Max Lucado Daily: Not Yet Complete
Not Yet Complete
“God began doing a good work in you, and I am sure he will continue it until it is finished.” Philippians 1:6
Not only are we ignorant about yesterday, we are ignorant about tomorrow. Dare we judge a book while chapters are yet unwritten? . . . How can you dismiss a soul until God’s work is complete?
Be careful! The Peter who denies Jesus at tonight’s fire may proclaim him with fire at tomorrow’s Pentecost . . . A stammering shepherd in this generation may be the mighty Moses of the next.
Numbers 6
The Nazirite
1 The LORD said to Moses, 2 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘If a man or woman wants to make a special vow, a vow of dedication to the LORD as a Nazirite, 3 they must abstain from wine and other fermented drink and must not drink vinegar made from wine or other fermented drink. They must not drink grape juice or eat grapes or raisins. 4 As long as they remain under their Nazirite vow, they must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine, not even the seeds or skins.
5 “‘During the entire period of their Nazirite vow, no razor may be used on their head. They must be holy until the period of their dedication to the LORD is over; they must let their hair grow long.
6 “‘Throughout the period of their dedication to the LORD, the Nazirite must not go near a dead body. 7 Even if their own father or mother or brother or sister dies, they must not make themselves ceremonially unclean on account of them, because the symbol of their dedication to God is on their head. 8 Throughout the period of their dedication, they are consecrated to the LORD.
9 “‘If someone dies suddenly in the Nazirite’s presence, thus defiling the hair that symbolizes their dedication, they must shave their head on the seventh day—the day of their cleansing. 10 Then on the eighth day they must bring two doves or two young pigeons to the priest at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 11 The priest is to offer one as a sin offering[f] and the other as a burnt offering to make atonement for the Nazirite because they sinned by being in the presence of the dead body. That same day they are to consecrate their head again. 12 They must rededicate themselves to the LORD for the same period of dedication and must bring a year-old male lamb as a guilt offering. The previous days do not count, because they became defiled during their period of dedication.
13 “‘Now this is the law of the Nazirite when the period of their dedication is over. They are to be brought to the entrance to the tent of meeting. 14 There they are to present their offerings to the LORD: a year-old male lamb without defect for a burnt offering, a year-old ewe lamb without defect for a sin offering, a ram without defect for a fellowship offering, 15 together with their grain offerings and drink offerings, and a basket of bread made with the finest flour and without yeast—thick loaves with olive oil mixed in, and thin loaves brushed with olive oil.
16 “‘The priest is to present all these before the LORD and make the sin offering and the burnt offering. 17 He is to present the basket of unleavened bread and is to sacrifice the ram as a fellowship offering to the LORD, together with its grain offering and drink offering.
18 “‘Then at the entrance to the tent of meeting, the Nazirite must shave off the hair that symbolizes their dedication. They are to take the hair and put it in the fire that is under the sacrifice of the fellowship offering.
19 “‘After the Nazirite has shaved off the hair that symbolizes their dedication, the priest is to place in their hands a boiled shoulder of the ram, and one thick loaf and one thin loaf from the basket, both made without yeast. 20 The priest shall then wave these before the LORD as a wave offering; they are holy and belong to the priest, together with the breast that was waved and the thigh that was presented. After that, the Nazirite may drink wine.
21 “‘This is the law of the Nazirite who vows offerings to the LORD in accordance with their dedication, in addition to whatever else they can afford. They must fulfill the vows they have made, according to the law of the Nazirite.’”
The Priestly Blessing
22 The LORD said to Moses, 23 “Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them:
24 “‘“The LORD bless you
and keep you;
25 the LORD make his face shine on you
and be gracious to you;
26 the LORD turn his face toward you
and give you peace.”’
27 “So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Luke 12:1-7
Warnings and Encouragements
1 Meanwhile, when a crowd of many thousands had gathered, so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus began to speak first to his disciples, saying: “Be[a] on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. 2 There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. 3 What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs.
4 “I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. 5 But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him. 6 Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. 7 Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
Sourdough Bread
April 13, 2011 — by Dennis Fisher
Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. —Luke 12:1
Sourdough bread became popular during the California Gold Rush of the mid-1800s. In the 1890s, it was a favorite during the great Gold Rush in Alaska. Prospectors would carry with them a small portion of sourdough mix that contained a natural yeast. It could then be used as a starter to make more of their favorite sourdough bread.
In the Bible, though, yeast or leaven can have a negative connotation. For example, in the New Testament, “leaven” is often referred to as a corrupting influence. This is why Jesus said: “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy” (Luke 12:1).
