Daily Devotional by Max Lucado
“the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”
December 15
Are You Listening?
Everyone who asks will receive. Everyone who searches will find.
Matthew 7:8 (NCV)
Once there was a man who dared God to speak: Burn the bush like you did for Moses, God. And I will follow. Collapse the walls like you did for Joshua, God. And I will fight. Still the waves like you did on Galilee, God. And I will listen.
And so the man sat by a bush, near a wall, close to the sea and waited for God to speak.
And God heard the man, so God answered. He sent fire, not for a bush, but for a church. He brought down a wall, not of brick, but of sin. He stilled a storm, not of the sea, but of a soul.
And God waited for the man to respond. And he waited...and waited.
But because the man was looking at bushes, not hearts; bricks and not lives, seas and not souls, he decided that God had done nothing.
Finally he looked to God and asked, Have you lost your power?
And God looked at him and said, Have you lost your hearing?
From: A Gentle Thunder
Copyright (Word Publishing, 1995)
Max Lucado
2 Samuel 15
Absalom's Conspiracy
1 In the course of time, Absalom provided himself with a chariot and horses and with fifty men to run ahead of him. 2 He would get up early and stand by the side of the road leading to the city gate. Whenever anyone came with a complaint to be placed before the king for a decision, Absalom would call out to him, "What town are you from?" He would answer, "Your servant is from one of the tribes of Israel." 3 Then Absalom would say to him, "Look, your claims are valid and proper, but there is no representative of the king to hear you." 4 And Absalom would add, "If only I were appointed judge in the land! Then everyone who has a complaint or case could come to me and I would see that he gets justice."
5 Also, whenever anyone approached him to bow down before him, Absalom would reach out his hand, take hold of him and kiss him. 6 Absalom behaved in this way toward all the Israelites who came to the king asking for justice, and so he stole the hearts of the men of Israel.
7 At the end of four [a] years, Absalom said to the king, "Let me go to Hebron and fulfill a vow I made to the LORD. 8 While your servant was living at Geshur in Aram, I made this vow: 'If the LORD takes me back to Jerusalem, I will worship the LORD in Hebron. [b] ' "
9 The king said to him, "Go in peace." So he went to Hebron.
10 Then Absalom sent secret messengers throughout the tribes of Israel to say, "As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpets, then say, 'Absalom is king in Hebron.' " 11 Two hundred men from Jerusalem had accompanied Absalom. They had been invited as guests and went quite innocently, knowing nothing about the matter. 12 While Absalom was offering sacrifices, he also sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David's counselor, to come from Giloh, his hometown. And so the conspiracy gained strength, and Absalom's following kept on increasing.
David Flees
13 A messenger came and told David, "The hearts of the men of Israel are with Absalom."
14 Then David said to all his officials who were with him in Jerusalem, "Come! We must flee, or none of us will escape from Absalom. We must leave immediately, or he will move quickly to overtake us and bring ruin upon us and put the city to the sword."
15 The king's officials answered him, "Your servants are ready to do whatever our lord the king chooses."
16 The king set out, with his entire household following him; but he left ten concubines to take care of the palace. 17 So the king set out, with all the people following him, and they halted at a place some distance away. 18 All his men marched past him, along with all the Kerethites and Pelethites; and all the six hundred Gittites who had accompanied him from Gath marched before the king.
19 The king said to Ittai the Gittite, "Why should you come along with us? Go back and stay with King Absalom. You are a foreigner, an exile from your homeland. 20 You came only yesterday. And today shall I make you wander about with us, when I do not know where I am going? Go back, and take your countrymen. May kindness and faithfulness be with you."
21 But Ittai replied to the king, "As surely as the LORD lives, and as my lord the king lives, wherever my lord the king may be, whether it means life or death, there will your servant be."
22 David said to Ittai, "Go ahead, march on." So Ittai the Gittite marched on with all his men and the families that were with him.
23 The whole countryside wept aloud as all the people passed by. The king also crossed the Kidron Valley, and all the people moved on toward the desert.
24 Zadok was there, too, and all the Levites who were with him were carrying the ark of the covenant of God. They set down the ark of God, and Abiathar offered sacrifices [c] until all the people had finished leaving the city.
25 Then the king said to Zadok, "Take the ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in the LORD's eyes, he will bring me back and let me see it and his dwelling place again. 26 But if he says, 'I am not pleased with you,' then I am ready; let him do to me whatever seems good to him."
27 The king also said to Zadok the priest, "Aren't you a seer? Go back to the city in peace, with your son Ahimaaz and Jonathan son of Abiathar. You and Abiathar take your two sons with you. 28 I will wait at the fords in the desert until word comes from you to inform me." 29 So Zadok and Abiathar took the ark of God back to Jerusalem and stayed there.
30 But David continued up the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went; his head was covered and he was barefoot. All the people with him covered their heads too and were weeping as they went up. 31 Now David had been told, "Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom." So David prayed, "O LORD, turn Ahithophel's counsel into foolishness."
32 When David arrived at the summit, where people used to worship God, Hushai the Arkite was there to meet him, his robe torn and dust on his head. 33 David said to him, "If you go with me, you will be a burden to me. 34 But if you return to the city and say to Absalom, 'I will be your servant, O king; I was your father's servant in the past, but now I will be your servant,' then you can help me by frustrating Ahithophel's advice. 35 Won't the priests Zadok and Abiathar be there with you? Tell them anything you hear in the king's palace. 36 Their two sons, Ahimaaz son of Zadok and Jonathan son of Abiathar, are there with them. Send them to me with anything you hear."
37 So David's friend Hushai arrived at Jerusalem as Absalom was entering the city.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Psalm 119:89-96 (New International Version)
l Lamedh
89 Your word, O LORD, is eternal;
it stands firm in the heavens.
