Habakkuk 2
1 I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts; I will look to see what he will say to me, and what answer I am to give to this complaint. [a]
The LORD's Answer 2 Then the LORD replied: "Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald [b] may run with it. 3 For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it [c] will certainly come and will not delay.
4 "See, he is puffed up; his desires are not upright— but the righteous will live by his faith [d] -
5 indeed, wine betrays him; he is arrogant and never at rest. Because he is as greedy as the grave [e] and like death is never satisfied, he gathers to himself all the nations and takes captive all the peoples.
6 "Will not all of them taunt him with ridicule and scorn, saying, " 'Woe to him who piles up stolen goods and makes himself wealthy by extortion! How long must this go on?'
7 Will not your debtors [f] suddenly arise? Will they not wake up and make you tremble? Then you will become their victim.
8 Because you have plundered many nations, the peoples who are left will plunder you. For you have shed man's blood; you have destroyed lands and cities and everyone in them.
9 "Woe to him who builds his realm by unjust gain to set his nest on high, to escape the clutches of ruin!
10 You have plotted the ruin of many peoples, shaming your own house and forfeiting your life.
11 The stones of the wall will cry out, and the beams of the woodwork will echo it.
12 "Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshed and establishes a town by crime!
13 Has not the LORD Almighty determined that the people's labor is only fuel for the fire, that the nations exhaust themselves for nothing?
14 For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.
15 "Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbors, pouring it from the wineskin till they are drunk, so that he can gaze on their naked bodies.
16 You will be filled with shame instead of glory. Now it is your turn! Drink and be exposed [g] ! The cup from the LORD's right hand is coming around to you, and disgrace will cover your glory.
17 The violence you have done to Lebanon will overwhelm you, and your destruction of animals will terrify you. For you have shed man's blood; you have destroyed lands and cities and everyone in them.
18 "Of what value is an idol, since a man has carved it? Or an image that teaches lies? For he who makes it trusts in his own creation; he makes idols that cannot speak.
19 Woe to him who says to wood, 'Come to life!' Or to lifeless stone, 'Wake up!' Can it give guidance? It is covered with gold and silver; there is no breath in it.
20 But the LORD is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him."
Our Daily Bread reading and devotional
Romans 12:3-8
3For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. 4Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his[a]faith. 7If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; 8if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.
January 17, 2008
Designed By God
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READ: Romans 12:3-8
We have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function. —Romans 12:4 About this cover Bison are made in such a way that their natural inclination is to look down; the design of their necks makes it difficult for them to look up. In contrast, giraffes are designed in a way that makes looking up easy; the way their necks were made makes it difficult for them to look down. Two creatures created by the same God but with distinctively different body parts and purposes. Giraffes eat leaves from branches above. Bison eat grass from the field below. God provides food for both, and neither has to become like the other to eat.
As we observe the animals and people around us, we’re reminded that God made each of us unique for a purpose. One person’s natural tendency is to look up and see the “big picture,” while another looks down and focuses on details. Both are important. One is not better than the other. God gave us individual talents and spiritual gifts so that we can work together as a body.
Human beings are the crowning jewel of creation, and we shine the brightest not when we see our own likeness reflected in others but when each of us performs the unique functions that God designed for us to do. “Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them” (Rom. 12:6). —Julie Ackerman Link
By God’s wise designingWe are wonderfully made,Every part essentialAnd in perfect balance laid. —Anon.
There are no unimportant members in the body of Christ.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
January 17, 2008
The Call of the Natural LifeLISTEN: READ:
When it pleased God . . . to reveal His Son in me . . . —Galatians 1:15-16 About this cover The call of God is not a call to serve Him in any particular way. My contact with the nature of God will shape my understanding of His call and will help me realize what I truly desire to do for Him. The call of God is an expression of His nature; the service which results in my life is suited to me and is an expression of my nature. The call of the natural life was stated by the apostle Paul— "When it pleased God . . . to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him [that is, purely and solemnly express Him] among the Gentiles . . . ."
Service is the overflow which pours from a life filled with love and devotion. But strictly speaking, there is no call to that. Service is what I bring to the relationship and is the reflection of my identification with the nature of God. Service becomes a natural part of my life. God brings me into the proper relationship with Himself so that I can understand His call, and then I serve Him on my own out of a motivation of absolute love. Service to God is the deliberate love-gift of a nature that has heard the call of God. Service is an expression of my nature, and God’s call is an expression of His nature. Therefore, when I receive His nature and hear His call, His divine voice resounds throughout His nature and mine and the two become one in service. The Son of God reveals Himself in me, and out of devotion to Him service becomes my everyday way of life.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Following The People or Leading the People - #5484 Thursday, January 17, 2008
When historian Stephen Ambrose wrote the bestseller about their amazing adventure, he appropriately titled it Undaunted Courage. It's one of the many accounts of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, the daring group who explored America's new Louisiana Purchase 200 years ago. As they made their way along the Missouri River, traveling from St. Louis all the way to the Pacific Ocean, most every bend in the river revealed many sights and wildlife that no white man had ever seen. One of the many critical moments on their two-year expedition was the point in Montana where they encountered a fork in the Missouri River. There was no map to guide them, and a wrong choice could exhaust their resources on a very long mistake. The river to the right was muddy like the Missouri had been. The crew wanted to go that way. But Captain Lewis and Captain Clark assessed the situation, and led their reluctant men down the left fork. When the expedition reached the massive waterfalls that Indian friends had told them they would find, they all knew they had chosen the right way.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Following The People or Leading the People."
The captains on the Lewis and Clark Expedition had the courage and conviction to lead their crew where the crew didn't think they should go. That is leadership. And some people you're responsible for may need for you to be leading with that kind of courage right now.
The troops are often wrong about which way to go. They were in Moses' day when the majority said it was too dangerous to go into the Promised Land. Two men exercised godly leadership that day, defying the popular opinion - Joshua and Caleb. And though the people refused to follow their lead, Joshua and Caleb were the only ones of their generation who did not die during the forty years in the wilderness. And forty years later, God gave Joshua the amazing assignment of leading His people into the land where Joshua had tried to take them before. Nehemiah steadfastly led a sometimes frightened, sometimes reluctant, majority to stay on mission and finish the Jerusalem wall, against overwhelming odds.
In Exodus 17, beginning with verse 2, our word for today from the Word of God, we find a revealing picture of what real, principled leadership requires - whether it's leading your family, leading your business, leading a church or a ministry, or leading any people who look to you. As usual, the Israelites were complaining and quarreling and grumbling against Moses. They're desperate for water, and there's none around. "Then Moses cried out to the Lord, 'What am I to do with these people? They are ready to stone me.' The Lord answered Moses, 'Walk on ahead of the people...take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile. I will stand before you by the rock of Horeb. Strike the rock and water will come out of it.'" And Moses' leadership was again vindicated as water for a nation flowed from that rock.
That's the kind of leadership I hope you're prepared to give. Walk ahead of the people you're leading - you can't hear the Lord as long as you're listening to the crowd. You have to extricate yourself from the fray and get some perspective. Then cry out to God, "What am I to do with these people?" And listen for where He is headed and then do what He says. Your job is to let God show you what He is up to, and then to join Him in what He's doing by obeying Him, and then leading the people in that direction even if another way seems right to them.
Don't follow your biases. Don't follow your own wisdom. Don't follow the people that you're supposed to be leading. Follow the Lord where He's going. When you lead with that kind of courage and that kind of conviction, you can take the people to their destiny instead of to a detour.
