Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
January 26
More than Meets the Eye
Faith means being sure of the things we hope for and knowing that something is real even if we do not see it.
Hebrews 11:1 (NCV)
Faith is trusting what the eye can't see.
Eyes see the prowling lion. Faith sees Daniel's angel.
Eyes see storms. Faith sees Noah's rainbow.
Eyes see giants. Faith sees Canaan.
Your eyes see your faults. Your faith sees your Savior.
Your eyes see your guilt. Your faith sees his blood.
Your eyes look in the mirror and see a sinner, a failure, a promise-breaker. But by faith you look in the mirror and see a robed prodigal bearing the ring of grace on your finger and the kiss of your Father on your face.
1 Chronicles 28
David's Plans for the Temple
1 David summoned all the officials of Israel to assemble at Jerusalem: the officers over the tribes, the commanders of the divisions in the service of the king, the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, and the officials in charge of all the property and livestock belonging to the king and his sons, together with the palace officials, the mighty men and all the brave warriors.
2 King David rose to his feet and said: "Listen to me, my brothers and my people. I had it in my heart to build a house as a place of rest for the ark of the covenant of the LORD, for the footstool of our God, and I made plans to build it. 3 But God said to me, 'You are not to build a house for my Name, because you are a warrior and have shed blood.'
4 "Yet the LORD, the God of Israel, chose me from my whole family to be king over Israel forever. He chose Judah as leader, and from the house of Judah he chose my family, and from my father's sons he was pleased to make me king over all Israel. 5 Of all my sons—and the LORD has given me many—he has chosen my son Solomon to sit on the throne of the kingdom of the LORD over Israel. 6 He said to me: 'Solomon your son is the one who will build my house and my courts, for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father. 7 I will establish his kingdom forever if he is unswerving in carrying out my commands and laws, as is being done at this time.'
8 "So now I charge you in the sight of all Israel and of the assembly of the LORD, and in the hearing of our God: Be careful to follow all the commands of the LORD your God, that you may possess this good land and pass it on as an inheritance to your descendants forever.
9 "And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever. 10 Consider now, for the LORD has chosen you to build a temple as a sanctuary. Be strong and do the work."
11 Then David gave his son Solomon the plans for the portico of the temple, its buildings, its storerooms, its upper parts, its inner rooms and the place of atonement. 12 He gave him the plans of all that the Spirit had put in his mind for the courts of the temple of the LORD and all the surrounding rooms, for the treasuries of the temple of God and for the treasuries for the dedicated things. 13 He gave him instructions for the divisions of the priests and Levites, and for all the work of serving in the temple of the LORD, as well as for all the articles to be used in its service. 14 He designated the weight of gold for all the gold articles to be used in various kinds of service, and the weight of silver for all the silver articles to be used in various kinds of service: 15 the weight of gold for the gold lampstands and their lamps, with the weight for each lampstand and its lamps; and the weight of silver for each silver lampstand and its lamps, according to the use of each lampstand; 16 the weight of gold for each table for consecrated bread; the weight of silver for the silver tables; 17 the weight of pure gold for the forks, sprinkling bowls and pitchers; the weight of gold for each gold dish; the weight of silver for each silver dish; 18 and the weight of the refined gold for the altar of incense. He also gave him the plan for the chariot, that is, the cherubim of gold that spread their wings and shelter the ark of the covenant of the LORD.
19 "All this," David said, "I have in writing from the hand of the LORD upon me, and he gave me understanding in all the details of the plan."
20 David also said to Solomon his son, "Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple of the LORD is finished. 21 The divisions of the priests and Levites are ready for all the work on the temple of God, and every willing man skilled in any craft will help you in all the work. The officials and all the people will obey your every command."
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
John 16:8-11 (New International Version)
8When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt[a] in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: 9in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; 10in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; 11and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.
January 26, 2009
Cod Liver Oil Coercion
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READ: John 16:8-11
When the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me. —John 15:26
A woman bought a bottle of cod liver oil to give to her dog so he could have a healthier and shinier coat. Every morning, she pried the dog’s jaws open and forced the liquid down his throat. He struggled, but she persisted. He doesn’t know what’s good for him! she thought. Faithfully, each day she repeated the process.
One day, however, the bottle tipped over and she released her grip on the dog for just a moment to wipe up the mess. The dog sniffed at the fishy liquid and began lapping up what she had spilled. He actually loved the stuff. He had simply objected to being coerced!
Sometimes we use a similar method in telling others about Christ. Called buttonholing, it’s an intense, in-your-face kind of confrontation. While earnestly desiring to share the gospel, we may end up repelling people instead. In our sincere but overly enthusiastic attempt, we create resistance.
We are called to share the good news, but we are not responsible for someone’s acceptance or rejection of Christ. It’s not our job to try to convict someone of sin. That’s the Holy Spirit’s responsibility (John 16:8).
