Max Lucado Daily: Trust Him—Not Stuff
All creatures look to you to give them their food at the proper time. When you give it to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are satisfied with good things. Psalm 104:27-28
If there were no God—“stuff” trusting would be the appropriate response to an uncertain future. But there IS a God!
And God does not want us to trust money. Jesus said, “Do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, or have an anxious mind.”
Scrooge didn’t create the world. God did!
Psalm 104 celebrates this lavish creation with 23-verses of itemized blessings; the heavens and the earth, the waters and streams and trees and birds and goats, and wine and oil and bread, and people and lions. God is the source of living things both small and great!
God is the great giver. The great provider. The fount of every blessing.
Absolutely generous and utterly dependable.
The resounding and recurring message of Scripture is clear:
God owns it all.
God shares it all.
Trust Him—not “stuff!”
Psalm 38[h]
A psalm of David. A petition.
1 LORD, do not rebuke me in your anger
or discipline me in your wrath.
2 Your arrows have pierced me,
and your hand has come down on me.
3 Because of your wrath there is no health in my body;
there is no soundness in my bones because of my sin.
4 My guilt has overwhelmed me
like a burden too heavy to bear.
5 My wounds fester and are loathsome
because of my sinful folly.
6 I am bowed down and brought very low;
all day long I go about mourning.
7 My back is filled with searing pain;
there is no health in my body.
8 I am feeble and utterly crushed;
I groan in anguish of heart.
9 All my longings lie open before you, Lord;
my sighing is not hidden from you.
10 My heart pounds, my strength fails me;
even the light has gone from my eyes.
11 My friends and companions avoid me because of my wounds;
my neighbors stay far away.
12 Those who want to kill me set their traps,
those who would harm me talk of my ruin;
all day long they scheme and lie.
13 I am like the deaf, who cannot hear,
like the mute, who cannot speak;
14 I have become like one who does not hear,
whose mouth can offer no reply.
15 LORD, I wait for you;
you will answer, Lord my God.
16 For I said, “Do not let them gloat
or exalt themselves over me when my feet slip.”
17 For I am about to fall,
and my pain is ever with me.
18 I confess my iniquity;
I am troubled by my sin.
19 Many have become my enemies without cause[i];
those who hate me without reason are numerous.
20 Those who repay my good with evil
lodge accusations against me,
though I seek only to do what is good.
21 LORD, do not forsake me;
do not be far from me, my God.
22 Come quickly to help me,
my Lord and my Savior.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: John 14:25-31
25 “All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
28 “You heard me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. 29 I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe. 30 I will not say much more to you, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold over me, 31 but he comes so that the world may learn that I love the Father and do exactly what my Father has commanded me.
“Come now; let us leave.
The Prince Of Peace
January 31, 2012 — by David H. Roper
Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you. —John 14:27
Years ago I came to know a young man who rode with a motorcycle gang. He had grown up on a mission field where his parents served. When his family returned to the US, he seemed unable to adjust to life. He lived a troubled existence and was killed in a street fight with a rival gang.
I’ve helped at many funeral services, but this was by far the most memorable. It was held in a park where there is a natural grassy bowl surrounding a small lake. His friends parked their bikes in a circle and sat on the grass around a friend and me while we conducted the service. We spoke simply and briefly about peace among warring factions and the inner peace that Jesus’ love can bring.
Afterward, a motorcycle gang member thanked us, started to walk away, but then turned back. I’ve never forgotten his words. He said that he had “a putt, a pad, and an old lady” (a bike, apartment, and girlfriend), and then added, “But I ain’t got no peace.” So we talked about Jesus who is our peace.
Whether we’ve got a chopper or a Cadillac, a mansion or a tiny apartment, a loved one or no one—it makes no difference. Without Jesus, there is no peace. He said, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you” (John 14:27). This gift is for all who trust in Him. Have you asked for His peace?
Lord, I want to have peace in my life.
To be at peace with You, with others, and with myself.
Your Word says that comes from You.
Please give me Your gift of peace. Amen.
Jesus died in our place to give us His peace.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Do You See Your Calling?
. . . separated to the gospel of God. . . —Romans 1:1
Our calling is not primarily to be holy men and women, but to be proclaimers of the gospel of God. The one all-important thing is that the gospel of God should be recognized as the abiding reality. Reality is not human goodness, or holiness, or heaven, or hell— it is redemption. The need to perceive this is the most vital need of the Christian worker today. As workers, we have to get used to the revelation that redemption is the only reality. Personal holiness is an effect of redemption, not the cause of it. If we place our faith in human goodness we will go under when testing comes.
Paul did not say that he separated himself, but “when it pleased God, who separated me . . .” (Galatians 1:15). Paul was not overly interested in his own character. And as long as our eyes are focused on our own personal holiness, we will never even get close to the full reality of redemption. Christian workers fail because they place their desire for their own holiness above their desire to know God. “Don’t ask me to be confronted with the strong reality of redemption on behalf of the filth of human life surrounding me today; what I want is anything God can do for me to make me more desirable in my own eyes.” To talk that way is a sign that the reality of the gospel of God has not begun to touch me. There is no reckless abandon to God in that. God cannot deliver me while my interest is merely in my own character. Paul was not conscious of himself. He was recklessly abandoned, totally surrendered, and separated by God for one purpose— to proclaim the gospel of God (see Romans 9:3).
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
You Can't See Them, But They're Holding It Together - #6537
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Have you driven past a home or building that's under construction lately? Take a good look, because there are some things that you will never see again, so you'd better look now. Like the foundation for example. You can see it right now while they're building, but pretty soon all you'll see is the house, or the office building, or the condo. The foundation will pretty soon disappear from view. But it's always going to be what's holding up that whole structure. The same is true of the support beams. Pretty soon they're going to be covered with walls, and paint, and wallpaper. But they will always form the invisible support for everything. If the foundation or the support beams go, the whole thing goes.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "You Can't See Them, But They're Holding It Together."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from {bible}Luke 8:1-3/{bible}. "After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out; Joanna the wife of Cuza, the manager of Herod's household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means."
Now, if you noticed, there are some big things going on here for the kingdom. In fact it says here that Jesus and the disciples are out "proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God." Now, that's what you can see. You can see the structure they're building - the kingdom of God! But did you ever think about Jesus and the disciples had to be supported somehow?
How could they totally devote themselves to kingdom building? They had to be available, but they had to live somehow. Well, some women it tells us here, went to work, got a pay check and gave it to Jesus and His disciples. Or some had a source of income and said, "Well, part of this will go to keep Jesus and His disciples ministering."
They're pretty invisible in the Bible, but the ministry couldn't have continued without them. Jesus and the disciples would have had to do what they could... squeeze in as much ministry as they could when they weren't working in their off hours. Now, 2,000 years later, some "called" people are still working around the clock to build God's kingdom, just like Jesus and His disciples did. But they're held up - they're supported - by the support beams of people who sacrifice part of what they earned to keep the army on the front lines.
I hope you're in that category of God's unsung heroes. Oh, men may not know your name or the sacrifices you're making. Oh, but be sure God does. You may not feel like your role is important, but believe me like those women who supported Jesus' ministry, you're the foundation...you're the support beams. And it's more important than ever that you check out what you're supporting. Don't give just to charisma, or emotional appeals, or slick packaging. Check it out! Make sure they're proclaiming God's kingdom, not their own. That they make you think about Jesus, not about them. There's nothing more exciting in personal finances than to write a sacrificial check to support the work of Jesus. Not an organization, not a personality, but the work of Jesus. Send it to Jesus!
I think what had motivated those women was that Jesus had so transformed their lives, and they didn't want anybody to miss that opportunity. They wanted others to have the chance they had to experience what only Jesus could do for them. That's the motivation for giving; I want others to get touched by Jesus like I did. And I want to give what I have to help them have the chance I got.
It's so rewarding to know that the pay you're earning by today's work gives you resources to invest in the continuing work of Jesus on earth; the greatest cause on the planet! You own a piece of His action.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Monday, January 30, 2012
Psalm 37, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals (Click to listen to God’s teaching)
Max Lucado Daily: Look Over Your Shoulder
And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. Hebrews 12:1-2
In Matthew 14:28, Peter took Jesus at his word: “Lord, if it’s you, command me to come to you on the water.
Jesus said, Come And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus.”
Storms prompt us to take unprecedented journeys. For a few historic steps and heart-stilling moments, Peter did the impossible. He defied gravity and nature; he walked on the water to Jesus!
But when Peter saw the wind, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me!”
Peter shifted his attention away from Jesus and toward the squall—and when he did, he sank like a brick in a pond.
Whether or not storms come, we cannot choose. But where we stare during a storm—that we can!
Psalm 37[c]
Of David.
1 Do not fret because of those who are evil
or be envious of those who do wrong;
2 for like the grass they will soon wither,
like green plants they will soon die away.
3 Trust in the LORD and do good;
dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
4 Take delight in the LORD,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the LORD;
trust in him and he will do this:
6 He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn,
your vindication like the noonday sun.
7 Be still before the LORD
and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when people succeed in their ways,
when they carry out their wicked schemes.
8 Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;
do not fret—it leads only to evil.
9 For those who are evil will be destroyed,
but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.
10 A little while, and the wicked will be no more;
though you look for them, they will not be found.
11 But the meek will inherit the land
and enjoy peace and prosperity.
12 The wicked plot against the righteous
and gnash their teeth at them;
13 but the Lord laughs at the wicked,
for he knows their day is coming.
14 The wicked draw the sword
and bend the bow
to bring down the poor and needy,
to slay those whose ways are upright.
15 But their swords will pierce their own hearts,
and their bows will be broken.
16 Better the little that the righteous have
than the wealth of many wicked;
17 for the power of the wicked will be broken,
but the LORD upholds the righteous.
18 The blameless spend their days under the LORD’s care,
and their inheritance will endure forever.
19 In times of disaster they will not wither;
in days of famine they will enjoy plenty.
20 But the wicked will perish:
Though the LORD’s enemies are like the flowers of the field,
they will be consumed, they will go up in smoke.
21 The wicked borrow and do not repay,
but the righteous give generously;
22 those the LORD blesses will inherit the land,
but those he curses will be destroyed.
23 The LORD makes firm the steps
of the one who delights in him;
24 though he may stumble, he will not fall,
for the LORD upholds him with his hand.
25 I was young and now I am old,
yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken
or their children begging bread.
26 They are always generous and lend freely;
their children will be a blessing.[d]
27 Turn from evil and do good;
then you will dwell in the land forever.
28 For the LORD loves the just
and will not forsake his faithful ones.
Wrongdoers will be completely destroyed[e];
the offspring of the wicked will perish.
29 The righteous will inherit the land
and dwell in it forever.
30 The mouths of the righteous utter wisdom,
and their tongues speak what is just.
31 The law of their God is in their hearts;
their feet do not slip.
32 The wicked lie in wait for the righteous,
intent on putting them to death;
33 but the LORD will not leave them in the power of the wicked
or let them be condemned when brought to trial.
34 Hope in the LORD
and keep his way.
He will exalt you to inherit the land;
when the wicked are destroyed, you will see it.
35 I have seen a wicked and ruthless man
flourishing like a luxuriant native tree,
36 but he soon passed away and was no more;
though I looked for him, he could not be found.
37 Consider the blameless, observe the upright;
a future awaits those who seek peace.[f]
38 But all sinners will be destroyed;
there will be no future[g] for the wicked.
39 The salvation of the righteous comes from the LORD;
he is their stronghold in time of trouble.
40 The LORD helps them and delivers them;
he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
because they take refuge in him.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Romans 8:26-30
26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[a] have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
When The Wind Blows
January 30, 2012 — by Dennis Fisher
Blessed be the . . . God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation. —2 Corinthians 1:3-4
Harold and Cathy and their two sons were in a wooded area in Minnesota when a tornado touched down. Cathy described her experience to me several years later:
“My husband and older son were some distance away, but my younger son and I took cover in a cabin. We heard a sound like a hundred railroad cars and instinctively dropped to the floor in a tucked position. The cabin began to break apart, and I shut my eyes because of all the flying debris. It felt like I was going up in an elevator and then was shot into the air. I landed in a lake and clung to debris to stay afloat.”
Tragically, however, their younger son did not survive. Harold said of their loss: “We cried every day for 6 weeks. But we believe that God’s loving sovereignty allowed that tornado to come down where we were. And we also took comfort in the fact that our son knew the Lord.”
When a loved one is taken and we are left behind, it can create all kinds of questions. In times like these, Romans 8:28 can be of great encouragement: “We know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” This couple’s trust in God’s loving sovereignty brought them comfort in the midst of their grief (2 Cor. 1:3-4).
When we sustain a heartbreaking loss,
When grief overwhelms our soul,
The Savior who gave Himself on the cross
Reminds us that He’s in control. —D. De Haan
Our greatest comfort in sorrow is to know that God is in control.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, January 30, 2012
The Dilemma of Obedience
Samuel was afraid to tell Eli the vision —1 Samuel 3:15
God never speaks to us in dramatic ways, but in ways that are easy to misunderstand. Then we say, “I wonder if that is God’s voice?” Isaiah said that the Lord spoke to him “with a strong hand,” that is, by the pressure of his circumstances (Isaiah 8:11). Without the sovereign hand of God Himself, nothing touches our lives. Do we discern His hand at work, or do we see things as mere occurrences?
Get into the habit of saying, “Speak, Lord,” and life will become a romance (1 Samuel 3:9). Every time circumstances press in on you, say, “Speak, Lord,” and make time to listen. Chastening is more than a means of discipline— it is meant to bring me to the point of saying, “Speak, Lord.” Think back to a time when God spoke to you. Do you remember what He said? Was it Luke 11:13 , or was it 1 Thessalonians 5:23? As we listen, our ears become more sensitive, and like Jesus, we will hear God all the time.
Should I tell my “Eli” what God has shown to me? This is where the dilemma of obedience hits us. We disobey God by becoming amateur providences and thinking, “I must shield ’Eli,’ ” who represents the best people we know. God did not tell Samuel to tell Eli— he had to decide that for himself. God’s message to you may hurt your “Eli,” buttrying to prevent suffering in another’s life will prove to be an obstruction between your soul and God. It is at your own risk that you prevent someone’s right hand being cut off or right eye being plucked out (see Matthew 5:29-30).
Never ask another person’s advice about anything God makes you decide before Him. If you ask advice, you will almost always side with Satan. “. . . I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood . . .” (Galatians 1:16).
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Steve Jobs and God - #6536
Monday, January 30, 2012
When you're a kid, you're wet cement. Impressions, well, they get written on you so easily and so deeply. And then they harden into beliefs, I guess or un-beliefs, and that kid becomes an adult. Apparently, Steve Jobs was no exception.
Apple's communications genius and revolutionary, was been described as "intriguing, yet inscrutable." But as he battled cancer, he opened some windows into his mind and soul to the author who was writing his life story. According to the new biography that bears his name, Steve Jobs studied Zen Buddhism for years. A recent article in USA Today said, "He never went back to church after he saw a photo of starving children on the cover of Life and asked his Sunday school pastor if God knew what would happen to them. He was 13 at the time."
