Max Lucado Daily: Pray About Everything
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7”
Rather than worry about anything—pray about everything!
Everything? Diaper changes and dates? Business meetings and broken bathtubs?
Philippians 4:6 says, “In everything, let your requests be made known to God.”
When we lived in Brazil, I would take my daughters on bus rides. For a few pennies, we could ride all over the city. It may sound dull to us, but when you’re two years old, it’s World Cup excitement! The girls did nothing. I bought the token, carried the backpack and chose the route. My only request? “Stay close to me!” I knew the kind of characters who might board a bus. And God forbid my daughters and I get separated.
God makes the same request. Stay close. Talk to me. Breathe me in and exhale your worry. God knows what can happen on this journey, and he wants to bring us home.
Pray about everything!
Proverbs 29
1 Whoever remains stiff-necked after many rebukes
will suddenly be destroyed—without remedy.
2 When the righteous thrive, the people rejoice;
when the wicked rule, the people groan.
3 A man who loves wisdom brings joy to his father,
but a companion of prostitutes squanders his wealth.
4 By justice a king gives a country stability,
but those who are greedy for[e] bribes tear it down.
5 Those who flatter their neighbors
are spreading nets for their feet.
6 Evildoers are snared by their own sin,
but the righteous shout for joy and are glad.
7 The righteous care about justice for the poor,
but the wicked have no such concern.
8 Mockers stir up a city,
but the wise turn away anger.
9 If a wise person goes to court with a fool,
the fool rages and scoffs, and there is no peace.
10 The bloodthirsty hate a person of integrity
and seek to kill the upright.
11 Fools give full vent to their rage,
but the wise bring calm in the end.
12 If a ruler listens to lies,
all his officials become wicked.
13 The poor and the oppressor have this in common:
The LORD gives sight to the eyes of both.
14 If a king judges the poor with fairness,
his throne will be established forever.
15 A rod and a reprimand impart wisdom,
but a child left undisciplined disgraces its mother.
16 When the wicked thrive, so does sin,
but the righteous will see their downfall.
17 Discipline your children, and they will give you peace;
they will bring you the delights you desire.
18 Where there is no revelation, people cast off restraint;
but blessed is the one who heeds wisdom’s instruction.
19 Servants cannot be corrected by mere words;
though they understand, they will not respond.
20 Do you see someone who speaks in haste?
There is more hope for a fool than for them.
21 A servant pampered from youth
will turn out to be insolent.
22 An angry person stirs up conflict,
and a hot-tempered person commits many sins.
23 Pride brings a person low,
but the lowly in spirit gain honor.
24 The accomplices of thieves are their own enemies;
they are put under oath and dare not testify.
25 Fear of man will prove to be a snare,
but whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe.
26 Many seek an audience with a ruler,
but it is from the LORD that one gets justice.
27 The righteous detest the dishonest;
the wicked detest the upright.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Philippians 3:1-11
No Confidence in the Flesh
1 Further, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you. 2 Watch out for those dogs, those evildoers, those mutilators of the flesh. 3 For it is we who are the circumcision, we who serve God by his Spirit, who boast in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh— 4 though I myself have reasons for such confidence.
If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless.
7 But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in[a] Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. 10 I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.
Who Gets The Credit?
April 17, 2012 — by Joe Stowell
hat things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. —Philippians 3:7
I’ve always been puzzled by the nursery rhyme “Little Jack Horner”: Little Jack Horner sat in the corner, eating a Christmas pie; he put in his thumb, and pulled out a plum, and said, “What a good boy am I!”
It seems rather odd that Jack is sitting in the corner with his plum- covered thumb held high, and saying, “What a good boy am I!” It’s usually bad boys who are sent to the corner for punishment. It seems he’s trying to draw unwarranted attention to himself and is wanting credit for the pie.
We naturally want to draw attention to ourselves, to show off our accomplishments and abilities. Sometimes we think that life is all about us. But living like that is self-delusion at its worst. In reality, our sinfulness has put us “in the corner,” from God’s point of view. Thankfully, Paul’s testimony gives us the right perspective. In spite of his impressive credentials, he gladly surrendered to the supremacy of Jesus: “But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ” (Phil. 3:7). Paul admitted that in order to “gain Christ” (v.8), he had to lay all of his trophies down.
