Fighting life's battles

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TODAY’S SPECIAL: 2 Chronicles 32-34; Psalm 79

TO CHEW ON: “‘Be strong and courageous; do not be afraid nor dismayed before the king of Assyria, nor before all the multitude that is with him; for there are more with us than with him. With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles.’” 2 Chronicles 32:7,8

Judah’s King Hezekiah gave the encouragement, above, to his subjects in the face of Sennacherib’s (king of Assyria) invasion of Judah. But before he said these things, he was busy doing what he could to fortify and protect his territory from the Assyrian threat.

• He stopped the flow of water to the land (2 Chronicles 34:3,4).
• He repaired the Jerusalem wall (2 Chronicles 34:5).
• He manufactured and distributed new arms (2 Chronicles 34:5). 
• He organized the army (2 Chronicles 34:6).

Then he gathered the people for the pep talk.

Not surprisingly, Sennacherib reaction to Hezekiah’s speech was to mock it and Hezekiah’s faith in God. Sennacherib sent a delegation to Jerusalem to challenge Yahweh and  instill fear (2 Chronicles 34:10-15).

Sennacherib’s mockery and threats brought Hezekiah and Isaiah (the prophet) to their knees: they “prayed and cried out to Him…” 2 Chronicles 34:20.

Then God intervened supernaturally: “… sent an angel who cut down every mighty man of valor, leader, and captain in the camp of the King of Assyria" (2 Chronicles 34:21).

I think Hezekiah here demonstrates some great life principles for us too. When we’re under attack or in trouble—physically, financially, socially or in whatever way we:

• Do all we can. We follow doctors’ orders, put our financial house in order, attempt to make peace with our enemies, or whatever the situation dictates.

• Encourage ourselves in God, refusing to give in to the fear and what-ifs of the situation, reminding ourselves that “there are more with us than there are with them.”

• Pray. Though we've done all we can, in the end our trust is in God and His coming through for us. In His time He will, as He did for Hezekiah and his subjects.  

PRAYER: Dear Father, help me to remember that I have more than the “arm of flesh” with me; I have the Lord, God of heaven and earth. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 79

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Thanks for reading! This year we are using The Bible Project "Timeless Reading Plan" to read through the Bible in 2018. If you'd like to read along in your own Bible, you can download a pdf of the reading plan HERE.

Cleaning the temple

Hezekiah cleanses the temple

TODAY'S SPECIAL: 2 Chronicles 28-31; Psalm 78

TO CHEW ON: "'Now sanctify yourselves, sanctify the house of the Lord God of your fathers, and carry out the rubbish from the holy place.'"  2 Chronicles 29:5

In Old Testament times decisions about faith and religious practice were usually made by political leaders and not individuals.  Kings Ahaz and Hezekiah are examples of this.

King Ahaz, Hezekiah's father, determinedly, pointedly, and openly turned away from God. When he was defeated by the Syrians he decided to start worshiping their gods: "'Because the gods of the kings of Syria help them, I will sacrifice to them that they may help me'" - 2 Chronicles 28:23.

And so he destroyed worship objects of God Jehovah, locked the temple, made altars throughout Jerusalem, and high places to sacrifice to "other gods" throughout Judah (2 Chronicles 28:24-25). It was no secret who he was worshiping and I can only imagine the trouble his subjects would have got into had he discovered they were clinging to Yahweh.

When his son Hezekiah became king, he reversed those practices. Immediately on ascending to the throne, this 25-year-old opened the temple doors, gathered the priests, and put them to work cleansing the temple in the hope of restoring God-honoring worship. Soon the lamps would again burn and the smell of incense and the smoke of offerings would again fill the air.

Though our faith and practice may not have the public component of a central worship place with open (or locked) doors, lit (or unlit) lamps, pungent incense and smoky offerings, the principles of opening, cleansing and sanctifying still apply to our worship. Now, however, each one of us administers our own temple—the temple of our heart and physical body.

King Hezekiah's directive to his priests is an excellent place to start with this: "Now sanctify the house of the Lord … and carry out the rubbish from the holy place."