Now, in a separate article, USA Today included this near-the-end spiritual observation from Steve Jobs' biography: "The juice goes out of Christianity when it becomes too based on faith rather than on living like Jesus or seeing the world as Jesus saw it."
Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Steve Jobs and God."
None of us knows exactly where Steve Jobs finally landed in his spiritual journey. But in his words about Jesus there's a glimmer of the bedrock truth that answers so many spiritual questions: it's all about Jesus.
Christianity, the religion, has never been the issue, although many have been unable or unwilling to separate Jesus from the religion that's about Him. But Jesus made it all about Him, and Him alone, in that simple two-word invitation He extended over and over again, "Follow Me." Jesus never said "follow My religion" or "follow My followers." He didn't say "follow My rules." He didn't say, "follow My leaders." No, the only reason to turn away from Jesus is if you've got a problem with Jesus.
And as for "seeing the world as Jesus saw it," He saw it broken because people walk past the wounded, all absorbed with themselves, as in the story of the Good Samaritan. He saw the world as cold, and lonely, and twisted, because every man has chosen to ignore the Manufacturer's instructions and to become our own god for our own life. And that has brought us a world of bleeding families, greedy hoarding that produces global hungering, and an endless drama of people being used, abused, walked on.
And what about those starving children? Jesus said when we reach for them to help them, "whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me." And our word for today from the Word of God, Matthew 25:40, tells us that, "whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me." Jesus is so personally identified with the hurting people of our world that He takes our treatment of them as our treatment of Him, with eternal consequences.
This Jesus that it's all about came here, in the Bible's words, as "a man of sorrows, familiar with suffering...pierced for our transgressions...crushed for our iniquities" (Isaiah 53:3, 5). This is the God who leaves the throne to die on the cross. He's a God you can believe in. He's a God who stands alone above all the wannabe gods of earth's spiritual pantheon. And ultimately, we find in Jesus the only man of the billions who've lived who has come back from the grave and who promised eternal life to all those who would "follow Me."
And the question is, "On this side of eternity, while you still can decide, have you ever made this Jesus your Jesus?" Can you imagine Him calling your name today as He says, "follow Me"? He died for you. He's risen from the dead to prove that He can give you eternal life. Now He waits for you to reach out and say, "Jesus, I'm Yours."
I'd love to help you begin that relationship with Him. That's what our website is for, and I want to just invite you to go check it out today. It's YoursForLife.net.
Behind all the fog of all those "sophisticated" spiritualities and the dueling religions of our world stands one real God, one real Savior. He's the God who hung on a cross.
USA Today - October 21, 2011, 1B; "Jobs biography pulls back web of privacy;" Rachel Metz, Associated Press.
USA Today - October 25, 2011, 2B; "Jobs lived intriguing, yet inscrutable life;" by Jon Swartz and Scott Martin.
And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. Hebrews 12:1-2
In Matthew 14:28, Peter took Jesus at his word: “Lord, if it’s you, command me to come to you on the water.
Jesus said, Come And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus.”
Storms prompt us to take unprecedented journeys. For a few historic steps and heart-stilling moments, Peter did the impossible. He defied gravity and nature; he walked on the water to Jesus!
But when Peter saw the wind, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me!”
Peter shifted his attention away from Jesus and toward the squall—and when he did, he sank like a brick in a pond.
Whether or not storms come, we cannot choose. But where we stare during a storm—that we can!
Psalm 37[c]
Of David.
1 Do not fret because of those who are evil
or be envious of those who do wrong;
2 for like the grass they will soon wither,
like green plants they will soon die away.
3 Trust in the LORD and do good;
dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
4 Take delight in the LORD,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the LORD;
trust in him and he will do this:
6 He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn,
your vindication like the noonday sun.
7 Be still before the LORD
and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when people succeed in their ways,
when they carry out their wicked schemes.
8 Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;
do not fret—it leads only to evil.
9 For those who are evil will be destroyed,
but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.
10 A little while, and the wicked will be no more;
though you look for them, they will not be found.
11 But the meek will inherit the land
and enjoy peace and prosperity.
12 The wicked plot against the righteous
and gnash their teeth at them;
13 but the Lord laughs at the wicked,
for he knows their day is coming.
14 The wicked draw the sword
and bend the bow
to bring down the poor and needy,
to slay those whose ways are upright.
15 But their swords will pierce their own hearts,
and their bows will be broken.
16 Better the little that the righteous have
than the wealth of many wicked;
17 for the power of the wicked will be broken,
but the LORD upholds the righteous.
18 The blameless spend their days under the LORD’s care,
and their inheritance will endure forever.
19 In times of disaster they will not wither;
in days of famine they will enjoy plenty.
20 But the wicked will perish:
Though the LORD’s enemies are like the flowers of the field,
they will be consumed, they will go up in smoke.
21 The wicked borrow and do not repay,
but the righteous give generously;
22 those the LORD blesses will inherit the land,
but those he curses will be destroyed.
23 The LORD makes firm the steps
of the one who delights in him;
24 though he may stumble, he will not fall,
for the LORD upholds him with his hand.
25 I was young and now I am old,
yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken
or their children begging bread.
26 They are always generous and lend freely;
their children will be a blessing.[d]
27 Turn from evil and do good;
then you will dwell in the land forever.
28 For the LORD loves the just
and will not forsake his faithful ones.
Wrongdoers will be completely destroyed[e];
the offspring of the wicked will perish.
29 The righteous will inherit the land
and dwell in it forever.
30 The mouths of the righteous utter wisdom,
and their tongues speak what is just.
31 The law of their God is in their hearts;
their feet do not slip.
32 The wicked lie in wait for the righteous,
intent on putting them to death;
33 but the LORD will not leave them in the power of the wicked
or let them be condemned when brought to trial.
34 Hope in the LORD
and keep his way.
He will exalt you to inherit the land;
when the wicked are destroyed, you will see it.
35 I have seen a wicked and ruthless man
flourishing like a luxuriant native tree,
36 but he soon passed away and was no more;
though I looked for him, he could not be found.
37 Consider the blameless, observe the upright;
a future awaits those who seek peace.[f]
38 But all sinners will be destroyed;
there will be no future[g] for the wicked.
39 The salvation of the righteous comes from the LORD;
he is their stronghold in time of trouble.
40 The LORD helps them and delivers them;
he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
because they take refuge in him.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Romans 8:26-30
26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[a] have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
When The Wind Blows
January 30, 2012 — by Dennis Fisher
Blessed be the . . . God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation. —2 Corinthians 1:3-4
Harold and Cathy and their two sons were in a wooded area in Minnesota when a tornado touched down. Cathy described her experience to me several years later:
“My husband and older son were some distance away, but my younger son and I took cover in a cabin. We heard a sound like a hundred railroad cars and instinctively dropped to the floor in a tucked position. The cabin began to break apart, and I shut my eyes because of all the flying debris. It felt like I was going up in an elevator and then was shot into the air. I landed in a lake and clung to debris to stay afloat.”
Tragically, however, their younger son did not survive. Harold said of their loss: “We cried every day for 6 weeks. But we believe that God’s loving sovereignty allowed that tornado to come down where we were. And we also took comfort in the fact that our son knew the Lord.”
When a loved one is taken and we are left behind, it can create all kinds of questions. In times like these, Romans 8:28 can be of great encouragement: “We know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” This couple’s trust in God’s loving sovereignty brought them comfort in the midst of their grief (2 Cor. 1:3-4).
When we sustain a heartbreaking loss,
When grief overwhelms our soul,
The Savior who gave Himself on the cross
Reminds us that He’s in control. —D. De Haan
Our greatest comfort in sorrow is to know that God is in control.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, January 30, 2012
The Dilemma of Obedience
Samuel was afraid to tell Eli the vision —1 Samuel 3:15
God never speaks to us in dramatic ways, but in ways that are easy to misunderstand. Then we say, “I wonder if that is God’s voice?” Isaiah said that the Lord spoke to him “with a strong hand,” that is, by the pressure of his circumstances (Isaiah 8:11). Without the sovereign hand of God Himself, nothing touches our lives. Do we discern His hand at work, or do we see things as mere occurrences?
Get into the habit of saying, “Speak, Lord,” and life will become a romance (1 Samuel 3:9). Every time circumstances press in on you, say, “Speak, Lord,” and make time to listen. Chastening is more than a means of discipline— it is meant to bring me to the point of saying, “Speak, Lord.” Think back to a time when God spoke to you. Do you remember what He said? Was it Luke 11:13 , or was it 1 Thessalonians 5:23? As we listen, our ears become more sensitive, and like Jesus, we will hear God all the time.
Should I tell my “Eli” what God has shown to me? This is where the dilemma of obedience hits us. We disobey God by becoming amateur providences and thinking, “I must shield ’Eli,’ ” who represents the best people we know. God did not tell Samuel to tell Eli— he had to decide that for himself. God’s message to you may hurt your “Eli,” buttrying to prevent suffering in another’s life will prove to be an obstruction between your soul and God. It is at your own risk that you prevent someone’s right hand being cut off or right eye being plucked out (see Matthew 5:29-30).
Never ask another person’s advice about anything God makes you decide before Him. If you ask advice, you will almost always side with Satan. “. . . I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood . . .” (Galatians 1:16).
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Steve Jobs and God - #6536
Monday, January 30, 2012
When you're a kid, you're wet cement. Impressions, well, they get written on you so easily and so deeply. And then they harden into beliefs, I guess or un-beliefs, and that kid becomes an adult. Apparently, Steve Jobs was no exception.
Apple's communications genius and revolutionary, was been described as "intriguing, yet inscrutable." But as he battled cancer, he opened some windows into his mind and soul to the author who was writing his life story. According to the new biography that bears his name, Steve Jobs studied Zen Buddhism for years. A recent article in USA Today said, "He never went back to church after he saw a photo of starving children on the cover of Life and asked his Sunday school pastor if God knew what would happen to them. He was 13 at the time."
Now, in a separate article, USA Today included this near-the-end spiritual observation from Steve Jobs' biography: "The juice goes out of Christianity when it becomes too based on faith rather than on living like Jesus or seeing the world as Jesus saw it."
Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Steve Jobs and God."
None of us knows exactly where Steve Jobs finally landed in his spiritual journey. But in his words about Jesus there's a glimmer of the bedrock truth that answers so many spiritual questions: it's all about Jesus.
Christianity, the religion, has never been the issue, although many have been unable or unwilling to separate Jesus from the religion that's about Him. But Jesus made it all about Him, and Him alone, in that simple two-word invitation He extended over and over again, "Follow Me." Jesus never said "follow My religion" or "follow My followers." He didn't say "follow My rules." He didn't say, "follow My leaders." No, the only reason to turn away from Jesus is if you've got a problem with Jesus.
And as for "seeing the world as Jesus saw it," He saw it broken because people walk past the wounded, all absorbed with themselves, as in the story of the Good Samaritan. He saw the world as cold, and lonely, and twisted, because every man has chosen to ignore the Manufacturer's instructions and to become our own god for our own life. And that has brought us a world of bleeding families, greedy hoarding that produces global hungering, and an endless drama of people being used, abused, walked on.
And what about those starving children? Jesus said when we reach for them to help them, "whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me." And our word for today from the Word of God, Matthew 25:40, tells us that, "whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me." Jesus is so personally identified with the hurting people of our world that He takes our treatment of them as our treatment of Him, with eternal consequences.
This Jesus that it's all about came here, in the Bible's words, as "a man of sorrows, familiar with suffering...pierced for our transgressions...crushed for our iniquities" (Isaiah 53:3, 5). This is the God who leaves the throne to die on the cross. He's a God you can believe in. He's a God who stands alone above all the wannabe gods of earth's spiritual pantheon. And ultimately, we find in Jesus the only man of the billions who've lived who has come back from the grave and who promised eternal life to all those who would "follow Me."
And the question is, "On this side of eternity, while you still can decide, have you ever made this Jesus your Jesus?" Can you imagine Him calling your name today as He says, "follow Me"? He died for you. He's risen from the dead to prove that He can give you eternal life. Now He waits for you to reach out and say, "Jesus, I'm Yours."
I'd love to help you begin that relationship with Him. That's what our website is for, and I want to just invite you to go check it out today. It's YoursForLife.net.
Behind all the fog of all those "sophisticated" spiritualities and the dueling religions of our world stands one real God, one real Savior. He's the God who hung on a cross.
USA Today - October 21, 2011, 1B; "Jobs biography pulls back web of privacy;" Rachel Metz, Associated Press.
USA Today - October 25, 2011, 2B; "Jobs lived intriguing, yet inscrutable life;" by Jon Swartz and Scott Martin.
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Psalm 36, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals (Click to listen to God’s teaching)
Max Lucado Daily: God is Love
This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. I John 4:10 NIV
Does God love us because of our goodness? Because of our kindness? Because of our great faith?
No, he loves us because of his goodness, kindness, and great faith. John says it like this: “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us.”
Psalm 36[a]
For the director of music. Of David the servant of the LORD.
1 I have a message from God in my heart
concerning the sinfulness of the wicked:[b]
There is no fear of God
before their eyes.
2 In their own eyes they flatter themselves
too much to detect or hate their sin.
3 The words of their mouths are wicked and deceitful;
they fail to act wisely or do good.
4 Even on their beds they plot evil;
they commit themselves to a sinful course
and do not reject what is wrong.
5 Your love, LORD, reaches to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the skies.
6 Your righteousness is like the highest mountains,
your justice like the great deep.
You, LORD, preserve both people and animals.
7 How priceless is your unfailing love, O God!
People take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
8 They feast on the abundance of your house;
you give them drink from your river of delights.
9 For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light we see light.
10 Continue your love to those who know you,
your righteousness to the upright in heart.
11 May the foot of the proud not come against me,
nor the hand of the wicked drive me away.
12 See how the evildoers lie fallen—
thrown down, not able to rise!
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: John 15:9-17
9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. 17 This is my command: Love each other.
Genuine Friends
January 29, 2012 — by David C. McCasland
No longer do I call you servants, . . . but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. —John 15:15
Experts who track the changing vocabulary of the English language chose unfriend as the New Oxford American Dictionary Word of the Year for 2009. They defined it as a verb, “to remove someone as a friend on a social networking Web site,” such as Facebook. On that site, friends allow each other to access the personal information on their Facebook pages. They may never meet face to face or even exchange greetings online. In our world of fleeting cyber acquaintances, we are beginning to realize that having a true friend means more now than ever before.
When Jesus called His disciples “friends” (John 15:15), He spoke of a unique relationship involving mutual commitment. He was only hours from laying down His life (v.13), and He asked them to show their friendship by keeping His commands (v.14). Most astonishing, perhaps, is Jesus’ statement: “No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you” (v.15).
In a genuine friendship, one’s faithfulness can shore up the other’s in times of discouragement or fear. That is what Jesus is to us—our always faithful, forever Friend.
Hallelujah! What a Savior!
Hallelujah! What a Friend!
