Max Lucado Daily: Some Assembly Required
Do you want to see a father's face go ashen? Position yourself nearby as he discovers three words on the box of a just-bought toy: "Some assembly required!" What follows are hours of squeezing A into B, bolting D into F, sliding R over Z, and hoping no one notices if steps four, five, and six were skipped altogether. I'm convinced the devil indwells the details of toy assembly. Somewhere in perdition is a warehouse of stolen toy parts.
"Some assembly required." Not the most welcome sentence but an honest one. Life is a gift, albeit unassembled. The pieces don't fit. When they don't, take your problem to Jesus. He says, "Bring your problems to Me!" In prayer, state them simply. Present them faithfully, and trust Him reverently!
Before Amen
Numbers 4
Redeeming the Firstborn Sons
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now count all the firstborn sons in Israel who are one month old or older, and make a list of their names. 41 The Levites must be reserved for me as substitutes for the firstborn sons of Israel; I am the Lord. And the Levites’ livestock must be reserved for me as substitutes for the firstborn livestock of the whole nation of Israel.”
42 So Moses counted the firstborn sons of the people of Israel, just as the Lord had commanded. 43 The number of firstborn sons who were one month old or older was 22,273.
44 Then the Lord said to Moses, 45 “Take the Levites as substitutes for the firstborn sons of the people of Israel. And take the livestock of the Levites as substitutes for the firstborn livestock of the people of Israel. The Levites belong to me; I am the Lord. 46 There are 273 more firstborn sons of Israel than there are Levites. To redeem these extra firstborn sons, 47 collect five pieces of silver[e] for each of them (each piece weighing the same as the sanctuary shekel, which equals twenty gerahs). 48 Give the silver to Aaron and his sons as the redemption price for the extra firstborn sons.”
49 So Moses collected the silver for redeeming the firstborn sons of Israel who exceeded the number of Levites. 50 He collected 1,365 pieces of silver[f] on behalf of these firstborn sons of Israel (each piece weighing the same as the sanctuary shekel). 51 And Moses gave the silver for the redemption to Aaron and his sons, just as the Lord had commanded.
Duties of the Kohathite Clan
4 Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 2 “Record the names of the members of the clans and families of the Kohathite division of the tribe of Levi. 3 List all the men between the ages of thirty and fifty who are eligible to serve in the Tabernacle.[g]
4 “The duties of the Kohathites at the Tabernacle will relate to the most sacred objects. 5 When the camp moves, Aaron and his sons must enter the Tabernacle first to take down the inner curtain and cover the Ark of the Covenant[h] with it. 6 Then they must cover the inner curtain with fine goatskin leather and spread over that a single piece of blue cloth. Finally, they must put the carrying poles of the Ark in place.
7 “Next they must spread a blue cloth over the table where the Bread of the Presence is displayed, and on the cloth they will place the bowls, ladles, jars, pitchers, and the special bread. 8 They must spread a scarlet cloth over all of this, and finally a covering of fine goatskin leather on top of the scarlet cloth. Then they must insert the carrying poles into the table.
9 “Next they must cover the lampstand with a blue cloth, along with its lamps, lamp snuffers, trays, and special jars of olive oil. 10 Then they must cover the lampstand and its accessories with fine goatskin leather and place the bundle on a carrying frame.
11 “Next they must spread a blue cloth over the gold incense altar and cover this cloth with fine goatskin leather. Then they must attach the carrying poles to the altar. 12 They must take all the remaining furnishings of the sanctuary and wrap them in a blue cloth, cover them with fine goatskin leather, and place them on the carrying frame.
13 “They must remove the ashes from the altar for sacrifices and cover the altar with a purple cloth. 14 All the altar utensils—the firepans, meat forks, shovels, basins, and all the containers—must be placed on the cloth, and a covering of fine goatskin leather must be spread over them. Finally, they must put the carrying poles in place. 15 The camp will be ready to move when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the sacred articles. The Kohathites will come and carry these things to the next destination. But they must not touch the sacred objects, or they will die. So these are the things from the Tabernacle that the Kohathites must carry.
16 “Eleazar son of Aaron the priest will be responsible for the oil of the lampstand, the fragrant incense, the daily grain offering, and the anointing oil. In fact, Eleazar will be responsible for the entire Tabernacle and everything in it, including the sanctuary and its furnishings.”
