Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
February 19
Simplify Your Faith
“You have only one Master, the Christ.”
Matthew 23:10 (NCV)
There are some who position themselves between you and God. There are some who suggest the only way to get to God is through them. There is the great teacher who has the final word on Bible teaching. There is the father who must bless your acts. There is the spiritual master who will tell you what God wants you to do. Jesus’ message for complicated religion is to remove these middlemen. “You have only one Master, the Christ.”
He’s not saying that you don’t need teachers, elders, or counselors. He is saying, however, that we are all brothers and sisters and have equal access to the Father. Simplify your faith by seeking God for yourself. No confusing ceremonies necessary. No mysterious rituals required. No elaborate channels of command or levels of access.
You have a Bible? You can study. You have a heart? You can pray. You have a mind? You can think.
2 Chronicles 9
The Queen of Sheba Visits Solomon
1 When the queen of Sheba heard of Solomon's fame, she came to Jerusalem to test him with hard questions. Arriving with a very great caravan—with camels carrying spices, large quantities of gold, and precious stones—she came to Solomon and talked with him about all she had on her mind. 2 Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too hard for him to explain to her. 3 When the queen of Sheba saw the wisdom of Solomon, as well as the palace he had built, 4 the food on his table, the seating of his officials, the attending servants in their robes, the cupbearers in their robes and the burnt offerings he made at [j] the temple of the LORD, she was overwhelmed.
5 She said to the king, "The report I heard in my own country about your achievements and your wisdom is true. 6 But I did not believe what they said until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not even half the greatness of your wisdom was told me; you have far exceeded the report I heard. 7 How happy your men must be! How happy your officials, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! 8 Praise be to the LORD your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on his throne as king to rule for the LORD your God. Because of the love of your God for Israel and his desire to uphold them forever, he has made you king over them, to maintain justice and righteousness."
9 Then she gave the king 120 talents [k] of gold, large quantities of spices, and precious stones. There had never been such spices as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.
10 (The men of Hiram and the men of Solomon brought gold from Ophir; they also brought algumwood [l] and precious stones. 11 The king used the algumwood to make steps for the temple of the LORD and for the royal palace, and to make harps and lyres for the musicians. Nothing like them had ever been seen in Judah.)
12 King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all she desired and asked for; he gave her more than she had brought to him. Then she left and returned with her retinue to her own country.
Solomon's Splendor
13 The weight of the gold that Solomon received yearly was 666 talents, [m] 14 not including the revenues brought in by merchants and traders. Also all the kings of Arabia and the governors of the land brought gold and silver to Solomon.
15 King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; six hundred bekas [n] of hammered gold went into each shield. 16 He also made three hundred small shields of hammered gold, with three hundred bekas [o] of gold in each shield. The king put them in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon.
17 Then the king made a great throne inlaid with ivory and overlaid with pure gold. 18 The throne had six steps, and a footstool of gold was attached to it. On both sides of the seat were armrests, with a lion standing beside each of them. 19 Twelve lions stood on the six steps, one at either end of each step. Nothing like it had ever been made for any other kingdom. 20 All King Solomon's goblets were gold, and all the household articles in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. Nothing was made of silver, because silver was considered of little value in Solomon's day. 21 The king had a fleet of trading ships [p] manned by Hiram's [q] men. Once every three years it returned, carrying gold, silver and ivory, and apes and baboons.
22 King Solomon was greater in riches and wisdom than all the other kings of the earth. 23 All the kings of the earth sought audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom God had put in his heart. 24 Year after year, everyone who came brought a gift—articles of silver and gold, and robes, weapons and spices, and horses and mules.
25 Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horses, [r] which he kept in the chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem. 26 He ruled over all the kings from the River [s] to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. 27 The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar as plentiful as sycamore-fig trees in the foothills. 28 Solomon's horses were imported from Egypt [t] and from all other countries.
Solomon's Death
29 As for the other events of Solomon's reign, from beginning to end, are they not written in the records of Nathan the prophet, in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite and in the visions of Iddo the seer concerning Jeroboam son of Nebat? 30 Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years. 31 Then he rested with his fathers and was buried in the city of David his father. And Rehoboam his son succeeded him as king.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Psalm 42
BOOK II : Psalms 42-72
1
For the director of music. A maskil of the Sons of Korah. [a]
[b] As the deer pants for streams of water,
so my soul pants for you, O God.
2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When can I go and meet with God?
3 My tears have been my food
day and night,
while men say to me all day long,
"Where is your God?"
4 These things I remember
as I pour out my soul:
how I used to go with the multitude,
leading the procession to the house of God,
with shouts of joy and thanksgiving
among the festive throng.
5 Why are you downcast, O my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and 6 my God.
My [c] soul is downcast within me;
therefore I will remember you
from the land of the Jordan,
the heights of Hermon—from Mount Mizar.
7 Deep calls to deep
in the roar of your waterfalls;
all your waves and breakers
have swept over me.
8 By day the LORD directs his love,
at night his song is with me—
a prayer to the God of my life.
9 I say to God my Rock,
"Why have you forgotten me?
Why must I go about mourning,
oppressed by the enemy?"
10 My bones suffer mortal agony
as my foes taunt me,
saying to me all day long,
"Where is your God?"
11 Why are you downcast, O my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.
Celebrate Winter
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READ: Psalm 42
Why are you cast down, O my soul? . . . Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance. —Psalm 42:5
I love living where there are four seasons. But even though I love settling down with a good book by a crackling fire when it’s snowing, I must admit that my love for the seasons grows a little dim when the long gray days of winter drone on into February.
