Author: Dave M Price

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any god will do

Daily Reading

2Chronicles 28-31

Daily Thought

Ahaz was the next king who “did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord” (2Chronicles 28:1). He crafted idols to the Baals and sacrificed his own sons in the Valley of the son of Hinnom. He borrowed indiscriminately the gods of the nations around him. Any god will do, “and he sacrificed and made offerings on the high places and on the hills and under every green tree” (2Chronicles 28:4). He even adopted the gods of the Damascus after losing a battle to Syria, reasoning, “Because the gods of the kings of Syria helped them, I will sacrifice to them that they may help me” (2Chronicles 28:23).

Any god will do, it seemed, except the one God, the true God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, of David and Solomon, of his own father Jotham, the Lord, the God of Israel. Ahaz broke up the furniture in that God’s temple, using the wood to make altars to his new gods, “and he shut up the doors of the house of the Lord” (2Chronicles 28:24).

When any god will do, there is one God who won’t. Isaiah was prophet when Ahaz was king, and proclaimed the words of the one true God, “I am the Lord; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols” (Isaiah 42:8). God does not play nicely with others. He does not share. “I the Lord your God am a jealous God” (Exodus 20:5). These are not words of petty jealousy, but the deep passion of love, familiar to us, “forsaking all others, I keep only unto you.” No flirting with others.

This was the first of the commandments, “I am the Lord your God. You shall have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:2-3); the greatest commandment, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (Deuteronomy 6:5); and the cry of Israel, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one” (Deuteronomy 6:4). This is how truth works. It is pure, it is holy, it is one. “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). God stands alone.

Daily Prayer

My God, Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, King of kings and Lord of lords, there is none like You. You and You alone are God, and You are my God, my first love. May my love be full and pure. All of life, a life abundantly full of love and good and justice and grace, is from You. I seek other ways at my own peril, and yet I do. The results are never good. Thank You for allowing me to run home to You again and again, and for greeting me with open arms again and again.

Each day will begin remembering it is Your day, a day You have created and sustained. I commit my life to You, to Your praise and pleasure. What a way to live!

Amen

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Public Servant

Daily Reading

2Chronicles 25-27

Daily Thought

Three chapters, three kings in a row, each began well, but then. King Joash “did what was right in the eyes of the Lord all the days of Jehoiada the priest (2Chronicles 24:2), but then Jehoiada died, “and they abandoned the house of the Lord” (2Chronicles 24:18). King Amaziah, “did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, yet not with a whole heart” (2Chronicles 25:2). King Uzziah “set himself to seek God in the days of Zechariah” (2Chronicles 26:5). Zechariah instructed him in the fear of God, and as long as Uzziah sought the Lord, God made him prosper. Each time, each king, something went wrong.

Uzziah’s name means “My strength is the Lord,” and from that strength came success. Enemies were conquered, the army grew strong, the walls of the city were fortified, the land was replenished and the people were well fed. Uzziah’s name became famous among the nations, but the meaning was lost. Rather Uzziah became strong in himself, “but when he was strong, he grew proud, to his destruction” (2Chronicles 26:16).

Uzziah could do it all. Well, almost all. Uzziah thought to show his glory by proclaiming, “I can be anything,” even a priest, but that’s not the way God works. The king is not priest, and only priests enter the temple and burn incense to the Lord. 

Humanity’s first sin is pride, to be like God, without first knowing what God is like. Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Matthew 16:24). Jesus Christ showed his glory by emptying himself, “Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the form of a servant” (Philippians 2:6-7). We call our leaders “public servants.” If only it were true. 

“Whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” ~Mark 10:43-45

Daily Prayer

Heavenly Father, may I be a reflection of You in this world, which means may I live like Jesus. In humility, I will serve others, considering them before myself. Keep reminding me that You are my strength. I too easily forget. Restore me, O God, when I fail, but even more, guard my heart when I succeed.

When I reflect on Your wonder and glory, I love better. I’m terribly tempted to love myself, so it is good to worship, because I remember my Creator. May all that I do turn eyes toward You, that You may be praised by all.

Amen

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By All Appearances

Daily Reading

2Chronicles 21-24

Daily Thought

Joash, descendant of King David, became king at seven years of age, and Jehoiada the priest stood by his side, a godly advisor and teacher. Things looked promising when Joash gave orders to restore the temple of the Lord. “And Joash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord”–if only the sentence stopped here, but it continued, “all the days of Jehoiada the priest” (2Chronicles 24:2). By all appearances, Joash was following God’s ways, but that was the problem. It was all appearances. The long life of Jehoiada (130 years) was God’s mercy to Joash and the nation, but when Jehoiada died, so did God’s good counsel, and the king listened to new voices.

