Max Lucado Daily: You Have a Bible?
Do you have a Bible? Read it!
Has any other book ever been described like it? Hebrews 4:12 says, "For the Word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart."
The words of the Bible have life. Life-giving words! Nouns with pulse rates. The Bible is to God what a surgical glove is to the surgeon. He reaches through them to touch deep within you. Haven't you felt His touch? In a late, lonely hour you read, "I will never leave you. I will never forsake you." The sentences comfort like a hand on your shoulder.
Don't make a decision without sitting before God with open Bible, open heart, open ears. Let the words of Christ live in your heart and make you wise.
You have a Bible? Read it.
From Facing Your Giants
Hebrews 10:19-39
New International Version (NIV)
A Call to Persevere in Faith
19 Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
26 If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, 27 but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. 28 Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”[a] and again, “The Lord will judge his people.”[b] 31 It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
32 Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you endured in a great conflict full of suffering. 33 Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. 34 You suffered along with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions. 35 So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.
36 You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. 37 For,
“In just a little while,
he who is coming will come
and will not delay.”[c]
38 And,
“But my righteous[d] one will live by faith.
And I take no pleasure
in the one who shrinks back.”[e]
39 But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved.
Footnotes:
Hebrews 10:30 Deut. 32:35
Hebrews 10:30 Deut. 32:36; Psalm 135:14
Hebrews 10:37 Isaiah 26:20; Hab. 2:3
Hebrews 10:38 Some early manuscripts But the righteous
Hebrews 10:38 Hab. 2:4 (see Septuagint)
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Proverbs 19:15-25
New International Version (NIV)
15 Laziness brings on deep sleep,
and the shiftless go hungry.
16 Whoever keeps commandments keeps their life,
but whoever shows contempt for their ways will die.
17 Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord,
and he will reward them for what they have done.
18 Discipline your children, for in that there is hope;
do not be a willing party to their death.
19 A hot-tempered person must pay the penalty;
rescue them, and you will have to do it again.
20 Listen to advice and accept discipline,
and at the end you will be counted among the wise.
21 Many are the plans in a person’s heart,
but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.
22 What a person desires is unfailing love[a];
better to be poor than a liar.
23 The fear of the Lord leads to life;
then one rests content, untouched by trouble.
24 A sluggard buries his hand in the dish;
he will not even bring it back to his mouth!
25 Flog a mocker, and the simple will learn prudence;
rebuke the discerning, and they will gain knowledge.
Footnotes:
Proverbs 19:22 Or Greed is a person’s shame
What’s At Stake?
August 26, 2013 — by Anne Cetas
Listen to counsel and receive instruction, that you may be wise in your latter days. —Proverbs 19:20
To stake or not to stake? That’s the question Marilyn faced when she planted a tree sapling last summer. The salesman said, “Stake it for one year so it will be supported in strong winds. Then remove them so it can grow deep roots on its own.” But a neighbor told her, “Staking may cause more harm than good. The tree needs to start building strong roots right away, or it may never. Not staking is best for long-term health.”
We wonder about that question in relationships too. For instance, if someone has gotten himself into trouble, do we “stake him down” by rescuing him, or do we let the person “grow strong roots” on his own by allowing him to face the consequences of his choices? Obviously it depends on what seems best for the person’s long-term spiritual health. What does love do, and when does it do it? Proverbs 19 gives opposite thoughts: We are to have “pity” and lend our assistance (v.17), yet there are dangers in rescuing another because you might need to do it again (v.19). Providing the right help requires wisdom beyond our own.
God hasn’t left us on our own. He will give us the wisdom when we ask Him. And as we lean on Him, our own roots will grow deep in Him as well.
We lack wisdom, Lord, in many situations.
We know we’ll make mistakes, but teach us to
be dependent on You. Thank You that You will
be faithful. Grow our roots deep in You.
Real wisdom is looking at the world from God’s point of view.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
August 26, 2013
Are You Ever Troubled?
Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you . . . —John 14:27
There are times in our lives when our peace is based simply on our own ignorance. But when we are awakened to the realities of life, true inner peace is impossible unless it is received from Jesus. When our Lord speaks peace, He creates peace, because the words that He speaks are always “spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63). Have I ever received what Jesus speaks? “. . . My peace I give to you. . .”— a peace that comes from looking into His face and fully understanding and receiving His quiet contentment.
Are you severely troubled right now? Are you afraid and confused by the waves and the turbulence God sovereignly allows to enter your life? Have you left no stone of your faith unturned, yet still not found any well of peace, joy, or comfort? Does your life seem completely barren to you? Then look up and receive the quiet contentment of the Lord Jesus. Reflecting His peace is proof that you are right with God, because you are exhibiting the freedom to turn your mind to Him. If you are not right with God, you can never turn your mind anywhere but on yourself. Allowing anything to hide the face of Jesus Christ from you either causes you to become troubled or gives you a false sense of security.
With regard to the problem that is pressing in on you right now, are you “looking unto Jesus” (Hebrews 12:2) and receiving peace from Him? If so, He will be a gracious blessing of peace exhibited in and through you. But if you only try to worry your way out of the problem, you destroy His effectiveness in you, and you deserve whatever you get. We become troubled because we have not been taking Him into account. When a person confers with Jesus Christ, the confusion stops, because there is no confusion in Him. Lay everything out before Him, and when you are faced with difficulty, bereavement, and sorrow, listen to Him say, “Let not your heart be troubled . . .” (John 14:27).
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Be Prepared To Stop - #6946
Monday, August 26, 2013
You've probably been speeding down the highway as I have at times, and all of a sudden you'll come to a construction area that says, "Slow down-35 mph." So everyone, of course, slows down by two or three miles an hour. They're down to 57 mph or something like that. And then you'll see as you get a little more into the construction area these words, "Be prepared to stop." Well, I don't want to be prepared to stop. I don't know if you're like me, but I calculate how many miles I've got to go, how long it's going to take. Let's see, "Sixty miles - sixty minutes." Something like that. I don't want to be prepared to stop. I'm prepared to do the speed limit. You know, sometimes we live our whole lives that way. We're speeding too fast to stop.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Be Prepared To Stop."
Our word for today from the Word of God; we are in the 18th chapter of the book of Luke. I'm going to begin reading at verse 35. "As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening. They told him, 'Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.' He called out, 'Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!' Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet. But he shouted all the more, 'Son of David, have mercy on me!' Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to Him. When he came near, Jesus asked him, 'What do you want me to do for you?' 'Lord, I want to see' he replied."
And, of course, as they say, the rest is history. Jesus healed blind Bartimaeus that day. But I think the words that leaped out at me from this passage are two simple little words. Did you catch them? "Jesus stopped." But then He always did. He always had time to stop for an individual who needed Him. Now, he had three good reasons that I can think of not to stop this day when He came into Jericho.
First of all, He was only days away from dying on the cross, and He knew it. He had His own burdens on His mind. The cross had to be what He was thinking about. I think He would be forgiven for not stopping, "I just can't. I've got so much on My mind."
Secondly, he had a crowd pressing on him. Thirdly, this guy seems to have been quite a nuisance. Everybody seemed to consider him a nuisance except Jesus. But in spite of those three good reasons not to, Jesus stopped. You know, maybe you're speeding through your life much like I am; a stressful, high pressure, rat race existence, always on your way to or from something that's very demanding.
If you're like your Master, you'll stop when you hear the cries, for a child who needs a hug, a mate who needs your shoulder, your attention right now - who needs your ear, needs you to listen, maybe a worker in your office. You've got so much to get done today, but there's someone there who obviously needs your love, needs your encouragement, needs your praise. Sometimes you'll stop and say to somebody, "How are you?" And they give you that hollow, "Okay, I guess." Do you have time to stop when it's not okay?
You can't always drop everything, I know that. But you can at least set a time and say, "Listen, I can't talk right now. But in an hour, I'll be out of this, and let's get together."
Don't let the preoccupations of your agenda, your problems, your demands, even the un-lovable-ness of the person who needs you keep you from being there for them.
Don't let those things make you forget that people are most important. They're going to last forever. Please, be prepared to stop.