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.
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