Confirming One’s Calling and Election

2 Peter 1:5-7 5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Monday, January 7, 2008

Micah 2 and Devotionals

Micah 2

Man's Plans and God's

1 Woe to those who plan iniquity, to those who plot evil on their beds! At morning's light they carry it out because it is in their power to do it. 2 They covet fields and seize them, and houses, and take them. They defraud a man of his home, a fellowman of his inheritance.

3 Therefore, the LORD says: "I am planning disaster against this people, from which you cannot save yourselves. You will no longer walk proudly, for it will be a time of calamity.

4 In that day men will ridicule you; they will taunt you with this mournful song: 'We are utterly ruined; my people's possession is divided up. He takes it from me! He assigns our fields to traitors.' "

5 Therefore you will have no one in the assembly of the LORD to divide the land by lot.

False Prophets 6 "Do not prophesy," their prophets say. "Do not prophesy about these things; disgrace will not overtake us." 7 Should it be said, O house of Jacob: "Is the Spirit of the LORD angry? Does he do such things?" "Do not my words do good to him whose ways are upright?

8 Lately my people have risen up like an enemy. You strip off the rich robe from those who pass by without a care, like men returning from battle.

9 You drive the women of my people from their pleasant homes. You take away my blessing from their children forever.

10 Get up, go away! For this is not your resting place, because it is defiled, it is ruined, beyond all remedy.

11 If a liar and deceiver comes and says, 'I will prophesy for you plenty of wine and beer,' he would be just the prophet for this people!

Deliverance Promised 12 "I will surely gather all of you, O Jacob; I will surely bring together the remnant of Israel. I will bring them together like sheep in a pen, like a flock in its pasture; the place will throng with people. 13 One who breaks open the way will go up before them; they will break through the gate and go out. Their king will pass through before them, the LORD at their head."

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

1 Samuel

30David Destroys the Amalekites 1 David and his men reached Ziklag on the third day. Now the Amalekites had raided the Negev and Ziklag. They had attacked Ziklag and burned it, 2 and had taken captive the women and all who were in it, both young and old. They killed none of them, but carried them off as they went on their way. 3 When David and his men came to Ziklag, they found it destroyed by fire and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive. 4 So David and his men wept aloud until they had no strength left to weep. 5 David's two wives had been captured—Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal of Carmel. 6 David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the LORD his God.

January 8, 2008

When Life Goes Bad

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READ: 1 Samuel 30:1-6

David strengthened himself in the Lord his God. —1 Samuel 30:6 About this cover Everything looked bleak to David and his men when they arrived at Ziklag (1 Sam. 30:1-6). The Amalekites had attacked the city and taken their wives and children captive. The men were so discouraged that they wept until they had no more energy. And David, their leader, was “greatly distressed” because the people were contemplating stoning him (v.6).

In the end, David’s army rescued their families and defeated the Amalekites. But the story takes a great turn even before that when “David strengthened himself in the Lord his God” (v.6). Other translations use the words encouraged or refreshed.

The text doesn’t say exactly how David did this. But it makes me wonder, In what ways can we strengthen, encourage, or refresh ourselves in the Lord when we’re feeling discouraged?

First, we can remember what God has done. We can list the ways He has cared for us in the past, and how He has provided for us or answered a prayer request.

Second, we can remember what God has promised. “Be strong and of good courage; . . . for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go” (Josh. 1:9).

Like David, let’s learn to strengthen ourselves in the Lord, and then let’s leave the rest with Him. —Anne Cetas

“I will strengthen,” so take courage,Child of God, so weak and frail.God has said so, and it must be,For His promise cannot fail! —Anon.

Our greatest strength is often shown in our ability to stand still and trust God.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

January 8, 2008

Is My Sacrifice Living?LISTEN: READ:

Abraham built an altar . . . ; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar . . . —Genesis 22:9 About this cover This event is a picture of the mistake we make in thinking that the ultimate God wants of us is the sacrifice of death. What God wants is the sacrifice through death which enables us to do what Jesus did, that is, sacrifice our lives. Not— "Lord, I am ready to go with You . . . to death" (Luke 22:33 ). But— "I am willing to be identified with Your death so that I may sacrifice my life to God."

