Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
November 6
The Master Builder
He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake.
Psalm 23:3 (NKJV)
It's hard to see things grow old. The town in which I grew up is growing old. . . . Some of the buildings are boarded up. Some of the houses are torn down. . . . The old movie house where I took my dates has "For Sale" on the marquee. . . .
I wish I could make it all new again. I wish I could blow the dust off the streets. . . but I can't.
I can't. But God can. "He restores my soul," wrote the shepherd. He doesn't reform; he restores. He doesn't camouflage the old; he restores the new. The Master Builder will pull out the original plan and restore it. He will restore the vigor. He will restore the energy. He will restore the hope. He will restore the soul.
From: The Applause of Heaven
Copyright (Word Publishing, 1990)
Max Lucado
Joshua 5
Circumcision at Gilgal
1 Now when all the Amorite kings west of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings along the coast heard how the LORD had dried up the Jordan before the Israelites until we had crossed over, their hearts melted and they no longer had the courage to face the Israelites.
2 At that time the LORD said to Joshua, "Make flint knives and circumcise the Israelites again." 3 So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the Israelites at Gibeath Haaraloth. [i]
4 Now this is why he did so: All those who came out of Egypt—all the men of military age—died in the desert on the way after leaving Egypt. 5 All the people that came out had been circumcised, but all the people born in the desert during the journey from Egypt had not. 6 The Israelites had moved about in the desert forty years until all the men who were of military age when they left Egypt had died, since they had not obeyed the LORD. For the LORD had sworn to them that they would not see the land that he had solemnly promised their fathers to give us, a land flowing with milk and honey. 7 So he raised up their sons in their place, and these were the ones Joshua circumcised. They were still uncircumcised because they had not been circumcised on the way. 8 And after the whole nation had been circumcised, they remained where they were in camp until they were healed.
9 Then the LORD said to Joshua, "Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you." So the place has been called Gilgal [j] to this day.
10 On the evening of the fourteenth day of the month, while camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, the Israelites celebrated the Passover. 11 The day after the Passover, that very day, they ate some of the produce of the land: unleavened bread and roasted grain. 12 The manna stopped the day after [k] they ate this food from the land; there was no longer any manna for the Israelites, but that year they ate of the produce of Canaan.
The Fall of Jericho
13 Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, "Are you for us or for our enemies?"
14 "Neither," he replied, "but as commander of the army of the LORD I have now come." Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, "What message does my Lord [l] have for his servant?"
15 The commander of the LORD's army replied, "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy." And Joshua did so.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Exodus 13:14-16 (New International Version)
14 "In days to come, when your son asks you, 'What does this mean?' say to him, 'With a mighty hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 15 When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the LORD killed every firstborn in Egypt, both man and animal. This is why I sacrifice to the LORD the first male offspring of every womb and redeem each of my firstborn sons.' 16 And it will be like a sign on your hand and a symbol on your forehead that the LORD brought us out of Egypt with his mighty hand."
November 6, 2009
Where History Comes Alive
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READ: Exodus 13:14-16
When your children say to you, “What do you mean by this service?” . . . you shall say, “It is the Passover.” —Exodus 12:26-27
The movie Night at the Museum portrays the humorous experiences of a security guard at a natural history museum. The excitement begins for him when the displays come to life at night.
Inspired by this movie, directors of a real museum created a similar experience. The staff portrayed historic figures such as knights in armor, Victorian ladies, and Egyptian royalty. When children arrived at the museum, they were told that the people in the exhibits had come alive and needed to be led back to their proper place. As the children responded, history came alive for them.
Children need not be bored by history. This is especially true of Bible stories. Take Moses, for example. He escaped death as a child, was educated as a prince, worked miracles, and received the Ten Commandments on tablets. What exciting story elements that teach children about God!
Biblical stories have been shared with children for generations—all the way back to the times of Exodus (ch.12–13) and Deuteronomy (ch.6). Moses described times when children were retold vital stories from Jewish history.
