Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
December 19
Every Child Has a Name
I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep, as the Father knows me. And my sheep know me.
John 10:14 (NCV)
The shepherd knows his sheep. He calls them by name.
When we see a crowd, we see exactly that, a crowd.... We see people, not persons, but people. A herd of humans. A flock faces. That's what we see.
But not so with the Shepherd. To him every face is different. Every face is a story. Every face is a child. Every child has a name....
The shepherd knows his sheep. He knows each one by name. The Shepherd knows you. He knows your name. And he will never forget it.
Judges 2
The Angel of the LORD at Bokim
1 The angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bokim and said, "I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land that I swore to give to your forefathers. I said, 'I will never break my covenant with you, 2 and you shall not make a covenant with the people of this land, but you shall break down their altars.' Yet you have disobeyed me. Why have you done this? 3 Now therefore I tell you that I will not drive them out before you; they will be thorns in your sides and their gods will be a snare to you."
4 When the angel of the LORD had spoken these things to all the Israelites, the people wept aloud, 5 and they called that place Bokim. [g] There they offered sacrifices to the LORD.
Disobedience and Defeat
6 After Joshua had dismissed the Israelites, they went to take possession of the land, each to his own inheritance. 7 The people served the LORD throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had seen all the great things the LORD had done for Israel.
8 Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died at the age of a hundred and ten. 9 And they buried him in the land of his inheritance, at Timnath Heres [h] in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.
10 After that whole generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation grew up, who knew neither the LORD nor what he had done for Israel. 11 Then the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD and served the Baals. 12 They forsook the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of Egypt. They followed and worshiped various gods of the peoples around them. They provoked the LORD to anger 13 because they forsook him and served Baal and the Ashtoreths. 14 In his anger against Israel the LORD handed them over to raiders who plundered them. He sold them to their enemies all around, whom they were no longer able to resist. 15 Whenever Israel went out to fight, the hand of the LORD was against them to defeat them, just as he had sworn to them. They were in great distress.
16 Then the LORD raised up judges, [i] who saved them out of the hands of these raiders. 17 Yet they would not listen to their judges but prostituted themselves to other gods and worshiped them. Unlike their fathers, they quickly turned from the way in which their fathers had walked, the way of obedience to the LORD's commands. 18 Whenever the LORD raised up a judge for them, he was with the judge and saved them out of the hands of their enemies as long as the judge lived; for the LORD had compassion on them as they groaned under those who oppressed and afflicted them. 19 But when the judge died, the people returned to ways even more corrupt than those of their fathers, following other gods and serving and worshiping them. They refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn ways.
20 Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel and said, "Because this nation has violated the covenant that I laid down for their forefathers and has not listened to me, 21 I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations Joshua left when he died. 22 I will use them to test Israel and see whether they will keep the way of the LORD and walk in it as their forefathers did." 23 The LORD had allowed those nations to remain; he did not drive them out at once by giving them into the hands of Joshua.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Ephesians 1:15-23 (New International Version)
Thanksgiving and Prayer
15For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. 17I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit[a] of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 18I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, 20which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 22And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.
December 19, 2008
No Batteries?
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READ: Ephesians 1:15-23
That you may know what is the hope of His calling . . . and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe. —Ephesians 1:18-19
My 2-year-old grandson was fascinated by the bubbling mud pool, the result of geothermal activity in Rotorua, New Zealand. On moving to another spot and seeing no bubbles there, he remarked, “No batteries?” He was so accustomed to his electronic toys that he attributed even natural phenomena to battery power!
Christians can make a similar mistake—they look to their own puny power to live righteous lives. But the high moral and ethical standards of a holy God prove impossible to live up to. The result is joyless Christians, hopelessly burdened and defeated.
Paul’s prayer for the believers in Ephesus was that “the eyes of your understanding [be] enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling . . . and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe” (Eph. 1:18-19). He wanted them to see that the power available to help them live God-honoring lives is the same power that “raised [Christ] from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places” (v.20).
