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United We Stand

Daily Reading

1Chronicles 7-8

Daily Thought

“Ner was the father of Kish, Kish of Saul, Saul of Jonathan” (1Chronicles 8:33). Saul, the first king of Israel, began well, and his faithfulness is revealed in the name he chose for his first son, Jonathan, “The Lord Gives.” Saul looked to God as the giver of good. This is what you want in a king. Signs of Saul’s decay show up, however, as the naming of sons continues, “Malchi-shua, Abinadab and then Eshbaal” (1Chronicles 8:33). Baal, a borrowed god from foreign nations, was a constant disruption to Israel’s devotion to the one true God. Saul named his son Eshbaal, “Man of Baal.” Little wonder God spoke to his prophet Samuel, “I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following me (1Samuel 15:11).

“And the son of Jonathan,” the list continues, “was Merib-baal” (1Chronicles 8:34). Merib-baal, “One Who Contends with Baal,” declares Jonathan’s response to the idolatry of his father. It also explains Jonathan’s close friendship with David, a man after God’s heart. David would replace the failed king, Jonathan’s father, Saul.

Before a kingdom finds unity, it must answer the question, “What is it that unites us?” Joshua had warned Israel as they first entered God’s Promised Land, before the kings appeared, “Choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15). But Israel said, “No! But there shall be a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles” (1Samuel 8:19-20). A divided kingdom, a divided family, springs from a divided heart. Saul’s wandering devotion led his family and his kingdom into disarray.

Daily Prayer

My God, You are One, the Only God, there is no other, and You alone have my heart, undivided, fully devoted to You. Keep my heart pure and strong, so that my eyes will not follow temptation. Protect my household, that we may always keep You first.

Each day, may I rise up looking to You, remembering that the day before me is a gift from You, and I should delight in it. Offering myself to You each morning, the day before me will be a display of my devotion, and the world will see that You are my God, and that my God is good and full of grace.

Amen

Daily Question

What have you done to establish who is in charge of your family?

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Our Redeemer

Daily Reading

1Chronicles 6

Daily Thought

Our God is a redeemer. He takes what is bad and brings good, out of evil he delivers righteousness, and in this case, turns rebellion into song. 

The genealogy of Israel continues in 1Chronicles 6, a long list of names, and beginning at verse 31 is found “the men whom David put in charge of the service of song in the house of the Lord” (v 31). It is easy to read the first name and skim the rest, but there are stories of God found in these names. The first of these worship leaders mentioned is Heman the Singer (v 33) and if you trace deep in his genealogy you find a man named Korah. It’s somewhat a surprise because Korah had staged a rebellion against Moses and Aaron as they led the Hebrew people toward the Promised Land. 

Korah gathered 250 leaders and challenged Moses’s right to lead the people of Israel, “Is it a small thing that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, that you must also make yourself a prince over us?” (Numbers 16:13). Long story short, since God was the one who made Moses prince over them, Korah was really questioning God, not Moses, so “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 16:32). Apparently, however, not all Korah’s household, because “the sons of Korah did not die” (Numbers 26:11). They did not stand with their father so they did not belong to Korah’s rebellion. Character is not determined by birth, it is decided in life, and Korah’s sons made good choices and followed God when their father did not.

Among the 150 psalms recorded in the book of Psalms, eleven are written by “the sons of Korah” (Psalm 42, 44-49, 84, 85, 87, 88).

For a day in your courts is better
than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of wickedness. ~Psalm 84:10, a Psalm of the Sons of Korah

They became leaders of worship rather than rebellion. “These are the men whom David put in charge of the service of song in the house of the Lord” (1Chronicles 6:31).

Daily Prayer

Heavenly Father, You seek to save, You delight in redemption, You loved me before I loved You. I was rebellious against my own Creator, wanting to make my own choices, take charge of my own life, and before I even changed, Your Son had already died for my sins. Your irresistible grace saved me. Thank You.