Saving, helping, keeping, loving,
He is with me to the end. —Chapman
The dearest friend on earth
is but a mere shadow compared to Jesus.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, January 29, 2012
How Could Someone Be So Ignorant!
Who are You, Lord? —Acts 26:15
“The Lord spoke thus to me with a strong hand . . .” (Isaiah 8:11). There is no escape when our Lord speaks. He always comes using His authority and taking hold of our understanding. Has the voice of God come to you directly? If it has, you cannot mistake the intimate insistence with which it has spoken to you. God speaks in the language you know best— not through your ears, but through your circumstances.
God has to destroy our determined confidence in our own convictions. We say, “I know that this is what I should do”-and suddenly the voice of God speaks in a way that overwhelms us by revealing the depths of our ignorance. We show our ignorance of Him in the very way we decide to serve Him. We serve Jesus in a spirit that is not His, and hurt Him by our defense of Him. We push His claims in the spirit of the devil; our words sound all right, but the spirit is that of an enemy. “He . . . rebuked them, and said, ’You do not know what manner of spirit you are of’ ” (Luke 9:55). The spirit of our Lord in His followers is described in 1 Corinthians 13 .
Have I been persecuting Jesus by an eager determination to serve Him in my own way? If I feel I have done my duty, yet have hurt Him in the process, I can be sure that this was not my duty. My way will not be to foster a meek and quiet spirit, only the spirit of self-satisfaction. We presume that whatever is unpleasant is our duty! Is that anything like the spirit of our Lord— “I delight to do Your will, O my God . . .” (Psalm 40:8).
This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. I John 4:10 NIV
Does God love us because of our goodness? Because of our kindness? Because of our great faith?
No, he loves us because of his goodness, kindness, and great faith. John says it like this: “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us.”
Psalm 36[a]
For the director of music. Of David the servant of the LORD.
1 I have a message from God in my heart
concerning the sinfulness of the wicked:[b]
There is no fear of God
before their eyes.
2 In their own eyes they flatter themselves
too much to detect or hate their sin.
3 The words of their mouths are wicked and deceitful;
they fail to act wisely or do good.
4 Even on their beds they plot evil;
they commit themselves to a sinful course
and do not reject what is wrong.
5 Your love, LORD, reaches to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the skies.
6 Your righteousness is like the highest mountains,
your justice like the great deep.
You, LORD, preserve both people and animals.
7 How priceless is your unfailing love, O God!
People take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
8 They feast on the abundance of your house;
you give them drink from your river of delights.
9 For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light we see light.
10 Continue your love to those who know you,
your righteousness to the upright in heart.
11 May the foot of the proud not come against me,
nor the hand of the wicked drive me away.
12 See how the evildoers lie fallen—
thrown down, not able to rise!
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: John 15:9-17
9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. 17 This is my command: Love each other.
Genuine Friends
January 29, 2012 — by David C. McCasland
No longer do I call you servants, . . . but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. —John 15:15
Experts who track the changing vocabulary of the English language chose unfriend as the New Oxford American Dictionary Word of the Year for 2009. They defined it as a verb, “to remove someone as a friend on a social networking Web site,” such as Facebook. On that site, friends allow each other to access the personal information on their Facebook pages. They may never meet face to face or even exchange greetings online. In our world of fleeting cyber acquaintances, we are beginning to realize that having a true friend means more now than ever before.
When Jesus called His disciples “friends” (John 15:15), He spoke of a unique relationship involving mutual commitment. He was only hours from laying down His life (v.13), and He asked them to show their friendship by keeping His commands (v.14). Most astonishing, perhaps, is Jesus’ statement: “No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you” (v.15).
In a genuine friendship, one’s faithfulness can shore up the other’s in times of discouragement or fear. That is what Jesus is to us—our always faithful, forever Friend.
Hallelujah! What a Savior!
Hallelujah! What a Friend!
Saving, helping, keeping, loving,
He is with me to the end. —Chapman
The dearest friend on earth
is but a mere shadow compared to Jesus.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, January 29, 2012
How Could Someone Be So Ignorant!
Who are You, Lord? —Acts 26:15
“The Lord spoke thus to me with a strong hand . . .” (Isaiah 8:11). There is no escape when our Lord speaks. He always comes using His authority and taking hold of our understanding. Has the voice of God come to you directly? If it has, you cannot mistake the intimate insistence with which it has spoken to you. God speaks in the language you know best— not through your ears, but through your circumstances.
God has to destroy our determined confidence in our own convictions. We say, “I know that this is what I should do”-and suddenly the voice of God speaks in a way that overwhelms us by revealing the depths of our ignorance. We show our ignorance of Him in the very way we decide to serve Him. We serve Jesus in a spirit that is not His, and hurt Him by our defense of Him. We push His claims in the spirit of the devil; our words sound all right, but the spirit is that of an enemy. “He . . . rebuked them, and said, ’You do not know what manner of spirit you are of’ ” (Luke 9:55). The spirit of our Lord in His followers is described in 1 Corinthians 13 .
Have I been persecuting Jesus by an eager determination to serve Him in my own way? If I feel I have done my duty, yet have hurt Him in the process, I can be sure that this was not my duty. My way will not be to foster a meek and quiet spirit, only the spirit of self-satisfaction. We presume that whatever is unpleasant is our duty! Is that anything like the spirit of our Lord— “I delight to do Your will, O my God . . .” (Psalm 40:8).
Saturday, January 28, 2012
John 11, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals (Click to listen to God’s teaching)
Max Lucado Daily: Our Father Never Leaves
When the Spirit of truth comes, he will lead you into all truth. John 16:13
Envision a father helping his son learn to ride a bicycle, and you will have a partial picture of the Holy Spirit.
The father stays at the son’s side. He pushes the bike and steadies it if the boy starts to tumble. The Spirit does that for us; he stays our step and strengthens our stride. Unlike the father, however, he never leaves. He is with us to the end of the age.
John 11:30-57
New International Version (NIV)
30 Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. 31 When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.
32 When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 34 “Where have you laid him?” he asked.
“Come and see, Lord,” they replied.
35 Jesus wept.
36 Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”
37 But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”
Jesus Raises Lazarus From the Dead
38 Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 39 “Take away the stone,” he said.
“But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.”
40 Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”
41 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.”
43 When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.
Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”
The Plot to Kill Jesus
45 Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him. 46 But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. 47 Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin.
“What are we accomplishing?” they asked. “Here is this man performing many signs. 48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation.”
49 Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, “You know nothing at all! 50 You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.”
51 He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, 52 and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one. 53 So from that day on they plotted to take his life.
54 Therefore Jesus no longer moved about publicly among the people of Judea. Instead he withdrew to a region near the wilderness, to a village called Ephraim, where he stayed with his disciples.
55 When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, many went up from the country to Jerusalem for their ceremonial cleansing before the Passover. 56 They kept looking for Jesus, and as they stood in the temple courts they asked one another, “What do you think? Isn’t he coming to the festival at all?” 57 But the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that anyone who found out where Jesus was should report it so that they might arrest him.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Matthew 5:1-12
Introduction to the Sermon on the Mount
1 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them.
The Beatitudes
He said:
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Feeding Frenzy
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. —Matthew 5:7
January 28, 2012 — by Bill Crowder
People who study sharks tell us that they are most likely to attack when they sense blood in the water. The blood acts as a trigger to their feeding mechanism and they attack, often in a group, creating a deadly feeding frenzy. Blood in the water marks the vulnerability of the target.
Sadly, this is sometimes how people in the church respond to those who are hurting. Instead of being a community where people are loved, cared for, and nurtured, it can become a dangerous environment where predators are looking for the “blood in the water” of someone’s failings or faults. And then the feeding frenzy is on.
Instead of kicking people when they are down, we should be offering the encouragement of Christ by helping to restore the fallen. Of course, we’re not to condone sinful behavior, but our Lord calls us to display mercy. He said, “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy” (Matt. 5:7). Mercy has been described as not getting what we deserve, and we all deserve eternal judgment. The same God who shows us mercy in Christ calls us to show mercy to one another.
So when we see “blood in the water,” let’s seek to show mercy. The day may come when we will want someone to show mercy to us!
Lord, help us to be merciful
To those who fall in sin,
Remembering You rescued us
And cleansed us from within. —Sper
We can stop showing mercy to others
when Christ stops showing mercy to us.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? —Acts 26:14
Are you determined to have your own way in living for God? We will never be free from this trap until we are brought into the experience of the baptism of “the Holy Spirit and fire” (Matthew 3:11). Stubbornness and self-will will always stab Jesus Christ. It may hurt no one else, but it wounds His Spirit. Whenever we are obstinate and self-willed and set on our own ambitions, we are hurting Jesus. Every time we stand on our own rights and insist that this is what we intend to do, we are persecuting Him. Whenever we rely on self-respect, we systematically disturb and grieve His Spirit. And when we finally understand that it is Jesus we have been persecuting all this time, it is the most crushing revelation ever.
Is the Word of God tremendously penetrating and sharp in me as I hand it on to you, or does my life betray the things I profess to teach? I may teach sanctification and yet exhibit the spirit of Satan, the very spirit that persecutes Jesus Christ. The Spirit of Jesus is conscious of only one thing— a perfect oneness with the Father. And He tells us, “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:29). All I do should be based on a perfect oneness with Him, not on a self-willed determination to be godly. This will mean that others may use me, go around me, or completely ignore me, but if I will submit to it for His sake, I will prevent Jesus Christ from being persecuted.
When the Spirit of truth comes, he will lead you into all truth. John 16:13
Envision a father helping his son learn to ride a bicycle, and you will have a partial picture of the Holy Spirit.
The father stays at the son’s side. He pushes the bike and steadies it if the boy starts to tumble. The Spirit does that for us; he stays our step and strengthens our stride. Unlike the father, however, he never leaves. He is with us to the end of the age.
John 11:30-57
New International Version (NIV)
30 Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. 31 When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.
32 When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 34 “Where have you laid him?” he asked.
“Come and see, Lord,” they replied.
35 Jesus wept.
36 Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”
37 But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”
Jesus Raises Lazarus From the Dead
38 Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 39 “Take away the stone,” he said.
“But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.”
40 Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”
41 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.”
43 When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.
Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”
The Plot to Kill Jesus
45 Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him. 46 But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. 47 Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin.
“What are we accomplishing?” they asked. “Here is this man performing many signs. 48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation.”
49 Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, “You know nothing at all! 50 You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.”
51 He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, 52 and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one. 53 So from that day on they plotted to take his life.
54 Therefore Jesus no longer moved about publicly among the people of Judea. Instead he withdrew to a region near the wilderness, to a village called Ephraim, where he stayed with his disciples.
55 When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, many went up from the country to Jerusalem for their ceremonial cleansing before the Passover. 56 They kept looking for Jesus, and as they stood in the temple courts they asked one another, “What do you think? Isn’t he coming to the festival at all?” 57 But the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that anyone who found out where Jesus was should report it so that they might arrest him.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Matthew 5:1-12
Introduction to the Sermon on the Mount
1 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them.
The Beatitudes
He said:
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Feeding Frenzy
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. —Matthew 5:7
January 28, 2012 — by Bill Crowder
People who study sharks tell us that they are most likely to attack when they sense blood in the water. The blood acts as a trigger to their feeding mechanism and they attack, often in a group, creating a deadly feeding frenzy. Blood in the water marks the vulnerability of the target.
Sadly, this is sometimes how people in the church respond to those who are hurting. Instead of being a community where people are loved, cared for, and nurtured, it can become a dangerous environment where predators are looking for the “blood in the water” of someone’s failings or faults. And then the feeding frenzy is on.
Instead of kicking people when they are down, we should be offering the encouragement of Christ by helping to restore the fallen. Of course, we’re not to condone sinful behavior, but our Lord calls us to display mercy. He said, “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy” (Matt. 5:7). Mercy has been described as not getting what we deserve, and we all deserve eternal judgment. The same God who shows us mercy in Christ calls us to show mercy to one another.
So when we see “blood in the water,” let’s seek to show mercy. The day may come when we will want someone to show mercy to us!
Lord, help us to be merciful
To those who fall in sin,
Remembering You rescued us
And cleansed us from within. —Sper
We can stop showing mercy to others
when Christ stops showing mercy to us.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? —Acts 26:14
Are you determined to have your own way in living for God? We will never be free from this trap until we are brought into the experience of the baptism of “the Holy Spirit and fire” (Matthew 3:11). Stubbornness and self-will will always stab Jesus Christ. It may hurt no one else, but it wounds His Spirit. Whenever we are obstinate and self-willed and set on our own ambitions, we are hurting Jesus. Every time we stand on our own rights and insist that this is what we intend to do, we are persecuting Him. Whenever we rely on self-respect, we systematically disturb and grieve His Spirit. And when we finally understand that it is Jesus we have been persecuting all this time, it is the most crushing revelation ever.
Is the Word of God tremendously penetrating and sharp in me as I hand it on to you, or does my life betray the things I profess to teach? I may teach sanctification and yet exhibit the spirit of Satan, the very spirit that persecutes Jesus Christ. The Spirit of Jesus is conscious of only one thing— a perfect oneness with the Father. And He tells us, “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:29). All I do should be based on a perfect oneness with Him, not on a self-willed determination to be godly. This will mean that others may use me, go around me, or completely ignore me, but if I will submit to it for His sake, I will prevent Jesus Christ from being persecuted.
Friday, January 27, 2012
Psalm 35, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals (Click to listen to God’s teaching)
Max Lucado Daily: God’s Heart for Parents
He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Romans 8:32
God has a heart for hurting parents. Should we be surprised? No, after all, God himself is a Father!
Are you separated from your child? So was God. Is someone mistreating your child? They mocked and bullied his.
Is someone taking advantage of your children? The Son of God was set up and betrayed by a greedy follower. Are you forced to watch while your child suffers? God watched his son on the cross.
But because of his great love for us, “he did not spare his own son but gave him for us all. So with Jesus, God will surely give us all things!” All things must include courage and hope!
Your child may not be in your arms—but your child is safely in his!
Psalm 35
Of David.
1 Contend, LORD, with those who contend with me;
fight against those who fight against me.
2 Take up shield and armor;
arise and come to my aid.
3 Brandish spear and javelin[a]
against those who pursue me.
Say to me,
“I am your salvation.”
4 May those who seek my life
be disgraced and put to shame;
may those who plot my ruin
be turned back in dismay.
5 May they be like chaff before the wind,
with the angel of the LORD driving them away;
6 may their path be dark and slippery,
with the angel of the LORD pursuing them.
7 Since they hid their net for me without cause
and without cause dug a pit for me,
8 may ruin overtake them by surprise—
may the net they hid entangle them,
may they fall into the pit, to their ruin.
9 Then my soul will rejoice in the LORD
and delight in his salvation.
10 My whole being will exclaim,
“Who is like you, LORD?
You rescue the poor from those too strong for them,
the poor and needy from those who rob them.”
11 Ruthless witnesses come forward;
they question me on things I know nothing about.
12 They repay me evil for good
and leave me like one bereaved.
13 Yet when they were ill, I put on sackcloth
and humbled myself with fasting.