Hypocrites put on a show of righteousness while hiding sinful thoughts and behavior. Christ warned His disciples and us that secret sins will someday be exposed to full disclosure. He said, “There is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known” (v.2). Because of this, we are to reverentially fear God, to ask for His grace to forsake any sin, and to grow as authentic believers.
Yeast may be a blessing in the bakery, but it can also remind us to guard against the permeating influence of sin in our hearts.
The holiness of God demands
A heart that’s pure within,
Yet grace unites with holiness
To purge the heart from sin. —D. De Haan
Be sure your sin will find you out. —Numbers 32:23
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
April 13th, 2011
What To Do When Your Burden Is Overwhelming
Cast your burden on the Lord . . . —Psalm 55:22
We must recognize the difference between burdens that are right for us to bear and burdens that are wrong. We should never bear the burdens of sin or doubt, but there are some burdens placed on us by God which He does not intend to lift off. God wants us to roll them back on Him— to literally “cast your burden,” which He has given you, “on the Lord . . . .” If we set out to serve God and do His work but get out of touch with Him, the sense of responsibility we feel will be overwhelming and defeating. But if we will only roll back on God the burdens He has placed on us, He will take away that immense feeling of responsibility, replacing it with an awareness and understanding of Himself and His presence.
Many servants set out to serve God with great courage and with the right motives. But with no intimate fellowship with Jesus Christ, they are soon defeated. They do not know what to do with their burden, and it produces weariness in their lives. Others will see this and say, “What a sad end to something that had such a great beginning!”
“Cast your burden on the Lord . . . .” You have been bearing it all, but you need to deliberately place one end on God’s shoulder. “. . . the government will be upon His shoulder” (Isaiah 9:6). Commit to God whatever burden He has placed on you. Don’t just cast it aside, but put it over onto Him and place yourself there with it. You will see that your burden is then lightened by the sense of companionship. But you should never try to separate yourself from your burden.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Frozen in Time - #6328
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Class reunions are always enlightening, and one thing is obvious after 20 years - people change. Yeah! Oh, people remember me as being 210 pounds at about 5'9". I was like the Goodyear blimp then. And they freeze me in their minds as being the fat guy, you know? I'm sort of a fat memory in their mind. Well, I'm happy to say that I don't weight nearly that and I haven't been that heavy for a long time, and so, you know you go to the reunion and they're surprised to find 50 pounds less of you. I'm delighted that they do.
Of course, and then there are those changes that aren't as positive. You find that athletic hunk of high school has gone to seed, or that beautiful bombshell. Or that great head of hair is now just a great head. But it's often a pleasant surprise to see how people have grown in positive ways. People do change, and if we're not careful we'll still be thinking of them as they were - not as they are.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Frozen in Time."
Now, our word for today from the Word of God is found in Acts chapter 9. It's verses 26-28 - a man that they almost froze in time. Saul of Tarsus has been, as you may remember, a violent persecutor of Christians. And then dramatically, in a blaze of light, he meets Christ on the road to Damascus. Well you can image how the early Christians must have greeted him when he showed up, because they figured he was the "hit man" coming for them.
Verse 26, "When he came to Jerusalem he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him." Well, I can understand that. "[N]ot believing," it says, "that he really was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the disciples. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus. So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord." Now, it looks like at the early part of this account that the Christians had Saul categorized. Saul is the enemy; he hates Christians. But much to their surprise, God has changed him.
I think this incident underscores a tendency that we all have - to freeze people in time. You know, to remember how they were and assume they're still that today. We sized up this man or woman some time ago; we know what they were like. And we don't allow them the privilege of having changed. "Oh yeah, he's lazy." "Oh yeah, she's always irresponsible. She never keeps her promises." "Oh yeah, you can't trust him. He's always deceitful." "She uses people." "He's got a real problem." See, the human mind categorizes a person and then closes the door on that category. But see, he's changing and we can't close the door.
Sometimes we won't see the changes, even in our families. We tend to see the weakness in our mate, or our child, or our parent. But we can't see the changes that they're trying to make. They're growing! Sometimes we even discourage them by expecting and noticing the worst all the time. They used to do, let's say, nine out of ten things wrong in a given area. Now they're only doing five out of ten wrong. But we only see the bad five, because we froze them in time. We underestimate the life-changing power of the grace of God. He is changing His children. We have to allow for it, give them a chance to change, encourage the change, notice the change.
The early Christians gave Saul a chance and I'm so glad they did. Let's expect the best of each other. Not because we trust each other so much, but because we trust the transforming power of our Father's grace. Stay up-to-date on what God is doing in the life of that person near you, and don't leave them frozen in time.
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