Psalm 46 bible reading and devotionals.

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MaxLucado.com: Call it Grace

You’ve done some nice things in your life.  But you have not done enough good works to go to heaven regardless of your sacrifice.  Nor do you have enough character to go to heaven.  Please don’t be offended.  Then, again, be offended, if necessary.  You’re probably a very decent person.  But decency isn’t enough.  You may pay taxes and kiss your kids and sleep with a clean conscience.

Hebrews 12:14 says, “Anyone whose life is not holy will never see the Lord.”

Apart from Christ you are not holy.  So how can you go to heaven?  Only believe.  Accept the work already done, the work of Jesus on the cross.  Accept the goodness of Jesus Christ.  Abandon your own works and accept his. It would have bankrupted you or me, the price was so extravagant.

Call it a gift.  But don’t call it easy.  Call it what it is.  Call it grace.

Psalm 46[e]

For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. According to alamoth.[f] A song.

1 God is our refuge and strength,
    an ever-present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
    and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam
    and the mountains quake with their surging.[g]
4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
    the holy place where the Most High dwells.
5 God is within her, she will not fall;
    God will help her at break of day.
6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
    he lifts his voice, the earth melts.
7 The Lord Almighty is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our fortress.
8 Come and see what the Lord has done,
    the desolations he has brought on the earth.
9 He makes wars cease
    to the ends of the earth.
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
    he burns the shields[h] with fire.
10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
    I will be exalted among the nations,
    I will be exalted in the earth.”
11 The Lord Almighty is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our fortress.


Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Read: Exodus 34:1-8

Moses Makes New Tablets

34 The Lord said to Moses, “Cut for yourself two tablets of stone like the first, and I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. 2 Be ready by the morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and present yourself there to me on the top of the mountain. 3 No one shall come up with you, and let no one be seen throughout all the mountain. Let no flocks or herds graze opposite that mountain.” 4 So Moses cut two tablets of stone like the first. And he rose early in the morning and went up on Mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him, and took in his hand two tablets of stone. 5 The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. 6 The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, 7 keeping steadfast love for thousands,[a] forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation.” 8 And Moses quickly bowed his head toward the earth and worshiped.

God’s Description

November 15, 2012 — by Anne Cetas

The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious. —Exodus 34:6

The prayers of young children show us what they think of God. Here are two I read recently:

“Dear God, what does it mean that You are a ‘jealous’ God? I thought You had everything.”

“I didn’t think orange went with purple until I saw the sunset You made on Tuesday. That was cool.”

These children are right to think of God as the owner and creator of everything, the One who can paint beautiful sunsets. But how does God describe Himself?

Moses needed an answer to that question when he was about to lead the Israelites into the wilderness. He wanted to be assured of God’s presence and leading, so he asked Him to reveal Himself (Ex. 33:13,18). In response, God came down in a cloud and said: “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, . . . by no means clearing the guilty” (34:5-7). He is good; He is just.

We too can know this God and be assured of His presence. He has revealed Himself in His creation and in His Word. As we ask Him to make Himself known to us, we’ll learn that He is even more than the owner and creator of everything!

Sing praise to God who reigns above,
The God of all creation,
The God of power, the God of love,
The God of our salvation. —Schutz
In a world of superlatives, God is the greatest.


My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
November 15, 2012

“What Is That to You?”

Peter . . . said to Jesus, ’But Lord, what about this man?’ Jesus said to him, ’. . . what is that to you? You follow Me’ —John 21:21-22

One of the hardest lessons to learn comes from our stubborn refusal to refrain from interfering in other people’s lives. It takes a long time to realize the danger of being an amateur providence, that is, interfering with God’s plan for others. You see someone suffering and say, “He will not suffer, and I will make sure that he doesn’t.” You put your hand right in front of God’s permissive will to stop it, and then God says, “What is that to you?” Is there stagnation in your spiritual life? Don’t allow it to continue, but get into God’s presence and find out the reason for it. You will possibly find it is because you have been interfering in the life of another— proposing things you had no right to propose, or advising when you had no right to advise. When you do have to give advice to another person, God will advise through you with the direct understanding of His Spirit. Your part is to maintain the right relationship with God so that His discernment can come through you continually for the purpose of blessing someone else.