17 Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 18 “Do not let the Kohathite clans be destroyed from among the Levites! 19 This is what you must do so they will live and not die when they approach the most sacred objects. Aaron and his sons must always go in with them and assign a specific duty or load to each person. 20 The Kohathites must never enter the sanctuary to look at the sacred objects for even a moment, or they will die.”
Duties of the Gershonite Clan
21 And the Lord said to Moses, 22 “Record the names of the members of the clans and families of the Gershonite division of the tribe of Levi. 23 List all the men between the ages of thirty and fifty who are eligible to serve in the Tabernacle.
24 “These Gershonite clans will be responsible for general service and carrying loads. 25 They must carry the curtains of the Tabernacle, the Tabernacle itself with its coverings, the outer covering of fine goatskin leather, and the curtain for the Tabernacle entrance. 26 They are also to carry the curtains for the courtyard walls that surround the Tabernacle and altar, the curtain across the courtyard entrance, the ropes, and all the equipment related to their use. The Gershonites are responsible for all these items. 27 Aaron and his sons will direct the Gershonites regarding all their duties, whether it involves moving the equipment or doing other work. They must assign the Gershonites responsibility for the loads they are to carry. 28 So these are the duties assigned to the Gershonite clans at the Tabernacle. They will be directly responsible to Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.
Duties of the Merarite Clan
29 “Now record the names of the members of the clans and families of the Merarite division of the tribe of Levi. 30 List all the men between the ages of thirty and fifty who are eligible to serve in the Tabernacle.
31 “Their only duty at the Tabernacle will be to carry loads. They will carry the frames of the Tabernacle, the crossbars, the posts, and the bases; 32 also the posts for the courtyard walls with their bases, pegs, and ropes; and all the accessories and everything else related to their use. Assign the various loads to each man by name. 33 So these are the duties of the Merarite clans at the Tabernacle. They are directly responsible to Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.”
Summary of the Registration
34 So Moses, Aaron, and the other leaders of the community listed the members of the Kohathite division by their clans and families. 35 The list included all the men between thirty and fifty years of age who were eligible for service in the Tabernacle, 36 and the total number came to 2,750. 37 So this was the total of all those from the Kohathite clans who were eligible to serve at the Tabernacle. Moses and Aaron listed them, just as the Lord had commanded through Moses.
38 The Gershonite division was also listed by its clans and families. 39 The list included all the men between thirty and fifty years of age who were eligible for service in the Tabernacle, 40 and the total number came to 2,630. 41 So this was the total of all those from the Gershonite clans who were eligible to serve at the Tabernacle. Moses and Aaron listed them, just as the Lord had commanded.
42 The Merarite division was also listed by its clans and families. 43 The list included all the men between thirty and fifty years of age who were eligible for service in the Tabernacle, 44 and the total number came to 3,200. 45 So this was the total of all those from the Merarite clans who were eligible for service. Moses and Aaron listed them, just as the Lord had commanded through Moses.
46 So Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of Israel listed all the Levites by their clans and families. 47 All the men between thirty and fifty years of age who were eligible for service in the Tabernacle and for its transportation 48 numbered 8,580. 49 When their names were recorded, as the Lord had commanded through Moses, each man was assigned his task and told what to carry.
And so the registration was completed, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
4:3 Hebrew the Tent of Meeting; also in 4:4, 15, 23, 25, 28, 30, 31, 33, 35, 37, 39, 41, 43, 47.
4:5 Or Ark of the Testimony.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, October 31, 2014
Read: Romans 5:1-8
Faith Brings Joy
Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace[a] with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. 2 Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.
3 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. 4 And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. 5 And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.
6 When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. 7 Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. 8 But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.
Footnotes:
5:1 Some manuscripts read let us have peace.
Insight
As a result of Christ’s sacrifice, Paul mentions two great benefits for the follower of Christ. In verse 1, he says that we have “peace with God,” an idea that he unpacks in Philippians 4, where we read of the incomprehensible peace of God, but also the relationship we have with the God of peace Himself (vv.8-9). In Romans 5:2, Paul also declares that we now have “access” to God. This was a stunning idea that he explained more fully in Colossians 1:21, “And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled.” We receive the gifts of peace with God and access to God because of Christ’s loving sacrifice on our behalf.
What Love Is
By Bill Crowder
God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. —Romans 5:8
Years ago I asked a young man who was engaged to be married, “How do you know that you love her?” It was a loaded question, intended to help him look at his heart’s motives for the upcoming marriage. After several thoughtful moments, he responded, “I know I love her because I want to spend the rest of my life making her happy.”
