The Beginning and the End - December 31, 2010

Daily Reading
Revelation 19-22

Daily Verse

I am the Alpha and the Omega,

the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.
Revelation 22:13

Daily Thought

In Genesis, Jesus is the Ram at Abraham's altar. In Exodus, He is the Passover Lamb. In Leviticus, He's the High Priest. In Numbers, He is the Cloud by day and pillar of fire at night. In Deuteronomy, He is the City of our refuge. In Joshua, He's the Scarlet Thread out Rahab's window. In Judges, He is the Judge of the World. In Ruth, He is our Kinsman Redeemer. In 1st and 2nd Samuel, He's our Trusted Prophet. In Kings and Chronicles, He is our Reigning King. In Ezra, He is our Faithful Scribe. In Nehemiah, He is the Rebuilder of everything that is broken. In Esther, He is Mordecai sitting faithful at the gate. In Job, He is our Redeemer. In Psalms. He is my Shepherd and I shall not want. In Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, He is Wisdom. In the Song of Songs, He is the Beautiful Bridegroom. In Isaiah, He is the Suffering Servant. In Jeremiah and Lamentations, it is Jesus who Weeps over His People. In Ezekiel, He's the Fearful and Wonderful Four-Faced Man. In Daniel, He is the Fourth Man in the fiery furnace. In Hosea, He is my Lover, forever faithful. In Joel, He baptizes us with the Holy Spirit. In Amos, He's our Burden Bearer. In Obadiah, He is our Savior. In Jonah, He is the Missionary that takes the Word of God to the world. In Micah, He is the Messenger with beautiful feet. In Nahum, He is the Avenger. In Habakkuk, He is the Watchman that is ever praying for revival. In Zephaniah, He is the Lord mighty to save. In Haggai, He is the Restorer of our lost heritage. In Zechariah, He is our Fountain. In Malachi, He is the Son of Righteousness with healing in His wings. In Matthew, He is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. In Mark, He is the Miracle Worker. In Luke, He is the Son of Man. In John, He is the Door by which every one of us must enter. In Acts, He is the Shining Light that appears to Saul on the road to Damascus. In Romans, He is our Justifier. In 1st Corinthians, He is our Resurrection. In 2nd Corinthians, Jesus is our Sin Bearer. In Galatians, He redeems us from the law. In Ephesians, He is our Unsearchable Riches. In Philippians, He supplies our every need. In Colossians, He is the Fullness of the Godhead Bodily. In 1st and 2nd Thessalonians, He is our Soon Coming King. In 1st and 2nd Timothy, He is the Mediator between God and man. In Titus, He is our Blessed Hope. In Philemon, He is a Friend that sticks closer than a brother. In Hebrews, He is the Blood of the everlasting covenant. In James, He is the Lord that heals the sick. In 1st and 2nd Peter, He is the Chief Shepherd. In 1st, 2nd, and 3rd John, it is Jesus who has the tenderness of love. In Jude, He is our Lord coming with ten thousand saints. And in Revelation, lift up your eyes, for your redemption draweth nigh, He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords.


To God's Glory,
Dave Price

Daily Prayer

And now unto Him Who is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,

To the only wise God our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever.

Amen

What Do You Hate? - December 30, 2010

Daily Reading

Revelation 12-18

Daily Verse

The great dragon was hurled down-

that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan,

who leads the whole world astray.

Revelation 12:3

Men worshiped the dragon.

Revelation 13:4

Daily Thought

No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.
~Luke 16:13

Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.
~Romans 12:9

"I hate snakes."
~Indiana Jones, Raiders of the Lost Ark

To God's Glory,
Dave Price

Daily Prayer

God, I love You completely. I hate evil completely.

May I live my life cherishing You and despising Satan. May I rid myself of all that he touches. Give me discernment to hear when it is his voice speaking, and I will reject what he says. I will love truth and goodness, because all that is true and all that is good comes from You.

I love You. Completely.

Amen

What Are You Waiting For? - December 29, 2010

Daily Reading

Revelation 6-11

Daily Verse

I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals.

Then I heard one of the four living creatures say

in a voice like thunder, "Come!"

I looked, and there before me was a white horse!

Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown,

and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest.

Revelation 6:1-2

Daily Thought

While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger.
~Luke 2:6-7

Should have listened when he was a baby.

To God's Glory,

Dave Price

Daily Prayer

King of kings and Lord of lords, what amazes me is that You did come as a baby. You truly emptied Yourself, humbled Yourself for my sake. All along, You are God, and yet Your majesty was veiled so I could see You.

Next time, there will be no veil. I long for Your return, but my deepest desire is that many people will welcome You. That the world will be prepared for Your coming. May I be ever diligent to share Your good news, because salvation belongs to You.

Amen

She Said Yes - December 28, 2010

Daily Reading

Revelation 1-5

Daily Verse

I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot.

I wish you were either one or the other!

So, because you are lukewarm-neither hot nor cold-

I am about to spit you out of my mouth.

Revelation 3:15-16

Daily Thought

On Thanksgiving Day, a boy got on his knee and said to my daughter, "Will you marry me?"

