Max Lucado Daily: Matter of the Heart
“Create in me a clean heart, O God.” Psalm 51:10 TLB
Ever blamed your plight on Washington? (If they’d lower the tax rates, my business would work.) Inculpated your family for your failure? (Mom always liked my sister more.) . . .
Consider the prayer of David: “Create in me a new heart, O God . . .”
Real change is an inside job. You might alter things a day or two with money and systems, but the heart of the matter is and always will be, the matter of the heart.
Ruth 4
Boaz Marries Ruth
1 Meanwhile Boaz went up to the town gate and sat down there just as the guardian-redeemer[k] he had mentioned came along. Boaz said, “Come over here, my friend, and sit down.” So he went over and sat down.
2 Boaz took ten of the elders of the town and said, “Sit here,” and they did so. 3 Then he said to the guardian-redeemer, “Naomi, who has come back from Moab, is selling the piece of land that belonged to our relative Elimelek. 4 I thought I should bring the matter to your attention and suggest that you buy it in the presence of these seated here and in the presence of the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, do so. But if you[l] will not, tell me, so I will know. For no one has the right to do it except you, and I am next in line.”
“I will redeem it,” he said.
5 Then Boaz said, “On the day you buy the land from Naomi, you also acquire Ruth the Moabite, the[m] dead man’s widow, in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property.”
6 At this, the guardian-redeemer said, “Then I cannot redeem it because I might endanger my own estate. You redeem it yourself. I cannot do it.”
7 (Now in earlier times in Israel, for the redemption and transfer of property to become final, one party took off his sandal and gave it to the other. This was the method of legalizing transactions in Israel.)
8 So the guardian-redeemer said to Boaz, “Buy it yourself.” And he removed his sandal.
9 Then Boaz announced to the elders and all the people, “Today you are witnesses that I have bought from Naomi all the property of Elimelek, Kilion and Mahlon. 10 I have also acquired Ruth the Moabite, Mahlon’s widow, as my wife, in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property, so that his name will not disappear from among his family or from his hometown. Today you are witnesses!”
11 Then the elders and all the people at the gate said, “We are witnesses. May the LORD make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the family of Israel. May you have standing in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem. 12 Through the offspring the LORD gives you by this young woman, may your family be like that of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah.”
Naomi Gains a Son
13 So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. When he made love to her, the LORD enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son. 14 The women said to Naomi: “Praise be to the LORD, who this day has not left you without a guardian-redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel! 15 He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth.”
16 Then Naomi took the child in her arms and cared for him. 17 The women living there said, “Naomi has a son!” And they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.
The Genealogy of David
18 This, then, is the family line of Perez:
Perez was the father of Hezron,
19 Hezron the father of Ram,
Ram the father of Amminadab,
20 Amminadab the father of Nahshon,
Nahshon the father of Salmon,[n]
21 Salmon the father of Boaz,
Boaz the father of Obed,
22 Obed the father of Jesse,
and Jesse the father of David.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Job 1:13-22
13 One day when Job’s sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, 14 a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing nearby, 15 and the Sabeans attacked and made off with them. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”
16 While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, “The fire of God fell from the heavens and burned up the sheep and the servants, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”
17 While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, “The Chaldeans formed three raiding parties and swept down on your camels and made off with them. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”
18 While he was still speaking, yet another messenger came and said, “Your sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, 19 when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on them and they are dead, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”
20 At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship 21 and said:
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
and naked I will depart.[a]
The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away;
may the name of the LORD be praised.”
22 In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.
Character Amnesia
September 13, 2011 — by Cindy Hess Kasper
There was a man . . . whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil. —Job 1:1
It seems that young people in China are beginning to forget how to write the characters that comprise the beautiful calligraphy of their traditional language. Some are calling the phenomenon “character amnesia.” Heavy usage of computers and smart phones often means that writing is neglected and some can no longer remember the characters they learned in childhood. One young man said, “People don’t write anything by hand anymore except for [their] name and address.”
Some people appear to have “character amnesia” of a different sort. When faced with a dilemma, they seem to “forget” the right thing to do and instead choose the easy way out.
God called Job “a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil” (Job 1:8). God allowed Satan to take everything Job had—his children, his wealth, and his health. But despite his heart-wrenching circumstances, Job refused to curse God. “In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong” (v.22). Satan had challenged God’s assertion of Job’s blameless character, but he was proven wrong.
