1 Chronicles 29 bible reading and daily devotionals.

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Max Lucado Daily: God’s Offer to be Adopted

When the doctor handed Max Lucado to Jack Lucado, my dad had no exit option. He couldn’t give me back to the doctor and ask for a better looking or smarter son. The hospital made him take me home!

If you were adopted, however, your parents chose you.  Surprise pregnancies happen.  But surprise adoptions?  I’ve never heard of one.  Your parents wanted you in their family. You object.  “Oh, but if they could have seen the rest of my life, they might have changed their minds.” My point exactly!

God saw our entire lives from beginning to end, birth to hearse, and in spite of what he saw, he was still convinced to adopt us into his own family, bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. And this gave him great pleasure. To accept God’s grace is to accept God’s offer to be adopted into his family. It really is this simple!

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own, so that you may proclaim the virtues of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.   I Peter 2:9?

From GRACE

1 Chronicles

Gifts for Building the Temple

29 Then King David said to the whole assembly: “My son Solomon, the one whom God has chosen, is young and inexperienced. The task is great, because this palatial structure is not for man but for the Lord God. 2 With all my resources I have provided for the temple of my God—gold for the gold work, silver for the silver, bronze for the bronze, iron for the iron and wood for the wood, as well as onyx for the settings, turquoise,[a] stones of various colors, and all kinds of fine stone and marble—all of these in large quantities. 3 Besides, in my devotion to the temple of my God I now give my personal treasures of gold and silver for the temple of my God, over and above everything I have provided for this holy temple: 4 three thousand talents[b] of gold (gold of Ophir) and seven thousand talents[c] of refined silver, for the overlaying of the walls of the buildings, 5 for the gold work and the silver work, and for all the work to be done by the craftsmen. Now, who is willing to consecrate themselves to the Lord today?”

6 Then the leaders of families, the officers of the tribes of Israel, the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, and the officials in charge of the king’s work gave willingly. 7 They gave toward the work on the temple of God five thousand talents[d] and ten thousand darics[e] of gold, ten thousand talents[f] of silver, eighteen thousand talents[g] of bronze and a hundred thousand talents[h] of iron. 8 Anyone who had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the temple of the Lord in the custody of Jehiel the Gershonite. 9 The people rejoiced at the willing response of their leaders, for they had given freely and wholeheartedly to the Lord. David the king also rejoiced greatly.

David’s Prayer

10 David praised the Lord in the presence of the whole assembly, saying,

“Praise be to you, Lord,
    the God of our father Israel,
    from everlasting to everlasting.
11 Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power
    and the glory and the majesty and the splendor,
    for everything in heaven and earth is yours.
Yours, Lord, is the kingdom;
    you are exalted as head over all.
12 Wealth and honor come from you;
    you are the ruler of all things.
In your hands are strength and power
    to exalt and give strength to all.
13 Now, our God, we give you thanks,
    and praise your glorious name.
14 “But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand. 15 We are foreigners and strangers in your sight, as were all our ancestors. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope. 16 Lord our God, all this abundance that we have provided for building you a temple for your Holy Name comes from your hand, and all of it belongs to you. 17 I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity. All these things I have given willingly and with honest intent. And now I have seen with joy how willingly your people who are here have given to you. 18 Lord, the God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac and Israel, keep these desires and thoughts in the hearts of your people forever, and keep their hearts loyal to you. 19 And give my son Solomon the wholehearted devotion to keep your commands, statutes and decrees and to do everything to build the palatial structure for which I have provided.”

20 Then David said to the whole assembly, “Praise the Lord your God.” So they all praised the Lord, the God of their fathers; they bowed down, prostrating themselves before the Lord and the king.

Solomon Acknowledged as King

21 The next day they made sacrifices to the Lord and presented burnt offerings to him: a thousand bulls, a thousand rams and a thousand male lambs, together with their drink offerings, and other sacrifices in abundance for all Israel. 22 They ate and drank with great joy in the presence of the Lord that day.

Then they acknowledged Solomon son of David as king a second time, anointing him before the Lord to be ruler and Zadok to be priest. 23 So Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord as king in place of his father David. He prospered and all Israel obeyed him. 24 All the officers and warriors, as well as all of King David’s sons, pledged their submission to King Solomon.

25 The Lord highly exalted Solomon in the sight of all Israel and bestowed on him royal splendor such as no king over Israel ever had before.

The Death of David

26 David son of Jesse was king over all Israel. 27 He ruled over Israel forty years—seven in Hebron and thirty-three in Jerusalem. 28 He died at a good old age, having enjoyed long life, wealth and honor. His son Solomon succeeded him as king.

29 As for the events of King David’s reign, from beginning to end, they are written in the records of Samuel the seer, the records of Nathan the prophet and the records of Gad the seer, 30 together with the details of his reign and power, and the circumstances that surrounded him and Israel and the kingdoms of all the other lands.


Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Read: Job 38:4-18

New International Version (NIV)
4 “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?
    Tell me, if you understand.
5 Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!
    Who stretched a measuring line across it?
6 On what were its footings set,
    or who laid its cornerstone—
7 while the morning stars sang together
    and all the angels[a] shouted for joy?
8 “Who shut up the sea behind doors
    when it burst forth from the womb,
9 when I made the clouds its garment
    and wrapped it in thick darkness,
10 when I fixed limits for it
    and set its doors and bars in place,
11 when I said, ‘This far you may come and no farther;
    here is where your proud waves halt’?
12 “Have you ever given orders to the morning,
    or shown the dawn its place,
13 that it might take the earth by the edges
    and shake the wicked out of it?
14 The earth takes shape like clay under a seal;
    its features stand out like those of a garment.
15 The wicked are denied their light,
    and their upraised arm is broken.
16 “Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea
    or walked in the recesses of the deep?
17 Have the gates of death been shown to you?
    Have you seen the gates of the deepest darkness?
18 Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth?
    Tell me, if you know all this.