90 Your faithfulness continues through all generations;
you established the earth, and it endures.
91 Your laws endure to this day,
for all things serve you.
92 If your law had not been my delight,
I would have perished in my affliction.
93 I will never forget your precepts,
for by them you have preserved my life.
94 Save me, for I am yours;
I have sought out your precepts.
95 The wicked are waiting to destroy me,
but I will ponder your statutes.
96 To all perfection I see a limit;
but your commands are boundless.
December 15, 2009
God’s Remarkable Word
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READ: Psalm 119:89-96
Forever, O Lord, Your Word is settled in heaven. —Psalm 119:89
The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947 has been called the greatest archaeological find of the 20th century. The ancient manuscripts hidden in the caves near Qumran are the oldest known copies of key Old Testament books. In 2007, the San Diego Natural History Museum hosted an exhibition featuring 24 of these scrolls. One often-repeated theme in the exhibit was that during the past 2,000 years the text of the Hebrew Bible (the Christian Old Testament) has remained virtually unchanged.
Followers of Christ who believe that the Bible is the eternal, unchanging Word of God find more than coincidence in this remarkable preservation. The psalmist wrote: “Forever, O Lord, Your Word is settled in heaven. Your faithfulness endures to all generations” (119:89-90). Jesus said: “My words will by no means pass away” (Matt. 24:35).
The Bible is more than a historical relic. It is the living, powerful Word of God (Heb. 4:12), in which we encounter the Lord and discover how to live for Him and honor Him. “I will never forget Your precepts,” the psalmist concluded, “for by them You have given me life” (119:93).
What a privilege we have each day to seek God in His remarkable Word! — David C. McCasland
I have a companion, a wonderful guide,
A solace and comfort whatever betide;
A friend never-failing when others pass by,
Oh, blessed communion, my Bible and I. —Knobloch
To know Christ, the Living Word, is to love the Bible, the written Word.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
December 15, 2009
"Approved to God"
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READ:
Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth —2 Timothy 2:15
If you cannot express yourself well on each of your beliefs, work and study until you can. If you don’t, other people may miss out on the blessings that come from knowing the truth. Strive to re-express a truth of God to yourself clearly and understandably, and God will use that same explanation when you share it with someone else. But you must be willing to go through God’s winepress where the grapes are crushed. You must struggle, experiment, and rehearse your words to express God’s truth clearly. Then the time will come when that very expression will become God’s wine of strength to someone else. But if you are not diligent and say, "I’m not going to study and struggle to express this truth in my own words; I’ll just borrow my words from someone else," then the words will be of no value to you or to others. Try to state to yourself what you believe to be the absolute truth of God, and you will be allowing God the opportunity to pass it on through you to someone else.
Always make it a practice to stir your own mind thoroughly to think through what you have easily believed. Your position is not really yours until you make it yours through suffering and study. The author or speaker from whom you learn the most is not the one who teaches you something you didn’t know before, but the one who helps you take a truth with which you have quietly struggled, give it expression, and speak it clearly and boldly.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
The Only Impression That Matters - #5982
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Dr. Harry Ironside used to tell a story about a man who lived in a small country town in England. One day, he went to London where he would need to stay for several days. He was glad to be there on a Sunday because that gave him opportunity to hear some of the great preachers of that day. He wrote home to his wife, and he said: "Last Sunday morning I went to hear Dr. Jones, and in the evening I went to the Metropolitan Tabernacle to hear Charles Spurgeon. I was so greatly impressed by both of them. Dr. Jones is certainly a great preacher, but Mr. Spurgeon has a great Savior."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Only Impression That Matters."
So who are people impressed with after they have been with you? Are they impressed with you, or are they impressed with your Jesus? In many ways, that's the measure of the authenticity and the impact of your life.
There have been few more brilliant, more gifted men to walk this planet than the great Apostle Paul. But he didn't want people thinking about him. He wanted to leave people thinking about Jesus. He says so in our word for today from the Word of God in 2 Corinthians 4:5, "We do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake." It's not about us, folks. It's all about Jesus. And that's a relief!
I'm guessing there are some people close to you who do not have a relationship with Jesus and therefore they have no hope of heaven because they don't have Him. And there are probably some of them at least who you've never told about what Jesus did for them, and I bet I can guess why. That would be one word - fear. Fear of what they'll think, fear for your relationship or your position, fear of messing it up, fear of rejection. All the fears that keep us from telling about Jesus have one thing in common. They're all about me. They might reject me, they might think less of me, or I might mess it up. We trip over our preoccupation with ourselves and never get to the people whose eternity depends on them hearing about our Jesus.
But it's not about me. "We preach not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord." It's all about Jesus. That's why Paul said in 1 Corinthians 2:2, "I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified." There it is, Jesus and His cross. That's your message. Knowing what Jesus did for them on the cross - that's the only impression that matters. Don't encumber the simplicity of that glorious Good News with other things like church, religion, cultural issues, even lifestyle issues. There's no point in attacking the lost lifestyle of a person who's lost! What a surprise they act as they do. They need a Savior. Let's focus on that!
There's something very wrong if you're using Jesus to make a name for yourself or to impress other people with you. You are actually hijacking His glory. And there's something wrong if you're not telling people about Jesus because of something about you. It's not who's doing the telling that's the issue; it's who you're telling about - the One who offers the greatest love in the world.
Just take them to the cross and show them that. And He offers them the greatest power in the world. Take them to that empty tomb and show them that. He'll give you the words. He'll give you the opportunity, and He is your message. So make Jesus the subject. Keep Jesus the subject. Don't let religion become the subject, because Jesus made this awesome promise. He said, "When I am lifted up...I will draw all men to Myself" (John 12:32).