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Day 85, or March 26. Don't you love a really good story?

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Our thoughts today are rooted in 2 Samuel chapter 12 verse 1. The Lord sent Nathan to

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David. When he came to him, he said, There were two men in a certain town, one rich and

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the other poor.

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Here's the big picture surrounding this verse. Uriah the Hittite is killed so that David

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can take his wife Bathsheba. Then Nathan the prophet confronts David about his sinful actions.

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Unfortunately the baby conceived during this adultery dies, but God hears David's true

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repentance, and a second child is born, and named Jedidiah. He is renamed later, and is

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better known by his new name, Solomon. Solomon goes on to become the next king of Israel.

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Now our action step for today. Stories are not just for children. Very often they are

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the only bits we'll remember after a sermon, that and any mistakes or gaffes the preacher

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makes. They are powerful tools which can penetrate even the hardest heart. Nathan knew this very

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well, and that is probably why he tells David a story rather than simply confronting him

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with the factual accusation, and he gets just the reaction he is hoping for. He does seem

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to ham it up a bit in verse 3 of chapter 12, but I find it very acceptable in the circumstances.

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The verse says, The poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised

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it and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup, and

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even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him. Beautiful details in a powerful story,

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and the results were excellent too. Nathan declares, You are the man. Very reminiscent

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of Pilate's words about Jesus, son of David. Behold the man. Don't ever demote stories

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to for children only. They can be the most powerful disarming way of ministering the

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word of God in a society that is full of technical wizardry, but always has time for a good story,

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or so it seems from the large audiences watching the soaps on TV every week. True stories

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from the Bible are even more powerful.