Max Lucado Daily: Your Share of Sighing
No doubt you've done your share of sighing. If you have teenagers, you've sighed. If you've had your motives questioned or your best acts of love rejected, you've been forced to take a deep breath and let escape a painful sigh!
I realize there's a sigh of relief, a sigh of expectancy, even a sigh of joy. The apostle Paul spoke of this sighing. He said that Christians will sigh as long as we're on earth and long for heaven. All these sighs come from the same anxiety; a recognition of pain never intended, or of hope deferred. Man was not created to be separated from his creator; hence he sighs, longing for home.
And God sighs, he groans for his people. He groans for the day when all sighs will cease, when what was intended to be-will be!
From God Came Near
Ezekiel 46
“‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: The gate of the inner court facing east is to be shut on the six working days, but on the Sabbath day and on the day of the New Moon it is to be opened. 2 The prince is to enter from the outside through the portico of the gateway and stand by the gatepost. The priests are to sacrifice his burnt offering and his fellowship offerings. He is to bow down in worship at the threshold of the gateway and then go out, but the gate will not be shut until evening. 3 On the Sabbaths and New Moons the people of the land are to worship in the presence of the Lord at the entrance of that gateway. 4 The burnt offering the prince brings to the Lord on the Sabbath day is to be six male lambs and a ram, all without defect. 5 The grain offering given with the ram is to be an ephah,[r] and the grain offering with the lambs is to be as much as he pleases, along with a hin[s] of olive oil for each ephah. 6 On the day of the New Moon he is to offer a young bull, six lambs and a ram, all without defect. 7 He is to provide as a grain offering one ephah with the bull, one ephah with the ram, and with the lambs as much as he wants to give, along with a hin of oil for each ephah. 8 When the prince enters, he is to go in through the portico of the gateway, and he is to come out the same way.
9 “‘When the people of the land come before the Lord at the appointed festivals, whoever enters by the north gate to worship is to go out the south gate; and whoever enters by the south gate is to go out the north gate. No one is to return through the gate by which they entered, but each is to go out the opposite gate. 10 The prince is to be among them, going in when they go in and going out when they go out. 11 At the feasts and the appointed festivals, the grain offering is to be an ephah with a bull, an ephah with a ram, and with the lambs as much as he pleases, along with a hin of oil for each ephah.
12 “‘When the prince provides a freewill offering to the Lord—whether a burnt offering or fellowship offerings—the gate facing east is to be opened for him. He shall offer his burnt offering or his fellowship offerings as he does on the Sabbath day. Then he shall go out, and after he has gone out, the gate will be shut.
13 “‘Every day you are to provide a year-old lamb without defect for a burnt offering to the Lord; morning by morning you shall provide it. 14 You are also to provide with it morning by morning a grain offering, consisting of a sixth of an ephah[t] with a third of a hin[u] of oil to moisten the flour. The presenting of this grain offering to the Lord is a lasting ordinance. 15 So the lamb and the grain offering and the oil shall be provided morning by morning for a regular burnt offering.
16 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: If the prince makes a gift from his inheritance to one of his sons, it will also belong to his descendants; it is to be their property by inheritance. 17 If, however, he makes a gift from his inheritance to one of his servants, the servant may keep it until the year of freedom; then it will revert to the prince. His inheritance belongs to his sons only; it is theirs. 18 The prince must not take any of the inheritance of the people, driving them off their property. He is to give his sons their inheritance out of his own property, so that not one of my people will be separated from their property.’”
19 Then the man brought me through the entrance at the side of the gate to the sacred rooms facing north, which belonged to the priests, and showed me a place at the western end. 20 He said to me, “This is the place where the priests are to cook the guilt offering and the sin offering[v] and bake the grain offering, to avoid bringing them into the outer court and consecrating the people.”
21 He then brought me to the outer court and led me around to its four corners, and I saw in each corner another court. 22 In the four corners of the outer court were enclosed[w] courts, forty cubits long and thirty cubits wide;[x] each of the courts in the four corners was the same size. 23 Around the inside of each of the four courts was a ledge of stone, with places for fire built all around under the ledge. 24 He said to me, “These are the kitchens where those who minister at the temple are to cook the sacrifices of the people.”
Ezekiel 46:5 That is, probably about 35 pounds or about 16 kilograms; also in verses 7 and 11
Ezekiel 46:5 That is, about 1 gallon or about 3.8 liters; also in verses 7 and 11
Ezekiel 46:14 That is, probably about 6 pounds or about 2.7 kilograms
Ezekiel 46:14 That is, about 1 1/2 quarts or about 1.3 liters
Ezekiel 46:20 Or purification offering
Ezekiel 46:22 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
Ezekiel 46:22 That is, about 70 feet long and 53 feet wide or about 21 meters long and 16 meters wide
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: 1 John 2:24–3:3
As for you, see that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. 25 And this is what he promised us—eternal life.
26 I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray. 27 As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him.
God’s Children and Sin
28 And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming.
29 If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him.
3 See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears,[a] we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3 All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.
Footnotes:
1 John 3:2 Or when it is made known
One Stretch
December 3, 2013 — by Anne Cetas
Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! —1 John 3:1
For years, Sarah had low-back pain that continued to worsen. Her doctor sent her for physical therapy, and she was given 25 stretches to do every day. The pain lessened but not completely. So the doctor ordered x-rays and sent her to another therapist, who instructed her to discontinue the other therapist’s stretches and do only one stretch a day as needed. Surprisingly, the one simple stretch worked the best.
