Out of the Ashes
Day 11 • February 13
Out of the Ashes –
God’s Story
Mephibosheth 2 Samuel 9:1-13 (NRSV)
David asked, “Is there still anyone left of the house of Saul to whom I may show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” Now there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba, and he was summoned to David. The king said to him, “Are you Ziba?” And he said, “At your service!” The king said, “Is there anyone remaining of the house of Saul to whom I may show the kindness of God?” Ziba said to the king, “There remains a son of Jonathan; he is crippled in his feet.” The king said to him, “Where is he?” Ziba said to the king, “He is in the house of Machir son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar.” Then King David sent and brought him from the house of Machir son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar. Mephibosheth son of Jonathan son of Saul came to David, and fell on his face and did obeisance. David said, “Mephibosheth!” He answered, “I am your servant.” David said to him, “Do not be afraid, for I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan; I will restore to you all the land of your grandfather Saul, and you yourself shall eat at my table always.”8 He did obeisance and said, “What is your servant, that you should look upon a dead dog such as I?”Then the king summoned Saul’s servant Ziba, and said to him, “All that belonged to Saul and to all his house I have given to your master’s grandson.You and your sons and your servants shall till the land for him, and shall bring in the produce, so that your master’s grandson may have food to eat; but your master’s grandson Mephibosheth shall always eat at my table.” Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants. Then Ziba said to the king, “According to all that my lord the king commands his servant, so your servant will do.” Mephibosheth ate at David’s table, like one of the king’s sons. Mephibosheth had a young son whose name was Mica. And all who lived in Ziba’s house became Mephibosheth’s servants. Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, for he always ate at the king’s table. Now he was lame in both his feet. All of us have imperfections. Maybe you come from a family that is sinful or impure, maybe you have some sort of ailment or weakness, or maybe you just don’t like who you are.
Questions
Mephibosheth had such a bad self image that he refered to himself as a “dead dog.” Life was not good for Mephibosheth. He was the grandson of the overthrown king. He was crippled at a young age so badly that he couldn’t walk. He probably hated himself. In this passage, he sits before the king a broken and messed up person. Then the king does something unexpected: he gives Mephibosheth undeserved grace. The king offered him life, nourishment, and even a relationship. Mephibosheth always had a seat at the king’s table.
____________________________________________________ Can you recall some times in your life you felt like a “dead dog?”
How is this giving of undeserved grace like our relationship with God? ____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ Do you deserve grace? Why or why not? ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ Take some time and pray with thanksgiving to God for His abounding grace and love.
Out of the Ashes – Mephibosheth
Day 11
My Story
Jacob Goodin For more of Jacob’s story, go to www.Pinedale.org
The dark part of my story probably began when I was twelve years old. That year, I drank alcohol for the first time. I was with my father at the time. Looking back, it is easy to see how foolish that decision was, on both of our parts, but neither of us could have predicted where it would lead.
in his truck, and took me to talk to a minister at Pinedale. Something happened inside of me that day. I felt like I heard from God. I felt like I could hear God telling me, “I’m tired of you doing what you’re doing, and I’m ready for you to change your ways.” You know what? I was ready, too.
By the time I was 18 years old, I was working fulltime away from home, putting in long hours and chasing dollars. During that time, work defined one part of my life. Alcohol and drugs defined the other. Work filled a need to do something that would make my father proud of me, and I made good money. But most of the money I made went to partying.
Soon after that day, I went to Freedom Farms for rehab. During that time, I faithfully spent time in the Bible. One passage that stood out to me was in Romans 13, where Paul talks about obeying authorities. God seemed to scream at me through that passage. I had an outstanding warrant at that time, and I had been running from it. But no longer. I wanted to follow God’s lead now. When I left rehab, I surrendered myself to authorities. The result was a prison term, and I was ready.
You see, that first sip of alcohol sent me down a path of substance abuse. I searched constantly for a new and better high. Alcohol gave way to marijuana, which eventually led to harder drugs. My “roommate” during one job introduced me to cocaine, and from the first time I tried it, I was hooked. Crack and ecstasy both followed. My habit became so pronounced that eventually I was spending over $100,000 per year on that lifestyle. Proverbs 22:3 says, “A prudent man sees danger and takes refuge, but the simple keep going and suffer for it.” I should have seen where my lifestyle was taking me, but I didn’t. As a result, I suffered tremendously. I lost my wife and daughter. I lost my business. I even lost my home. For a 2-3 week stretch, I literally lived on the street and later moved into an abandoned trailer. Plus, I spent more than one stint in prison. As I think back on my story, it seems amazing that God would still have anything to do with me after all of that… but He never gave up me. In fact, He found me in the most unlikely place – in a hotel room smoking crack. Here’s how it happened: I had worked a job and owed money to some of the men who had worked with me. One of those men came and found me. An angry confrontation followed, and he literally smacked me to get my attention. But then, he did something I did not expect – he offered to help me get straightened out. The next morning he showed up at my door, put me
During my time in prison, I submitted my life to God. I started attending Church there, which is where I met the folks from the Pinedale Prison Ministry. For the first time, I could hear God speaking to me, and I was listening! When I got out, I knew that I had a future far different from my past. As I type these words, I stand amazed at the Grace God has poured into my life. He has given me new friends – a support group that loves me (and I love them). He blessed me with a wife that I adore. He has given me a new opportunity to teach my children what I have learned about the love of Christ. He has made me a man I am proud to be – and He continues to shape me. I still work hard every day. In fact, my roofing business is booming. But I understand now that I don’t have to work to earn my Heavenly Father’s approval. He loves me more than I ever understood, and I love to tell the story of His Grace. Grace is a gift given freely by God. Why do you think this is so hard for many people to accept? ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________
