Max Lucado Daily: No Room in the Inn
Some of the saddest words on earth are “We don’t have room for you.” Jesus knew the sound of those words. He was still in Mary’s womb when the innkeeper said,“We don’t have room for you.” And when He hung on the cross, wasn’t the message one of utter rejection? “We don’t have room for you in this world.”
Today Jesus is given the same treatment. He goes from heart to heart, asking if He might enter. Every so often, He’s welcomed. Someone throws open the door of his or her heart and invites Him to stay. And to that person Jesus gives this great promise, “In my Father’s house are many rooms” (Jn. 14:2). We make room for Him in our hearts, and Jesus makes room for us in His house!
From In the Manger
Deuteronomy 3
Victory over Og of Bashan
“Next we turned and headed for the land of Bashan, where King Og and his entire army attacked us at Edrei. 2 But the Lord told me, ‘Do not be afraid of him, for I have given you victory over Og and his entire army, and I will give you all his land. Treat him just as you treated King Sihon of the Amorites, who ruled in Heshbon.’
3 “So the Lord our God handed King Og and all his people over to us, and we killed them all. Not a single person survived. 4 We conquered all sixty of his towns—the entire Argob region in his kingdom of Bashan. Not a single town escaped our conquest. 5 These towns were all fortified with high walls and barred gates. We also took many unwalled villages at the same time. 6 We completely destroyed[a] the kingdom of Bashan, just as we had destroyed King Sihon of Heshbon. We destroyed all the people in every town we conquered—men, women, and children alike. 7 But we kept all the livestock for ourselves and took plunder from all the towns.
8 “So we took the land of the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan River—all the way from the Arnon Gorge to Mount Hermon. 9 (Mount Hermon is called Sirion by the Sidonians, and the Amorites call it Senir.) 10 We had now conquered all the cities on the plateau and all Gilead and Bashan, as far as the towns of Salecah and Edrei, which were part of Og’s kingdom in Bashan. 11 (King Og of Bashan was the last survivor of the giant Rephaites. His bed was made of iron and was more than thirteen feet long and six feet wide.[b] It can still be seen in the Ammonite city of Rabbah.)
Land Division East of the Jordan
12 “When we took possession of this land, I gave to the tribes of Reuben and Gad the territory beyond Aroer along the Arnon Gorge, plus half of the hill country of Gilead with its towns. 13 Then I gave the rest of Gilead and all of Bashan—Og’s former kingdom—to the half-tribe of Manasseh. (This entire Argob region of Bashan used to be known as the land of the Rephaites. 14 Jair, a leader from the tribe of Manasseh, conquered the whole Argob region in Bashan, all the way to the border of the Geshurites and Maacathites. Jair renamed this region after himself, calling it the Towns of Jair,[c] as it is still known today.) 15 I gave Gilead to the clan of Makir. 16 But I also gave part of Gilead to the tribes of Reuben and Gad. The area I gave them extended from the middle of the Arnon Gorge in the south to the Jabbok River on the Ammonite frontier. 17 They also received the Jordan Valley, all the way from the Sea of Galilee down to the Dead Sea,[d] with the Jordan River serving as the western boundary. To the east were the slopes of Pisgah.
18 “At that time I gave this command to the tribes that would live east of the Jordan: ‘Although the Lord your God has given you this land as your property, all your fighting men must cross the Jordan ahead of your Israelite relatives, armed and ready to assist them. 19 Your wives, children, and numerous livestock, however, may stay behind in the towns I have given you. 20 When the Lord has given security to the rest of the Israelites, as he has to you, and when they occupy the land the Lord your God is giving them across the Jordan River, then you may all return here to the land I have given you.’
Moses Forbidden to Enter the Land
21 “At that time I gave Joshua this charge: ‘You have seen for yourself everything the Lord your God has done to these two kings. He will do the same to all the kingdoms on the west side of the Jordan. 22 Do not be afraid of the nations there, for the Lord your God will fight for you.’
