Author: Dave M Price

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If You Can’t Say Anything Nice

Daily Reading

Proverbs 16-18

Daily Thought

The book of Proverbs has much to say about what we say, both good, “Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body” (Proverbs 16:24); and bad, “A fool’s lips walk into a fight, and his mouth invites a beating” (Proverbs 18:8). Its best advice–handle your words with care. “Whoever restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding” (Proverbs 17:27). Author George Eliot counseled, “Blessed is the man who, having nothing to say, abstains from giving us wordy evidence of the fact”; and my dad frequently advised, “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.” Good advice all.

“Better to remain silent and thought a fool, than to open one’s mouth and remove all doubt,” has been attributed to Abraham Lincoln, Mark Twain, Socrates, and many others, but Proverbs said it first, “Even fools are thought wise if they keep silent, and discerning if they hold their tongues” (Proverbs 17:28). Proverbs makes it clear that intelligence and wisdom are not at all the same, and frequently in opposition; no more so than when we use our words. Our intelligence is oft displayed in what we say; our wisdom in what we don’t.

Daily Prayer

Our Wonderful God, when You speak, amazing things happen. The world was created. You spoke the Law that gives us life. And Jesus, the epitome of Your Word, walked on earth. You still speak; may I listen. More than that, may I obey. May I love Your Word.

God, may I also be one who speaks in a way that reflects well on You. May I always seek to bring You glory in all I do, and in all I say, and often enough, in what I don’t say. May my words be measured, and may they be good.

Amen

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Lots of Kids

Daily Reading

Proverbs 13-15

Daily Thought

We had LOTS of kids on New Dawn Drive, the street I grew up on. My brother Drew, Andy and Ronnie, Colleen and Russell, Ricky, Karen, and Alison, Laurie and Craig, Gina, Debbie and Richie, Michael, and Little David. I was Big Dave. There were older people, too. Chuck and Thelma were a couple of the old people living on my street. They were nice people, but no children, and none of us kids ever got in their house–and we got into everybody’s house. Their house was like a museum.

I mowed their lawn, so I was the only kid who made it inside. They had really nice stuff, beautiful chairs and sofas and tables, and all of it was covered. Their carpet was covered, too. Even their Oldsmobile had seat covers. Remember those plastic seat covers with all the bubbles? I don’t think anybody’s feet or rear ends ever touched the actual material of anything.

They died a number of years ago. Alone. I was sad because I liked them. I hear their stuff was still really nice. Almost like new.

Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean,
but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox. ~Proverbs 14:4

Daily Prayer

Father God, Creator. You made this world and You called it good. And it was good. It will be again. But at the moment it’s messy, and that’s my fault. Our fault. We people decided to do things our way. God, if You hadn’t created us, Your world would be a lot more peaceful, maybe. Forgive us for the mess we make.

What amazes me is that You still find joy in me. And pleasure. And you love me. So much that You did what it took to bring me back into Your family. God, it amazes me how You create so much delight out of the so much trouble we create. You are a wonderful Father.

Amen

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Even When It Hurts

Daily Reading

Proverbs 10-12

Daily Thought

Whoever walks in integrity walks securely,
but he who makes his ways crooked will be found out. ~Proverbs 10:9

The integrity of the upright guides them,
but the crookedness of the treacherous destroys them. ~Proverbs 11:3

Proverbs are truths in a general sort of way; they do not work every time–sometimes the crooked gets away with the goods. But, in general, they describe life.

I am a John Wooden fan, and he is a man who walked in integrity. John Wooden was born in the Midwest, liked the Midwest, and wanted to stay forever in the Midwest. And he would if the University of Minnesota called him before the deadline, but they did not. So, in 1948, John Wooden agreed to go west to Westwood, leaving his beloved Midwest to coach the UCLA Bruins, a team that had three winning seasons in the previous 17 years and finished last last season.

Then Minnesota called, something about a snowstorm knocking out communication. They had tried to call before the deadline. It was a good honest excuse–it snows a lot in the Midwest. The job is yours, they said. Can you come? But John Wooden had given his word to UCLA.

O Lord, who shall may dwell in your sanctuary?
Who may live on your holy hill?
He who keeps his oath
even when it hurts. ~Psalm 15:1, 4

John Wooden would never return to the Midwest. He stayed at UCLA, and for the next 27 years, UCLA did not have a losing season. The final twelve seasons under Wooden, UCLA collected 10 NCAA Championships. How? Coaching, discipline, determination, talent. But it began with integrity. A man kept his word.

Daily Prayer

Creator, by Your Word all things came into existence. You speak and it happens. Your Son is Your Word to this world. When we see “The Word,” Jesus, we see You because You are One: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

God, may my word be as true. May I speak without duplicity. May I always keep my word. You said I must walk in Your Word. Your Word is truth. If I am to be like You, God, then my word must be truth, as well.

