Max Lucado Daily: Generational Garbage
Your family history doesn't have to be your future. The generational garbage can stop here and now.
Don't give your kids what your ancestors gave to you. Talk to God about it, in detail. God, everyday I came home from school to find mom drunk, lying on the couch. I had to take care of baby brother, do homework on my own. It's not right, God. Difficult, for certain. But let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Let Him replace "childish thinking" with mature truth.
A dear friend of mine was called to identify the body of his father who'd been shot by his ex-wife. The blast was just another in a long line of angry, violent family moments. He made this resolution: "It stops with me." And it has!
God wants to help you-for your sake! Trust Him-with His help, you'll get through this.
From You'll Get Through This
Ezekiel 14
Idolaters Condemned
14 Some of the elders of Israel came to me and sat down in front of me. 2 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 3 “Son of man, these men have set up idols in their hearts and put wicked stumbling blocks before their faces. Should I let them inquire of me at all? 4 Therefore speak to them and tell them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: When any of the Israelites set up idols in their hearts and put a wicked stumbling block before their faces and then go to a prophet, I the Lord will answer them myself in keeping with their great idolatry. 5 I will do this to recapture the hearts of the people of Israel, who have all deserted me for their idols.’
6 “Therefore say to the people of Israel, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Repent! Turn from your idols and renounce all your detestable practices!
7 “‘When any of the Israelites or any foreigner residing in Israel separate themselves from me and set up idols in their hearts and put a wicked stumbling block before their faces and then go to a prophet to inquire of me, I the Lord will answer them myself. 8 I will set my face against them and make them an example and a byword. I will remove them from my people. Then you will know that I am the Lord.
9 “‘And if the prophet is enticed to utter a prophecy, I the Lord have enticed that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand against him and destroy him from among my people Israel. 10 They will bear their guilt—the prophet will be as guilty as the one who consults him. 11 Then the people of Israel will no longer stray from me, nor will they defile themselves anymore with all their sins. They will be my people, and I will be their God, declares the Sovereign Lord.’”
Jerusalem’s Judgment Inescapable
12 The word of the Lord came to me: 13 “Son of man, if a country sins against me by being unfaithful and I stretch out my hand against it to cut off its food supply and send famine upon it and kill its people and their animals, 14 even if these three men—Noah, Daniel[a] and Job—were in it, they could save only themselves by their righteousness, declares the Sovereign Lord.
15 “Or if I send wild beasts through that country and they leave it childless and it becomes desolate so that no one can pass through it because of the beasts, 16 as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, even if these three men were in it, they could not save their own sons or daughters. They alone would be saved, but the land would be desolate.
17 “Or if I bring a sword against that country and say, ‘Let the sword pass throughout the land,’ and I kill its people and their animals, 18 as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, even if these three men were in it, they could not save their own sons or daughters. They alone would be saved.
19 “Or if I send a plague into that land and pour out my wrath on it through bloodshed, killing its people and their animals, 20 as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, even if Noah, Daniel and Job were in it, they could save neither son nor daughter. They would save only themselves by their righteousness.
21 “For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: How much worse will it be when I send against Jerusalem my four dreadful judgments—sword and famine and wild beasts and plague—to kill its men and their animals! 22 Yet there will be some survivors—sons and daughters who will be brought out of it. They will come to you, and when you see their conduct and their actions, you will be consoled regarding the disaster I have brought on Jerusalem—every disaster I have brought on it. 23 You will be consoled when you see their conduct and their actions, for you will know that I have done nothing in it without cause, declares the Sovereign Lord.”
Footnotes:
Ezekiel 14:14 Or Danel, a man of renown in ancient literature; also in verse 20
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: 1 Peter 2:1-10
Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. 2 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3 now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.
The Living Stone and a Chosen People
4 As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— 5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house[a] to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For in Scripture it says:
“See, I lay a stone in Zion,
a chosen and precious cornerstone,
and the one who trusts in him
will never be put to shame.”[b]
7 Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,
“The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone,”[c]
8 and,
“A stone that causes people to stumble
and a rock that makes them fall.”[d]
They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for.
9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
Footnotes:
1 Peter 2:5 Or into a temple of the Spirit
1 Peter 2:6 Isaiah 28:16
1 Peter 2:7 Psalm 118:22
1 Peter 2:8 Isaiah 8:14
Coade Stone
October 16, 2013 — by Bill Crowder
Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious. —1 Peter 2:4
Throughout London, there are statues and other items made from a unique building material called Coade stone. Developed by Eleanor Coade for her family business in the late 1700s, this artificial stone is virtually indestructible and has the capacity to withstand time, weather, and man-made pollution. Though it was a marvel during the Industrial Revolution, Coade stone was phased out in the 1840s following Eleanor’s death, and it was replaced by Portland cement as a building material. In spite of that, however, there remain today dozens of examples of this sturdy, ceramic-like stone that have withstood the harsh London environment for over 150 years.
