Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
January 8
God’s Testimony
The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.
Psalm 19:7 (NKJV)
A small seed becoming a towering tree.
A thin stalk pushing back the earth.
A rainbow arching in the midst of the thundercloud….
“God’s testimony,” wrote David, “makes wise the simple.”
God’s testimony. When was the last time you witnessed it? A stroll through knee-high grass in a green meadow. An hour listening to seagulls or looking at seashells on the beach. Or witnessing the shafts of sunlight brighten the snow on a crisp winter dawn….
There comes a time when we should lay down our pens and commentaries and step out of our offices and libraries. To really understand and believe in the miracle of the cross, we’d do well to witness God’s miracles every day.
1 Samuel 19
Saul Tries to Kill David
1 Saul told his son Jonathan and all the attendants to kill David. But Jonathan was very fond of David 2 and warned him, "My father Saul is looking for a chance to kill you. Be on your guard tomorrow morning; go into hiding and stay there. 3 I will go out and stand with my father in the field where you are. I'll speak to him about you and will tell you what I find out."
4 Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father and said to him, "Let not the king do wrong to his servant David; he has not wronged you, and what he has done has benefited you greatly. 5 He took his life in his hands when he killed the Philistine. The LORD won a great victory for all Israel, and you saw it and were glad. Why then would you do wrong to an innocent man like David by killing him for no reason?"
6 Saul listened to Jonathan and took this oath: "As surely as the LORD lives, David will not be put to death."
7 So Jonathan called David and told him the whole conversation. He brought him to Saul, and David was with Saul as before.
8 Once more war broke out, and David went out and fought the Philistines. He struck them with such force that they fled before him.
9 But an evil [s] spirit from the LORD came upon Saul as he was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand. While David was playing the harp, 10 Saul tried to pin him to the wall with his spear, but David eluded him as Saul drove the spear into the wall. That night David made good his escape.
11 Saul sent men to David's house to watch it and to kill him in the morning. But Michal, David's wife, warned him, "If you don't run for your life tonight, tomorrow you'll be killed." 12 So Michal let David down through a window, and he fled and escaped. 13 Then Michal took an idol [t] and laid it on the bed, covering it with a garment and putting some goats' hair at the head.
14 When Saul sent the men to capture David, Michal said, "He is ill."
15 Then Saul sent the men back to see David and told them, "Bring him up to me in his bed so that I may kill him." 16 But when the men entered, there was the idol in the bed, and at the head was some goats' hair.
17 Saul said to Michal, "Why did you deceive me like this and send my enemy away so that he escaped?"
Michal told him, "He said to me, 'Let me get away. Why should I kill you?' "
18 When David had fled and made his escape, he went to Samuel at Ramah and told him all that Saul had done to him. Then he and Samuel went to Naioth and stayed there. 19 Word came to Saul: "David is in Naioth at Ramah"; 20 so he sent men to capture him. But when they saw a group of prophets prophesying, with Samuel standing there as their leader, the Spirit of God came upon Saul's men and they also prophesied. 21 Saul was told about it, and he sent more men, and they prophesied too. Saul sent men a third time, and they also prophesied. 22 Finally, he himself left for Ramah and went to the great cistern at Secu. And he asked, "Where are Samuel and David?"
"Over in Naioth at Ramah," they said.
23 So Saul went to Naioth at Ramah. But the Spirit of God came even upon him, and he walked along prophesying until he came to Naioth. 24 He stripped off his robes and also prophesied in Samuel's presence. He lay that way all that day and night. This is why people say, "Is Saul also among the prophets?"
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Revelation 17:9-14 (New International Version)
9"This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits. 10They are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for a little while. 11The beast who once was, and now is not, is an eighth king. He belongs to the seven and is going to his destruction.
12"The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast. 13They have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast. 14They will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings—and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers."
January 8, 2009
The King
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READ: Revelation 17:9-14
These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings. —Revelation 17:14
It might be surprising how many people around the world know that today is Elvis Presley’s birthday. The enduring popularity of the singer from Mississippi spans generations and cultures. More than 30 years after his death, sales of Presley’s music, memorabilia, and licensing agreements generate millions of dollars in annual income. Once dubbed “The King of Rock and Roll,” Elvis is often called simply, “The King.”
Whether the “kings” of this world are celebrities, athletes, crowned heads, or tycoons, they come and go. Their influence may be immense and their followers fanatically loyal, but it doesn’t last forever.
The Bible, however, refers to Jesus Christ as the eternal King. Revelation 17 speaks prophetically of earthly kings who will fight to establish their authority at the end of the ages. Biblical scholars have debated the identities of these kings, but there is no mistake about the One they cannot overpower: “These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful” (Rev. 17:14).
