Author: Dave M Price

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Replace Yourself

Daily Reading

Numbers 26-27

Daily Thought

The Lord said to Moses, “Go up into this mountain of Abarim and see the land that I have given to the people of Israel. When you have seen it, you also shall be gathered to your people, as your brother Aaron was, because you rebelled against my word in the wilderness of Zin” (Numbers 27:12-14). For forty years, Moses led a whiny, complaining tribe of Hebrews to the Promised Land. Then, within a stone’s throw of their destination, Moses sinned, and God said, “You’re not going in, Moses.” Ever faithful, Moses passes the mantle of leadership to Joshua. Observe how in four verses, Numbers 27:18-21.

Moses leads, Joshua watches, verse 18: So the Lord said to Moses, “Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him.”

Moses leads with Joshua by his side, verse 19: “Make him stand before Eleazar the priest and all the congregation, and you shall commission him in their sight.”

Joshua leads with Moses by his side, verse 20: “You shall invest him with some of your authority, that all the congregation of the people of Israel may obey.”

Joshua leads, Moses watches, verse 21: “And he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire for him by the judgment of the Urim before the Lord. At his word they shall go out, and at his word they shall come in, both he and all the people of Israel with him, the whole congregation.”

Leaders do not turn around to gaze at their followers, rather they seek new leaders in raw form to develop, new leaders who will pick up where they leave off and continue the journey.

Daily Prayer

Father God, thank You for investing in me. You rescued me from sin and filled me with Your Holy Spirit. Now I am Your ambassador, declaring and displaying the good news of Jesus Christ to a lost world, desperately in need of salvation.

God, may I be holy, set apart for Your pleasure, for Your good news, for Your service on earth. May I do the same things I saw Your Son do, letting go of my will and my treasures, leading others to Your Kingdom, serving others in love.

Amen

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Bad Witch

Daily Reading

Numbers 23-25

Daily Thought

Question: Is Balaam a good witch or a bad witch?

The New Testament makes it clear, Balaam is a bad witch. “They have followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved gain from wrongdoing” (2Peter 2:15). “Woe to them! For they walked in the way of Cain and abandoned themselves for the sake of gain to Balaam’s error and perished in Korah’s rebellion” (Jude 1:11). “But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality” (Revelation 2:14).

At first, it would seem Balaam does well and obeys God. Balak, the king of the Moabites, needed outside help to attack the Israelites. By outside help, I mean supernatural, spiritual help, and he didn’t care what kind of spirit. So Balak contracted Balaam, a prophet for hire, to curse the Israelites. However God met Balaam on his way to the king. The angel of the LORD, with a drawn sword in his hand, made it clear to Balaam, “Speak only the word that I tell you” (Numbers 22:31, 35). Balaam feared the word of God more than the sword of Balak and obeyed. “Must I not take care to speak what the Lord puts in my mouth?” “Did I not tell you, ‘All that the Lord says, that I must do’?” (Numbers 23:12, 26) And finally, “Did I not tell your messengers whom you sent to me, ‘If Balak should give me his house full of silver and gold, I would not be able to go beyond the word of the Lord, to do either good or bad of my own will. What the Lord speaks, that will I speak’?” (Numbers 24:12-13). Those are good words, words we would do well to remember. So, rather than curse, Balaam blessed Israel.

Still, Balaam was committed to evil. Reading a few chapters ahead, we come to Numbers 31:16 and discover the deceit of Balaam, “Behold these [women], on Balaam’s advice, caused the people of Israel to act treacherously against the LORD.” Balaam couldn’t curse the Israelites, but he knew how to defile them. He enticed them with the women of Moab to worship Baal. Sin is a seductress and we walk willingly into its hell. What Balaam couldn’t do by appealing to the demonic, he accomplished by appealing to the flesh. Balaam was a bad witch.

Daily Prayer

My Father, may I always obey you, no matter how costly. And obedience is costly. Your Son obeyed Your will and paid the price of the cross, bearing My sin. And obedience is rewarded. You gave Him the Name above all names, that at the Name of Jesus every knee would bow and every tongue confess Jesus Christ is Lord.

