Max Lucado Daily: What’s Your Problem?
If your father were Bill Gates and your computer crashed, where would you turn? If Stradivari were your dad and your violin string snapped, to whom would you go?
If your father is God and you have a problem on your hands, what do you do?
Is your problem too large? Ephesians 3:29 says, “God is able to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.”
Is your need too great? 2 Corinthians 9:8 says, “God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance.”
Is your enemy too strong? Philippians 3:21 says, “God is able even to subdue all things to Himself.”
God is able to do what you cannot. When you have a problem—make this your first thought—“How can I get this problem to Jesus!”
It’s a day changer. Choose to make every day a great day!
Psalm 138
Of David.
1 I will praise you, LORD, with all my heart;
before the “gods” I will sing your praise.
2 I will bow down toward your holy temple
and will praise your name
for your unfailing love and your faithfulness,
for you have so exalted your solemn decree
that it surpasses your fame.
3 When I called, you answered me;
you greatly emboldened me.
4 May all the kings of the earth praise you, LORD,
when they hear what you have decreed.
5 May they sing of the ways of the LORD,
for the glory of the LORD is great.
6 Though the LORD is exalted, he looks kindly on the lowly;
though lofty, he sees them from afar.
7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
you preserve my life.
You stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes;
with your right hand you save me.
8 The LORD will vindicate me;
your love, LORD, endures forever—
do not abandon the works of your hands.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Psalm 92
A psalm. A song. For the Sabbath day.
1 It is good to praise the LORD
and make music to your name, O Most High,
2 proclaiming your love in the morning
and your faithfulness at night,
3 to the music of the ten-stringed lyre
and the melody of the harp.
4 For you make me glad by your deeds, LORD;
I sing for joy at what your hands have done.
5 How great are your works, LORD,
how profound your thoughts!
6 Senseless people do not know,
fools do not understand,
7 that though the wicked spring up like grass
and all evildoers flourish,
they will be destroyed forever.
8 But you, LORD, are forever exalted.
9 For surely your enemies, LORD,
surely your enemies will perish;
all evildoers will be scattered.
10 You have exalted my horn[b] like that of a wild ox;
fine oils have been poured on me.
11 My eyes have seen the defeat of my adversaries;
my ears have heard the rout of my wicked foes.
12 The righteous will flourish like a palm tree,
they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon;
13 planted in the house of the LORD,
they will flourish in the courts of our God.
14 They will still bear fruit in old age,
they will stay fresh and green,
15 proclaiming, “The LORD is upright;
he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.”
Fresh And Flourishing
February 24, 2012 — by David H. Roper
They shall be fresh and flourishing. —Psalm 92:14
In Psalm 92, the poet begins with a commendation of praise: “It is good to give thanks to the Lord.” Good for what? Good for you and me. It does our soul a world of good to turn from anxious thoughts and fill our days with prayerful praise; good to greet each morning with songs of thanksgiving, for such praise makes us glad. It lifts us out of gloom and replaces our sadness with cheerful songs at the “works of [His] hands” (v.4). And what is that work? The work He is doing in us!
Here’s one of my most cherished metaphors: “The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bear fruit in old age; they shall be fresh and flourishing” (vv.12-14).
Palms are symbols of towering beauty and cedars of unbending strength. These are the characteristics of those who have been “planted in the house of the Lord” (v.13). Their roots go down into the soil of God’s unquenchable love.
Do you think your usefulness to God is over? Continue in God’s Word, rooted and grounded in Christ, drinking in His love and faithfulness. Then, no matter your age, you will bear fruit and be “fresh and flourishing.”
From your heart give God your praise
For His blessings all your days;
Lift your voice to God above—
God of mercy, God of love. —Hess
Praise comes naturally when you count your blessings.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, February 24, 2012
The Delight of Sacrifice
I will very gladly spend and be spent for your souls . . . —2 Corinthians 12:15
Once “the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit,” we deliberately begin to identify ourselves with Jesus Christ’s interests and purposes in others’ lives (Romans 5:5). And Jesus has an interest in every individual person. We have no right in Christian service to be guided by our own interests and desires. In fact, this is one of the greatest tests of our relationship with Jesus Christ. The delight of sacrifice is that I lay down my life for my Friend, Jesus (see John 15:13). I don’t throw my life away, but I willingly and deliberately lay it down for Him and His interests in other people. And I do this for no cause or purpose of my own. Paul spent his life for only one purpose— that he might win people to Jesus Christ. Paul always attracted people to his Lord, but never to himself. He said, “I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some” (1 Corinthians 9:22).
