Max Lucado Daily: Make a Plan
You can't control the weather. You aren't in charge of the economy. You can't un-wreck the car. But you can map out a strategy. Remember, God is in this crisis. Ask Him to give you a plan, two or three steps you can take today.
Seek counsel from someone who's faced a similar challenge. Ask friends to pray. Look for resources. Reach out to a support group. Make a plan!
You'd prefer a miracle? You'd rather see the bread multiplied or the stormy sea turned to glassy calm in a finger snap? God may do this. Then again, He may tell you, "I'm with you. And I can use this for good. Now, let's make a plan."
God's sovereignty doesn't negate our responsibility. Just the opposite. It empowers it. Trust God to do what you can't. Obey God and do what you can! You'll get through this.
From You'll Get Through This
Ezekiel 18
The One Who Sins Will Die
The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “What do you people mean by quoting this proverb about the land of Israel:
“‘The parents eat sour grapes,
and the children’s teeth are set on edge’?
3 “As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, you will no longer quote this proverb in Israel. 4 For everyone belongs to me, the parent as well as the child—both alike belong to me. The one who sins is the one who will die.
5 “Suppose there is a righteous man
who does what is just and right.
6 He does not eat at the mountain shrines
or look to the idols of Israel.
He does not defile his neighbor’s wife
or have sexual relations with a woman during her period.
7 He does not oppress anyone,
but returns what he took in pledge for a loan.
He does not commit robbery
but gives his food to the hungry
and provides clothing for the naked.
8 He does not lend to them at interest
or take a profit from them.
He withholds his hand from doing wrong
and judges fairly between two parties.
9 He follows my decrees
and faithfully keeps my laws.
That man is righteous;
he will surely live,
declares the Sovereign Lord.
10 “Suppose he has a violent son, who sheds blood or does any of these other things[a] 11 (though the father has done none of them):
“He eats at the mountain shrines.
He defiles his neighbor’s wife.
12 He oppresses the poor and needy.
He commits robbery.
He does not return what he took in pledge.
He looks to the idols.
He does detestable things.
13 He lends at interest and takes a profit.
Will such a man live? He will not! Because he has done all these detestable things, he is to be put to death; his blood will be on his own head.
14 “But suppose this son has a son who sees all the sins his father commits, and though he sees them, he does not do such things:
15 “He does not eat at the mountain shrines
or look to the idols of Israel.
He does not defile his neighbor’s wife.
16 He does not oppress anyone
or require a pledge for a loan.
He does not commit robbery
but gives his food to the hungry
and provides clothing for the naked.
17 He withholds his hand from mistreating the poor
and takes no interest or profit from them.
He keeps my laws and follows my decrees.
He will not die for his father’s sin; he will surely live. 18 But his father will die for his own sin, because he practiced extortion, robbed his brother and did what was wrong among his people.
19 “Yet you ask, ‘Why does the son not share the guilt of his father?’ Since the son has done what is just and right and has been careful to keep all my decrees, he will surely live. 20 The one who sins is the one who will die. The child will not share the guilt of the parent, nor will the parent share the guilt of the child. The righteousness of the righteous will be credited to them, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against them.
21 “But if a wicked person turns away from all the sins they have committed and keeps all my decrees and does what is just and right, that person will surely live; they will not die. 22 None of the offenses they have committed will be remembered against them. Because of the righteous things they have done, they will live. 23 Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign Lord. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?
24 “But if a righteous person turns from their righteousness and commits sin and does the same detestable things the wicked person does, will they live? None of the righteous things that person has done will be remembered. Because of the unfaithfulness they are guilty of and because of the sins they have committed, they will die.
25 “Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ Hear, you Israelites: Is my way unjust? Is it not your ways that are unjust? 26 If a righteous person turns from their righteousness and commits sin, they will die for it; because of the sin they have committed they will die. 27 But if a wicked person turns away from the wickedness they have committed and does what is just and right, they will save their life. 28 Because they consider all the offenses they have committed and turn away from them, that person will surely live; they will not die. 29 Yet the Israelites say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ Are my ways unjust, people of Israel? Is it not your ways that are unjust?
30 “Therefore, you Israelites, I will judge each of you according to your own ways, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall. 31 Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, people of Israel? 32 For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live!
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Romans 15:1-7
We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. 2 Each of us should please our neighbors for their good, to build them up. 3 For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: “The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.”[a] 4 For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.
5 May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, 6 so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
7 Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.
Footnotes:
Romans 15:3 Psalm 69:9
The Campaign
October 22, 2013 — by Anne Cetas
Let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another. —Romans 14:19
Each year young people in our community participate in a “Be Nice” campaign spearheaded by a mental health organization. In one of the events in 2012, 6,000 students spelled out the words BE NICE with their bodies on their schools’ sports fields. One principal said, “We want students to come to school and learn without the distraction of fear or sadness or uneasiness around their peers. We are working hard to make sure students are lifting each other up, rather than tearing each other down.”