When my prayers returned to me unanswered,
14 I went about mourning
as though for my friend or brother.
I bowed my head in grief
as though weeping for my mother.
15 But when I stumbled, they gathered in glee;
assailants gathered against me without my knowledge.
They slandered me without ceasing.
16 Like the ungodly they maliciously mocked;[b]
they gnashed their teeth at me.
17 How long, Lord, will you look on?
Rescue me from their ravages,
my precious life from these lions.
18 I will give you thanks in the great assembly;
among the throngs I will praise you.
19 Do not let those gloat over me
who are my enemies without cause;
do not let those who hate me without reason
maliciously wink the eye.
20 They do not speak peaceably,
but devise false accusations
against those who live quietly in the land.
21 They sneer at me and say, “Aha! Aha!
With our own eyes we have seen it.”
22 LORD, you have seen this; do not be silent.
Do not be far from me, Lord.
23 Awake, and rise to my defense!
Contend for me, my God and Lord.
24 Vindicate me in your righteousness, LORD my God;
do not let them gloat over me.
25 Do not let them think, “Aha, just what we wanted!”
or say, “We have swallowed him up.”
26 May all who gloat over my distress
be put to shame and confusion;
may all who exalt themselves over me
be clothed with shame and disgrace.
27 May those who delight in my vindication
shout for joy and gladness;
may they always say, “The LORD be exalted,
who delights in the well-being of his servant.”
28 My tongue will proclaim your righteousness,
your praises all day long.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Psalm 18:30-36
30 As for God, his way is perfect:
The LORD’s word is flawless;
he shields all who take refuge in him.
31 For who is God besides the LORD?
And who is the Rock except our God?
32 It is God who arms me with strength
and keeps my way secure.
33 He makes my feet like the feet of a deer;
he causes me to stand on the heights.
34 He trains my hands for battle;
my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
35 You make your saving help my shield,
and your right hand sustains me;
your help has made me great.
36 You provide a broad path for my feet,
so that my ankles do not give way.
Hidden In The Rock
January 27, 2012 — by Dave Branon
The Lord is my rock and my fortress. —Psalm 18:2
The story is told of a young preacher named Augustus Toplady, who was taking a walk through the English countryside when a sudden storm swept across the landscape. Toplady spotted a wide rock formation with an opening—a cleft—where he sought shelter until the storm passed. As he sat out the deluge, he contemplated the connection between his shelter and God’s help in life’s storms.
He had no paper to write on but found a playing card on the floor of the cavelike structure and began to write the words to the beloved hymn “Rock of Ages.”
Written on that stormy day in 1775, this hymn has been a source of strength for Christians ever since.
Rock of ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee;
Let the water and the blood,
From Thy wounded side which flowed,
Be of sin the double cure,
Save from wrath and make me pure.
Think of your struggles. Do you need a place to hide? Do you need Someone to shelter you from life’s assaults? Do you need the assurance that you’ve been forgiven? As Toplady experienced, we can find shelter and assurance in God.
Don’t stand out in life’s storms alone. Seek God’s shelter. Ask Him to protect you. Make sure you have received His forgiveness. Get close to the Rock of Ages. It’s life’s safest spot.
When the world around you is crumbling,
God is the rock on which you can stand.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, January 27, 2012
Look Again and Think
Do not worry about your life . . . —Matthew 6:25
A warning which needs to be repeated is that “the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches,” and the lust for other things, will choke out the life of God in us (Matthew 13:22). We are never free from the recurring waves of this invasion. If the frontline of attack is not about clothes and food, it may be about money or the lack of money; or friends or lack of friends; or the line may be drawn over difficult circumstances. It is one steady invasion, and these things will come in like a flood, unless we allow the Spirit of God to raise up the banner against it.
“I say to you, do not worry about your life . . . .” Our Lord says to be careful only about one thing-our relationship to Him. But our common sense shouts loudly and says, “That is absurd, I must consider how I am going to live, and I must consider what I am going to eat and drink.” Jesus says you must not. Beware of allowing yourself to think that He says this while not understanding your circumstances. Jesus Christ knows our circumstances better than we do, and He says we must not think about these things to the point where they become the primary concern of our life. Whenever there are competing concerns in your life, be sure you always put your relationship to God first.
“Sufficient for the day is its own trouble” (Matthew 6:34). How much trouble has begun to threaten you today? What kind of mean little demons have been looking into your life and saying, “What are your plans for next month— or next summer?” Jesus tells us not to worry about any of these things. Look again and think. Keep your mind on the “much more” of your heavenly Father (Matthew 6:30).
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Nuisance or Need - #6535
Friday, January 27, 2012
A lot of life's disrupting sounds you can learn to ignore: sirens screaming, telephones ringing, TVs blasting, trains rumbling by. It is almost impossible to ignore a baby crying. If there's a baby in your house and he starts crying, what should you do?
You say, "What a nuisance!" So what do you do? You could close the door and pretend it isn't there. You could turn up the music real loud. Maybe you could yell back at him like he's yelling at you. Obviously, if you do any of those, you are showing your inexperience. That's not going to do anything. He's just going to keep crying.
See, behind the cry is a need, and the crying isn't going to stop until he gets his tummy filled, or the relief that only a burp can give, or until you get him out of his mess shall we say. Of course, we don't stop crying just because we grow up; we just find grownup ways to do it. Maybe there's someone crying around you right now. I wonder how you're responding.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Nuisance or Need."
Our word for today from the Word of God? It's in Luke 18:35-43. I'm going to begin reading at verse 35. "As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the road begging." Now, we're told in other gospels that his name was Bartimaeus. "When he heard the crowd going by he asked what was happening. They told him Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. He called out, 'Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.' Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet. But he shouted all the more, 'Son of David have mercy on me!' Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to Him, and he came near and Jesus asked him, 'What do you want Me to do for you?' 'Oh, Lord, I want to see' he replied. Jesus said to him, 'Receive your sight; your faith has healed you.' Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus praising God."
Now, it's interesting the two different ways people looked at Bartimaeus in this story. When the people of Jericho saw Bartimaeus, they saw a nuisance. "Will you stop crying? Stop making so much noise! You're an embarrassment." When Jesus saw Bartimaeus, He saw a need.
Now, in your life there are probably some obnoxious people. Can you think of one or two? Some mean people; maybe folks who demand a lot of your time and attention. Maybe there's a complainer around you. You know, in all of our lives, there are people who are for one reason or another folks you'd just like to close the door on like almost everyone else has. And you will unless you see them through the eyes of Jesus, and then you'll see the need.
Like a mother who looks past a baby's annoying cry to find out where it hurts. People are nuisances because they have needs; needs that no one has stopped to meet. I wonder, if like Jesus, you'd stop for them? Maybe they need a listener; they need someone who sees the good in them...someone who notices them; someone who affirms that they matter. Maybe they need someone to reach inside and find out what's really making them bleed; someone who will include them in the group.
See, that crying person, they're a wounded person. And you can be part of God's healing in that person's life. We're here to do what Jesus would do if He were here in person, and that means when others see a nuisance, you'll see a need and you'll do something about it.
He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Romans 8:32
God has a heart for hurting parents. Should we be surprised? No, after all, God himself is a Father!
Are you separated from your child? So was God. Is someone mistreating your child? They mocked and bullied his.
Is someone taking advantage of your children? The Son of God was set up and betrayed by a greedy follower. Are you forced to watch while your child suffers? God watched his son on the cross.
But because of his great love for us, “he did not spare his own son but gave him for us all. So with Jesus, God will surely give us all things!” All things must include courage and hope!
Your child may not be in your arms—but your child is safely in his!
Psalm 35
Of David.
1 Contend, LORD, with those who contend with me;
fight against those who fight against me.
2 Take up shield and armor;
arise and come to my aid.
3 Brandish spear and javelin[a]
against those who pursue me.
Say to me,
“I am your salvation.”
4 May those who seek my life
be disgraced and put to shame;
may those who plot my ruin
be turned back in dismay.
5 May they be like chaff before the wind,
with the angel of the LORD driving them away;
6 may their path be dark and slippery,
with the angel of the LORD pursuing them.
7 Since they hid their net for me without cause
and without cause dug a pit for me,
8 may ruin overtake them by surprise—
may the net they hid entangle them,
may they fall into the pit, to their ruin.
9 Then my soul will rejoice in the LORD
and delight in his salvation.
10 My whole being will exclaim,
“Who is like you, LORD?
You rescue the poor from those too strong for them,
the poor and needy from those who rob them.”
11 Ruthless witnesses come forward;
they question me on things I know nothing about.
12 They repay me evil for good
and leave me like one bereaved.
13 Yet when they were ill, I put on sackcloth
and humbled myself with fasting.
When my prayers returned to me unanswered,
14 I went about mourning
as though for my friend or brother.
I bowed my head in grief
as though weeping for my mother.
15 But when I stumbled, they gathered in glee;
assailants gathered against me without my knowledge.
They slandered me without ceasing.
16 Like the ungodly they maliciously mocked;[b]
they gnashed their teeth at me.
17 How long, Lord, will you look on?
Rescue me from their ravages,
my precious life from these lions.
18 I will give you thanks in the great assembly;
among the throngs I will praise you.
19 Do not let those gloat over me
who are my enemies without cause;
do not let those who hate me without reason
maliciously wink the eye.
20 They do not speak peaceably,
but devise false accusations
against those who live quietly in the land.
21 They sneer at me and say, “Aha! Aha!
With our own eyes we have seen it.”
22 LORD, you have seen this; do not be silent.
Do not be far from me, Lord.
23 Awake, and rise to my defense!
Contend for me, my God and Lord.
24 Vindicate me in your righteousness, LORD my God;
do not let them gloat over me.
25 Do not let them think, “Aha, just what we wanted!”
or say, “We have swallowed him up.”
26 May all who gloat over my distress
be put to shame and confusion;
may all who exalt themselves over me
be clothed with shame and disgrace.
27 May those who delight in my vindication
shout for joy and gladness;
may they always say, “The LORD be exalted,
who delights in the well-being of his servant.”
28 My tongue will proclaim your righteousness,
your praises all day long.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Psalm 18:30-36
30 As for God, his way is perfect:
The LORD’s word is flawless;
he shields all who take refuge in him.
31 For who is God besides the LORD?
And who is the Rock except our God?
32 It is God who arms me with strength
and keeps my way secure.
33 He makes my feet like the feet of a deer;
he causes me to stand on the heights.
34 He trains my hands for battle;
my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
35 You make your saving help my shield,
and your right hand sustains me;
your help has made me great.
36 You provide a broad path for my feet,
so that my ankles do not give way.
Hidden In The Rock
January 27, 2012 — by Dave Branon
The Lord is my rock and my fortress. —Psalm 18:2
The story is told of a young preacher named Augustus Toplady, who was taking a walk through the English countryside when a sudden storm swept across the landscape. Toplady spotted a wide rock formation with an opening—a cleft—where he sought shelter until the storm passed. As he sat out the deluge, he contemplated the connection between his shelter and God’s help in life’s storms.
He had no paper to write on but found a playing card on the floor of the cavelike structure and began to write the words to the beloved hymn “Rock of Ages.”
Written on that stormy day in 1775, this hymn has been a source of strength for Christians ever since.
Rock of ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee;
Let the water and the blood,
From Thy wounded side which flowed,
Be of sin the double cure,
Save from wrath and make me pure.
Think of your struggles. Do you need a place to hide? Do you need Someone to shelter you from life’s assaults? Do you need the assurance that you’ve been forgiven? As Toplady experienced, we can find shelter and assurance in God.
Don’t stand out in life’s storms alone. Seek God’s shelter. Ask Him to protect you. Make sure you have received His forgiveness. Get close to the Rock of Ages. It’s life’s safest spot.
When the world around you is crumbling,
God is the rock on which you can stand.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, January 27, 2012
Look Again and Think
Do not worry about your life . . . —Matthew 6:25
A warning which needs to be repeated is that “the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches,” and the lust for other things, will choke out the life of God in us (Matthew 13:22). We are never free from the recurring waves of this invasion. If the frontline of attack is not about clothes and food, it may be about money or the lack of money; or friends or lack of friends; or the line may be drawn over difficult circumstances. It is one steady invasion, and these things will come in like a flood, unless we allow the Spirit of God to raise up the banner against it.
“I say to you, do not worry about your life . . . .” Our Lord says to be careful only about one thing-our relationship to Him. But our common sense shouts loudly and says, “That is absurd, I must consider how I am going to live, and I must consider what I am going to eat and drink.” Jesus says you must not. Beware of allowing yourself to think that He says this while not understanding your circumstances. Jesus Christ knows our circumstances better than we do, and He says we must not think about these things to the point where they become the primary concern of our life. Whenever there are competing concerns in your life, be sure you always put your relationship to God first.
“Sufficient for the day is its own trouble” (Matthew 6:34). How much trouble has begun to threaten you today? What kind of mean little demons have been looking into your life and saying, “What are your plans for next month— or next summer?” Jesus tells us not to worry about any of these things. Look again and think. Keep your mind on the “much more” of your heavenly Father (Matthew 6:30).
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Nuisance or Need - #6535
Friday, January 27, 2012
A lot of life's disrupting sounds you can learn to ignore: sirens screaming, telephones ringing, TVs blasting, trains rumbling by. It is almost impossible to ignore a baby crying. If there's a baby in your house and he starts crying, what should you do?
You say, "What a nuisance!" So what do you do? You could close the door and pretend it isn't there. You could turn up the music real loud. Maybe you could yell back at him like he's yelling at you. Obviously, if you do any of those, you are showing your inexperience. That's not going to do anything. He's just going to keep crying.
See, behind the cry is a need, and the crying isn't going to stop until he gets his tummy filled, or the relief that only a burp can give, or until you get him out of his mess shall we say. Of course, we don't stop crying just because we grow up; we just find grownup ways to do it. Maybe there's someone crying around you right now. I wonder how you're responding.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Nuisance or Need."
Our word for today from the Word of God? It's in Luke 18:35-43. I'm going to begin reading at verse 35. "As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the road begging." Now, we're told in other gospels that his name was Bartimaeus. "When he heard the crowd going by he asked what was happening. They told him Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. He called out, 'Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.' Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet. But he shouted all the more, 'Son of David have mercy on me!' Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to Him, and he came near and Jesus asked him, 'What do you want Me to do for you?' 'Oh, Lord, I want to see' he replied. Jesus said to him, 'Receive your sight; your faith has healed you.' Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus praising God."
Now, it's interesting the two different ways people looked at Bartimaeus in this story. When the people of Jericho saw Bartimaeus, they saw a nuisance. "Will you stop crying? Stop making so much noise! You're an embarrassment." When Jesus saw Bartimaeus, He saw a need.
Now, in your life there are probably some obnoxious people. Can you think of one or two? Some mean people; maybe folks who demand a lot of your time and attention. Maybe there's a complainer around you. You know, in all of our lives, there are people who are for one reason or another folks you'd just like to close the door on like almost everyone else has. And you will unless you see them through the eyes of Jesus, and then you'll see the need.
