Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
April 16
God Is Uncaused
Remember that I am God, and there is no other God, I am God, and there is no one like me.
Isaiah 46:9 (NCV)
No one breathed life into Yahweh. No one sired him. No one gave birth to him. No one caused him. No act brought him forth.
And since no act brought him forth, no act can take him out. Does he fear an earthquake? Does he tremble at a tornado? Hardly. Yahweh sleeps through storms and calms the winds with a word. Cancer does not trouble him, and cemeteries do not disturb him. He was here before they came. He’ll be here after they are gone. He is uncaused.
And he is ungoverned. Counselors can comfort you in the storm, but you need a God who can still the storm. Friends can hold your hand at your deathbed, but you need a Yahweh who has defeated the grave. Philosophers can debate the meaning of life, but you need a Lord who can declare the meaning of life.
2 Kings 22
Josiah Rules in Judah
Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years. His mother was Jedidah, the daughter of Adaiah from Bozkath. 2 He did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight and followed the example of his ancestor David. He did not turn away from doing what was right.
3 In the eighteenth year of his reign, King Josiah sent Shaphan son of Azaliah and grandson of Meshullam, the court secretary, to the Temple of the Lord. He told him, 4 “Go to Hilkiah the high priest and have him count the money the gatekeepers have collected from the people at the Lord’s Temple. 5 Entrust this money to the men assigned to supervise the Temple’s restoration. Then they can use it to pay workers to repair the Temple of the Lord. 6 They will need to hire carpenters, builders, and masons. Also have them buy the timber and the finished stone needed to repair the Temple. 7 But don’t require the construction supervisors to keep account of the money they receive, for they are honest and trustworthy men.”
Hilkiah Discovers God’s Law
8 Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the court secretary, “I have found the Book of the Law in the Lord’s Temple!” Then Hilkiah gave the scroll to Shaphan, and he read it.
9 Shaphan went to the king and reported, “Your officials have turned over the money collected at the Temple of the Lord to the workers and supervisors at the Temple.” 10 Shaphan also told the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a scroll.” So Shaphan read it to the king.
11 When the king heard what was written in the Book of the Law, he tore his clothes in despair. 12 Then he gave these orders to Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Acbor son of Micaiah, Shaphan the court secretary, and Asaiah the king’s personal adviser: 13 “Go to the Temple and speak to the Lord for me and for the people and for all Judah. Inquire about the words written in this scroll that has been found. For the Lord’s great anger is burning against us because our ancestors have not obeyed the words in this scroll. We have not been doing everything it says we must do.”
14 So Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Acbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went to the New Quarter[d] of Jerusalem to consult with the prophet Huldah. She was the wife of Shallum son of Tikvah, son of Harhas, the keeper of the Temple wardrobe.
15 She said to them, “The Lord, the God of Israel, has spoken! Go back and tell the man who sent you, 16 ‘This is what the Lord says: I am going to bring disaster on this city[e] and its people. All the words written in the scroll that the king of Judah has read will come true. 17 For my people have abandoned me and offered sacrifices to pagan gods, and I am very angry with them for everything they have done. My anger will burn against this place, and it will not be quenched.’
18 “But go to the king of Judah who sent you to seek the Lord and tell him: ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says concerning the message you have just heard: 19 You were sorry and humbled yourself before the Lord when you heard what I said against this city and its people—that this land would be cursed and become desolate. You tore your clothing in despair and wept before me in repentance. And I have indeed heard you, says the Lord. 20 So I will not send the promised disaster until after you have died and been buried in peace. You will not see the disaster I am going to bring on this city.’”
So they took her message back to the king.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
1 Corinthians 3
Paul and Apollos, Servants of Christ
1 Dear brothers and sisters,[a] when I was with you I couldn’t talk to you as I would to spiritual people.[b] I had to talk as though you belonged to this world or as though you were infants in the Christian life.[c] 2 I had to feed you with milk, not with solid food, because you weren’t ready for anything stronger. And you still aren’t ready, 3 for you are still controlled by your sinful nature. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn’t that prove you are controlled by your sinful nature? Aren’t you living like people of the world? 4 When one of you says, “I am a follower of Paul,” and another says, “I follow Apollos,” aren’t you acting just like people of the world?
5 After all, who is Apollos? Who is Paul? We are only God’s servants through whom you believed the Good News. Each of us did the work the Lord gave us. 6 I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow. 7 It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow. 8 The one who plants and the one who waters work together with the same purpose. And both will be rewarded for their own hard work. 9 For we are both God’s workers. And you are God’s field. You are God’s building.
10 Because of God’s grace to me, I have laid the foundation like an expert builder. Now others are building on it. But whoever is building on this foundation must be very careful. 11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have—Jesus Christ.
12 Anyone who builds on that foundation may use a variety of materials—gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw. 13 But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value. 14 If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward. 15 But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames.
16 Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in[d] you? 17 God will destroy anyone who destroys this temple. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.
