Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
January 15
Redefining Prayer
Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving.
Colossians 4:2 (NKJV)
Early Christians were urged to
- “pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17 NASB);
- “always be prayerful” (Rom. 12:12 NLT);
- “pray at all times and on every occasion” (Eph. 6:18 NLT).
Sound burdensome? Are you wondering, My business needs attention, my children need dinner, my bills need paying. How can I stay in a place of prayer?
Do this. Change your definition of prayer. Think of prayer less as an activity for God and more as an awareness of God. Seek to live in uninterrupted awareness. Acknowledge his presence everywhere you go. As you stand in line to register your car, think, Thank you, Lord for being here. In the grocery as you shop, Your presence, my King, I welcome. As you wash the dishes, worship your Maker.
2 Samuel 8
David's Victories
1 In the course of time, David defeated the Philistines and subdued them, and he took Metheg Ammah from the control of the Philistines.
2 David also defeated the Moabites. He made them lie down on the ground and measured them off with a length of cord. Every two lengths of them were put to death, and the third length was allowed to live. So the Moabites became subject to David and brought tribute.
3 Moreover, David fought Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah, when he went to restore his control along the Euphrates River. 4 David captured a thousand of his chariots, seven thousand charioteers [o] and twenty thousand foot soldiers. He hamstrung all but a hundred of the chariot horses.
5 When the Arameans of Damascus came to help Hadadezer king of Zobah, David struck down twenty-two thousand of them. 6 He put garrisons in the Aramean kingdom of Damascus, and the Arameans became subject to him and brought tribute. The LORD gave David victory wherever he went.
7 David took the gold shields that belonged to the officers of Hadadezer and brought them to Jerusalem. 8 From Tebah [p] and Berothai, towns that belonged to Hadadezer, King David took a great quantity of bronze.
9 When Tou [q] king of Hamath heard that David had defeated the entire army of Hadadezer, 10 he sent his son Joram [r] to King David to greet him and congratulate him on his victory in battle over Hadadezer, who had been at war with Tou. Joram brought with him articles of silver and gold and bronze.
11 King David dedicated these articles to the LORD, as he had done with the silver and gold from all the nations he had subdued: 12 Edom [s] and Moab, the Ammonites and the Philistines, and Amalek. He also dedicated the plunder taken from Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah.
13 And David became famous after he returned from striking down eighteen thousand Edomites [t] in the Valley of Salt.
14 He put garrisons throughout Edom, and all the Edomites became subject to David. The LORD gave David victory wherever he went.
David's Officials
15 David reigned over all Israel, doing what was just and right for all his people. 16 Joab son of Zeruiah was over the army; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was recorder; 17 Zadok son of Ahitub and Ahimelech son of Abiathar were priests; Seraiah was secretary; 18 Benaiah son of Jehoiada was over the Kerethites and Pelethites; and David's sons were royal advisers. [u]
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Psalm 119:25-32 (New International Version)
d Daleth
25 I am laid low in the dust;
preserve my life according to your word.
26 I recounted my ways and you answered me;
teach me your decrees.
27 Let me understand the teaching of your precepts;
then I will meditate on your wonders.
28 My soul is weary with sorrow;
strengthen me according to your word.
29 Keep me from deceitful ways;
be gracious to me through your law.
30 I have chosen the way of truth;
I have set my heart on your laws.
31 I hold fast to your statutes, O LORD;
do not let me be put to shame.
32 I run in the path of your commands,
for you have set my heart free
January 15, 2009
It’s In God’s Word
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READ: Psalm 119:25-32
I will run the course of Your commandments, for You shall enlarge my heart. —Psalm 119:32
As optimistic as I am (I can find a bright side to just about everything), I also know that life can be a dark and lonely place.
I’ve talked to teenagers who have a parent whose anger makes just going home after school a dreaded trip.
I’ve known people who can’t escape the curtain of depression.
I’ve spent considerable time with others who, like my wife and me, are enduring life with the sudden death of a child.
I’ve seen what relentless poverty can do to people all over the world.
Despite knowing that these scenarios exist, I don’t despair. I know that hope is available in Jesus, that guidance comes through the Spirit, and that knowledge and power are found in God’s Word.
The words of Psalm 119 give us encouragement. When our soul “clings to the dust,” we can be revived according to God’s Word (v.25). When our soul is full of sorrow, we can be strengthened by His Word (v.28). When we are threatened by deceit, we can follow the truth of His Word (vv.29-30). Our heart can be set free by God’s commands (v.32).