And obedience is costly. I offer my body a living sacrifices. And obedience is rewarded. Well done, good and faithful servant. Come and share your master’s happiness. May I store up  treasures in Your home, not mine.

Amen

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A Serpent on a Pole

Daily Reading

Numbers 21-22

Daily Thought

“The Lord said to Moses, ‘Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.’ So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live” (Numbers 21:8-9). Why would God use a bronze serpent to heal the Israelites when a serpent often represents Satan and evil?

Jesus recalls the imagery of Moses’ bronze serpent to illustrate his death on the cross: “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up” (John 3:14). God had instructed Moses to make a serpent of bronze and put it on a pole where the people could see it. All who looked at the bronze serpent would be healed of the deadly bites of very real serpents. The serpent was placed in the midst of the camp, not in the tabernacle, because nobody is saved by keeping the law, but only by looking at the uplifted serpent, just as Christ is the only Savior of our sins. Each Israelite had to look at the serpent for himself. None could look on behalf of another. Salvation was individual and personal.

But why a serpent?  The bronze serpent on the pole foreshadowed Jesus on the cross. As God used a serpent to heal the people of the venom of serpents, on the cross Jesus became sin to heal us of the deathly venom of sin.

Daily Prayer

My Savior, You and You alone came to my rescue. Only You could and only You would. Your love is so deep that you went to the cross because of and in spite of my rebellion. God, I repent. I turn away from the old way of life and I will follow You. Teach me what is right and good, and change me to love purity and live generously.

You not only saved me from my sins, but You made me holy. I’m different now, and it’s a good difference. I desire Your pleasure more than anything else. You are my Lord, my Savior, my God.

Amen

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But He Does Anyway

Daily Reading

Numbers 18-20

Daily Thought

God delivered the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt and all they have done is grumble and complain, sin and rebel. Now they are whining again. They are thirsty, there was no water for the congregation, and they assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron. The people quarreled with Moses and said, “Would that we had perished when our brothers perished before the Lord! Why have you brought the assembly of the Lord into this wilderness, that we should die here, both we and our cattle? And why have you made us come up out of Egypt to bring us to this evil place? It is no place for grain or figs or vines or pomegranates, and there is no water to drink” (Numbers 20:2-5).

After all that God has done, more complaining? Moses asks a legitimate question, “Hear now, you rebels: must we bring water for you out of this rock?”  The answer is, No! But he does anyway.

You would think we would learn, but we don’t, and the grumbling and complaining, sinning and rebeling continue. Almost fifteen hundred years later, Jesus is in a garden. “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me.” For fifteen hundred years, the people have continued to grumble and complain, sin and rebel, just like the Israelites in the wilderness. A legitimate question, must Jesus drink the cup that contains the wrath our sins deserve? No. But he does anyway.

I get on my knees after years of grumbling and complaining, sinning and rebelling, and at last I plead, “Jesus, save me.” Must he? No, but he does anyway. “For by grace you have been saved…” (Ephesians 2:8).

Once I have received God’s grace, why do I still grumble?

Daily Prayer

Loving God, You show me your love in grace. I do not deserve it, I do not desire it even, and I certainly do not seek it. And then You die for me anyway. You take my sins on Yourself, you pay the price of justification, and You share Your righteousness with me. You adopt me as Your child, and I am co-heir with Christ.

How can I possibly not love You? I love because You first loved me. 

Amen

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Horseshoes and Hand Grenades

Daily Reading

Numbers 16-17

Daily Thought

Korah and his company were rebellious. God had heard enough of their grumbling and complaining and punishment was near, so God warned Moses and Moses warned the nation of Israel, “Move back from the tents of these wicked men! Do not touch anything belonging to them, or you will be swept away because of all their sins” (Numbers 16:26). No one can say God didn’t warn them.

Harry Truman (not the president) was in his cabin when Mt. St. Helens erupted on May 18, 1980. For two months the mountain rumbled. For two months they told Harry to move. “The danger is overexaggerated,” Harry determined. It wasn’t. He died. 

