Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
March 17
Abounding Grace
The more we see our sinfulness, the more we see God’s abounding grace.
Romans 5:20 (TLB)
To abound is to have a surplus, an abundance, an extravagant portion. Should the fish in the Pacific worry that it will run out of ocean? No. Why? The ocean abounds with water. Need the lark be anxious about finding room in the sky to fly? No. The sky abounds with space.
Should the Christian worry that the cup of mercy will run empty? He may. For he may not be aware of God’s abounding grace. Are you? Are you aware that the cup God gives you overflows with mercy? Or are you afraid your cup will run dry? Your warranty will expire? Are you afraid your mistakes are too great for God’s grace?…
God is not a miser with his grace. Your cup may be low on cash or clout, but it is overflowing with mercy
2 Chronicles 24
Joash Repairs the Temple
1 Joash was seven years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem forty years. His mother's name was Zibiah; she was from Beersheba. 2 Joash did what was right in the eyes of the LORD all the years of Jehoiada the priest. 3 Jehoiada chose two wives for him, and he had sons and daughters.
4 Some time later Joash decided to restore the temple of the LORD. 5 He called together the priests and Levites and said to them, "Go to the towns of Judah and collect the money due annually from all Israel, to repair the temple of your God. Do it now." But the Levites did not act at once.
6 Therefore the king summoned Jehoiada the chief priest and said to him, "Why haven't you required the Levites to bring in from Judah and Jerusalem the tax imposed by Moses the servant of the LORD and by the assembly of Israel for the Tent of the Testimony?"
7 Now the sons of that wicked woman Athaliah had broken into the temple of God and had used even its sacred objects for the Baals.
8 At the king's command, a chest was made and placed outside, at the gate of the temple of the LORD. 9 A proclamation was then issued in Judah and Jerusalem that they should bring to the LORD the tax that Moses the servant of God had required of Israel in the desert. 10 All the officials and all the people brought their contributions gladly, dropping them into the chest until it was full. 11 Whenever the chest was brought in by the Levites to the king's officials and they saw that there was a large amount of money, the royal secretary and the officer of the chief priest would come and empty the chest and carry it back to its place. They did this regularly and collected a great amount of money. 12 The king and Jehoiada gave it to the men who carried out the work required for the temple of the LORD. They hired masons and carpenters to restore the LORD's temple, and also workers in iron and bronze to repair the temple.
13 The men in charge of the work were diligent, and the repairs progressed under them. They rebuilt the temple of God according to its original design and reinforced it. 14 When they had finished, they brought the rest of the money to the king and Jehoiada, and with it were made articles for the LORD's temple: articles for the service and for the burnt offerings, and also dishes and other objects of gold and silver. As long as Jehoiada lived, burnt offerings were presented continually in the temple of the LORD.
15 Now Jehoiada was old and full of years, and he died at the age of a hundred and thirty. 16 He was buried with the kings in the City of David, because of the good he had done in Israel for God and his temple.
The Wickedness of Joash
17 After the death of Jehoiada, the officials of Judah came and paid homage to the king, and he listened to them. 18 They abandoned the temple of the LORD, the God of their fathers, and worshiped Asherah poles and idols. Because of their guilt, God's anger came upon Judah and Jerusalem. 19 Although the LORD sent prophets to the people to bring them back to him, and though they testified against them, they would not listen.
20 Then the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest. He stood before the people and said, "This is what God says: 'Why do you disobey the LORD's commands? You will not prosper. Because you have forsaken the LORD, he has forsaken you.' "
21 But they plotted against him, and by order of the king they stoned him to death in the courtyard of the LORD's temple. 22 King Joash did not remember the kindness Zechariah's father Jehoiada had shown him but killed his son, who said as he lay dying, "May the LORD see this and call you to account."
23 At the turn of the year, [a] the army of Aram marched against Joash; it invaded Judah and Jerusalem and killed all the leaders of the people. They sent all the plunder to their king in Damascus. 24 Although the Aramean army had come with only a few men, the LORD delivered into their hands a much larger army. Because Judah had forsaken the LORD, the God of their fathers, judgment was executed on Joash. 25 When the Arameans withdrew, they left Joash severely wounded. His officials conspired against him for murdering the son of Jehoiada the priest, and they killed him in his bed. So he died and was buried in the City of David, but not in the tombs of the kings.
26 Those who conspired against him were Zabad, [b] son of Shimeath an Ammonite woman, and Jehozabad, son of Shimrith [c] a Moabite woman. 27 The account of his sons, the many prophecies about him, and the record of the restoration of the temple of God are written in the annotations on the book of the kings. And Amaziah his son succeeded him as king.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Deuteronomy 30:15-20 (New International Version)
15 See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. 16 For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess.
17 But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, 18 I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess.
