June 21 – Blogs postponed until July 1 due to travel

Please feel free to post your comments here until July 1.  I will return to posting at that time.  Have a great week!

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June 19-20 – See Chronological Reading Schedule

“Is there no prophet of the Lord here, that we may inquire of the Lord through him?” (2 Kings 3:11)

Different times during this period of history, prophets of God are called upon to relay messages from God to the people doing the inquiring.  As I read these passages I am saddened by the fact that some people, even today, think that they need to go through someone who is spiritually educated, committed or robed to get their message to God and hear their message from God.

The truth is that we have access to God through Jesus Christ.  We do not need a prophet, priest or other person to mediate between us and Him.  We can go directly to the throne of God and share our heart.  In order to hear back His message for us, we have His Words in print to read, examine, pray through and apply to our lives.  Unfortunately, I join the throngs of believers who know this truth yet fail to apply it as often as I should.

I want to spend more time on my knees.  I want to spend more time in prayer.  I want to hear the voice of God through my readings.  I want to know God more.

Today, what do you want?

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June 18 – See Chronological Reading Schedule

My prayer for today using the daily readings as a guide…

Lord, my heart is set on seeking you.  There are battles in my life that I cannot avoid.  I have not sought after the battles.  Instead, they have arrived at my doorstep ready for my response.

My heart is set on seeking You.  I have no power to face them.  I don’t know what to do.

But, my eyes are fixed on You; my heart is set on seeking You.  I will not be afraid or discouraged.  Instead, I will recognize the battles are not mine, but Yours.  Into Your hands, I give them to You and humbly ask You, Lord, to fight them on my behalf.

My heart is set on seeking You.  I will stand firm in what You have asked of me and I await your deliverance according to Your will.   As I face each battle, I know that You, oh Lord, go with me.

I give thanks to You, oh Lord for Your love endures forever.

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June 15-17 – See Chronological Reading Schedule

Kings and Chronicles are filled with the stories of kings fighting other kings, prophets sent as messengers of the Lord, with God always accomplishing His work in His way among His people.

Having recently read Prayer that Works by Jill Briscoe which covers the life of Elijah, I was taken this time through with Elijah’s humanness.  I appreciate the example Elijah gives of sold out obedience to the Lord, but it helps me to see that after being sent to the wilderness to be fed by ravens and a brook that will eventually dry up, being sent to town to be fed by a widow with her last cup of flour and then to be sent to the mountain to make way for God to prove who He is to the king and prophets of Baal, “Elijah was afraid.” (1 Kings 19:3)  After seeing the power of God displayed, Elijah feared man over trusting God.  Isn’t that the way we are as well?

The other thing I noticed about Elijah this time through is that Elijah, messenger of God, is seen by those who are not following God as a “troublemaker.”  Abah even calls him “… you troubler of Israel.” (1 Kings 18:17)  Can you and I relate to that?  How quickly do others around us who do not know our God think that by our speaking up for Truth, we are stirring up trouble.

We continue reading about the battle between Ahab and Aram and how God used his prophets to direct His people to battle.  Once again, however, the king of Israel did not follow God’s commands completely and made a treaty with his enemy rather than taking his life.  For this, the prophet of God told Ahab that he would surely die.

Finally, we read about the evil relationship of Ahab and Jezebel in the killing of a vineyard owner for a piece of land.  Yet, this story concludes with God’s mercy on Ahab after seeing Ahab humble himself before Almighty God.  God declares, “Because he has humbled himself, I will not bring this disaster in his day, but I will bring it on his house in the days of his son.” (1 Kings 21:29)  Even if in the last days of life, one decides to turn to the Lord, the consequences of a sinful life are still felt in generations to come.  How good it is for me to remember this truth.

Continue pressing on with the goal of completing the One Year Bible this year.  With summer in full swing, it may be easy to get sidetracked or fall behind.  Don’t’ fret.  Pick up where you left off, read longer to catch up and stay engaged with the Lord through His Word this summer.  Due to vacations and other days away, blogs may be postponed for a few days or a week throughout the summer.  I still encourage you to comment on the days you read to encourage others.

Until tomorrow…

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June 13-14 – See Chronological Reading Schedule

Isn’t it interesting to read about other families’ dirt? As we follow the royal lineages of two kingdoms, it is interesting to see what God, the Author Supreme, deemed important to include for us to read thousands of years later. Here are a few highlights and applications for me:

• Abijah became king of Judah and “He committed all the sins his father had done before him.” (1 Kings 15:3) None of us comes from a perfect family with perfect parents, but we all make the choice to follow what has been modeled or choose to live differently than what we have observed. Abijah chose to follow in his father’s muddy footprints. Reading on, we see why, “…his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his forefather had been.” Regardless of who our earthly father has been, we all have access to forefathers of faith. The Bible is filled with their stories that we can read and learn from. Looking back, we can learn how to live through the righteous choices of those who have gone before us.

