2 Corinthians 6:14 says "Do not be yoked together with unbelievers." When it comes to marriage, the Bible says two shall become one flesh and the Lord says let no man divide. God gives us urges and impulses but they are to be guided in the right direction and we must be grounded in our training. We must go to the Lord first when seeking a spouse and we should follow God's word instead of letting our emotions get in the way.

Before he died King David gave his son Solomon instruction on how to establish the Kingdom of God and how to set the culture. In 1 Kings 2, Solomon wisely addressed Adonijah, Abiathar, Joab and Shimei and he judiciously dealt with each of them. Because Solomon set the temperature, the kingdom was now established in his hands. Solomon was not afraid to make tough decisions so that the culture would be set in ways to honor The Lord.

In 1 Kings 1, David had grown old and unfortunately the consequences of not disciplining his son Adonijah have caught up to him. Adonijah knew his brother Solomon was to be the next king, but he tried recruiting people to help him take the crown. Bathsheba and Nathan brought the news to David who was unaware of Adonijah's rebellion. David's supporting cast showed up and helped get David's mind straight. As believers we need to be ready to help others reach the finish line of life.

In 2nd Samuel 12, David acknowledges his sin of sleeping with Bathsheba and killing Uriah and he pleads that his son would stay alive. When he finds out that his son died, David gets up, washes, eats, and goes to worship the Lord. David recovered quickly and he comforted
Bathsheba. When you understand how much Jesus loves you, you won't want to take advantage of Jesus. When we go out of bounds, we will want to quickly get back in the game. David modeled moving forward in life and the importance of going to the Lord.

In Psalm 139, David asks God to search him and know his heart and to test him and know his anxious thoughts. As believers, we need to continuously go to the Lord and have him search us like David asked in Psalm 139. We know that the end times are near so we must prepare and choose to trust God and His word. When we let the Lord search our heart, it's like a grand slam because if we confess, The Lord will forgive our sin and that is an incredible Blessing.

Jesus went across enemy lines and shed His blood to cleanse us from all sin. In 2 Samuel 23, David's mighty warriors risked their lives to cross enemy lines and bring back water that David longed for from his hometown of Bethlehem. David refused to drink the water because the water represented the men's blood. There was a culture of love with David and his men. The culture of love starts with Jesus and He gave His life for us, so we should do things for the Lord out of an overflow of the example He set in love.

Brook Berringer, a highly skilled backup quarterback for the Nebraska Huskers was a winner on the field but he also faced incredible adversity. When Brook gave his life to Christ, his definition of success changed and now he offered his circumstances to the Lord. Brook believed in John 3:16, which says, "For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life."

In Matthew 18, the disciples asked Jesus, "who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?" Jesus told his disciples that they must become like children and be humble. Jesus used a young boy to show what reliance on the Father looks like. It's not where we've been in life, it's where we are going and we can humbly submit to our heavenly Father in all things.