When someone thinks that to develop a holy life he must always be alone with God, he is no longer of any use to others. This is like putting himself on a pedestal and isolating himself from the rest of society. Paul was a holy person, but wherever he went Jesus Christ was always allowed to help Himself to his life. Many of us are interested only in our own goals, and Jesus cannot help Himself to our lives. But if we are totally surrendered to Him, we have no goals of our own to serve. Paul said that he knew how to be a “doormat” without resenting it, because the motivation of his life was devotion to Jesus. We tend to be devoted, not to Jesus Christ, but to the things which allow us more spiritual freedom than total surrender to Him would allow. Freedom was not Paul’s motive at all. In fact, he stated, “I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren . . .” (Romans 9:3). Had Paul lost his ability to reason? Not at all! For someone who is in love, this is not an overstatement. And Paul was in love with Jesus Christ.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
The Not So Grim Reapers - #6555
Friday, February 24, 2012
Not long ago our family got in one of those uproarious "remember when" conversations. And the subject was various times that we had disciplined our children, and they were going way back. This took an hour and a half of them thinking back, "Remember the time you..." "Oh, yeah, that was hilarious!" We explained, for example, how we had always tried to discipline with natural consequences. You know, if you did something wrong with your mouth, you had to be quiet for a while. Or maybe in some cases have your mouth washed out. If you did something wrong with your hands, then you had to fold your hands; you forfeited the right to use them. At which point our oldest son said, "But I never did anything wrong with my bottom!" Which is where a lot of the disciplining took place. So much for natural consequences!
Well, that launched a discussion of great spankings we have known, including the ones that we were just now told didn't even hurt! They didn't tell us that at the time. Oh, listen, this whole thing went a long time. It was crazy! I mean, it was a laughing, loving, learning time for all of us, and a reminder of what might be a parent's biggest challenge.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Not So Grim Reapers."
Our word for today from the Word of God - Proverbs 19:18. "Discipline your son, for in that there is hope. Do not be a willing party to his death." That's a pretty sobering verse! It talks about hope for your child, it talks about death for your child, and it's saying that the hope for your child's future is your discipline of him. Well, why?
Well, in our world there is a law of the universe that our kids don't seem to believe. You can't change this law of the universe, but they don't act like they believe it. It's fundamental to the way things operate, Galatians 6:7 - "For whatever a man sows, he will reap." I don't know that a lot of kids really believe that there are consequences for what they do. First of all, they feel like you can avoid a lot of consequences. You can cover up what you've done, you can take precautions.
The other reason that it's tough to get our children to believe that what you sow you reap - is that often there's a delay between the wrong thing you do and the harvest you receive. Every farmer knows that you sow and reap, but he also knows there's a gap in between. During that gap our children may think they're not going to have to pay the bill. But the law is still true: you can't avoid the most serious consequences of all - God's judgment, lost innocence, lost reputation, lost trust, lost self-respect. Oh, you can postpone it, but you can't cancel it.
Now, my job as a parent is to get one simple message across, "When you do wrong, something bad happens." And you know how you get that message? There has to be consistent discipline to build children who believe in sowing and reaping. If they don't, they're going to make heart-breaking choices later on. It's good to try to discipline, as I mentioned earlier, with natural consequences, so that if you've done something wrong in a particular area of your life, it's in that area that you get restricted or punished. And to the best of your ability, be sure that the punishment fits the crime and that you discipline, not when you're angry, but after you've prayed and thought about the consequence that would teach the most; not what would just unload your anger.
Respond immediately, but don't wait a long time for the discipline. When a lot of time has passed, the lesson will be forgotten. Explain the discipline; explain why it's wrong. Be consistent, especially in the early stages of trying to establish a boundary in your child's life. Whatever you do, don't fail in this life-giving responsibility. Be sure your children learn from your discipline that whatever a man sows, he will reap.
There's some old expression that talks about "the grim reaper." Well, actually, what will be grim for your child is if he or she doesn't reap.