Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
February 2
God Isn’t Hard to Find
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
Psalm 23:6 (NKJV)
What a surprising way to describe God. A God who pursues us.
Dare we envision a mobile, active God who chases us, tracks us, following us with goodness and mercy all the days of our lives? He's not hard to find. He's there in Scripture, looking for Adam and Eve. They're hiding in the bushes, partly to cover their bodies, partly to cover their sin. Does God wait for them to come to him? No, the words ring in the garden. "Where are you?" God asks (Gen.3:9), beginning his quest to redeem the heart of man. A quest to follow his children until his children follow him.
Ezekiel 38
A Prophecy Against Gog
1 The word of the LORD came to me: 2 "Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of [a] Meshech and Tubal; prophesy against him 3 and say: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of [b] Meshech and Tubal. 4 I will turn you around, put hooks in your jaws and bring you out with your whole army—your horses, your horsemen fully armed, and a great horde with large and small shields, all of them brandishing their swords. 5 Persia, Cush [c] and Put will be with them, all with shields and helmets, 6 also Gomer with all its troops, and Beth Togarmah from the far north with all its troops—the many nations with you.
7 " 'Get ready; be prepared, you and all the hordes gathered about you, and take command of them. 8 After many days you will be called to arms. In future years you will invade a land that has recovered from war, whose people were gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate. They had been brought out from the nations, and now all of them live in safety. 9 You and all your troops and the many nations with you will go up, advancing like a storm; you will be like a cloud covering the land.
10 " 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: On that day thoughts will come into your mind and you will devise an evil scheme. 11 You will say, "I will invade a land of unwalled villages; I will attack a peaceful and unsuspecting people—all of them living without walls and without gates and bars. 12 I will plunder and loot and turn my hand against the resettled ruins and the people gathered from the nations, rich in livestock and goods, living at the center of the land." 13 Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish and all her villages [d] will say to you, "Have you come to plunder? Have you gathered your hordes to loot, to carry off silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods and to seize much plunder?" '
14 "Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say to Gog: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: In that day, when my people Israel are living in safety, will you not take notice of it? 15 You will come from your place in the far north, you and many nations with you, all of them riding on horses, a great horde, a mighty army. 16 You will advance against my people Israel like a cloud that covers the land. In days to come, O Gog, I will bring you against my land, so that the nations may know me when I show myself holy through you before their eyes.
17 " 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Are you not the one I spoke of in former days by my servants the prophets of Israel? At that time they prophesied for years that I would bring you against them. 18 This is what will happen in that day: When Gog attacks the land of Israel, my hot anger will be aroused, declares the Sovereign LORD. 19 In my zeal and fiery wrath I declare that at that time there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel. 20 The fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the beasts of the field, every creature that moves along the ground, and all the people on the face of the earth will tremble at my presence. The mountains will be overturned, the cliffs will crumble and every wall will fall to the ground. 21 I will summon a sword against Gog on all my mountains, declares the Sovereign LORD. Every man's sword will be against his brother. 22 I will execute judgment upon him with plague and bloodshed; I will pour down torrents of rain, hailstones and burning sulfur on him and on his troops and on the many nations with him. 23 And so I will show my greatness and my holiness, and I will make myself known in the sight of many nations. Then they will know that I am the LORD.'
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
2 Peter 1:16-21 (New International Version)
16We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."[a] 18We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.
19And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. 20Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. 21For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
February 2, 2009
Punxsutawney Phil
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READ: 2 Peter 1:16-21
We have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed. —2 Peter 1:19
Punxsutawney Phil is a groundhog that comes out of his burrow on Gobbler’s Knob, Pennsylvania, each February 2 to predict the weather. According to legend, if Phil sees his shadow, there will be 6 more weeks of cold weather. If he doesn’t see his shadow, spring will come early.
This is all humbug and good humor, of course. No one to my knowledge takes Phil’s predictions seriously. Furthermore, he’s unreliable—more often wrong than right, I’m told.
There is One, however, who is always right and whom we must take seriously. Peter writes of Him, “We have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts” (2 Peter 1:19).
Peter was thinking of that day on the Mount of Transfiguration with James and John when he saw Jesus standing with the two great prophets of the Old Testament, Moses and Elijah. In that august company of true prophets the Father pointed to the Son and said: “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!” (Luke 9:35). Jesus’ word is a “prophetic word” that is certain!