In New Testament terms:

"Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are" - 1 Corinthians 3:16,17.

and

"Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit which are God's" - 1 Corinthians 6:19,20.

PRAYER: Dear God, help me to keep my temple clean, myself set apart for You and Your purposes, as I administer my body, soul, and spirit—the temple of Your Holy Spirit. Amen. 

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 78

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New King James Version (NKJV) Used with permission. The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Two Cautionary Tales

King Joash Repairs the Temple - 2 Chron. 24

TODAY’S SPECIAL: 2 Chronicles 21-24; Psalm 76

TO CHEW ON: “Then the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada the priest, who stood above the people and said to them, ’Thus says God: “Why do you transgress the commandments of the LORD so that you cannot prosper? Because you have forsaken the LORD, He also has forsaken you”’

So they conspired against him, and at the command of the king they stoned him with stones in the court of the house of the LORD.” 2 Chronicles 24:20,21


Our reading today is the sad story of Joash. He came to Judah’s throne when he was a mere seven years old. Under the influence of priest Joehoiada, he made an excellent start, repairing the neglected temple and restoring worship.

But after Jehoiada died, Joash allowed the leaders of Judah to influence him. They had a very different agenda. They steered him away from the worshiping Yahweh to idols and his idolatry became so entrenched even the “wrath that came upon Judah and Jerusalem because of their trespass” didn’t move him from it.

When Zechariah, son of Joash’s old mentor Jehoiada, warned him in a bold Holy Spirit-inspired prophecy of the inevitable consequence (“Because you have forsaken the LORD, He also has forsaken you” - 2 Chronicles 24:20), Joash had him stoned to death.

Zecharaiah reminds us a a New Testament character who was also stoned when he spoke out against the perverted worship of his day. That would be Stephen. Their ends are eerily alike (Acts 7:51-60).

Two lessons jump out at me from these two tales:

1. We need to be aware of and intentional about who we allow to influence us. When Joash was under the tutelage of Jehoiada, he was inspired to honour God by fixing up the temple and restoring the worship of Yahweh. But when Jehoiada died, he allowed himself to be led by Judah’s leaders right back into the swamp of idolatry.

We too put ourselves under influencers. Who we spend time with, what we read, what we watch, listen to, the music we play—all affect our loyalties. Let’s not slip into modern idolatry by being careless about who and what we allow to influence us.

2. Being a mouthpiece for God can be dangerous. Zechariah and Stephen discovered that. As our society drifts ever farther from Judeo-Christian principles, we do well to remind ourselves of the price we too may be asked to pay when we allow the Holy Spirit carte blanche to our lives.

PRAYER: Dear Father, please help me to choose my influencers well. Help me, in turn, to be a good mentor to others. May I be willing to pay the price of being the temple of Your Spirit, no matter what the price. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 76

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

We're not the masters of our fate

Image: Pixabay

TODAY’S SPECIAL: 2 Chronicles 18-20; Psalm 75

TO CHEW ON: “And the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries when they heard that the LORD had fought against the enemies of Israel.” 2 Chronicles 20:29

“For exaltation comes neither from the east
Nor from the west nor from the south.
But God is the Judge:
He puts down one,
And exalts another. Psalm 75:6,7

William Ernest Henley ends his poem Invictus with the assertion:

I am the master of my fate,
      I am the captain of my soul.

He echoes the sentiment we humans cling to. From life’s beginning (via artificial means of conception) to middle (change our gender if we so desire) to end (lengthen life with medical science or legally end our own lives at the time we choose), we like to think we’re in control.

We kid ourselves, of course. Psalm 75 gives us a more realistic picture. There we see that God is behind it all, determining the times of everyone, from individuals to rulers of nations (Psalm 75:6-8).

Our reading  in 2 Chronicles today describes two events that illustrate that.