We seem to think that God wants us to give up things! God purified Abraham from this error, and the same process is at work in our lives. God never tells us to give up things just for the sake of giving them up, but He tells us to give them up for the sake of the only thing worth having, namely, life with Himself. It is a matter of loosening the bands that hold back our lives. Those bands are loosened immediately by identification with the death of Jesus. Then we enter into a relationship with God whereby we may sacrifice our lives to Him.

It is of no value to God to give Him your life for death. He wants you to be a "living sacrifice"— to let Him have all your strengths that have been saved and sanctified through Jesus (Romans 12:1). This is what is acceptable to God.

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft


Soul Amnesia - #5477 Tuesday, January 08, 2008

My wife and I were on a flight headed for a speaking commitment and I was in the window seat working on my messages. She was in the aisle seat with headphones on, listening to one of the airline entertainment channels. And, man, was she laughing! Which made it a little hard to focus on my work. Finally, I asked her what she was listening to; what she was laughing at. It was actually Bill Cosby talking about life at 50, including this hilarious description of an all too familiar experience - getting up to get something from another room, forgetting what you went in there for, going back and sitting down, and then remembering what it was, and so on. You forget and you wander. My wife was laughing because she says that's us. Well, I don't know if it's because my brain is fuller than ever or because my memory is going, but there's a lot I don't remember these days. You may say, "Well, yeah, that's a problem for you old people." Actually, memory loss is a problem for all ages.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Soul Amnesia."

Not remembering has a history of getting God's people into spiritual trouble. Listen to our word for today from Psalm 78:40. Speaking of God's ancient people, it says, "How often they rebelled against Him in the desert and grieved Him in the wasteland! Again and again they put God to the test; they vexed the Holy One of Israel." Now, listen to this. "They did not remember His power."

Spiritual forgetfulness - spiritual amnesia, just like God's ancient people, we tend to forget all God has done in the past, and as a result of our memory problem, we keep wandering into rebellion, mistakes, and detours from the perfect will of God. It starts when we forget God's past deliverances and we strike off on our own to fix things or decide things ourselves.

Good decisions are rooted in remembering God's history in past situations like the one we're in now. Remember those mountains that once loomed so large in front of you; the things that looked insurmountable, impossible? They're gone. Yesterday's mountains are now monuments to the love and power of God. But now there's this mountain, the one that looms in front of us. It's so overwhelming - this illness, this family crisis, this financial need, this deep wound. It's so overwhelming that it's causing you to forget how much God has done in the past; how much in control He is.

And that's when you start to panic, to hot-wire your own solution, to turn from God. But the history of your life is a series of cliffs you came to the edge of, but never went over, because of the intervention of your Lord, of times when waiting for His answer was worth it and when rushing into yours wasn't, of times that looked like the end, but then God wrote one more chapter that changed everything.

He's parted the waters over and over again, but maybe today's Red Sea has made you forget that. When the Jews stood at the entrance to the Promised Land and saw the giants, they forgot what God had done at the Red Sea. They retreated. They wandered in the wilderness for 40 years. It's expensive to forget what God can do.

So settle back and start flipping through that scrapbook of God's adventures in your life. You'll see that He has always, always come through, and He will this time - in His time. So don't go wandering off somewhere because you've got spiritual amnesia. Many a major spiritual mistake is because of spiritual memory loss. So as you face this mountain, don't forget the miracles!

Micah 1 and devotions

Micah 1

1 The word of the LORD that came to Micah of Moresheth during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah—the vision he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem. 2 Hear, O peoples, all of you, listen, O earth and all who are in it, that the Sovereign LORD may witness against you, the Lord from his holy temple.