Yet regardless of the weather, there is always something special about winter: Christmas! Thankfully, long after the decorations are down, the reality of Christmas still lifts my spirits no matter what’s happening.
If it weren’t for the reality of Christ’s birth, not only would winter be dark and dreary, but our hearts would be bleak and have nothing to hope for. No hope for the freedom from guilt and judgment. No hope of His reassuring and strengthening presence through dark and difficult times. No hope for a future secured in heaven.
In the winter of a troubled life, the psalmist asked, “Why are you cast down, O my soul?” The remedy was clear: “Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance” (Ps. 42:5).
In C. S. Lewis’ tales of Narnia, Mr. Tumnus complains that in Narnia it is “always winter and never Christmas.” But for those of us who know the God who made the seasons, it is always Christmas in our hearts! — Joe Stowell
When our lives are heavy laden,
Cold and bleak as winter long,
Stir the embers in our hearts, Lord;
Make Your flame burn bright and strong. —Kieda
Let the reality of Christmas chase away the blahs of winter.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
February 19, 2009
Taking the Initiative Against Drudgery
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READ:
Arise, shine . . . —Isaiah 60:1
When it comes to taking the initiative against drudgery, we have to take the first step as though there were no God. There is no point in waiting for God to help us— He will not. But once we arise, immediately we find He is there. Whenever God gives us His inspiration, suddenly taking the initiative becomes a moral issue— a matter of obedience. Then we must act to be obedient and not continue to lie down doing nothing. If we will arise and shine, drudgery will be divinely transformed.
Drudgery is one of the finest tests to determine the genuineness of our character. Drudgery is work that is far removed from anything we think of as ideal work. It is the utterly hard, menial, tiresome, and dirty work. And when we experience it, our spirituality is instantly tested and we will know whether or not we are spiritually genuine. Read John 13. In this chapter, we see the Incarnate God performing the greatest example of drudgery— washing fishermen’s feet. He then says to them, "If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet" (John 13:14 ). The inspiration of God is required if drudgery is to shine with the light of God upon it. In some cases the way a person does a task makes that work sanctified and holy forever. It may be a very common everyday task, but after we have seen it done, it becomes different. When the Lord does something through us, He always transforms it. Our Lord takes our human flesh and transforms it, and now every believer’s body has become "the temple of the Holy Spirit"
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Missing Him - #5769
Thursday, February 19, 2009
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When Lee Stroebel writes a book, he brings to it all the skills and the disciplines that he learned as a journalist. Lee was a respected reporter and, by the way, an atheist. Today, he is a powerful representative of Jesus Christ and a leader in reaching people for Him. While preparing for a recent book, Lee interviewed a wide variety of noted people to get their perspective on Christ. One was a man who was a gifted evangelist in the 1940s, a man whose ministry paralleled Billy Graham's; a man who was known by millions and actually expected to have a ministry like Billy Graham has had. But after he attended a liberal seminary to get more education, he shocked the Christian world by abandoning his faith. His media career in Canada gave him a lot of notoriety, and he often used that platform to express his unbelief.
Lee went to interview this now elderly man. When he was asked about things such as his belief in the Old Testament, he was very clear in expressed why he didn't believe. Finally, Lee asked him, "What do you think about Jesus?" He could never have expected the response he got. Suddenly, the old man "teared up." And struggling to answer through those tears, he simply replied, "I miss Him."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Missing Him."
For just a moment, would you set aside all the creeds, the institutions, the theological systems, the rituals, the meetings - most of which are important spiritual resources. But for a moment, set aside all the Christianity. And when you strip away all that, you're down to the central meaning of it all. It's all about Jesus. It's all about either being close to Him or missing Him.
The twelve men Jesus picked as His inner circle missed a lot that Jesus was trying to teach them, but they didn't miss the central issue. That's obvious in our word for today from the Word of God. In John 6, we're at a turning point in the ministry of Jesus. Vast multitudes are following Him, no matter where He goes. Then He confronts them with the fact that this is going to be about more than miracles and meetings; it's going to involve the shedding of blood, the laying down of His life, and a price tag for those who follow Him.
John 6:66 says, "From this time many of His disciples turned back and no longer followed Him. 'You do not want to leave, too, do you?' Jesus asked the twelve. Simon Peter answered Him, 'Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.'" See, they knew that it was all about Jesus and that He was the only One with anything that would last, that was worth living and dying for.
That's what Jesus was saying when He repeatedly said to people, "Follow Me." He didn't say "Follow My religion" or "Follow My followers" or "Follow My rules." He said, "Follow Me." It's all about Jesus. And if you know someone who's away from Him right now, here's how to pray for them, "Lord Jesus, help them realize how much they miss You." And as God gives you opportunity, remind them of how it was when they were close to Him.
Maybe you're away from Him. Satan would love to keep your focus on the Christians who hurt you, or the hypocrites who turned you off, or the sin that's taken you away. But it's not Christians you''ve left or church or some religious rules, it's Jesus you've left! Remember how it felt when you were close to Him? Don't you miss Him?
You don't have to miss Him one more day. Like the father of the Prodigal Son, He's waiting for you to come home to Him. There's nothing you've done that He didn't take care of on the cross. And His love is unconditional. And maybe you have missed, up until this point, even having one day with Christ in your life. Oh, if you only knew the difference He could make, you'd run to Him.
pray that this very day, if you've never begun your relationship with Him, you will tell Him, "Jesus, I am Yours." I think we could give you some help that would encourage you in beginning that relationship with Him if you'd just go to our website. It's YoursForLife.net.
If you could literally hear His voice where you are right now, here's what you'd hear Him saying: "I miss you. Come home."
