(Click here to listen to God's love letter to you)
Max Lucado Daily: Children of God
What matters to you—matters to God! You probably think that’s true when it comes to the big stuff; the major-league difficulties like disease, death, sin, and disaster—you know that God cares. But what about the smaller things? What about grouchy bosses or flat tires or lost dogs? What about late flights, toothaches, or a crashed computer? Do those matter to God?
God’s got wars to worry about and famines to fix. Who am I, we say, to tell Him about my troubles? I’m glad you asked. The answer is found in I John 3:1. “The Father has loved us so much that we are called children of God. And we really are His children.” I love that last phrase. “We really are His children.”
John added that phrase for you. We really are His children! If something is important to you, it’s important to God!
from He Still Moves Stone
Jeremiah 49
New International Version (NIV)
A Message About Ammon
49 Concerning the Ammonites:
This is what the Lord says:
“Has Israel no sons?
Has Israel no heir?
Why then has Molek[a] taken possession of Gad?
Why do his people live in its towns?
2 But the days are coming,”
declares the Lord,
“when I will sound the battle cry
against Rabbah of the Ammonites;
it will become a mound of ruins,
and its surrounding villages will be set on fire.
Then Israel will drive out
those who drove her out,”
says the Lord.
3 “Wail, Heshbon, for Ai is destroyed!
Cry out, you inhabitants of Rabbah!
Put on sackcloth and mourn;
rush here and there inside the walls,
for Molek will go into exile,
together with his priests and officials.
4 Why do you boast of your valleys,
boast of your valleys so fruitful?
Unfaithful Daughter Ammon,
you trust in your riches and say,
‘Who will attack me?’
5 I will bring terror on you
from all those around you,”
declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty.
“Every one of you will be driven away,
and no one will gather the fugitives.
6 “Yet afterward, I will restore the fortunes of the Ammonites,”
declares the Lord.
A Message About Edom
7 Concerning Edom:
This is what the Lord Almighty says:
“Is there no longer wisdom in Teman?
Has counsel perished from the prudent?
Has their wisdom decayed?
8 Turn and flee, hide in deep caves,
you who live in Dedan,
for I will bring disaster on Esau
at the time when I punish him.
9 If grape pickers came to you,
would they not leave a few grapes?
If thieves came during the night,
would they not steal only as much as they wanted?
10 But I will strip Esau bare;
I will uncover his hiding places,
so that he cannot conceal himself.
His armed men are destroyed,
also his allies and neighbors,
so there is no one to say,
11 ‘Leave your fatherless children; I will keep them alive.
Your widows too can depend on me.’”
12 This is what the Lord says: “If those who do not deserve to drink the cup must drink it, why should you go unpunished? You will not go unpunished, but must drink it. 13 I swear by myself,” declares the Lord, “that Bozrah will become a ruin and a curse,[b] an object of horror and reproach; and all its towns will be in ruins forever.”
14 I have heard a message from the Lord;
an envoy was sent to the nations to say,
“Assemble yourselves to attack it!
Rise up for battle!”
15 “Now I will make you small among the nations,
despised by mankind.
16 The terror you inspire
and the pride of your heart have deceived you,
you who live in the clefts of the rocks,
who occupy the heights of the hill.
Though you build your nest as high as the eagle’s,
from there I will bring you down,”
declares the Lord.
17 “Edom will become an object of horror;
all who pass by will be appalled and will scoff
because of all its wounds.
18 As Sodom and Gomorrah were overthrown,
along with their neighboring towns,”
says the Lord,
“so no one will live there;
no people will dwell in it.
19 “Like a lion coming up from Jordan’s thickets
to a rich pastureland,
I will chase Edom from its land in an instant.
Who is the chosen one I will appoint for this?
Who is like me and who can challenge me?
And what shepherd can stand against me?”
20 Therefore, hear what the Lord has planned against Edom,
what he has purposed against those who live in Teman:
The young of the flock will be dragged away;
their pasture will be appalled at their fate.
21 At the sound of their fall the earth will tremble;
their cry will resound to the Red Sea.[c]
22 Look! An eagle will soar and swoop down,
spreading its wings over Bozrah.
