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Observations from today’s readings and today’s S-WOD, Sunday, 28 September 2025:
Psalm 91:1-2 — He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the LORD, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”
This psalm is a declaration of God’s protection and faithfulness. The imagery of “shelter,” “shadow,” “refuge,” and “fortress” points to safety and stability in Him. To “dwell” and “abide” in God means more than a passing visit; it is to make Him our continual home. This requires intentional nearness through prayer, trust, and obedience. Jesus echoed this when He said, “Abide in me, and I in you” (John 15:4).
- John 8:31 — So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples,
- John 15:4-7, 9-10, 16 — Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned…. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love…. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love…. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.
- 1 Peter 1:23 — …since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God;
1 John 2:6, 10, 14, 17, 24, 27-28 — …whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked…. Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling…. I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one…. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever…. Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father…. But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie — just as it has taught you, abide in him. And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming.
- 1 John 3:6, 9, 14-15, 17, 24 — No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him…. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God…. We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him…. But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? … Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.
- 1 John 4:12-13, 15-16 — No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit…. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.
- 2 John 1:2, 9 — …because of the truth that abides in us and will be with us forever…. Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.
Psalm 91:3-8 — For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.
God protects His people from unseen traps, destructive plagues, and overwhelming fears. His faithfulness, not our strength, is our shield. The picture of His wings evokes a mother bird covering her young, tender yet powerful protection. Though evil and judgment fall around us, God’s children are secure in His care. This does not mean immunity from suffering but assurance that nothing can separate us from His love (Romans 8:38-39).
Psalm 91:9-13 — Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place — the Most High, who is my refuge — no evil shall be allowed to befall you, no plague come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone. You will tread on the lion and the adder; the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.
Satan quoted Psalm 91 when he sought to tempt Jesus in the desert – “Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, “‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and “‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’” (Matthew 4:5, 6) Jesus responded to Satan by quoting from Deuteronomy (the book most quoted by Jesus) — “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.” Jesus’ quote came from Deuteronomy 6:16, a verse which refers to Exodus 17 where the thirsty Israelites on the verge of stoning Moses asked, “Is the Lord among us or not?” For further context, Deuteronomy 6 is also the “Greatest Commandment” chapter which commands, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might…. It is the Lord your God you shall fear. Him you shall serve and by his name you shall swear.”
Satan quoted from God’s word verbatim but out of context and with evil intent. He wanted Jesus to fall into the common traps of approaching God and His word from a self-centered perspective, placing personal interest over the will of God, expecting God to prove Himself, placing God in the position of being man’s servant rather than the other way around, and transferring glory from God to man. Of course, Jesus would not fall into Satan’s trap, and in one simple quote, proclaims that God is LORD, “Him you shall serve.” We must be VERY careful not to approach God and His word in a self-centered way — “What will God do for me? How does what He is saying benefit me, my life and what I want?” — as opposed to “How do I obey God’s word with a heart of genuine love for God’s glory and in accordance with His will.” With a self-centered perspective, we can quote from God’s word inappropriately; drift away from God, His love and His will; mistreat others, and lead others astray.
Similarly, we must be careful not to wield God’s word while arrogantly placing ourselves in the seat of God (The Judge) towards others. This is what Job’s friends did. Job’s friends quoted great spiritual truths inappropriately, in a judgmental way – “You deserve worse” – true words, but neither loving nor helpful, nor reflective of what God would say to Job in His despair. What makes us judgmental is not when we reveal sin to others out of love but when we reveal sin to others without love. We are judgmental when we claim some sort of personal moral authority as if we are not sinners wholly dependent upon God’s mercy and grace too, as if we were the Righteous One, the deliverer of the sentence. We are judgmental when we seek to condemn rather than convict with an aim towards reconciliation for the benefit of the offender and for the glory of God. Placing ourselves in this position is a presumptuous affront to God, a denial of the Gospel, and when we ‘play god’ in this way, we render ourselves worse than the one we are confronting. Our mission is reconciliation not condemnation. True love speaks the truth only in love. If your goal isn’t honestly to demonstrate the love of Christ to the one you are confronting, hoping only for their unity with Jesus, best to remain silent.