Like a mother who looks past a baby's annoying cry to find out where it hurts. People are nuisances because they have needs; needs that no one has stopped to meet. I wonder, if like Jesus, you'd stop for them? Maybe they need a listener; they need someone who sees the good in them...someone who notices them; someone who affirms that they matter. Maybe they need someone to reach inside and find out what's really making them bleed; someone who will include them in the group.
See, that crying person, they're a wounded person. And you can be part of God's healing in that person's life. We're here to do what Jesus would do if He were here in person, and that means when others see a nuisance, you'll see a need and you'll do something about it.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Psalm 31, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals (Click to listen to God’s teaching)
Max Lucado Daily: A Greenhouse of Prayer
Arise, cry out in the night, at the beginning of the watches; Pour out your heart like water before the face of the Lord. Lift your hands toward Him for the life of your young children, who faint from hunger at the head of every street. Lamentations 2:19
Someday I’ll ask God, “Why were you so good to my daughters and me? And he’ll answer by pointing to my wife, Denalyn! “She just kept talking about you and your kids!”
Denalyn took regular prayer walks through our house, stepping into each living area. She prayed for her daughters and husband. She took full advantage of the invitation of Lamentations 2:19 to
Pour out your heart like water before the face of the Lord. Lift your hands toward Him for the life of your young children.
Parents, we can do this. We can be loyal advocates, stubborn intercessors.
Permissive parents. Paranoid parents.
How can we avoid the extremes? We pray!
Prayer is the saucer into which paternal fears are poured to cool. Each time a parent prays, Christ responds.
His big message to moms and dads? Bring your children to me. Raise them in a greenhouse of prayer!
Psalm 31
Psalm 31[a]
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
1 In you, LORD, I have taken refuge;
let me never be put to shame;
deliver me in your righteousness.
2 Turn your ear to me,
come quickly to my rescue;
be my rock of refuge,
a strong fortress to save me.
3 Since you are my rock and my fortress,
for the sake of your name lead and guide me.
4 Keep me free from the trap that is set for me,
for you are my refuge.
5 Into your hands I commit my spirit;
deliver me, LORD, my faithful God.
6 I hate those who cling to worthless idols;
as for me, I trust in the LORD.
7 I will be glad and rejoice in your love,
for you saw my affliction
and knew the anguish of my soul.
8 You have not given me into the hands of the enemy
but have set my feet in a spacious place.
9 Be merciful to me, LORD, for I am in distress;
my eyes grow weak with sorrow,
my soul and body with grief.
10 My life is consumed by anguish
and my years by groaning;
my strength fails because of my affliction,[b]
and my bones grow weak.
11 Because of all my enemies,
I am the utter contempt of my neighbors
and an object of dread to my closest friends—
those who see me on the street flee from me.
12 I am forgotten as though I were dead;
I have become like broken pottery.
13 For I hear many whispering,
“Terror on every side!”
They conspire against me
and plot to take my life.
14 But I trust in you, LORD;
I say, “You are my God.”
15 My times are in your hands;
deliver me from the hands of my enemies,
from those who pursue me.
16 Let your face shine on your servant;
save me in your unfailing love.
17 Let me not be put to shame, LORD,
for I have cried out to you;
but let the wicked be put to shame
and be silent in the realm of the dead.
18 Let their lying lips be silenced,
for with pride and contempt
they speak arrogantly against the righteous.
19 How abundant are the good things
that you have stored up for those who fear you,
that you bestow in the sight of all,
on those who take refuge in you.
20 In the shelter of your presence you hide them
from all human intrigues;
you keep them safe in your dwelling
from accusing tongues.
21 Praise be to the LORD,
for he showed me the wonders of his love
when I was in a city under siege.
22 In my alarm I said,
“I am cut off from your sight!”
Yet you heard my cry for mercy
when I called to you for help.
23 Love the LORD, all his faithful people!
The LORD preserves those who are true to him,
but the proud he pays back in full.
24 Be strong and take heart,
all you who hope in the LORD.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Revelation 22:1-5
Eden Restored
1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. 3 No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.
The Land Of And
January 26, 2012 — by Anne Cetas
We, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. —2 Peter 3:13
In a TV commercial I saw recently, the kids argued in the back seat of the car about where to stop for dinner. One wanted pizza; another chicken. Mom, in the front passenger seat, said, “No, we’ll stop for a hamburger.”
Dad quickly solved the family disagreement with this idea: “We’ll stop at the buffet restaurant, and you can each have what you want and all you want.” The commercial closes with the words, “Take care of family squabbles about what’s for dinner. Go to _____ Buffet, the ‘Land of And.’”
When I saw that commercial, I thought of another “Land of And”: heaven. It is a place that will have all we need. Foremost, we will be in the very presence of Almighty God. In describing heaven, the apostle John said, “The throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it” (Rev. 22:3). Our thirsty souls will be completely satisfied from the “pure river of water of life” that proceeds from His throne (22:1), for He says to His people, “I will give . . . freely to him who thirsts” (21:6). Another “and” in this land will be the tree of life for “the healing of the nations” (22:2). What we won’t find in this Land of And are the curse (22:3), death, sorrow, and tears (21:4).
We’ll be completely satisfied in that Land of And. Are you ready to go?
There is a land of pure delight,
Where saints immortal reign;
Infinite day excludes the night,
And pleasures banish pain. —Watts
Earth—the land of trials; heaven—the land of joys.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Look Again and Consecrate
If God so clothes the grass of the field . . . , will He not much more clothe you . . . ? —Matthew 6:30
A simple statement of Jesus is always a puzzle to us because we will not be simple. How can we maintain the simplicity of Jesus so that we may understand Him? By receiving His Spirit, recognizing and relying on Him, and obeying Him as He brings us the truth of His Word, life will become amazingly simple. Jesus asks us to consider that “if God so clothes the grass of the field . . .” how “much more” will He clothe you, if you keep your relationship right with Him? Every time we lose ground in our fellowship with God, it is because we have disrespectfully thought that we knew better than Jesus Christ. We have allowed “the cares of this world” to enter in (Matthew 13:22), while forgetting the “much more” of our heavenly Father.
“Look at the birds of the air . . .” (Matthew 6:26). Their function is to obey the instincts God placed within them, and God watches over them. Jesus said that if you have the right relationship with Him and will obey His Spirit within you, then God will care for your “feathers” too.
“Consider the lilies of the field . . .” (Matthew 6:28). They grow where they are planted. Many of us refuse to grow where God plants us. Therefore, we don’t take root anywhere. Jesus said if we would obey the life of God within us, He would look after all other things. Did Jesus Christ lie to us? Are we experiencing the “much more” He promised? If we are not, it is because we are not obeying the life God has given us and have cluttered our minds with confusing thoughts and worries. How much time have we wasted asking God senseless questions while we should be absolutely free to concentrate on our service to Him? Consecration is the act of continually separating myself from everything except that which God has appointed me to do. It is not a one-time experience but an ongoing process. Am I continually separating myself and looking to God every day of my life?
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
A Stick of Dynamite - #6534
Thursday, January 26, 2012
I thought I might have to live to 100 to see the widening of this major highway in our area ever get finished. Man, it took forever it seemed like! But the trip north, oh now, it's a breeze. I love it.
And I know why it took so long - mountains. Yeah, see, they were trying to put a road where there were hills and mountains, and those don't just move real easily. After all, they've been there quite a while. But they did move, because even a mountain was no match for explosives like dynamite. It's amazing what dynamite can do. It just blows away whatever is in its way.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "A Stick of Dynamite."
Now, I love the fact that the Bible calls the Gospel, the Good News of Jesus, "the power of God." In fact, our word for today from the Word of God comes from Romans 1:16, where Paul says, "I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes."
Let's go back to that power word. The original Greek word that God uses is "dunamis." And you can probably figure out what we get in our English from that - dynamite. The message of Jesus' death for us on the cross and His resurrection from the dead is God's dynamite!
I spent July praying for and encouraging 60 Native American and First Nations young people, and I got to watch them share that explosive Message on ten Indian reservations. They were right out in the open; they're on basketball courts in the middle of everything. They were facing obstacles that have hobbled missionaries for centuries - the belief that "Jesus is only the white man's god," "We have our own Native religion; we don't need Jesus." They were facing the belief that "All religions are basically the same." They were facing objections that "Bad things were done to us in the name of Christianity."
But God used these brown-skinned ambassadors of our brown-skinned Savior to detonate God's dynamite. I saw it happen. I was an eye witness to hundreds of Native young people doing what so few of them have ever done. They were putting their lives in the hands of Jesus; many of them publicly. I remember telling some of our team members who were weeping over some young people who didn't come to Christ. I said, "Yeah, but you put the stick of dynamite in their heart. Remember, dynamite blows away whatever is in its way."
You know, with the victories, there were tears that summer. They saw a lot of kids turn their back on Jesus, in spite of a young warrior who poured out their heart to reach them. It's a heartache that's not unique to reservation rescue attempts. A lot of us are carrying a heavy burden for someone who just doesn't seem to care about the Savior who cares so very much for them. And we wondering, "Will they ever come to Jesus."
On those nights when I saw the tears of brokenhearted rescuers who had to leave someone lost, I gave them an awesome promise from God. Psalm 126:5-6, "Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy. They weep as they go to plant their seed, but they sing as they return with the harvest."
Remember, when you give someone the Good News about Jesus, you're planting that stick of holy dynamite in their hearts. It's dynamite strong enough to demolish the walls, the defenses they have built around their lost heart. And God knows exactly what time is the right time to push "detonate."
No, it's way too soon to give up on that person. You told them about Jesus, and God's lit the fuse.
Arise, cry out in the night, at the beginning of the watches; Pour out your heart like water before the face of the Lord. Lift your hands toward Him for the life of your young children, who faint from hunger at the head of every street. Lamentations 2:19
Someday I’ll ask God, “Why were you so good to my daughters and me? And he’ll answer by pointing to my wife, Denalyn! “She just kept talking about you and your kids!”
Denalyn took regular prayer walks through our house, stepping into each living area. She prayed for her daughters and husband. She took full advantage of the invitation of Lamentations 2:19 to
Pour out your heart like water before the face of the Lord. Lift your hands toward Him for the life of your young children.
Parents, we can do this. We can be loyal advocates, stubborn intercessors.
Permissive parents. Paranoid parents.
How can we avoid the extremes? We pray!
Prayer is the saucer into which paternal fears are poured to cool. Each time a parent prays, Christ responds.
His big message to moms and dads? Bring your children to me. Raise them in a greenhouse of prayer!
Psalm 31
Psalm 31[a]
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
1 In you, LORD, I have taken refuge;
let me never be put to shame;
deliver me in your righteousness.
2 Turn your ear to me,
come quickly to my rescue;
be my rock of refuge,
a strong fortress to save me.
3 Since you are my rock and my fortress,
for the sake of your name lead and guide me.
4 Keep me free from the trap that is set for me,
for you are my refuge.
5 Into your hands I commit my spirit;
deliver me, LORD, my faithful God.
6 I hate those who cling to worthless idols;
as for me, I trust in the LORD.
7 I will be glad and rejoice in your love,
for you saw my affliction
and knew the anguish of my soul.
8 You have not given me into the hands of the enemy
but have set my feet in a spacious place.
9 Be merciful to me, LORD, for I am in distress;
my eyes grow weak with sorrow,
my soul and body with grief.
10 My life is consumed by anguish
and my years by groaning;
my strength fails because of my affliction,[b]
and my bones grow weak.
11 Because of all my enemies,
I am the utter contempt of my neighbors
and an object of dread to my closest friends—
those who see me on the street flee from me.
12 I am forgotten as though I were dead;
I have become like broken pottery.
13 For I hear many whispering,
“Terror on every side!”
They conspire against me
and plot to take my life.
14 But I trust in you, LORD;
I say, “You are my God.”
15 My times are in your hands;
deliver me from the hands of my enemies,
from those who pursue me.
16 Let your face shine on your servant;
save me in your unfailing love.
17 Let me not be put to shame, LORD,
for I have cried out to you;
but let the wicked be put to shame
and be silent in the realm of the dead.
18 Let their lying lips be silenced,
for with pride and contempt
they speak arrogantly against the righteous.
19 How abundant are the good things
that you have stored up for those who fear you,
that you bestow in the sight of all,
on those who take refuge in you.
20 In the shelter of your presence you hide them
from all human intrigues;
you keep them safe in your dwelling
from accusing tongues.
21 Praise be to the LORD,
for he showed me the wonders of his love
when I was in a city under siege.
22 In my alarm I said,
“I am cut off from your sight!”
Yet you heard my cry for mercy
when I called to you for help.
23 Love the LORD, all his faithful people!
The LORD preserves those who are true to him,
but the proud he pays back in full.
24 Be strong and take heart,
all you who hope in the LORD.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Revelation 22:1-5
Eden Restored
1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. 3 No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.
The Land Of And
January 26, 2012 — by Anne Cetas
We, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. —2 Peter 3:13
In a TV commercial I saw recently, the kids argued in the back seat of the car about where to stop for dinner. One wanted pizza; another chicken. Mom, in the front passenger seat, said, “No, we’ll stop for a hamburger.”
Dad quickly solved the family disagreement with this idea: “We’ll stop at the buffet restaurant, and you can each have what you want and all you want.” The commercial closes with the words, “Take care of family squabbles about what’s for dinner. Go to _____ Buffet, the ‘Land of And.’”
When I saw that commercial, I thought of another “Land of And”: heaven. It is a place that will have all we need. Foremost, we will be in the very presence of Almighty God. In describing heaven, the apostle John said, “The throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it” (Rev. 22:3). Our thirsty souls will be completely satisfied from the “pure river of water of life” that proceeds from His throne (22:1), for He says to His people, “I will give . . . freely to him who thirsts” (21:6). Another “and” in this land will be the tree of life for “the healing of the nations” (22:2). What we won’t find in this Land of And are the curse (22:3), death, sorrow, and tears (21:4).
We’ll be completely satisfied in that Land of And. Are you ready to go?
There is a land of pure delight,
Where saints immortal reign;
Infinite day excludes the night,
And pleasures banish pain. —Watts
Earth—the land of trials; heaven—the land of joys.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Look Again and Consecrate
If God so clothes the grass of the field . . . , will He not much more clothe you . . . ? —Matthew 6:30
A simple statement of Jesus is always a puzzle to us because we will not be simple. How can we maintain the simplicity of Jesus so that we may understand Him? By receiving His Spirit, recognizing and relying on Him, and obeying Him as He brings us the truth of His Word, life will become amazingly simple. Jesus asks us to consider that “if God so clothes the grass of the field . . .” how “much more” will He clothe you, if you keep your relationship right with Him? Every time we lose ground in our fellowship with God, it is because we have disrespectfully thought that we knew better than Jesus Christ. We have allowed “the cares of this world” to enter in (Matthew 13:22), while forgetting the “much more” of our heavenly Father.
“Look at the birds of the air . . .” (Matthew 6:26). Their function is to obey the instincts God placed within them, and God watches over them. Jesus said that if you have the right relationship with Him and will obey His Spirit within you, then God will care for your “feathers” too.