In that day the hearts of Edom’s warriors
will be like the heart of a woman in labor.
A Message About Damascus
23 Concerning Damascus:
“Hamath and Arpad are dismayed,
for they have heard bad news.
They are disheartened,
troubled like[d] the restless sea.
24 Damascus has become feeble,
she has turned to flee
and panic has gripped her;
anguish and pain have seized her,
pain like that of a woman in labor.
25 Why has the city of renown not been abandoned,
the town in which I delight?
26 Surely, her young men will fall in the streets;
all her soldiers will be silenced in that day,”
declares the Lord Almighty.
27 “I will set fire to the walls of Damascus;
it will consume the fortresses of Ben-Hadad.”
A Message About Kedar and Hazor
28 Concerning Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon attacked:
This is what the Lord says:
“Arise, and attack Kedar
and destroy the people of the East.
29 Their tents and their flocks will be taken;
their shelters will be carried off
with all their goods and camels.
People will shout to them,
‘Terror on every side!’
30 “Flee quickly away!
Stay in deep caves, you who live in Hazor,”
declares the Lord.
“Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has plotted against you;
he has devised a plan against you.
31 “Arise and attack a nation at ease,
which lives in confidence,”
declares the Lord,
“a nation that has neither gates nor bars;
its people live far from danger.
32 Their camels will become plunder,
and their large herds will be spoils of war.
I will scatter to the winds those who are in distant places[e]
and will bring disaster on them from every side,”
declares the Lord.
33 “Hazor will become a haunt of jackals,
a desolate place forever.
No one will live there;
no people will dwell in it.”
A Message About Elam
34 This is the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam, early in the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah:
35 This is what the Lord Almighty says:
“See, I will break the bow of Elam,
the mainstay of their might.
36 I will bring against Elam the four winds
from the four quarters of heaven;
I will scatter them to the four winds,
and there will not be a nation
where Elam’s exiles do not go.
37 I will shatter Elam before their foes,
before those who want to kill them;
I will bring disaster on them,
even my fierce anger,”
declares the Lord.
“I will pursue them with the sword
until I have made an end of them.
38 I will set my throne in Elam
and destroy her king and officials,”
declares the Lord.
39 “Yet I will restore the fortunes of Elam
in days to come,”
declares the Lord.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Psalm 103:1-14
Of David.
1 Praise the Lord, my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
2 Praise the Lord, my soul,
and forget not all his benefits—
3 who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
5 who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
6 The Lord works righteousness
and justice for all the oppressed.
7 He made known his ways to Moses,
his deeds to the people of Israel:
8 The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love.
9 He will not always accuse,
nor will he harbor his anger forever;
10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
13 As a father has compassion on his children,
so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;
14 for he knows how we are formed,
he remembers that we are dust.
What’s Love?
July 29, 2013 — by Anne Cetas
In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son. —1 John 4:10
When asked “What’s love?” children have some great answers. Noelle, age 7, said, “Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it every day.” Rebecca, who is 8, answered, “Since my grandmother got arthritis, she can’t bend over and polish her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even after his hands got arthritis too. That’s love.” Jessica, also 8, concluded, “You really shouldn’t say ‘I love you’ unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget.”
Sometimes we need reminding that God loves us. We focus on the difficulties of life and wonder, Where’s the love? But if we pause and consider all that God has done for us, we remember how much we are loved by God, who is love (1 John 4:8-10).
Psalm 103 lists the “benefits” God showers on us in love: He forgives our sin (v.3), satisfies us with good things (v.5), and executes righteousness and justice (v.6). He is slow to anger and abounds in mercy (v.8). He doesn’t deal with us as our sins deserve (v.10) and has removed our sin as far as the east is from the west (v.12). He has not forgotten us!
What’s love? God is love, and He’s pouring out that love on you and me.
Our God is God—
His truth, His love remains each day the same,
He’s faithful to His matchless name,
For God is God—He does not change. —D. DeHaan
The death of Christ is the measure of God’s love for you.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
July 29, 2013
Do You See Jesus in Your Clouds?