You may have heard it said that close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades “And the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households and all the people who belonged to Korah and all their goods” (Numbers 16:31-32). It counts in wickedness, too. Get away! The danger is not overexaggerated. Close counts in volcanoes and it counts tragically in wickedness. 

Daily Prayer

Holy God, Your ways are perfect. Teach me to follow them. God may I have a heart that loves You, loves Your ways, and loves righteousness. May I have a heart that hates wickedness.

God, teach me not to flirt with sin. May I be convinced of its destruction and flee from it. 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 those things consume my thoughts and fill my desires.

Amen

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Back to Egypt

Daily Reading

Numbers 14-15

Daily Thought

Over and over the people complain. The common theme, “Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?” (Numbers 14:3). We read this and we ask incredulously, how can these people ignore the memory of slavery in Egypt? 

The same way you and I do.

Just as God had delivered Israel from their slavery of Egypt, he has delivered us from our slavery to sin. And yet, too often, we want to go back. We want to go back to our sin, our prison, our slavery. It doesn’t matter what God accomplished for us on Christmas and Good Friday and Easter. God in the flesh died on the cross, then rose the third day, delivering us from the misery of slavery to sin and Satan. In spite of all that, in those moments when our fleshly desires get the upper hand, we think we had it better in Egypt. We prefer our sin. 

The Israelites forsook the journey because they lost faith in the Promised Land. All sin is lost faith, faith in the Promised Land, faith in the promises of God. All sin is lost faith, the choice of something tangible, however trivial, over the eternal.

Daily Prayer

My God, may I remember Your justice and also Your grace. May I reflect on Your holiness and Your love. I choose sin too often, and deserve slavery. But You are patient. Thank You. Thank You for Your Son who took my sins and pleads my case. That in His Name and by His blood, I have His righteousness. 

Because of Jesus, may I be holy and righteous. May I love what is good and despise the rebellion that leads to slavery. May I live freely a life that displays Your goodness and glory.

Amen

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Measuring Up

Daily Reading

Numbers 11-13

Daily Thought

Twelve spies were sent by Moses to check out the land of Canaan, the Promised Land of God. They returned after forty days, with good news. The land was flowing with milk and honey. However, there was also bad news. The people were strong and their cities fortified. “There we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim), and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them” (Numbers 13:33).

There would be, someday, another warrior of God thought too small for battle against a large opponent. First King Saul told David, “You cannot fight Goliath. You are only a boy.” Then David put on the armor, but it did not fit. If you are too small for the armor, you are too small for the battle. Finally, the big Philistine himself laughed at David, “Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?”

The Israelites’ problem was someone thought they were too small for battle, but it wasn’t the Nephilim or the Amalekites or the Hittites or the Jebusites or the Amorites or the Canaanites. It was the Israelites themselves. “We seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers.” 

It never occurred to David to measure himself. He measured Goliath and he measured God. “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel” (1Samuel 17:45). 

“What then shall we say to these things?
If God is for us, who can be against us?”
~Romans 8:31 

So David killed Goliath with a slingshot. Then he cut off his head.

Daily Prayer

Awesome God, You reign from heaven above with wisdom, power, and love. You are the Almighty, the Everlasting, my Stronghold, my Shelter, my Fortress in time of trouble. You are my Savior.

My God is an awesome God. May I never rely on my own strength and may I never forget Your strength. I shall place my trust in it, in You, always. If my God is for me, who can be against me?

Amen

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God Knows Best

Daily Reading

Numbers 8-10

Daily Thought

My son approached me with what seemed to be a reasonable request. “May I go to the movies tonight with my friends?” Which movie? Which friends? I asked the right questions. “Son, it seems like everything is okay.”

He started to walk away triumphantly. “But son, you know there is no ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ until your mom says ‘Yes’ or ‘No.’” 

He knew. My wife knows better. She knows if there is homework due. She knows how he’s behaved during the day. She knows his friends. I’ve learned, I dare not say ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ before checking with the one who knows best.

The Israelites were observing the Passover on the anniversary of their deliverance from Egypt. Some who were unclean (they had touched a dead body) still wanted to participate. They asked Moses if it was okay. It seemed a reasonable request.