“Consider the lilies of the field . . .” (Matthew 6:28). They grow where they are planted. Many of us refuse to grow where God plants us. Therefore, we don’t take root anywhere. Jesus said if we would obey the life of God within us, He would look after all other things. Did Jesus Christ lie to us? Are we experiencing the “much more” He promised? If we are not, it is because we are not obeying the life God has given us and have cluttered our minds with confusing thoughts and worries. How much time have we wasted asking God senseless questions while we should be absolutely free to concentrate on our service to Him? Consecration is the act of continually separating myself from everything except that which God has appointed me to do. It is not a one-time experience but an ongoing process. Am I continually separating myself and looking to God every day of my life?
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
A Stick of Dynamite - #6534
Thursday, January 26, 2012
I thought I might have to live to 100 to see the widening of this major highway in our area ever get finished. Man, it took forever it seemed like! But the trip north, oh now, it's a breeze. I love it.
And I know why it took so long - mountains. Yeah, see, they were trying to put a road where there were hills and mountains, and those don't just move real easily. After all, they've been there quite a while. But they did move, because even a mountain was no match for explosives like dynamite. It's amazing what dynamite can do. It just blows away whatever is in its way.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "A Stick of Dynamite."
Now, I love the fact that the Bible calls the Gospel, the Good News of Jesus, "the power of God." In fact, our word for today from the Word of God comes from Romans 1:16, where Paul says, "I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes."
Let's go back to that power word. The original Greek word that God uses is "dunamis." And you can probably figure out what we get in our English from that - dynamite. The message of Jesus' death for us on the cross and His resurrection from the dead is God's dynamite!
I spent July praying for and encouraging 60 Native American and First Nations young people, and I got to watch them share that explosive Message on ten Indian reservations. They were right out in the open; they're on basketball courts in the middle of everything. They were facing obstacles that have hobbled missionaries for centuries - the belief that "Jesus is only the white man's god," "We have our own Native religion; we don't need Jesus." They were facing the belief that "All religions are basically the same." They were facing objections that "Bad things were done to us in the name of Christianity."
But God used these brown-skinned ambassadors of our brown-skinned Savior to detonate God's dynamite. I saw it happen. I was an eye witness to hundreds of Native young people doing what so few of them have ever done. They were putting their lives in the hands of Jesus; many of them publicly. I remember telling some of our team members who were weeping over some young people who didn't come to Christ. I said, "Yeah, but you put the stick of dynamite in their heart. Remember, dynamite blows away whatever is in its way."
You know, with the victories, there were tears that summer. They saw a lot of kids turn their back on Jesus, in spite of a young warrior who poured out their heart to reach them. It's a heartache that's not unique to reservation rescue attempts. A lot of us are carrying a heavy burden for someone who just doesn't seem to care about the Savior who cares so very much for them. And we wondering, "Will they ever come to Jesus."
On those nights when I saw the tears of brokenhearted rescuers who had to leave someone lost, I gave them an awesome promise from God. Psalm 126:5-6, "Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy. They weep as they go to plant their seed, but they sing as they return with the harvest."
Remember, when you give someone the Good News about Jesus, you're planting that stick of holy dynamite in their hearts. It's dynamite strong enough to demolish the walls, the defenses they have built around their lost heart. And God knows exactly what time is the right time to push "detonate."
No, it's way too soon to give up on that person. You told them about Jesus, and God's lit the fuse.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
John 11, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals (Click to listen to God’s teaching)
Max Lucado Daily: Let God Be Enough
Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Matthew 6:33-34
Jesus said, “I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough.”
Not enough time, luck, credit, wisdom, intelligence. We’re running out of everything, it seems, and so we worry! But worry doesn’t work.
I challenge you to become a worry-slapper.
Do you procrastinate when a blood-sucking bug lights on your skin? “I’ll take care of that in a moment.” Of course you don’t! You give the critter the slap it deserves.
Don’t waste an hour wondering what your boss thinks. Ask her.
Don’t assume you’ll never get out of debt. Consult an expert.
Let God be enough! He knows your needs. Seek Him! He will give you everything you need!
John 11
The Death of Lazarus
1 Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.) 3 So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.”
4 When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” 5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, 7 and then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”
8 “But Rabbi,” they said, “a short while ago the Jews there tried to stone you, and yet you are going back?”
9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Anyone who walks in the daytime will not stumble, for they see by this world’s light. 10 It is when a person walks at night that they stumble, for they have no light.”
11 After he had said this, he went on to tell them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.”
12 His disciples replied, “Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.” 13 Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep.
14 So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, 15 and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”
16 Then Thomas (also known as Didymus[a]) said to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”
Jesus Comforts the Sisters of Lazarus
17 On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. 18 Now Bethany was less than two miles[b] from Jerusalem, 19 and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. 20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.
21 “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”
23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”
24 Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
27 “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”
28 After she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. “The Teacher is here,” she said, “and is asking for you.” 29 When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Psalm 19:7-11
7 The law of the LORD is perfect,
refreshing the soul.
The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy,
making wise the simple.
8 The precepts of the LORD are right,
giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the LORD are radiant,
giving light to the eyes.
9 The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever.
The decrees of the LORD are firm,
and all of them are righteous.
10 They are more precious than gold,
than much pure gold;
they are sweeter than honey,
than honey from the honeycomb.
11 By them your servant is warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.
Worth The Effort?
January 25, 2012 — by Philip Yancey
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for . . . righteousness. —2 Timothy 3:16
I once resolved to read all 38 of Shakespeare’s plays in one year. To my surprise, fulfilling the task seemed far more like entertainment than work. I expected to learn about Shakespeare’s world and the people who inhabited it, but I found that Shakespeare mainly taught me about my world.
I went through precisely that same process in encountering the Old Testament. Why does it spend so much time on temples, priests, and rules about sacrifices that no longer exist? How can we make sense of the Old Testament, and how does it apply to our lives today?
As I worked past some of the barriers, I came to feel a need to read because of what it was teaching me. Eventually I found myself wanting to read those 39 books. They were satisfying a hunger in me that nothing else had. They taught me about life with God.
The Old Testament speaks to our hunger. It gives an advanced course of “Life With God,” expressed in a style both personal and passionate.
The rewards offered do not come easily. All achievements require a similar process of hard work; we persevere because the rewards will come.
A glory gilds the sacred page,
Majestic like the sun;
It gives a light to every age,
It gives, but borrows none. —Cowper
The Bible gives us a picture of who we really are.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Leave Room for God
When it pleased God . . . —Galatians 1:15
As servants of God, we must learn to make room for Him-to give God “elbow room.” We plan and figure and predict that this or that will happen, but we forget to make room for God to come in as He chooses. Would we be surprised if God came into our meeting or into our preaching in a way we had never expected Him to come? Do not look for God to come in a particular way, but do look for Him. The way to make room for Him is to expect Him to come, but not in a certain way. No matter how well we may know God, the great lesson to learn is that He may break in at any minute. We tend to overlook this element of surprise, yet God never works in any other way. Suddenly—God meets our life “. . . when it pleased God . . . .”
Keep your life so constantly in touch with God that His surprising power can break through at any point. Live in a constant state of expectancy, and leave room for God to come in as He decides.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Why the Coach Schedules Triple Sessions - #6533
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Back when my son and his friends were going into their sophomore year in high school playing football, they moved up to the junior varsity and the varsity team. And the word got to them that they were going to have triple sessions in August and September practices. That's exciting... Triple sessions meant that you got to go, not for the regular two-hour practice of calisthenics, and running, and working hard, and running into things, and running into each other. No, you got to go for four hours. No, you guessed it: six wonderful hours of that!
Twelve different times before the season starts - triple sessions. And you should have heard them when they talked about it, or actually, you should have seen them. Their eyes kind of rolled back in their head, and their mouths drooped, and their shoulders sagged, and they'd go, "Triple sessions!" Well, the coach knew he had an inexperienced crop coming up, and he was the coach who got used to winning. So, he put them through some very demanding training. Of course, that's the price you pay to be a winner. They were state champs!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Why the Coach Schedules Triple Sessions."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Romans 5 - it's about God's training program; He, of course, being the head coach. And verses 3 and 4 tell us this, starting out with a kind of curious phrase, "We also rejoice in our sufferings." You been doing that recently? Rejoicing? Well, that's really great that we're going through this hard time, huh, isn't it? Well, Paul says, "We rejoice in our sufferings because we know that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance character, and character hope."
Well, there's that phrase, "rejoicing in our suffering." How can a football player rejoice in triple session workouts? Well, I guess he could say, "I don't enjoy this process, but I guess we really need these." How can he rejoice in them? Well, he knows if he thinks about it that by this extra practice he's getting stronger, he's getting more endurance, he's getting experience that will give him the edge when he gets in the game. He'll be a fourth quarter player. He's ending up having "hope" as Paul says here. His hope is that he's going to win.
We're going to have a winning season. We might walk off with the championship. I might have something special on the back of my jacket all year and for the rest of my high school career. See, his hope comes from the fact that he knows he's getting strong enough to win, and he won't get strong enough to win without double and triple sessions. He may hate the process; he's going to love the outcome.
Now, notice in these verses how God gives us hope in the middle of our hard times. It might be hope that you need right now because there's a lot of pain and stress that you're experiencing. Maybe you've almost lost hope. Notice it says that suffering produces perseverance. Or some translations say "patience." In other words, by making it through hard times, you develop the ability to hang in there even when it hurts like that football player hurting all over. To wait for God's timing to say, "You know, I don't have to have an answer or relief right now." And that patience converts into character Paul says. Or another translation says "experience." You can look back and say, "You know, I've made it through something like this, and now I know I can do it."
There's a confidence that comes from making it through something very, very hard. You can say, "I know I can do this with God's help. I know I can, because I've been here before." And the big things, the daunting things, the scary things don't look as big and daunting and scary any more. But see, people who have never handled anything tough, well, they're the ones who leave practice when it starts to hurt. They run from their problems instead of confronting them. Sometimes that's even why people think about ending their own life, because they've not handled the tough stuff, and they just want the pain to stop.
Listen, stay in the ring. You're building experience and that's what gives hope in suffering. There's no way to develop this kind of strength, this kind of toughness, this kind of durability without suffering first. If the coach has scheduled a triple session for you right now, don't despair. Don't give up. Don't quit. Don't leave practice. Let suffering develop patience, let patience develop experience, let experience develop hope.
Triple sessions build winners.
Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Matthew 6:33-34
Jesus said, “I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough.”
Not enough time, luck, credit, wisdom, intelligence. We’re running out of everything, it seems, and so we worry! But worry doesn’t work.
I challenge you to become a worry-slapper.
Do you procrastinate when a blood-sucking bug lights on your skin? “I’ll take care of that in a moment.” Of course you don’t! You give the critter the slap it deserves.
Don’t waste an hour wondering what your boss thinks. Ask her.
Don’t assume you’ll never get out of debt. Consult an expert.
Let God be enough! He knows your needs. Seek Him! He will give you everything you need!
John 11
The Death of Lazarus
1 Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.) 3 So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.”
4 When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” 5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, 7 and then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”
8 “But Rabbi,” they said, “a short while ago the Jews there tried to stone you, and yet you are going back?”
9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Anyone who walks in the daytime will not stumble, for they see by this world’s light. 10 It is when a person walks at night that they stumble, for they have no light.”
11 After he had said this, he went on to tell them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.”
12 His disciples replied, “Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.” 13 Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep.
14 So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, 15 and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”
16 Then Thomas (also known as Didymus[a]) said to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”
Jesus Comforts the Sisters of Lazarus
17 On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. 18 Now Bethany was less than two miles[b] from Jerusalem, 19 and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. 20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.
21 “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”
23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”
24 Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
27 “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”
28 After she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. “The Teacher is here,” she said, “and is asking for you.” 29 When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Psalm 19:7-11
7 The law of the LORD is perfect,
refreshing the soul.
The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy,
making wise the simple.
8 The precepts of the LORD are right,
giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the LORD are radiant,
giving light to the eyes.
9 The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever.
The decrees of the LORD are firm,
and all of them are righteous.
10 They are more precious than gold,
than much pure gold;
they are sweeter than honey,
than honey from the honeycomb.
11 By them your servant is warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.
Worth The Effort?
January 25, 2012 — by Philip Yancey
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for . . . righteousness. —2 Timothy 3:16
I once resolved to read all 38 of Shakespeare’s plays in one year. To my surprise, fulfilling the task seemed far more like entertainment than work. I expected to learn about Shakespeare’s world and the people who inhabited it, but I found that Shakespeare mainly taught me about my world.
I went through precisely that same process in encountering the Old Testament. Why does it spend so much time on temples, priests, and rules about sacrifices that no longer exist? How can we make sense of the Old Testament, and how does it apply to our lives today?
As I worked past some of the barriers, I came to feel a need to read because of what it was teaching me. Eventually I found myself wanting to read those 39 books. They were satisfying a hunger in me that nothing else had. They taught me about life with God.
The Old Testament speaks to our hunger. It gives an advanced course of “Life With God,” expressed in a style both personal and passionate.
The rewards offered do not come easily. All achievements require a similar process of hard work; we persevere because the rewards will come.
A glory gilds the sacred page,
Majestic like the sun;
It gives a light to every age,
It gives, but borrows none. —Cowper
The Bible gives us a picture of who we really are.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Leave Room for God
When it pleased God . . . —Galatians 1:15
As servants of God, we must learn to make room for Him-to give God “elbow room.” We plan and figure and predict that this or that will happen, but we forget to make room for God to come in as He chooses. Would we be surprised if God came into our meeting or into our preaching in a way we had never expected Him to come? Do not look for God to come in a particular way, but do look for Him. The way to make room for Him is to expect Him to come, but not in a certain way. No matter how well we may know God, the great lesson to learn is that He may break in at any minute. We tend to overlook this element of surprise, yet God never works in any other way. Suddenly—God meets our life “. . . when it pleased God . . . .”
Keep your life so constantly in touch with God that His surprising power can break through at any point. Live in a constant state of expectancy, and leave room for God to come in as He decides.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Why the Coach Schedules Triple Sessions - #6533
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Back when my son and his friends were going into their sophomore year in high school playing football, they moved up to the junior varsity and the varsity team. And the word got to them that they were going to have triple sessions in August and September practices. That's exciting... Triple sessions meant that you got to go, not for the regular two-hour practice of calisthenics, and running, and working hard, and running into things, and running into each other. No, you got to go for four hours. No, you guessed it: six wonderful hours of that!
Twelve different times before the season starts - triple sessions. And you should have heard them when they talked about it, or actually, you should have seen them. Their eyes kind of rolled back in their head, and their mouths drooped, and their shoulders sagged, and they'd go, "Triple sessions!" Well, the coach knew he had an inexperienced crop coming up, and he was the coach who got used to winning. So, he put them through some very demanding training. Of course, that's the price you pay to be a winner. They were state champs!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Why the Coach Schedules Triple Sessions."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Romans 5 - it's about God's training program; He, of course, being the head coach. And verses 3 and 4 tell us this, starting out with a kind of curious phrase, "We also rejoice in our sufferings." You been doing that recently? Rejoicing? Well, that's really great that we're going through this hard time, huh, isn't it? Well, Paul says, "We rejoice in our sufferings because we know that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance character, and character hope."
