Max Lucado Daily: God is Good ·
When the cancer is in remission, we say, God is good. When the pay raise comes, we announce, God is good. But is God only good when the outcome is?
Most, if not all of us, have a contractual agreement with God. I pledge to be a good, decent person and God, in return, will do what I expect. Save my child. Heal my wife. Protect my job. Yet when God fails to meet our expectations we’re left spinning in a tornado of questions.
In such times, remember that God is sovereign. James 1:17 tells us He does not change like shifting shadows. God does permit evil. But He doesn’t allow Satan, the father of evil, to triumph. Isn’t this the promise of Romans 8:28? “In all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” The ultimate culmination of God’s purpose is good even when the specific details are difficult.
From You’ll Get Through This
1 Timothy 3
New International Version (NIV)
Qualifications for Overseers and Deacons
3 Here is a trustworthy saying: Whoever aspires to be an overseer desires a noble task. 2 Now the overseer is to be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4 He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him, and he must do so in a manner worthy of full[a] respect. 5 (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?) 6 He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. 7 He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap.
8 In the same way, deacons[b] are to be worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine, and not pursuing dishonest gain. 9 They must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience. 10 They must first be tested; and then if there is nothing against them, let them serve as deacons.
11 In the same way, the women[c] are to be worthy of respect, not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything.
12 A deacon must be faithful to his wife and must manage his children and his household well. 13 Those who have served well gain an excellent standing and great assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus.
Reasons for Paul’s Instructions
14 Although I hope to come to you soon, I am writing you these instructions so that, 15 if I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth. 16 Beyond all question, the mystery from which true godliness springs is great:
He appeared in the flesh,
was vindicated by the Spirit,[d]
was seen by angels,
was preached among the nations,
was believed on in the world,
was taken up in glory.
Footnotes:
1 Timothy 3:4 Or him with proper
1 Timothy 3:8 The word deacons refers here to Christians designated to serve with the overseers/elders of the church in a variety of ways; similarly in verse 12; and in Romans 16:1 and Phil. 1:1.
1 Timothy 3:11 Possibly deacons’ wives or women who are deacons
1 Timothy 3:16 Or vindicated in spirit
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: John 11:14-27
So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, 15 and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”
16 Then Thomas (also known as Didymus[a]) said to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”
Jesus Comforts the Sisters of Lazarus
17 On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. 18 Now Bethany was less than two miles[b] from Jerusalem, 19 and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. 20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.
21 “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”
23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”
24 Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
27 “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”
Footnotes:
John 11:16 Thomas (Aramaic) and Didymus (Greek) both mean twin.
John 11:18 Or about 3 kilometers
The Gift Of Presence
October 3, 2013 — by Randy Kilgore
Many of the Jews had joined the women around Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother. —John 11:19
A number of years ago, when I was a new human resource manager for a company, I attended the visitation and funeral of a long-time employee I had never met. The worker, a bricklayer, was loved by his co-workers, yet very few came to see his widow. I listened to someone trying to console her by saying that many people stay away because they are afraid of saying or doing the wrong thing and making the family more miserable.
In times of distress, however, people rarely remember what we say. What they most remember is that we were there. Familiar faces offer strength beyond description; they provide comfort for the deep feelings of loneliness setting in from the loss. This “gift of presence” is one we’re all capable of offering, even if we’re tongue-tied or uncomfortable.
Martha and Mary were surrounded by friends and mourners who comforted them when their brother Lazarus died (John 11:19). Then the One they most longed to see—Jesus—came and wept with them (vv.33-35). The people responded, “See how He loved him!” (v.36).
In loss of any kind, Jesus always gives His comforting presence, and we have the ability to give deeply of His compassion simply by the gift of our presence.
O may I never fail to see
The comfort you may need from me;
And may you know that I am there
To bind our souls as grief we share. —Kilgore
Often the best comfort is just being there.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
October 3, 2013
The Place of Ministry
He said to them, ’This kind [of unclean spirit] can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting’ —Mark 9:29
His disciples asked Him privately, ’Why could we not cast it out?’ ” (Mark 9:28). The answer lies in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. “This kind can come out by nothing but” concentrating on Him, and then doubling and redoubling that concentration on Him. We can remain powerless forever, as the disciples were in this situation, by trying to do God’s work without concentrating on His power, and by following instead the ideas that we draw from our own nature. We actually slander and dishonor God by our very eagerness to serve Him without knowing Him.
