Max Lucado Daily: Our Faithful God
Our Faithful God
Posted: 20 Feb 2011 10:01 PM PST
Jesus took the loaves of bread, thanked God for them, and gave them to people.” John 6:11
When the disciples didn’t pray, Jesus prayed. When the disciples didn’t see God, Jesus sought God. When the disciples were weak, Jesus was strong. When the disciples had no faith, Jesus had faith. He thanked God…
God is faithful even when his children are not.
That’s what makes God, God.
Exodus 40
Setting Up the Tabernacle
1 Then the LORD said to Moses: 2 “Set up the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, on the first day of the first month. 3 Place the ark of the covenant law in it and shield the ark with the curtain. 4 Bring in the table and set out what belongs on it. Then bring in the lampstand and set up its lamps. 5 Place the gold altar of incense in front of the ark of the covenant law and put the curtain at the entrance to the tabernacle.
6 “Place the altar of burnt offering in front of the entrance to the tabernacle, the tent of meeting; 7 place the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar and put water in it. 8 Set up the courtyard around it and put the curtain at the entrance to the courtyard.
9 “Take the anointing oil and anoint the tabernacle and everything in it; consecrate it and all its furnishings, and it will be holy. 10 Then anoint the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils; consecrate the altar, and it will be most holy. 11 Anoint the basin and its stand and consecrate them.
12 “Bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance to the tent of meeting and wash them with water. 13 Then dress Aaron in the sacred garments, anoint him and consecrate him so he may serve me as priest. 14 Bring his sons and dress them in tunics. 15 Anoint them just as you anointed their father, so they may serve me as priests. Their anointing will be to a priesthood that will continue throughout their generations.” 16 Moses did everything just as the LORD commanded him.
17 So the tabernacle was set up on the first day of the first month in the second year. 18 When Moses set up the tabernacle, he put the bases in place, erected the frames, inserted the crossbars and set up the posts. 19 Then he spread the tent over the tabernacle and put the covering over the tent, as the LORD commanded him.
20 He took the tablets of the covenant law and placed them in the ark, attached the poles to the ark and put the atonement cover over it. 21 Then he brought the ark into the tabernacle and hung the shielding curtain and shielded the ark of the covenant law, as the LORD commanded him.
22 Moses placed the table in the tent of meeting on the north side of the tabernacle outside the curtain 23 and set out the bread on it before the LORD, as the LORD commanded him.
24 He placed the lampstand in the tent of meeting opposite the table on the south side of the tabernacle 25 and set up the lamps before the LORD, as the LORD commanded him.
26 Moses placed the gold altar in the tent of meeting in front of the curtain 27 and burned fragrant incense on it, as the LORD commanded him.
28 Then he put up the curtain at the entrance to the tabernacle. 29 He set the altar of burnt offering near the entrance to the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, and offered on it burnt offerings and grain offerings, as the LORD commanded him.
30 He placed the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar and put water in it for washing, 31 and Moses and Aaron and his sons used it to wash their hands and feet. 32 They washed whenever they entered the tent of meeting or approached the altar, as the LORD commanded Moses.
33 Then Moses set up the courtyard around the tabernacle and altar and put up the curtain at the entrance to the courtyard. And so Moses finished the work.
The Glory of the LORD
34 Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. 35 Moses could not enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.
36 In all the travels of the Israelites, whenever the cloud lifted from above the tabernacle, they would set out; 37 but if the cloud did not lift, they did not set out—until the day it lifted. 38 So the cloud of the LORD was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the Israelites during all their travels.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Acts 15:36-41 (New International Version, ©2010)
Disagreement Between Paul and Barnabas
36 Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us go back and visit the believers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.” 37 Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them, 38 but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work. 39 They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, 40 but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the believers to the grace of the Lord. 41 He went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.
Resolution
February 21, 2011 — by Dave Branon
The contention became so sharp that they parted from one another. —Acts 15:39
In May 1884, two young parents disagreed about what middle name to give their newborn son. The mom preferred Solomon; the dad, Shippe—both family names. Because John and Martha couldn’t agree, they compromised on “S.” Thus Harry S. Truman would become the only US president with an initial for a middle name.
Over 120 years later, we still know about this conflict—but we also know that a reasonable resolution was reached.
In the New Testament, we read about another disagreement that has lived on in history. This one was between two missionaries: Paul and Barnabas (Acts 15). Barnabas wanted to take Mark with them on a trip to check on some churches they had helped previously (v.37). But Paul did not trust Mark because of an earlier incident (v.38). Paul and Barnabas disagreed so sharply that they parted ways (v.39).
We still read about this argument 2,000 years later. What’s important is not that it lived on in history, but that it didn’t leave permanent relationship scars. Paul apparently reconciled with Barnabas, and in his final days asked for Mark to be with him because “he is useful to me for ministry” (2 Tim. 4:11).
