Max Lucado Daily: Come to Jesus
Come to me, ... and you will find rest for your lives. Matthew 11:28-29
Come to me…
The people came… They brought him the burdens of their existence, and he gave them not religion, not doctrine, not systems, but rest.
They found anchor points for their storm-tossed souls. And they found that Jesus was the only man to walk God’s earth who claimed to have an answer for man’s burdens.
“Come to me.”
1 Samuel 22
David at Adullam and Mizpah
1 David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and his father’s household heard about it, they went down to him there. 2 All those who were in distress or in debt or discontented gathered around him, and he became their commander. About four hundred men were with him.
3 From there David went to Mizpah in Moab and said to the king of Moab, “Would you let my father and mother come and stay with you until I learn what God will do for me?” 4 So he left them with the king of Moab, and they stayed with him as long as David was in the stronghold.
5 But the prophet Gad said to David, “Do not stay in the stronghold. Go into the land of Judah.” So David left and went to the forest of Hereth.
Saul Kills the Priests of Nob
6 Now Saul heard that David and his men had been discovered. And Saul was seated, spear in hand, under the tamarisk tree on the hill at Gibeah, with all his officials standing at his side. 7 He said to them, “Listen, men of Benjamin! Will the son of Jesse give all of you fields and vineyards? Will he make all of you commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds? 8 Is that why you have all conspired against me? No one tells me when my son makes a covenant with the son of Jesse. None of you is concerned about me or tells me that my son has incited my servant to lie in wait for me, as he does today.”
9 But Doeg the Edomite, who was standing with Saul’s officials, said, “I saw the son of Jesse come to Ahimelek son of Ahitub at Nob. 10 Ahimelek inquired of the LORD for him; he also gave him provisions and the sword of Goliath the Philistine.”
11 Then the king sent for the priest Ahimelek son of Ahitub and all the men of his family, who were the priests at Nob, and they all came to the king. 12 Saul said, “Listen now, son of Ahitub.”
“Yes, my lord,” he answered.
13 Saul said to him, “Why have you conspired against me, you and the son of Jesse, giving him bread and a sword and inquiring of God for him, so that he has rebelled against me and lies in wait for me, as he does today?”
14 Ahimelek answered the king, “Who of all your servants is as loyal as David, the king’s son-in-law, captain of your bodyguard and highly respected in your household? 15 Was that day the first time I inquired of God for him? Of course not! Let not the king accuse your servant or any of his father’s family, for your servant knows nothing at all about this whole affair.”
16 But the king said, “You will surely die, Ahimelek, you and your whole family.”
17 Then the king ordered the guards at his side: “Turn and kill the priests of the LORD, because they too have sided with David. They knew he was fleeing, yet they did not tell me.”
But the king’s officials were unwilling to raise a hand to strike the priests of the LORD.
18 The king then ordered Doeg, “You turn and strike down the priests.” So Doeg the Edomite turned and struck them down. That day he killed eighty-five men who wore the linen ephod. 19 He also put to the sword Nob, the town of the priests, with its men and women, its children and infants, and its cattle, donkeys and sheep.
20 But one son of Ahimelek son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped and fled to join David. 21 He told David that Saul had killed the priests of the LORD. 22 Then David said to Abiathar, “That day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, I knew he would be sure to tell Saul. I am responsible for the death of your whole family. 23 Stay with me; don’t be afraid. The man who wants to kill you is trying to kill me too. You will be safe with me.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Ephesians 5:1-10
1 Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children 2 and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
3 But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. 4 Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. 5 For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.[a] 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. 7 Therefore do not be partners with them.
8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) 10 and find out what pleases the Lord.
Papa Didn’t Say “Oh!”
October 18, 2011 — by David H. Roper
The Lord is gracious and full of compassion. —Psalm 145:8
I have a friend who was working in his home office one evening, trying to get some necessary paperwork done. His little girl, who was about 4 years old at the time, was playing around his desk, puttering about, moving objects here and there, pulling out drawers, and making a good deal of noise.
My friend endured the distraction with stoic patience until the child slammed a drawer on one of her fingers and screamed in pain. Reacting in exasperation he shouted, “That’s it!” as he escorted her out of the room and shut the door.
Later, her mother found her weeping in her bedroom and tried to comfort her. “Does your finger still hurt?” she asked. “No,” the little girl sniffled. “Then why are you crying?” her mother asked. “’Cause,” she whimpered, “when I pinched my finger, Papa didn’t say, ‘Oh!’”
Sometimes that’s all we need, isn’t it? Someone who cares and who will respond with kindness and compassion, someone who will say, “Oh!” We have One named Jesus who does that for us.
Jesus loves us, understands our sorrows, and gave Himself for us (Eph. 5:2). Now we are to “walk in love” and imitate Him.