When you are brought face to face with a difficult situation and nothing happens externally, you can still know that freedom and release will be given because of your continued concentration on Jesus Christ. Your duty in service and ministry is to see that there is nothing between Jesus and yourself. Is there anything between you and Jesus even now? If there is, you must get through it, not by ignoring it as an irritation, or by going up and over it, but by facing it and getting through it into the presence of Jesus Christ. Then that very problem itself, and all that you have been through in connection with it, will glorify Jesus Christ in a way that you will never know until you see Him face to face.
We must be able to “mount up with wings like eagles” (Isaiah 40:31), but we must also know how to come down. The power of the saint lies in the coming down and in the living that is done in the valley. Paul said, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13) and what he was referring to were mostly humiliating things. And yet it is in our power to refuse to be humiliated and to say, “No, thank you, I much prefer to be on the mountaintop with God.” Can I face things as they actually are in the light of the reality of Jesus Christ, or do things as they really are destroy my faith in Him, and put me into a panic?
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Clouds Blocking the Fireworks - #6974
Thursday, October 3, 2013
Let's go see the meteor shower! Man, when it happens, it's all over the news. It's one of the few times the astronomers make the front page. I mean, earth moves into this dust trail of a comet that passes through, and this thing happens about every hundred and thirty years. I don't plan to be here probably the next time around. So, when that happened the last time, we went out at the prescribed time with our trusted binoculars. My son got out his telescope. He found a place where he could get away from as many lights as possible, because at that point we were living near a major city. And others went too; apparently they had read the same stuff we had. And they were in various chiropractic poses with their necks, bending back trying to see this spectacular meteor shower. Everything was in readiness, and they said on the news that there were some meteor fireworks that night. Of course, we didn't see any. Oh yeah, just about show time, these clouds decided to roll in.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Clouds Blocking the Fireworks."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Joshua chapter 7. After the incredible victory at Jericho, the Jews have lost in a smaller, far less challenging battle at a city called Ai. They'd been told not to take any loot or plunder anything from the city of Jericho or God would judge them. Well, they've just now lost at Ai. Joshua couldn't figure out what happened.
It says, "Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell face-down to the ground before the ark of the Lord, remaining there till evening. The elders of Israel did the same and sprinkled dust on their heads." I mean, these guys are desperate. "What's happened, Lord? What went wrong?" "And Joshua said, 'Ah, Sovereign Lord, why did you ever bring this people across the Jordan to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us? If only we had been content to stay on the other side of the Jordan!" Oh, Joshua, you don't know what the problem really is.
"The Lord said to Joshua, 'Stand up! What are you doing down on your face? Israel has sinned.'" See, God's people had been experiencing God's power; they'd been experiencing victory; they'd been experiencing obvious closeness to the Lord, but something was wrong, and Joshua was thinking of everything,
"Maybe it's this. Maybe it's that." He's complaining, "Why can't we see Your brightness any more, Lord?" Feels a little like that night we looked for the meteor fireworks. They were there, but there was something between us; something keeping us from experiencing it. We couldn't see that.
Well, God says, "Joshua, get up! You're going down the wrong trail here. The problem is that Israel has sinned." Same Joshua, same Jehovah at Jericho, but God's blessing has been withheld because there is besetting sin. When it is dealt with aggressively later in the chapter, the blessing of God returns. Maybe you have that feeling right now. "Something's wrong. It just doesn't feel like it used to between God and me." Maybe you're not feeling the power and the victory; the supernatural things you were seeing. And like Joshua you're wondering where the blame goes. While you're trying to reason it out, God is saying, "It's sin. There's a cloud that's come between you and Me. You can't see Me. You don't have a clear look at Me because of that sin."
Think about it. Have you dealt with the thing that might be causing God to withhold His blessing? Have you even asked Him about it? It could be a broken relationship, a resentment that's slipped in, the return of an old habit or an old way of thinking. Maybe it's a compromise you've been making. Or you've returned to self-managing things that you had surrendered to Him. Or you've been shoving your mate or your family aside or compromising your integrity. I don't know what it is, but the Lord's saying, "That's the reason. That's where the clouds are. That's why you can't see Me."
It's the last place you like to look for an answer for what's wrong. But could it be that sin has crept into your camp? Could it be that the clouds of compromise have come between you and the Lord, who once blazed so dramatically through your life? You see, the Lord Jesus is still producing spiritual fireworks.
What He's done before, He wants to do again. But those fireworks can only be seen by those who don't let sin block the view.