Sometimes the simplest truths are the best. When asked to summarize in one sentence his whole life’s work in theology, Karl Barth responded: “Jesus loves me!” Some say he added, “This I know, for the Bible tells me so.”
God’s love for us is evident. He gave His Son to rescue us from ourselves. Christ died on the cross, taking our burden of sin. Then He rose again, giving us new life in Him. Amazing love! As John tells us: “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!” (1 John 3:1).
Jesus’ love for us isn’t a Band-Aid or a cure-all for all of life’s problems, of course. But it is the one truth we can always depend on to give purpose to life and peace with God.
I am so glad that our Father in heaven
Tells of His love in the Book He has given;
Wonderful things in the Bible I see—
This is the dearest, that Jesus loves me. —Bliss
The wonder of it all— just to think that Jesus loves me.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
December 3, 2013
“Not by Might nor by Power”
My speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power . . . —1 Corinthians 2:4
If in preaching the gospel you substitute your knowledge of the way of salvation for confidence in the power of the gospel, you hinder people from getting to reality. Take care to see while you proclaim your knowledge of the way of salvation, that you yourself are rooted and grounded by faith in God. Never rely on the clearness of your presentation, but as you give your explanation make sure that you are relying on the Holy Spirit. Rely on the certainty of God’s redemptive power, and He will create His own life in people.
Once you are rooted in reality, nothing can shake you. If your faith is in experiences, anything that happens is likely to upset that faith. But nothing can ever change God or the reality of redemption. Base your faith on that, and you are as eternally secure as God Himself. Once you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, you will never be moved again. That is the meaning of sanctification. God disapproves of our human efforts to cling to the concept that sanctification is merely an experience, while forgetting that even our sanctification must also be sanctified (see John 17:19). I must deliberately give my sanctified life to God for His service, so that He can use me as His hands and His feet.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Insulting Your Personal Artist - #7017
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
Some years ago I had an opportunity to be at the famous art museum in Paris called "The Louvre". Or if you haven't had French and you're totally gauche, you could say The Louver, but that would be gauche. As I stared at these tremendous masterpieces, I became overwhelmed with emotion.
I mean, all of a sudden I came around a corner, and I saw something I hadn't seen all day-special lighting, security guards, and a big crowd. This place was jammed! It was the most crowded spot I had seen all day. Well, I walked up to a painting there, and I'll bet you could guess what it is – the Mona Lisa. In fact, if you've only heard of one painting, you've probably heard of little Miss Mona Lisa. There she was, kind of leaping out of the canvas in da Vinci's masterpiece, and she was smiling at me. Now, what if I walked up to the Mona Lisa and decided I didn't like the Mona Lisa, I might say, "This painting is dumb!" Well, if I did that, who am I insulting?
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Insulting Your Personal Artist."
Our word for today from the Word of God – great verse – Ephesians 2:10 . "We are God's workmanship." You know, when each of our grandchildren has been born I've held them in my arms and the first words I spoke to them were from this verse, "You are God's workmanship." So this is about them; it's about you. "We are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do." This verse is saying that God did something very special, very unique when He designed you. You're wired by God for assignments that He has prepared long before you were born that are just for you to do. No one's ever been created like you to do what He's put you on earth to do.
He's given you the strong points that you're going to need for what you're here for. You're just the right build for it, you were born in the right place for it, you have the right background for it, and you're blessed with just the right spiritual equipment. Maybe He's given you some great radar for people, or an ability to really listen, or the ability to organize, or communicate, or analyze.
And then there are things that you don't have. Well, guess what? You don't need those. Maybe you know someone who has a gift you wish you had. They need it for their work; you don't need it for yours! You have everything you need. So you can honestly say, "Everything I need, I have. And what I don't have, I don't need. The weaknesses, the struggles of your life – they're God's tools to soften and sensitize you for the very people that He has planned for you to touch.
Let's get back to the Mona Lisa. If I say, "I don't like that painting", who am I putting down? The painting? No, Leonardo da Vinci. I'm insulting the painter. Maybe you've been down on yourself, maybe for a long time, maybe for years. You say, "Well, at least I'm humble. I don't like me very much." That's not humility. That's an insult to the One whose workmanship you are! When you criticize you, you're criticizing the One who created you.
Of course, we should be down on the sin that we allow to devalue us, but we should be grateful for the basic person God made us to be. You're God's masterpiece. He only does masterpieces, no matter what you've been called, no matter how you've been treated, no matter how you've failed. He does masterpieces. So, be careful about comparing yourself to someone else or putting yourself down. After all, you don't want to be guilty of insulting your own personal artist.
It may be that one of the reasons, you say, "Well, man, I just don't feel like I'm worth that much." Could it be that there's a wall between you and the One who gave you your worth? The Bible says, "You were created by Him and for Him." It took Jesus dying on the cross and then coming back from His grave to go through all that to take away the sin that has stained the beautiful creation God made you and me to be. He'd love to walk you into His family today and let you begin to feel the love and the worth that He built into you from the day you were born.
I'd love to help you begin that relationship. Would you meet me? Would you join me at our website so we could get that done? It's ANewStory.com. And experience for yourself the love of the One who thinks you're worth so much - He died for you.