Joash’s godliness was borrowed godliness, he had neglected to develop his own, so he was only as good as those who surrounded him. “Now after the death of Jehoiada the princes of Judah came and paid homage to the king. Then the king listened to them. And they abandoned the house of the Lord” (2Chronicles 24:17-18).

Daily Prayer

Heavenly Father, create in me a clean heart and make it strong. Test me, discipline me, and develop in me a passion for You that I may stay focused and stand firm. You are my rock, my fortress, my salvation, and the final source of all that is good. You will be my strength, and I will delight in You so deeply that the fancies of this world will lose their power to tempt. I know, God, that I am weak; therefore, my strength comes from You.

It is good for me to be around people pursuing godliness. May I set my heart and mind on Your thoughts and Your ways and surround myself with the good and godly. But even better is when it is good for people pursuing godliness to be around me. May my love grow deep and strong, that I might stand for You and with You no matter what comes.

Amen

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The Eyes of God

Daily Reading

2Chronicles 18-20

Daily Thought

Judah had been allies with Israel and things needed to change. Ahab, king of Israel, the husband of wicked Jezebel. “reigned over Israel twenty-two years, and did evil in the sight of the Lord, more than all who were before him” (1Kings 16:29-30). Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, desired a better epitaph. 

Jehoshaphat’s reformation of Judah began with the court of law. He appointed judges in the land, in all the cities, with one instruction, “Consider what you do, for you judge not for man but for the Lord. He is with you in giving judgment (2Chronicles 19:6).

I remember watching a movie with my college buddies. They laughed and I laughed. I watched the same movie several years later with my mom. She frowned and I squirmed. Funny how the same movie is different depending on whose eyes you see it through.

“He is with you in giving judgment.” To gaze through the eyes of God is to see sin with more horror, beauty with more wonder, righteousness with more desire. God would be with them, judging alongside them. “Thus Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah, doing what was right in the sight of the Lord” (2Chronicles 20:31-32).

Daily Prayer

Heavenly Father, righteous and good and holy, may I fill my eyes, my thoughts, my heart with heavenly things. May Your glory be reflected in all I do. Give me discernment to know what is right and what pleases You. When I ask You to give me the desires of my heart, God, I do not mean give me whatever I want. Rather, cause Your desires to become my deepest longing, so that whatever I want will reflect Your character.

Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, may I fill my thoughts with these, with goodness, with truth, with grace, with faith, with hope, and most of all, with love.

Amen

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From the Heavens

Daily Reading

2Chronicles 13-17

Daily Thought

The Hebrew people were now a divided Kingdom, Israel to the north under Jeroboam its king, Abijah reigning over the southern kingdom of Judah. They were divided and different. Judah was ruled by a man born from God’s chosen line of David; Israel’s king was a rebellious son of Solomon’s servant, illegitimate to the throne. Judah followed the Lord God, whose priests were of God’s chosen line of Aaron and tribe of Levi. In Israel, “whoever comes for ordination with a young bull or seven rams” became a priest (2Chronicles 13:9) and presented offerings to golden calves made by Jeroboam.

One difference seemed to favor Israel–they had an army of 800,000, Judah half that size. And now, Abijah had marched Judah’s army into Jeroboam’s ambush. Judah was surrounded, completely enclosed by an enemy twice its size. The enemy was north, south, east, and west, but Israel could not guard the skies, and Judah’s source of strength came from the heavens. God was on high, and he was Judah’s God. “Behold, God is with us at our head, and his priests with their battle trumpets to sound the call to battle against you,” warned Abijah. “O sons of Israel, do not fight against the Lord, the God of your fathers, for you cannot succeed” (2Chronicles 13:12). Jeroboam did not succeed, and never recovered. “The Lord struck him down, and he died. But Abijah grew mighty” (2Chronicles 13:20-21).

Israel and Judah were divided and different, but only one difference mattered, “We keep the charge of the Lord our God,” said Abijah, “but you have forsaken him” (2Chronicles 13:11).

Daily Prayer

My Lord and Savior, You have placed me in a battlefield on earth, in a world that loves neither You nor Your ways. I cannot be a friend to the ways of the world and follow You at the same time. I must make a choice, and I choose You, which means I fight the world and the world fights me. No matter, though, because You are with me and will never leave me, so I can stand in Your Name.

Thank You for so great a salvation. You are my strength and my confidence and I trust fully in You. My eyes will stay true, my heart pure, my path straight, so long as I love You, listen to Your Word, and follow Your ways.

Amen

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Rafting the American River

Daily Reading

2Chronicles 9-12

Daily Thought

The Chronicles speaks to Israel of its glory and its fall. Solomon’s reign was the kingdom of God’s favor, the apex of the nation. In the words of a foreigner, the Queen of Sheba, “Blessed be the Lord your God, who has delighted in you and set you on his throne as king for the Lord your God! Because your God loved Israel and would establish them forever, he has made you king over them, that you may execute justice and righteousness” (2Chronicles 9:8). 

