Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
January 5
Do Something
Faith that does nothing is dead!
James 2:26 (NCV)
Faith is not the belief that God will do what you want. Faith is the belief that God will do what is right. God is always near and always available. Just waiting for your touch. So let him know. Demonstrate your devotion:
Write a letter.
Ask forgiveness.
Be baptized.
Feed a hungry person.
Pray.
Teach.
Go.
Do something that demonstrates faith. For faith with no effort is no faith at all. God will respond. He has never rejected a genuine gesture of faith. Never.
1 Samuel 16
Samuel Anoints David
1 The LORD said to Samuel, "How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king."
2 But Samuel said, "How can I go? Saul will hear about it and kill me."
The LORD said, "Take a heifer with you and say, 'I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.' 3 Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what to do. You are to anoint for me the one I indicate."
4 Samuel did what the LORD said. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of the town trembled when they met him. They asked, "Do you come in peace?"
5 Samuel replied, "Yes, in peace; I have come to sacrifice to the LORD. Consecrate yourselves and come to the sacrifice with me." Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.
6 When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, "Surely the LORD's anointed stands here before the LORD."
7 But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."
8 Then Jesse called Abinadab and had him pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, "The LORD has not chosen this one either." 9 Jesse then had Shammah pass by, but Samuel said, "Nor has the LORD chosen this one." 10 Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, "The LORD has not chosen these." 11 So he asked Jesse, "Are these all the sons you have?"
"There is still the youngest," Jesse answered, "but he is tending the sheep."
Samuel said, "Send for him; we will not sit down [d] until he arrives."
12 So he sent and had him brought in. He was ruddy, with a fine appearance and handsome features.
Then the LORD said, "Rise and anoint him; he is the one."
13 So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the LORD came upon David in power. Samuel then went to Ramah.
David in Saul's Service
14 Now the Spirit of the LORD had departed from Saul, and an evil [e] spirit from the LORD tormented him.
15 Saul's attendants said to him, "See, an evil spirit from God is tormenting you. 16 Let our lord command his servants here to search for someone who can play the harp. He will play when the evil spirit from God comes upon you, and you will feel better."
17 So Saul said to his attendants, "Find someone who plays well and bring him to me."
18 One of the servants answered, "I have seen a son of Jesse of Bethlehem who knows how to play the harp. He is a brave man and a warrior. He speaks well and is a fine-looking man. And the LORD is with him."
19 Then Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, "Send me your son David, who is with the sheep." 20 So Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, a skin of wine and a young goat and sent them with his son David to Saul.
21 David came to Saul and entered his service. Saul liked him very much, and David became one of his armor-bearers. 22 Then Saul sent word to Jesse, saying, "Allow David to remain in my service, for I am pleased with him."
23 Whenever the spirit from God came upon Saul, David would take his harp and play. Then relief would come to Saul; he would feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Proverbs 10:11-21 (New International Version)
11 The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life,
but violence overwhelms the mouth of the wicked.
12 Hatred stirs up dissension,
but love covers over all wrongs.
13 Wisdom is found on the lips of the discerning,
but a rod is for the back of him who lacks judgment.
14 Wise men store up knowledge,
but the mouth of a fool invites ruin.
15 The wealth of the rich is their fortified city,
but poverty is the ruin of the poor.
16 The wages of the righteous bring them life,
but the income of the wicked brings them punishment.
17 He who heeds discipline shows the way to life,
but whoever ignores correction leads others astray.
18 He who conceals his hatred has lying lips,
and whoever spreads slander is a fool.
19 When words are many, sin is not absent,
but he who holds his tongue is wise.
20 The tongue of the righteous is choice silver,
but the heart of the wicked is of little value.
21 The lips of the righteous nourish many,
but fools die for lack of judgment.
January 5, 2009
A Lot To Remember
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READ: Proverbs 10:11-21
He who restrains his lips is wise. —Proverbs 10:19
Thanks a lot,” the man behind the postal counter said to the person in front of me. The clerk, Jon, had seen me in line and was hoping I would overhear him. When it was my turn, I said hello to Jon, who had been a student of mine when I taught high school in the 1980s.
“Did you notice what I said to her?” Jon asked. “I told her, ‘Thanks a lot.’” Sensing that I was missing his point, he explained, “Remember what you told us about the term a lot? You said a lot was a piece of land, not a phrase to use instead of much.”
Astounding! An English lesson from a quarter-century before had stuck with Jon through all those years. That speaks clearly to us of the importance of what we say to others. It also backs up one of my favorite lines by poet Emily Dickinson: “A word is dead when it is said, some say. I say it just begins to live that day.”
The words we say may have long-term consequences. Our comments, our compliments, and even our harsh criticisms may stick with the hearer for decades.