Arguments happen. But let’s make sure they are resolved. Grudges are a burden too heavy to carry.
Arguments can lead to grudges,
Which, if left, will cause a rift;
But if we bring resolution,
Our relationships won’t drift. —Sper
A grudge is one thing that doesn’t get better when it’s nursed.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
February 21st, 2011
Do You Really Love Him?
She has done a good work for Me —Mark 14:6
If what we call love doesn’t take us beyond ourselves, it is not really love. If we have the idea that love is characterized as cautious, wise, sensible, shrewd, and never taken to extremes, we have missed the true meaning. This may describe affection and it may bring us a warm feeling, but it is not a true and accurate description of love.
Have you ever been driven to do something for God not because you felt that it was useful or your duty to do so, or that there was anything in it for you, but simply because you love Him? Have you ever realized that you can give things to God that are of value to Him? Or are you just sitting around daydreaming about the greatness of His redemption, while neglecting all the things you could be doing for Him? I’m not referring to works which could be regarded as divine and miraculous, but ordinary, simple human things— things which would be evidence to God that you are totally surrendered to Him. Have you ever created what Mary of Bethany created in the heart of the Lord Jesus? “She has done a good work for Me.”
There are times when it seems as if God watches to see if we will give Him even small gifts of surrender, just to show how genuine our love is for Him. To be surrendered to God is of more value than our personal holiness. Concern over our personal holiness causes us to focus our eyes on ourselves, and we become overly concerned about the way we walk and talk and look, out of fear of offending God. “. . . but perfect love casts out fear . . .” once we are surrendered to God (1 John 4:18). We should quit asking ourselves, “Am I of any use?” and accept the truth that we really are not of much use to Him. The issue is never of being of use, but of being of value to God Himself. Once we are totally surrendered to God, He will work through us all the time.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraf
Why Your Cage is Shaking - #6291
Monday, February 21, 2011
We have five members of the Hutchcraft family. Actually at one time, there was a sixth unofficial member of the family - our parrot, Pierre. Now, my 14-year-old son took care of him, and he had a problem. See, Pierre needed a bath. He really needed a bath. And our method of giving him a bath is to put him in the tub. Now, I don't know if this is conventional or not, but we put him in the tub and he would really love the shower...sort of like the Amazon jungle where his roots are - a rain forest I guess.
Well, it's kind of funny seeing a little parrot walking around in a bathtub with the shower on, but it worked. And he usually wanted to get in there. But all the things that usually worked, weren't working this one day.
Now, he needed a shower. I can't believe we're talking about a parrot needing a shower, but we are. Okay, he needed a shower, and the sound of it didn't do it. Well, we thought, "Well, he'll hear the shower, and he'll want to go." Didn't work. We had his cage door open; we were waiting for him to step out. He didn't step out. And we put a stick up at the door for him to step onto. He didn't step onto the stick. Then we put the stick in the cage, and he wouldn't get on it...right under his feet! We used banana bait, and that didn't work. This was turning out to be harder than getting a 12-year-old boy to take a shower - getting a parrot in there.
Well, finally, our son resorted to the one tactic that would get Pierre clean. He picked up the whole cage and set it in the tub. Pierre's still in the cage, and he turned on the shower. Pierre got clean! He loved it! He started to talk - he looked, and smelled, and felt better afterwards. But we had to move his whole world to get him clean.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Why Your Cage is Shaking."
Our word for today from the Word of God is found is Psalm 32 . Now, David is facing intense physical and emotional problems. But he's surprised to find out why. "Blessed is he," says David, "whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not count against him, and in whose spirit is no deceit. When I kept silent (that is, about his sin) my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me. My strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. And then I acknowledged my sin to You and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to the Lord' and You forgave the guilt of my sin."
David is saying here that he had sin that he wouldn't deal with, so God literally had to shake everything around him to get him clean. Sounds like a parrot I know. Literally, He lifted up his cage and said, "I'm going to have to shake your whole world, David, to get you clean." And David describes the fact that he was out of strength, he was in pain, his life was frustrating.
Could that be a mirror of what's going on in your life right now? For some reason, maybe a lot of things are coming unglued right now. All of a sudden you've got pressure from all directions, and things you usually could count on aren't working. Your whole environment's moving. Sometimes God is simply trying to get your attention; trying to get you to face a sin that needs cleaning. A sin you've been covering. You've been postponing dealing with it. He's trying to get you to quit postponing a spiritual shower any longer. It's time to abandon the cover-up and begin the clean-up. Things will not get better until you do. Your problem may not be what it appears to be at all. Maybe that's just the symptom. The problem may be sin that has not been confessed; not repented of; not cleaned up.
And I'm telling you, God will move your whole environment if that's what it takes for you to be clean again with Him. Maybe that's why your cage is shaking.