Paul desired that the people in the church at Rome would have an even higher standard of love. Both the strong and weak in the faith were judging and showing contempt for each other (Rom. 14:1-12). They despised one another as they argued about what foods were permissible to eat (vv.2-3) and what holidays they should observe (vv.5-6). Paul challenged them: “Let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another” (v.19). He reminded them that their hearts should be concerned with pleasing others, not pleasing themselves. He said, “Even Christ did not please Himself” (15:3); He served.
Join the campaign that loves others despite our differences—you’ll bring praise to God (v.7).
Dear Lord, I want to be a person who is
kind and loving to others. Please help me
to use words that will build others up
and bring praise and glory to Your name.
Kindness is simply love flowing out in little gentlenesses.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
October 22, 2013
The Witness of the Spirit
The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit . . . —Romans 8:16
We are in danger of getting into a bargaining spirit with God when we come to Him—we want the witness of the Spirit before we have done what God tells us to do.
Why doesn’t God reveal Himself to you? He cannot. It is not that He will not, but He cannot, because you are in the way as long as you won’t abandon yourself to Him in total surrender. Yet once you do, immediately God witnesses to Himself—He cannot witness to you, but He instantly witnesses to His own nature in you. If you received the witness of the Spirit before the reality and truth that comes from obedience, it would simply result in sentimental emotion. But when you act on the basis of redemption, and stop the disrespectfulness of debating with God, He immediately gives His witness. As soon as you abandon your own reasoning and arguing, God witnesses to what He has done, and you are amazed at your total disrespect in having kept Him waiting. If you are debating as to whether or not God can deliver from sin, then either let Him do it or tell Him that He cannot. Do not quote this or that person to Him. Simply obey Matthew 11:28 , “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden . . . .” Come, if you are weary, and ask, if you know you are evil (see Luke 11:9-13).
The Spirit of God witnesses to the redemption of our Lord, and to nothing else. He cannot witness to our reason. We are inclined to mistake the simplicity that comes from our natural commonsense decisions for the witness of the Spirit, but the Spirit witnesses only to His own nature, and to the work of redemption, never to our reason. If we are trying to make Him witness to our reason, it is no wonder that we are in darkness and uncertainty. Throw it all overboard, trust in Him, and He will give you the witness of the Spirit.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Danger in High Places - #6987
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Some of our greatest ministry times have been among the wonderful Navajo people in Arizona and New Mexico. While we were there we had a chance to explore this majestic canyon known as Canyon De Chelly. Actually our son was there first. He and his friend, Michael, went there a year before us to do some youth outreach and later he brought his pictures out of his visit to the canyon. Here are these beautiful rock ledges and outcroppings that hover high above the canyon below. And we were enjoying these scenic photos until we got to the ones where my son and his friend Michael were acting like the college students that they were.
Yes, they were perched precariously in various positions on the edge of some of those rock formations. Our minds immediately rushed to the tragedies and the deadly falls we knew of that resulted from getting too close to the edge of a cliff. Needless to say, our son was treated to an unwelcome parental treatise on what might have happened. The view is so nice from those pinnacles! No one really wants to hear about the dangers.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Danger in High Places."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Luke 4 where the Devil three times is coming to Jesus and interrupting Him face to face. Beginning at verse 5, the second temptation, "The Devil led Him up to a high place and showed Him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to Him, 'I will give You all the authority and splendor for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to.' So if You worship me, it will all be Yours.'" Jesus answered, "It is written, worship the Lord your God and serve Him only."
Well, the Devil took Jesus to a high place to tempt Him. He's still doing that. He's trying that strategy on people like you and me. He loves to exploit high places to get you to fall. He also likes to use the low places. He tried that first with Jesus when he was really hungry for 40 days and he tried to get Jesus to meet a legitimate need, but outside of God's boundaries. But when Satan can't get us to compromise when we're down, he goes after us when we're up. Like a time when you've really done something well or you've been given recognition or a good position.
A high place could be a time when your dream is finally starting to come true, or when a relationship you wanted is starting to click, or when the career or the money is starting to happen, when you've just had a great spiritual experience or victory. You feel as if you're looking at kingdoms that could be yours. You're perched on the edge. The view is great and you're in no mood to hear about the dangers. But that's what makes you a prime candidate to fall.
One danger is that you'll compromise to get to a place you really want to be. Just a little bending of the knee the Devil would say, a sexual compromise, an integrity compromise, a family compromise. He's saying, "Hey, it's almost in your grasp. If you'll just stretch a little morally, you could be on top."
Listen, if the Devil gets you to the top, you can be sure he's going to push you over the cliff. It's also tempting to compromise to stay in a good spot once you've gotten there. You've waited a long time to get to this point and you don't want to lose it. The Devil knows that, and he'll try to use that to get you to sacrifice something that you would otherwise never sacrifice. The problem with high places is that we depend on ourselves when we're there. In the low places we were really trusting God, but now we're on a roll. So we tend to push Jesus to the edge. It's easy to be full of ourselves when things are looking good. But that's when you are on the edge of a deadly fall.
Maybe God has brought you to a high place; maybe the Devil has brought you to a high place. But either way, you can bet the Devil is trying to exploit it. He is showing you what kingdom could be yours if you would just step a little closer to the edge where he can push you off.