No wonder Scripture says, “He who restrains his lips is wise” (Prov. 10:19). The words we speak today live on. Let’s make sure they come from “the tongue of the righteous” (v.20). — Dave Branon
Father, help me live today
With thoughtfulness in what I say,
Confronting wrong with truth and fact,
Expressing gentleness and tact. —Hess
The tongue is a small organ that creates either discord or harmony.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
January 5, 2009
The Life of Power to Follow
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READ:
Jesus answered him, ’Where I am going you cannot follow Me now, but you shall follow Me afterward’ —John 13:36
"And when He had spoken this, He said to him, ’Follow Me’ " (John 21:19). Three years earlier Jesus had said, "Follow Me" (Matthew 4:19), and Peter followed with no hesitation. The irresistible attraction of Jesus was upon him and he did not need the Holy Spirit to help him do it. Later he came to the place where he denied Jesus, and his heart broke. Then he received the Holy Spirit and Jesus said again, "Follow Me" (John 21:19). Now no one is in front of Peter except the Lord Jesus Christ. The first "Follow Me" was nothing mysterious; it was an external following. Jesus is now asking for an internal sacrifice and yielding (see John 21:18 ).
Between these two times Peter denied Jesus with oaths and curses (see Matthew 26:69-75). But then he came completely to the end of himself and all of his self-sufficiency. There was no part of himself he would ever rely on again. In his state of destitution, he was finally ready to receive all that the risen Lord had for him. ". . . He breathed on them, and said to them, ’Receive the Holy Spirit’ " (John 20:22 ). No matter what changes God has performed in you, never rely on them. Build only on a Person, the Lord Jesus Christ, and on the Spirit He gives.
All our promises and resolutions end in denial because we have no power to accomplish them. When we come to the end of ourselves, not just mentally but completely, we are able to "receive the Holy Spirit." "Receive the Holy Spirit "— the idea is that of invasion. There is now only One who directs the course of your life, the Lord Jesus Christ.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Nothing to Pay With - #5736 - January 5, 2009
Category: Your Most Important Relationship
Monday, January 5, 2009
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Our three-year-old grandson had found something he really liked in the Christian bookstore. He brought it to his Daddy and he told him he really wanted it. Our son-in-law said, "Well, do you have any money?" Sadly, our grandson said, "No." But his disappointment was quickly replaced with determination as he went over to this display area where they have this fake money you can buy. He marched up to the cash register with the prize he wanted and the "money" to pay for it. Dad re-entered the scene at that point and said, "Is that really money?" Finally, our grandson faced the sad reality. He said, "No. It's not really money."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Nothing to Pay With."
All our grandson was able to come up with was woefully inadequate to pay the price, which is a problem lots of folks have with God that is - with trying to get their sins and their mistakes forgiven, with trying to be good enough to get into God's heaven when they die. But it's "not really money." As sincere as many of us may be, we don't have the only thing that will get us to heaven - a way to pay for all the sins of our life. Because the Bible makes it clear that the price for our sins is a spiritual death penalty; being cut off forever from the God we've disobeyed and neglected.
There's only one payment that God can accept and He will accept. And it's clearly spelled out in our word for today from the Word of God in Hebrews 9:22. He says plainly, "Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness." It should be my blood; it should be my eternal death that pays for my sin. But I will thank God forever that He made another way with the greatest proof of His love for me and you that we could ever conceive. He sent His one and only Son, Jesus, to die so we don't have to! He paid for what I did. He paid for what you did.
Here's how God describes the payment He has made available. It's in that same section of the Bible. It says Christ came "to do away with sin by the sacrifice of Himself" (Hebrews 9:26). And here's the miracle Jesus' sacrifice makes possible: "We have been made holy." (That means our sins have been forgiven; they've been forgotten by God! We're right with God.) "We have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." There's no way you can be forgiven without the shedding of blood; without your death penalty being paid. And Jesus died for that.
But we come to God with our handful of religion, of being a good person, of Christian beliefs and rituals and activities. And we say, "Here, God. Can I be forgiven and go to heaven now?" And God says, "You can't use that to pay for your sin. The only way to pay a death penalty is that someone has to die." That someone was the Son of God for you.
So the life-or-death, heaven-or-hell issue isn't how good you are, how religious you are, how long you've been doing Christian things. It's this: has there ever been a time when you told Jesus Christ you were going to depend on Him and Him alone, to have your sins forgiven and to go to heaven when you die? You can't say, as many do, "Well, I've always been a Christian." No one has always been a Christian. You may have always been in a Christian church or family, but you don't belong to Jesus until you consciously grab Him to save you like a drowning person would grab a lifeguard.
And that breakthrough moment could come for you this very day - even this very moment, as you tell Jesus with all your heart, "I am all Yours, Lord. I can't contribute a thing to being rescued from the penalty for my sin. You did it all, and I am all Yours, beginning right here and beginning right now." If that's what you want, let me invite you to pay a visit right away today to our website. It's where a lot of people have found help in beginning their personal relationship with Him. It's YoursForLife.net. I hope you'll go there as soon as you can today.
My grandson got the prize he hoped for that day, but only because someone else - his Daddy - paid for it. That's the only way you'll ever get the forgiveness and the heaven you hope for. What you have can never pay for it, and this is your day to claim what He paid for.