This world offers many passing pleasures, but there is a joy that is forever, surpassing all that the world offers. It is to be Your child, to know my God, to follow my Lord and Savior. You are my God and I delight in You.

Amen

Daily Question

When has your choice to follow God gone against the crowd around you?

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Trusting God

Daily Reading

1Chronicles 3-5

Daily Thought

First Chronicles begins with 9 chapters of names, a genealogy of families fulfilling God’s promise to Abraham, “I will multiply your offspring as the sand that is on the seashore” (Genesis 22:17). These long lists are names, the sons of Judah (1Chronicles 4:1) and Simeon (1Chronicles 4:24) and Reuben (1Chronicles 5:1), etc., are the grains of sand advertising that God has done exactly what he said he would do. It is a trail of trust; our faith is not blind. The God who has always been faithful is forever faithful, and, based on that, will continue to be. We can trust him with our lives.

In the movie “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade,” Indy is chasing the Holy Grail, the cup of legend, supposedly shared by Jesus with his disciples at the Last Supper. The bad guy wants the cup, too, so he shoots Indy’s dad, not dead, but dying.  “It’s time to ask yourself what you believe,” said the bad guy. Go get the Grail, Indy, it’s the only thing that can save your dad. Indy took a book, given to him by his father, that should lead him to the Holy Grail. Could he trust the book?

The book said, “Kneel.” Indiana Jones knelt, and blades of steel passed harmlessly over his head. The book said, “Proceed on the name of God,” and Indy stepped on rocks labeled I-E-H-O-V-A-H (with an “I” because it’s Latin) to safety. Then the book said, “Leap,” but there was nowhere to leap–just a deep chasm before him. He stepped forward anyway onto a bridge unseen. It was a leap of faith, but it wasn’t blind, because the book had proven true. Indiana Jones trusted the book.

Followers of Jesus are those who trust the book. God’s Word proves true and we put our lives in the hands of its author. “But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:31). We, like the Hebrews, discover and develop trust in God as we immerse ourselves in Scripture, even long lists.

Daily Prayer

God, You are faithful and true. I can trust fully in You. Build my faith, God, and strengthen my trust. You are certainly worthy of it. I know that if I seek You and only You, I do not need to worry or be anxious. All things are in Your hand. It baffles me how many things distract me when I only need to keep my eyes on One. You.

May I be faithful to Your Word, reading it, no, devouring it with delight. The more I am in it, the more I am overwhelmed by Your grace and truth. You search deep inside me with Your Words, and You clean house, and You lead me to a life full of Your majesty and wonder.

Amen

Daily Question

Why do you trust the Word of God to be true?

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Two Genealogies

Daily Reading

1Chronicles 1-2

Daily Thought

The books of the Chronicles begin with the genealogy of humanity, which, of course, begins with Adam (1Chronicles 1:1), when “God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good” (Genesis 1:31). After Adam came “ Seth, Enosh, Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared, Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech (1Chronicles 1:1-3), and Noah, and “the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart” (Genesis 6:6). 

Ten generations, that’s all. From very good to very bad, one bite from a delightful piece of fruit turned loose a terrible flood and nothing has changed since. The Chronicles genealogy continues from Noah through Abraham and Jacob to David and the kings, establishing the bloodline of the nation of Judah. It is, regrettably, a genealogy filled with sin and sinners, and the devil has done his damage.

Thankfully, there is another genealogy, and it picks up where Chronicles leaves off, following David to Solomon, to others, and finally to “Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ” (Matthew 1:16). Just in time–at just the right time! “When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons (Galatians 4:4-5). A new creation brings new life and it is very good again.

Daily Prayer

Oh God, the record of my life matches the record of all lives, I seek my own way. I look at the fruit as Eve did, that it is pleasing to the eye and delicious, and I bite into it, as well. I’m so glad You had a plan to deal with that, to save me without me even asking for a Savior. You are my Creator, the author of life, and the Source of all that is good. I say that is what I want from life, goodness and love, but I found the opposite on my own.