• As we continue reading, we learn about Asa son of Abijah. We learn that “the country was at peace for ten years” during Asa’s reign and then we learn why. “Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God.” (2 Chronicles 14:2) He removed, smashed, cut down the idolatrous objects and places of worship in Judah and built up the fortified cities of Judah. Because of his extraordinary efforts, God gave him rest from war. It could have been easy for Asa to follow in his father’s muddy footsteps, but instead he fully devoted his heart to the Lord all his life. (1 Kings 15:14) Where did Asa learn how to make right choices? From whom did he learn about God; if not his father, then maybe his mother or a family member, a servant or the priest? Like Asa, God puts people in our lives to teach us what our earthly parents never did. What areas of your life need some remodeling? Who might you go to for wisdom on how to live differently than your parents?

• While Asa was nearing the end of his reign, the new king of Israel, Omri, “… did more evil in the eyes of the Lord than any of those before him.” (1 Kings 16:29) Considering the sins of his forefathers, trivial, Omri “shot the moon” and married the daughter of an evil king and began to serve Baal and worship him, even setting up an altar and Asherah pole for his god. This provoked the Lord to anger more than any others.

Today, I hope you would compare yourself most to Asa who did what was right in God’s eyes, but maybe you are struggling to fully devote your heart to the Lord like Abijah. I encourage you to reach out and find someone who can encourage you to walk forward in your faith, doing right in God’s eyes. Don’t turn to the left or the right and fall off the path to follow other gods like Omri, rather stay focused on what you know and have believed praying that God moves your head knowledge into a lifelong heart-felt devotion to Him.

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June 11, 12 – See Chronological Reading Schedule

Solomon has died.

His son Rehoboam has become king over Judah, and Jeroboam claims the role of king over the rest of Israel.  Neither king is wholeheartedly following after God.  Both are leading without following God’s directions.

Jeroboam puts non-Levites into priestly authority and declares his own festivals of idol worship.   Rehoboam and the people of Judah do evil in the eyes of the Lord by building high places of worship with male prostitutes and others engaging in the very behaviors God found detestable in the nations previously driven out by the Israel.

However, this verse is incredibly convicting to me:

“After Rehoboam’s position as king was established and he had become strong, he and all Israel with him abandoned the law of the Lord. “(2 Chron. 12:1)

How easy it is to think that because our careers are established and we have come into some power that we no longer need to follow the ways of the Lord.  Like Rehoboam, how many of us find ourselves abandoning our relationships with God when life is good?  I know that I am guilty of such.

We will read tomorrow about Jeroboam sending troops to ambush Judah. (2 Chron. 13:13ff.)  Surrounded by troops, the people of Judah whom Rehoboam had led, “…cried out to the Lord” to save them from their enemies and God did just that.  “… the men of Judah were victorious because they relied on the Lord, the God of their fathers.” (2 Chron. 13:18)

After an extensive time of abandonment, the children of God return crying out for salvation and He graciously saves them.  How similar their story is to ours.

We love God because He first loved us.  He never gave up on us but loved us back into His arms.  Still we fail, and still He gives us another opportunity to choose rightly.

Dear Lord, help me not become so established and so strong that I am tempted to abandon my relationship with you.  And if I do, dear Lord, allow circumstances in my life to quickly turn me around and back into your arms again. I want to wholeheartedly follow after You… forever and ever, Amen.

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June 9, 10 – See Chronological Reading Schedule

It’s the last day of school for the little people in my house. That means it’s also the last day of school for mom. Yeah! But with the last days also come reflections.

As we drove to school, the word and music of Sarah Groves reminded me of all the great men and women of faith who have gone before us to the gates of heaven, in her song “When the Saints.” As I peeked in the rear view mirror and saw the faces of my precious angels, I wondered what great things God would ask of them.

I looked again, and seeing my own reflection, wondered what great things God will ask of me… what great things He is asking of me now. As Sarah’s chorus repeats, “… and when the saints go marching in, I wanna be one of them.”

The concluding remarks in King Solomon’s ecclesiastical journal are these, “Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.” (Eccl. 12:13, 14)

Apart from God, life is meaningless. Paul and Silas, Mother Theresa, Nate Saint and his family, or those fighting underage sex trafficking around the globe know that life is meaningful only because of the One who gives us a hope and a future.

Today, I encourage you to view your own life in light of the hope and future God gives each one of us. I know I want to be one of those, like Paul and Silas and others, who is willing to live life focused on God’s purposes… because, according to the wisest man ever to live, nothing else really matters. How about you?

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June 8 – Ecclesiastes 3-6

We continue reading King Solomon’s “autobiographical” perspective on life through the book of Ecclesiastes.  Attempting to teach the reader from his own experiences, Solomon repeatedly shares the meaninglessness of life he has discovered.  In the New American Standard Version, the word “meaningless” is translated “vanity.”  Read what Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Old Testament Words says about the definition of this word:

hebel OT:1892, “breath; vanity; idol.” Cognates of this noun occur in Syriac, late Aramaic, and Arabic. All but 4 of its 72 occurrences are in poetry (37 in Ecclesiastes).

