(Talk with God lately if not click to listen to God’s teaching)
MaxLucado.com: Important But Not Essential
Do you want to snatch a day from the grip of boredom? Do overly generous deeds, acts beyond reimbursement. Kindness without compensation. Here’s another idea…Get over yourself!
Sound too harsh?
Well, Moses did. Numbers 12:3 says, he was a “very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.”
Mary did. When Jesus called her womb His home, she did not boast; she simple confessed: “I am the Lord’s maid, ready to serve.”
Most of all–Jesus did. Jesus chose the servants’ quarters. Can’t we?
We’re important but not essential, valuable but not indispensable. We have a song to sing, but we’re not the featured act. God is!
He did well before our births; he’ll do fine after our deaths. He started it all, sustains it all, and will bring it all to a glorious climax!
From Great Day Every Day
Amos 2 This is what the Lord says:
“For three sins of Moab,
even for four, I will not relent.
Because he burned to ashes
the bones of Edom’s king,
2 I will send fire on Moab
that will consume the fortresses of Kerioth.[f]
Moab will go down in great tumult
amid war cries and the blast of the trumpet.
3 I will destroy her ruler
and kill all her officials with him,”
says the Lord.
4 This is what the Lord says:
“For three sins of Judah,
even for four, I will not relent.
Because they have rejected the law of the Lord
and have not kept his decrees,
because they have been led astray by false gods,[g]
the gods[h] their ancestors followed,
5 I will send fire on Judah
that will consume the fortresses of Jerusalem. ”
Judgment on Israel
6 This is what the Lord says:
“For three sins of Israel,
even for four, I will not relent.
They sell the innocent for silver,
and the needy for a pair of sandals.
7 They trample on the heads of the poor
as on the dust of the ground
and deny justice to the oppressed.
Father and son use the same girl
and so profane my holy name.
8 They lie down beside every altar
on garments taken in pledge.
In the house of their god
they drink wine taken as fines.
9 “Yet I destroyed the Amorites before them,
though they were tall as the cedars
and strong as the oaks.
I destroyed their fruit above
and their roots below.
10 I brought you up out of Egypt
and led you forty years in the wilderness
to give you the land of the Amorites.
11 “I also raised up prophets from among your children
and Nazirites from among your youths.
Is this not true, people of Israel?”
declares the Lord.
12 “But you made the Nazirites drink wine
and commanded the prophets not to prophesy.
13 “Now then, I will crush you
as a cart crushes when loaded with grain.
14 The swift will not escape,
the strong will not muster their strength,
and the warrior will not save his life.
15 The archer will not stand his ground,
the fleet-footed soldier will not get away,
and the horseman will not save his life.
16 Even the bravest warriors
will flee naked on that day,”
declares the Lord.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Proverbs 6:6-11
6 You people who don't want to work, think about the ant!
Consider its ways and be wise!
7 It has no commander.
It has no leader or ruler.
8 But it stores up its food in summer.
It gathers its food at harvest time.
9 You lazy people, how long will you lie there?
When will you get up from your sleep?
10 You might sleep a little or take a little nap.
You might even fold your hands and rest.
11 Then you would be poor, as if someone had robbed you.
You would have little, as if someone had stolen from you.
Ant Safari
July 13, 2012 — by Dennis Fisher
Go to the ant . . . . Consider her ways and be wise. —Proverbs 6:6
In his book Adventures Among Ants: A Global Safari with a Cast of Trillions, Mark Moffett reflects on his early childhood fascination with ants—an interest that didn’t die as he grew older. Moffett’s preoccupation led to his earning a doctorate at Harvard and then embarking on worldwide travel as an expert on the subject. His study has given him marvelous insights about these industrious creatures.
Long before Moffett discovered some of the wonders of the ant world, the Scriptures remarked on the ingenuity and work ethic of these tiny insects. Ants are held up by wise King Solomon as an example of industry for those who tend to be lazy: “Go to the ant, you sluggard! Consider her ways and be wise, which, having no captain . . . provides her supplies in the summer, and gathers her food in the harvest” (Prov. 6:6-8).
The marvels of God’s creation are beautifully illustrated as God uses His creatures to instruct us. For instance, from the ant we can see the importance of planning ahead and laying away provisions for the future (30:25). God built spiritual lessons into nature itself, and we can learn from creatures even as tiny as an ant.
