Max Lucado Daily: It’s Not Fair
It’s Not Fair
Posted: 10 Mar 2011 10:01 PM PST
“Guide me in your truth, and teach me, my God, my Savior.” Psalm 25:5
“It’s not fair,” we say. It’s not fair that I was born in poverty or that I sing so poorly or that I run so slowly. But the scales of life were forever tipped on the side of fairness when God planted a tree in the Garden of Eden. All complaints were silenced when Adam and his descendants were given free will, the freedom to make whatever eternal choice we desire. Any injustice in this life is offset by the honor of choosing our destiny in the next.
Leviticus 12
Purification After Childbirth
1 The LORD said to Moses, 2 “Say to the Israelites: ‘A woman who becomes pregnant and gives birth to a son will be ceremonially unclean for seven days, just as she is unclean during her monthly period. 3 On the eighth day the boy is to be circumcised. 4 Then the woman must wait thirty-three days to be purified from her bleeding. She must not touch anything sacred or go to the sanctuary until the days of her purification are over. 5 If she gives birth to a daughter, for two weeks the woman will be unclean, as during her period. Then she must wait sixty-six days to be purified from her bleeding.
6 “‘When the days of her purification for a son or daughter are over, she is to bring to the priest at the entrance to the tent of meeting a year-old lamb for a burnt offering and a young pigeon or a dove for a sin offering.[b] 7 He shall offer them before the LORD to make atonement for her, and then she will be ceremonially clean from her flow of blood.
“‘These are the regulations for the woman who gives birth to a boy or a girl. 8 But if she cannot afford a lamb, she is to bring two doves or two young pigeons, one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering. In this way the priest will make atonement for her, and she will be clean.’”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Psalm 103:1-10
Psalm 103
Of David.
1 Praise the LORD, my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
2 Praise the LORD, my soul,
and forget not all his benefits—
3 who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
5 who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
6 The LORD works righteousness
and justice for all the oppressed.
7 He made known his ways to Moses,
his deeds to the people of Israel:
8 The LORD is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love.
9 He will not always accuse,
nor will he harbor his anger forever;
10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.
The Overflow
March 11, 2011 — by Jennifer Benson Schuldt
Forget not all His benefits. —Psalm 103:2
Joyful shouts filtered into our house from outside and I wanted to know what was so wonderful out there. I peeked through the curtains and watched two young boys splashing in a thick stream of water that gushed from a fire hydrant.
The overflow reminded me of how God pours out blessings on His children, and how important it is to recognize that “the Lord . . . daily loads us with benefits” (Ps. 68:19).
Although I know He has furnished countless good things for me, when the car blows a gasket, when the flu infects my family, and when relationships threaten to unravel, dissatisfaction threatens my view of God’s blessings—they seem more like infrequent drips from a faucet rather than a flood of water from a hydrant!
Maybe that’s why in Psalm 103 David reminds us to “forget not all His benefits” (v.2). And then, to help us, he lists a torrent of blessings for believers. He reminds us that God forgives all our iniquities, heals all our diseases, redeems our lives from destruction, crowns us with lovingkindness, and satisfies our mouths with good things (vv.3-5).
Today, let’s take time to acknowledge God’s abundance instead of overlooking the overflow of His blessings.
We’re loaded with benefits daily,
Sent down from the Father above;
His mercies and blessings abounding
Are gifts of His marvelous love. —Anon.
Adding up your blessings will multiply your joy.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
March 11th, 2011
Obedience to the "Heavenly Vision"
I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision —Acts 26:19
If we lose “the heavenly vision” God has given us, we alone are responsible— not God. We lose the vision because of our own lack of spiritual growth. If we do not apply our beliefs about God to the issues of everyday life, the vision God has given us will never be fulfilled. The only way to be obedient to “the heavenly vision” is to give our utmost for His highest— our best for His glory. This can be accomplished only when we make a determination to continually remember God’s vision. But the acid test is obedience to the vision in the details of our everyday life— sixty seconds out of every minute, and sixty minutes out of every hour, not just during times of personal prayer or public meetings.