Judgment Against Samaria and Jerusalem 3 Look! The LORD is coming from his dwelling place; he comes down and treads the high places of the earth. 4 The mountains melt beneath him and the valleys split apart, like wax before the fire, like water rushing down a slope.

5 All this is because of Jacob's transgression, because of the sins of the house of Israel. What is Jacob's transgression? Is it not Samaria? What is Judah's high place? Is it not Jerusalem?

6 "Therefore I will make Samaria a heap of rubble, a place for planting vineyards. I will pour her stones into the valley and lay bare her foundations.

7 All her idols will be broken to pieces; all her temple gifts will be burned with fire; I will destroy all her images. Since she gathered her gifts from the wages of prostitutes, as the wages of prostitutes they will again be used."

Weeping and Mourning 8 Because of this I will weep and wail; I will go about barefoot and naked. I will howl like a jackal and moan like an owl. 9 For her wound is incurable; it has come to Judah. It [a] has reached the very gate of my people, even to Jerusalem itself.

10 Tell it not in Gath [b] ; weep not at all. [c] In Beth Ophrah [d] roll in the dust.

11 Pass on in nakedness and shame, you who live in Shaphir. [e] Those who live in Zaanan [f] will not come out. Beth Ezel is in mourning; its protection is taken from you.

12 Those who live in Maroth [g] writhe in pain, waiting for relief, because disaster has come from the LORD, even to the gate of Jerusalem.

13 You who live in Lachish, [h] harness the team to the chariot. You were the beginning of sin to the Daughter of Zion, for the transgressions of Israel were found in you.

14 Therefore you will give parting gifts to Moresheth Gath. The town of Aczib [i] will prove deceptive to the kings of Israel.

15 I will bring a conqueror against you who live in Mareshah. [j] He who is the glory of Israel will come to Adullam.

16 Shave your heads in mourning for the children in whom you delight; make yourselves as bald as the vulture, for they will go from you into exile.


Our Daily Bread reading and devotional

Philippians 1:8-11

8God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.

9And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, 11filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.

January 7, 2008

Beware Of Open Doors

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READ: Philippians 1:8-11

Folly is joy to him who is destitute of discernment, but a man of understanding walks uprightly. —Proverbs 15:21 About this cover Sometimes Christians follow an “open door” policy. When a door of opportunity opens, they assume that it’s God’s will to go through it.

Bestselling author Terri Blackstock knows this is untrue. She never openly rebelled against God, but she found herself far away from Him after walking through open doors of opportunity. “I had allowed myself to believe that God was blessing my career . . . because He had opened all the doors,” she wrote in Soul Restoration. Although she got what she wanted—a successful career writing romance novels for Harlequin and Silhouette—she lost what she needed: a close relationship with God.

When she finally admitted that her career was keeping her from God, she turned her back on success and renewed her commitment to the Lord. Since then, her writing career has been revitalized, and she has become an award-winning author of Christian fiction.

Just because the Lord doesn’t stop us from something doesn’t mean He wants us to continue. To discern which opportunities to pursue, we need to “approve the things that are excellent” and to be “filled with the fruits of righteousness . . . to the glory and praise of God” (Phil. 1:10-11). —Julie Ackerman Link

FOR FURTHER STUDYFor help with understanding God’s will for your life, read the online study How Can I Know What God Wants Me To Do? at www.discoveryseries.org/q0704

The best way to know God’s will is to say “I will” to God.


My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

January 7, 2008

Intimate With JesusLISTEN: READ:

Jesus said to him, ’Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip?’ —John 14:9 About this cover These words were not spoken as a rebuke, nor even with surprise; Jesus was encouraging Philip to draw closer. Yet the last person we get intimate with is Jesus. Before Pentecost the disciples knew Jesus as the One who gave them power to conquer demons and to bring about a revival (see Luke 10:18-20). It was a wonderful intimacy, but there was a much closer intimacy to come: ". . . I have called you friends . . ." (John 15:15). True friendship is rare on earth. It means identifying with someone in thought, heart, and spirit. The whole experience of life is designed to enable us to enter into this closest relationship with Jesus Christ. We receive His blessings and know His Word, but do we really know Him?