But forever faded as the nation disregarded the words of Moses, “Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day” (Deuteronomy 8:17-18). 

I grew up in Sacramento. Sacramento summers cook; north of a hundred degrees is normal. The American River, the cool run-off from the Sierra snow, was a popular solution. The flow of the river is mostly calm and mostly shallow, wonderful for rafting, and surprisingly dangerous for drowning. Life jackets are recommended. The victims are overwhelmingly young and male. “We are old enough, we are strong enough, and we can swim,” say the young men. “Life jackets? We don’t need life jackets.” The danger of the river is not the current, but the misplaced confidence of young men who believe they are strong enough.

Solomon’s son Rehoboam inherited Solomon’s throne and his wealth, but not his wisdom. “When the rule of Rehoboam was established and he was strong, he abandoned the law of the Lord, and all Israel with him” (2Chronicles 12:1). “Thus says the Lord, ‘You abandoned me, so I have abandoned you” (2Chronicles 12:5) was God’s response, and Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem. He took away the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king’s house. He took away everything (2Chronicles 12:9). Chronicles is a work written by a nation who forgot God and now wondered if God would remember them.

Daily Prayer

My faithful Father, You are the Rock, the foundation on which a life will stand firm. May I always remember that, when I am weak, but even more so, when I am strong. Protect me, God, from myself, from becoming full of myself. “I am not strong enough” are not words of the weak, but of wise.

What You say, You do. Your Word is true, right, and good. It shall be my guide in life, my constant companion. May I always seek not the pleasure of this world, but your pleasure, and remember that the world is not friendly toward me because it is not friendly toward You. May my love for Your Word continue to grow.

Amen

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What Kind of Savior

Daily Reading

2Chronicles 6-8

Daily Thought

Listen to the pleas of Solomon, “Of your people Israel, when they pray toward this place, listen from heaven your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive” (2Chronicles 6:21). “If your people Israel are defeated before the enemy because they have sinned against you, and they turn again and acknowledge your name and pray and plead with you in this house, then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel” (vv 24-25). “Hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel” (v 27). “Hear from heaven your dwelling place and forgive” (v 30).

Solomon anticipates great sin, so he asks for great forgiveness. “If they sin against you–for there is no one who does not sin–if they turn their heart repent and plead with you, saying, ‘We have sinned and have acted perversely and wickedly,’ if they repent with all their mind and with all their heart then hear from heaven your dwelling place their prayer and their pleas, and maintain their cause and forgive your people who have sinned against you” (vv 36-38).

God’s answer came quickly, “As soon as Solomon finished his prayer, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. They bowed down with their faces to the ground on the pavement and worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord, saying, ‘For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever’” (2Chronicles 7:1, 3). Our God forgives.

She had an excuse for not coming to church, “Oh, but you don’t know what I’ve done,” she explained. “I’m not the kind of person God could ever forgive.”

They cried out again, “Crucify him” (Mark 15:13). Then they spit in his face and struck him. And some slapped him, saying, “Prophesy to us, you Christ! Who is it that struck you?” (Matthew 26:67-68). Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar” (John 19:15). They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head (Matthew 27:28-30). They kept shouting, “Crucify, crucify him!” (Luke 23:21). So they took Jesus, and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called The Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. There they crucified him (John 19:16-18).

Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34).

“You’re right, I don’t know what you’ve done, what kind of person you are,” I said. “But here’s what I do know. I know what Jesus has done and what kind of Savior he is and what kind of person God forgives and how great is his grace.”

Daily Prayer

Loving Father, Your love endures. I’ve put it to the test! So have others. All of us. And yet Your love lasts forever and forgiveness is always in front of me. So, God, thank You for forgiving me by the blood of Your Son.

God, may I live life with confidence, not in my own strength, but in the absolute certainty that Your Son did everything needed to restore my relationship with You forever. Your love endures forever.

Amen

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Redemption

Daily Reading

2Chronicles 2-5

Daily Thought

King David was a man after God’s heart, but that does not mean he did not sin. “I have sinned greatly” (2Samuel 24:10), was David’s confession to his God after commanding a census. By God’s will David was chosen king, and by God’s power David attained the throne, but when he counted his people he was counting his soldiers, relying on his own strength to rule his kingdom. Repenting of this sin, David purchased property on Mount Moriah where he built an alter to worship the Lord. 

A greater sin yet was David’s adultery with Bathsheba and murder of her husband, Uriah. Out of this sin, David married Bathsheba, and later they had a child, naming him Solomon (2Samuel 12:24).