So, give Jesus Christ the braggin’ rights of your life. Or, as Paul put it, “He who glories, let him glory in the Lord” (1 Cor. 1:31)—not in yourself!
Lord, You are the One who is high and lofty.
I give myself today to the purpose of pointing
others to You, for who You are and what You do.
You deserve all praise.
We are nothing without Jesus, so give Him the credit.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
April 17, 2012
All or Nothing?
When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment . . . and plunged into the sea —John 21:7
Have you ever had a crisis in your life in which you deliberately, earnestly, and recklessly abandoned everything? It is a crisis of the will. You may come to that point many times externally, but it will amount to nothing. The true deep crisis of abandonment, or total surrender, is reached internally, not externally. The giving up of only external things may actually be an indication of your being in total bondage.
Have you deliberately committed your will to Jesus Christ? It is a transaction of the will, not of emotion; any positive emotion that results is simply a superficial blessing arising out of the transaction. If you focus your attention on the emotion, you will never make the transaction. Do not ask God what the transaction is to be, but make the determination to surrender your will regarding whatever you see, whether it is in the shallow or the deep, profound places internally.
If you have heard Jesus Christ’s voice on the waves of the sea, you can let your convictions and your consistency take care of themselves by concentrating on maintaining your intimate relationship to Him.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
More Powerful Than Politics - #6592
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Wow! For once, the United States Congress was totally united. No partisan torpedoes. No verbal dueling. Even tears of compassion from some usually tough opponents.
Gabby did it. It had been just over year that Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was gunned down in a Tucson, Arizona mall. The head wound she received threatened to end her life, you remember, or, at best, to leave her severely handicapped. And a little over a year after the shooting, she made her way to the floor of the House of Representatives to announce her resignation, for now, so she could concentrate on her continuing recovery. She really is a profile in courage.
For a few bright, shining moments, there was peace on that usually fierce political battlefield. Like most Americans, yeah, I'm getting pretty tired of the mean-spirited, mutually destructive crossfire that's politics today. But that day the tumult turned to tears. And a heartfelt, united tribute to a woman whose courage everyone could agree on.
One Congresswoman, who is the outspoken head of her party's national committee, struggled to get through her emotional remarks. She said, "No matter what we argue about here on this floor or in this country, there is nothing more important than family and friendship that should be held high above everything else." She was supported by speeches from both sides of the aisle. Once again, we saw the amazing power of suffering to clarify what matters; to soften hearts.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "More Powerful Than Politics."
That's important to remember if you're the one who's wounded and hurting and struggling right now. Oh, of course, you'd rather be healthy, or running full speed, or living without the pain or the limitation. But somehow it's our suffering that puts us in our most powerful position to touch hearts and touch lives.
Just look at Jesus. We love His miracles, we live His teachings. But it's His Cross that is, in Charles Spurgeon's word, "that magnificent magnet." In our word for today from the Word of God, John 12:32, Jesus, speaking of His death says, "When I am lifted up...I will draw all men to Myself."
It's true. You know, it doesn't matter where in this world I've spoken, His Cross crosses every culture: Rich or poor, old or young, educated or unschooled, powerful or powerless. It's just hard to resist this God who hung on a cross for us. It is the cross that has conquered hearts around the world for 2,000 years.
And it is your cross that can open hearts that have been closed to your Jesus. That can pull people together who are otherwise at odds. That can help you and those you love revalue your life around the things that really matter, and to marginalize the things that really don't.
If God has sent you a cross to bear; if He's allowed you a cross to bear, He trusts you. At a time of life-threatening persecution, the apostles took joy in the fact that "they had been counted worthy of suffering...for the Name" (Acts 5:41). Did you hear that? Counted worthy. Trusted. And He's promised that He will give you grace equal to the burden (2 Corinthians 12:9). "Sufficient grace" it says, so you can show the world how really amazing His amazing grace is.
Walls go down, hearts open up when you speak from the unarguable platform of your pain. Showing folks a Savior who makes you a conqueror in your crisis does something that, well, your words could never do.
Hard times are His times.
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