Max Lucado Daily: Wonderful Comfort
“What a wonderful God we have . . . who so wonderfully comforts and strengthens us.” 2 Corinthians 1:3, TLB
Encourage those who are struggling. Don’t know what to say? Then open your Bible . . .
To the grief stricken: “God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you’” (Heb. 13:5 NIV)
To the guilt-ridden: “There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1 NIV).
Numbers 11
Fire From the LORD
1 Now the people complained about their hardships in the hearing of the LORD, and when he heard them his anger was aroused. Then fire from the LORD burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp. 2 When the people cried out to Moses, he prayed to the LORD and the fire died down. 3 So that place was called Taberah,[a] because fire from the LORD had burned among them.
Quail From the LORD
4 The rabble with them began to crave other food, and again the Israelites started wailing and said, “If only we had meat to eat! 5 We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost—also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. 6 But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!”
7 The manna was like coriander seed and looked like resin. 8 The people went around gathering it, and then ground it in a hand mill or crushed it in a mortar. They cooked it in a pot or made it into loaves. And it tasted like something made with olive oil. 9 When the dew settled on the camp at night, the manna also came down.
10 Moses heard the people of every family wailing at the entrance to their tents. The LORD became exceedingly angry, and Moses was troubled. 11 He asked the LORD, “Why have you brought this trouble on your servant? What have I done to displease you that you put the burden of all these people on me? 12 Did I conceive all these people? Did I give them birth? Why do you tell me to carry them in my arms, as a nurse carries an infant, to the land you promised on oath to their ancestors? 13 Where can I get meat for all these people? They keep wailing to me, ‘Give us meat to eat!’ 14 I cannot carry all these people by myself; the burden is too heavy for me. 15 If this is how you are going to treat me, please go ahead and kill me—if I have found favor in your eyes—and do not let me face my own ruin.”
16 The LORD said to Moses: “Bring me seventy of Israel’s elders who are known to you as leaders and officials among the people. Have them come to the tent of meeting, that they may stand there with you. 17 I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take some of the power of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them. They will share the burden of the people with you so that you will not have to carry it alone.
18 “Tell the people: ‘Consecrate yourselves in preparation for tomorrow, when you will eat meat. The LORD heard you when you wailed, “If only we had meat to eat! We were better off in Egypt!” Now the LORD will give you meat, and you will eat it. 19 You will not eat it for just one day, or two days, or five, ten or twenty days, 20 but for a whole month—until it comes out of your nostrils and you loathe it—because you have rejected the LORD, who is among you, and have wailed before him, saying, “Why did we ever leave Egypt?”’”
21 But Moses said, “Here I am among six hundred thousand men on foot, and you say, ‘I will give them meat to eat for a whole month!’ 22 Would they have enough if flocks and herds were slaughtered for them? Would they have enough if all the fish in the sea were caught for them?”
23 The LORD answered Moses, “Is the LORD’s arm too short? Now you will see whether or not what I say will come true for you.”
24 So Moses went out and told the people what the LORD had said. He brought together seventy of their elders and had them stand around the tent. 25 Then the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke with him, and he took some of the power of the Spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders. When the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied—but did not do so again.
26 However, two men, whose names were Eldad and Medad, had remained in the camp. They were listed among the elders, but did not go out to the tent. Yet the Spirit also rested on them, and they prophesied in the camp. 27 A young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.”
28 Joshua son of Nun, who had been Moses’ aide since youth, spoke up and said, “Moses, my lord, stop them!”
29 But Moses replied, “Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the LORD’s people were prophets and that the LORD would put his Spirit on them!” 30 Then Moses and the elders of Israel returned to the camp.
31 Now a wind went out from the LORD and drove quail in from the sea. It scattered them up to two cubits[b] deep all around the camp, as far as a day’s walk in any direction. 32 All that day and night and all the next day the people went out and gathered quail. No one gathered less than ten homers.[c] Then they spread them out all around the camp. 33 But while the meat was still between their teeth and before it could be consumed, the anger of the LORD burned against the people, and he struck them with a severe plague. 34 Therefore the place was named Kibroth Hattaavah,[d] because there they buried the people who had craved other food.
35 From Kibroth Hattaavah the people traveled to Hazeroth and stayed there.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Ephesians 5:17-21
17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. 18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Instructions for Christian Households
21 Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Knowing God’s Will
April 20, 2011 — by Dave Branon
. . . that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. —Romans 12:2
A young man facing the future and unsure of what the next year would bring, concluded, “Nobody knows what God’s will is.” Is he right? Does a lack of certainty about the future translate into not knowing God’s will?
The concept of knowing God’s will is often limited to discerning what specific situation we will be in at some future time. Although seeking God’s specific leading is part of it, another aspect that is just as vital is to follow the clearly defined elements of God’s will each and every day.
For instance, it is God’s will for us to be good citizens as a challenge to those opposed to Christ (1 Peter 2:15), to give God thanks no matter what (1 Thess. 5:18), to be sanctified sexually, avoiding immorality (1 Thess. 4:3), to live under the Holy Spirit’s control (Eph. 5:18), to sing to Him (v.19), and to submit to other believers (v.21).
