Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
March 23
The Greenhouse of the Heart
The heavens tell the glory of God.
Psalm 19:1 (NCV)
How vital that we pray, armed with the knowledge that God is in heaven. Pray with any lesser conviction and your prayers are timid, shallow, and hollow. But spend some time walking in the workshop of the heavens, seeing what God has done, and watch how your prayers are energized....
Behold the sun! Every square yard of the sun is constantly emitting 130,000 horse power, or the equivalent of 450 eight-cylinder automobile engines. And yet our sun, as powerful as it is, is but one minor star in the 100 billion orbs which make up our Milky Way Galaxy. Hold a dime in your fingers and extend it arm's length toward the sky, allowing it to eclipse your vision, and you will block out fifteen million stars from your view…. By showing us the heavens, Jesus is showing us his Father's workshop....He taps us on the shoulder and says, "Your Father can handle that for you."
Amos 3
Witnesses Summoned Against Israel
1 Hear this word the LORD has spoken against you, O people of Israel—against the whole family I brought up out of Egypt:
2 "You only have I chosen
of all the families of the earth;
therefore I will punish you
for all your sins."
3 Do two walk together
unless they have agreed to do so?
4 Does a lion roar in the thicket
when he has no prey?
Does he growl in his den
when he has caught nothing?
5 Does a bird fall into a trap on the ground
where no snare has been set?
Does a trap spring up from the earth
when there is nothing to catch?
6 When a trumpet sounds in a city,
do not the people tremble?
When disaster comes to a city,
has not the LORD caused it?
7 Surely the Sovereign LORD does nothing
without revealing his plan
to his servants the prophets.
8 The lion has roared—
who will not fear?
The Sovereign LORD has spoken—
who can but prophesy?
9 Proclaim to the fortresses of Ashdod
and to the fortresses of Egypt:
"Assemble yourselves on the mountains of Samaria;
see the great unrest within her
and the oppression among her people."
10 "They do not know how to do right," declares the LORD,
"who hoard plunder and loot in their fortresses."
11 Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says:
"An enemy will overrun the land;
he will pull down your strongholds
and plunder your fortresses."
12 This is what the LORD says:
"As a shepherd saves from the lion's mouth
only two leg bones or a piece of an ear,
so will the Israelites be saved,
those who sit in Samaria
on the edge of their beds
and in Damascus on their couches. [a] "
13 "Hear this and testify against the house of Jacob," declares the Lord, the LORD God Almighty.
14 "On the day I punish Israel for her sins,
I will destroy the altars of Bethel;
the horns of the altar will be cut off
and fall to the ground.
15 I will tear down the winter house
along with the summer house;
the houses adorned with ivory will be destroyed
and the mansions will be demolished,"
declares the LORD.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
1 Samuel 7:3-12 (New International Version)
3 And Samuel said to the whole house of Israel, "If you are returning to the LORD with all your hearts, then rid yourselves of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths and commit yourselves to the LORD and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines." 4 So the Israelites put away their Baals and Ashtoreths, and served the LORD only.
5 Then Samuel said, "Assemble all Israel at Mizpah and I will intercede with the LORD for you." 6 When they had assembled at Mizpah, they drew water and poured it out before the LORD. On that day they fasted and there they confessed, "We have sinned against the LORD." And Samuel was leader [a] of Israel at Mizpah.
7 When the Philistines heard that Israel had assembled at Mizpah, the rulers of the Philistines came up to attack them. And when the Israelites heard of it, they were afraid because of the Philistines. 8 They said to Samuel, "Do not stop crying out to the LORD our God for us, that he may rescue us from the hand of the Philistines." 9 Then Samuel took a suckling lamb and offered it up as a whole burnt offering to the LORD. He cried out to the LORD on Israel's behalf, and the LORD answered him.
10 While Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to engage Israel in battle. But that day the LORD thundered with loud thunder against the Philistines and threw them into such a panic that they were routed before the Israelites. 11 The men of Israel rushed out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, slaughtering them along the way to a point below Beth Car.
12 Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, [b] saying, "Thus far has the LORD helped us."
March 23, 2009
Crazy Horse
ODB RADIO: Listen Now | Download
READ: 1 Samuel 7:3-12
Samuel took a stone . . . and called its name Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the Lord has helped us.” —1 Samuel 7:12
In 1876, the Sioux leader Crazy Horse joined forces with Sitting Bull to defeat General Custer and his army at Little Bighorn. Not much later, though, starvation caused Crazy Horse to surrender to US troops. He was killed while trying to escape. Despite this sad conclusion to his life, he became a symbol of heroic leadership of a threatened people.
Today in the Black Hills of South Dakota, he is commemorated with a monument being carved into a mountain—the Crazy Horse Memorial. When complete, it will be 641 feet long and 563 feet high. It will show Crazy Horse riding a galloping horse, pointing the way to his people.
