Max Lucado Daily: Washed Away
“The blood of Jesus, God’s Son, cleanses us from every sin.” I John 1:7
The cleansing is not a promise for the future but a reality in the present. Let a speck of dust fall on the soul of a saint, and it is washed away. Let a spot of filth land on the heart of God’s child, and it is wiped away . . .
Our Savior kneels down and gazes upon the darkest acts of our lives. But rather than recoil in horror, he reaches out in kindness and says, “I can clean that if you want.”
Joshua 23
Joshua’s Farewell to the Leaders
1 After a long time had passed and the LORD had given Israel rest from all their enemies around them, Joshua, by then a very old man, 2 summoned all Israel—their elders, leaders, judges and officials—and said to them: “I am very old. 3 You yourselves have seen everything the LORD your God has done to all these nations for your sake; it was the LORD your God who fought for you. 4 Remember how I have allotted as an inheritance for your tribes all the land of the nations that remain—the nations I conquered—between the Jordan and the Mediterranean Sea in the west. 5 The LORD your God himself will push them out for your sake. He will drive them out before you, and you will take possession of their land, as the LORD your God promised you.
6 “Be very strong; be careful to obey all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, without turning aside to the right or to the left. 7 Do not associate with these nations that remain among you; do not invoke the names of their gods or swear by them. You must not serve them or bow down to them. 8 But you are to hold fast to the LORD your God, as you have until now.
9 “The LORD has driven out before you great and powerful nations; to this day no one has been able to withstand you. 10 One of you routs a thousand, because the LORD your God fights for you, just as he promised. 11 So be very careful to love the LORD your God.
12 “But if you turn away and ally yourselves with the survivors of these nations that remain among you and if you intermarry with them and associate with them, 13 then you may be sure that the LORD your God will no longer drive out these nations before you. Instead, they will become snares and traps for you, whips on your backs and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land, which the LORD your God has given you.
14 “Now I am about to go the way of all the earth. You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the LORD your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed. 15 But just as all the good things the LORD your God has promised you have come to you, so he will bring on you all the evil things he has threatened, until the LORD your God has destroyed you from this good land he has given you. 16 If you violate the covenant of the LORD your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, the LORD’s anger will burn against you, and you will quickly perish from the good land he has given you.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Psalm 77:11-20
11 I will remember the deeds of the LORD;
yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.
12 I will consider all your works
and meditate on all your mighty deeds.”
13 Your ways, God, are holy.
What god is as great as our God?
14 You are the God who performs miracles;
you display your power among the peoples.
15 With your mighty arm you redeemed your people,
the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.
16 The waters saw you, God,
the waters saw you and writhed;
the very depths were convulsed.
17 The clouds poured down water,
the heavens resounded with thunder;
your arrows flashed back and forth.
18 Your thunder was heard in the whirlwind,
your lightning lit up the world;
the earth trembled and quaked.
19 Your path led through the sea,
your way through the mighty waters,
though your footprints were not seen.
20 You led your people like a flock
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
Like A Flock
August 9, 2011 — by David C. McCasland
You led Your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron. —Psalm 77:20
During a demonstration of sheep- herding using a Border Collie, the dog trainer explained that because sheep are highly vulnerable to wild animals, their main defense against predators is to stay together in a tightly knit group. “A sheep alone is a dead sheep,” the trainer said. “The dog always keeps the sheep together as it moves them.”
The biblical image of God as our shepherd is a powerful reminder of how much we need each other in the community of faith. When writing about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, the psalmist said, “[God] made His own people go forth like sheep, and guided them in the wilderness like a flock; and He led them on safely, so that they did not fear” (Ps. 78:52-53).
As part of God’s flock, we who have trusted Christ are under His guiding, protecting hand while being surrounded by the shielding presence of others. We are part of a larger body of believers in which there is safety and accountability.
While we don’t give up our personal responsibility for thought and action as members of the flock, we are to embrace the concept of “we” rather than “me” in our daily lives. With Christ as our Shepherd and fellow believers around us, we find safety in the flock.
Blest be the tie that binds
Our hearts in Christian love!
