Max Lucado Daily: My Defender
My Defender
Posted: 11 Oct 2010 11:01 PM PDT
He is my defender; I will not be defeated. Psalm 62:6
What does God do when we are in a bind? ... He fights for us! He steps into the ring and points us to our corner and takes over. “Remain calm; the Lord will fight for you” (Exodus 14:14).
His job is to fight. Our job is to trust.
Just trust. Not direct. Or question.
Or yank the steering wheel out of His hands. Our job is to pray and wait.
Job 18
Bildad
1 Then Bildad the Shuhite replied:
2 "When will you end these speeches?
Be sensible, and then we can talk.
3 Why are we regarded as cattle
and considered stupid in your sight?
4 You who tear yourself to pieces in your anger,
is the earth to be abandoned for your sake?
Or must the rocks be moved from their place?
5 "The lamp of the wicked is snuffed out;
the flame of his fire stops burning.
6 The light in his tent becomes dark;
the lamp beside him goes out.
7 The vigor of his step is weakened;
his own schemes throw him down.
8 His feet thrust him into a net
and he wanders into its mesh.
9 A trap seizes him by the heel;
a snare holds him fast.
10 A noose is hidden for him on the ground;
a trap lies in his path.
11 Terrors startle him on every side
and dog his every step.
12 Calamity is hungry for him;
disaster is ready for him when he falls.
13 It eats away parts of his skin;
death's firstborn devours his limbs.
14 He is torn from the security of his tent
and marched off to the king of terrors.
15 Fire resides [c] in his tent;
burning sulfur is scattered over his dwelling.
16 His roots dry up below
and his branches wither above.
17 The memory of him perishes from the earth;
he has no name in the land.
18 He is driven from light into darkness
and is banished from the world.
19 He has no offspring or descendants among his people,
no survivor where once he lived.
20 Men of the west are appalled at his fate;
men of the east are seized with horror.
21 Surely such is the dwelling of an evil man;
such is the place of one who knows not God."
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Psalm 19:1-6
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
2 Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge.
3 There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard.
4 Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun,
5 which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion, like a champion rejoicing to run his course.
6 It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is hidden from its heat.
Why Is There Color?
October 12, 2010 — by David H. Roper
The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork. —Psalm 19:1
Why do some trees turn into a collage of radiant maroon, red, orange, and yellow colors in the fall? Trees are green in the summer because chlorophyll, a green pigment in the leaves, absorbs red and blue light from the sun. The light reflected from the leaves appears green to our eyes.
Chlorophyll is an unstable substance, and bright sunlight causes it to decompose rapidly. Therefore, plants must continuously synthesize and regenerate it. The shortening days and cool nights of autumn, however, interfere with this process. As chlorophyll breaks down, the green colors of the leaves begin to fade. Some trees change from green to bright yellow as the chlorophyll degrades. In others, the action of sugar in the leaves creates a red pigment, causing the leaves to turn maroon, purple, and bright red as the chlorophyll fades.
But why do we have color? It seems to serve no practical purpose—at least none that scientists can discern. And why are there photoreceptors in our eyes that enable us to see it?
I believe that God’s goodness is the point of His creation. He is “good to all, and His tender mercies are over all His works” (Ps. 145:9). He colored the world for our childlike delight. He’s like that, you know.
God, the engineer of all creation,
Spoke the word, and beauty was begun,
Then He gave to us His great salvation
Through the sacrifice of His own Son. —Hess
God’s glory shines through His creation.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
October 12th, 2010
Getting into God’s Stride
Enoch walked with God . . . —Genesis 5:24
The true test of a person’s spiritual life and character is not what he does in the extraordinary moments of life, but what he does during the ordinary times when there is nothing tremendous or exciting happening. A person’s worth is revealed in his attitude toward the ordinary things of life when he is not under the spotlight (seeJohn 1:35-37 and John 3:30). It is painful work to get in step with God and to keep pace with Him— it means getting your second wind spiritually. In learning to walk with God, there is always the difficulty of getting into His stride, but once we have done so, the only characteristic that exhibits itself is the very life of God Himself. The individual person is merged into a personal oneness with God, and God’s stride and His power alone are exhibited.