Are life’s demands overwhelming you? If so, you can find hope, guidance, and knowledge to help. It’s in God’s Word. — Dave Branon
If your soul is parched and thirsty
And you feel weighed down by care,
Go to God’s Word for refreshment—
You’ll find strength and comfort there. —Sper
A well-read Bible makes a well-fed soul.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
January 15, 2009
Do You Walk In White?
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READ:
We were buried with Him . . . that just as Christ was raised from the dead . . . even so we also should walk in newness of life —Romans 6:4
No one experiences complete sanctification without going through a "white funeral"-the burial of the old life. If there has never been this crucial moment of change through death, sanctification will never be more than an elusive dream. There must be a "white funeral," a death with only one resurrection-a resurrection into the life of Jesus Christ. Nothing can defeat a life like this. It has oneness with God for only one purpose— to be a witness for Him.
Have you really come to your last days? You have often come to them in your mind, but have you really experienced them? You cannot die or go to your funeral in a mood of excitement. Death means you stop being. You must agree with God and stop being the intensely striving kind of Christian you have been. We avoid the cemetery and continually refuse our own death. It will not happen by striving, but by yielding to death. It is dying— being "baptized into His death" (Romans 6:3 ).
Have you had your "white funeral," or are you piously deceiving your own soul? Has there been a point in your life which you now mark as your last day? Is there a place in your life to which you go back in memory with humility and overwhelming gratitude, so that you can honestly proclaim, "Yes, it was then, at my ’white funeral,’ that I made an agreement with God."
"This is the will of God, your sanctification . . ." (1 Thessalonians 4:3 ). Once you truly realize this is God’s will, you will enter into the process of sanctification as a natural response. Are you willing to experience that "white funeral" now? Will you agree with Him that this is your last day on earth? The moment of agreement depends on you.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Your Total Upgrade - #5744 - January 15, 2009
Category: Your Personal Power
Thursday, January 15, 2009
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Okay, it's no secret. I am technically challenged. When it comes to computers, I know just the basics. But even I know enough to appreciate some things God provided for our ministry, like some new computers that work much faster than our old ones. And we were able to upgrade some of our software. And the new software has capabilities that make a lot of things possible that weren't possible before. When it comes to the computers that make such a difference in our lives, a software upgrade can take you to a whole new level.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Your Total Upgrade."
Long before computers and software and hardware, God has been in the business of upgrading the central processing system of people's lives. It's called your mind. He talks about it in our word for today from the Word of God in the familiar and defining words of Romans 12:1-2. "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - His good, pleasing, and perfect will."
God calls us here to surrender ourselves completely to the One who gave Himself completely for us. That commitment is going to mean marching to the beat of a different drummer from the one we have marched to all our lives. Without surrendering to Jesus, we follow "the pattern of this world," basing our choices and our values on what our culture says, what our family says, what our environment says, or what our feelings tell us. But God wants to "transform" us liberate us from being puppets of our culture, our surroundings, and our background.
We're not just talking about keeping a few rules or some superficial transformation on the outside. God doesn't just shave caterpillars, He transforms them into butterflies - substantial transformation, not just superficial change. God literally wants to upgrade your whole outlook on life by a process He calls "the renewing of your mind."
In a way, it's like upgrading your computer or your software. Now that Christ is in your life, He wants to install some new attitudes about who you are, who He is, who you can be because you belong to Jesus. He wants to enable you to see your family as He sees them, the problem people in your life as He sees them, and the events of your life as He sees them. This is the exciting process that takes you from the old you to being what the Bible calls "a new creation in Christ" (2 Corinthians 5:17). If you'll work with Him on this "computer upgrade" in your mind, you'll find yourself instinctively choosing His will each day, which puts you right in the middle of the plans for which you were created.
Pretty exciting, isn't it? How does it happen? By immersing yourself in God's way of thinking. It's called the Bible! If you want your mind renewed, you need to be in His Word every opportunity you get. You need to make opportunities to be in His Word! And make your time with Him in His book the non-negotiable of your personal schedule. Each new day is a new challenge to live His way and to think His way. So each new day, you need to begin by installing His software, by bathing your mind with His thoughts and His perspective.
Commit yourself to the aggressive study of God's words in the Bible. Examine every situation, every relationship, and every decision in light of what God says. Day-by-day, you will experience that awesome miracle that God describes as "the renewing of your mind."
