Nahum 1
1 An oracle concerning Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.
The Lord 's Anger Against Nineveh 2 The LORD is a jealous and avenging God; the LORD takes vengeance and is filled with wrath. The LORD takes vengeance on his foes and maintains his wrath against his enemies. 3 The LORD is slow to anger and great in power; the LORD will not leave the guilty unpunished. His way is in the whirlwind and the storm, and clouds are the dust of his feet.
4 He rebukes the sea and dries it up; he makes all the rivers run dry. Bashan and Carmel wither and the blossoms of Lebanon fade.
5 The mountains quake before him and the hills melt away. The earth trembles at his presence, the world and all who live in it.
6 Who can withstand his indignation? Who can endure his fierce anger? His wrath is poured out like fire; the rocks are shattered before him.
7 The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him,
8 but with an overwhelming flood he will make an end of Nineveh ; he will pursue his foes into darkness.
9 Whatever they plot against the LORD he [a] will bring to an end; trouble will not come a second time.
10 They will be entangled among thorns and drunk from their wine; they will be consumed like dry stubble. [b]
11 From you, O Nineveh , has one come forth who plots evil against the LORD and counsels wickedness.
12 This is what the LORD says: "Although they have allies and are numerous, they will be cut off and pass away. Although I have afflicted you, O Judah , I will afflict you no more.
13 Now I will break their yoke from your neck and tear your shackles away."
14 The LORD has given a command concerning you, Nineveh : "You will have no descendants to bear your name. I will destroy the carved images and cast idols that are in the temple of your gods. I will prepare your grave, for you are vile."
15 Look, there on the mountains, the feet of one who brings good news, who proclaims peace! Celebrate your festivals, O Judah, and fulfill your vows. No more will the wicked invade you; they will be completely destroyed.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Revelation 2
To the church in Ephesus
1"To the angel[a] of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands: 2I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. 3You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. 4Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. 5Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. 6But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 7He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.
January 14, 2008
Rediscovering The Passion
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READ: Revelation 2:1-7
Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works. —Revelation 2:5 About this cover A Major League baseball player announced his retirement, saying, “All of a sudden, that passion isn’t there anymore. Physically, I think I could still do it. But something that I loved my whole life and had such a passion for became a major, major job for me. It’s not like it used to be.”
What can we do when something that once energized us has become a burden? A career can be changed, but the deepest matters of the heart, especially our relationship with Christ, cry out to recapture the fervor that fueled earlier days.
The risen Lord praised the church in Ephesus for their faithful service and perseverance, but added, “Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works” (Rev. 2:4-5).
Oswald Chambers reminds us that “the old writers used to speak of the Cross as the Passion of Our Lord. The Cross is the great opening through which all the blood of Christian service runs.”
If our spiritual passion has grown cold, let us remember again the great sacrifice of Christ for our sin (Heb. 12:3), turn away from grudging service and allow the wonder of His cross to rekindle our love for Him. —David C. McCasland
O make my life one blazing fireOf pure and fervent heart-desire,The lost to find, the low to raise,And give them cause Thy name to praise. —Marshall
A passion for Jesus should become a passion for telling others about Jesus.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
January 14, 2008
Called By GodLISTEN: READ:
I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: ’Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?’ Then I said, ’Here am I! Send me’ —Isaiah 6:8 About this cover God did not direct His call to Isaiah— Isaiah overheard God saying, ". . . who will go for Us?" The call of God is not just for a select few but for everyone. Whether I hear God’s call or not depends on the condition of my ears, and exactly what I hear depends upon my spiritual attitude. "Many are called, but few are chosen" (Matthew 22:14). That is, few prove that they are the chosen ones. The chosen ones are those who have come into a relationship with God through Jesus Christ and have had their spiritual condition changed and their ears opened. Then they hear "the voice of the Lord" continually asking, ". . . who will go for Us?" However, God doesn’t single out someone and say, "Now, you go." He did not force His will on Isaiah. Isaiah was in the presence of God, and he overheard the call. His response, performed in complete freedom, could only be to say, "Here am I! Send me."
Remove the thought from your mind of expecting God to come to force you or to plead with you. When our Lord called His disciples, He did it without irresistible pressure from the outside. The quiet, yet passionate, insistence of His "Follow Me" was spoken to men whose every sense was receptive (Matthew 4:19). If we will allow the Holy Spirit to bring us face to face with God, we too will hear what Isaiah heard-"the voice of the Lord." In perfect freedom we too will say, "Here am I! Send me."
A Word with You, by Ron Huchcraft
A Cup of Rice - or a Bag of Gold - #5481 Monday, January 14, 2008
It was many centuries ago in a remote village in India. Word began to spread that something was about to happen that no one had seen in their lifetime - the prince was actually coming to visit this forgotten little village. Well, everyone was excited, but no one was more excited than the village beggar. Every day he eked out another day by sitting by the road with his little cup, hoping to get enough money to buy some rice to live one more day. He actually had two cups, one for collecting money and one for his few grains of rice. But now the prince was coming. I mean, the wealthy prince! When the prince finally arrived, the beggar mustered his most impassioned appeal, "Alms! Alms for the poor!" And the prince stopped. The beggar's heart was pounding furiously.
"Give me your cup of rice." That was all the prince said. The beggar slumped down in disbelief. Here was the wealthiest man in the land, asking for his lousy little cup of rice. The beggar was about to refuse, but instead he reached in and he put three grains of rice in the prince's hand. The prince turned to his servant and said, "Bring me the bag of gold." The beggar could hardly contain himself as he eagerly stretched out his empty collection cup. The prince reached into his bag and placed three grains of gold in the beggar's cup. And then he disappeared, never to return but leaving the beggar to wonder for the rest of his life what would have happened if I had given him my whole cup of rice?
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "A Cup of Rice - or a Bag of Gold?"
Jesus, the Prince of Heaven, may be passing your way today with so much to give you. The forgiveness of every sin you've ever committed, a new beginning, the peace that has eluded you your whole lifetime, and an eternity with Him in heaven. He wants to make you spiritually rich.
In fact, it was very expensive for Him to be able to offer you the heaven that you don't deserve instead of the death penalty that your sin does deserve. In our word for today from the Word of God, God describes the unspeakable sacrifice Jesus made to rescue you. II Corinthians 8:9 says, "You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ (Grace means undeserved love), that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich."
When God's Son, the Prince of Heaven, is hanging on that blood-stained cross, He is totally impoverishing Himself so you can have God's love, and God's resources, and God's heaven. It's hard for us to see that we're the beggar, but the Bible says we are spiritually bankrupt because our running of our own life has cut us off from our Creator. Only Jesus can bring us back. God says, "While we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly."
Your life is as big as you can make it, and it's nowhere near enough, is it? Jesus has chosen to pass your way today, asking you to turn over to Him the life that He gave you and the life He died for.
If you're ready to trade what you have for what Jesus has, would you tell Him that right now? Tell Him you're putting all your trust in Him. And let me encourage you to visit our website. I've tried to lay out there briefly and in nonreligious words the way you can be sure you have begun your relationship with Jesus and that you belong to Him forever. The website is yoursforlife.net. And I'd encourage you to go there as soon as possible today. Or if you'd rather have me send you the little booklet Yours For Life just call toll free at 877-741-1200.
Please, don't make the eternal mistake of hanging onto your little cup of rice and missing Jesus' bag of gold.
To find out how you can begin a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, please visit: yoursforlife.net or call 1-888-966-7325.
