Micah 5
A Promised Ruler From Bethlehem
1 Marshal your troops, O city of troops, [a] for a siege is laid against us. They will strike Israel's ruler on the cheek with a rod. 2 "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans [b] of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins [c] are from of old, from ancient times. [d] "
3 Therefore Israel will be abandoned until the time when she who is in labor gives birth and the rest of his brothers return to join the Israelites.
4 He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth.
5 And he will be their peace.
Deliverance and Destruction When the Assyrian invades our land and marches through our fortresses, we will raise against him seven shepherds, even eight leaders of men. 6 They will rule [e] the land of Assyria with the sword, the land of Nimrod with drawn sword. [f] He will deliver us from the Assyrian when he invades our land and marches into our borders.
7 The remnant of Jacob will be in the midst of many peoples like dew from the LORD, like showers on the grass, which do not wait for man or linger for mankind.
8 The remnant of Jacob will be among the nations, in the midst of many peoples, like a lion among the beasts of the forest, like a young lion among flocks of sheep, which mauls and mangles as it goes, and no one can rescue.
9 Your hand will be lifted up in triumph over your enemies, and all your foes will be destroyed.
10 "In that day," declares the LORD, "I will destroy your horses from among you and demolish your chariots.
11 I will destroy the cities of your land and tear down all your strongholds.
12 I will destroy your witchcraft and you will no longer cast spells.
13 I will destroy your carved images and your sacred stones from among you; you will no longer bow down to the work of your hands.
14 I will uproot from among you your Asherah poles [g] and demolish your cities.
15 I will take vengeance in anger and wrath upon the nations that have not obeyed me."
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion:
John 13:3-15 (New International Version)New International Version (NIV)Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society
3Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 4so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
6He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?"
7Jesus replied, "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand."
8"No," said Peter, "you shall never wash my feet." Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no part with me."
9"Then, Lord," Simon Peter replied, "not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!"
10Jesus answered, "A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you." 11For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.
12When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. "Do you understand what I have done for you?" he asked them. 13"You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. 15I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.
January 11, 2008
Scattered Fruit
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READ: John 13:3-15
Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ. —1 Corinthians 11:1 About this cover The story is told of a Christian who was home on furlough from serving in the armed forces. He was rushing to catch his train when he ran into a fruit stand on the station platform, knocking most of the piled-up apples to the ground.
The young boy who operated the stand tried to pick up his scattered fruit but was having difficulty. The apologetic serviceman put down his luggage and started collecting the apples. He polished each one with his handkerchief and put it back on the counter. So impressed was the boy that he asked gratefully, “Soldier, are you Jesus?” With a smile the soldier replied, “No, but I’m trying to be like Him.”
Sometimes, as we hurry about our own responsibilities, we become too busy to care about other people. But we must remember that Jesus urges us to show kindness and concern for our fellow travelers. He set the example for us in John 13 by being a servant. We need to take the time to be helpful also.
Would anyone ask of us, “Are you Jesus?” And could we honestly respond, “No, I’m not Jesus, but I’m trying to be like Him”? Christlike kindness can open the door for a heart-touching testimony. —Vernon C Grounds
Be like Jesus, this my song,In the home and in the throng;Be like Jesus, all day long!I would be like Jesus. —Rowe
Nothing is more attractive than being like Jesus.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
January 11, 2008
What My Obedience to God Costs Other PeopleLISTEN: READ:
As they led Him away, they laid hold of a certain man, Simon . . . , and on him they laid the cross that he might bear it after Jesus —Luke 23:26 About this cover If we obey God, it is going to cost other people more than it costs us, and that is where the pain begins. If we are in love with our Lord, obedience does not cost us anything— it is a delight. But to those who do not love Him, our obedience does cost a great deal. If we obey God, it will mean that other people’s plans are upset. They will ridicule us as if to say, "You call this Christianity?" We could prevent the suffering, but not if we are obedient to God. We must let the cost be paid.
