Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
November 23
Praise to God
Let us always offer to God our sacrifice of praise.
Hebrews 13:15 (NCV)
You are a great God.
Your character is holy.
Your truth is absolute.
Your strength is unending.
Your discipline is fair. . . .
Your provisions are abundant for our needs.
Your light is adequate for our path.
Your grace is sufficient for our sins. . . .
You are never early, never late. . . .
You sent your Son in the fullness of time and will return at the consummation
of time.
Your plan is perfect.
Bewildering. Puzzling. Troubling.
But perfect.
From: “He Reminded Us of You
(A prayer for a friend)
Copyright Max Lucado
1 Samuel 8
Israel Asks for a King
1 When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as judges for Israel. 2 The name of his firstborn was Joel and the name of his second was Abijah, and they served at Beersheba. 3 But his sons did not walk in his ways. They turned aside after dishonest gain and accepted bribes and perverted justice.
4 So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. 5 They said to him, "You are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways; now appoint a king to lead [c] us, such as all the other nations have."
6 But when they said, "Give us a king to lead us," this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD. 7 And the LORD told him: "Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. 8 As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. 9 Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will do."
10 Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people who were asking him for a king. 11 He said, "This is what the king who will reign over you will do: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. 12 Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. 13 He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. 14 He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. 15 He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. 16 Your menservants and maidservants and the best of your cattle [d] and donkeys he will take for his own use. 17 He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. 18 When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and the LORD will not answer you in that day."
19 But the people refused to listen to Samuel. "No!" they said. "We want a king over us. 20 Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles."
21 When Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated it before the LORD. 22 The LORD answered, "Listen to them and give them a king."
Then Samuel said to the men of Israel, "Everyone go back to his town."
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
2 Samuel 18:31-19:4 (New International Version)
31 Then the Cushite arrived and said, "My lord the king, hear the good news! The LORD has delivered you today from all who rose up against you."
32 The king asked the Cushite, "Is the young man Absalom safe?"
The Cushite replied, "May the enemies of my lord the king and all who rise up to harm you be like that young man."
33 The king was shaken. He went up to the room over the gateway and wept. As he went, he said: "O my son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you—O Absalom, my son, my son!"
2 Samuel 19
1 Joab was told, "The king is weeping and mourning for Absalom." 2 And for the whole army the victory that day was turned into mourning, because on that day the troops heard it said, "The king is grieving for his son." 3 The men stole into the city that day as men steal in who are ashamed when they flee from battle. 4 The king covered his face and cried aloud, "O my son Absalom! O Absalom, my son, my son!"
November 23, 2009
Preventing Regret
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READ: 2 Samuel 18:31–19:4
The king was deeply moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept. —2 Samuel 18:33
In the 1980s, the British band Mike and the Mechanics recorded a powerful song titled, “The Living Years.” The songwriter mourns his father’s death, because their relationship had been strained and marked by silence rather than sharing. The singer remorsefully says, “I didn’t get to tell him all the things I had to say.” Struggling with regret over words unsaid and love unexpressed, he laments, “I just wish I could have told him in the living years.”
King David similarly regretted his broken relationship with his son Absalom. Angered over David’s refusal to punish Amnon for raping his sister Tamar, Absalom killed Amnon and fled (2 Sam. 13:21-34). David’s servant Joab knew that he longed to go to his fugitive son, so he arranged for Absalom to be brought to him. But their relationship was never the same again. Absalom’s bitterness sparked a conflict that ended with his death (18:14). It was a bitter victory for King David, causing him to lament his lost son and their failed relationship (18:33). No amount of grieving, however, could undo David’s heartache.
We can learn from David’s regret when dealing with broken relationships. The pain of trying to make things right can be hard. But it’s much better to do what we can to make things right “in the living years.” — Bill Crowder
For Further Study
Do you have a strained relationship with someone?
