What is your context today? Below are 10 questions meant to help you discern your current context. Choose one or two and reflect on where your head and heart are:

1. What am I enjoying about life?

2. Am I taking care of myself physically?

3. Am I letting matters that are out of my control stress me out?

4. What am I looking forward to?

5. Am I holding on to something I need to let go of?

6. What have I been spending the majority of my time on? How do I feel about that?

7. What matters most in my life? 8. What relationships am I investing in?

9. What about the future is worrisome for me today?

10. What about today am I truly grateful for?

Do you know the story of David and Bathsheba?

A quick recap:

+David is King

+David falls in love with Bathsheba

+Bathsheba is married to Uriah who is away serving as a soldier in David’s army

+David impregnates Bathsheba, and then he has Uriah killed

+Bathsheba and David marry

Yikes!

The prophet Nathan comes to David and tells him a story of two families and a little lamb (see 2 Samuel 12). The story exposes David’s abuse of power and his sin. Often when prophets called kings to account the kings didn’t respond kindly. Prophets were often threatened, imprisoned, or killed for speaking truth to power. But David listens, owns his sin, and repents. Even though David had wandered from his steadfast heart, he was still able to hear truth and so he wrote Psalm 51. “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions, cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. You desire truth in the inward being; therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit.”

May we invite God to speak truth to our heart today. May God’s truth liberate us, heal us, and lead us to reconciliation.