Psalm 94 bible reading and devotions.

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Max Lucado: Make a Choice

Maybe your past isn’t much to brag about. Maybe you’ve seen raw evil—and now you have to make a choice. Do you rise above the past and make a difference? Or do you remain controlled by the past and make excuses?

Healthy bodies.  Sharp minds.  But retired dreams.  Back and forth they rock in the chair of regret.  Lean closely and you’ll hear them.

If only I’d been born somewhere else. . .

If only I’d been treated fairly. . .

If only I’d had more opportunities. . .if only. . .

Put down the scrapbook of your life and pick up the Bible.  Read Jesus’ words in John 3:6: “Human life comes from human parents but spiritual life comes from the Spirit.”

God has not left you adrift on a sea of heredity. You have a choice in the path you take.

Choose well!

From Cast of Characters

Psalm 94

1 The Lord is a God who avenges.
    O God who avenges, shine forth.
2 Rise up, Judge of the earth;
    pay back to the proud what they deserve.
3 How long, Lord, will the wicked,
    how long will the wicked be jubilant?
4 They pour out arrogant words;
    all the evildoers are full of boasting.
5 They crush your people, Lord;
    they oppress your inheritance.
6 They slay the widow and the foreigner;
    they murder the fatherless.
7 They say, “The Lord does not see;
    the God of Jacob takes no notice.”
8 Take notice, you senseless ones among the people;
    you fools, when will you become wise?
9 Does he who fashioned the ear not hear?
    Does he who formed the eye not see?
10 Does he who disciplines nations not punish?
    Does he who teaches mankind lack knowledge?
11 The Lord knows all human plans;
    he knows that they are futile.
12 Blessed is the one you discipline, Lord,
    the one you teach from your law;
13 you grant them relief from days of trouble,
    till a pit is dug for the wicked.
14 For the Lord will not reject his people;
    he will never forsake his inheritance.
15 Judgment will again be founded on righteousness,
    and all the upright in heart will follow it.
16 Who will rise up for me against the wicked?
    Who will take a stand for me against evildoers?
17 Unless the Lord had given me help,
    I would soon have dwelt in the silence of death.
18 When I said, “My foot is slipping, ”
    your unfailing love, Lord, supported me.
19 When anxiety was great within me,
    your consolation brought me joy.
20 Can a corrupt throne be allied with you—
    a throne that brings on misery by its decrees?
21 The wicked band together against the righteous
    and condemn the innocent to death.
22 But the Lord has become my fortress,
    and my God the rock in whom I take refuge.
23 He will repay them for their sins
    and destroy them for their wickedness;
    the Lord our God will destroy them.


Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Read: Luke 9:18-27

Peter Declares That Jesus Is the Messiah

18 Once when Jesus was praying in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say I am?”

19 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life.”

20 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

Peter answered, “God’s Messiah.”

Jesus Predicts His Death

21 Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone. 22 And he said, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.”

23 Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. 25 What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self? 26 Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.

27 “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.”

Risky Business

August 24, 2012 — by David C. McCasland

Whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. —Luke 9:24

As the worldwide financial crisis deepened in 2010, executives of a global banking firm were investigated for deceiving their customers about the risk involved in certain investments they were selling. While promising a high rate of return, the banking firm knew that the investments were destined to fail, leaving those who purchased them with nothing.

Deception is nothing new. Jesus described Satan as one who “does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him . . . for he is a liar and the father of it” (John 8:44). The enemy of our souls tells us, “Live only for the present,” when he knows it will result in our eternal loss.

Jesus, on the other hand, did not offer His disciples a life of prosperity and ease but called them to self-sacrifice and identification with Him. After telling them that He would be killed and raised from the dead, Jesus said, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it” (Luke 9:23-24).

There are two voices telling us where to invest our lives. It’s risky business to follow the wrong one.

When you hear the Shepherd’s voice
As He calls you, “Come to Me,”
In your life make Him your choice
And His faithful follower be. —Hess
If we hold on to God’s truth, we won’t be trapped by Satan’s lies.


My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
August 24, 2012

The Spiritual Search

What man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? —Matthew 7:9

The illustration of prayer that our Lord used here is one of a good child who is asking for something good. We talk about prayer as if God hears us regardless of what our relationship is to Him (see Matthew 5:45). Never say that it is not God’s will to give you what you ask. Don’t faint and give up, but find out the reason you have not received; increase the intensity of your search and examine the evidence. Is your relationship right with your spouse, your children, and your fellow students? Are you a “good child” in those relationships? Do you have to say to the Lord, “I have been irritable and cross, but I still want spiritual blessings”? You cannot receive and will have to do without them until you have the attitude of a “good child.”