The fellowship of kindred minds
Is like to that above. —Fawcett
As part of God’s flock, we’re protected by Him and by each other.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
August 9th, 2011
Prayer in the Father’s Hearing
Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, ’Father, I thank You that You have heard Me’ —John 11:41
When the Son of God prays, He is mindful and consciously aware of only His Father. God always hears the prayers of His Son, and if the Son of God has been formed in me (see Galatians 4:19) the Father will always hear my prayers. But I must see to it that the Son of God is exhibited in my human flesh. “. . . your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit . . . ” (1 Corinthians 6:19), that is, your body is the Bethlehem of God’s Son. Is the Son of God being given His opportunity to work in me? Is the direct simplicity of His life being worked out in me exactly as it was worked out in His life while here on earth? When I come into contact with the everyday occurrences of life as an ordinary human being, is the prayer of God’s eternal Son to His Father being prayed in me? Jesus says, “In that day you will ask in My name . . .” (John 16:26). What day does He mean? He is referring to the day when the Holy Spirit has come to me and made me one with my Lord.
Is the Lord Jesus Christ being abundantly satisfied by your life, or are you exhibiting a walk of spiritual pride before Him? Never let your common sense become so prominent and forceful that it pushes the Son of God to one side. Common sense is a gift that God gave to our human nature— but common sense is not the gift of His Son. Supernatural sense is the gift of His Son, and we should never put our common sense on the throne. The Son always recognizes and identifies with the Father, but common sense has never yet done so and never will. Our ordinary abilities will never worship God unless they are transformed by the indwelling Son of God. We must make sure that our human flesh is kept in perfect submission to Him, allowing Him to work through it moment by moment. Are we living at such a level of human dependence upon Jesus Christ that His life is being exhibited moment by moment in us?
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
The Great Cheerleader Shortage - #6412
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Over the years in campus ministry, I always put on a special push to reach football players, because, you know, they're pretty strategic people on campus. And there was one event that football players always enjoyed. We called it "The Great Cheerleader Put-On." What we would do is we'd invite in four cheerleaders and then four football players to be their coaches. You say, "What? Coaches for what?" Well, we brought in most of the pieces of football gear: shoulder pads, knee pads, hip pads, helmet. And then we wanted to see which cheerleader could get fully dressed in a football uniform first.
You know, it's not always easy to figure out where all that stuff goes if you've never put one on before. Now, the football player was their coach. He couldn't touch her, and he couldn't touch the equipment. He had to be just verbal in his instruction. And once those girls got all the equipment on, it was pretty clear that they would not be taking the field next week. No, they're not players, but they do play a valuable part on behalf of those who are. They cheer, they encourage--even if, well sometimes they don't know the difference between offense and defense. That's okay. They encourage; they stir up support when the players need it the most. And man, do we need those kind of people!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Great Cheerleader Shortage."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Exodus 17. The Jews are in the desert, the Amalekites have attacked their rear flank where the weak, and the sick, and the old are. And now God sends Moses and Joshua to fight them. Moses decides he'll take the staff of God up to a mountain where they can see him. And then the story goes like this, "Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went to the top of the hill."
"As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. When Moses' hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up--one on one side, one on the other--so that his hands remained steady till sunset. So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword."
Okay, you've actually got three ingredients here: You've got an important battle, you've got a depleted leader, and then you've got the people who made the difference--the loyal supporters. The cheerleaders as it were. Moses had reached his limits. I mean, you know, even the greatest leaders wear out and they have no more to give physically, emotionally, or spiritually? I've been there. Chances are you may very well know a spiritual leader like that whose arms are dropping. We are in an ultimate battle; it is a terminal battle for people's lives. You say, "Well, boy, we need more Moses. We need more leaders!" "Well, there might be more Moseses if there were more Aarons and Hurs."
The church is experiencing right now a major cheerleader shortage. And you could be a part of the Aaron and Hur brigade that's part of the answer. Maybe not a player, but you could encourage a leader; you could stir up support for a leader; you could offer praise to someone who has a bucket full of criticism already. Don't wait till the funeral to give it to him. Maybe you could meet a need in the life of that spiritual leader. Aaron and Hur saw a need. They said, "We've got to roll a stone over here for him to sit on." And they found a way to meet that need. Ultimately there's nothing more powerful or more meaningful you can do than specific, fervent, consistent prayer for a spiritual leader.
One of our staff said the other day, "Ron, I am so pumped! A lady just told me she's praying and fasting for my ministry twice a week." Wow! You could make a difference if you ask God for radar to see the need in a leader; to be a minister to him or her. They may appear strong and like they've got it all together. But let me tell you, they struggle with disappointment, discouragement, weariness, and failure.
As the loyal arm holders go, so goes the leader. And as the leader goes, so goes the battle. You can help decide the outcome of this spiritual warfare where you are if you'll be part of the answer to the great cheerleader shortage.