUT KNOWLEDGE “Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, nor was the word of the Lord yet revealed to him.”  (1 Samuel 3:7, NKJV) Hannah, Samuel’s mother had brought him to the temple to serve God, after he was weaned, in fulfilment of her promise to...

10 SEPTEMBER MENTAL ADULTERY “But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:28, NKJV) Jesus teaches here that if the act of having sex with someone else, who is not one’s spouse, is...

9 SEPTEMBER KEEPING THE PROMISE “And Joshua made peace with them [the Gibeonites] and made a covenant with them, to let them live, and the leaders of the congregation swore to them.” (Joshua 9:15) Even though this promise was extracted with deception, Joshua and the leaders of Israel kept their...

8 SEPTEMBER THE PROMISE (THE BOOKS) “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells...

7 SEPTEMBER THE PROMISE (MY FIRST BICYCLE) “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” (John 14:2) My late dad had a title, “Apostle of Integrity”, given to him by...