“Because you have made the LORD your dwelling place.” Protection is promised to those who trust Him. Angels themselves are God’s agents of protection. Jesus resisted the devil’s misuse of these verses during His temptation (Matt. 4:6-7), showing that God’s promises are never licenses for presumption. Trusting God means walking in obedience, not testing Him recklessly.
Psalm 91:14-16 – “Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my name. When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.”
The psalm ends with God Himself speaking directly. The blessings promised are intimate and personal: deliverance, protection, answered prayer, companionship in trouble, rescue, honor, satisfaction, and salvation. These are not temporary perks but eternal realities. To “hold fast” in love is to cling to God with devotion, and His promise is that He will not let us go.
1 Kings 21:1-4 — Now Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard in Jezreel, beside the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. And after this Ahab said to Naboth, “Give me your vineyard, that I may have it for a vegetable garden, because it is near my house, and I will give you a better vineyard for it; or, if it seems good to you, I will give you its value in money.” But Naboth said to Ahab, “The Lord forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my fathers.” And Ahab went into his house vexed and sullen because of what Naboth the Jezreelite had said to him, for he had said, “I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers.” And he lay down on his bed and turned away his face and would eat no food.
Naboth’s refusal was not stubbornness but obedience to God’s law (Leviticus 25:23). Land was God’s gift and inheritance to each tribe, not to be sold permanently. Ahab saw land as property; Naboth saw it as stewardship. The world values gain and power, but faith values obedience above expediency.
Envy makes you feel resentment, anger or sorrow because God has given someone something He hasn’t given you; envy makes you want the other person to lose what they have that you might obtain it. Envy is the product of pride and discontentment, both great sins against God. Pride, as opposed to humility, competes to place self above others, the exact opposite of what God commands – “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.” (Philippians 2:3) As C. S. Lewis said, “Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man. We say people are proud of being rich, or clever, or good-looking, but they are not. They are proud of being richer, or cleverer, or better-looking than others.”
Envy occurs when pride is wounded. While the apparent target of envy is the other person, the dissatisfaction is really with self and with God — I am not good enough, and God did not provide. Envy can cause you to forget all that you have for sake of the one thing you don’t have. In Ahab’s case, he was a king who lacked a vineyard. Despite everything he had, he was obsessed with the one thing he didn’t have.
Envy exposes the idols in your heart. Few emotions are more dangerous than envy — there is no petty envy. Envy destroys and kills. Envy is what motivated the religious leaders of the day to have Jesus wrongly accused and crucified — “For he knew that it was out of envy that they had delivered him up.” (Matthew 27:18) Compare Ahab’s story with James 4:1-3 — “What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.” If you feel envy in your heart, repent, and pray that God will give you a grateful, thankful heart of abundance that can truly celebrate the blessings received by others.
Note: The Bible does reveal a positive form of pride – Pride in Christ and in the sanctification of others in Christ (rejoicing rather than haughtiness):
- Romans 15:17 — In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to be proud of my work for God.
- Philippians 2:16 — …holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.
- 1 Corinthians 15:31 — I protest, brothers, by my pride in you, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die every day!
- 2 Corinthians 7:4 — I am acting with great boldness toward you; I have great pride in you; I am filled with comfort. In all our affliction, I am overflowing with joy.
1 Kings 21:5-16 — Jezebel his wife came to him and said, “Do you now govern Israel? … Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth at the head of the people … and set two worthless men opposite him, and let them bring a charge against him, saying, ‘You have cursed God and the king.’ Then take him out and stone him to death.”
Ahab sulks in self-pity, but Jezebel takes ruthless action. She manipulates religious ritual (“proclaim a fast”) to cover injustice with false piety. False witnesses are raised, and Naboth is murdered for his integrity. This is sin at its worst, twisting truth, exploiting power, and cloaking evil in religious pretense. It reminds us of Jesus’ trial, where false witnesses condemned the Righteous One.
1 Kings 21:7 — And Jezebel his wife said to him, “Do you now govern Israel?”
Power does not corrupt. Power enables the behavior of those who already have a corrupt heart. Both positive stress (success) and negative stress (failure) magnify what is already in the heart.