Knowing God—what comfort there,
Drawn by His eternal care;
Love from God—what joy we share,
Drawn into His mercies rare. —Branon
God’s whisper of comfort quiets the noise of our trials.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
October 18th, 2011
The Key to the Missionary’s Devotion
. . . they went forth for His name’s sake . . . —3 John 7
Our Lord told us how our love for Him is to exhibit itself when He asked, “Do you love Me?” (John 21:17). And then He said, “Feed My sheep.” In effect, He said, “Identify yourself with My interests in other people,” not, “Identify Me with your interests in other people.” 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 shows us the characteristics of this love— it is actually the love of God expressing itself. The true test of my love for Jesus is a very practical one, and all the rest is sentimental talk.
Faithfulness to Jesus Christ is the supernatural work of redemption that has been performed in me by the Holy Spirit— “the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit . . .” (Romans 5:5). And it is that love in me that effectively works through me and comes in contact with everyone I meet. I remain faithful to His name, even though the commonsense view of my life may seemingly deny that, and may appear to be declaring that He has no more power than the morning mist.
The key to the missionary’s devotion is that he is attached to nothing and to no one except our Lord Himself. It does not mean simply being detached from the external things surrounding us. Our Lord was amazingly in touch with the ordinary things of life, but He had an inner detachment except toward God. External detachment is often an actual indication of a secret, growing, inner attachment to the things we stay away from externally.
The duty of a faithful missionary is to concentrate on keeping his soul completely and continually open to the nature of the Lord Jesus Christ. The men and women our Lord sends out on His endeavors are ordinary human people, but people who are controlled by their devotion to Him, which has been brought about through the work of the Holy Spirit.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
The Doomsday Buzz - #6462
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Several months ago I was watching the news and they were talking about doomsday, and it made me sad. Oh, not because I'm nervous about Jesus fulfilling all His prophecies about earth's final chapter. But because millions were laughing about something that they desperately needed to take seriously.
A Christian radio pastor had widely announced that May 21 would be the beginning of the end of time, with a cataclysmic event that would ultimately usher in the coming of Jesus. Now listen, there is nothing I look forward to more than that moment when Jesus will break through the clouds, come in power and great glory and erase every doubt that He is King of kings.
I just don't believe we know when that's going to be, because Jesus said, "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven..." (Matthew 24:36). No matter how you parse His words, they say that the time of His coming cannot be predicted.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Doomsday Buzz."
You know as a junior high boy nosing around in the church library, I read these old World War II books written about end times prophecy. Hey, and they had it all figured out--who was the antichrist, who was the restored Roman Empire, the talk about Israel having a nation. And I smiled. Reading it years later, it was obvious that they had it wrong, and Jesus did not come back on their timetable.
Unfortunately, naming a date inadvertently gives people a reason not to take the clear-cut prophecies of Scripture seriously. The Bible has told us that "in the last days, scoffers will come...They will say, 'Where is this coming He promised?'" (2 Peter 3:3-4). It hurts to think that our date-naming and other teaching that reaches beyond what the Bible reveals would give those scoffers any more ammunition. You know, a major news anchor asked, during the time of those predictions, after reporting in that doomsday story, "Who believes this stuff?"
Well, she and everyone needs to believe that Jesus is, in fact, coming back; that every person will see Him. That there will come a day when the mightiest of earth will call as the Bible says, "to the mountains and the rocks, 'Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne...'" (Revelation 6:15-16). It will be a day where there will be no more choosing Jesus. No, only "every knee bowing at His Name" (Philippians 2:9-10), many realizing it's forever too late to know Him.
I heard that the Center for Disease Control was trying to make the most of all that doomsday talk. They were using it to encourage people to have a disaster plan for emergencies--to be ready. That's exactly Jesus' warning in His prophecies for what He called the "last days" world. Prophecies that do paint a picture that, well, increasingly seem very much like our world today. He said, "You must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect Him" (Matthew 24:44). He said He would rise from the dead after three days. That's exactly what He did. He said He would return to this earth as its' Judge and its' King, and that's exactly what He will do.
You can only be ready if your sins have been erased from God's book. And only the Man who died for those sins can do that. That's why the Bible says, "Now is the accepted time. Now is the day of salvation" (2 Corinthians 6:2). Now is the day to make the King of kings your king.
If you never have, would you say, "Jesus, I want to belong to You. I know that You can come for me and bring my life to a close at any time. You can come back to this earth any time, and I want to be ready. And I can only be ready with my sins forgiven, and only You can do that. Jesus, I'm Yours." Go to our website. I think you'll find help there and encouragement in beginning with Jesus. It's YoursForLife.net.
A friend of ours was desperately cleaning her totaled room; she was getting ready for the anticipated arrival of her guy the next day. She heard a knock at the door, and it was her guy a day earlier than expected. And there she stood amid the piles, dressed in her grubbies, her hair matted with sweat. All she could do was exclaim, "I wasn't expecting you now!" She waited too long to get cleaned up. Time was up.
That's a mistake you do not want to make with Jesus.
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