April 16, 2009
Gatekeepers
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READ: 1 Corinthians 3:1-17
The temple of God is holy, which temple you are. —1 Corinthians 3:17
In journalism, the term gatekeeper refers to reporters, editors, and publishers who consider various news items and determine which stories are newsworthy. Some long-time news professionals warn that the Internet allows information to get through without being checked at the gate.
In Old Testament times, gatekeepers guarded the temple to prevent those who were unclean from entering (2 Chron. 23:19). In ad 70, the temple was destroyed by the Roman armies of Emperor Titus. But the destruction began years earlier when the Levites assigned to guard it failed to do so after coming under the corrupt influence of the Syrian king Antiochus iv.
Paul called our bodies God’s “temple” (1 Cor. 3:16-17), and many forces are at work to assault God’s new dwelling. Evil may gain a foothold through unfortified areas of our spiritual life—places where envy, strife, or divisions may undermine us (3:3). Each of us must be on guard against the enemy of our souls and never give place to the devil (Eph. 4:27).
The criteria for what may enter is found in Philippians 4:8—whatever is true, noble, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous, and praiseworthy. The resulting peace will guard the gate of our hearts and minds. — Julie Ackerman Link
Help me to guard my troubled soul
By constant, active self-control.
Clean up my thought, my speech, my play;
Lord, keep me pure from day to day. —Thomas
If you’re not on guard against evil you’ll be influenced by evil.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
April 16, 2009
Can You Come Down From the Mountain?
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READ:
While you have the light, believe in the light . . . —John 12:36
We all have moments when we feel better than ever before, and we say, "I feel fit for anything; if only I could always be like this!" We are not meant to be. Those moments are moments of insight which we have to live up to even when we do not feel like it. Many of us are no good for the everyday world when we are not on the mountaintop. Yet we must bring our everyday life up to the standard revealed to us on the mountaintop when we were there.
Never allow a feeling that was awakened in you on the mountaintop to evaporate. Don’t place yourself on the shelf by thinking, "How great to be in such a wonderful state of mind!" Act immediately— do something, even if your only reason to act is that you would rather not. If, during a prayer meeting, God shows you something to do, don’t say, "I’ll do it"— just doit! Pick yourself up by the back of the neck and shake off your fleshly laziness. Laziness can always be seen in our cravings for a mountaintop experience; all we talk about is our planning for our time on the mountain. We must learn to live in the ordinary "gray" day according to what we saw on the mountain.
Don’t give up because you have been blocked and confused once— go after it again. Burn your bridges behind you, and stand committed to God by an act of your own will. Never change your decisions, but be sure to make your decisions in the light of what you saw and learned on the mountain.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
No Such Thing As Retirement - #5809
Thursday, April 16, 2009
It's got to be one of the most memorable, most identifiable advertising campaigns in recent history. And it's hard to do that when what you're selling is something as boring as batteries. But Energizer did it. You can probably imagine their rabbit in your mind right now: he's got sunglasses on, drumsticks in his hand, and a big bass drum in front of him. And he moves across the landscape, seemingly unstoppable, beating his drum all the way because he's powered by Energizer batteries, of course.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "No Such Thing As Retirement."
Yeah, the Energizer bunny. He keeps "going and going and going." So do faithful followers of Jesus Christ, no matter how long they've been going. God says so in our word for today from the Word of God.
According to Psalm 92, beginning with verse 12, "The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God." Now, listen to this part. "They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, proclaiming, 'The Lord is upright; He is my Rock..." I love this. People in the later years of their lives, not just playing shuffleboard or watching TV, but still making a difference. Still praising their faithful Lord every chance they get. Still talking about the "Rock" who has sustained them through every battle of their life. In fact, speaking as only those who have walked with God a long time can speak of Him!
It's God's will that you should "bear fruit" in your "old age," that you stay fresh and productive, not stale and on the sidelines. You can retire from a career. You can retire from a company or an occupation, but you can't retire from the service of Jesus Christ! There are those who say, "Well, I've served my time. I've done my part. I'll just sit here and rest until Jesus comes for me." Listen, when you love the Lord Jesus, when you've surrendered your life to His leadership, you don't look for an opportunity to quit. You say, "Man, if I live to be a hundred, I'm never going to have enough time to do for my Lord what I want to do!" God wants you to be one of His "Energizer bunnies" going and going and going until He decides your work is finished.
Yes, your body may slow down. Your health may not be what it used to be. But you still have so much to give. He's still got lives for you to touch. Wherever He's put you, don't go off duty! He's still got young people He wants you to encourage with your long view of the ways of God. He's still got battles for you to fight, other people's burdens for you to carry, situations that need your wisdom, people who need you for them to have a chance to go to heaven. How can you retire? Yes, you may retire from a ministry position, but don't ever retire from ministry!
So many people get more self-centered the older they get. That isn't God's plan for you and me. The closer we get to seeing Jesus, the less we should be thinking about ourselves and the more we should be thinking about serving Him and storing up treasures in heaven! Isn't it exciting to know that God wants to keep using your life for your whole life? Because the Holy Spirit, who lives in you, never gets old, never wears out, never goes off duty. Because of that, you're going to keep "going and going and going" for Jesus until the day you see Him!