19 This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live 20 and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the LORD is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
March 17, 2009
Take One Step
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: Deuteronomy 30:15-20
Love the Lord your God, . . . obey His voice, and . . . cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days. —Deuteronomy 30:20
At a shopping mall in Coventry, England, researchers posted colorful signs along the steps of a staircase that said: “Taking the stairs protects your heart.” Over a 6-week period, the number of people who chose to walk up the stairs instead of riding the adjacent escalator more than doubled. The researchers say that every step counts, and that long-term behavior will change only if the signs are seen regularly.
The Bible is filled with “signs” urging us to obey the Lord and follow Him wholeheartedly. Just before the Lord’s people entered the Promised Land, He said to them: “I have set before you today life and good, death and evil . . . . Therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days” (Deut. 30:15,19-20).
So often we hope our lives will change through a giant leap of faith, a profound decision, or a significant act of service. In reality, the only way we change is one step at a time, and every step counts.
Today, let’s heed the signs and take a step of heartfelt obedience toward the Lord. — David C. McCasland
It matters not the path on earth
My feet are made to trod;
It only matters how I live:
Obedient to God. —Clark
One small step of obedience is a giant step to blessing.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
March 17, 2009
The Servant’s Primary Goal
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
We make it our aim . . . to be well pleasing to Him —2 Corinthians 5:9
We make it our aim. . . ." It requires a conscious decision and effort to keep our primary goal constantly in front of us. It means holding ourselves to the highest priority year in and year out; not making our first priority to win souls, or to establish churches, or to have revivals, but seeking only "to be well pleasing to Him." It is not a lack of spiritual experience that leads to failure, but a lack of working to keep our eyes focused and on the right goal. At least once a week examine yourself before God to see if your life is measuring up to the standard He has for you. Paul was like a musician who gives no thought to audience approval, if he can only catch a look of approval from his Conductor.
Any goal we have that diverts us even to the slightest degree from the central goal of being "approved to God" ( 2 Timothy 2:15 ) may result in our rejection from further service for Him. When you discern where the goal leads, you will understand why it is so necessary to keep "looking unto Jesus" ( Hebrews 12:2 ). Paul spoke of the importance of controlling his own body so that it would not take him in the wrong direction. He said, "I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest . . . I myself should become disqualified" ( 1 Corinthians 9:27 ).
I must learn to relate everything to the primary goal, maintaining it without interruption. My worth to God publicly is measured by what I really am in my private life. Is my primary goal in life to please Him and to be acceptable to Him, or is it something less, no matter how lofty it may sound?
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
The Words That Tear Down Walls - #5787
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Download MP3 (right click to save)
Normally, Hainan Island is thought of as a tourist attraction. But the 24 American military personnel who were held there by the Chinese in early 2001 probably didn't feel much like tourists. As the Americans reported it, their reconnaissance plane had been disabled by a Chinese jet that had flown too close and crashed into them. The jet pilot was lost and the American crew almost was, except for some extraordinary flying that managed to land their damaged plane on that Chinese island. There were days of tense negotiations, with the Chinese insisting on an apology and the Americans insisting on the release of their crew. The stalemate was finally broken by two words that the President of the United States included in a statement to the Chinese; words that expressed our sorrow over the loss of the Chinese pilot, not over the incident. The words? "I'm sorry." That's all it took. The next day our crew was on their way home.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Words That Tear Down Walls."
The incident over our downed plane wasn't the first time that a stalemate has been broken by those two little words. And I can't help but wonder how many marriages, how many children, how many churches, how many relationships could have been saved if someone had been willing to say those two words, "I'm sorry." Or the longer version, "I was wrong." Maybe they're the words that your need to be saying right now.
Our word for today from the Word of God gives us a challenge that can have amazing effects in a damaged or strained or even a broken relationship. James 5:16says, "Confess your sins to one another and pray for one another that you may be healed." So much healing can begin when we are willing to swallow our pride and admit what we've done wrong. And the longer we wait to apologize, the higher the wall gets.
We'd rather focus on their sins, the things they did wrong. But God says, "Each of us will give an account of himself to God" (Romans 14:12). We're to confess our sins, not their sins, which we are more than willing to confess. But the Bible clearly encourages us to be quick to apologize - even to "leave our gift at the altar" and "first go and be reconciled" to our brother or sister (Matthew 5:23-24). It's part of carrying out our Lord's orders in Romans 12:18, "As far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone."
Well, it certainly depends on me to say "I'm sorry" for anything I've done that has caused hurt or misunderstanding. Even if I'm 10% wrong and they're 90% wrong (which is almost surely the case, right?). I'm responsible for at least my 10%. And not for a lame, often hedged apology like, "Well, I'm sorry if I've done anything wrong." Our healing apology should be as specific as possible.
Maybe you grew up in an environment where people never admitted they were wrong. You may be in a situation where the feelings are hard, the walls are high, and where you've been really wounded. But none of that changes your responsibility as a follower of Jesus Christ to say, "I was wrong" to say, "I'm sorry" when that's the case.
Ask God to use your two little words "I'm sorry" in a really powerful way. Sometimes, two little words are the beginning of a very big breakthrough.