She can say "Yes." She can say "No." But she can not say "A little bit."

I would that you were cold or hot.
~Revelation 3:15

She said, "Yes."

To God's Glory,
Dave Price

Daily Prayer

Father God, I am all in. You are worth my everything and more. All that I have is from You and for You.

Forgive me for and protect me from my half-hearted efforts. I want You to be part of everything in my life. I want everything in my life to point to You and give You pleasure. You are my God.

Amen

I Have A Word For You - December 27, 2010

Daily Reading

2John 1, 3John 1

Daily Verse

I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.

3John 1:4

Daily Thought

Mr. Hooper taught Sunday School.
6th grade boys.

It was not our habit to bring Bibles, but Mr. Hooper thought we should. "Bring your Bibles next Sunday."

My Bible was old and tattered, rabbit-eared pages with lots of writing and underlining, a number of tears, frayed cover.

"Okay, hold your Bibles up," commanded Mr. Hooper.

All ten of us held them in front of us. Nine of them were very nice, cool covers, white clean pages. They looked new.

And then there was mine. I was embarrassed.

Mr. Hooper said, "Every one look at Dave's Bible."

Really embarrassed!

"That's what a Bible should look like. Well done, Dave."

...who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.

~Hebrews 5:14

To God's Glory,
Dave Price

Daily Prayer

God, I love Your Word. It is the Word of life. In it, I see what You are like. I also see what I am like and what I should be like. Keep me in Your Word, God. The devil will keep me from Your Word, but Your Word will keep me from the devil. It is the Truth.

May I not only know Your Word, but live it, too. May my life be Your Word to others, leading them to Your Word, the Bible, leading them to Your Word, the Son, Jesus Christ.

Amen

The Offense Of The Cross - December 26, 2010

Daily Reading

1John 1-5

Daily Verse

This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God:

Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ

has come in the flesh is from God,

but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God.

1John 4:2-3

Daily Thought

He was a Muslim attending a Christian University.

"Wasn't there a cross on that wall last year?" he asked.

"Yes, but we took it down in order to be ecumenical," explained the Christian. "We did not want to offend others."

"Others? You mean like me, a Muslim?"

"Yes," said the Christian.

"You have offended me," said the Muslim.

"How so?" the Christian was puzzled.

"You have offended me by taking down your cross," answered the Muslim. "You have called me a bigot."

"No, no, no, we hate bigotry. What do you mean?"

"If you attended a university in my country, would you be offended by quotations from the Quran on our walls?"

"Of course not," the Christian looked puzzled.

"Because you are not a bigot. Likewise, only a bigot would object to Christian symbols in a Christian University. You are calling me a bigot because you expect me to be offended by those symbols."

I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.
~Romans 1:16

To God's Glory,
Dave Price

Daily Prayer

God, Your Son came to this world and endured the shame of the cross for my sake. May I endure its shame, as well. I would gladly boast of Your sacrifice, no matter the cost, because Your shame is the power of my salvation. You took my sin and bore its penalty by dying on the cross. The cross of a criminal. The cross I deserved.

This is Your glory, the glory of love so strong that You suffered the cross for me, a sinner. I will lift up Your Name, no matter the consequences, because it is Your Name, and Your Name alone, by which I am saved.

What a wonderful cross. What a wonderful Savior.

Amen

Some Assembly Required - December 25, 2010

Daily Reading

2Peter 1-3, Jude 1

Daily Verse

Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager

to make your calling and election sure.

For if you do these things, you will never fall,

and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom

of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

2Peter 1:10-11

Daily Thought

I unwrapped the package, opened the box, and emptied it in front of me. It had everything I needed. It was exactly what I wanted.

His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.
~2Peter 1:3

I glanced at the box again. "Some Assembly Required."

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge;and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness;and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.
~2Peter 1:5-7

It came with instructions.

And we have in God's Word, the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place.
~2Peter 1:19

Merry Christmas,
Dave Price

Daily Prayer

Father God, thank You for all You've done, and You did everything. You have given me all I need. Salvation in Your Son. Power to live a godly life through Your Spirit. And You promise to bring Your work to completion. Someday, I will live in perfect holiness with You forever. I can't wait for that day.

In the meantime, I submit myself to Your leading. Whatever You ask, my answer is Yes. You have my heart, all of it, and my mind and soul and strength. I am Yours. And You are mine!

Amen

A Festivus For The Rest Of Us - December 24, 2010

Daily Reading

2Timothy 1-4

Daily Verse

For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine.

Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them

a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.

2Timothy 4:3

Daily Thought

Seinfeld, Season 9, Episode 10

Frank Costanza, father of George, explains the holiday of Festivus to Kramer.

"Many Christmases ago, I went to buy a doll for my son. I reached for the last one they had, but so did another man. As I rained blows upon him, I realized there had to be another way."

"What happened to the doll," asked Kramer.

"It was destroyed...

"But out of that," Frank's face lit up, "a new holiday was born.
A Festivus for the rest of us!"

They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.
~2Timothy 4:4

Festivus is a myth. But so is a holiday about Cabbage Patch Dolls and XBoxes and iPods.

