Max Lucado Daily: Look at What You Have
Linger too long in the stench of your hurt, and you’ll smell like the toxin you despise. I spent too much of a summer sludging through sludge. Oil field work is dirty at best. But the dirtiest job of all? Shoveling silt out of empty oil tanks. The foreman saved such jobs for the summer help. Thanks boss! My mom burned my work clothes. The stink stuck!
Your hurts can do the same. The better option? Look at what you have. Your hurts and pain took much, but Christ gave you more! Catalog His kindnesses. Everything from sunsets to salvation—look at what you have.
Let Jesus be the friend you need. Talk to Him. Spare no detail. Disclose your fear and describe your dread. Will your hurt disappear? Who knows? And in a sense, does it matter? You have a friend for life. What could be better than that?
from Facing Your Giants
Jeremiah 29
A Letter to the Exiles
29 This is the text of the letter that the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to the surviving elders among the exiles and to the priests, the prophets and all the other people Nebuchadnezzar had carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. 2 (This was after King Jehoiachin[d] and the queen mother, the court officials and the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the skilled workers and the artisans had gone into exile from Jerusalem.) 3 He entrusted the letter to Elasah son of Shaphan and to Gemariah son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to King Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon. It said:
4 This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. 6 Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. 7 Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” 8 Yes, this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “Do not let the prophets and diviners among you deceive you. Do not listen to the dreams you encourage them to have. 9 They are prophesying lies to you in my name. I have not sent them,” declares the Lord.
10 This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. 11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity.[e] I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”
15 You may say, “The Lord has raised up prophets for us in Babylon,” 16 but this is what the Lord says about the king who sits on David’s throne and all the people who remain in this city, your fellow citizens who did not go with you into exile— 17 yes, this is what the Lord Almighty says: “I will send the sword, famine and plague against them and I will make them like figs that are so bad they cannot be eaten. 18 I will pursue them with the sword, famine and plague and will make them abhorrent to all the kingdoms of the earth, a curse[f] and an object of horror, of scorn and reproach, among all the nations where I drive them. 19 For they have not listened to my words,” declares the Lord, “words that I sent to them again and again by my servants the prophets. And you exiles have not listened either,” declares the Lord.
20 Therefore, hear the word of the Lord, all you exiles whom I have sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon. 21 This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says about Ahab son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying lies to you in my name: “I will deliver them into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will put them to death before your very eyes. 22 Because of them, all the exiles from Judah who are in Babylon will use this curse: ‘May the Lord treat you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon burned in the fire.’ 23 For they have done outrageous things in Israel; they have committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives, and in my name they have uttered lies—which I did not authorize. I know it and am a witness to it,” declares the Lord.
Message to Shemaiah
24 Tell Shemaiah the Nehelamite, 25 “This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: You sent letters in your own name to all the people in Jerusalem, to the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah, and to all the other priests. You said to Zephaniah, 26 ‘The Lord has appointed you priest in place of Jehoiada to be in charge of the house of the Lord; you should put any maniac who acts like a prophet into the stocks and neck-irons. 27 So why have you not reprimanded Jeremiah from Anathoth, who poses as a prophet among you? 28 He has sent this message to us in Babylon: It will be a long time. Therefore build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce.’”
29 Zephaniah the priest, however, read the letter to Jeremiah the prophet. 30 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 31 “Send this message to all the exiles: ‘This is what the Lord says about Shemaiah the Nehelamite: Because Shemaiah has prophesied to you, even though I did not send him, and has persuaded you to trust in lies, 32 this is what the Lord says: I will surely punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his descendants. He will have no one left among this people, nor will he see the good things I will do for my people, declares the Lord, because he has preached rebellion against me.’”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: 2 Timothy 3:14-17
14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15 and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God[a] may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Childhood Beginnings
August 7, 2013 — by Cindy Hess Kasper
Even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve. —Mark 10:45
Last summer, our church invited a young man to join the staff. As Caleb shared how he grew up in Costa Rica while his family was serving Christ there, he reflected on the words of 2 Timothy 3:14-17. From his childhood, he reminisced, he had known the Bible. His mother and father had taught him the truths of the Scriptures that were “able to make [him] wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus” (v.15). He acknowledged that his preparation to be a pastor had begun when he was still a child.
Our congregation had the opportunity to “meet” his family in Costa Rica via a video-conferencing call. Caleb’s dad challenged his son using the words of Jesus about Himself in Mark 10:45. He said, “Caleb, remember our family motto, ‘We are here to serve, not to be served.’” It was easy to understand how this young man had developed his maturity of faith.
The children God has entrusted to us are precious gifts. A good foundation will help them to develop into mature believers who are “complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:17). With God’s help we can pass on the baton of faith to future generations. What a great privilege to be servants like Jesus.