Behold, He is coming with clouds . . . —Revelation 1:7
In the Bible clouds are always associated with God. Clouds are the sorrows, sufferings, or providential circumstances, within or without our personal lives, which actually seem to contradict the sovereignty of God. Yet it is through these very clouds that the Spirit of God is teaching us how to walk by faith. If there were never any clouds in our lives, we would have no faith. “The clouds are the dust of His feet” (Nahum 1:3). They are a sign that God is there. What a revelation it is to know that sorrow, bereavement, and suffering are actually the clouds that come along with God! God cannot come near us without clouds— He does not come in clear-shining brightness.
It is not true to say that God wants to teach us something in our trials. Through every cloud He brings our way, He wants us to unlearn something. His purpose in using the cloud is to simplify our beliefs until our relationship with Him is exactly like that of a child— a relationship simply between God and our own souls, and where other people are but shadows. Until other people become shadows to us, clouds and darkness will be ours every once in a while. Is our relationship with God becoming more simple than it has ever been?
There is a connection between the strange providential circumstances allowed by God and what we know of Him, and we have to learn to interpret the mysteries of life in the light of our knowledge of God. Until we can come face to face with the deepest, darkest fact of life without damaging our view of God’s character, we do not yet know Him.
“. . . they were fearful as they entered the cloud” (Luke 9:34). Is there anyone except Jesus in your cloud? If so, it will only get darker until you get to the place where there is “no one anymore, but only Jesus . . .” (Mark 9:8 ; also see Mark 2-7).
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
More Than an Overnight Bag - #6926
Monday, July 29, 2013
Sometimes speaking outside my home area, I could end up in a different motel each night. And sometimes, my wife went with me and we drove. That was nice. We had to take a few pieces of luggage with us because we had to dress for a change in temperatures (Often we were going to two or three climates it seems like.), and we had different kinds of meetings to go to. So we were a little over-"luggaged". But my wife prepared us very well for the madness of being in and out of motels. She packed everything we would need for overnight and the next morning in one little carry-in bag. That's pretty smart! We didn't need to carry everything in. We weren't planning to stay.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "More Than an Overnight Bag."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from John 15. I'll begin reading at verse 4. This is the passage where Jesus said He is the vine, and we are the branches. The life, of course, doesn't come from the branches; it only comes through the branches. And He says, "Remain in Me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in Me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in Me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you."
Did you notice what phrase is repeated six times in those few verses? "Remain in Me." The Greek word "remain" there basically means "settling in to stay." It's the difference between going to a motel room for the night and knowing you're just passing through, or moving into your own home and settling in there to be there for a long time.
Now, the one who settles into Christ to stay and doesn't leave his suitcases packed, that's the one who is really make a difference in other people's lives. He will bring much fruit out of his life; he'll have his prayers powerfully answered. He'll have an intimate love relationship with Jesus Christ. Why did Jesus say that so many times, "Remain in Me"?
Because He knows we are slow to make permanent commitments. We're more "see how it goes" people. We won't even commit to a Friday night because something better might come along. "I'll try to make it." "I'll see if something better comes along" is what we're really saying.
If you approach your relationship with Christ like that, you're going to be powerless. You're going to be up and down, and you're often going to be doubting if you even belong to Him. You can't approach Jesus like you approach a night in a motel, "I'll just bring a few things to Him. I don't want to get too committed. I don't want to burn too many bridges. I don't want to get too carried away. I'll just come to Christ with an overnight bag, and I'll check out if something a little more exciting or profitable comes along."
No, Jesus calls us to move into knowing Him in a way that's like moving into a home where we're going to be for the rest of our lives. Bring everything in! Settle in for good! Unpack every suitcase that might have something you are withholding from the lordship of Jesus Christ.
Maybe you're just part way there - surrendering to the Lord Jesus. What do you still have in the car? What are you keeping for yourself? Bring it all to the cross where He gave it all for you. You'll never find a better place to live than in Jesus' love and under Jesus' control.
Unpack! Plan to stay in Him. Jesus is not a place to visit. He is home.