Before Ahab and Jehoshaphat went to war, prophet Micaiah predicted that Ahab would be killed in battle. Determined to prove him wrong, Ahab disguised himself as a common soldier. Though the enemy pursued the kingly figure of Jehoshaphat, he managed to survive. Meanwhile Ahab was hit by a “random” arrow that happened to get him in one of the few vulnerable places on his well-armoured person (2 Chronicles 18).

In the second event King Jehoshaphat, threatened by the Ammonites and Moabites, took his problem to God: "We have no power against this great multitude...nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You" - 2 Chronicles 20:12.

God's solution came via the words of the prophet Jahaziel, who said, "You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord" - 2 Chronicles 20:17.

The next day the army entered battle in a very unconventional way, behind the singers and worshipers. Even as the praise began "...the Lord set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir ... and they were defeated" - 2 Chronicles 20:22.
As people of faith, I think we put too little stock in God's ability to manipulate the course of our own lives and of history. We need to spend less time criticizing and scheming how to make things happen and more time acknowledging "We have no power, nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are on You," and then praise Him for the victory He is accomplishing.


PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for Your sovereignty over individuals, rulers, and nations.  Help me entrust my future to you, and to keep praying for the leaders of my country and the countries of the world, knowing that You are in control. Amen.
PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 75

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Thanks for reading! This year we are using The Bible Project "Timeless Reading Plan" to read through the Bible in 2018. If you'd like to read along in your own Bible, you can download a pdf of the reading plan HERE.

Community transformation—is it possible?

Image: Pixabay

TODAY’S SPECIAL: 2 Chronicles 13-17; Psalm 74

TO CHEW ON: “… and the children of Judah prevailed, because they relied on the LORD God of their father.” 2 Chronicles 13:18

“O God, how long will the adversary reproach?
Will the enemy blaspheme Your name forever?” Psalm 74:10


Three things come together for me in today’s readings:

1. In the recitation of good and bad kings from 2 Chronicles, what stands out is that all the bad kings were guilty of occultism, idolatry, and seeking to do things on their own without God. God’s blessing flowed again when godly kings destroyed these things and returned to true worship.

2. In the psalms reading, psalmist Asaph’s pleading with God (to again make His name famous, to make His cause prevail, to restore sincere worship and purity to the land) resonates. It’s how I would pray for my own land and people in the 21st century.

3. I watched a video about community transformation last night. In it the filmmakers tell the story of several communities (one in Mexico, one in Guatemala, and one in California) that experienced community-wide spiritual revival in the 1990s. It happened when the church and concerned pastors became modern-day Asaphs and pleaded for their cities, with prayer and fasting.

When God revealed to them the occultic roots of their community’s enslavement to the drug cartels (Mexico), poverty, drunkenness, and abuse (Guatemala), and addiction (California) they confronted and took authority over dark forces with, again, prayer and fasting.

If we are burdened for our land and community like Asaph was, let’s follow the example of the Christians of the 1990s and contend (with prayer, fasting, church unity etc.) for another transformation!

PRAYER: Dear Father, I believe the kind of turnaround You brought to Judah and Israel under godly kings, and the transformation witnessed in the 1990s is possible today. Help me to contend for it in my country and town. Amen.
PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 74

MORE: Transformations (the documentary film)





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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Thanks for reading! This year we are using The Bible Project "Timeless Reading Plan" to read through the Bible in 2018. If you'd like to read along in your own Bible, you can download a pdf of the reading plan HERE.

Leadership - how does yours rate?

TODAY'S SPECIAL: 2 Chronicles 9-12; Psalm 73

TO CHEW ON: "Blessed be the Lord your God, who delighted in you, setting you on His throne to be king for the Lord your God. Because your God has loved Israel, to establish them forever, therefore He made you king over them to do justice and righteousness." 2 Chronicles 9:8


The fashion these days is to criticize leaders, not praise them. The Queen of Sheba's idea that God had blessed Israel by letting her be ruled by a king as wise as Solomon seems foreign to us — fed as we are by scandal-driven media features, negative news items and critical editorials about our leaders.