God, You are good and You are love. I want to know You more. I want to know the depths of Your wisdom, and the breadth of Your love. May I always seek You and follow You. Lead me in the way of righteousness and life. Lead me always to Jesus.

Amen

Daily Question

What is the forbidden fruit, why does it appear delicious, and why is it so deadly?

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Happily Ever After

Daily Reading

2Kings 23-25

Daily Thought

A siege is slow relentless death, and, in the original Hebrew, the fall of Jerusalem is told in one long methodical twelve-verse sentence, 2Kings 25:1-12. (The translation into English adds periods to ease the read.) “The ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month” stretches “till the eleventh year of King Zedekiah, on the ninth day of the fourth month” and in eighteen months all is done. The wall is breached, the Chaldean army rushes in, and the last king of Judah is chased into the plains of Jericho, the same place where it all began when Joshua fought the battle of Jericho and the people shouted and the trumpets blew and the walls came tumbling down (Joshua 6).

There is no emotion in this account. God’s prophet Jeremiah weeps over the fall of Jerusalem in his book of Lamentations, but here in 2Kings is the dispassionate voice of a court reporter recounting the execution of judgment. Judah had her good kings, but not enough, and the country is judged for the whole of her sins. Josiah’s reign (2Kings 22-23) had been a brief righteous reprieve, but he was followed by Jehoahaz and Jehoiakim and Jehoiachin and Zedekiah and a nation cannot endure evil upon evil upon evil. So Judah was taken into exile out of its land (2Kings 25:21). “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 3:23) for nations, as well as for you and me. 

The story seems over, but this is only the end of a chapter, not the book. This is God’s story, not ours, and a new King will come to Israel and the world, and time will change from B.C. to A.D. Death does not end the reign of this righteous Lord and Savior; rather, Jesus conquers death and rises in victory because, at last, the throne belongs to the eternal King of kings and Lord of lords. Fairy tales are not the only stories that end with “and they lived happily ever after,” because fairy tales are shadows of the real story, and this is the story of God–“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

Daily Prayer

My God, You are righteous and good and holy and just. I am not. Created in Your image, I chose my own way rather than yours, and my sin led to judgment and that judgment is death. There was such hopelessness in life without You. Thank You for rescuing me, for delivering me from death, returning me to hope, and giving me a life that overflows with Your love.

May my thankfulness be evident in a life changed by Your love. May I walk in Your truth, full of grace, sharing Your goodness by word and deed with all who cross my path. May I seek opportunities to share Your love in the same way You sought me. Thank You for so great a salvation, such a wonderful Savior.

Amen

Daily Question

Where is God found in the story of your life?

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Finish the Race

Daily Reading

2Kings 20-22

Daily Thought

That Hezekiah enjoyed prosperity was obvious. An envoy of visitors bearing gifts sent by the king of Babylon became an excuse to show off. “Hezekiah welcomed them, and he showed them all his treasure house, the silver, the gold, the spices, the precious oil, his armory, all that was found in his storehouses. There was nothing in his house or in all his realm that Hezekiah did not show them” (2Kings 20:13). Not surprisingly, Babylon would visit again someday–with an army–and make this treasure their own, but that was of little concern to Hezekiah as long as there was “peace and security in my days” (2Kings 20:19).

Hezekiah had begun beautifully. “The Lord was with him; wherever he went out, he prospered” (2Kings 18:7), but success became too much a good thing. You would hope that one who trusted God with his life would trust God with his death, but that was not the case. When Isaiah the prophet came to him and said, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die’” (2Kings 20:1), Hezekiah could have responded as the Apostle Paul did when death approached, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2Timothy 4:7). Instead, Hezekiah pled with God and wept bitterly, asking for more, God added fifteen years to his life.

We pray for results and God answers with opportunities. Hezekiah was given longer life, so he did not bother ordering his house and his good life finished badly. In those added years, Hezekiah had another son and named him Manasseh, “and Manasseh led them astray to do more evil than the nations had done whom the Lord destroyed before the people of Israel” (2Kings 21:9). Hezekiah did not finish well. He would have been better served and would have served God better had he died a younger man.

