Bucket Full of Grace

Biblical Name or Picture Abishag the Shunnamite [her name meant "my father wanders"] Scripture References 1 Kings 1: Abishag is brought to King David to care for him and keep him warm. 1 Kings 2: Adonijah desires to take Abishag in marriage. Impressions and Observations The bible specifically mentions her virginity and beauty and the fact that she was from the small village of Shunem in the tribe of Issachar. Although she doesn't have a speaking role in the biblical account she seems to have kept King David alive long enough to change history. If David not been kept warm and nursed back to enough health in his old age then he would not have been able to chose Solomon as his heir when Adonijah was the rightful choice. Later, Solomon pens probably three books of the Bible and is in the lineage of Jesus. So, God had a hand on history and on her life using her in His story and changing history. Later in life, after David dies and Solomon takes the throne, Adonijah asks to...

Makrothumeo: a Greek word for Patience They say that "patience is not a virtue of the young."  This implies that patience can only become a virtue in those that are wisened by old age. Well, according to the bible, there is a type of patience that doesn't come from experience in this world, but comes through faith and is brought about in our lives as a fruit of the Spirit.  In Greek, the words makrothumeo[G3114], makrothumia[G3115], and makrothumos [G3116] are used 25 times in the New Testament.  These different versions of the word are the verb, noun, and adverb forms respectively.  One of the best ways to understand the meaning of a word in scripture is with scripture itself.  Below is a list of all 25 verses. All Verses with Makrothumeo, Makrothumia, and Makrothumos in the Bible Note that each instance of the words are replaced with their Strong's Number, usually translated patience or long-suffering.  Replacing the translation with the Strong's Number c...

Millions of people in just a few days have been listening to Oliver Anthony (Christopher Lunsford) sing passionately about the plight of blue collar America.  After coming out with his viral song "Rich Men North of Richmond," followed up by a plethora of reaction videos, providing more songs and comments himself, the news channels weighing in, the media influencers seizing the moment to get a few more clicks and ad revenue, even the politicians themselves having commented on how much they agree (it of course being the other side of the political spectrum that is being sung about...) I am left to ponder. What is the Biblical View of Rich Men North of Richmond? Here are the lyrics: I've been sellin' my soul, workin' all day / Overtime hours for bullshit pay / So I can sit out here and waste my life away / Drag back home and drown my troubles away. Pre-Chorus: It's a damn shame what the world's gotten to / For people like me and people like you / Wish I could...

Daniel 12: A Pattern and a Promise Because this is a book for all ages and all peoples, studying the book of Daniel can really have you following rabbit-trails all over the place as Pastor Brandon mentioned last week, so you have to always bring yourself back to the thought, this scripture is here for a reason, to teach me, to encourage me, to train me in righteousness, to bring hope and a promise , not just for flexing my intellectual muscles or making me proud of my charted timeline of the prophetic 490 years [70 weeks] or the correlations between the anti-Christ and current world leaders.    What is important to the Lord, is your relationship with Him and your relationship with the Father.  Find what He is saying to you every time you study the Word.  And we want to find what He is saying to us in Daniel 12. Before we dive into Daniel 12, I want to bring us back through the whole book of Daniel to see a pattern and a promise . There is an obvious pattern in Dani...