Amen

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Turn On the Light

Daily Reading

Proverbs 7-9

Daily Thought

When you speak sin aloud, when you describe it accurately, the glamour fades. We prefer the secrecy of darkness; wisdom turns on the light. She knows what is going on, “For at the window of my house I have looked out through my lattice, and I have seen among the simple, I have perceived among the youths, a young man lacking sense” (Proverbs 7:6-7). She knows what you are up to, why you are where you should not be, “passing along the street near her corner, taking the road to her house” (v 8), and when you should not be, “in the twilight, in the evening, at the time of night and darkness” (v 9). She knows the tempting way of the wicked, “I have spread my couch with coverings, colored linens from Egyptian linen; I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. For my husband is not at home” (vv 16-17, 19). And she knows you, “All at once he follows her, as an ox goes to the slaughter” (v 22). 

She called you an ox. Wisdom does not flatter like that other woman, “the adulteress with her smooth words” (Proverbs 7:5).

Daily Prayer

My God, Creator of all, Author of good, Wise Judge, Loving Savior, I live this life for an audience of One. You are the crowd, it is Your applause I long to hear, “Well done good and faithful servant.” May my life be a reflection of Your grace and goodness. May I at all times be concerned for Your reputation, not my own. If I say I love You with all my heart and soul, mind and strength, may my words be backed up by my life.

Amen

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Lady Wisdom

Daily Reading

Proverbs 4-6

Daily Thought

In God’s eyes, and therefore in reality, there are only two ways to live, two paths, one leading to life, the other to death. In Proverbs, the two paths are traveled by two women, each to her own way. One is Wisdom, and she is a lady; “Keep hold of instruction; do not let go; guard her, for she is your life” (Psalm 4:13). The other, not a lady, is “the evil woman, the smooth tongue of the adulteress. Her feet go down to death” (Proverbs 6:24; 5:5). It is we who seek shades of grey between, who want to keep a woman in each hand, but God says choose.

One woman is enticing and easy, “for the lips of a forbidden woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil” (Proverbs 5:3). The pleasures are immediate, the dangers delayed, the temptation terrible. “Do not let her capture you with her eyelashes” (Proverbs 6:25). In contrast, the lady Wisdom must be pursued. You must want her and work for her; she doesn’t come easy. Proverbs 4:7 makes me laugh, “The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom”–like Steve Martin explaining how to become a millionaire, “First, get a million dollars.” It means, simply, to become wise you must want to become wise. You must choose to become wise, choose one woman over the other, because you must choose a path, and each woman has her own path. You must be willing to let go of that pleasingly available Wicked Woman of the moment and set your sights down the road.

Daily Prayer

God, forgive me the desires of the moment, of the immediate, of the attractive, of the available. Strengthen and deepen my desires, to love what is eternal and good, what never loses her beauty, what bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things, what never ends.

Give me wisdom, Heavenly Father. I seek it and I will work for it. I will dig deep in Your Word and let it dig deep in me. I love the path of wisdom, the path of life, the path that leads to Your Kingdom forever.

Amen

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Common Sense

Daily Reading

Proverbs 1-3

Daily Thought

For a few years as a youth pastor, I took a youth choir on tour, and one stop was a California Youth Authority facility in Ione. By facility, I mean prison, and the teenagers there had committed the most violent crimes, arson, rape, even murder. At the end of a performance, the inmates were given an opportunity to speak to us, and the first rose and said, simply, “Listen to your mother.” Apparently he had not. What he said was a proverb, not unlike what we find in the first chapter of the biblical proverbs,

“Hear, my son, your father’s instruction,
and forsake not your mother’s teaching” (Proverbs 1:8).

Proverbs are just that, simple slices of wisdom, often a couple lines long, poetic and easy to remember, and that’s the point. It is the simple, seemingly obvious things in life we neglect to our detriment. The book of Proverbs was written to make common common sense, “to know wisdom and instruction, to understand words of insight, to receive instruction in wise dealing, in righteousness, justice, and equity; to give prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the youth” (Proverbs 1:2-4).

Proverbs present a choice, a choice with consequences, “the wise will inherit honor, but fools get disgrace” (Proverbs 3:35). Results are not automatic; if you don’t listen to your mom, it does not mean you will end up in prison. But you have upped the odds.

Daily Prayer

My God, Creator of all, I’m going to ask for what Solomon asked for: wisdom. Teach me Your ways. I will stay on the path You put in front of me, I will follow You. As I do, God, may I know You better, may I understand You and the world You created, may I see more clearly the difference between right and wrong, and may my will be strengthened to choose rightly.

God, You have let me stand close to You. I trust You completely with everything, and deep down inside I know it would be foolishness to do anything but that. I know You hold all of life, all of what is good in Your hand. May I choose well, choose life, choose You. Simple choices matter; may I choose wisely.

Amen

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Praise God

Daily Reading

Psalm 146-150

Daily Thought

Twelve of the 13 lines of the final psalm begin with the word “praise.” The one that doesn’t ends with “praise the Lord,” and tells everything that has breath to do it. Jesus says even the rocks would cry out if the things that breathe did not (see Luke 19:40).

