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.

Sunday, October 21, 2012

1 Chronicles 1 bible reading and devotionals


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Max Lucado Daily: You are Unique

Each of us is an original. Galatians 5:26, The Message

There are certain things you can do that no one else can. Perhaps it is parenting, or constructing houses, or encouraging the discouraged. There are things that only you can do, and you are alive to do them.

In the great orchestra we call life, you have an instrument and a song, and you owe it to God to play them both sublimely.

1 Chronicles 1

Historical Records From Adam to Abraham

To Noah’s Sons

1 Adam, Seth, Enosh, 2 Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared, 3 Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech, Noah.

4 The sons of Noah:[a]

Shem, Ham and Japheth.

The Japhethites

5 The sons[b] of Japheth:

Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshek and Tiras.

6 The sons of Gomer:

Ashkenaz, Riphath[c] and Togarmah.

7 The sons of Javan:

Elishah, Tarshish, the Kittites and the Rodanites.

The Hamites

8 The sons of Ham:

Cush, Egypt, Put and Canaan.

9 The sons of Cush:

Seba, Havilah, Sabta, Raamah and Sabteka.

The sons of Raamah:

Sheba and Dedan.

10 Cush was the father[d] of

Nimrod, who became a mighty warrior on earth.

11 Egypt was the father of

the Ludites, Anamites, Lehabites, Naphtuhites, 12 Pathrusites, Kasluhites (from whom the Philistines came) and Caphtorites.

13 Canaan was the father of

Sidon his firstborn,[e] and of the Hittites, 14 Jebusites, Amorites, Girgashites, 15 Hivites, Arkites, Sinites, 16 Arvadites, Zemarites and Hamathites.

The Semites

17 The sons of Shem:

Elam, Ashur, Arphaxad, Lud and Aram.

The sons of Aram:[f]

Uz, Hul, Gether and Meshek.

18 Arphaxad was the father of Shelah,

and Shelah the father of Eber.

19 Two sons were born to Eber:

One was named Peleg,[g] because in his time the earth was divided; his brother was named Joktan.

20 Joktan was the father of

Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, 21 Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, 22 Obal,[h] Abimael, Sheba, 23 Ophir, Havilah and Jobab. All these were sons of Joktan.

24 Shem, Arphaxad,[i] Shelah,

25 Eber, Peleg, Reu,

26 Serug, Nahor, Terah

27 and Abram (that is, Abraham).

The Family of Abraham

28 The sons of Abraham:

Isaac and Ishmael.

Descendants of Hagar

29 These were their descendants:

Nebaioth the firstborn of Ishmael, Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 30 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, Hadad, Tema, 31 Jetur, Naphish and Kedemah. These were the sons of Ishmael.

Descendants of Keturah

32 The sons born to Keturah, Abraham’s concubine:

Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak and Shuah.

The sons of Jokshan:

Sheba and Dedan.

33 The sons of Midian:

Ephah, Epher, Hanok, Abida and Eldaah.

All these were descendants of Keturah.

Descendants of Sarah

34 Abraham was the father of Isaac.

The sons of Isaac:

Esau and Israel.

Esau’s Sons

35 The sons of Esau:

Eliphaz, Reuel, Jeush, Jalam and Korah.

36 The sons of Eliphaz:

Teman, Omar, Zepho,[j] Gatam and Kenaz;

by Timna: Amalek.[k]

37 The sons of Reuel:

Nahath, Zerah, Shammah and Mizzah.

The People of Seir in Edom

38 The sons of Seir:

Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, Dishon, Ezer and Dishan.

39 The sons of Lotan:

Hori and Homam. Timna was Lotan’s sister.

40 The sons of Shobal:

Alvan,[l] Manahath, Ebal, Shepho and Onam.

The sons of Zibeon:

Aiah and Anah.

41 The son of Anah:

Dishon.

The sons of Dishon:

Hemdan,[m] Eshban, Ithran and Keran.

42 The sons of Ezer:

Bilhan, Zaavan and Akan.[n]

The sons of Dishan[o]:

Uz and Aran.

