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, April 19, 2015

1 Samuel 11 Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Resentment

Resentment is a prison.  When you’ve put someone in your jail cell of hatred, you are stuck guarding the door.  If you’re out to settle a score, you are never going to rest.  How can you?  For one thing, your enemy may never pay up.

As much as you think you deserve an apology, your debtor may not agree.  The racist may never repent.  The chauvinist may never change. As justified as you are in your quest for vengeance, you may never get a penny’s worth of justice.  And if you do, will it be enough?

You see, resentment is a prison.  Jesus doesn’t question the reality of your wounds.  He just doubts whether resentment is going to heal you.  What are you going to do?  Spend your life guarding the prison jail cell?  Or entrust your wounds to Jesus?

from The Great House of God

1 Samuel 11

Saul Defeats the Ammonites

About a month later,[e] King Nahash of Ammon led his army against the Israelite town of Jabesh-gilead. But all the citizens of Jabesh asked for peace. “Make a treaty with us, and we will be your servants,” they pleaded.

2 “All right,” Nahash said, “but only on one condition. I will gouge out the right eye of every one of you as a disgrace to all Israel!”

3 “Give us seven days to send messengers throughout Israel!” replied the elders of Jabesh. “If no one comes to save us, we will agree to your terms.”

4 When the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul and told the people about their plight, everyone broke into tears. 5 Saul had been plowing a field with his oxen, and when he returned to town, he asked, “What’s the matter? Why is everyone crying?” So they told him about the message from Jabesh.

6 Then the Spirit of God came powerfully upon Saul, and he became very angry. 7 He took two oxen and cut them into pieces and sent the messengers to carry them throughout Israel with this message: “This is what will happen to the oxen of anyone who refuses to follow Saul and Samuel into battle!” And the Lord made the people afraid of Saul’s anger, and all of them came out together as one. 8 When Saul mobilized them at Bezek, he found that there were 300,000 men from Israel and 30,000[f] men from Judah.

9 So Saul sent the messengers back to Jabesh-gilead to say, “We will rescue you by noontime tomorrow!” There was great joy throughout the town when that message arrived!

10 The men of Jabesh then told their enemies, “Tomorrow we will come out to you, and you can do to us whatever you wish.” 11 But before dawn the next morning, Saul arrived, having divided his army into three detachments. He launched a surprise attack against the Ammonites and slaughtered them the whole morning. The remnant of their army was so badly scattered that no two of them were left together.

12 Then the people exclaimed to Samuel, “Now where are those men who said, ‘Why should Saul rule over us?’ Bring them here, and we will kill them!”

13 But Saul replied, “No one will be executed today, for today the Lord has rescued Israel!”

14 Then Samuel said to the people, “Come, let us all go to Gilgal to renew the kingdom.” 15 So they all went to Gilgal, and in a solemn ceremony before the Lord they made Saul king. Then they offered peace offerings to the Lord, and Saul and all the Israelites were filled with joy.

11:1 As in Dead Sea Scroll 4QSama and Greek version; Masoretic Text lacks About a month later.
11:8 Dead Sea Scrolls and Greek version read 70,000.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Sunday, April 19, 2015

Read: Psalm 24

A psalm of David.

The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.
    The world and all its people belong to him.
2 For he laid the earth’s foundation on the seas
    and built it on the ocean depths.
3 Who may climb the mountain of the Lord?
    Who may stand in his holy place?
4 Only those whose hands and hearts are pure,
    who do not worship idols
    and never tell lies.
5 They will receive the Lord’s blessing
    and have a right relationship with God their savior.
6 Such people may seek you
    and worship in your presence, O God of Jacob.[a] Interlude
7 Open up, ancient gates!
    Open up, ancient doors,
    and let the King of glory enter.
8 Who is the King of glory?
    The Lord, strong and mighty;
    the Lord, invincible in battle.
9 Open up, ancient gates!
    Open up, ancient doors,
    and let the King of glory enter.
10 Who is the King of glory?
    The Lord of Heaven’s Armies—
    he is the King of glory. Interlude
Footnotes:

24:6 As in two Hebrew manuscripts and Greek and Syriac versions; most Hebrew manuscripts read O Jacob.

INSIGHT: “This sacred hymn [Psalm 24] was probably written to be sung when the ark of the covenant was taken up from the house of Obed-edom, to remain within curtains upon the hill of Zion” (Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David). David summons us to worship God as the Creator and Owner of all the earth (Ps. 24: 1-2), to live holy lives (vv. 3-4), and to submit ourselves to God as the Sovereign King of all creation (vv. 7-10). The worshiper who seeks God wholeheartedly is promised a blessing—he will be justified, accepted, and approved by God (vv. 5-6).

God’s World

By Jennifer Benson Schuldt

The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness. —Psalm 24:1

I knew my son would enjoy receiving a map of the world for his birthday. After some shopping, I found a colorful chart of the continents, which included illustrations in every region. A birdwing butterfly hovered over Papua, New Guinea. Mountains cascaded through Chile. A diamond adorned South Africa. I was delighted, but I wondered about the label at the bottom of the map: Our World.

In one sense, the earth is our world because we live in it. We’re allowed to drink its water, mine its gold, and fish its seas—but only because God has given us the go-ahead (Gen. 1:28-30). Really, it’s God’s World. “The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein” (Ps. 24:1). It amazes me that God has entrusted His incredible creation to mere humans. He knew that some of us would mistreat it, deny He made it, and claim it as ours. Still, He allows us to call it home and sustains it through His Son (Col. 1:16-17).

Today, take a moment to enjoy life in God’s world. Savor the taste of some fruit. Eavesdrop on a bird and listen to its song. Revel in a sunset. Let the world you inhabit inspire you to worship the One who owns it.

Help me, Lord, to stop occasionally. To look, to listen, to taste, to think about the gifts You send for our enjoyment. Thank You for expressing Your creativity and love to me today.
The beauty of creation gives us reasons to sing God’s praise.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, April 19, 2015

Beware of the Least Likely Temptation

Joab had defected to Adonijah, though he had not defected to Absalom. —1 Kings 2:28

Joab withstood the greatest test of his life, remaining absolutely loyal to David by not turning to follow after the fascinating and ambitious Absalom. Yet toward the end of his life he turned to follow after the weak and cowardly Adonijah. Always remain alert to the fact that where one person has turned back is exactly where anyone may be tempted to turn back (see 1 Corinthians 10:11-13). You may have just victoriously gone through a great crisis, but now be alert about the things that may appear to be the least likely to tempt you. Beware of thinking that the areas of your life where you have experienced victory in the past are now the least likely to cause you to stumble and fall.

We are apt to say, “It is not at all likely that having been through the greatest crisis of my life I would now turn back to the things of the world.” Do not try to predict where the temptation will come; it is the least likely thing that is the real danger. It is in the aftermath of a great spiritual event that the least likely things begin to have an effect. They may not be forceful and dominant, but they are there. And if you are not careful to be forewarned, they will trip you. You have remained true to God under great and intense trials— now beware of the undercurrent. Do not be abnormally examining your inner self, looking forward with dread, but stay alert; keep your memory sharp before God. Unguarded strength is actually a double weakness, because that is where the least likely temptations will be effective in sapping strength. The Bible characters stumbled over their strong points, never their weak ones.

“…kept by the power of God…”— that is the only safety. (1 Peter 1:5).