Most of us live only within the level of consciousness— consciously serving and consciously devoted to God. This shows immaturity and the fact that we’re not yet living the real Christian life. Maturity is produced in the life of a child of God on the unconscious level, until we become so totally surrendered to God that we are not even aware of being used by Him. When we are consciously aware of being used as broken bread and poured-out wine, we have yet another level to reach— a level where all awareness of ourselves and of what God is doing through us is completely eliminated. A saint is never consciously a saint— a saint is consciously dependent on God.


A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Editing the Name - #6744

Thursday, November 15, 2012

One of the more special opportunities I've had over the years has been to speak for professional football chapels. I've spoken a lot for the New York Giants, and when I'm with them, of course, it looks like about 30 New York Giants and then one New York Midget. (That would be me.) You can tell who is the speaker in the room! I do stand out in that group. And people will often say, "Well, what do you talk to them about?" Of course, I have the opportunity to simply present the Gospel. But I do try to use a lot of sport's illustrations and things that will relate to their everyday lives.

There's one subject I can't talk to them about. Oh, now, if you speak at a baseball chapel, they don't mind so much if you're with the other team. You'll speak in one locker room for the visiting team, and then you'll come down and speak for the home team. And everybody knows you speak for both teams.

Not in football! When you speak for professional teams, you've got to make sure you don't speak for the other team or you've got cooties! Yeah, you've been contaminated! So, guess what is the subject you don't mention when you're speaking. Do not under any circumstances mention the name of the other team.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Editing the Name."

Now, our word for today from the Word of God comes from several places in the book of Acts, showing us that the problem with Christianity and the power of Christianity are the same thing. Peter is preaching that great sermon at Pentecost in Acts 2:36. "Therefore, let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ."

They walk up to a lame man in chapter 3, a man who is carried to the temple every day. And when he asks them for money, they reply, "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you." And then they proceed to say, "I'll give you a name. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk." And he did.

And then in Acts 4:12 they boldly preach, "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." And then in verses 17 and 18, the Sanhedrin calls them in, asks them to stop preaching, and they say, "We have to warn these men to speak no longer to anyone in this Name. So they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the Name of Jesus." You get the idea?

What's the power that pushes back the darkness and changes people's lives? The power is in the Name of Jesus Christ. What's the problem people have with Christianity? Oh, you know, we can talk about God; nobody cares. About problems? About church? Fine. We talk about love or life or family values? That's okay. But it's when we talk about Jesus that people say, "Whoa! That's too far!" See, nothing has changed over 2,000 years. The power of Christianity is in the Name of Jesus; the problem people have with Christianity is the Name of Jesus. But there is no other Name, the Bible says.

You know when you're having a chance to talk spiritually to someone. Maybe you can talk to them about God. But, do you ever notice how you choke on the Name of Jesus? Guess what makes you choke? The one who hates that name. The one who knows the power of that name. The Devil himself for 2,000 years has given the order, "Don't mention The Name."

Sometimes you hold back and you don't talk very openly about Jesus Christ because you know that's controversial. Listen, don't hold back! That's the power for answered prayer - Jesus' Name. It's the power that clarifies the real issue to people. Jesus is who they have to deal with. You're not deciding about my belief. You're deciding about Jesus. That's where the power is to change lives. The people who don't respect Jesus, who don't care about Jesus, use His Name all day long. They're pretty bold about it. How can we, who've experienced His love and forgiveness, be ashamed of The Name.

Oh, talk much, talk boldly about Jesus, because the Devil is saying, "I don't want to hear that Name!" And we will say in reply, "There is no other Name."