Daily Prayer

My Lord, my God, Your commandments will be upon my heart, because they are good for life, my life, and my children’s and their children’s. I will impress them on my children, talk about them when I sit at home and when I walk along the road, when I lie down and when I get up. I will not only teach them, I will live them.

God, bless my household. May my family, my spouse and children, follow You all the days of our lives. As for me and my house, we will serve You.

Amen

Daily Question

How can you tell if what you pray for is motivated according to your desire or God’s?

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First Things First

Daily Reading

2Kings 18-19

Daily Thought

God called his people to gather in his Temple for worship. The Temple was due for repair and “in the first year of Hezekiah’s reign, in the first month, he opened the doors of the house of the Lord and repaired them. He said to them, ‘Hear me, Levites! Now consecrate yourselves, and consecrate the house of the Lord.’ They began to consecrate on the first day of the first month” (2Chronicles 29:3, 5, 17). 

Genesis 4:4, “Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering.” Exodus 23:19, “The best of the firstfruits of your ground you shall bring into the house of the Lord your God.” Matthew 6:33, “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Romans 1:8, “First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world. 2Corinthians 8:5, “They gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us. Revelation 2:4-5, “You have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first.

First Things First. Hezekiah got it right. 

“He trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel, so that there was none like him among all the kings of Judah after him, nor among those who were before him. For he held fast to the Lord. He did not depart from following him, but kept the commandments that the Lord commanded Moses. And the Lord was with him; wherever he went out, he prospered.” ~2Kings 18:5-7

Daily Prayer

My Lord and My God, I worship You and love You with all that I am. Which makes sense, since all that I am was created by You. You had an idea for me before I was born, and You formed me and watched me grow. I grow best, Father, when I remember from Whom I came and to Whom I am going.

You are the First and, also, the Last. The Beginning and the End, Alpha and Omega, A and Z. You are before all things, and in You all things hold together. There is no life without You. Why would I even think of living my life without You. You are my God. May I wake each morning and think first of You, beginning each day with anticipation. You are God, One and only, first in all things, first in my heart. 

Amen

Daily Question

What can you do in your home to make sure God is always first in everything?

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The Wedding Vow

Daily Reading

2Kings 15-17

Daily Thought

She had selected his wedding band. That part was easy. Now to choose an engraving. The jeweler suggested, “I choo choo choose you.” Not a chance. “Today, I married my best friend”? A little sappy. “August 16, 1986.” It would help him remember your anniversary…  “Two hearts, one soul?” I don’t think so. “Eternally Yours.” Boring. “Today, Tomorrow, Forever,” “My Dream Came True,” “This Day And Always” – No, No, No!

On the wedding night, he pulled off his ring and looked inside to discover the engraving she had selected: “Put it back on.”

The thing is, you only see the engraving if you take the ring off–and that was Israel’s problem. God made a covenant with Israel through Moses,“I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob” (Exodus 6:7-8). That’s a wedding vow, a wedding between God and his people. 

Judah to the south had some kings who were faithful and some who were not, but the northern kingdom of Israel had no good kings and Israel kept taking the wedding ring off and playing around. “Zechariah the son of Jeroboam reigned over Israel in Samaria six months and he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord” (2Kings 15:8-9). King Menahem, the same thing, “he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord” (2Kings 15:18). Then Pekahiah (2Kings 15:24), Pekah (2Kings 15:28), and Hoshea (2Kings 17:2). Israel kept taking it off, and God kept reminding them, “You shall not forget the covenant that I have made with you” (2Kings 17:38). Put it back on! 

But they took it off, again and again, until finally, in 722BC, “in the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria, and he carried the Israelites away” (2Kings 17:6).

You keep taking off the wedding ring, eventually you lose it.