It is difficult to get into stride with God, because as soon as we start walking with Him we find that His pace has surpassed us before we have even taken three steps. He has different ways of doing things, and we have to be trained and disciplined in His ways. It was said of Jesus— “He will not fail nor be discouraged . . .” (Isaiah 42:4) because He never worked from His own individual standpoint, but always worked from the standpoint of His Father. And we must learn to do the same. Spiritual truth is learned through the atmosphere that surrounds us, not through intellectual reasoning. It is God’s Spirit that changes the atmosphere of our way of looking at things, and then things begin to be possible which before were impossible. Getting into God’s stride means nothing less than oneness with Him. It takes a long time to get there, but keep at it. Don’t give up because the pain is intense right now— get on with it, and before long you will find that you have a new vision and a new purpose.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
God's Strange But Wonderful Recipes - #6197
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
It's one of my wife's favorite recipes, and she served it to our Team at one time. I always smile when she serves what she calls "Javanese dinner" because I know what's going to happen. She'll tell the guests what's in the dinner and instruct them to go through the line and pile the ingredients on in the order that they're served. And several guests will look at one another as if to say, "You've got to be kidding." The ingredients include rice, chicken, celery, coconut, pineapple, noodles, onions, cheese and a hot broth poured over the whole thing. (Now listen, please don't send for the recipe. I don't do recipes. I just eat them, so I can't send you a recipe.) Now listen, there's lots of skepticism about this menu, you know. Then the guests go through the line, they risk it and they love it. I saw the person who had the most doubts about what all those ingredients would be like when you put them all together go back for seconds and thirds.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "God's Strange But Wonderful Recipes."
When you look at the separate ingredients in my wife's sure-to-please recipe, it can leave a lot of doubts. But when all those ingredients get put together, it's one great experience. Sounds a lot like the recipes of God for your life and mine. I can't tell you the number of times when I have looked at some of the ingredients that God's mixed into my life and wondered why some of them were on my table. Until the time He put them all together. It was delicious.
One of the most leaned-on verses in the Bible actually promises that kind of outcome. It's Romans 8:28 , and it's our word for today from the Word of God. As familiar as this verse may be to you, would you let it be God's light to help illuminate what you're going through right now. Believe it now for this situation. The Bible says, "We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose." All things, including those ingredients you don't like, you don't understand. Ephesians 1:11 tells us that our lives are unfolding "according to the plan of Him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will." Everything! So "why?" is probably the wrong question to ask about what's happening. Why don't you try this one. "How can God use this?"
At any given point in time, you can look at your situation and say with all confidence, "What I see isn't what I get." Because with God, there is always something bigger going on than what you can see. The ways of God include a wide variety of people and tools that ultimately bring about His loving plan for you. His divine recipe for you includes some breakthroughs and some battles; some trials and some triumphs; some victories and some defeats; and a few things that seem unbearable or unexplainable. They're part of the plan. Nothing comes into the life of a child of God without Him either sending it or allowing it, because it will contribute to His plans for you. Plans which He guarantees are "to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future" (Jeremiah 29:11 ).
If you don't belong to Jesus Christ, you are, in the Bible's words, "lost." You're missing the plan you were put here for because you're missing the God who put you here. Jesus died to bring you back to Him. When you give yourself to Jesus, you get a personal relationship with God - you get the meaning you were made for.
Listen, if you want to begin that relationship, you want to pursue that relationship with Him, would you check out our website. It's yoursforlife.net. Or if you'd like I'll send you the booklet about this called Yours For Life. The number is 877-741-1200. And if you know you're His child through Jesus then don't walk by the recipe God is laying out on the table of your life just because you don't like some of the ingredients. Take what He serves you and do what He tells you. When God finally puts all those ingredients together, you're going to love what He's been making for you! So, trust the Cook - and trust His recipe!
