This morning at 11am, Anna and Daniel drove by and picked up my brother and I. The four of us went over to King's buffet in woodland for lunch. Anna has gone once before, when I convinced our group of friends to go there sometime during high school. Food there is not bad, especially their "asian doughnuts".

Afterwards the four of us were pretty full and sluggish, so we decided to walk it off in the mall nearby.

Anna dropped my brother and I off at home a little before 1 and went to church to prepare for a Taiwan missions trip presentation.

Devotion notes and thoughts:

2 Samuel 7

"Who am I, O Sovereign LORD, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? 19 And as if this were not enough in your sight, O Sovereign LORD, you have also spoken about the future of the house of your servant."

Although David currently sits at the apex of wealth and power, he remembers the humble past from which God unexpectedly called him. He is humbled that he, an unknown shepherd boy, was chosen to lead God's people, just like Israel, a small and seemingly insignificant nation, was chosen by God to be set apart for himself.

David does not look upon the things that God has blessed him with as the results of his own doing, but instead understands his place under God. He refers to himself as "me" once, but calls himself "servant" ten times.

When God instructs Nathan to bring the message to David, he says,

Go and tell my servant David

David, with all his riches and splendor, shows an amazing amount of humility. He sets a good example for us to live by concerning our own relationship to God.

"O LORD Almighty, God of Israel, you have revealed this to your servant, saying, 'I will build a house for you.' So your servant has found courage to offer you this prayer."

David has conquered nations and waged war against huge armies, yet he needs to gather his courage when asking God to keep his promise.

James 1 & 2

James is really practical.