Daily Scripture Reading: 2 Samuel 9
Out of the Ashes –
God’s Story
Mephibosheth 2 Samuel 9:1-13 (NRSV)
David asked, “Is there still anyone left of the house of Saul to whom I may show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” Now there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba, and he was summoned to David. The king said to him, “Are you Ziba?” And he said, “At your service!” The king said, “Is there anyone remaining of the house of Saul to whom I may show the kindness of God?” Ziba said to the king, “There remains a son of Jonathan; he is crippled in his feet.” The king said to him, “Where is he?” Ziba said to the king, “He is in the house of Machir son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar.” Then King David sent and brought him from the house of Machir son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar. Mephibosheth son of Jonathan son of Saul came to David, and fell on his face and did obeisance. David said, “Mephibosheth!” He answered, “I am your servant.” David said to him, “Do not be afraid, for I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan; I will restore to you all the land of your grandfather Saul, and you yourself shall eat at my table always.”8 He did obeisance and said, “What is your servant, that you should look upon a dead dog such as I?”Then the king summoned Saul’s servant Ziba, and said to him, “All that belonged to Saul and to all his house I have given to your master’s grandson.You and your sons and your servants shall till the land for him, and shall bring in the produce, so that your master’s grandson may have food to eat; but your master’s grandson Mephibosheth shall always eat at my table.” Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants. Then Ziba said to the king, “According to all that my lord the king commands his servant, so your servant will do.” Mephibosheth ate at David’s table, like one of the king’s sons. Mephibosheth had a young son whose name was Mica. And all who lived in Ziba’s house became Mephibosheth’s servants. Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, for he always ate at the king’s table. Now he was lame in both his feet. All of us have imperfections. Maybe you come from a family that is sinful or impure, maybe you have some sort of ailment or weakness, or maybe you just don’t like who you are.
Questions
Mephibosheth had such a bad self image that he refered to himself as a “dead dog.” Life was not good for Mephibosheth. He was the grandson of the overthrown king. He was crippled at a young age so badly that he couldn’t walk. He probably hated himself. In this passage, he sits before the king a broken and messed up person. Then the king does something unexpected: he gives Mephibosheth undeserved grace. The king offered him life, nourishment, and even a relationship. Mephibosheth always had a seat at the king’s table.
____________________________________________________ Can you recall some times in your life you felt like a “dead dog?”
How is this giving of undeserved grace like our relationship with God? ____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ Do you deserve grace? Why or why not? ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ Take some time and pray with thanksgiving to God for His abounding grace and love.
Out of the Ashes – Mephibosheth
Day 11
My Story
Jacob Goodin For more of Jacob’s story, go to www.Pinedale.org
The dark part of my story probably began when I was twelve years old. That year, I drank alcohol for the first time. I was with my father at the time. Looking back, it is easy to see how foolish that decision was, on both of our parts, but neither of us could have predicted where it would lead.
in his truck, and took me to talk to a minister at Pinedale. Something happened inside of me that day. I felt like I heard from God. I felt like I could hear God telling me, “I’m tired of you doing what you’re doing, and I’m ready for you to change your ways.” You know what? I was ready, too.
By the time I was 18 years old, I was working fulltime away from home, putting in long hours and chasing dollars. During that time, work defined one part of my life. Alcohol and drugs defined the other. Work filled a need to do something that would make my father proud of me, and I made good money. But most of the money I made went to partying.
Soon after that day, I went to Freedom Farms for rehab. During that time, I faithfully spent time in the Bible. One passage that stood out to me was in Romans 13, where Paul talks about obeying authorities. God seemed to scream at me through that passage. I had an outstanding warrant at that time, and I had been running from it. But no longer. I wanted to follow God’s lead now. When I left rehab, I surrendered myself to authorities. The result was a prison term, and I was ready.
You see, that first sip of alcohol sent me down a path of substance abuse. I searched constantly for a new and better high. Alcohol gave way to marijuana, which eventually led to harder drugs. My “roommate” during one job introduced me to cocaine, and from the first time I tried it, I was hooked. Crack and ecstasy both followed. My habit became so pronounced that eventually I was spending over $100,000 per year on that lifestyle. Proverbs 22:3 says, “A prudent man sees danger and takes refuge, but the simple keep going and suffer for it.” I should have seen where my lifestyle was taking me, but I didn’t. As a result, I suffered tremendously. I lost my wife and daughter. I lost my business. I even lost my home. For a 2-3 week stretch, I literally lived on the street and later moved into an abandoned trailer. Plus, I spent more than one stint in prison. As I think back on my story, it seems amazing that God would still have anything to do with me after all of that… but He never gave up me. In fact, He found me in the most unlikely place – in a hotel room smoking crack. Here’s how it happened: I had worked a job and owed money to some of the men who had worked with me. One of those men came and found me. An angry confrontation followed, and he literally smacked me to get my attention. But then, he did something I did not expect – he offered to help me get straightened out. The next morning he showed up at my door, put me
During my time in prison, I submitted my life to God. I started attending Church there, which is where I met the folks from the Pinedale Prison Ministry. For the first time, I could hear God speaking to me, and I was listening! When I got out, I knew that I had a future far different from my past. As I type these words, I stand amazed at the Grace God has poured into my life. He has given me new friends – a support group that loves me (and I love them). He blessed me with a wife that I adore. He has given me a new opportunity to teach my children what I have learned about the love of Christ. He has made me a man I am proud to be – and He continues to shape me. I still work hard every day. In fact, my roofing business is booming. But I understand now that I don’t have to work to earn my Heavenly Father’s approval. He loves me more than I ever understood, and I love to tell the story of His Grace. Grace is a gift given freely by God. Why do you think this is so hard for many people to accept? ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________
Daily Scripture Reading: 2 Samuel 9