We discussed what that meant—and the price tag attached to the selflessness of constantly seeking the best for the other person, rather than putting ourselves first. Real love has a lot to do with sacrifice.
That idea is in line with the wisdom of the Bible. In the Scriptures there are several Greek words for love but the highest form is agape love—love that is defined and driven by self-sacrifice. Nowhere is this more true than in the love our heavenly Father has shown us in Christ. We are deeply valued by Him. Paul stated, “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8).
If sacrifice is the true measure of love, there could be no more precious gift than Jesus: “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son” (John 3:16 nlt).
Amazing love!
How can it be
That Thou, my God,
Shouldst die for me? —Wesley
The measure of love is what you are willing to give up for it.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, October 31, 2014
The Trial of Faith
If you have faith as a mustard seed . . . nothing will be impossible for you —Matthew 17:20
We have the idea that God rewards us for our faith, and it may be so in the initial stages. But we do not earn anything through faith— faith brings us into the right relationship with God and gives Him His opportunity to work. Yet God frequently has to knock the bottom out of your experience as His saint to get you in direct contact with Himself. God wants you to understand that it is a life of faith, not a life of emotional enjoyment of His blessings. The beginning of your life of faith was very narrow and intense, centered around a small amount of experience that had as much emotion as faith in it, and it was full of light and sweetness. Then God withdrew His conscious blessings to teach you to “walk by faith” (2 Corinthians 5:7). And you are worth much more to Him now than you were in your days of conscious delight with your thrilling testimony.
Faith by its very nature must be tested and tried. And the real trial of faith is not that we find it difficult to trust God, but that God’s character must be proven as trustworthy in our own minds. Faith being worked out into reality must experience times of unbroken isolation. Never confuse the trial of faith with the ordinary discipline of life, because a great deal of what we call the trial of faith is the inevitable result of being alive. Faith, as the Bible teaches it, is faith in God coming against everything that contradicts Him— a faith that says, “I will remain true to God’s character whatever He may do.” The highest and the greatest expression of faith in the whole Bible is— “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him” (Job 13:15).
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, October 31, 2014
The Last Monster in the Dark - #7255
I suspect children go to secret seminars on how to manipulate parents. They are so good so early, especially at bedtime. The object seems to be to squeeze out a few more minutes before you have to go to sleep, right? Let's see, there's water, and then there's getting rid of the water, and then there's praying. And then, "Let's pray some more." Who can argue with that one? There's a sudden interest in talking about things; they are suddenly communicators. Then, of course, the ever popular "monsters in my closet."
Actually a lot of these things are based on real needs and real feelings. I mean, a lot of children really believe there's a monster in their closet, and that the monster will come out and get them as soon as there's not a mommy or daddy in the room. Well, I'm sure glad we're all grown up now and we don't have to be afraid of a monster in the dark any more. Well, except for one.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Last Monster in the Dark."
Our word for today from the Word of God is found in 1 Corinthians 15. I'm beginning at verse 54 where this audacious statement is made, "Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." Well, there's the last monster; the one that lurks in the dark no matter how old we are – death!
A doctor friend of mine who is a follower of Jesus Christ was at his 45th class reunion talking with another doctor friend who has always been an atheist his whole life since high school. But all of a sudden he said to my doctor friend, "Can you tell me a little bit about what you believe in?" My friend was really surprised! This man never cared before. He said, "Well, I'd be glad to, but can I ask you why you're asking?" And this man who had been an atheist all his life just said, "Well, frankly, I'm nervous about eternity."
You know, we should be, especially if we're not ready to meet God. God says that because of Jesus' death, death can be swallowed up in victory. Why? Well, see, the only thing to fear about death ultimately is meeting God. And that's because as the Bible says, "All have sinned and missed God's glorious ideal."
And the sentence that follows that verdict says, "The soul that sins, it shall die." That eternal death penalty hangs over us. I think even deep down inside we know that, and it makes us rightfully nervous about eternity. But Jesus came as our substitute, to die the death penalty we deserve. And anyone who puts all his trust in Him will have their sin erased from God's Book forever.
John 5:24 in the Bible says at the moment you come to Christ, you "cross over from death to life." It's wonderful to be able to look forward to eternity and not fear it; not be nervous about it. One of the world's great preachers, D. L. Moody in another generation, said, "When you see in the newspaper that Dwight Moody of Northfield, Massachusetts is dead, don't you believe it, for I'll be more alive then than I've ever been before."