Jesus said, "It is to your advantage that I go away . . ." (John 16:7). He left that relationship to lead them even closer. It is a joy to Jesus when a disciple takes time to walk more intimately with Him. The bearing of fruit is always shown in Scripture to be the visible result of an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ (see John 15:1-4).

Once we get intimate with Jesus we are never lonely and we never lack for understanding or compassion. We can continually pour out our hearts to Him without being perceived as overly emotional or pitiful. The Christian who is truly intimate with Jesus will never draw attention to himself but will only show the evidence of a life where Jesus is completely in control. This is the outcome of allowing Jesus to satisfy every area of life to its depth. The picture resulting from such a life is that of the strong, calm balance that our Lord gives to those who are intimate with Him.

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Hope For Banged-Up Lives - #5476 Monday, January 07, 2008

It was #1 on the New York Times bestseller list and then a major motion picture - the story of one of the most famous race horses of all time, Seabiscuit. While many of us may not be excited about horse racing, the story, set against the backdrop of the Great Depression, illustrates some things pretty inspiring. Seabiscuit was the son of a champion but definitely not like his father. He had been forced to run with better horses so they would gain confidence by beating him. When he raced, he did what he was trained to do - lose. Because of the poor treatment Seabiscuit received, he became an angry, almost uncontrollable horse. Until he was given a chance by a trainer that many considered to be too old and a young man most thought was too big to be a jockey - a man blind in one eye and bitter from his parents' abandonment.

But Seabiscuit thrived in the care of people who believed in him and became one of the greatest horses of all time, along with his jockey. The trainer sees in the horse something that others have missed. He says when Seabiscuit's eventual owner is deciding whether to buy this apparent loser, "You don't throw a life away just because it's been banged up a little." And when the trainer wants to fire his jockey, the owner reminds him, "You don't throw a life away just because it's been banged up a little."

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Hope For Banged-Up Lives."

Maybe you're one of those "banged-up lives." You've been treated poorly, you've been made to feel that you never measure up, that you're a loser, people have undervalued you, passed you by, and maybe you've ended up pretty hard and angry inside. But there is someone who has never thrown away a banged up life, who sees beyond what's on the outside to the wounds on the inside and the potential He built into you when He made you. Jesus is your hope of a new beginning where the future doesn’t have to be just an extension of a broken past.

In Isaiah 61:1, our word for today from the Word of God, the Bible says of Jesus, "The Lord ... has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners ... to provide for those who grieve in Zion - to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes - a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair." Jesus has done that for millions of banged up people for two thousand years. He can do it for you because He died on the cross for every sin ever done by you or against you. The Bible says of His death on the cross: "He carried our sorrows...He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities...and by His wounds we are healed" (Isaiah 53:4-5).

With someone who loves you so unconditionally, so completely, you don't have to ever again trash yourself, trash other people, or trash your future. You can tear up that name tag that identifies you as "victim" and replace it with the new identity Jesus gives you, "child of the King." If you'll surrender the steering wheel of your life and put the rest of your life in the hands of the man who died for you.

If you've never done that and you want to begin your own personal relationship with Jesus, would you tell Him that right now with all your heart. And then I hope you'll go to our website where I’ve laid out in simple nonreligious terms exactly how you can be sure you have begun your personal relationship with Jesus Christ. The website is yoursforlife.net. And I’d urge you to go there just as soon as you can. If you’d rather write and get this in print in the form of a little pamphlet I’ve written called Yours For Life you can call us toll free at 877-741-1200.

Jesus, who’s God's one and only Son, sacrificed Himself to become the ultimate banged-up life for you. However much you have been betrayed, you can trust Him. However much you have been hurt and rejected, you can count on His "never leave you" love. And your new beginning can start this very day.

To find out how you can begin a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, please visit: yoursforlife.net or call 1-888-966-7325.