The power to live according to God’s standards comes only when we plug into His inexhaustible power. How do we do that? By daily seeking His face and asking Him to fill us with His Holy Spirit. — C. P. Hia
Fill each heart and reign alone,
Break the idols we have known;
Lead us to confession true,
Give us strength Thy will to do. —Peterson
© 1964 John W. Peterson Music Company. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
The Light of the World knows no power failure.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
December 19, 2008
The Focus Of Our Message
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READ:
I did not come to bring peace but a sword —Matthew 10:34
Never be sympathetic with a person whose situation causes you to conclude that God is dealing harshly with him. God can be more tender than we can conceive, and every once in a while He gives us the opportunity to deal firmly with someone so that He may be viewed as the tender One. If a person cannot go to God, it is because he has something secret which he does not intend to give up— he may admit his sin, but would no more give up that thing than he could fly under his own power. It is impossible to deal sympathetically with people like that. We must reach down deep in their lives to the root of the problem, which will cause hostility and resentment toward the message. People want the blessing of God, but they can’t stand something that pierces right through to the heart of the matter.
If you are sensitive to God’s way, your message as His servant will be merciless and insistent, cutting to the very root. Otherwise, there will be no healing. We must drive the message home so forcefully that a person cannot possibly hide, but must apply its truth. Deal with people where they are, until they begin to realize their true need. Then hold high the standard of Jesus for their lives. Their response may be, "We can never be that." Then drive it home with, "Jesus Christ says you must." "But how can we be?" "You can’t, unless you have a new Spirit" (see Luke 11:13 ).
There must be a sense of need created before your message is of any use. Thousands of people in this world profess to be happy without God. But if we could be truly happy and moral without Jesus, then why did He come? He came because that kind of happiness and peace is only superficial. Jesus Christ came to "bring . . . a sword" through every kind of peace that is not based on a personal relationship with Himself.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
When Your Shopping Is Over - #5725 - December 19, 2008
Category: Your Most Important Relationship
Friday, December 19, 2008
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Christmas shopping is really fun for a while. But after a few stressful trips to the mall, after spending more time looking for a parking place than you do in the store, after battling the crowds and trying to find a store that still has what you're looking for, well Christmas shopping starts to lose some of its glitter. But then there's that golden moment when you walk in the house with your last installment of shopping bags, you collapse in the recliner, and you declare in a loud, triumphant voice, "I'm done with my shopping!" What a feeling!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "When Your Shopping Is Over."
Some of us spend our whole life shopping. Not for presents, but for peace. For something that will fill the hole in our heart. And sooner or later, most of us realize that we're looking for something spiritual. Many writers have observed that America today is a nation of spiritual seekers, and you may be one of them. If so, you are shopping in the right store. The only real meaning and the only real peace has to be found in something spiritual.
But maybe you're like a lot of people who have been better at seeking than finding. You've shopped for spiritual reality in a variety of places: different churches, maybe different religions, maybe some New Age spirituality, or some self-improvement programs, or a variety of spiritual experiences. If you're tired of shopping; if you'd like to be able to say, "My shopping is over!" then there's a pathway to fulfillment in our word for today from the Word of God right in the Christmas story.
The Magi, usually known as the "three wise men," represent all of us spiritual seekers in the story of that first Christmas. Matthew 2:1, "they traveled many miles to Jerusalem, following what they believed to be a guiding star. After consulting with the king, they went on their way and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was...They saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts."
They had been searching for a long time. So have you. Their searching finally ended at the feet of Jesus. So will yours. No, it's not Christianity that will satisfy a seeking heart, not a church or a denomination. It's Jesus. Why? The Bible simply explains in Colossians 1:16, "All things were created by Him and for Him." That includes you and me. You can never find inner peace and your restlessness can never end until you belong to the One you were made for.
Because we've taken over the life that was supposed to be for Him, we're separated from our anchor relationship. But Jesus came to Bethlehem ultimately to die on Skull Hill. He died on that cross to carry all the guilt and all the hell of all your sin so you could finally come home to the love that you've been looking for your whole life.
And this Christmas season could be the time you finally say, "My shopping is done!" If you will tell Jesus that you're giving yourself to Him with all the faith you've got. You could do that right where you are. If you want to begin your personal relationship with Him, then I want to invite you to our website, because it really is there for someone like you. So many people have gone there and told us that they have found help in nailing down their personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
If we could be of help to you there, please go visit us. And visit us as soon as you can today. It's YoursForLife.net. Or I've got that in booklet form too, and I'd be glad to send it to you toll free. You just call 877-741-1200.
In the words of the song, you can finally be "home for Christmas."