In the open book of nature faith remains unmoved—
Patterns of the Master-Builder by each fact are proved;
So with reverent hearts we ponder all the grand design
Of the universe around us, wrought by hands divine. —Peterson
In God’s pattern book of nature we can trace many valuable lessons.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
July 13, 2012
The Price of the Vision
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord . . . —Isaiah 6:1
Our soul’s personal history with God is often an account of the death of our heroes. Over and over again God has to remove our friends to put Himself in their place, and that is when we falter, fail, and become discouraged. Let me think about this personally— when the person died who represented for me all that God was, did I give up on everything in life? Did I become ill or disheartened? Or did I do as Isaiah did and see the Lord?
My vision of God is dependent upon the condition of my character. My character determines whether or not truth can even be revealed to me. Before I can say, “I saw the Lord,” there must be something in my character that conforms to the likeness of God. Until I am born again and really begin to see the kingdom of God, I only see from the perspective of my own biases. What I need is God’s surgical procedure— His use of external circumstances to bring about internal purification.
Your priorities must be God first, God second, and God third, until your life is continually face to face with God and no one else is taken into account whatsoever. Your prayer will then be, “In all the world there is no one but You, dear God; there is no one but You.”
Keep paying the price. Let God see that you are willing to live up to the vision.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Nothing Worse Than a Nag - #6655
Friday, July 13, 2012
All right, crossword puzzle fans, here we go! What is a three letter word for an annoying woman? Wait, wait, wait, wait! Don't put somebody's name in there like Sue. Don't do that. Let's see...the three letter word is uh...nag, right? N-A-G. And if you know a nag, you know there can be many cross words that come from her. I can't think of any names less desirable for a woman to be called. Who wants to be a nag? Who wants to be around one? But nags don't just happen. Oh no. They're made, not born.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You about "Nothing Worse Than a Nag."
Now, our word for today from the Word of God is found in Proverbs 21. I'm going to read verse 9, and then I'm going to skim over to verse 19 since it's on the same subject. Here's what it says, "Better to live on a corner of the roof than to share a house with a quarrelsome wife." Who says God doesn't have a sense of humor? Picture the guy up living on the roof. You know, "I'm going on the roof, Honey." Look, you notice this says, "If you are living with a nag, it would be better for you to go up and live there."
But that's not enough. Listen to what Solomon says now in verse 19:, "Better to live in a desert than with a quarrelsome and ill tempered wife." He says the roof isn't good enough; you can still hear her on the roof. I'm going to the desert; at least I can't hear her there. Well, the Bible talks about nags here doesn't it; a quarrelsome, contentious wife? But hang on guys. Oh, no, you're not going to go free on this one totally.
Now, I have a word for today for potential nags, just in case you might turn out to be one some day, and for those who live with a candidate for naghood. Now, if you're tempted to be one, let me remind you of this: When you push on somebody...just do it physically. Put your hand on them and push on them. They're going to go the opposite way. That's a little physical experiment you can try. Now, the more you push, the farther and faster the person's going to go the other way. And the very thing you're trying to make happen you will delay and maybe you'll make it never happen.
I like what Ruth Graham, Billy Graham's wife, said. She said, "It is my job to love Billy. It's God's job to change him." It's wonderful when a woman can provide a climate of safety and security, and confidence and unconditional love in which a man might actually take the risk of changing.
But let's talk about the other side of this coin; the person who lives around the nag. Remember, nags are made, not born. When someone, and especially a woman, from what the Bible says here, feels she isn't being heard by someone she loves, she will talk louder, and longer, and more often to get heard. She's trying to find a way to get into the life of the man who promised his life to her. So, a man says, "Hey, I thought I married a thoroughbred. How'd I get a nag?" Look in the mirror. Look in the mirror. Because if a woman feels unheard by the man who's promised his life to her, she will talk louder and longer and more often.
Maybe you have a wife, a mother, a sister, or a daughter who just keeps pushing. Well, think about your part in helping her become like that. Maybe you've been the nag maker.
See, you can help change her. Start to hear her out; don't make her talk louder and longer. Offer your attention to her. She's been assuming she won't be heard. Why don't you show her that you will hear her out, not just her first sentence, but the whole paragraph? Sometimes she doesn't want you to fix anything; she just wants you to hear her heart. And then, if you're going to talk about solutions, do something about them. And love her enough to let her know that she is heard by you.
You and I and Solomon all agree. In fact, just about everybody agrees. There's nothing worse than a nag. So, let's decide right now not to be a nag. Oh yeah, or to create one.