Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
September 12
God’s Thoughts
LORD you have done such great things! How deep are your thoughts!
Psalm 92:5 (NCV)
God's thoughts are not our thoughts, nor are they even like ours. We aren't even in the same neighborhood. We're thinking, Preserve the body; he's thinking, Save the soul. We dream of a pay raise. He dreams of raising the dead. We avoid pain and seek peace. God uses pain to bring peace. "I'm going to live before I die," we resolve. "Die, so you can live," he instructs. We love what rusts. He loves what endures. We rejoice at our successes. He rejoices at our confessions. We show our children the Nike star with the million-dollar smile and say, "Be like Mike." God points to the crucified carpenter with bloody lips and a torn side and says, "Be like Christ."
Hebrews 13
Concluding Exhortations
1Keep on loving each other as brothers. 2Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it. 3Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.
4Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral. 5Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,
"Never will I leave you;
never will I forsake you."[a] 6So we say with confidence,
"The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?"[b]
7Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. 8Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
9Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings. It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace, not by ceremonial foods, which are of no value to those who eat them. 10We have an altar from which those who minister at the tabernacle have no right to eat.
11The high priest carries the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place as a sin offering, but the bodies are burned outside the camp. 12And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. 13Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore. 14For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.
15Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that confess his name. 16And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased. 17Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.
18Pray for us. We are sure that we have a clear conscience and desire to live honorably in every way. 19I particularly urge you to pray so that I may be restored to you soon.
20May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, 21equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
22Brothers, I urge you to bear with my word of exhortation, for I have written you only a short letter.
23I want you to know that our brother Timothy has been released. If he arrives soon, I will come with him to see you.
24Greet all your leaders and all God's people. Those from Italy send you their greetings.
25Grace be with you all.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
1 Timothy 5
Advice About Widows, Elders and Slaves
1Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your father. Treat younger men as brothers, 2older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity.
3Give proper recognition to those widows who are really in need. 4But if a widow has children or grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God. 5The widow who is really in need and left all alone puts her hope in God and continues night and day to pray and to ask God for help. 6But the widow who lives for pleasure is dead even while she lives. 7Give the people these instructions, too, so that no one may be open to blame. 8If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
September 12, 2008
Lifework
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READ: 1 Timothy 5:1-8
If anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. —1 Timothy 5:8
Some of our friends have chosen to curtail or leave their ministries this year. They did so in order to care for family members—for aging parents, ill spouses, siblings, or children with special needs. All were involved in fruitful works for which they were uniquely gifted. All believed that there was much to be done.
Some have chosen to reduce the time and energy they spend on those ministries; others have left their work completely. These adjustments have been difficult because ministry has been their lifework—a work for which they spent years in preparation and had many years yet to serve.
It occurs to me, however, that they have not given up their lifework but rather have assumed another. Loving and caring for others is our life’s work, and caring for those of our “own house” is the highest and holiest work of all. To deny love is to align ourselves with a cold, uncaring world.
Not everyone can leave a career or calling to care for others. Financial realities and obligations may dictate otherwise. But is not such love the mark of one who does the work of God? Did not Jesus promise that one who gives a cup of cold water to one of His children “shall by no means lose his reward”? (Matt. 10:42). — David H. Roper
Thinking It Through
Paul says we are to help those who “are really widows” (1 Tim. 5:3-5). What does he mean by this? (vv.9-10). Who should help before the church does? (v.16).
True love is doing, not just feeling.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
September 12, 2008
Going Through Spiritual Confusion
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READ:
Jesus answered and said, ’You do not know what you ask’ —Matthew 20:22
There are times in your spiritual life when there is confusion, and the way out of it is not simply to say that you should not be confused. It is not a matter of right and wrong, but a matter of God taking you through a way that you temporarily do not understand. And it is only by going through the spiritual confusion that you will come to the understanding of what God wants for you.
