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2 Chronicles 1 – A Single Wish

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If you had three wishes, what would you wish for? This question has fueled many a daydream for both children and adults.

Such a question is posed to King Solomon in 2 Chronicles chapter 1. But this time, Solomon is given only one wish. And it’s not a daydream. It’s a real offer from a real God.

After Solomon demonstrates tremendous loyalty and dedication to God in 2 Chronicles 1:6, God gives Solomon a blank check. Then, the space between verse 7 and verse 8 builds with uncertain anticipation as to what Solomon will choose.

Let’s be honest. When you and I are presented with the three wishes question, our inclination is to choose things that would benefit us. We might use one of the wishes to help others, but the other two are for us! This is tendency goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden.

But in 2 Chronicles chapter 1, Solomon spends his one and only wish on the good of others and the glory of God. He asks for wisdom to guide God’s people well. And because of this, God not only grants Solomon’s request for wisdom, He adds in all the personal benefits Solomon had not asked for…such as wealth and honor.

For some, this story sounds too much like a fairy tale, and so they dismiss it. But the power of the story is not in Solomon’s wish but in the condition of his heart. The wish reveals the heart, and the heart reveals the character. It’s what the Apostle Paul talks about in Philippians 2:3-5, where he says…

Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.

So…if you had a single wish, what would you wish for? And what would that wish say about your heart and character?

2 Kings 22-23 – The Heart of a Musician

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When I was 9 years old, my parents got me and my brother guitars. We both took lessons, learned how to hold them, strum them, and even play some beginner-type songs.

But for my brother, it always seemed stiff, forced, and a little awkward. While for me, I just got it! I internalized it. I became devoted to spending more time learning and practicing. It became a part of me.

It’s the same with God. Some people connect with Him, while others just learn about Him. Some spend time with Him; practicing His principles until they become an internalized way of life. Others learn the routines and procedures, but God never becomes a natural part of their life. Consequently, they drop God, or they pull Him out occasionally…like the one song they know how to play in front of others.

In 2 Kings chapters 22-23, Josiah passionately desires to follow God and puts his whole self into doing it. He didn’t want to tinker with “music.” He had the heart of a “musician.”

Any musician knows that for the music to come “alive,’ you must completely commit to it. This is Josiah.

  • His heart breaks when he realizes Judah is not what they should be. (2 Kings 22:11, 13)
  • He commits to Judah becoming what God has called them to be. (2 Kings 23:3)
  • He diligently changes things and practices life as God intended. (2 Kings 23:4-20)
  • He turned to God with his heart, soul, and strength. (2 Kings 23:25)

Are you playing at knowing God? Are you satisfied knowing and doing just enough to technically say you have a connection with Him? Or are you yearning for and committed to the Living God, so that He becomes a part of you…like the music that wells up from within the musician?

1 Samuel 17 – Who Wants To Be Like David?

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Have you ever encountered someone who was so different from those around them, they stood out in a powerful and positive way? The kind of someone whose confidence and courage caused you to desire to be more like them? The kind of individual that caused you to realize how much more your life could be?

This is how I feel when I read about David in 1 Samuel chapter 17. There is something about David’s simple and sincere approach to things..whether taking care of sheep or taking care of a giant…that makes me wish I were more like him and less like Saul.

What are the differences?

  • David went immediately to the front lines, while Saul stayed back behind the lines. (1 Samuel 17:22,31.)
  • David said “don’t worry,” while Saul was scared. (1 Samuel 17:11,32.)
  • David was willing to go to battle himself, while Saul was trying to find someone to go for him. (1 Samuel 17:25.)
  • David remembered God’s faithful intervention in the past, while Saul forgot it. (1 Samuel 14:20-23 and 1 Samuel 15:7-8.)
  • David saw things in terms of their effect on God and His glory, while Saul saw things in terms of their effect on Saul and his glory.

Though he wasn’t “officially” the king, David carried and conducted himself as a king. Why? Because he had an internal strength of character that came from focusing on God and submitting to Him. This thrills the heart of God and leads Him to respond. (2 Chronicles 16:9)

Who wants to be like David? I do! How about you?

1 Samuel 16 – People Are Like a Box of Chocolates

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I’m not a fan of those variety boxes of chocolates. They leave you to guess about what might be lurking inside each piece. You can pick one that looks good, only to discover some not-so-good stuff inside. Or, you can pass over a piece, until it’s the last piece in the box, only to find out it was pretty good.

This is a picture of 1 Samuel chapter 16. It’s a reminder that people come in different shapes, sizes, and appearances, but what matters most is what’s on the inside…their heart, intentions, and desires.

Only God can truly know a person’s heart.

2 Chronicles 16:9 tells us God is continually searching for a heart that’s fully committed to Him. That’s how God knew His next king would be found in Bethlehem, in Jesse’s family.

God saw David’s heart. Not his skill, his boldness, his track record, or his attractiveness. Those are things world sees. (1 Samuel 16:6,18) But it was David’s heart that caused the Holy Spirit to move on him (1 Samuel 16:13) just as it was Saul’s heart that caused the Holy Spirit to move away from him. (1 Samuel 16:14)

If we want God to use us in powerful ways, the key is not our appearance, skill, ability, or activity. It’s keeping a heart that’s humbly and consistently committed to Him.

To borrow from Forrest Gump… People are like a box of chocolates. You never know what you might get. But God knows, because He knows the heart. How’s your heart today?

Deuteronomy 21 – Rules and Regulations

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We have rules and regulations to protect the innocent, punish the guilty, preserve the peace, and promote the general welfare. There’s just one problem…they don’t work!

Deuteronomy chapter 21 gives rules and regulations about a variety of things. When you read it, you can’t help but wonder why they needed all these specific rules and regulations.

The same is true today. There are more rules and regulations in our world than we can probably count, and we keep making more. Why? Because they don’t work! We keep finding new ways to break them, or new offenses that need new rules and regulations.

It’s not that rules and regulations are wrong, or that we should do away with them. (Even God saw the need for at least ten commandments.) It’s just that the problem(s) addressed by these rules and regulations will never be solved by regulating what we do with our hands. More than regulating our hands, we need to renovate our hearts. More than behavioral change, we need personal change…for what we do comes out of who we are. (Matt. 15:19)

There is a deep and pervasive limp in our very nature that leads us to be rule breakers. And we can’t fix this on our own. The law can’t cut it, because we can’t follow it. Yet, rather than being burdened by this, we belly up to the bar of self-sufficiency and order another round of rules.

We don’t need a new law; we need a new heart. We need to let God change the law of our heart. (Hebrews 10:16) Then we will have the power and desire to follow the laws and regulations we have…not out of obligation or fear of punishment, but out of love. (Rom. 7:6,7,14)

Are you paying more attention to the rules and regulations, or to the renovation of your heart?

How the Heart of a Marriage Survives a Near Fatal Heart Surgery

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In the following guest post by Debbie Latour, you will hear how a married couple faced a dangerous heart surgery and came out stronger in love, life, and faith.

When you’re divorced, middle aged, and are given the gift of happily-ever-after with a second marriage, your optimism for the future is renewed. The birds sing again, the stars twinkle brighter, and the dark cloud of a failed marriage gives way to a clear, bright sky.
As we age, certain aches and pains are expected. However, you do not anticipate that less than a month in to a new marriage, you’d hear that your husband has an aneurysmal ascending aorta. His cardiologist sent us home with the recommendation that its growth be monitored and checked in a year.
For the next year, I watched this incredible gift from God, knowing he had a ticking time bomb in his chest, praying that this was not the day it ruptured and my happily-ever-after came to a screeching halt. I lived that year in absolute fear.

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