Well, there's that phrase, "rejoicing in our suffering." How can a football player rejoice in triple session workouts? Well, I guess he could say, "I don't enjoy this process, but I guess we really need these." How can he rejoice in them? Well, he knows if he thinks about it that by this extra practice he's getting stronger, he's getting more endurance, he's getting experience that will give him the edge when he gets in the game. He'll be a fourth quarter player. He's ending up having "hope" as Paul says here. His hope is that he's going to win.
We're going to have a winning season. We might walk off with the championship. I might have something special on the back of my jacket all year and for the rest of my high school career. See, his hope comes from the fact that he knows he's getting strong enough to win, and he won't get strong enough to win without double and triple sessions. He may hate the process; he's going to love the outcome.
Now, notice in these verses how God gives us hope in the middle of our hard times. It might be hope that you need right now because there's a lot of pain and stress that you're experiencing. Maybe you've almost lost hope. Notice it says that suffering produces perseverance. Or some translations say "patience." In other words, by making it through hard times, you develop the ability to hang in there even when it hurts like that football player hurting all over. To wait for God's timing to say, "You know, I don't have to have an answer or relief right now." And that patience converts into character Paul says. Or another translation says "experience." You can look back and say, "You know, I've made it through something like this, and now I know I can do it."
There's a confidence that comes from making it through something very, very hard. You can say, "I know I can do this with God's help. I know I can, because I've been here before." And the big things, the daunting things, the scary things don't look as big and daunting and scary any more. But see, people who have never handled anything tough, well, they're the ones who leave practice when it starts to hurt. They run from their problems instead of confronting them. Sometimes that's even why people think about ending their own life, because they've not handled the tough stuff, and they just want the pain to stop.
Listen, stay in the ring. You're building experience and that's what gives hope in suffering. There's no way to develop this kind of strength, this kind of toughness, this kind of durability without suffering first. If the coach has scheduled a triple session for you right now, don't despair. Don't give up. Don't quit. Don't leave practice. Let suffering develop patience, let patience develop experience, let experience develop hope.
Triple sessions build winners.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Psalm 29, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals (Click to listen to God’s teaching)
Max Lucado Daily: Known to Wander
For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. Titus 2:11
If the prophet Isaiah who said, “All we like sheep have gone astray” had known my dog, he might have written, “All we like Molly have gone astray!”
You don’t want to know how many times this minister has chased his dog down the street, tossing un-minister-like warnings! She’s definitely known to wander!
Last week we thought it was for good. I went to the animal shelter. I didn’t find her there. But I had the urge to fill my car with barking, tail-wagging dogs. As much as I wanted to save the dogs, I wanted to stay married even more!
But the urge helps me understand why Jesus made forgiveness his big announcement. Paul told Titus, “Salvation’s available for everyone! Tell them!”
By the way, Molly turned up in a neighbor’s backyard. Turns out she wasn’t as far from home as we feared.
Neither are you!
Psalm 29
A psalm of David.
1 Ascribe to the LORD, you heavenly beings,
ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
2 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;
worship the LORD in the splendor of his[b] holiness.
3 The voice of the LORD is over the waters;
the God of glory thunders,
the LORD thunders over the mighty waters.
4 The voice of the LORD is powerful;
the voice of the LORD is majestic.
5 The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars;
the LORD breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.
6 He makes Lebanon leap like a calf,
Sirion[c] like a young wild ox.
7 The voice of the LORD strikes
with flashes of lightning.
8 The voice of the LORD shakes the desert;
the LORD shakes the Desert of Kadesh.
9 The voice of the LORD twists the oaks[d]
and strips the forests bare.
And in his temple all cry, “Glory!”
10 The LORD sits enthroned over the flood;
the LORD is enthroned as King forever.
11 The LORD gives strength to his people;
the LORD blesses his people with peace.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Matthew 23:23-31
23 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. 24 You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.
25 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.
27 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. 28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.
29 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. 30 And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31 So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets.
Gutters And Windows
January 24, 2012 — by Jennifer Benson Schuldt
Love from a pure heart . . . and from sincere faith. —1 Timothy 1:5
While we were out for a family drive, a spotless white sign with perfect red lettering caught my attention: “Gutters and Windows—Quality Work Guaranteed.” The sign was pristine, but I feared the house and barn directly behind it might collapse at any moment. The paint was peeling, the windows were cracked, and the gutters were nonexistent!
Many of us “advertise” for Jesus, but our spiritual houses are in disrepair. We may attend church, speak in “Christianese,” and mingle nicely with others. But when our conduct does not align with our hearts, our first-class behavior is just a performance of piety. When Jesus confronted the Pharisees, He said, “You . . . outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness” (Matt. 23:28).
Jesus had a different but equally direct message for His followers: “Do not be like the hypocrites” (6:16). The Bible encourages us to “love from a pure heart . . . and from sincere faith” (1 Tim. 1:5). These inner attitudes should pour out through our words and actions (Luke 6:45).
Today, consider the state of your spiritual house. If people look beyond the beautiful outward display, will they discover an authentic heart?
Hypocrisy is a common sin
That grieves the Lord above;
He longs for those who’ll worship Him
In faith and truth and love. —Bosch
God desires that our actions be a reflection of a pure heart.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
God’s Overpowering Purpose
I have appeared to you for this purpose . . .—Acts 26:16
The vision Paul had on the road to Damascus was not a passing emotional experience, but a vision that had very clear and emphatic directions for him. And Paul stated, “I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision” (Acts 26:19). Our Lord said to Paul, in effect, “Your whole life is to be overpowered or subdued by Me; you are to have no end, no aim, and no purpose but Mine.” And the Lord also says to us, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go . . .” (John 15:16).
When we are born again, if we are spiritual at all, we have visions of what Jesus wants us to be. It is important that I learn not to be “disobedient to the heavenly vision”—not to doubt that it can be attained. It is not enough to give mental assent to the fact that God has redeemed the world, nor even to know that the Holy Spirit can make all that Jesus did a reality in my life. I must have the foundation of a personal relationship with Him. Paul was not given a message or a doctrine to proclaim. He was brought into a vivid, personal, overpowering relationship with Jesus Christ.Acts 26:16 is tremendously compelling “. . . to make you a minister and a witness . . . .” There would be nothing there without a personal relationship. Paul was devoted to a Person, not to a cause. He was absolutely Jesus Christ’s. He saw nothing else and he lived for nothing else. “For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2).
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Stopped at the Gate - #6532
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Wow! Talk about so near and yet so far - poor Desmond Bishop. He missed what could have been a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to go to the White House and meet the President of the United States!
Desmond was a linebacker for the Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers that year, and his team met the President. Meanwhile, Desmond took a nap on the team bus. Why? All because he inadvertently left his I.D. on the plane, and the Secret Service wasn't about to make any exceptions on letting someone close to the President. No I.D., no White House, no President.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Stopped at the Gate."
Well, it could be worse. I mean, I can't think of anything more tragic than getting to the gates of heaven, expecting to get in with others who are going and being turned away. And that is not an imaginary scenario.
Actually, it's in our word for today from the Word of God, Luke 13. I'll begin reading in verse 24. Jesus said, "Many will try to enter and will not be able to. Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, 'Sir, open the door for us.' But he will answer, 'I don't know you.' Then you will say, 'We ate and drank with you and you taught in our streets.' But he will reply, 'I don't know you. Depart from me.'"
That's disturbing. The folks who are shut out of heaven are apparently church folks, people who've been around Jesus, who know a lot about Jesus. They have Christianity, but they don't have Christ.
Jesus made it really clear when He said, "I am the way...no man comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6). The way. Because you can't get into heaven with your sin, and our sin can only be forgiven by the One who paid the sin penalty that we deserve. The Bible says, "He carried our sins in His body on the tree" (1 Peter 2:24). No religion can die for your sins; no spirituality can die for your sins. Only God's sinless Son could do that. So He's the only "I.D." that will get us into God's heaven.
I got a picture of that a while back. I was speaking at a large youth event in Canada, and the music was provided by one of North America's most popular Christian bands. And I had a small group of young people who really wanted to meet them. (You know, meeting a speaker - who cares? Meet the band? Freak out!) Well they kept getting stopped by security, until I showed up. I pointed to the first one, and eventually to each of them, and I said the magic words that got them in. I just said, "He's with me. She's with me."
You know, that's the only way you and I are going to get into heaven? It takes Jesus saying, "He's with Me. She's with Me." And 2 Timothy 2:19 says, "The Lord knows those who are His." That would be those who have pinned all their hopes on Him and put their life in His hands. Question: "Are you one of them?" I mean, can you remember that there was a time when you said to Jesus, "Jesus, I believe that some of those sins you died for on the cross were mine, and I want to make it personal. I want to pin all my hopes on You. I'm not driving my life any more; You're going to drive from here on." And you actually put your life, and your eternity, and your future, and your soul in the hands of Jesus.
If you don't know you've done that, you probably haven't, but today you could. Today could be your Jesus day, so that He will say, "She's with me. He's with me" when you get to the gate of heaven. It's the only way you're going to get in. If you're not sure you're with Him; if you're not sure you belong to Him, get it settled today, "Jesus, I'm Yours."
Our whole website is there to help you find Him. And you can go there, and I've put as simply as I can in a way you can either read, or watch, or listen to - the way to know that you belong to Jesus Christ for sure. It's YoursForLife.net. Please go there today.
Because without Jesus...without Him saying, "He's with Me. She's with Me," there's just no getting in.
For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. Titus 2:11
If the prophet Isaiah who said, “All we like sheep have gone astray” had known my dog, he might have written, “All we like Molly have gone astray!”
You don’t want to know how many times this minister has chased his dog down the street, tossing un-minister-like warnings! She’s definitely known to wander!
Last week we thought it was for good. I went to the animal shelter. I didn’t find her there. But I had the urge to fill my car with barking, tail-wagging dogs. As much as I wanted to save the dogs, I wanted to stay married even more!
But the urge helps me understand why Jesus made forgiveness his big announcement. Paul told Titus, “Salvation’s available for everyone! Tell them!”
By the way, Molly turned up in a neighbor’s backyard. Turns out she wasn’t as far from home as we feared.
Neither are you!
Psalm 29
A psalm of David.
1 Ascribe to the LORD, you heavenly beings,
ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
2 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;
worship the LORD in the splendor of his[b] holiness.
3 The voice of the LORD is over the waters;
the God of glory thunders,
the LORD thunders over the mighty waters.
4 The voice of the LORD is powerful;
the voice of the LORD is majestic.
5 The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars;
the LORD breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.
6 He makes Lebanon leap like a calf,
Sirion[c] like a young wild ox.
7 The voice of the LORD strikes
with flashes of lightning.
8 The voice of the LORD shakes the desert;
the LORD shakes the Desert of Kadesh.
9 The voice of the LORD twists the oaks[d]
and strips the forests bare.
And in his temple all cry, “Glory!”
10 The LORD sits enthroned over the flood;
the LORD is enthroned as King forever.
11 The LORD gives strength to his people;
the LORD blesses his people with peace.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Matthew 23:23-31
23 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. 24 You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.
25 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.
27 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. 28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.
29 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. 30 And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31 So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets.
Gutters And Windows
January 24, 2012 — by Jennifer Benson Schuldt
Love from a pure heart . . . and from sincere faith. —1 Timothy 1:5
While we were out for a family drive, a spotless white sign with perfect red lettering caught my attention: “Gutters and Windows—Quality Work Guaranteed.” The sign was pristine, but I feared the house and barn directly behind it might collapse at any moment. The paint was peeling, the windows were cracked, and the gutters were nonexistent!
Many of us “advertise” for Jesus, but our spiritual houses are in disrepair. We may attend church, speak in “Christianese,” and mingle nicely with others. But when our conduct does not align with our hearts, our first-class behavior is just a performance of piety. When Jesus confronted the Pharisees, He said, “You . . . outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness” (Matt. 23:28).
Jesus had a different but equally direct message for His followers: “Do not be like the hypocrites” (6:16). The Bible encourages us to “love from a pure heart . . . and from sincere faith” (1 Tim. 1:5). These inner attitudes should pour out through our words and actions (Luke 6:45).
Today, consider the state of your spiritual house. If people look beyond the beautiful outward display, will they discover an authentic heart?
Hypocrisy is a common sin
That grieves the Lord above;
He longs for those who’ll worship Him
In faith and truth and love. —Bosch
God desires that our actions be a reflection of a pure heart.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
God’s Overpowering Purpose
I have appeared to you for this purpose . . .—Acts 26:16
The vision Paul had on the road to Damascus was not a passing emotional experience, but a vision that had very clear and emphatic directions for him. And Paul stated, “I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision” (Acts 26:19). Our Lord said to Paul, in effect, “Your whole life is to be overpowered or subdued by Me; you are to have no end, no aim, and no purpose but Mine.” And the Lord also says to us, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go . . .” (John 15:16).
When we are born again, if we are spiritual at all, we have visions of what Jesus wants us to be. It is important that I learn not to be “disobedient to the heavenly vision”—not to doubt that it can be attained. It is not enough to give mental assent to the fact that God has redeemed the world, nor even to know that the Holy Spirit can make all that Jesus did a reality in my life. I must have the foundation of a personal relationship with Him. Paul was not given a message or a doctrine to proclaim. He was brought into a vivid, personal, overpowering relationship with Jesus Christ.Acts 26:16 is tremendously compelling “. . . to make you a minister and a witness . . . .” There would be nothing there without a personal relationship. Paul was devoted to a Person, not to a cause. He was absolutely Jesus Christ’s. He saw nothing else and he lived for nothing else. “For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2).
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Stopped at the Gate - #6532
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Wow! Talk about so near and yet so far - poor Desmond Bishop. He missed what could have been a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to go to the White House and meet the President of the United States!
Desmond was a linebacker for the Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers that year, and his team met the President. Meanwhile, Desmond took a nap on the team bus. Why? All because he inadvertently left his I.D. on the plane, and the Secret Service wasn't about to make any exceptions on letting someone close to the President. No I.D., no White House, no President.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Stopped at the Gate."
Well, it could be worse. I mean, I can't think of anything more tragic than getting to the gates of heaven, expecting to get in with others who are going and being turned away. And that is not an imaginary scenario.
Actually, it's in our word for today from the Word of God, Luke 13. I'll begin reading in verse 24. Jesus said, "Many will try to enter and will not be able to. Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, 'Sir, open the door for us.' But he will answer, 'I don't know you.' Then you will say, 'We ate and drank with you and you taught in our streets.' But he will reply, 'I don't know you. Depart from me.'"
That's disturbing. The folks who are shut out of heaven are apparently church folks, people who've been around Jesus, who know a lot about Jesus. They have Christianity, but they don't have Christ.
