Max Lucado Daily: A Place at God’s Table
God gives hope! So what if someone was born thinner or stronger? Why count diplomas or compare resumes? What does it matter if they have a place at the head table? You have a place at God’s table—and He’s filling your cup to overflowing!
The overflowing cup was a powerful symbol in the days of David. As long as the host kept the cup full, the guest knew he was welcome. When the cup sat empty, the host was hinting that the hour was late. On those occasions when the host really enjoyed the company of the person, he filled the cup to overflowing; he kept pouring until the liquid ran over the edge of the cup and down on the table.
Have you noticed how wet your table is? God wants you to stay. Your cup overflows with joy. Overflows with grace. Shouldn’t your heart overflow with gratitude?
from Traveling Light
Jeremiah 14
New International Version (NIV)
Drought, Famine, Sword
14 This is the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah concerning the drought:
2 “Judah mourns,
her cities languish;
they wail for the land,
and a cry goes up from Jerusalem.
3 The nobles send their servants for water;
they go to the cisterns
but find no water.
They return with their jars unfilled;
dismayed and despairing,
they cover their heads.
4 The ground is cracked
because there is no rain in the land;
the farmers are dismayed
and cover their heads.
5 Even the doe in the field
deserts her newborn fawn
because there is no grass.
6 Wild donkeys stand on the barren heights
and pant like jackals;
their eyes fail
for lack of food.”
7 Although our sins testify against us,
do something, Lord, for the sake of your name.
For we have often rebelled;
we have sinned against you.
8 You who are the hope of Israel,
its Savior in times of distress,
why are you like a stranger in the land,
like a traveler who stays only a night?
9 Why are you like a man taken by surprise,
like a warrior powerless to save?
You are among us, Lord,
and we bear your name;
do not forsake us!
10 This is what the Lord says about this people:
“They greatly love to wander;
they do not restrain their feet.
So the Lord does not accept them;
he will now remember their wickedness
and punish them for their sins.”
11 Then the Lord said to me, “Do not pray for the well-being of this people. 12 Although they fast, I will not listen to their cry; though they offer burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Instead, I will destroy them with the sword, famine and plague.”
13 But I said, “Alas, Sovereign Lord! The prophets keep telling them, ‘You will not see the sword or suffer famine. Indeed, I will give you lasting peace in this place.’”
14 Then the Lord said to me, “The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I have not sent them or appointed them or spoken to them. They are prophesying to you false visions, divinations, idolatries[a] and the delusions of their own minds. 15 Therefore this is what the Lord says about the prophets who are prophesying in my name: I did not send them, yet they are saying, ‘No sword or famine will touch this land.’ Those same prophets will perish by sword and famine. 16 And the people they are prophesying to will be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and sword. There will be no one to bury them, their wives, their sons and their daughters. I will pour out on them the calamity they deserve.
17 “Speak this word to them:
“‘Let my eyes overflow with tears
night and day without ceasing;
for the Virgin Daughter, my people,
has suffered a grievous wound,
a crushing blow.
18 If I go into the country,
I see those slain by the sword;
if I go into the city,
I see the ravages of famine.
Both prophet and priest
have gone to a land they know not.’”
19 Have you rejected Judah completely?
Do you despise Zion?
Why have you afflicted us
so that we cannot be healed?
We hoped for peace
but no good has come,
for a time of healing
but there is only terror.
20 We acknowledge our wickedness, Lord,
and the guilt of our ancestors;
we have indeed sinned against you.
21 For the sake of your name do not despise us;
do not dishonor your glorious throne.
Remember your covenant with us
and do not break it.
22 Do any of the worthless idols of the nations bring rain?
Do the skies themselves send down showers?
No, it is you, Lord our God.
Therefore our hope is in you,
for you are the one who does all this.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Job 38:1-7
Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm. He said:
2 “Who is this that obscures my plans
with words without knowledge?
3 Brace yourself like a man;
I will question you,
and you shall answer me.
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?
Space Music
July 9, 2013 — by Dennis Fisher
Who laid [earth’s] cornerstone, when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy? —Job 38:6-7
One of NASA’s observatories has discovered a giant black hole that hums. Located in the Perseus cluster of galaxies about 250 million light years from Earth, the black hole vibrates at the frequency of a B flat. But it is too low a pitch to be picked up by the human ear. Scientific instruments have placed the note at 57 octaves below middle C on a piano.
The idea of music and heavenly bodies is not new. In fact, when God revealed Himself to Job, He asked: “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? . . . When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?” (Job 38:4,7). We are told that at the creation of our marvelous universe, songs of praise and shouts of joy resounded to God’s glory.
A wonderful hymn by St. Francis of Assisi captures the awe and worship we feel when beholding the radiant sun by day or the star-studded sky at night.