• First, the word represents human “breath” as a transitory thing: “I loathe it; I would not live always: let me alone; for my days are vanity [literally, but a breath]” Job 7:16.

• Second, hebel means something meaningless and purposeless: “Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity” Eccl 1:2.

• Third, this word signifies an “idol,” which is unsubstantial, worthless, and vain: “They have moved me to jealousy with that which is not God; they have provoked me to anger with their vanities…” Deut 32:21 — the first occurrence.

(from Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, Copyright © 1985, Thomas Nelson Publishers.)

This same word for vanity is also translated “idol.”  How easy is it for us to follow after vanity (idols) instead of Truth?  Solomon had the God of all gods to call on in times of need and yet found himself at the end of life having succumbed to idols which he concludes is meaningless.  Thankfully, he recorded his error for us to read and learn from.

I rarely read the end of a book first, but for all of our sakes, it is good to know that Solomon eventually records the conclusion we all hope he arrives at.
“Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.  For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.” (Eccl. 12:13, 14)

Apart from God we are nothing.  Apart from God all we do is nothing.  Apart from God, we have no meaning.  Apart from God all we do is meaningless.

• Today, how does your life reflect your commitment to fear God and keep his commandments?

• How might your life reflect your tendency toward following after vanity? If you can come up with an answer to this question, what changes might God want you to make to prepare you for the judgment that is coming?

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June 7 – 1 Kings 11, Ecclesiastes 1, 2

God knows that human love is one of the greatest forces to turn a heart away from the Lord. Solomon, wise Solomon, knew better, yet he gave his heart away (many times over) and his wives turned his heart away from the Lord his God.

Scripture records these words, “… his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord… he did not follow the Lord completely.” (1 Kings 11:4, 6) Solomon even went so far as to build high places for the detestable gods and his foreign wives so they could offer sacrifices to their gods.   There is little doubt in my mind that Solomon used some of the wealth God had freely given to him to be used for this purpose.  Does that remind you of the Israelites who used the gold God had given to the them through their masters, the Egyptians, to build for themselves a golden calf as the object of their worship?

Have you given your heart away to someone who does not share your love of the Lord?  How has this impacted you?  What would you tell someone who has yet to be in love?

God will accomplish His will using whatever means He sees fit. As a result of Solomon’s sin, God chose to reap enmity on his life and sent him adversaries in the people of Hadad, Rezon and Jeroboam.  We don’t like to think of God moving evil men to accomplish His purposes for individuals or nations, but this is proof that He can and has worked in this way.

As we continue with Solomon’s recorded thoughts in a book titled Ecclesiastes, we read that Solomon found little or no meaning in his acquisition of wisdom and wealth toward the end of his life.

“I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure.  My heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor… everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.” (Eccl. 2:10, 11)

His perspective was one that was self centered and temporal rather than God centered and eternal.  What would we expect from one whose heart was divided, worshipping after other gods?  Even the giving of wealth and wisdom can teach us today that God is all we need.  God is the ultimate value and meaning in life.  In Him alone should we put our trust.

How has God accomplished His will in your life?  Has He used people or means that you least expected?  What have you learned about God from the life of King Solomon?

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June 5, 6 – See Chronological Reading Schedule

“Blessed is the man who always fears the Lord… a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. “ (Proverbs 28:14, 31:30b)

I am so glad King Solomon recorded the wisdom of the Lord in the pages of a book we call Proverbs.  It is always good to be reminded that though the evil seem to prosper in our wicked world, God has His eyes on those who follow His path and live according to His will.

As we continue reading through to the end of the book, we read the passage widely known to describe “The Proverbs 31 Woman.”  In light of the passages that follow (chronologically) which include descriptions of King Solomon’s amassed wealth brought as gifts from others, I am struck afresh with the initial description of this woman.

“A wife of noble character who can find?  She is worth far more than rubies… her husband lacks nothing of value.” (Proverbs 31:10, 11)

Solomon received flour, meal, cattle, sheep, goats, deer, gazelles, roebucks, fowl from his subjects.   He also received talents, shields of gold, articles of silver, robes, weapons, spices, horses, mules and special woods.  In none of these areas was he ever lacking.  Yet, I wonder, if what he was looking for in a wife is something he never received.  Knowing that a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised, worth more than jewels and brings the greatest of value to her husband, Solomon did not make a woman like this his wife.  Instead, as we will read tomorrow, he loved many women who loved other gods, but the one True God.

What application can I make for my life?

Even with all worldly wealth and godly wisdom, like Solomon, we have the potential to reject God’s will for our lives and to suffer the consequences of that choice.  Since I have this potential, I will be more mindful to learn from Solomon’s choices and examine each area of my life for corrective action that may need to be taken to align my life with the will of God.  What about you?

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