But maybe we should stop criticizing and complaining. Because our rulers are actually there by God's permission and authority as much as Israel's were (see Romans 13:1).

It helps, of course, to change our focus and instead of looking for mistakes, look for ways our rulers are a positive force in our nation, region and town. Political parties and preferences aside, there is much to appreciate and be thankful for in our democratic leaders.

Politicians aren't our only leaders. Churches, organizations, even families have leaders. If you are a parent, you are a leader.

What kind of leaders are we? Would someone exclaim about our church, club or family how fortunate they are because they are under our leadership?

PRAYER: Dear God, Solomon prayed for divine wisdom to lead Israel. I need similar wisdom to lead in my small way in my family and every other place where I have leadership responsibilities. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 73 

MORE: Advice for leaders

Michael Hyatt, CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishing writes a lot about leadership on his blog Michael Hyatt - Intentional Leadership. Here are links to a few recent articles about leadership:

"Why Leaders Cannot Afford to be Easily Offended"

"Four Temptations Christian Leaders Face"

"A Tale of Two Leaders: Which Are You?" <— this is excellent!

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 Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Human temples

TODAY'S SPECIAL: 2 Chronicles 5-8; Psalm 72

TO CHEW ON: "But will God indeed dwell with men on earth? Behold heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this temple I have built!" 2 Chronicles 6:18

Picture the scene: all of Israel is gathered in Jerusalem for the dedication of a magnificent structure - the temple David began with an idea, plan, materials, and Solomon built.

On this day of the temple's dedication Solomon stands before the assembled crowd, probably in the temple's outer courtyard, blesses them, then ascends a bronze platform, kneels, raises his hands toward heaven and prays the eloquent prayer recorded in 2 Chronicles 6:12-42.

Within it he asks the question of our today's focus verse: "Will God indeed dwell with men on earth?"

He answers: "Behold heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this temple I have built!" Solomon grasped God's bigness and the impossibility of only one location ever holding Him.

He's right, of course. No place on earth can contain God, as in become a boundary or edge past which He cannot go, or contain His sum-total so that He is no where else. But God will dwell with men on earth — will and does.

1. In Israel's case, God responded to Solomon's prayer by sending fire which consumed the prepared sacrifices and glory so awesome, the priests couldn't enter the temple to complete their duties (2 Chronicles 7:14). From that time forward, God's presence dwelt in the temple's Holy of Holies room, as it had the ark.

2. Centuries later God sent Jesus to dwell with us in human flesh (John 1:1-5,14)

3. Now, since the day of Pentecost  and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:4), God dwells in us:

"Do you not discern and understand that you [the whole church at Corinth] are God's temple (His sanctuary), and that God's Spirit has His permanent dwelling in you [to be at home in you, collectively as a church and also individually]?" 1 Corinthians 3:16 Amplified

"Or didn't you realize that your body is a sacred place, the place of the Holy Spirit? Don't you see that you can't live however you please, squandering what God paid such a high price for? The physical part of you is not some piece of property belonging to the spiritual part of you. God owns the whole works. So let people see God in and through your body." 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 Message

PRAYER: Dear God, please teach me what it means to be Your dwelling in practical day-to-day ways. May Your glory shine through my life today more than it ever has before. Amen.


PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 72

It's interesting to note that today's psalm is one of the rare ones written by Solomon!

MORE: The Holy Spirit in us — insights from Oswald Chambers' My Utmost for His Highest

"It is very easy to quench the Spirit; we do it by despising the chastening of the Lord, by fainting when we are rebuked by Him....Never quench the Spirit..."  (August 14 reading).

"Never discard a conviction. If it is important enough for the Spirit of God to have brought it to your mind, it is that thing He is detecting." (September 24th reading)

"Obey God in the thing He shows you, and instantly the next thing is opened up. One reads tomes on the work of the Holy Spirit, when one five minutes of drastic obedience would make things as clear as a sunbeam." (October 10th reading)

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

What is your heart's desire?