Jesus Christ the Lord is King, and He will reign forever. — David C. McCasland
The King of kings and Lord of lords,
Who reigns today within our heart,
Will one day bring His peace on earth—
A kingdom that will not depart. —Sper
There is no greater privilege than to be a subject of the King of kings.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
January 8, 2009
Is My Sacrifice Living?
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READ:
Abraham built an altar . . . ; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar . . . —Genesis 22:9
This event is a picture of the mistake we make in thinking that the ultimate God wants of us is the sacrifice of death. What God wants is the sacrifice through death which enables us to do what Jesus did, that is, sacrifice our lives. Not— "Lord, I am ready to go with You . . . to death" (Luke 22:33 ). But— "I am willing to be identified with Your death so that I may sacrifice my life to God."
We seem to think that God wants us to give up things! God purified Abraham from this error, and the same process is at work in our lives. God never tells us to give up things just for the sake of giving them up, but He tells us to give them up for the sake of the only thing worth having, namely, life with Himself. It is a matter of loosening the bands that hold back our lives. Those bands are loosened immediately by identification with the death of Jesus. Then we enter into a relationship with God whereby we may sacrifice our lives to Him.
It is of no value to God to give Him your life for death. He wants you to be a "living sacrifice"— to let Him have all your strengths that have been saved and sanctified through Jesus (Romans 12:1). This is what is acceptable to God.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
"Becoming" Eyes - #5739
Thursday, December 8, 2009
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I'll never forget the day that our daughter volunteered to clean the house. And I want to tell you, it was a mess! Oh, no, it wasn't our house. It was the house her boyfriend and some other guys were getting ready to move into. Now the word "mess" might be an understatement. Four college guys had lived there before and they were guys who did a lot of partying and very little cleaning. So there were layers of dirt, there was trash everywhere, and there were holes in the walls. Officials from Washington were actually considering having it declared an official disaster area. Well, I saw our daughter at the end of the long day she had put in trying to clean this pigpen for the man she loved. She was beat, she was all sweaty, but she was satisfied. I said, "What kept you going all those hours?" She said, "Dad, it was really depressing to look at. But I guess I kept seeing what it could be."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "'Becoming' Eyes."
I know someone who looks at people like that. He looks at you like that. Jesus has this amazing ability to look beyond whatever mess we may be right now and see what we could be with some work on His part.
Our word for today from the Word of God in John 1:42 shows us how Jesus has what I call "becoming" eyes; eyes to see what a person can become. He has just met Simon and it says, "Jesus looked at him and said, 'You are Simon, son of John. You will be called Cephas, (which, when translated, is Peter).'" And Peter, by the way, means "the rock."
Now when other people looked at Simon they just saw John's son - "There goes John's son," or just another fisherman, or a man who was unstable, brazen, and impulsive. Others looked at Simon and they didn't see a rock, they saw a flake, but Jesus looked at Simon and saw Peter the rock. That's because Jesus has "becoming" eyes. He looks at you and He sees, not so much what you are, but what you can become. That's why He knew that John, a man whose temper made people call him a "son of thunder," would one day be the great apostle of love. When people looked at Jacob, they saw only the cheat that he was, but God saw the prince that he could be, and God started calling him that.
Aren't you glad that when Jesus looks at you right now, He looks at you through His "becoming" eyes? Maybe you've lived most of your life not feeling very valued by people. They've picked on your handicaps, they've emphasized your failures, or they've attacked your weaknesses. So you tend to think a lot more about what you aren't than what you are. Well, I want to invite you to look at yourself through Jesus' eyes for a moment.
He's like my daughter walking into that dirty house; He sees what could be. So you may say, "I don't amount to much." But Jesus says, "You shall be a person who makes a difference in the lives of others who feel like nobodies." Or maybe you look in the mirror and you see only an impatient person, while Jesus is saying, "Yes, you are impatient, but you shall be a patient person!" You may be a self-centered person, but Jesus says, "You shall be someone who puts others first." Maybe you see yourself as a victim. Jesus says, "No! You shall be a victor!"
If you belong to Jesus, you are being rebuilt, remodeled by the Master Carpenter. He's done it in millions of lives for two thousand years. You don't have to be what you have been! Maybe this catches you on a day when you feel discouraged, defeated, or small, but Jesus is still changing you! Sure, He sees the mess, but He sees beyond the mess and He wants you to.
Jesus sees the rock you can become, no matter what anyone else sees! It could be, like the song says, that "all you have to offer Him is brokenness and strife, but He'll make something beautiful of your life"!