As you tell others of Christ’s sacrifice, be sensitive. Know when to slow down and let God and His Word do the convicting and drawing to Himself. — Cindy Hess Kasper
The Spirit’s role is to convict
The world of all their sin
So they will seek forgiveness and
Be cleansed and changed within. —Sper
The Spirit convicts so that Christ might cleanse.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
January 26, 2009
Look Again and Consecrate
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READ:
If God so clothes the grass of the field . . . , will He not much more clothe you . . . ? —Matthew 6:30
A simple statement of Jesus is always a puzzle to us because we will not be simple. How can we maintain the simplicity of Jesus so that we may understand Him? By receiving His Spirit, recognizing and relying on Him, and obeying Him as He brings us the truth of His Word, life will become amazingly simple. Jesus asks us to consider that "if God so clothes the grass of the field . . ." how "much more" will He clothe you, if you keep your relationship right with Him? Every time we lose ground in our fellowship with God, it is because we have disrespectfully thought that we knew better than Jesus Christ. We have allowed "the cares of this world" to enter in (Matthew 13:22), while forgetting the "much more" of our heavenly Father.
"Look at the birds of the air . . ." (Matthew 6:26). Their function is to obey the instincts God placed within them, and God watches over them. Jesus said that if you have the right relationship with Him and will obey His Spirit within you, then God will care for your "feathers" too.
"Consider the lilies of the field . . ." (Matthew 6:28). They grow where they are planted. Many of us refuse to grow where God plants us. Therefore, we don’t take root anywhere. Jesus said if we would obey the life of God within us, He would look after all other things. Did Jesus Christ lie to us? Are we experiencing the "much more" He promised? If we are not, it is because we are not obeying the life God has given us and have cluttered our minds with confusing thoughts and worries. How much time have we wasted asking God senseless questions while we should be absolutely free to concentrate on our service to Him? Consecration is the act of continually separating myself from everything except that which God has appointed me to do. It is not a one-time experience but an ongoing process. Am I continually separating myself and looking to God every day of my life?
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
When It Hurts to Copy Your Father - #5751
Monday, January 26, 2009
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Our daughter was just a toddler, and she'd often talk with me while I was getting ready in the morning. I'd be brushing my teeth, or shaving, or combing my hair. But one morning, unbeknownst to my wife, our daughter got in the bathroom, stood on something, and got the blade razor that I shaved with. When her mother walked in, our daughter was stroking that razor across her face, minus any shaving cream and leaving some serious scratches and scrapes behind.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "When It Hurts to Copy Your Father."
All our daughter was doing was copying her father and inflicting wounds as a result. That's a mistake a lot of folks, grownup folks, have made...copying their father or their mother, and inflicting wounds as a result.
There are things our father and mother did, things they said, that we were determined not to repeat when we had kids. Well, so much for that good intention. All too often, the longer we live, the more we sound like or act like our father or mother in ways that we never wanted to repeat. We know how much those things hurt us, and in spite of ourselves, they are now hurting our children: that same temper, that same critical spirit, that same manipulating, guilt tripping, harsh words, withdrawal or selfishness.
It seems like we're almost powerless to change the dark side of us. We hate it, especially the part that was handed down to us by what I call "family sins." If we could have changed those things we would have by now, which makes our word for today from the Word of God really, really good news. It's in 1 Peter 1:18-19.
God says, "You were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers." In other words, there's actually hope of changing, of actually getting rid of some of those "empty ways" handed down to us by our father or mother. How does this "redeeming" happen? The Bible goes on to say "you were redeemed...with the precious blood of Christ." So there's a connection between my family baggage and the violent death of Jesus Christ on the cross?
There's all the connection in the world. Because all this dark stuff inside us, whether it's from our past or from our own choices, is wrapped up in God's word for it - sin. And our sin is what Jesus died for on the cross to forgive it, to break its power, to make possible a relationship where Jesus comes right into your heart, into your personality, and changes you from the inside out!
That is good news - not only for you, but for all the people you love. There's a Savior who literally stands ready to save you from the sin that's already done way too much damage. The transformation begins when you reach out to Jesus and you trust Him to be your own personal Savior from your personal sin which He died to make possible that relationship. If you've never begun your relationship with Him, you have yet to have your sins forgiven. You have yet to experience His life-changing power on the inside of you, this could be your day for that new beginning.
Now, it's a matter of talking to Him and telling Him in total faith, "Jesus, I cannot change myself. I cannot forgive my own sin. I cannot get out from under my dark side. But I believe you died on the cross, and the reason you died was to deal with all of that darkness - all of that sin. Today I'm ready to turn from that and let go of that sin with both hands, so I have both hands to grab You. Jesus, beginning right here; beginning right now, I am Yours."
We would love to help you be sure that you have that relationship. A lot of people have gone to our website and found a lot of help there in getting started with Jesus. And I'd like to invite you to do that today as soon as you can. Go to YoursForLife.net. Or call toll free if you want to get the little booklet Yours For Life. It's 877-741-1200.
When you open up your life to Jesus, you have for the first time in your life the power to say, "It stops in this generation!"