Begin to train them early
To fear and love the Lord,
To carry on life’s pathway
God’s lamp, His holy Word. —Fennema
Children are God’s precious jewels— help them shine for Christ.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
August 7, 2013
Prayer in the Father’s House
. . . they found Him in the temple . . . . And He said to them, ’. . . Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?’ —Luke 2:46, 49
Our Lord’s childhood was not immaturity waiting to grow into manhood— His childhood is an eternal fact. Am I a holy, innocent child of God as a result of my identification with my Lord and Savior? Do I look at my life as being in my Father’s house? Is the Son of God living in His Father’s house within me?
The only abiding reality is God Himself, and His order comes to me moment by moment. Am I continually in touch with the reality of God, or do I pray only when things have gone wrong— when there is some disturbance in my life? I must learn to identify myself closely with my Lord in ways of holy fellowship and oneness that some of us have not yet even begun to learn. “. . . I must be about My Father’s business”— and I must learn to live every moment of my life in my Father’s house.
Think about your own circumstances. Are you so closely identified with the Lord’s life that you are simply a child of God, continually talking to Him and realizing that everything comes from His hands? Is the eternal Child in you living in His Father’s house? Is the grace of His ministering life being worked out through you in your home, your business, and in your circle of friends? Have you been wondering why you are going through certain circumstances? In fact, it is not that you have to go through them. It is because of your relationship with the Son of God who comes, through the providential will of His Father, into your life. You must allow Him to have His way with you, staying in perfect oneness with Him.
The life of your Lord is to become your vital, simple life, and the way He worked and lived among people while here on earth must be the way He works and lives in you.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Familiar Faces In The Rescue - #6933
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
I've got a lot of friends in law enforcement, and they don't usually show a lot of emotion. But the Cleveland police chief said, "Yes, law enforcement people do cry." I think some of them did when three women, missing for a decade, were suddenly found alive. They'd been imprisoned in a nondescript house by a man who kidnapped them years ago and living horrors that we may never fully know.
A neighbor heard screams coming from that house and went to investigate. A woman locked inside cried, "I've been kidnapped! I want to leave right now." It took kicking in the door, but he got her out. Later, the police brought out the other two kidnapped captives. The frantic 911 call from Amanda Berry was riveting. "Help me! I'm Amanda Berry. I've been missing for 10 years and I'm out here. I'm free now." No wonder police officers cried.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Familiar Faces In The Rescue."
As I watched this powerful story unfold, it reminded me of some things I can't afford to forget through people who are at the heart of this story. Like people who refused to give up on the loved one they've lost. Like Amanda Berry's mom, who refused to believe it was hopeless. She just kept her daughter's picture and story in front of people; she prayed relentlessly. Amanda's mom didn't live to see her prayers answered, but we all did.
A lot of us have an "Amanda"; someone who, for one reason or another, seems hopelessly gone; emotionally, spiritually or even physically. But the celebration in Cleveland shouts, "Never stop fighting for the person you love." Reach out to them. Love them when they give you no reason. Pray for God to do what only He can do. Keep the porch light on.
I love that story where Jesus comes upon the funeral procession of a young man. The Bible says He saw the grieving mother and "His heart went out to her." Then He did what only He could do. He brought her son back to life. And here's the best part. It says, "Jesus gave him back to his mother" (Luke7:15). He's still doing things like that; restoring lost loved ones to the people who care for them. That's the hope that keeps us fighting for them. As long as there's breath, there's hope.
Of course, a key player in freeing the Cleveland captives is that neighbor, who, disregarding the risks, jumps in to help someone in trouble. Somewhere on our "street" we all know someone like that. Behind a facade that looks fine, they may be living a nightmare, desperately needing someone who will care about them, who will listen; someone who will look for the needs behind their deeds, who will be the voice and the face of Jesus for them.
And then there's that prisoner who's desperate to be free, whose only hope is a rescuer. That's where I show up in the picture. That was me and a lot of folks like me, in a very dark place, unable to get out by myself until somebody heard the cry of my heart. I didn't have to stay there one day longer.
Jesus came all the way from heaven to rescue a world of people held captive by the darkness inside them. "Sin" the Bible calls it; our deadly addiction to defying God and doing life "my way" instead of His way. And we can't seem to stop. The Bible says, "Everyone who sins is a slave to sin," (John 8:34) and I can't argue with that. The selfishness, the anger, the dark desires, the wounding words, the endless lies - nobody wants to be that way, but we are. We're prisoners in a dark place, until the Rescuer shows up at our door. And finally, here's our word for today from the Word of God, in Galatians 1:3. Jesus says, "He gave Himself for our sins to rescue us" (Galatians 1:3). Wow! And "If the Son makes you free, (the Bible says) you will be free indeed" (John 8:36). He didn't just come to the door. He died on a cross.
So here's my story: "I've been missing. I'm free now, and I'm home!"
The turning point in any life is the day you welcome Jesus as your personal Rescuer from that "dark place" called sin. Maybe you're ready for that new beginning. Would you join me at our website, ANewStory.com and let today be your day to go free.