And Moses said to them, “Wait, that I may hear what the LORD will command concerning you” (Numbers 9:8). 

Moses knew, check with the One who knows best.

Blessed is the one who listens to me,
watching daily at my gates,
waiting beside my door.
~Proverbs 8:34

Daily Prayer

Father God, You are wise, You are loving, You are good. What a blessing it is to bring my requests to You. I know that You will work all things to the good of those who love You and are called according to Your purpose. I want Your wisdom, God, and it is there for the asking. But I forget to ask. 

My love for You is shown by my obedience. My trust is displayed in my actions. May I be one who, all day long, seeks Your Word and Your ways, follows Your path, and walks in Your wisdom. May I be one who talks to You. And listens. 

Amen

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Carry That Weight

Daily Reading

Numbers 7

Daily Thought

The Tabernacle was portable, and was packed up, pieced out, and carted along whenever Israel moved camp. The Gershonites were responsible for the curtains, and Moses gave them two carts to carry them. The Merarites, tent poles, got four carts. The Kohathites carried the most holy things, like the ark of the Covenant. They received no carts. God said, “I want you to carry the holy things on your shoulders.”

The Hebrew word for “glory” literally means “weight.” Like the “weight of glory.” Several tons, in this case. That’s how much the ark and the holy things weighed. A cart and a couple oxen would have been nice, “but to the sons of Kohath he gave none, because they were charged with the service of the holy things that had to be carried on the shoulder” (Numbers 7:9). Wonder why?

The wonders of God surround us. The elegance of creation, the beauty of sunsets, the majesty of mountains. “The whole earth is full of his glory,” said more than one Hebrew poet. But that is not where the world will see the full glory of God. God’s intent was that now, “through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord (Ephesians 3:10-11). The church. That’s you and me, followers of Jesus Christ. Carrying God’s glory to the world, his goodness, his grace, his gospel – it’s on us, on our shoulders. God says, “I want you to carry my glory.”

Daily Prayer

Wonderful God, Maker of heaven and earth, the seas and all that are in them, the land and all it’s creatures, the skies and the birds that soar, stars and planets, painted with all the colors of the rainbow, which you made, as well.

In all of creation, You place Your image in people. People like me.  Through the work of Jesus Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit, I am being transformed and Your image is becoming clear again. May I display Your glory, Your wonder, Your wisdom, You grace, Your love, to the world around me. May the glory of Your work in me brighten the world and bring You praise.

Amen

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What Difference Does It Make?

Daily Reading

Numbers 5-6

Daily Thought

We place our hand on the Bible and close with “so help me God,” but what does that mean? What difference does it make? Jesus said it shouldn’t, “Let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’” (Matthew 5:37), so what does it add to add God’s name to an oath? In one sense, nothing. It is your character, not God’s, that will determine whether you are trustworthy or a liar.

Yet “a special vow, the vow of a Nazirite, to separate himself to the Lord” (Numbers 6:2) adds several extra toppings like “he shall separate himself from wine and strong drink” and “no razor shall touch his head” and “he shall not go near a dead body” (Numbers 6:3, 5, 6). This is not a vow to be sober or grow a beard or stay clear of death, but to love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and mind and strength, and the rest is externals, symbols of separation, signs telling the world to watch me and see if my vow has made a difference. These are external signs inviting the world to watch and see the internal character of a man or woman of God.

When a Christian accused of being a hypocrite responds, “I’m no more than the next guy,” isn’t that the problem? When I place my hand on the Bible, the question is not do I take this oath seriously, but do I take my God seriously. When I take God’s name upon myself, it should make a difference. The world is watching.

Daily Prayer

My Holy God, You are good and just and holy and loving and full of grace. Your Son was pierced for my transgressions, He was crushed for my iniquities; the punishment that brought me peace was upon Him; by His wounds I am healed.  May I take sin as seriously as He did.

Thank You, Father, for salvation, for forgiveness, for the atonement for my sins offered by the death of Jesus Christ. Thank You Jesus for taking what I deserve so that I will share in what You deserve.  May my love You for You be seen in my desire for righteousness.

The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. So shall he put his name upon his people and he will bless them.

Amen