Daily Prayer

Loving God, You sought me out and rescued me from the darkness I was in. You paid the price of my redemption. You spilled blood for my salvation. You gave Your life for me. I love You back. I promise.

I will not seek other ways, other ideas, other gods. You did not need to seek me, You desired to. I, on the other hand, need to seek You. I pray, my God, that You will be and will always be my one desire, my full desire.

Amen

Daily Question

How can something be tempt you enough to pull you away from Jesus?

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Move Mountains

Daily Reading

2Kings 12-14

Daily Thought

Elisha was old and sick and would soon die, and Joash king of Israel rushed to his side. King’s don’t run to anyone, but this was the prophet of God. Joash wanted to know if there were any any last words to lead him forward, and there were. Elisha instructed Joash to take a bow and arrow, then Elisha laid his hands on the hands of Joash and together they drew the bow eastward toward Syria. “Shoot,” and he shot. And Elisha said, “The Lord’s arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Syria! For you shall fight the Syrians in Aphek until you have made an end of them” (2Kings 13:17). The prophet would die, but God would continue to go before Israel. 

“Take the arrows,” said Elisha, and Joash took them. “Strike the ground with them.” It was an invitation to raise the bar, to reach the heavens, to embrace the power of God Almighty, but instead Joash tapped “three times and stopped” (2Kings 13:18), too soon, too timid. Elisha was angry at his small action, “You should have struck more!”

“Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him.” ~Mark 11:23

The Christian life isn’t “Let go and let God” as much as it’s “Grab on and go with God.” God is looking to see how far we will go, how much fight we have. Joash could have and should have pummeled the ground and moved mountains. 

Daily Prayer

My God, You have created such an incredible world. It displays Your handiwork, Your wisdom, Your majesty. You placed me in this world to rule it, subdue it, master it, and care for it. May I do it with gusto!

I am more than a conqueror when I trust fully in my Creator, the God of the heavens and the earth. Jesus, may my love for You never falter. I know Your love for me never has. 

Amen

Daily Question

What are some of the big things God has done through you?

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Just as God Said

Daily Reading

2Kings 9-11

Daily Thought

God spoke through his prophet Elijah against the evil King Ahab, “Because you have sold yourself to do what is evil in the sight of the Lord, 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” (1Kings 21:20-21). 

Time passes, Ahab passes, and Israel has a new king, Jehu. “Now Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria” (2Kings 10:1 ). Jehu did what kings do and eliminated the competition. “They took the king’s sons and slaughtered them, seventy persons, and put their heads in baskets and sent them to Jehu at Jezreel” (2Kings 10:7). Just as God said, the legacy of Ahab was over.

God means what he says and his judgment teaches one thing, at least–we should take God seriously because he takes us seriously, for evil or good. Ahab was evil, but there were good kings, as well–King David, most of all. Long before Ahab, God had spoken through his prophet Nathan to the righteous King David, “Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever” (2Samuel 7:16). 

While Jehu ruled in Israel and put an end the line of Ahab, Athaliah reigned in Judah, and she attempted to destroy the house of David. One newborn, however, Jehoash, was hidden away for six years in a bedroom in the house of the Lord. Athaliah would not find him there because she did not go in there–she worshipped in the house of Baal. Her reign was evil and ended terribly and “Jehoash was seven years old when he began to reign” (2Kings 11:21). Just as God said, the throne of David continued. 

The Bible you are holding is not just a book, it is God’s Word, and he means it and he keeps it and it is good.

Daily Prayer

My God, You are King of kings and Lord of lords. Earthly kings sit on earthly thrones, while You sit on the throne of heaven and rule over all. I pledge my allegiance to You and Your kingdom forever. Your will be done as it has always been.

I serve at Your pleasure and for Your pleasure, God. May the desires of my heart be shaped by You, so that I will seek after what is righteous and good, pure and holy. May I delight in following You and may You be praised by my works and my words. May all that I do declare that You are my King. 

Amen

Daily Question

Is the judgment of God something you should fear or something you should hope for?