I Invented It

December 14, 2012 — by Marvin Williams

Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding. —Job 38:4

Willard S. Boyle, Nobel Prize winner in physics, was the co-inventor of the “electronic eye” behind the digital camera and the Hubble telescope. He was in the market for a new digital camera and visited a store in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The salesman tried to explain the complexity of the camera to Boyle, but stopped because he felt it was too complicated for him to understand. Boyle then bluntly said to the salesman: “No need to explain. I invented it.”

After God allowed Satan to test Job by taking away his family, his health, and his possessions (Job 1–2), Job lamented the day of his birth (ch. 3). In the following chapters, Job questioned why God would allow him to endure so much suffering. Then with divine bluntness, God reminded Job that He “invented” life and created the world (chs. 38–41). God invited him to rethink what he had said. In drawing attention to His sovereign power and the depth of His wisdom displayed everywhere on earth (38:4-41), God exposed the immensity of Job’s ignorance.

If we’re tempted to tell God how life should work, let’s remember He invented it! May He help us to humbly acknowledge our ignorance and to rely on Him—the Creator of the universe.

Lord, You are so awesome and great. But sometimes in
ignorance and arrogance I attempt to take Your place.
I humbly submit my life to You anew and acknowledge
that all glory and praise belongs to You. Amen.
To understand God is impossible,
but to worship Him is imperative.


My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
December 14, 2012

The Great Life

Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled . . . —John 14:27

Whenever we experience something difficult in our personal life, we are tempted to blame God. But we are the ones in the wrong, not God. Blaming God is evidence that we are refusing to let go of some disobedience somewhere in our lives. But as soon as we let go, everything becomes as clear as daylight to us. As long as we try to serve two masters, ourselves and God, there will be difficulties combined with doubt and confusion. Our attitude must be one of complete reliance on God. Once we get to that point, there is nothing easier than living the life of a saint. We encounter difficulties when we try to usurp the authority of the Holy Spirit for our own purposes.

God’s mark of approval, whenever you obey Him, is peace. He sends an immeasurable, deep peace; not a natural peace, “as the world gives,” but the peace of Jesus. Whenever peace does not come, wait until it does, or seek to find out why it is not coming. If you are acting on your own impulse, or out of a sense of the heroic, to be seen by others, the peace of Jesus will not exhibit itself. This shows no unity with God or confidence in Him. The spirit of simplicity, clarity, and unity is born through the Holy Spirit, not through your decisions. God counters our self-willed decisions with an appeal for simplicity and unity.

My questions arise whenever I cease to obey. When I do obey God, problems come, not between me and God, but as a means to keep my mind examining with amazement the revealed truth of God. But any problem that comes between God and myself is the result of disobedience. Any problem that comes while I obey God (and there will be many), increases my overjoyed delight, because I know that my Father knows and cares, and I can watch and anticipate how He will unravel my problems.


A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Delivering Someone Else's Packages - #6765

Friday, December 14, 2012

Well, it's got to be the Christmas season! I keep seeing the UPS trucks going up and down our street like a fleet, and those drivers are busy! They must collapse into bed at night after those long, long hours they work. But their job could be worse. What if they had to shop for all those packages, and buy them, and package them and deliver them? Well, fortunately it's not up to the UPS man to create the package; he's just got to deliver it. It's kind of like you and me.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Delivering Someone Else's Packages."

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Luke 1. I'm going to begin reading at verse 31, where Mary is being given Mission Impossible. Oh, it's long before the TV program or the movies ever came along, but she's got mission impossible. Listen to this as the angel comes to her, "You will be with child and give birth to a son. You are to give Him the name Jesus."

This is the virgin named Mary. "You will give birth to a son. You will be with child." Well, her question is reasonable. "'How will this be,' Mary asked the angel, 'since I am a virgin?' The angel answered, 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.'" Mary looks around and what God is asking her to do, it just can't happen based on any human ability or anything human experience would support.

Is there something big in your life like that right now? You say, "Man, this one is so tough, so big, so beyond me, I just honestly can't see any way by any human plan or any human ability that this could ever happen. This mountain cannot move." Well, Mary was there. If you're there, stay tuned.

God's answer to impossible situations is the same 2,000 years later. Mary's question may be your question, "How will..." God's answer, "He will." "How will it be?" "The Holy Spirit will" is His answer. You don't have to be the answer. You don't have to create the answer. You don't have to think up the answer. You're the UPS man; you just deliver the answer. You just deliver the package. You and I are his instruments. The instrument doesn't play its own music; someone plays through the instrument. The answer doesn't come from you any more than the packages come from the UPS man. They come through you.

The solution is God's intervention, not man's invention. As long as you try to face this challenge with human calculation you're going to be overwhelmed. But Mary found something better than being overwhelmed; it's overshadowed. The passage says, "You'll be overshadowed by the power of the Holy Spirit." You want to be overwhelmed? Well, you will be if you focus on your ability. Or you can be overshadowed by God's power.

When you realize that you only deliver God's packages, you develop two vital mindsets. First, you develop humility; you know that all the credit goes to the giver, not to the deliverer. We don't hug and kiss the UPS man when he comes and say, "Oh, thank you for this wonderful gift!" He didn't give it, he just delivered it. So you know that you have every reason for humility.

Secondly, it gives you confidence. I can row into this storm right now because God's power will be the difference, not mine. So, relax. Even if you're in the middle of mission impossible right now, God is getting the solution ready. All you have to do is be available to deliver someone else's package.