The Shrouding of His Friendship (see Luke 11:5-8 ). Jesus gave the illustration here of a man who appears not to care for his friend. He was saying, in effect, that is how the heavenly Father will appear to you at times. You will think that He is an unkind friend, but remember?He is not. The time will come when everything will be explained. There seems to be a cloud on the friendship of the heart, and often even love itself has to wait in pain and tears for the blessing of fuller fellowship and oneness. When God appears to be completely shrouded, will you hang on with confidence in Him?
The Shadow on His Fatherhood (see Luke 11:11-13 ). Jesus said that there are times when your Father will appear as if He were an unnatural father?as if He were callous and indifferent— but remember, He is not. "Everyone who asks receives . . ." ( Luke 11:10 ). If all you see is a shadow on the face of the Father right now, hang on to the fact that He will ultimately give you clear understanding and will fully justify Himself in everything that He has allowed into your life.
The Strangeness of His Faithfulness (see Luke 18:1-8 ). "When the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?" ( Luke 18:8 ). Will He find the kind of faith that counts on Him in spite of the confusion? Stand firm in faith, believing that what Jesus said is true, although in the meantime you do not understand what God is doing. He has bigger issues at stake than the particular things you are asking of Him right now.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Rescue Insurance - #5655 - September 12, 2008
Category: Your Mission
Friday, September 12, 2008
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We had heard so much about the Stealth bomber, you know, how it comes in under the radar at night, virtually invisible to ground defenses. That's why a few years ago, we were shocked when we heard that one had been downed during NATO's bombing of Serbia. We saw the burning plane wreckage on Serb TV, but there was no mention of the pilot. Well, my wife and I stopped as soon as we heard the news and we prayed for the safety of that pilot wherever he was. As it turned out, our military launched an all-out search for him as soon as they learned his plane was down. In fact, their rescue tactics are so sophisticated no one really told the whole story of how they went about it. But I was impressed, not to mention all the other pilots who were risking their lives every day over Serbia - at how they were committed to the rescue, whatever it took. Boy, and you know the pilot knew it. And they brought him out!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "Rescue Insurance."
The good news is that you have Someone committed to your rescue - whatever it takes. Human rescuers will do all they can to attempt a rescue. Your Rescuer always accomplishes His rescues. Just ask David.
As he writes our word for today from the Word of God, he is hiding in a cave, knowing the king and his army are scouring the area looking for him. When they find him, they will kill him. Hiding in a cave, David - desperately needing a rescue - writes these powerful words in Psalm 34 beginning at verse 4. "I sought the Lord, and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears." An emotional rescue while the situation is still very dangerous. God rescues him from his fear - from his anxiety. It's amazing!
Verse 7, "The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and He delivers them." Verse 9, "Those who fear Him lack nothing ... those who seek the Lord lack no good thing." Now, that's the promise that God will rescue us from the need that may seem un-meetable. Okay, now here's verse 18, "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." This Heavenly Rescuer shows up in the middle of our brokenness.
Then is Psalm 34:19, David sort of summarizes and says, "A righteous man may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all." Notice, he doesn't say the righteous man doesn't have troubles - he does. But he also has an all-powerful Deliverer! You can dare to fly your mission, you can dare to risk, you can find the strength to fight back, and the strength to go on. Why? Because you know you have a Rescuer who will do whatever it takes to bring you out!
No, not always in the time frame you want. Not always in the way you think He should. Sometimes He'll deliver you from the situation. Other times He'll deliver you from being defeated and controlled by the situation. Either way, it's a miracle.
If you're down in enemy territory, there is no rescue beyond the power of your Savior, whether the rescue is emotional, or medical, or financial, reputational, relational, or even from your own mistakes. In one way or another, your Savior will pull you out. There's no need to run, no need to panic, no need to surrender, no need to be depressed. You have a Savior who is committed to rescuing those He loves.
Maybe all you can see right now is a very dark night, enemy troops nearby, and no way out. But your Rescuer from heaven is on His way!