The apostle Peter described Jesus as a living stone. He wrote, “Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house” (1 Peter 2:4-5). Precious in the eyes of the Father is the sacrifice of the Rock of our salvation. Christ is the enduring stone upon which the Father has built our salvation and the only foundation for meaningful life (1 Cor. 3:11).
It is only as our lives are built upon His strength that we will be able to endure the harshness of life in a fallen world.
My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus’ name. —Mote
We have nothing to fear if we stay close to the Rock of Ages.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
October 16, 2013
The Key to the Master’s Orders
Pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest —Matthew 9:38
The key to the missionary’s difficult task is in the hand of God, and that key is prayer, not work— that is, not work as the word is commonly used today, which often results in the shifting of our focus away from God. The key to the missionary’s difficult task is also not the key of common sense, nor is it the key of medicine, civilization, education, or even evangelization. The key is in following the Master’s orders— the key is prayer. “Pray the Lord of the harvest . . . .” In the natural realm, prayer is not practical but absurd. We have to realize that prayer is foolish from the commonsense point of view.
From Jesus Christ’s perspective, there are no nations, but only the world. How many of us pray without regard to the persons, but with regard to only one Person— Jesus Christ? He owns the harvest that is produced through distress and through conviction of sin. This is the harvest for which we have to pray that laborers be sent out to reap. We stay busy at work, while people all around us are ripe and ready to be harvested; we do not reap even one of them, but simply waste our Lord’s time in over-energized activities and programs. Suppose a crisis were to come into your father’s or your brother’s life— are you there as a laborer to reap the harvest for Jesus Christ? Is your response, “Oh, but I have a special work to do!” No Christian has a special work to do. A Christian is called to be Jesus Christ’s own, “a servant [who] is not greater than his master” (John 13:16), and someone who does not dictate to Jesus Christ what he intends to do. Our Lord calls us to no special work— He calls us to Himself. “Pray the Lord of the harvest,” and He will engineer your circumstances to send you out as His laborer.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Treasure in the Dirt - #6983
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
A friend of ours told us about a lady in his area who just lost her husband. They had this beautiful farm, but it was really more than she wanted to maintain without him. Some of it was devoted to a wonderful vegetable garden that she'd cared for many years. After her husband's death, she offered to let her neighbors treat that garden as if it was their garden. Well, one day the man next door was picking carrots. and he suddenly stopped to examine one carrot that was very unusual. It seemed to have grown into an hourglass shape; it was wide at the top and the bottom. It was really like narrow at the center. As he brushed the dirt off that carrot, he was shocked at what he found. There was a gold ring right in the center of the carrot!
Somehow this carrot had grown all around and through that ring. And inside that ring was a date from 50 years ago. So the neighbor took it to the widow who promptly melted into tears. Her husband, who had died just after their 50th anniversary, had given her this ring on their wedding day. But she'd lost it many years ago. And now this precious treasure had been found in a most unlikely place.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Treasure in the Dirt."
Our word for today from the Word of God Philippians 3:10. It expresses the passion of the Apostle Paul's heart in five little words that really framed his whole life. Here they are: "I want to know Christ." See, Paul understood that this Jesus relationship is the center of this life and it's what our life will be all about for all eternity.
So, after 30 years of a dynamic walk with and ministry for Jesus, he is still in pursuit, "I want to know Christ." And he goes on, "And I want to know the power of His resurrection." Well, couldn't you use more of that resurrection power in your life to handle what's happening right now? Then he says, "And the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings; becoming like Him in His death." "The power of His resurrection"-good. Suffering? Not so much.
But the way to the power is through the pain. See, you can't have an Easter without a Good Friday. And you may be living your Good Friday part of the process right now. But remember what happened in that garden. They found precious treasure in the dirt, in a place you would never expect to find it.
That's how it is with getting really close to Jesus. The greatest treasures are often found in the grit and the dirt of our pain and our pressure. Notice the beautiful word that redeems that painful word suffering, "The fellowship of sharing in His suffering." You can touch Jesus in the valley in ways you'll never touch Him on the mountain top. Those who know Jesus most intimately, who radiate His power most evidently, are those who have walked through the deepest valleys with Him.
There's a bonding with Jesus that can happen when you've run out of you; when you've run out of your resources and you just collapse in His strong and loving arms. There's a release of His power in your life that wasn't possible when you were still able to go on your power. Those who know Jesus best are those who have needed Him the most. Those who need Him the most are those who are going through the most.
You don't get to choose whether or not you go through this painful time. But you can decide that you will capture this time to know Jesus as you have never known Him before. If you're going to get the pain, you might as well get the point.
You're in a position now to discover what that gardener found in a very unlikely place; what suffering believers have discovered in God's garden for centuries. There is great treasure in the dirt.