“Though it tarries, wait for it . . .” (Habakkuk 2:3). We cannot bring the vision to fulfillment through our own efforts, but must live under its inspiration until it fulfills itself. We try to be so practical that we forget the vision. At the very beginning we saw the vision but did not wait for it. We rushed off to do our practical work, and once the vision was fulfilled we could no longer even see it. Waiting for a vision that “tarries” is the true test of our faithfulness to God. It is at the risk of our own soul’s welfare that we get caught up in practical busy-work, only to miss the fulfillment of the vision.
Watch for the storms of God. The only way God plants His saints is through the whirlwind of His storms. Will you be proven to be an empty pod with no seed inside? That will depend on whether or not you are actually living in the light of the vision you have seen. Let God send you out through His storm, and don’t go until He does. If you select your own spot to be planted, you will prove yourself to be an unproductive, empty pod. However, if you allow God to plant you, you will “bear much fruit” (John 15:8).
It is essential that we live and “walk in the light” of God’s vision for us (1 John 1:7).
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
The Need to Need What You Know - #6305
A Word With You - Your Personal Power
Friday, March 11, 2011
I was a little stunned when I heard that we were celebrating not long ago the 20-year anniversary of the first Gulf War. Man, time flies! And it brought back to my memory an interview with a soldier who was there as they were about to go to war from Kuwait and into Iraq. She said, "You know, we had gotten training when we were in boot camp in chemical warfare." And she said, "We kind of dozed off, and you know, didn't take notes, threw paper wads, whatever. It was just boring stuff." She said, "Now they're covering chemical warfare again, because we're about to go into Iraq where they have them." She said, "We're taking notes, we're asking questions, we're staying late after class." I thought, "Wow! What a big difference; same material, same information." What was different? All of a sudden soldiers knew that their life could depend on what they were learning, and they were going to need it, not just know it.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Need to Need What You Know."
Now, our word for today from the Word of God comes from Matthew chapter 28, verse 18. Jesus is just about to ascend into heaven and leave His disciples. "Then Jesus came to them and said, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.'" Wow! What a great statement! And Jesus has saved it until this moment. You can almost hear His disciples say, "Oh, that's a good one. Remember that one. That's a great statement. 'All authority has been given to Me in heaven and in earth.' I like that. That's powerful."
Do you know why He waited until now to give it to them?
Listen to what He says next, "Therefore" - what's the therefore? Well, because all authority was given to Me, "Therefore on that basis...go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you."
Here's eleven guys standing on a mountain, and Jesus says, "I want you guys to go take care of the whole world." Whoa! It's a good thing He said, "All authority has been given to Me." All of a sudden that's not just a great wall plaque. That's not just a great quotation to write down. There are lives, there are ministries going to depend on it. He is giving them a mission that is so much bigger than they are. They're going to need that power as they've never needed it before.
See, you don't know God's power until you really need God's power. You have the need to need what you know. I've watched a lot of yawning youth group kids suddenly grabbing their Bible, learning to pray, asking questions. You know why? Well, suddenly they're on a mission trip, they're away from home, they're pushed to the limits physically and emotionally. And suddenly they need for the first time what they'd be hearing for years.
Like those soldiers in that class. They weren't interested in the material until they knew they'd need it to stay alive. Now, what's it all mean to you? Well, you need to be out on a limb for the Lord before you're going to really experience His power. Safe Christianity is boring Christianity. You need to get busy doing something for the Lord; not just knowing things about Him, learning about Him. You've got to do something.
So, take the plunge. Take that Sunday School class. Yeah, go ahead and take it. Get involved in that outreach program. Go on that mission trip. Get involved with some group of people who need you. Become committed to actively sharing Christ with the people around you. Or say yes to that invitation to get involved in some part of the Lord's work as a volunteer.
Get out on a limb where you're taking some risks for your Lord serving Him so you get beyond yourself; because you'll meet Him there in a way you can't meet Him anywhere else because now, you need to need what you know.
