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Max Lucado Daily: Not Guilty
Sometimes shame is private. Pushed over the edge by an abusive spouse. Molested by a perverted parent. Seduced by a compromising superior. No one else knows. But you know. And that’s enough. Sometimes shame is public. Branded by a divorce you didn’t want. Contaminated by a disease you never expected. Whether private or public, shame is always painful. And unless you deal with it, it’s permanent.
In John 8:11 Jesus confronts the woman who’d formerly been caught in the act of adultery. When the crowd would have stoned her, Jesus speaks: “Anyone here who has never sinned can throw the first stone at her.” As all turned to leave, Jesus said, “I also don’t judge you guilty. You may go now, but don’t sin anymore.”
Jesus’ message is written not with His hand, but with His blood. On a cross. Let Him stand beside you. Listen carefully. He’s speaking. “Not guilty!”
from He Still Moves Stones
Jeremiah 15
Then the Lord said to me: “Even if Moses and Samuel were to stand before me, my heart would not go out to this people. Send them away from my presence! Let them go! 2 And if they ask you, ‘Where shall we go?’ tell them, ‘This is what the Lord says:
“‘Those destined for death, to death;
those for the sword, to the sword;
those for starvation, to starvation;
those for captivity, to captivity.’
3 “I will send four kinds of destroyers against them,” declares the Lord, “the sword to kill and the dogs to drag away and the birds and the wild animals to devour and destroy. 4 I will make them abhorrent to all the kingdoms of the earth because of what Manasseh son of Hezekiah king of Judah did in Jerusalem.
5 “Who will have pity on you, Jerusalem?
Who will mourn for you?
Who will stop to ask how you are?
6 You have rejected me,” declares the Lord.
“You keep on backsliding.
So I will reach out and destroy you;
I am tired of holding back.
7 I will winnow them with a winnowing fork
at the city gates of the land.
I will bring bereavement and destruction on my people,
for they have not changed their ways.
8 I will make their widows more numerous
than the sand of the sea.
At midday I will bring a destroyer
against the mothers of their young men;
suddenly I will bring down on them
anguish and terror.
9 The mother of seven will grow faint
and breathe her last.
Her sun will set while it is still day;
she will be disgraced and humiliated.
I will put the survivors to the sword
before their enemies,”
declares the Lord.
10 Alas, my mother, that you gave me birth,
a man with whom the whole land strives and contends!
I have neither lent nor borrowed,
yet everyone curses me.
11 The Lord said,
“Surely I will deliver you for a good purpose;
surely I will make your enemies plead with you
in times of disaster and times of distress.
12 “Can a man break iron—
iron from the north—or bronze?
13 “Your wealth and your treasures
I will give as plunder, without charge,
because of all your sins
throughout your country.
14 I will enslave you to your enemies
in[a] a land you do not know,
for my anger will kindle a fire
that will burn against you.”
15 Lord, you understand;
remember me and care for me.
Avenge me on my persecutors.
You are long-suffering—do not take me away;
think of how I suffer reproach for your sake.
16 When your words came, I ate them;
they were my joy and my heart’s delight,
for I bear your name,
Lord God Almighty.
17 I never sat in the company of revelers,
never made merry with them;
I sat alone because your hand was on me
and you had filled me with indignation.
18 Why is my pain unending
and my wound grievous and incurable?
You are to me like a deceptive brook,
like a spring that fails.
19 Therefore this is what the Lord says:
“If you repent, I will restore you
that you may serve me;
if you utter worthy, not worthless, words,
you will be my spokesman.
Let this people turn to you,
but you must not turn to them.
20 I will make you a wall to this people,
a fortified wall of bronze;
they will fight against you
but will not overcome you,
for I am with you
to rescue and save you,”
declares the Lord.
21 “I will save you from the hands of the wicked
and deliver you from the grasp of the cruel.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Psalm 121
A song of ascents.
1 I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
3 He will not let your foot slip—
he who watches over you will not slumber;
4 indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The Lord watches over you—
the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
6 the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;
8 the Lord will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.
The Winding Road
July 11, 2013 — by Marvin Williams
He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber. —Psalm 121:3
In his book A Sweet and Bitter Providence, John Piper offers these thoughts about God’s providence and guidance: “Life is not a straight line leading from one blessing to the next and then finally to heaven. Life is a winding and troubled road. . . . God is not just showing up after the trouble and cleaning it up. He is plotting the course and managing the troubles with far-reaching purposes for our good and for the glory of Jesus Christ.”
The Jews journeying to Jerusalem for the annual feasts (Deut. 16:16) had the assurance of knowing that the Lord was plotting their course and managing the winding and troubled roads for them. They expressed this assurance in Psalm 121, a pilgrim song. The question, “From whence comes my help?” did not express doubt but affirmation in the Lord who rules supreme (vv.1-2). Unlike a guard who sometimes slumbered, or the god Baal who needed to be rustled out of his stupor (1 Kings 18:27), the Lord was fully alert and secured the journey of His people with providential care (vv.3-4). The Lord, who rescued Israel, would continue to help, preserve, and walk with His people.
