Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
November 2
"I am the voice of one calling out in the desert."
John 1:23 (NCV)
John was a voice for Christ with more than his voice. His life matched his words.
When a person's ways and words are the same, the fusion is explosive. But when a person says one thing and lives another, the result is destructive.
People will know we are Christians, not because we bear the name,
but because we live the life.
Job 2
Job's Second Test
1 On another day the angels [d] came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them to present himself before him. 2 And the LORD said to Satan, "Where have you come from?"
Satan answered the LORD, "From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it."
3 Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason."
4 "Skin for skin!" Satan replied. "A man will give all he has for his own life. 5 But stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your face."
6 The LORD said to Satan, "Very well, then, he is in your hands; but you must spare his life."
7 So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. 8 Then Job took a piece of broken pottery and scraped himself with it as he sat among the ashes.
9 His wife said to him, "Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!"
10 He replied, "You are talking like a foolish [e] woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?"
In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.
Job's Three Friends
11 When Job's three friends, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite, heard about all the troubles that had come upon him, they set out from their homes and met together by agreement to go and sympathize with him and comfort him. 12 When they saw him from a distance, they could hardly recognize him; they began to weep aloud, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads. 13 Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Psalm 119:129-136
129 Your statutes are wonderful;
therefore I obey them.
130 The unfolding of your words gives light;
it gives understanding to the simple.
131 I open my mouth and pant,
longing for your commands.
132 Turn to me and have mercy on me,
as you always do to those who love your name.
133 Direct my footsteps according to your word;
let no sin rule over me.
134 Redeem me from the oppression of men,
that I may obey your precepts.
135 Make your face shine upon your servant
and teach me your decrees.
136 Streams of tears flow from my eyes,
for your law is not obeyed.
November 2, 2008
Class Participation
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READ: Psalm 119:129-136
The entrance of Your words gives light. —Psalm 119:130
As a high school teacher and college professor, I have observed that learning is a cooperative effort between the student and the instructor. That’s why educators try to get the student involved in class participation. The teacher does some work; the student does some work. Together progress is made. Education happens.
In Psalm 119, the writer suggests a similar pattern in verses 129-136. God is the teacher; we are the students.
Let’s look at God’s role in our education. He shows us mercy (v.132). He guides our steps (v.133). And He redeems us from outside trouble (v.134).
But first we must be eager students, ready to accept God’s teaching, guidance, and help. We should enter His classroom with anticipation: “The entrance of Your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple. . . . I longed for Your commandments” (vv.130-131). In our role as students of God’s Word, we should fulfill three requirements: (1) examine God’s words for what they are teaching, (2) gain understanding from those words, and (3) obey His statutes.
It’s time to enter God’s classroom and listen and learn from Him. When we do, we’ll look at God with renewed love and at the world with renewed concern (v.136). — Dave Branon
Thy Word is like a deep, deep mine,
And jewels rich and rare
Are hidden in its mighty depths
For every searcher there. —Hodder
Careful meditation on the Scriptures makes for a closer walk with the Savior.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
November 02, 2008
Obedience or Independence?
If you love Me, keep My commandments —John 14:15
Our Lord never insists obedience. He stresses very definitely what we ought to do, but He never forces us to do it. We have to obey Him out of a oneness of spirit with Him. That is why whenever our Lord talked about discipleship, He prefaced it with an "If," meaning, "You do not need to do this unless you desire to do so." "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself . . ." ( Luke 9:23 ). In other words, "To be My disciple, let him give up his right to himself to Me." Our Lord is not talking about our eternal position, but about our being of value to Him in this life here and now. That is why He sounds so stern (see Luke 14:26 ). Never try to make sense from these words by separating them from the One who spoke them.
The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear. If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation. If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself. Jesus Christ will not force me to obey Him, but I must. And as soon as I obey Him, I fulfill my spiritual destiny. My personal life may be crowded with small, petty happenings, altogether insignificant. But if I obey Jesus Christ in the seemingly random circumstances of life, they become pinholes through which I see the face of God. Then, when I stand face to face with God, I will discover that through my obedience thousands were blessed. When God’s redemption brings a human soul to the point of obedience, it always produces. If I obey Jesus Christ, the redemption of God will flow through me to the lives of others, because behind the deed of obedience is the reality of Almighty God.