23 “At that time I pleaded with the Lord and said, 24 ‘O Sovereign Lord, you have only begun to show your greatness and the strength of your hand to me, your servant. Is there any god in heaven or on earth who can perform such great and mighty deeds as you do? 25 Please let me cross the Jordan to see the wonderful land on the other side, the beautiful hill country and the Lebanon mountains.’
26 “But the Lord was angry with me because of you, and he would not listen to me. ‘That’s enough!’ he declared. ‘Speak of it no more. 27 But go up to Pisgah Peak, and look over the land in every direction. Take a good look, but you may not cross the Jordan River. 28 Instead, commission Joshua and encourage and strengthen him, for he will lead the people across the Jordan. He will give them all the land you now see before you as their possession.’ 29 So we stayed in the valley near Beth-peor.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, December 19, 2014
Read: 1 Timothy 1:12-17
Paul’s Gratitude for God’s Mercy
I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength to do his work. He considered me trustworthy and appointed me to serve him, 13 even though I used to blaspheme the name of Christ. In my insolence, I persecuted his people. But God had mercy on me because I did it in ignorance and unbelief. 14 Oh, how generous and gracious our Lord was! He filled me with the faith and love that come from Christ Jesus.
15 This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I am the worst of them all. 16 But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life. 17 All honor and glory to God forever and ever! He is the eternal King, the unseen one who never dies; he alone is God. Amen.
Insight
Though Paul’s words to Timothy in today’s reading are not one of the traditional biblical texts we read at Christmas, they definitely have application for this season. In verse 15 we read: “Christ Jesus came into the world.” This is a reference not only to Christ’s coming but also to His purpose for coming. Why was He born in human flesh? Paul answers that question by adding, “to save sinners.” Jesus’ coming was a mission of rescue for a race that desperately needed a Savior.
The Heart Of Christmas
By David C. McCasland
The grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. —1 Timothy 1:14
Charles Dickens’ novel A Christmas Carol was released on December 19, 1843, and has never been out of print. It tells the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, a wealthy, sour, stingy man who says, “Every idiot who goes about with ‘Merry Christmas,’ on his lips, should be boiled with his own pudding!” Yet, one Christmas Eve, Scrooge is radically changed into a generous and happy man. With great humor and insight, Dickens’ book captures the universal longing for inner peace.
As a young man, the apostle Paul opposed Jesus and His followers with a vengeful spirit. He “made havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison” (Acts 8:3). But one day he encountered the risen Christ, and his life became a different story (9:1-16).
In a letter to Timothy, his son in the faith, Paul described that life-changing event by saying, even though he was “a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man . . . the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus” (1 Tim. 1:13-14).
Jesus was born into our world and gave His life so that we can be forgiven and transformed through faith in Him. This is the heart of Christmas!
Then let us all with one accord
Sing praises to our heavenly Lord,
That hath made heaven and earth of naught,
And with His blood mankind hath bought. —English carol
A change in behavior begins with Jesus changing our heart.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, December 19, 2014
The Focus Of Our Message
I did not come to bring peace but a sword. —Matthew 10:34
Never be sympathetic with a person whose situation causes you to conclude that God is dealing harshly with him. God can be more tender than we can conceive, and every once in a while He gives us the opportunity to deal firmly with someone so that He may be viewed as the tender One. If a person cannot go to God, it is because he has something secret which he does not intend to give up— he may admit his sin, but would no more give up that thing than he could fly under his own power. It is impossible to deal sympathetically with people like that. We must reach down deep in their lives to the root of the problem, which will cause hostility and resentment toward the message. People want the blessing of God, but they can’t stand something that pierces right through to the heart of the matter.
If you are sensitive to God’s way, your message as His servant will be merciless and insistent, cutting to the very root. Otherwise, there will be no healing. We must drive the message home so forcefully that a person cannot possibly hide, but must apply its truth. Deal with people where they are, until they begin to realize their true need. Then hold high the standard of Jesus for their lives. Their response may be, “We can never be that.” Then drive it home with, “Jesus Christ says you must.” “But how can we be?” “You can’t, unless you have a new Spirit” (see Luke 11:13).