For help, read on the Internet What Do You Do With A Broken Relationship? at www.discoveryseries.org/q0703
A broken relationship can be repaired— but only if you’re willing to try.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
November 23, 2009
The Distraction of Contempt
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READ:
Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us! For we are exceedingly filled with contempt —Psalm 123:3
What we must beware of is not damage to our belief in God but damage to our Christian disposition or state of mind. "Take heed to your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously" ( Malachi 2:16 ). Our state of mind is powerful in its effects. It can be the enemy that penetrates right into our soul and distracts our mind from God. There are certain attitudes we should never dare to indulge. If we do, we will find they have distracted us from faith in God. Until we get back into a quiet mood before Him, our faith is of no value, and our confidence in the flesh and in human ingenuity is what rules our lives.
Beware of "the cares of this world . . ." ( Mark 4:19 ). They are the very things that produce the wrong attitudes in our soul. It is incredible what enormous power there is in simple things to distract our attention away from God. Refuse to be swamped by "the cares of this world."
Another thing that distracts us is our passion for vindication. St. Augustine prayed, "O Lord, deliver me from this lust of always vindicating myself." Such a need for constant vindication destroys our soul’s faith in God. Don’t say, "I must explain myself," or, "I must get people to understand." Our Lord never explained anything— He left the misunderstandings or misconceptions of others to correct themselves.
When we discern that other people are not growing spiritually and allow that discernment to turn to criticism, we block our fellowship with God. God never gives us discernment so that we may criticize, but that we may intercede.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
The Noise of Neglect - #5966
Monday, November 23, 2009
Okay, let's face it, I'm mechanically challenged. Oh, I can take care of the basics on a car, but if it's beyond "A, B, C," I need outside help. Sometimes your car starts talking to you, making these strange sounds, and doing these strange things. I've noticed those things don't go away by themselves. Over time, those noises get louder; those strange things that it does come more often. Sometimes, it's just natural - just like us. You know, cars get old, parts start wearing out. But sometimes that noise and trouble can be avoided.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Noise of Neglect."
When you fail to maintain your car, when you neglect that buggy, it's going to start making some strange noises and doing some strange things. So do people; especially if the people is a woman who has committed her life to a man she married. If she starts making strange noises and doing some strange things, the cause may well be that silent destroyer called neglect.
Maybe there's a man listening today who's been wondering, "What's the deal with my wife? She's becoming more stressed, more shrill, more negative, more hostile, more of a nag. Something's obviously wrong with the girl." Or maybe not. Maybe she's showing the signs of neglect of a husband who promised his life to her but has little or no time for her, to really hear her heart - to find out where she's hurting or anxious inside, to find out what she really needs. There are few things more heartbreaking and more hurtful to a woman than an inattentive husband. And even though I assume you love her, that inattentive, distracted husband might be you. And the malfunctions and strange sounds are really the result of your neglect.
God makes very clear the kind of treatment and priority He expects a man to give to the woman he married. In 1 Peter 3:7, our word for today from the Word of God, He says: "Husbands...be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers." The New Living Translation says, "Give honor to your wives. Treat them with understanding as you live together."
Look at the action words: consider her - take her needs and feelings into consideration. Treat her with respect. That means listening to her; regarding her as someone important. She's supposed to be, after all, the most important voice on earth to you. Are some other voices drowning hers out? And treat her like a fellow-heir in God's family. We're talking royal treatment here. How much does this matter to God? He says if you don't treat her like this, don't expect Him to answer your prayers!
Could it be this woman you committed to cherish and honor is feeling ignored, marginalized and unheard? Maybe you've been trying to avoid conflict by not communicating with her on difficult subjects. All that does is postpone and intensify the conflict and leave her feeling frozen out. And it's getting harder for her to trust you.
It's in your power to change it, though, to put your wife back where you once had her, in the center of your affections, in the center of your attention. It begins by making it a commitment to give her all of you - your undivided attention - at least once a day. Don't let others push her out, leaving her with your leftovers. She deserves your best. You promised.
The woman you married is a flower that can flourish with your care or wither with your neglect. She needs you. She was wired by God to need you. And you need her. Tell her that. Tell her you're sorry for so often running past her instead of running to her. And tell her, "Honey, I'm home," because you've been away too long.