We mistake defiance for devotion, arguing with God instead of surrendering. We refuse to look at the evidence that clearly indicates where we are wrong. Have I been asking God to give me money for something I want, while refusing to pay someone what I owe him? Have I been asking God for liberty while I am withholding it from someone who belongs to me? Have I refused to forgive someone, and have I been unkind to that person? Have I been living as God’s child among my relatives and friends? (see Matthew 7:12).

I am a child of God only by being born again, and as His child I am good only as I “walk in the light” (1 John 1:7). For most of us, prayer simply becomes some trivial religious expression, a matter of mystical and emotional fellowship with God. We are all good at producing spiritual fog that blinds our sight. But if we will search out and examine the evidence, we will see very clearly what is wrong— a friendship, an unpaid debt, or an improper attitude. There is no use praying unless we are living as children of God. Then Jesus says, regarding His children, “Everyone who asks receives . . .” (Matthew 7:8).


A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Going Through the Motions - #6685

riday, August 24, 2012

Ah, the lost art of tying a tie. I experienced it a few weekends ago as the man doing the marrying at a young couple's wedding.

It was fairly amusing watching the helpless look on the groomsmen's faces as they were handed their necktie to put on for the ceremony. There they stood, fingering that mysterious piece of cloth, wondering what to do with it. I suggested to the guys my theory as to how ties even came to be. I think they were invented by a woman who had a big time grudge against men. Yep! And she's been gloating over the thought that every time men would have to dress up, they would strangle themselves.

Okay, so much for my little tirade. I can do my tie easily enough. I just can't think backwards enough to tie it on someone else. But I couldn't just leave these guys hangin'. So I tied each of their ties on myself, I loosened it and put it on them. Now, they were ready for the self-choking maneuver, and the wedding.

That was on Saturday. Friday night, we all went tieless, but it did look a lot like a wedding. The bridesmaid/groomsmen couples came down that aisle, her arm in his. Beautiful music was playing and the groom and I were at the front. Then, the big moment. The bride and her father made that stately march down the aisle as people stood for the grand entrance. The father "gave away" his daughter...the bride and groom stood before the minister, and ultimately the young couple - all smiles now - marched out of that sanctuary together.

But they still were not married. That was only the rehearsal. So on Friday night, they entered that church not married. And they left uh-huh not married. But Saturday, they entered that church not married and they left married! The difference? Well, on Friday, they were just going through the motions. On Saturday, they committed their lives to each other.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Going Through the Motions."

There are a lot of people who walk into church Sunday after Sunday, looking all Christian but without Jesus. And they walk out the same way they came in, without Jesus, because they're only going through the motions.

It's all too easy to do, sometimes without even realizing it. You have lots of Christianity, but you totally miss Christ. You go through all the motions of belonging to Him, believing all the right beliefs, doing all the right things, saying all the right words. Looking and sounding, for all the world like a person who knows Jesus for real. But you're missing Him.

That's why God gives this warning to all us church folks in our word for today from the Word of God, 2 Corinthians 13:5. Listen carefully, "Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you - unless, of course, you fail the test?"

There's something very sobering about a Judgment Day tragedy that Jesus described. "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven...Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you'" (Matthew 7:21-23).

Those are some of the most chilling words in the Bible, "You knew all about Me, but I never knew you." Because they had Jesus in their head, but somehow never asked Him into their heart. So, it's possible to know all about Jesus, but not really know Jesus, because you've missed the one step that makes the Savior your Savior.

"Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life," the Bible says (John 3:36). When God says "believe," He's talking about grabbing Jesus like He's your only hope. Pinning all your hopes on Him and what He did when He died on the cross to pay for every sin you've ever done. If you ask me if I'm married and I say, "Well, I'm not sure," then I'm not married, right? If you don't know you've given yourself to Jesus, you probably haven't, because it is a conscious commitment.

If you've missed that step of committing your life to Him, then you've missed Jesus, and you will miss heaven, because you're just going through the motions. If you're not sure you belong to Jesus, even though you've been playing the part, please today say, "Jesus, today I want to be yours. Today I claim what you did on the cross for me; for my sin. You are my Savior beginning today."

And I would encourage you to go to our website and check out there how to be sure you really do belong to Him. YoursForLife.net. You could have this thing settled finally once and for all.