There is One who is never wrong and who will never lead us astray: our Lord Jesus. We must hear Him! — David H. Roper
At the name of Jesus bowing,
Falling prostrate at His feet,
King of kings in heaven we’ll crown Him
When our journey is complete. —Baxter
In a world full of speculation, only God’s Word is certain.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
February 2, 2009
The Compelling Force of the Call
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READ:
Woe is me if I do not preach the gospel! —1 Corinthians 9:16
Beware of refusing to hear the call of God. Everyone who is saved is called to testify to the fact of his salvation. That, however, is not the same as the call to preach, but is merely an illustration which can be used in preaching. In this verse, Paul was referring to the stinging pains produced in him by the compelling force of the call to preach the gospel. Never try to apply what Paul said regarding the call to preach to those souls who are being called to God for salvation. There is nothing easier than getting saved, because it is solely God’s sovereign work— "Look to Me, and be saved . . ." ( Isaiah 45:22 ). Our Lord never requires the same conditions for discipleship that he requires for salvation. We are condemned to salvation through the Cross of Christ. But discipleship has an option with it-"If anyone . . ." ( Luke 14:26 ).
Paul’s words have to do with our being made servants of Jesus Christ, and our permission is never asked as to what we will do or where we will go. God makes us as broken bread and poured-out wine to please Himself. To be "separated to the gospel" means being able to hear the call of God ( Romans 1:1 ). Once someone begins to hear that call, a suffering worthy of the name of Christ is produced. Suddenly, every ambition, every desire of life, and every outlook is completely blotted out and extinguished. Only one thing remains— ". . . separated to the gospel. . . ." Woe be to the soul who tries to head in any other direction once that call has come to him. The Bible Training College exists so that each of you may know whether or not God has a man or woman here who truly cares about proclaiming His gospel and to see if God grips you for this purpose. Beware of competing calls once the call of God grips you.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
The Bid For You - #5756
Monday, February 2, 2009
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Now, I had never been to a quilt auction before. And I probably never would have been to one except for the fact that I had been invited to speak at an outreach at a Mennonite Relief Sale, where thousands come to bid on items made by Mennonite and Amish craftspeople. All the funds go toward worldwide relief efforts. It was amazing to hear the spiraling bids shouted out for some exquisitely designed quilts. While I was there, one went for $2,000. Last year, they told me that one quilt had gone for $4,000. They even sold two handmade dolls for almost $1,000. I was there long enough to see what gave great value to an auction item. Those dolls, for example, were made by a Ugandan refugee. The quilt that went for $4,000 was made laboriously by a severely handicapped woman, and it was the last one she made before she died. When we were told who made it - when we were told the effort they went to make it - it was suddenly worth a whole lot more.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Bid For You."
Something takes on great value when it's a handmade original. That is why you're worth so much. Something takes on great value when the creator sacrificed a lot for it. That's why you're worth so much.
It may be that you don't feel like you're worth much; not after the things you've been called, the way you've been treated, the abuse, the abandonment, the rejection you've experienced. But none of that has anything to do with how much you're worth. Your value is based on Who made you and how much your Creator sacrificed for you. No one on earth gave you your worth and no one on earth can take it away!The Bible clearly says that you are "God's workmanship" (Ephesians 2:10), His handmade, masterpiece creation. You are a divine original! Let's settle once and for all how much you're worth to the One who made you. 1 John 4:9-10, our word for today from the Word of God say this: "This is how God showed His love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins."
God thought you were worth the life of His one and only Son! At the auction I attended, people expressed how much they valued what was available by how much they were willing to spend on it. There is no question Who has made the highest bid for you by far. At the cross, Jesus offered His life as the price to bring you back to God, which may be why you've questioned your value, why you've felt like you're not worth much. You're away from the One who made you, you're away from the God who gave you your worth! You've run the life that He was supposed to run, and your sin has put a wall between you and Him. But it doesn't have to stay that way - not after the bid Jesus made for you at the cross. Your sin-penalty has been paid. That wall can come down this very day!
If you've never begun your personal relationship with the One who loves you most, this could be the day that you finally experience the love you've been looking for your whole life. Would you tell Jesus right now that you're ready to turn from running your own life; that you're committing yourself completely to Him?
You could stop right where you are and say, "Jesus, I've been running my own life. I know that's wrong. I know there's a death penalty for that, but I resign from running my life as of today. I believe you died on the cross to pay for every wrong thing I've ever done. I believe you walked out of your grave under your own power so you could give me eternal life like You have. Today I want to begin my relationship with You. Today I'm Yours."
Our website has been a help to a lot of people at a point where they knew there was something missing. And that something missing was someone; it was Jesus. I want to urge you to go there today as soon as you can. It's YoursForLife.net. Or you can call for our booklet Yours For Life toll free at 877-741-1200.
You're paid for with the life of God's one and only Son. You are very precious to Him. Now, isn't it time you belong to Him?