1 Kings 21:9-13 – “Proclaim a fast…. Naboth cursed God and the king….”
Political leaders and others will often use religion as a way to legitimize their sinful behavior — “This is for God….” Don’t be fooled by politicians or business men you use the name of God to rally support for their interests, yet dedicate little if any time sharing the Gospel to others while ministering sacrificially to their needs.
- Matthew 7:15-23 – “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits. “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’”
1 Kings 21:15, 16 – And as soon as Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, Ahab arose to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it.
Naboth’s land should have gone to his relatives after his death, but Ahab defied God’s laws and, apparently, no one spoke out against his actions in order to demand justice but Elijah. Are you willing to speak out against injustice and sin when no one else will?
Ahab wanted Naboth’s vineyard and turned to Jezebel and the murderous ways of the world to get what he could not get through righteous ways, thereby cursing himself and his family — “Behold, I will bring disaster upon you. I will utterly burn you up, and will cut off from Ahab every male, bond or free, in Israel.” Even after Ahab’s genuine repentance, the consequences of his sin were not removed by God – “…in his son’s days I will bring the disaster upon his house.”
1 Kings 21:17-19 — Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah … “Have you killed and also taken possession? … In the place where dogs licked up the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick your own blood.”
God does not overlook injustice. He sends Elijah to confront Ahab directly with the truth. Even when human courts fail, God’s judgment stands. He is the defender of the oppressed and the avenger of the innocent (Romans 12:19).
Ahab king of Israel thought he had gotten away with something, but you cannot hide from God’s discipline and judgment. Ahab received condemnation from God for his actions. It is a terrible thing to position yourself against the will of God.
Sin may begin as envy and greed and then proceed to theft and murder.
1 Kings 21:20-26 — Ahab said to Elijah, “Have you found me, O my enemy?” He answered, “I have found you, because you have sold yourself to do what is evil in the sight of the LORD.”
Ahab saw God’s prophet as his enemy, but in fact, Elijah was Ahab’s enemy because Ahab had become God’s enemy. Everyone takes a side in the war against good and evil. Those who side with evil usually claim that evil is, in fact, good. However, God sets the standard. A person either obeys God and stands with Him, or they don’t. You either act as a servant to evil or to God. James 4:4 has the answer: “You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.” Do you see how certain themes run throughout the entire Bible?
To “sell yourself” to evil means to surrender yourself over to rebellion and blatant disobedience. Jezebel stirred him up, but Ahab chose compromise and corruption. The passage is a sober warning: you cannot blame others for your sin; the responsibility rests on your choices.
1 Kings 21:27-29 — And when Ahab heard those words, he tore his clothes and put sackcloth on his flesh and fasted and lay in sackcloth and went about dejectedly. And the word of the LORD came to Elijah … “Have you seen how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself before me, I will not bring the disaster in his days …”
Remarkably, Ahab shows a measure of humility, and God responds with mercy. Though judgment still comes, it is delayed. This shows the incredible patience and kindness of God. Even the most wicked can find mercy if they humble themselves. How much more, then, should we walk daily in repentance, knowing “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6).
God showed mercy to Ahab because Ahab repented. However, the consequences of Ahab’s actions were not completely removed; his family suffered because of his sin.
“Cross” Fit S-WOD (Spiritual Workout of the Day) – 28 September 2025: Psalm 91 teaches us that true security is found only in dwelling in the presence of God, clinging to Him in trust and love. 1 Kings 21 shows us the dangers of compromise, manipulation, and injustice when we fail to live under God’s rule. Together they call us to one action step: choose daily to abide in Christ as your refuge, responding to life’s pressures not with fear, self-pity, or compromise, but with steadfast trust and obedience. When tempted to take matters into your own hands — whether by control, manipulation, or shortcuts — pause and run into God’s shelter instead. Rest in His shadow, walk in His truth, and let His protection and promises guide your steps.
Pray: “Father, You are my refuge and fortress, my God in whom I trust. Keep me from compromise and the fear of man. Help me to abide in You today, clinging to Your promises instead of leaning on my own schemes. Teach me to trust You for protection, provision, and justice. May my choices reflect Your truth, and may my life point others to Your salvation. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
Defenders Bible Reading Plan 