Thousands of years ago, the prophet Samuel used a much smaller memorial stone in a significant way. In the midst of a crucial battle with the Philistines, Samuel called out to God on Israel’s behalf. The Lord answered his prayer (1 Sam. 7:10). In gratitude, Samuel set up a stone “and called its name Ebenezer, saying, ‘Thus far the Lord has helped us’” (v.12).
Samuel has set an example for our spiritual journey. We too can use tangible reminders of God’s faithfulness to help us worship and serve Him. It’s good to remember “thus far the Lord has helped us.” — Dennis Fisher
Putting It Into Practice
* Keep a spiritual journal and record God’s blessings.
* Write answers to prayer in your journal.
* Tell a friend what God has done in your life.
Gratitude is the memory of a glad heart.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
March 23, 2009
Am I Carnally Minded?
ODB RADIO: | Download
READ:
Where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal . . . ? —1 Corinthians 3:3
The natural man, or unbeliever, knows nothing about carnality. The desires of the flesh warring against the Spirit, and the Spirit warring against the flesh, which began at rebirth, are what produce carnality and the awareness of it. But Paul said, "Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh" ( Galatians 5:16 ). In other words, carnality will disappear.
Are you quarrelsome and easily upset over small things? Do you think that no one who is a Christian is ever like that? Paul said they are, and he connected these attitudes with carnality. Is there a truth in the Bible that instantly awakens a spirit of malice or resentment in you? If so, that is proof that you are still carnal. If the process of sanctification is continuing in your life, there will be no trace of that kind of spirit remaining.
If the Spirit of God detects anything in you that is wrong, He doesn’t ask you to make it right; He only asks you to accept the light of truth, and then He will make it right. A child of the light will confess sin instantly and stand completely open before God. But a child of the darkness will say, "Oh, I can explain that." When the light shines and the Spirit brings conviction of sin, be a child of the light. Confess your wrongdoing, and God will deal with it. If, however, you try to vindicate yourself, you prove yourself to be a child of the darkness.
What is the proof that carnality has gone? Never deceive yourself; when carnality is gone you will know it-it is the most real thing you can imagine. And God will see to it that you have a number of opportunities to prove to yourself the miracle of His grace. The proof is in a very practical test. You will find yourself saying, "If this had happened before, I would have had the spirit of resentment!" And you will never cease to be the most amazed person on earth at what God has done for you on the inside.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Filled With the Good Stuff - #5791
Monday, March 23, 2009
Download MP3 (right click to save)
Okay, the glass in front of me says "Coke" on it. But the label is wrong in this case. See, my glass is filled with water; which of course, is much healthier for me. Now there's no way I'm putting any Coke in this glass. I can't. You just can't put any other liquid in here, because there's no room for anything but my water. It's full.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "Filled With the Good Stuff."
Now, my glass filled with water, and it's actually a picture of one of the most powerful prayers you can pray for yourself or for someone you care about. In fact, it's such a good prayer that it's one of the relatively few that God thought should be included in the Bible so we all could read it. The basic thrust of this prayer is repeated several times as Paul tells us what he prayed for when he prayed for the important people in his life.
We get to actually eavesdrop on the prayer of one of the most powerful Christ-followers in history in our word for today from the Word of God. It's in Colossians 1:9 where Paul says, "Since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to, now here it comes, fill you with the knowledge of His will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding." He goes on to say that if that happens, the folks he's praying for will live a life that pleases God in every way, they will bear fruit in their work, they will grow in knowing God, and they'll get really strong with supernatural power. But what births all that good stuff in one of your "prayees" is that they get filled with the knowledge of God's will. That's what starts the whole ball rolling.
Which brings us to my glass here, which is filled with water, which means there's no room for anything else in it. This prayer asks that you - or someone you're praying for - will be taken over with the sense of exactly what God wants done in each situation, in each decision. So filled with what He wants that it pushes out every other viewpoint, every other perspective. What God wants done starts to dominate the heart and the mind and the emotions of a person who is "filled with the knowledge of his will."
That's what is so powerful about this prayer and why it was a focal point of the great Apostle Paul's praying. Ultimately, this God's will fill up is an answer to prayer. But there are some things you can do to create the environment of clear, unmistakable direction from God. First, want it badly. Are you interested in God's viewpoint just to see if you want to do what He says? Or are you desperate to get God's leading on what you should do, and you'll do it no matter what? Remember, "Commit your way to the Lord; trust also in Him and He will bring it to pass" (Psalm 37:5 KJV).
Secondly, approach it neutrally. Don't pray to be filled with God's will if you're all full of your will. Give God a blank piece of paper, not a contract you'd like Him to sign. One other step that prepares you for a God's will fill up - act responsively. When you get God's leading, do it before you change your mind. Obedience isn't just agreeing with what God wants - it's doing it. And until God fills you with the knowledge of His will on this matter, don't move. When He does fill your heart, don't wait. By the way, don't forget that the unfolding of God's will is usually just the next step, not the whole plan. See, that will keep you close to Him day by day, waiting to see the next step.
Well, get used to asking God for this for you, for someone you love, that they will be "filled with the knowledge of His will." That's a great way to pray!