When our obedience begins to cost others, our human pride entrenches itself and we say, "I will never accept anything from anyone." But we must, or disobey God. We have no right to think that the type of relationships we have with others should be any different from those the Lord Himself had (see Luke 8:1-3).
A lack of progress in our spiritual life results when we try to bear all the costs ourselves. And actually, we cannot. Because we are so involved in the universal purposes of God, others are immediately affected by our obedience to Him. Will we remain faithful in our obedience to God and be willing to suffer the humiliation of refusing to be independent? Or will we do just the opposite and say, "I will not cause other people to suffer"? We can disobey God if we choose, and it will bring immediate relief to the situation, but it will grieve our Lord. If, however, we obey God, He will care for those who have suffered the consequences of our obedience. We must simply obey and leave all the consequences with Him.
Beware of the inclination to dictate to God what consequences you would allow as a condition of your obedience to Him.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
The Unpredictable Weather, the Unmoving Lighthouse - #5480 Friday, January 11, 2008
There's just something fascinating about a lighthouse. I saw this feature on the evening news recently about a photographer who has decided he loves the seagull perspective on lighthouses. In this little customized aircraft, he flies over Maine's many picturesque lighthouses, shooting unusual aerial photos of them. They're beautiful; they're even inspiring. He's seen them and photographed them in all kinds of settings: sunshine, clouds, storms, high tide, and low tide. He summarized what he's seen this way: "The lighthouse is always there, but everything else is changing."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Unpredictable Weather, the Unmoving Lighthouse."
I used to ask groups of teenagers to take four 3x5 cards and write the four most important things in their lives on those four cards. When they finished, I said, "OK, a disaster has just come into your life and you're going to lose one of the most important things in your life; except you're going to choose which one. Drop one card." After some thought, they dropped one.
I repeated that request another time, and again - this time with more resistance - they dropped one of the most important things in their life. Then, when they had only two cards, I said, "You can keep one, but only one. You're going to lose everything but the most important thing in your life. Drop one more card." That was pretty hard. But when everyone was finally down to just one card, I said, "You're holding a card that represents that most important thing in your life. There's one question I want you to answer about it, is it something you can lose?" If what, or who, matters most to us is something we can lose, we can never be secure; we can never be totally at peace.
We need, in essence, a lighthouse - something we can totally depend on when everything else is changing. Something, actually someone who is - as the photographer said about those lighthouses - "always there." If you've already lost some of the cards that mattered most to you in your life, then you know how much we need something that's unloseable, something unmoving that will stand the unpredictable weather because the weather in our world, even in our lives, is becoming more and more unpredictable.
The lighthouse that never moves is beautifully described in our word for today from the Word of God in Hebrews 13:8, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever." As relationships come and go, as jobs and houses and possessions come and go, as our health changes, our feelings, our family, Jesus Christ remains our personal lighthouse that never moves, never changes … if we know Him.
In the verses preceding this statement, God makes this promise, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." Then it says, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." From the nursery to the nursing home to the funeral home, a Savior, a friend you can totally, totally trust and you'll never, never lose Him. Jesus secured the possibility of this relationship when He died on the cross to pay that death penalty for the sinning we've done. This unloseable relationship becomes yours when you grab Jesus in total trust to remove the sin-wall between you and God forever.
As the storm clouds darken and the surf becomes more turbulent, you may be ready for this Savior-security. If you want to begin with Jesus, I would encourage you to tell Him that right now, "Jesus, I'm Yours." And then if you'd go to our website, you'd find a lot of help there in making sure you belong to Him. It's yoursforlife.net. Or you can call toll free and ask for the little booklet Yours For Life. The number is 877-741-1200.
It's the season of uncertain weather, but Jesus is that lighthouse that will be "always there" for you. You grab His hand and He will never let go. To find out how you can begin a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, please visit: yoursforlife.net or call 1-888-966-7325.