The Rulers of Edom

43 These were the kings who reigned in Edom before any Israelite king reigned:

Bela son of Beor, whose city was named Dinhabah.

44 When Bela died, Jobab son of Zerah from Bozrah succeeded him as king.

45 When Jobab died, Husham from the land of the Temanites succeeded him as king.

46 When Husham died, Hadad son of Bedad, who defeated Midian in the country of Moab, succeeded him as king. His city was named Avith.

47 When Hadad died, Samlah from Masrekah succeeded him as king.

48 When Samlah died, Shaul from Rehoboth on the river[p] succeeded him as king.

49 When Shaul died, Baal-Hanan son of Akbor succeeded him as king.

50 When Baal-Hanan died, Hadad succeeded him as king. His city was named Pau,[q] and his wife’s name was Mehetabel daughter of Matred, the daughter of Me-Zahab. 51 Hadad also died.

The chiefs of Edom were:

Timna, Alvah, Jetheth, 52 Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon, 53 Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar, 54 Magdiel and Iram. These were the chiefs of Edom.


Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Read: Galatians 6:1-10

Doing Good to All

6 Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. 2 Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. 3 If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves. 4 Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else, 5 for each one should carry their own load. 6 Nevertheless, the one who receives instruction in the word should share all good things with their instructor.

7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8 Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

Harvest Day

October 21, 2012 — by Jennifer Benson Schuldt

Whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. —Galatians 6:7

One autumn afternoon I drove past a field where a farmer had parked some massive machinery by the side of the road. A yellow caution sign read: “Harvest in Progress.” As I glanced over at the field, I knew instantly what the farmer had planted several months ago—tiny kernels of corn. I knew this because he was preparing to drive his harvesting equipment through acres of mature cornstalks.

While it may seem obvious that planting corn leads to harvesting corn, we sometimes deny the relationship between sowing and reaping in our spiritual lives. The apostle Paul wrote, “Do not be deceived . . . ; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap” (Gal. 6:7). Living to please our flesh yields corruption in the form of wanting what isn’t ours, self-centeredness, and even substance abuse (5:19-21). Walking with the Spirit produces peace, kindness, and self-control (5:22-23). By God’s grace, we can choose to “sow to the Spirit” and reap eternal life (6:8).

Suppose Jesus declared today “harvest day” in our lives, and He asked us to gather up the yield of our everyday choices over the past year. What would we have to show Him?

Things of the world often pull at my heart,
But, Lord, help me see the end from the start;
Open my eyes to where my life’s going,
What I will reap from all I’ve been sowing. —K. DeHaan
The seeds we sow today determine
the kind of fruit we’ll reap tomorrow.


My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
October 21, 2012

Impulsiveness or Discipleship?

But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith . . . —Jude 20

There was nothing of the nature of impulsive or thoughtless action about our Lord, but only a calm strength that never got into a panic. Most of us develop our Christianity along the lines of our own nature, not along the lines of God’s nature. Impulsiveness is a trait of the natural life, and our Lord always ignores it, because it hinders the development of the life of a disciple. Watch how the Spirit of God gives a sense of restraint to impulsiveness, suddenly bringing us a feeling of self-conscious foolishness, which makes us instantly want to vindicate ourselves. Impulsiveness is all right in a child, but is disastrous in a man or woman—an impulsive adult is always a spoiled person. Impulsiveness needs to be trained into intuition through discipline.

Discipleship is built entirely on the supernatural grace of God. Walking on water is easy to someone with impulsive boldness, but walking on dry land as a disciple of Jesus Christ is something altogether different. Peter walked on the water to go to Jesus, but he “followed Him at a distance” on dry land (Mark 14:54). We do not need the grace of God to withstand crises—human nature and pride are sufficient for us to face the stress and strain magnificently. But it does require the supernatural grace of God to live twenty-four hours of every day as a saint, going through drudgery, and living an ordinary, unnoticed, and ignored existence as a disciple of Jesus. It is ingrained in us that we have to do exceptional things for God—but we do not. We have to be exceptional in the ordinary things of life, and holy on the ordinary streets, among ordinary people—and this is not learned in five minutes.