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Max Lucado Daily: Tossed by Waves
I was privileged to be taken for a ride. Picture a roller coaster minus the rails! That’s what it felt like sitting in a T-6 fighter jet diving, rising and diving again with a vertical velocity of ten thousand feet per minute!
I know where to stare in turbulence. My eyes were on the pilot. If he was okay, I was okay.
Peter learned the same lesson the hard way. Exchange the plane for a 30-foot fishing boat in the middle of the sea. The lake, like a blender, blowing first from one direction, then another.
Tossed by the waves … Just substitute a couple of nouns…
In the middle of a divorce, tossed by guilt.
In the middle of debt, tossed by creditors.
Jesus said: “Don’t be afraid. Take courage, I am here!”
“I am here” changes everything! Look into the turbulence. Look into the storm. That’s Jesus coming toward you!
1 Kings 10
The Queen of Sheba Visits Solomon
10 When the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon and his relationship to the Lord, she came to test Solomon with hard questions. 2 Arriving at Jerusalem with a very great caravan —with camels carrying spices, large quantities of gold, and precious stones—she came to Solomon and talked with him about all that she had on her mind. 3 Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too hard for the king to explain to her. 4 When the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon and the palace he had built, 5 the food on his table, the seating of his officials, the attending servants in their robes, his cupbearers, and the burnt offerings he made at[a] the temple of the Lord, she was overwhelmed.
6 She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your achievements and your wisdom is true. 7 But I did not believe these things until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not even half was told me; in wisdom and wealth you have far exceeded the report I heard. 8 How happy your people must be! How happy your officials, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! 9 Praise be to the Lord your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on the throne of Israel. Because of the Lord’s eternal love for Israel, he has made you king to maintain justice and righteousness.”
10 And she gave the king 120 talents[b] of gold, large quantities of spices, and precious stones. Never again were so many spices brought in as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.
13 King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all she desired and asked for, besides what he had given her out of his royal bounty. Then she left and returned with her retinue to her own country.
Solomon’s Splendor
14 The weight of the gold that Solomon received yearly was 666 talents,[e] 15 not including the revenues from merchants and traders and from all the Arabian kings and the governors of the territories.
16 King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; six hundred shekels[f] of gold went into each shield. 17 He also made three hundred small shields of hammered gold, with three minas[g] of gold in each shield. The king put them in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon.
18 Then the king made a great throne covered with ivory and overlaid with fine gold. 19 The throne had six steps, and its back had a rounded top. On both sides of the seat were armrests, with a lion standing beside each of them. 20 Twelve lions stood on the six steps, one at either end of each step. Nothing like it had ever been made for any other kingdom. 21 All King Solomon’s goblets were gold, and all the household articles in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. Nothing was made of silver, because silver was considered of little value in Solomon’s days. 22 The king had a fleet of trading ships[h] at sea along with the ships of Hiram. Once every three years it returned, carrying gold, silver and ivory, and apes and baboons.
23 King Solomon was greater in riches and wisdom than all the other kings of the earth. 24 The whole world sought audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom God had put in his heart. 25 Year after year, everyone who came brought a gift —articles of silver and gold, robes, weapons and spices, and horses and mules.
26 Solomon accumulated chariots and horses; he had fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousand horses,[i] which he kept in the chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem. 27 The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar as plentiful as sycamore-fig trees in the foothills. 28 Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and from Kue[j]—the royal merchants purchased them from Kue at the current price. 29 They imported a chariot from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty.[k] They also exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and of the Arameans.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Galatians 6:6-10
Galatians 6:6-10
New International Reader's Version (NIRV)
6 Those who are taught the word must share all good things with their teacher.
7 Don't be fooled. You can't outsmart God. A man gathers a crop from what he plants. 8 Some people plant to please their sinful nature. From that nature they will harvest death. Others plant to please the Holy Spirit. From the Spirit they will harvest eternal life.
9 Let us not become tired of doing good. At the right time we will gather a crop if we don't give up. 10 So when we can do good to everyone, let us do it. Let us make a special point of doing good to those who belong to the family of believers.
The Old Windmill
May 14, 2012 — by David H. Roper
He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. —John 7:38
A man who grew up on a ranch in West Texas tells about a rickety, old windmill that stood alongside his family’s barn and pumped water to their place. It was the only source of water for miles.
In a strong wind the windmill worked well, but in a light breeze it wouldn’t turn. It required manually turning the vane until the fan faced directly into the wind. Only when properly positioned did the windmill supply water to the ranch.
I think of that story when I meet with pastors from small churches in remote areas. Many feel isolated and unsupported—caregivers for whom no one seems to care. As a consequence, they grow weary and struggle to bring life-giving water to their flock. I like to tell them about the old windmill and our need to daily reposition ourselves—to intentionally turn toward the Lord and His Word and to drink deeply from Him who is the source of living water.