Look to the past, the stars, the sky, this vast universe, “He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names” (Psalm 147:4); “he commanded and they were created” (Psalm 148:5). Peer into the future, “The Lord will reign forever, your God, O Zion, to all generations” (Psalm 146:10). And in between, break out the band; “Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals!” (Psalm 150:3-5).

The Psalms, Israel’s songbook, close with five songs of praise. Only praise. These 150 psalms teach me to pray, to speak with God, to ask questions, to complain, to celebrate, to share my troubles and my victories, to open my heart, to seek help; but always and ultimately at the end, to stop everything else and praise the Lord. All things begin and end with God.

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! ~Psalm 150:6

Daily Prayer

My Creator, my God, when I star-gaze, I look at Your handiwork. Amazed by the universe, I am awed by You. You explode the universe into existence by Your Word, by Your breath. All things were designed and created by You and for You. May all creation glorify its Creator.

I worship and praise You.

Amen

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Only God

Daily Reading

Psalm 140-145

Daily Thought

In Psalm 141, we hear a man pleading for purity. King David almost commands God to attend to him, “Give ear to my voice when I call you!” (Psalm 141:1), an exclamation mark rightly placed at the end–a reverent “Listen to me when I talk to you” would be an accurate translation. David wants help from God, “Set a guard, O Lord” (v 3), and from the godly, “Let a righteous man strike me–it is a kindness” (v 5).

Another time, another king, King Ahab, an evil king, was going to war. He asked King Jehoshaphat, a righteous king, to join him. Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “Inquire first for the word of the Lord.” King Ahab had 400 prophets who said “Yes.” They always said “Yes.” Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there not here another prophet of the Lord of whom we may inquire?” Ahab said there was one other, “…but I hate him, for he never prophesies good concerning me, but evil” (1Kings 22:5, 7-8).

An evil king wants to hear only good. A righteous king wants to hear only God; “let him rebuke me–it is oil for my head; let my head not refuse it” (Psalm 141:5).

Daily Prayer

Lord God, You know the beginning and the end, Your words are wise and good, and You lead into righteousness those who are willing to follow.

God, I will make time each day to read Your Word. Speak to me. May Your Word reveal any rebelliousness in me and may it teach, reprove, correct, and train me to be righteous.

Amen

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God Knows

Daily Reading

Psalm 133-139

Daily Thought

Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts! ~Psalm 139:23

Psalm 139 is a dangerous poem because intimacy is dangerous. David invites into his heart the one who has searched him and known his innermost and deepest thoughts. God knows David better than David knows David, and God will find more in David’s heart than even David knows is there. “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb” (Psalm 139:13). Think about that; God knows you better than you know you. That is either wonderful or awful or both.

The difference comes not of what we believe God will find in us, but what we believe of God. If God is only judge, then there is only terror. We fear him and should. But he is Savior first, and so there is fear and wonder. “God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,” explained God’s Son, “but in order that the world might be saved through him” (John 3:17). We are condemned already, he says, because we know enough of our hearts to know the darkness, but “God so loved the world” (John 3:16). We cannot hide our darkness, and we do not need one who closes his eyes to it. We need a Savior who sees the darkness and through it, and leads us in the way everlasting. (Psalm 139:24). Invite him in.

Daily Prayer

Heavenly Father, what a fantastic life! You have created the most wonderful world. You made me in Your image, gave me my intellect and emotions and will. You made me one who laughs and sings and works and runs and plays. You gave me the ability to be delighted, and then put a delightful world around me.

And I sin, and the world is clouded. Come inside and deal with that, God. Put me to the test and show me how badly I am missing the wonders about me. It is a wonderful life, You are a God of wonders, and I am wonderfully made. Restore me, God, to a life overflowing and everlasting and good.

Amen

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Sunday Church

Daily Reading

Psalm 120-132

Daily Thought

The fifteen Psalms beginning with Psalm 120 are each called “A Song of Ascents.” Probably (we don’t know for sure) sung by the Hebrews as they pilgrimed to Jerusalem three times a year for the great feasts, the gatherings of God’s people, these psalms are short, mostly cheerful, always hopeful—except the first, Psalm 120. It is short, but begins with distress, ends with war, and is filled with deceit. A low, all-too-real beginning, followed by a steady climb upward: “When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream. Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy” (Psalm 126:1-2).

The Sunday gathering of God’s people is our high point, and otherworldly; in a sense, the city of God rising above the city of man. “You are the light of the world,” said Jesus. “A city set on a hill cannot be hidden” (Matthew 5:14). Nowadays, we call it Sunday church, but really it is the church going “up” and gathering in one place because the church is us, and would it be so wrong to sing on the way there?

I was glad when they said to me,
“Let us go to the house of the Lord!” ~Psalm 122:1

Daily Prayer

To You, O God, I lift my heart in praise. Out of chaos, You created a life overflowing with peace and hope and love. You did it once in the beginning of the world, You did it again at the cross and the empty tomb. You give me life everlasting, an eternity which has already begun. I am a citizen of Your Kingdom today and forever. My heart is glad and I will sing Your praises so all may hear of so great a salvation.

May I never be shy about it!

Amen