Why not set a time to read Bible stories to the children in your life? Then watch their excitement as biblical history comes alive! — Dennis Fisher
The stories in the Word of God
Are there for us to see
How God has worked in people’s lives
Throughout all history. —Sper
The Bible’s treasures are found by those who dig for them.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
November 6, 2009
Intimate Theology
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READ:
Do you believe this? —John 11:26
Martha believed in the power available to Jesus Christ; she believed that if He had been there He could have healed her brother; she also believed that Jesus had a special intimacy with God, and that whatever He asked of God, God would do. But— she needed a closer personal intimacy with Jesus. Martha’s theology had its fulfillment in the future. But Jesus continued to attract and draw her in until her belief became an intimate possession. It then slowly emerged into a personal inheritance— "Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ . . ." ( John 11:27 ).
Is the Lord dealing with you in the same way? Is Jesus teaching you to have a personal intimacy with Himself? Allow Him to drive His question home to you— "Do you believe this?" Are you facing an area of doubt in your life? Have you come, like Martha, to a crossroads of overwhelming circumstances where your theology is about to become a very personal belief? This happens only when a personal problem brings the awareness of our personal need.
To believe is to commit. In the area of intellectual learning I commit myself mentally, and reject anything not related to that belief. In the realm of personal belief I commit myself morally to my convictions and refuse to compromise. But in intimate personal belief I commit myself spiritually to Jesus Christ and make a determination to be dominated by Him alone.
Then, when I stand face to face with Jesus Christ and He says to me, "Do you believe this?" I find that faith is as natural as breathing. And I am staggered when I think how foolish I have been in not trusting Him earlier
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
The Bread for Tomorrow - #5955
Friday, November 6, 2009
They took good care of the little girl in the orphanage. But apparently there was never quite enough food, and the children were hungry most of the time. It's a country where there are a lot of orphans to take care of and not a lot of money to take of them with. We heard recently about the couple who adopted the little four-year-old girl I just mentioned. We heard their story of how, in their first weeks of having that girl as a part of their family, she has, in their words, "been eating everything in sight." Eating, in fact, until she makes herself sick. It's pretty heartbreaking to think of how fearful she must be of never having enough to eat. Well, mom and dad had an idea. They make sure that she has a slice of bread she can hold onto whenever she wants and, you know, that has helped a lot.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Bread for Tomorrow."
A child, who because of her past experiences, fears that she won't have what she needs - and now she's finding a new security. What's she going to need in the future is already in her hands. That is a picture of you if you are a child of God by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. What you're going to need tomorrow is as good as already in your hands. Your Heavenly Father promised many places in the Bible, including our word for today from the Word of God.
Here are the familiar, and comforting, words of Psalm 23:1, maybe just the promise you need right now. "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want." Your Lord is the Shepherd who makes sure that His sheep always have what they need, when they need it. Since He knows all your needs, I think it's safe for you to say, "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want for what I need physically, financially, maritally, emotionally, parentally, or spiritually."
Many times there was something I thought I should have that He didn't give me, because, as I know now, it would have not been for my good. I was wrong about what I needed; He never is. Other times, I thought I needed something now, when God's timing was different and ultimately better. And still other times, He will supply a need before you've even realized how much you're going to need it. So God's care and provision is always based on what He knows will be best for me to have and will be the best time for me to have it.
But His promise is that the bread is in your hand, the guarantee that what you will need for tomorrow is, in essence, already yours because He's already got it for you. He's promised that "your strength will equal your days" (Deuteronomy 33:25), that "His grace will always be sufficient for your situation" (2 Corinthians 12:9). He's promised that you can go anytime to His throne room and "find grace to help in your time of need" (Hebrews 4:16). He's promised that your "God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:19). There is no greater security than that. You have His Word on it. The Bible is full of promises like that.
Maybe you've been let down by others in the past, and maybe you're often anxious about whether you'll have what you need and you'll have it when you need it. With God as your Heavenly Father, with you as His child purchased with the life of His Son, that's unnecessary worry. And in a sense, it's an insult to the God you belong to. You are living with the greatest security in the world. You are living from hand to mouth. From His hand to your mouth, and what you need for tomorrow is as good as already in your hand.