There must be a sense of need created before your message is of any use. Thousands of people in this world profess to be happy without God. But if we could be truly happy and moral without Jesus, then why did He come? He came because that kind of happiness and peace is only superficial. Jesus Christ came to “bring…a sword” through every kind of peace that is not based on a personal relationship with Himself.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, December 19, 2014
THE BABY AND ROARING CAMP - #7290
The short story writer, Bret Hart, gives us a story out of the Old West about a town called Roaring Camp. I think it's a story that brings the miracle of Christmas into very sharp focus into our lives today and I want to share it with you.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Baby and Roaring Camp."
Roaring Camp was probably the most lawless town in the Old West. It was a mining town and populated almost entirely, therefore, by miners. No sheriff, no marshal, very difficult to survive, so every man was sort of a law unto himself. It was like a 24-hour town, roaring and rocking and brawling and shooting all night long. There was murder. There was theft. There was assault, and they were never punished. It was just a wild place to live.
Now, very few women, of course, could survive in a place like that. There was a woman named Ole Sal who was sort of like everybody's woman, and Sal had a baby. And Sal died in childbirth. So the miners were left in this grimy old mining town with a baby to raise. They took the baby into one of the cabins and put it in a little crate and lined it with some oily clothes. And that's where they put the baby.
Very quickly they said, "You know, this isn't right. We can't keep him in this." So they sent one of the miners off to Sacramento, and he came back with this beautiful cradle. They put the baby in that. Suddenly somehow that oily cloth didn't look right in that beautiful rosewood cradle. So they sent another miner out to Sacramento, and he came back with some beautiful lace cloth and lined it with this elegant material.
Then they came into the cabin and looked around and said, "Look at this dirty floor. It never looked so bad before, but now with this beautiful cradle here it looks terrible." So they scrubbed the floor. Well, that created another problem. When the floor was clean, it showed how dirty the walls were and the roof.
So, all the miners pitched in, and pretty soon this cabin began to shine. A couple of others began to clean their cabin because they realized how dirty it was after they'd seen the cabin the baby was in. Then the baby had to sleep, so that meant there were quiet hours. Yes, in Roaring Camp! No one could believe it! There were nap times when you had to be quiet; night time when you had to be quiet. And all of a sudden Roaring Camp wasn't roaring so much any more.
As the baby began to grow, he needed a place to walk and to crawl. So, you know what? They took him down to the mine entrance each day. Now that's a dirty place. So guess what they did? They planted a garden at the entrance to the mine. In fact, word had it that they were starting to sell mirrors down at Sutter's Store; then some shirts and some shaving equipment, and even a suit or two. See, the baby had come to Roaring Camp, and the baby changed everything.
Two thousand years ago the world was a roaring camp. It was a place where baby girls were thought to be so valueless they were placed in jars and left on the street corner to die. It was a place where every other person in Rome was a slave, where babies were slaughtered, where murder was sport. But then the baby came and made all the difference.
You know, there's a roaring camp inside of all of us; and we still live in a Roaring Camp world. And in us is selfishness, and bitterness, anger, loneliness, scars, self-destructive instincts. But the baby comes and the baby can change everything; the baby who was born in Bethlehem 2,000 years ago.
The promise of the Jesus who came that Christmas is our word for today from the Word of God in John 14:27, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. Not like the world gives. Do not let your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." This Jesus re-makes families, re-makes relationships, and rebuilds broken lives. You don't have to live in the madness of Roaring Camp any longer, because of the baby - the Savior, Christ the Lord.
If you want help in finding Him, would you go to our website ANewStory.com so this could be Day 1, Page 1 of your new story? Yes, the baby has come, and the baby will change everything.
Let Him change you this Christmas!