We need not invent something new, but celebrate something old. Not Happy Holidays, but Merry Christmas.

And the angel said unto them, "Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
Suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests."
~Luke 2:10-14

Merry Christmas,
Dave Price

Daily Prayer

Wonderful God, Savior of the World, You are King of kings, Lord of lords, born in a manger, died on a cross, raised on the third day, coming again to bring Your Kingdom of peace and righteousness.

You are the reason for the season.

May every knee bow and every tongue confess that You are God, Savior and Lord.

Amen

26.2 - December 23, 2010

Daily Reading

Hebrews 11-13

Daily Verse

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses,

let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles,

and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

Hebrews 12:1

Daily Thought

I hate running.

Debbie turned 40 and thought a marathon was a good idea.

I love my wife.

We bought a book, The Non-Runner's Marathon Trainer. Good title. A 16-week training guide to run 26.2 miles. Prerequisite: You must be able to run 3 miles to begin the training program. 3 miles!! Took me a month.

I hate running.

You work up to 18 miles, but the week before the marathon, your body needs to rest. Only 3-mile runs.

Piece of cake!

No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
~Hebrews 12:11

To God's Glory,
Dave Price

Daily Prayer

Lord God, You began a work in me that You promise to complete. Do what it takes. I'm not saying I will like it, but I want it. There is this joy in front of me, and I will endure whatever it takes to reach it.

Right now it seems like a lot of work to live rightly. Someday, it will come naturally. God, I will continue to throw off whatever is holding me back, and keep my eyes on Your Son Jesus Christ. He is my goal. I want to look like Him.

Amen

Five Stones - December 22, 2010

Daily Reading

Hebrews 7-10

Daily Verse

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess,

for he who promised is faithful.

Hebrews 10:23

Daily Thought

The question is not, "How big is Goliath?"

Goliath was over nine feet tall. He had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale armor of bronze weighing five thousand shekels;on his legs he wore bronze greaves, and a bronze javelin was slung on his back. His spear shaft was like a weaver's rod, and its iron point weighed six hundred shekels.
~1Samuel 17:4-7

The question is not, "How big is God"

When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,
what is man that you are mindful of him.
~Psalm 8:3-4

The question is, "How big is your faith?"

Then he chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd's bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine.
~1Samuel 17:40

To God's Glory,
Dave Price

Daily Prayer

My God, the only God, God of all things, there is no question whether You are worthy of my trust. You are. I place my life in Your hands. You are my Lord and Savior, and all that I am, all that I do, I give to You.

My desire is to see Your Name lifted high. That all may know who You are. Make my faith strong, God, so that I may not fail the God who will not fail.

Amen

The Grilled PB&J - December 21, 2010

Daily Reading

Hebrews 1-6

Daily Verse

It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened,

who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit,

who have tasted the goodness of the word of God

and the powers of the coming age and who have fallen away,

to be brought back to repentance.

Hebrews 6:4-6

Daily Thought

Ask any kid, "What is the best sandwich ever made?"

It's the Peanut Butter and Jelly.
No competition.

Unless you were a kid in my youth group. A kid who was served my wife's Grilled Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich.

I run into these kids, 5, 10, 20 years after graduating. You know what they remember? They remember when they were introduced to the Grilled Peanut Butter and Jelly. I hear it all the time.

They liked the old PB&J. But it doesn't stand up to the new. Ask anyone who has tasted one. There is no going back.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
~2Corinthains 5:17

To God's Glory,
Dave Price

Daily Prayer

God, You are so good. To be welcomed into Your family, to experience Your warmth and love, to understand what life is all about, to really live - what more could I ever want? (The answer is nothing more. You are above and beyond my deepest desires.)

Thank You for the blessings of heaven, of Your Kingdom. There is a better life than this world offers. Your Kingdom come, Your will be done. I look forward to the day when Your Son reigns over the heavens and the earth in perfect peace and righteousness.

Amen

Dad, I'm Getting A Tattoo - December 20, 2010

Daily Reading

1Peter 1-5

Daily Verse

But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord.

Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who

asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.

But do this with gentleness and respect.

1Peter 3:15

Daily Thought

"Dad, I'm getting a tattoo."

Adam is a college sophomore. "No you are not," is no longer useful.

"A Christian 'fish' with Romans 8:31 under it," Adam described. "If God is for us, who can be against us?"

"How big?" asked Dad.

Adam stretched his fingers out. "Big. Right here on my arm."

"Adam, that tattoo will declare your faith to everyone. You are in a fraternity. A fraternity that parties. A lot. You may be the only picture of Christ your brothers see."

"Dad, I'm getting the tattoo."

"I know, Son. But if you get it, you have to live it."

"Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity."
~1Timothy 4:12

To God's Glory,
Dave Price

Daily Prayer

Father God, You Son came into this world to be a light in a dark place. Thank You for shining that light on me, because I was a dark place! I love Your Son.

Now I am a light shining in a dark place. I will not hide the light, but I will hold it up so that people can see. So that they can see Your Son. So that they can receive Your Son and be light, too. So that the world may know that You are God. My God. The only God.

Amen