All creatures of our God and King,
Lift up your voice and with us sing Alleluia, Alleluia!
Thou burning sun with golden beam,
Thou silver moon with softer gleam:
O praise Him, O praise Him!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
“The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork” (Ps. 19:1).
Let’s praise the One who made such beauty for us to enjoy!
Hymn by St. Francis of Assisi, translated by William H. Draper. © 1968 Singspiration
The beauty of creation gives us reasons to sing God’s praise.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
July 9, 2013
Will You Examine Yourself?
Joshua said to the people, ’You cannot serve the Lord . . .’ —Joshua 24:19
Do you have even the slightest reliance on anything or anyone other than God? Is there a remnant of reliance left on any natural quality within you, or on any particular set of circumstances? Are you relying on yourself in any manner whatsoever regarding this new proposal or plan which God has placed before you? Will you examine yourself by asking these probing questions? It really is true to say, “I cannot live a holy life,” but you can decide to let Jesus Christ make you holy. “You cannot serve the Lord . . .”— but you can place yourself in the proper position where God’s almighty power will flow through you. Is your relationship with God sufficient for you to expect Him to exhibit His wonderful life in you?
“The people said to Joshua, ’No, but we will serve the Lord!” (Joshua 24:21). This is not an impulsive action, but a deliberate commitment. We tend to say, “But God could never have called me to this. I’m too unworthy. It can’t mean me.” It does mean you, and the more weak and feeble you are, the better. The person who is still relying and trusting in anything within himself is the last person to even come close to saying, “I will serve the Lord.”
We say, “Oh, if only I really could believe!” The question is, “Will I believe?” No wonder Jesus Christ placed such emphasis on the sin of unbelief. “He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief” (Matthew 13:58). If we really believed that God meant what He said, just imagine what we would be like! Do I really dare to let God be to me all that He says He will be?
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
The Storm Can't Stop the Deliveries - #6911
Monday, July 8, 2013
I've watched mail service change a lot during my lifetime. For example, the cost of sending a letter has gone up, and up, and up. I think it's probably quadrupled or quintupled or even more in my lifetime. And in case my kids are listening, I do not mean beginning with the Pony Express. There are new services that are added, like overnight delivery that they didn't used to have. One thing has not changed while everything has. Those mail carriers still do their best to keep their commitment not to be stopped by sleet, or snow, or dark of night. That's the old saying, "Nothing keeps us from our appointed rounds". And that's been true. I can't remember a day other than holidays that the mail didn't make it, no matter what the conditions were. I'm impressed with that kind of commitment.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Storm Can't Stop the Deliveries."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from 2 Timothy 4:1. Here's what it says, "In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of His appearing and His kingdom, I give you this charge." Okay, you can tell Paul's pretty serious here. I mean, he's bringing all this heavy weight stuff to bear on what he's going to say. This is in front of God. This is in front of Christ. This is in view of the fact He's coming back. This is about His whole kingdom. Whatever he's going to say, it's going to be important huh?
We go to verse 2, "Preach the Word. Be prepared in season and out of season." Paul musters all of this sobering, heavy artillery to drive home this message, "Keep presenting God's Word no matter what kind of season it is." Another translation puts it this way, "Be diligent when it is convenient and when it is inconvenient."
Here's the principle: Your ministry is too important to be at the mercy of your moods. You have a forever mission of representing Jesus Christ; serving Him in whatever setting He has assigned you. In fact, you can assume that your situation wherever you are is your assignment. So, be consistent. Always deliver like the mailman does. The storm doesn't stop the carrier of the United States mail. He doesn't look out the window and say, "Oh, looks bad today. Pretty rough weather. I think I'll deliver some other day."
No, he comes through. Too many Christians base their work, base their witness on how their emotional weather is today. But the Bible says we've got to consistently represent Christ in season, out of season, in convenience, and out of convenience.
I shouldn't deny my feelings, but I shouldn't base my spiritual consistency, my spiritual performance on what kind of mood I'm in right now. Honestly pour out your deepest feelings, your darkest feelings to a Christ who won't be surprised by them, but who can really minister to them. Then go after that day as your assignment from God, and go after it with all your heart. Show the difference that Christ makes when life turns dark.
See, it really doesn't matter what you believe; kind of everything works when your life if going well. The test of any belief is going to be what happens when things are really going down hill; what happens on the dark days. You need in your darkest of days; that's when you have the best opportunity to show the light of Christ and the difference He makes in those kind of days. You can't go off duty then. You've got to demonstrate consistency when the moods are down and when the darkness is there.
Every day, by my words, by my life, by my attitude I am delivering the message of Christ. I cannot let the darkness stop me. Ministry can't be at the mercy of my moods, and the storm must not stop the deliveries.