Max Lucado Daily: He’s Here
“The moment I called out, you stepped in; you made my life large with strength.” Psalm 138:3, The Message
Where is God when we hurt? Where is he when sleep won’t come? Where is he when we awaken in a hospital bed with pain that won’t subside? He’s right here! He hung on the gallows to prove once and for all, with pierced hands and blood-stained face—that he’s here—that he didn’t create the hurt, but he came to take it away.
When you hurt, God hurts with you.
Mark 3:20-35 (New International Version, ©2010)
Jesus Accused by His Family and by Teachers of the Law
20 Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. 21 When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.”
22 And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem said, “He is possessed by Beelzebul! By the prince of demons he is driving out demons.”
23 So Jesus called them over to him and began to speak to them in parables: “How can Satan drive out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26 And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come. 27 In fact, no one can enter a strong man’s house without first tying him up. Then he can plunder the strong man’s house. 28 Truly I tell you, people can be forgiven all their sins and every slander they utter, 29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin.”
30 He said this because they were saying, “He has an impure spirit.”
31 Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. 32 A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, “Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you.”
33 “Who are my mother and my brothers?” he asked.
34 Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Isaiah 43:1-13
Isaiah 43:1-13 (NIV)Isa 1 But now, this is what the Lord says-- he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. 2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. 3 For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I give Egypt for your ransom, Cush and Seba in your stead. 4 Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you, I will give men in exchange for you, and people in exchange for your life. 5 Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west. 6 I will say to the north, 'Give them up!' and to the south, 'Do not hold them back.' Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth-- 7 everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made." 8 Lead out those who have eyes but are blind, who have ears but are deaf. 9 All the nations gather together and the peoples assemble. Which of them foretold this and proclaimed to us the former things? Let them bring in their witnesses to prove they were right, so that others may hear and say, "It is true." 10 "You are my witnesses," declares the Lord, "and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me. 11 I, even I, am the Lord, and apart from me there is no savior. 12 I have revealed and saved and proclaimed-- I, and not some foreign god among you. You are my witnesses," declares the Lord, "that I am God. 13 Yes, and from ancient days I am he. No one can deliver out of my hand. When I act, who can reverse it?"
Heat And Holiness
February 15, 2011 — by Julie Ackerman Link
When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned. —Isaiah 43:2
Why is it taking my hair so long to get dry? I wondered. As usual, I was in a hurry, and I didn’t want to go outside into the wintry weather with wet hair. Then I realized the problem. I had changed the setting on the hairdryer to “warm” instead of “hot” to accommodate my niece’s preferences.
I often wish I could control the conditions of life as easily as I can change the setting on my hairdryer. I would choose a comfortable setting—not too hot, not too cold. I certainly wouldn’t choose the heat of adversity or the fire of affliction. But in the spiritual realm, warm doesn’t get the job done. We are called to holiness, and holiness often involves “heat.” To be holy means to be set apart for God—separated from anything unclean or impure. To refine and purify us, God sometimes uses the furnace of affliction. The prophet Isaiah said, “When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned” (Isa. 43:2); he didn’t say if. And the apostle Peter said that we should not be surprised by trials (1 Peter 4:12).
None of us knows when we’ll be called to walk through the fire or how hot the furnace will be. But we do know this: God’s purpose for the flames is to purify us, not to destroy us.
When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,
My grace, all-sufficient, shall be thy supply.
The flames shall not hurt thee; I only design
Thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine. —Keen
The only way God hurries holiness is by turning up the heat.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
February 15th, 2011
"Am I My Brother’s Keeper?"
None of us lives to himself . . . —Romans 14:7
Has it ever dawned on you that you are responsible spiritually to God for other people? For instance, if I allow any turning away from God in my private life, everyone around me suffers. We “sit together in the heavenly places . . .” (Ephesians 2:6). “If one member suffers, all the members suffer with it . . .” (1 Corinthians 12:26). If you allow physical selfishness, mental carelessness, moral insensitivity, or spiritual weakness, everyone in contact with you will suffer. But you ask, “Who is sufficient to be able to live up to such a lofty standard?” “Our sufficiency is from God . . .” and God alone (2 Corinthians 3:5).
“You shall be witnesses to Me . . .” (Acts 1:8). How many of us are willing to spend every bit of our nervous, mental, moral, and spiritual energy for Jesus Christ? That is what God means when He uses the word witness. But it takes time, so be patient with yourself. Why has God left us on the earth? Is it simply to be saved and sanctified? No, it is to be at work in service to Him. Am I willing to be broken bread and poured-out wine for Him? Am I willing to be of no value to this age or this life except for one purpose and one alone— to be used to disciple men and women to the Lord Jesus Christ. My life of service to God is the way I say “thank you” to Him for His inexpressibly wonderful salvation. Remember, it is quite possible for God to set any of us aside if we refuse to be of service to Him— “. . . lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified” (1 Corinthians 9:27).
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
When It's Just Not Working - #6287
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
I don't think it's that I'm incompetent when it comes to technical things. I think I was just born a hundred years too late. I probably would have fared better when they hadn't invented so many machines and appliances, and computers. I would have done fine in those simpler days. I mean sometimes it is just so embarrassing. I can't you know, get a lamp to work, or I can't get some appliance to work, and no matter what I do it doesn't go on. The ending is too often the same. My youngest son for example would come in and say, "Dad, is it plugged in?" "No." Oh, I didn't check that! I hate that! So many times we tinker with everything and miss the one simple factor that needs to change.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "When It's Just Not Working."
Our word for today from the Word of God offers a possible diagnosis for why some important things in your life just aren't working right now. Maybe you're like me trying to get things working at the house. You've tinkered with all the different parts of the problem. Well, have you considered the possibility that it isn't working because God is withholding His blessing? And it won't work until God gives His blessing to that part of your life. You say, "Well, why?" Well, because something He really values may be missing.
Our word for today from the Word of God, Psalm 133 , verses 1 and 3, "How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity. For there, the Lord bestows His blessing." Did you catch what the Lord is saying here? "I put my blessing where My people are together and unified." The implication might be this. Where they are not unified, I do not put My blessing.
Well, let's look at your personal frustration right now - that door that is not opening, the money that just doesn't come, maybe the child who won't respond, the results that just aren't coming no matter how hard you work. Could it be that you're not plugged in to God's blessing because there are fractured relationships, strained relationships right now?
First Peter chapter 3, verse 7 tells husbands to "treat their wives properly so that their prayers will not be hindered." In other words, when that relationship with your wife isn't right, God will not answer your prayers. Maybe your children will not come around until mom and dad deal with the walls that are between them. Your church won't grow until those factions come together in a common cause. Like rescuing the dying people all around you. The money or the answer won't come until you fix that broken relationship.
See, that broken relationship, and you know which one it is, is breaking God's heart. Do everything in your power to take down the walls that might be costing you the blessing of almighty God. Keep checking until you understand what is there that's broken that God says needs fixing. Quit tinkering with the problems that really aren't the problem.
You have to go check and make sure you're plugged in at the right place. Check the power source. And the power source is a current called the blessing of God. And He's told us where He puts that. He's told us where He gives that blessing.
It's when He sees His people hand in hand.