Life is a winding road with unknown perils and troubles, but we can be certain of God’s providence, security, and care.
Dear Lord, sometimes life seems to be full of
perilous and winding roads. Thank You for giving
us the assurance that You have our course plotted
and are watching over our every step.
Troubles are unknown; God’s providence is certain.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
July 11, 2013
. . . that I may know Him . . . —Philippians 3:10
A saint is not to take the initiative toward self-realization, but toward knowing Jesus Christ. A spiritually vigorous saint never believes that his circumstances simply happen at random, nor does he ever think of his life as being divided into the secular and the sacred. He sees every situation in which he finds himself as the means of obtaining a greater knowledge of Jesus Christ, and he has an attitude of unrestrained abandon and total surrender about him. The Holy Spirit is determined that we will have the realization of Jesus Christ in every area of our lives, and He will bring us back to the same point over and over again until we do. Self-realization only leads to the glorification of good works, whereas a saint of God glorifies Jesus Christ through his good works. Whatever we may be doing— even eating, drinking, or washing disciples’ feet— we have to take the initiative of realizing and recognizing Jesus Christ in it. Every phase of our life has its counterpart in the life of Jesus. Our Lord realized His relationship to the Father even in the most menial task. “Jesus, knowing . . . that He had come from God and was going to God, . . . took a towel . . . and began to wash the disciples’ feet . . .” (John 13:3-5).
The aim of a spiritually vigorous saint is “that I may know Him . . .” Do I know Him where I am today? If not, I am failing Him. I am not here for self-realization, but to know Jesus Christ. In Christian work our initiative and motivation are too often simply the result of realizing that there is work to be done and that we must do it. Yet that is never the attitude of a spiritually vigorous saint. His aim is to achieve the realization of Jesus Christ in every set of circumstances.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Are you staggering under the load?
Bite-Size Chunks - #6914
I picked up a habit while going out to eat with my young children years ago. It's a habit I really don't need to do any more, but I got in the habit of cutting their meat for them. Now, if you're a parent, you know that you get that old knife out before you start on your own dinner and you cut theirs into bite-size chunks. The problem is that I go out to lunch with a lot of businessmen, too, and I kind of have this reflex to cut their meat. But I've never found they really appreciated that. And, you know, the principle of bite-size chunks...well, that's not a bad one. I mean, the best way to tackle a big piece is in little chunks that you can handle.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Bite-Size Chunks."
A number of years ago, my wife was diagnosed as having hepatitis. At the time we thought, "Well, how long is she going to be in bed?" We knew that it might be for six weeks, the doctor said. It turned out to be nine months of Mom being out of commission; almost totally leveled.
Well, as today, I had a pretty crazy, busy lifestyle and our kids had very hectic lifestyles and we're used to a very strong and competent mother holding it all together. I thought, "How in the world are we going to ever do six weeks?" Good thing I didn't know then it was going to be nine months. I told my wife she was violating the 11th commandment. You know what that is: Mother's, thou shall not get sick. But I'll tell you how we made it? By bite-size chunks.
Deuteronomy 33:25; it's our word for today from the Word of God, and maybe one you need right now. It became my life preserver. It says this: "Your strength will equal your days." You could remember that one you couldn't you? "Your strength will equal your days." Notice it doesn't say, "Your strength will equal your years, or your months, or your weeks"-days.
A good friend of ours came up to me after my wife had been down for six weeks. And knowing how interdependent we are, she said, "Ron, how in the world have you handled six weeks with your wife sick?" I said, "Joanne, we haven't. We haven't handled six weeks. We've handled 42 days." And that was the story.
Well, right now, God may have put in front of you a big assignment; an overwhelming assignment. A long haul is ahead of you. It could be a health problem, maybe a financial shortfall, maybe it's work that needs to be done in your family. Or you could be in an extended time of pressure and stress right now. Maybe you've even lost someone very close to you, and you're looking and saying, "How am I ever going to get through this? It's just...it's so huge!"
I'll tell you, if you try to handle all that might happen or could happen, or even will happen, you're going to stagger under the load. But if you wake up each morning and say, "This is the day the Lord has made; not the day the sickness has made, or the boss has made, or the financial problems have made, or the weather has made, or the bank has made. "This is the day the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it." And take it as a 24-hour bite-size chunk and you're going to be able to handle it.
Don't try to take on the load of weeks, and months, and days. God promises that you'll have what you need for this 24-hour piece of your life. So, He'll give you what you need to handle it today. If you're running ahead and worrying about the next day, and the next week, and the next month, or the next year, you're running ahead of your supply lines. But you'll have what you need today.
Would you relax! You're all stressed out because you're trying to eat the whole meal all at once. Why don't you take it in bite-size pieces?