As we submit to God in these and other areas, we are more likely to live in what Romans 12:2 calls God’s “good and acceptable and perfect will.” Living with God’s smile of approval leads to His guidance for the future.
As we seek to know God’s will for the future, we must also act on what we already know now.
Knowing God’s will for the future
Comes when we follow today
What He’s revealed in the Scriptures
As His commands to obey. —Sper
Love and obey the Lord every day, and He will unfold your future.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
April 20th, 2011
Can a Saint Falsely Accuse God?
All the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen . . . —2 Corinthians 1:20
Jesus’ parable of the talents recorded in Matthew 25:14-30 was a warning that it is possible for us to misjudge our capacities. This parable has nothing to do with natural gifts and abilities, but relates to the gift of the Holy Spirit as He was first given at Pentecost. We must never measure our spiritual capacity on the basis of our education or our intellect; our capacity in spiritual things is measured on the basis of the promises of God. If we get less than God wants us to have, we will falsely accuse Him as the servant falsely accused his master when he said, “You expect more of me than you gave me the power to do. You demand too much of me, and I cannot stand true to you here where you have placed me.” When it is a question of God’s Almighty Spirit, never say, “I can’t.” Never allow the limitation of your own natural ability to enter into the matter. If we have received the Holy Spirit, God expects the work of the Holy Spirit to be exhibited in us.
The servant justified himself, while condemning his lord on every point, as if to say, “Your demand on me is way out of proportion to what you gave to me.” Have we been falsely accusing God by daring to worry after He has said, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you”? (Matthew 6:33). Worrying means exactly what this servant implied— “I know your intent is to leave me unprotected and vulnerable.” A person who is lazy in the natural realm is always critical, saying, “I haven’t had a decent chance,” and someone who is lazy in the spiritual realm is critical of God. Lazy people always strike out at others in an independent way.
Never forget that our capacity and capability in spiritual matters is measured by, and based on, the promises of God. Is God able to fulfill His promises? Our answer depends on whether or not we have received the Holy Spirit.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
You Can't Make it Go Away - #6333
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Why is it so hard to get us guys to go to the doctor? Or especially to the dentist? Oh, wait! "Wait, I think I want to make an appointment to see my dentist. How soon can I go see him again?" Now, if you're a dentist listening, this is my problem; it is not your problem. You're doing a very valuable service, and I've paid a price for putting off those appointments. But it's amazing how we tend to avoid appointments that may be unpleasant. We'll put them off as long as we can. And in most cases you can do what I do. You can put it off, you can cancel, even meetings you don't want to have. That is in most cases.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "You Can't Make it Go Away."
Now, our word for today from the Word of God is from Hebrews chapter 9, verse 27. It's about an appointment. "Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment..." When you hear that word destiny, you know that it's a sure thing. And the Bible is saying here that we have, that you have an appointment with God. Now, we do everything we can to try to run from that reality. "No, I don't want to think about an appointment with God."
For example, there's one idea that's out there these days. It's actually a re-packaging of an old idea. We hear a lot about reincarnation. And there are some very big celebrities that have written about it, and there are TV specials about it. Well that's not new. This business of when you die you quickly get reborn into another life and keep going around on earth; nothing new about that. It's just another way to escape the day of reckoning through an endless cycle of starting over and over again; never any judgment there.
But the Bible flies right in the face of that and says, "We die once, and after that the judgment." God is the only one who knows what's on the other side. Everybody else is guessing, and if we're smart, we'll take what God says. And so, you and I will have to account for a life that was lived outside of His plans - a life He gave us. In fact, in Romans chapter 3, we know in advance what the verdict will be because verses 19 and 20 tell us this, "No one will be declared righteous by observing the law at all. Every mouth will be silenced and the whole world accountable to God." Wow!
See, if you're hoping to pay off sin with some good things you do, and you think that will work at your appointment with God, it's not going to work. The payment has already been made. The only question God will ask you is not, "What did you do with church?" But, "What did you do with My Son who died for you?"
When a prairie fire would come the way of some of the Indians in the early west, they would burn the area around their village to protect their village. You say, "Well, that's strange." No. See, they believed that the fire cannot go where the fire has already been. The fire of God's judgment was already poured out on His Son. You trust His Son, and you are ready for your appointment with God. Don't try to deny it; don't try to postpone it; don't try to cancel it. You can't run from it. You and I will stand before God at His appointed time, and all that will matter is what we did with Jesus. Be ready. Someone today - this very day - will keep their appointment. And of course no one thinks it will be them.
That's why the Bible says, "Prepare to meet your God." We prepare for everything else in life, and we are so totally not ready to meet God. The only way to be ready is to know that every sin you've ever done has been forgiven. And the only way to have every sin forgiven is to give your life to the One who gave His life to forgive them. It took pain and eternal death penalty so you could have every sin wiped from your record in heaven.
It could happen for you today. God could take His eraser and erase it all if you would give yourself to His Son and say, "Jesus, I'm Yours." You say, "I need to know how to do that." Go to our website. I think I can help you there. It's YoursForLife.net.
I hope you're ready for your appointment, because you know you've settled your relationship with your Savior. You've got to be ready for it because you can't make it go away.