Solomon's Dream - Artist unknown

TODAY'S SPECIAL: 2 Chronicles 1-4; Psalm 71

TO CHEW ON: " 'Give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may lead this people ...'
God said to Solomon, 'Since this is your heart's desire ... therefore wisdom and knowledge will be given to you.' " 2 Chronicles 10-12

This story reminds me of the three wishes folk tales I loved as a kid. It also prompts me to examine myself and ask, what would I have said if I were Solomon?

In the dream God lists some common and desirable things Solomon could have asked for: material possessions, prestige, safety and security, and long life (which implies good health). Which of those things wouldn't we want?

I love the telling words that God answers Solomon with. "Since this is your heart's desire..."

How can we know what our heart's desire really is? I've heard Bible teachers describe one way to tell is note the thing(s) our thoughts flit to when there's nothing else vying for their attention.

Using this method I ask myself, what is my heart's desire? The spiritual well-being of my family? The beauty of my house? Great health and fitness? Where I'll spend my next vacation? How I can fulfill my role in God's kingdom?

What is yours?

Is it something that God would be pleased to answer? If not perhaps you and I need to work on changing so that our deepest desires do line up with God's values.

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me be so in touch with You that my deepest heart desires will reflect what You value.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 71

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Unless noted otherwise, all Scriptures quoted s in this meditation are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Human temples

TODAY'S SPECIAL: 2 Chronicles 6:1-21

TO CHEW ON: "But will God indeed dwell with men on earth? Behold heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this temple I have built!" 2 Chronicles 6:18

Picture the scene: all of Israel is gathered in Jerusalem for the dedication of a magnificent structure - the temple David began with an idea, plan, materials, and Solomon built.

On this day of the temple's dedication Solomon stands before the assembled crowd, probably in the temple's outer courtyard, blesses them, then ascends a bronze platform, kneels, raises his hands toward heaven and prays the eloquent prayer recorded in 2 Chronicles 6:12-42.

Within it he asks the question of our today's focus verse: "Will God indeed dwell with men on earth?"

He answers: "Behold heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this temple I have built!" Solomon has grasped God's bigness and the impossibility of only one location ever holding Him.

He's right, of course. No place on earth can contain God, as in become a boundary or edge past which He cannot go, or contain His sum-total so that He is no where else. But God will dwell with men on earth — will and does.

1. In Israel's case, God responded to Solomon's prayer by sending fire which consumed the prepared sacrifices and glory so awesome, the priests couldn't enter the temple to complete their duties. From that time forward, God's presence dwelt in the temple's Holy of Holies room, as it had the ark.

2. Centuries later God sent Jesus to dwell with us in human flesh.

3. Now, since the day of Pentecost  and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, God dwells in us:

"Do you not discern and understand that you [the whole church at Corinth] are God's temple (His sanctuary), and that God's Spirit has His permanent dwelling in you [to be at home in you, collectively as a church and also individually]?" 1 Corinthians 3:16 Amplified

"Or didn't you realize that your body is a sacred place, the place of the Holy Spirit? Don't you see that you can't live however you please, squandering what God paid such a high price for? The physical part of you is not some piece of property belonging to the spiritual part of you. God owns the whole works. So let people see God in and through your body." 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 Message

What a thought to take with us into the new year!

PRAYER: Dear God, please teach me what it means to be Your dwelling in practical day-to-day ways. May Your glory shine through my life in 2011 more than it ever has before. Amen.

MORE: The Holy Spirit in us — insights from Oswald Chambers' My Utmost for His Highest

"It is very easy to quench the Spirit; we do it by despising the chastening of the Lord, by fainting when we are rebuked by Him....Never quench the Spirit..." - August 14

"Never discard a conviction. If it is important enough for the Spirit of God to have brought it to your mind, it is that thing He is detecting." - September 24th

"Obey God in the thing He shows you, and instantly the next thing is opened up. One reads tomes on the work of the Holy Spirit, when one five minutes of drastic obedience would make things as clear as a sunbeam." - October 10th

"As soon as we do abandon, the Holy Ghost gives us an intimation of the joy of Jesus." - August 25