David’s sins came with great cost, but even in the darkest of sin shines the power of God’s redemption. “Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more” (Romans 5:20). From the depths of sin, God produced a man and a mountain, and “Solomon began to build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah” (2Chronicles 3:1). This does not justify sin but displays grace and reminds us to trust God’s salvation. Satan would have us deflated by failure, but we are made large through salvation and must press on confidently, because we are more than conquerors through him who loved us (Romans 8:37).

Daily Prayer

Holy God, how great a salvation. As your servant King David asked, “O LORD, who am I that You care for me,” I am amazed by Your grace, that You turn your attention toward me. I keep turning my attention away, yet You look upon me and care about me and restore me.

God, may my focus never waver. Keep me from being distracted by things. May I look to You first, may I seek Your kingdom, your goodness, You always.

Amen

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A Peanut Butter and Chocolate Milkshake

Daily Reading

1Chronicles 28-2Chronicles 1

Daily Thought

David left his son Solomon with much silver and gold, but true wealth came in his words, “And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought” (1Chronicles 28:9).

Once, when I was on a diet, I passed by Leatherby’s Family Creamery, an ice cream parlor second to none. I succumbed to my favorite, a peanut butter and chocolate milkshake, ordered it and brought it home. Realizing I could not drink the shake and keep the diet, I put the shake in the freezer, got on my knees, and prayed, “God, keep me from drinking the shake.” This was a double-minded prayer. If I did not want the shake, it should be in the disposal, not the freezer. Later, I drank the shake.

You cannot follow God, serve him wholeheartedly, and be double-minded. When Solomon became king, God offered Solomon whatever he wanted, “In that night God appeared to Solomon, and said to him, ‘Ask what I shall give you’” (2Chronicles 1:7). Solomon spurned riches and honor and asked for wisdom. Wealth and power would make him a mighty king, but wisdom would make him a good king, a godly king. God granted Solomon wisdom and knowledge, and then gave him riches and possessions and honor, as well.

Why did God give him riches, too? Isn’t that like keeping the milkshake in the freezer?

No, it means that Leatherby’s is still in town and an ice cream shop is good for the town, but it is not good for my diet. God gave Solomon a challenge that would test and could strengthen his wisdom, would riches and possessions and honor serve God and God’s kingdom or would they make the king fat.

Solomon would be a great king, but not fully, not with his whole heart. He would drink the world’s riches of wealth and wine and women. At the end of his life, Solomon reflected, “He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity. The full stomach of the rich will not let him sleep” (Ecclesiastes 5:10, 12).

Daily Prayer

My God, my Lord, my Savior, I will serve and follow You fully, keeping my eyes on You, focused on the prize, a glorious day to come when I might hear the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” You are what is good in life and I long to be godly. I will guard my heart against distractions. Strengthen my will and give me wisdom to choose well.

God, You are the center of my life, and all else revolves around You. You are first in everything. I trust my life to You, knowing that my life will only be great when it is first good and godly. This is my resolve. I pray this will be my actions, as well.

Amen

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This Is Why We Sing

Daily Reading

1Chronicles 25-27

Daily Thought

Heman was the king’s seer (2Chronicles 25:5).  He was also his director of music. King David selected the sons of Heman, along with those of Asaph and Jeduthun, to be the orchestra, exalting God and filling the house of the Lord with music. To prophecy is to to forthtell, to speak God’s Word for today, or foretell, to speak God’s Word for the future, but there must be more, because the sons of Heman, Asaph, and Jeduthun “prophesied with lyres, with harps, and with cymbals” (1Chronicles 25:1). The music itself spoke God’s Word, not to the present or the future, but to the soul. Prophecy tells us more than what is or what will be, but it speaks to who we are and who is our God. There is a power in beauty that declares the divine and opens our hearts to the wonders of our Creator.

The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
Day to day pours out speech,
and night to night reveals knowledge.
There is no speech, nor are there words,
whose voice is not heard.
Their voice goes out through all the earth,
and their words to the end of the world.
~A Psalm of David 19:1-4

It is not the heavens alone, but the majesty and mystery of creation, of art and music touches our heart, sings to the soul, declares God’s glory, prophecies with lyres, with harps, and with cymbals. This is why we sing.

Daily Prayer

Wonderful God, fill me with Your Spirit, with Your Words, with Your songs, that I might declare Your wonders and Your glory, the beauty and mystery of life. You touch my mind and I understand, but worship is more than what I simply think. There is language deeper than words, unlocked by the heavens, by music, by creation, by wonder, that express Your glory. Your grace and love and truth are displayed not only in what I do and what I say, but in what I sing. What a strange and wonderful thing is music. Thank You for it. Where words fail to express Your glory, music proclaims it to the world. What a wonderful God.

Amen