Jesus made it really clear when He said, "I am the way...no man comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6). The way. Because you can't get into heaven with your sin, and our sin can only be forgiven by the One who paid the sin penalty that we deserve. The Bible says, "He carried our sins in His body on the tree" (1 Peter 2:24). No religion can die for your sins; no spirituality can die for your sins. Only God's sinless Son could do that. So He's the only "I.D." that will get us into God's heaven.
I got a picture of that a while back. I was speaking at a large youth event in Canada, and the music was provided by one of North America's most popular Christian bands. And I had a small group of young people who really wanted to meet them. (You know, meeting a speaker - who cares? Meet the band? Freak out!) Well they kept getting stopped by security, until I showed up. I pointed to the first one, and eventually to each of them, and I said the magic words that got them in. I just said, "He's with me. She's with me."
You know, that's the only way you and I are going to get into heaven? It takes Jesus saying, "He's with Me. She's with Me." And 2 Timothy 2:19 says, "The Lord knows those who are His." That would be those who have pinned all their hopes on Him and put their life in His hands. Question: "Are you one of them?" I mean, can you remember that there was a time when you said to Jesus, "Jesus, I believe that some of those sins you died for on the cross were mine, and I want to make it personal. I want to pin all my hopes on You. I'm not driving my life any more; You're going to drive from here on." And you actually put your life, and your eternity, and your future, and your soul in the hands of Jesus.
If you don't know you've done that, you probably haven't, but today you could. Today could be your Jesus day, so that He will say, "She's with me. He's with me" when you get to the gate of heaven. It's the only way you're going to get in. If you're not sure you're with Him; if you're not sure you belong to Him, get it settled today, "Jesus, I'm Yours."
Our whole website is there to help you find Him. And you can go there, and I've put as simply as I can in a way you can either read, or watch, or listen to - the way to know that you belong to Jesus Christ for sure. It's YoursForLife.net. Please go there today.
Because without Jesus...without Him saying, "He's with Me. She's with Me," there's just no getting in.
Monday, January 23, 2012
Psalm 28, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals (Click to listen to God’s teaching)
Max Lucado Daily: Fear Leads to Sin
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts our fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. I John 4:18
Fear, when it is mismanaged, leads to sin. And sin leads to hiding. And since we’ve all sinned, we all hide—in 80-hour workweeks, temper tantrums, and religious busyness. We avoid contact with God!
We’re convinced God must hate our evil tendencies. We despise our lustful thoughts, harsh judgments, and selfish deeds. If our sin nauseates us, how much more must it revolt a holy God?
So we draw a practical conclusion: God is ticked off at us!
Sin has left us lost and confused. Yes, we have disappointed God. But no, God has not abandoned us!
Jesus loves us too much to leave us in doubt about His grace. God keeps no list of our wrongs. His love casts out fear because He casts out our sin!
Live forgiven!
Psalm 28
Of David.
1 To you, LORD, I call;
you are my Rock,
do not turn a deaf ear to me.
For if you remain silent,
I will be like those who go down to the pit.
2 Hear my cry for mercy
as I call to you for help,
as I lift up my hands
toward your Most Holy Place.
3 Do not drag me away with the wicked,
with those who do evil,
who speak cordially with their neighbors
but harbor malice in their hearts.
4 Repay them for their deeds
and for their evil work;
repay them for what their hands have done
and bring back on them what they deserve.
5 Because they have no regard for the deeds of the LORD
and what his hands have done,
he will tear them down
and never build them up again.
6 Praise be to the LORD,
for he has heard my cry for mercy.
7 The LORD is my strength and my shield;
my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.
My heart leaps for joy,
and with my song I praise him.
8 The LORD is the strength of his people,
a fortress of salvation for his anointed one.
9 Save your people and bless your inheritance;
be their shepherd and carry them forever.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Deuteronomy 8:7-18
7 For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land—a land with brooks, streams, and deep springs gushing out into the valleys and hills; 8 a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey; 9 a land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing; a land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills.
10 When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD your God for the good land he has given you. 11 Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. 12 Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, 13 and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, 14 then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 15 He led you through the vast and dreadful wilderness, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock. 16 He gave you manna to eat in the wilderness, something your ancestors had never known, to humble and test you so that in the end it might go well with you. 17 You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” 18 But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today.
A Full Life
January 23, 2012 — by C. P. Hia
Of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. —John 1:16
During the celebration of the Chinese New Year, it is customary to use certain words in print and conversation. One word is often used by itself. It is the word full, meaning “abundance of” and is used to wish someone material prosperity for the year ahead.
Moses told the Israelites about the wealth and prosperity in the land of Canaan before they entered it (Deut. 8:7-9). They would have everything they needed and more. But he warned them of the danger of forgetting that God, the One who had brought them out of Egypt and protected them along the way, had given them that abundance (v.11). Thus Moses commanded them, “You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth” (v.18).
“Wealth,” of course, is not just material things. Everything you have is from God. Our Lord Jesus told His disciples, “I have come that [you] may have life, and that [you] may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10).
We too may be tempted to forget that it’s the Lord who has blessed us and has met our needs. Our lives will be full, abundant, and satisfying only when we are connected to Jesus Christ.
You only are true Life,
To know You is to live
The more abundant life
That earth can never give. —Clarkson
Never let the abundance of God’s gifts
cause you to forget the Giver.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, January 23, 2012
Transformed by Beholding
We all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image . . . —2 Corinthians 3:18
The greatest characteristic a Christian can exhibit is this completely unveiled openness before God, which allows that person’s life to become a mirror for others. When the Spirit fills us, we are transformed, and by beholding God we become mirrors. You can always tell when someone has been beholding the glory of the Lord, because your inner spirit senses that he mirrors the Lord’s own character. Beware of anything that would spot or tarnish that mirror in you. It is almost always something good that will stain it— something good, but not what is best.
The most important rule for us is to concentrate on keeping our lives open to God. Let everything else including work, clothes, and food be set aside. The busyness of things obscures our concentration on God. We must maintain a position of beholding Him, keeping our lives completely spiritual through and through. Let other things come and go as they will; let other people criticize us as they will; but never allow anything to obscure the life that “is hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3). Never let a hurried lifestyle disturb the relationship of abiding in Him. This is an easy thing to allow, but we must guard against it. The most difficult lesson of the Christian life is learning how to continue “beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord . . . .”
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
I don't know who invented the credit card, but I'd like to have a very serious talk with him, because I'm not sure he helped any of us by thinking that this plastic "postponer" was going to help us. With a credit card you go to the store with $100 in cash, you get what you wanted, and you come out with $100 in your wallet. And it feels like, "Hey, that didn't cost anything." Wrong! Fantasy land! The bill will come...it always does. You postponed the payment, but you didn't cancel it. Oh, and by postponing it, that purchase is actually going to cost you more. I think that's what they call interest. The time lag between what you buy and what you pay can get you into big trouble.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Credit Card Follies."
Our word for today from the Word of God; it's in Galatians 6:7-8. Familiar words, but words that may be right where you're living right now. Listen, "Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction. The one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life."
Now, why does this statement begin with "don't be deceived"? Well, maybe it's because it's easy to think you're getting away with your sin, because the consequences, the reaping don't come immediately. It's like a credit card. You get what you want to get, do what you want to do, and then there's a time lag. Because it doesn't happen immediately - those consequences - you say, "Hey, I got away with it." Well that's credit card follies. The passing of time until the consequences come will not lessen the price tag you pay for that sin; in fact, it will make it cost you more.
The farmer doesn't see immediate results from sowing seed, whether he sows corn or poison ivy. But it will come up. Doing what's right and what's wrong have this in common. When you're doing it, you can't see where that choice is going to lead. When you have a sexual relationship before marriage, you can't see the pain and the loss that it will cause in your marriage, but it will.
When you build a pattern of lying, you might get away with the lie; you can't see what that's going to do to your reputation, but it will. When you extend a loving hand to someone who's been your enemy, you can't see the healing and the blessing that might come from that, but it will.
Since we can't see where choices lead until it's too late, do we live by the throw of the dice? Well, that's where the Bible comes in. It tells us where our decisions lead. When you sow to your sinful nature, it will destroy things. It's gonna happen! When you sow to things that please the Holy Spirit, you're going to reap things that will last forever. It's gonna happen!
God's Word has never been wrong. Oh, some have thought that they've cheated the consequences because they didn't happen immediately. Well, neither do the credit card charges or a farmer's crops, but they always come. Save yourself a lot of heartache. Believe what God says is going to happen...good or bad. Don't deceive yourself by thinking you'll get away with your sin, or that right choices won't come back to you with interest.
If you're sowing sin, God's bill is in the mail. If you're sowing right living, God's check is in the mail.
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts our fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. I John 4:18
Fear, when it is mismanaged, leads to sin. And sin leads to hiding. And since we’ve all sinned, we all hide—in 80-hour workweeks, temper tantrums, and religious busyness. We avoid contact with God!
We’re convinced God must hate our evil tendencies. We despise our lustful thoughts, harsh judgments, and selfish deeds. If our sin nauseates us, how much more must it revolt a holy God?
So we draw a practical conclusion: God is ticked off at us!
Sin has left us lost and confused. Yes, we have disappointed God. But no, God has not abandoned us!
Jesus loves us too much to leave us in doubt about His grace. God keeps no list of our wrongs. His love casts out fear because He casts out our sin!
Live forgiven!
Psalm 28
Of David.
1 To you, LORD, I call;
you are my Rock,
do not turn a deaf ear to me.
For if you remain silent,
I will be like those who go down to the pit.
2 Hear my cry for mercy
as I call to you for help,
as I lift up my hands
toward your Most Holy Place.
3 Do not drag me away with the wicked,
with those who do evil,
who speak cordially with their neighbors
but harbor malice in their hearts.
4 Repay them for their deeds
and for their evil work;
repay them for what their hands have done
and bring back on them what they deserve.
5 Because they have no regard for the deeds of the LORD
and what his hands have done,
he will tear them down
and never build them up again.
6 Praise be to the LORD,
for he has heard my cry for mercy.
7 The LORD is my strength and my shield;
my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.
My heart leaps for joy,
and with my song I praise him.
8 The LORD is the strength of his people,
a fortress of salvation for his anointed one.
9 Save your people and bless your inheritance;
be their shepherd and carry them forever.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Deuteronomy 8:7-18
7 For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land—a land with brooks, streams, and deep springs gushing out into the valleys and hills; 8 a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey; 9 a land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing; a land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills.
10 When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD your God for the good land he has given you. 11 Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. 12 Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, 13 and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, 14 then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 15 He led you through the vast and dreadful wilderness, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock. 16 He gave you manna to eat in the wilderness, something your ancestors had never known, to humble and test you so that in the end it might go well with you. 17 You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” 18 But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today.
A Full Life
January 23, 2012 — by C. P. Hia
Of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. —John 1:16
During the celebration of the Chinese New Year, it is customary to use certain words in print and conversation. One word is often used by itself. It is the word full, meaning “abundance of” and is used to wish someone material prosperity for the year ahead.
Moses told the Israelites about the wealth and prosperity in the land of Canaan before they entered it (Deut. 8:7-9). They would have everything they needed and more. But he warned them of the danger of forgetting that God, the One who had brought them out of Egypt and protected them along the way, had given them that abundance (v.11). Thus Moses commanded them, “You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth” (v.18).
“Wealth,” of course, is not just material things. Everything you have is from God. Our Lord Jesus told His disciples, “I have come that [you] may have life, and that [you] may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10).
We too may be tempted to forget that it’s the Lord who has blessed us and has met our needs. Our lives will be full, abundant, and satisfying only when we are connected to Jesus Christ.
You only are true Life,
To know You is to live
The more abundant life
That earth can never give. —Clarkson
Never let the abundance of God’s gifts
cause you to forget the Giver.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, January 23, 2012
Transformed by Beholding
We all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image . . . —2 Corinthians 3:18
The greatest characteristic a Christian can exhibit is this completely unveiled openness before God, which allows that person’s life to become a mirror for others. When the Spirit fills us, we are transformed, and by beholding God we become mirrors. You can always tell when someone has been beholding the glory of the Lord, because your inner spirit senses that he mirrors the Lord’s own character. Beware of anything that would spot or tarnish that mirror in you. It is almost always something good that will stain it— something good, but not what is best.
The most important rule for us is to concentrate on keeping our lives open to God. Let everything else including work, clothes, and food be set aside. The busyness of things obscures our concentration on God. We must maintain a position of beholding Him, keeping our lives completely spiritual through and through. Let other things come and go as they will; let other people criticize us as they will; but never allow anything to obscure the life that “is hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3). Never let a hurried lifestyle disturb the relationship of abiding in Him. This is an easy thing to allow, but we must guard against it. The most difficult lesson of the Christian life is learning how to continue “beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord . . . .”
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
I don't know who invented the credit card, but I'd like to have a very serious talk with him, because I'm not sure he helped any of us by thinking that this plastic "postponer" was going to help us. With a credit card you go to the store with $100 in cash, you get what you wanted, and you come out with $100 in your wallet. And it feels like, "Hey, that didn't cost anything." Wrong! Fantasy land! The bill will come...it always does. You postponed the payment, but you didn't cancel it. Oh, and by postponing it, that purchase is actually going to cost you more. I think that's what they call interest. The time lag between what you buy and what you pay can get you into big trouble.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Credit Card Follies."
Our word for today from the Word of God; it's in Galatians 6:7-8. Familiar words, but words that may be right where you're living right now. Listen, "Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction. The one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life."
Now, why does this statement begin with "don't be deceived"? Well, maybe it's because it's easy to think you're getting away with your sin, because the consequences, the reaping don't come immediately. It's like a credit card. You get what you want to get, do what you want to do, and then there's a time lag. Because it doesn't happen immediately - those consequences - you say, "Hey, I got away with it." Well that's credit card follies. The passing of time until the consequences come will not lessen the price tag you pay for that sin; in fact, it will make it cost you more.
The farmer doesn't see immediate results from sowing seed, whether he sows corn or poison ivy. But it will come up. Doing what's right and what's wrong have this in common. When you're doing it, you can't see where that choice is going to lead. When you have a sexual relationship before marriage, you can't see the pain and the loss that it will cause in your marriage, but it will.
When you build a pattern of lying, you might get away with the lie; you can't see what that's going to do to your reputation, but it will. When you extend a loving hand to someone who's been your enemy, you can't see the healing and the blessing that might come from that, but it will.
Since we can't see where choices lead until it's too late, do we live by the throw of the dice? Well, that's where the Bible comes in. It tells us where our decisions lead. When you sow to your sinful nature, it will destroy things. It's gonna happen! When you sow to things that please the Holy Spirit, you're going to reap things that will last forever. It's gonna happen!
God's Word has never been wrong. Oh, some have thought that they've cheated the consequences because they didn't happen immediately. Well, neither do the credit card charges or a farmer's crops, but they always come. Save yourself a lot of heartache. Believe what God says is going to happen...good or bad. Don't deceive yourself by thinking you'll get away with your sin, or that right choices won't come back to you with interest.
If you're sowing sin, God's bill is in the mail. If you're sowing right living, God's check is in the mail.
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