Character amnesia? No. Character is who we are; it’s not something we “forget.” Those who have a loss of character make a choice.
It isn’t the tranquil and placid seas
That bring out the sailor’s skill;
It’s the wind and waves that pound his ship
And toss it about at will. —Ritter
When wealth is gone, little is lost; when health is gone, something is lost; but when character is gone, all is lost!
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
September 13th, 2011
After Surrender— Then What?
I have finished the work which You have given Me to do —John 17:4
True surrender is not simply surrender of our external life but surrender of our will— and once that is done, surrender is complete. The greatest crisis we ever face is the surrender of our will. Yet God never forces a person’s will into surrender, and He never begs. He patiently waits until that person willingly yields to Him. And once that battle has been fought, it never needs to be fought again.
Surrender for Deliverance. “Come to Me . . . and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). It is only after we have begun to experience what salvation really means that we surrender our will to Jesus for rest. Whatever is causing us a sense of uncertainty is actually a call to our will— “Come to Me.” And it is a voluntary coming.
Surrender for Devotion. “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself . . . ” (Matthew 16:24). The surrender here is of my self to Jesus, with His rest at the heart of my being. He says, “If you want to be My disciple, you must give up your right to yourself to Me.” And once this is done, the remainder of your life will exhibit nothing but the evidence of this surrender, and you never need to be concerned again with what the future may hold for you. Whatever your circumstances may be, Jesus is totally sufficient (see 2 Corinthians 12:9 and (Philippians 4:19).
Surrender for Death. “. . . another will gird you . . .” (John 21:18 ; also see John21:19). Have you learned what it means to be girded for death? Beware of some surrender that you make to God in an ecstatic moment in your life, because you are apt to take it back again. True surrender is a matter of being “united together [with Jesus] in the likeness of His death” (Romans 6:5) until nothing ever appeals to you that did not appeal to Him.
And after you surrender— then what? Your entire life should be characterized by an eagerness to maintain unbroken fellowship and oneness with God.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Winning at Home - #6437
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Whenever you look at a sports schedule for the season you'll see one of two letters next to each game--an H or an A. Now those H's are the ones the players look forward to the most; that's the home games. And, of course, the A is the away games. Now, if you're an athlete, you know that your best chance of winning is probably in your home setting. In sports, it's generally easier to win at home and it's tougher to win on the road, which is actually the opposite of how it is in our personal lives.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Winning at Home."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from the fourth chapter of the book of Luke. We're going to begin reading at verse 16. Now, here's a little background: Jesus is getting ready to launch His public ministry. He will only have three years to do what He must do to preach His message and save the world. It's interesting that He spends 40 days alone in the wilderness before He begins His public ministry. And I'm sure part of that time must have been to decide His game plan for reaching the world. I mean what an assignment!
Look where He starts when we get into Luke 4. He's left the wilderness, the game plan is now in action, and here's what it says. "He went to Nazareth where He had been brought up, and on the Sabbath Day He went into the Synagogue, as was His custom. And He stood up to read. The scroll of the Prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. Unrolling it, He found the place where it is written: 'The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.'"
Look where Jesus started His ministry--at home. Yeah, His home town of Nazareth. Now, unlike sports, I think we find it easier to win on the road and tougher to win at home. But that's where your Christ-life has to work or you have nothing credible to give to the rest of the world. So I have to ask, "How is your faith working among the people who know you best...who know the real you?"
Your parents--I wonder if your parents, when you became a follower of Christ, did they get a better son? Did they get a better daughter out of the deal? Or did the family members around you get a better husband because you came to Christ, a better wife, a better parent? Is your Christianity transforming the kind of person you are in the most intimate exposed areas of your life? You know where that is. It's at home; it's in your family.
See, if you've got something real, the presence of Christ in you should be bringing the presence of Christ into your home. You walk in; He should walk in. Maybe you're a winner on the road. You're a hero to people at church, in the community, that ministry you're involved in. You're a hero at work. You're maybe a hero in the Christian world. But spiritually are you a hero to your family? They should get your spiritual best, not your leftovers.
Maybe it's time to take a step back and commit yourself to first of all represent Christ, be His ambassador. Be like Jesus with your family. Whatever others get, well it's simply going to be the overflow of what you are living in front of your family. Jesus started at home. So should you.