What’s true for pastors is true for all. Service for God flows from within, outward. Jesus said, “He who believes in Me, . . . out of his heart will flow rivers of living water” (John 7:38). It’s when God speaks to our depths that we are able to touch the lives of others. To refresh others, let’s return to the Source of life regularly.
When our hearts grow weary,
When our spirits dim,
He will go before us,
Leave it all to Him. —Anon.
When you’re weary in life’s struggles, find strength in the Lord.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
May 14, 2012
The Habit of Enjoying Adversity
. . . that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body —2 Corinthians 4:10
We have to develop godly habits to express what God’s grace has done in us. It is not just a question of being saved from hell, but of being saved so that “the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.” And it is adversity that makes us exhibit His life in our mortal flesh. Is my life exhibiting the essence of the sweetness of the Son of God, or just the basic irritation of “myself” that I would have apart from Him? The only thing that will enable me to enjoy adversity is the acute sense of eagerness of allowing the life of the Son of God to evidence itself in me. No matter how difficult something may be, I must say, “Lord, I am delighted to obey You in this.” Instantly, the Son of God will move to the forefront of my life, and will manifest in my body that which glorifies Him.
You must not debate. The moment you obey the light of God, His Son shines through you in that very adversity; but if you debate with God, you grieve His Spirit (see Ephesians 4:30). You must keep yourself in the proper condition to allow the life of the Son of God to be manifested in you, and you cannot keep yourself fit if you give way to self-pity. Our circumstances are the means God uses to exhibit just how wonderfully perfect and extraordinarily pure His Son is. Discovering a new way of manifesting the Son of God should make our heart beat with renewed excitement. It is one thing to choose adversity, and quite another to enter into adversity through the orchestrating of our circumstances by God’s sovereignty. And if God puts you into adversity, He is adequately sufficient to “supply all your need” (Philippians 4:19).
Keep your soul properly conditioned to manifest the life of the Son of God. Never live on your memories of past experiences, but let the Word of God always be living and active in you.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Spectacle in the Sky - #6611
Monday, May 14, 2012
Not long ago there were pictures all over the news of these spectacular colors painting a breathtaking scene in the night sky. It was the "northern lights," also known to scientists as the aurora borealis. Now, I'll tell you what! It's worth checking out that view or those pictures. I guess the approach of solar flares from the sun's turbulents sometimes just adds a whole new richness to these lights. Of course, they have amazed people for centuries.
Those pictures actually triggered my brain and brought back a special family memory. Actually, well, it seemed anything but special at the time. See, my wife and three children accompanied me on a ministry trip to Alaska, and I was excited when they first invited me to come to Alaska to speak. I pictured those scenic summer cruises, you know, they do up there. Then I found out they were asking me for February. Yeah. Oh, well.
Well, we had a fantastic time up there even in February. So I was a little bummed when my wife and kids had to go back for school while I stayed a few more days to speak. There was a seasoned missionary pilot who was going to fly them out, and that gave me confidence.
My first "uh-oh" was when he asked me to help him push his airplane out of the hangar (I never did that before!) and then onto this ice-rutted runway. Okay, I'd never pushed a plane before. Second "uh-oh" - that my loved ones would be on a plane on a solid sheet of ice.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Spectacle in the Sky."
After radioing that he had "five souls on board," the pilot started down the runway, playing one engine against the other to navigate the ice underneath. Now, all the while they're feeling every bump and worse yet they're closing in on this large stand of Alaska-size trees at the end of the runway. To say the least, it was like, well, totally nerve-wracking.
And what seemed to be this last possible moment, the pilot lifted off, barely cleared the trees. And then came the rodeo in the clouds, as their plane was shaken by air currents and merciless winds. In the back seat you could see these three speechless children, six saucer-sized eyes. And then it happened. They cleared the clouds and they gasped at what they saw. There was the unforgettable sight of the northern lights, almost where you could reach out and touch them. It was a moment of indelible beauty that few ever get to see. And suddenly, the bumps were forgotten; the beauty on the other side was just overwhelming.
We've had a lot of flights like that in our life; a rugged journey that led to a beautiful destination. The financial struggles that brought us closer to God and closer to each other and showed us how creatively and faithfully He can provide. The ministry battles that set the stage for us to see a God of miracles. The medical crisis that caused us to re-treasure the person that we almost lost and to reset life's priorities.
In the inscrutable ways of a loving God, it is the bumpy road that often leads to the most beautiful views. He takes you on a scary flight so ultimately you can see His glory in ways that many never get to see. Yes, "In all things God works for the good of those who love Him," Romans 8:28. The much-hammered Apostle Paul put the troubles and the payoff on the scale and he weighed it this way: "Our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed..." (Romans 8:18). I guess we should learn something from the way we all come into the world. Labor - baby. Painful process - beautiful result.
Now, our word today from the Word of God tells us in John 16:21, "A woman giving birth to a child has pain...but when the baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy." Well, I've never been in labor and I never will be. My wife and daughter will testify to the fact that the pain lasts a short time, but the beauty lasts a lifetime.
So today it's the rough ride; tomorrow - the lights.