It's so great to know that the Savior who's waiting for you on the other side of your last breath is the One you will meet and that you are ready to meet Him. If you're not sure you belong to Him, you're not ready for eternity, you can take care of that right now. You say, "Jesus, I'm Yours. I get it. You paid for my sins. I hereby trade the death penalty I deserve for an eternal life I could never deserve. Jesus, right here right now I'm giving me to You."
I've kind of laid out this path, knowing that you're ready for eternity, knowing you belong to Jesus at our website ANewStory.com. I can't urge you enough to go there today.
Death, that last monster in the dark, deceives us all our life, and we know it will always be deceptive. You never need to fear that monster again if you have your hand in the hand of Jesus, because He has beaten that monster once and for all.
From my daily reading of the bible, Our Daily Bread Devotionals, My Utmost for His Highest and Ron Hutchcraft "A Word with You" and occasionally others.
Friday, October 31, 2014
Thursday, October 30, 2014
Numbers 3, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: Simple, Powerful Prayers
James 1:17 says, "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning."
And here's this simple "pocket prayer" for you today:
Dear Father. Teach me to accept what you've given. I may not always understand circumstances, but show me how they are blessings and give me gratitude for all your gifts.
Rain your blessings on my friends and family today. Give them hope whatever they face. Thank you that Your blessings never end. In Jesus' name, amen.
Here's an invitation for you today-one to encourage your daily conversations with God. Go to BeforeAmen.com and take the brief Prayer Strengths Assessment. It'll give you a building block for your growth in prayer!
Before Amen
Numbers 3
The Levites
This is the account of the family of Aaron and Moses at the time the Lord spoke to Moses at Mount Sinai.
2 The names of the sons of Aaron were Nadab the firstborn and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. 3 Those were the names of Aaron’s sons, the anointed priests, who were ordained to serve as priests. 4 Nadab and Abihu, however, died before the Lord when they made an offering with unauthorized fire before him in the Desert of Sinai. They had no sons, so Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests during the lifetime of their father Aaron.
5 The Lord said to Moses, 6 “Bring the tribe of Levi and present them to Aaron the priest to assist him. 7 They are to perform duties for him and for the whole community at the tent of meeting by doing the work of the tabernacle. 8 They are to take care of all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, fulfilling the obligations of the Israelites by doing the work of the tabernacle. 9 Give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are the Israelites who are to be given wholly to him.[a] 10 Appoint Aaron and his sons to serve as priests; anyone else who approaches the sanctuary is to be put to death.”
11 The Lord also said to Moses, 12 “I have taken the Levites from among the Israelites in place of the first male offspring of every Israelite woman. The Levites are mine, 13 for all the firstborn are mine. When I struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, I set apart for myself every firstborn in Israel, whether human or animal. They are to be mine. I am the Lord.”
14 The Lord said to Moses in the Desert of Sinai, 15 “Count the Levites by their families and clans. Count every male a month old or more.” 16 So Moses counted them, as he was commanded by the word of the Lord.
17 These were the names of the sons of Levi:
Gershon, Kohath and Merari.
18 These were the names of the Gershonite clans:
Libni and Shimei.
19 The Kohathite clans:
Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel.
20 The Merarite clans:
Mahli and Mushi.
These were the Levite clans, according to their families.
21 To Gershon belonged the clans of the Libnites and Shimeites; these were the Gershonite clans. 22 The number of all the males a month old or more who were counted was 7,500. 23 The Gershonite clans were to camp on the west, behind the tabernacle. 24 The leader of the families of the Gershonites was Eliasaph son of Lael. 25 At the tent of meeting the Gershonites were responsible for the care of the tabernacle and tent, its coverings, the curtain at the entrance to the tent of meeting, 26 the curtains of the courtyard, the curtain at the entrance to the courtyard surrounding the tabernacle and altar, and the ropes—and everything related to their use.
27 To Kohath belonged the clans of the Amramites, Izharites, Hebronites and Uzzielites; these were the Kohathite clans. 28 The number of all the males a month old or more was 8,600.[b] The Kohathites were responsible for the care of the sanctuary. 29 The Kohathite clans were to camp on the south side of the tabernacle. 30 The leader of the families of the Kohathite clans was Elizaphan son of Uzziel. 31 They were responsible for the care of the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the articles of the sanctuary used in ministering, the curtain, and everything related to their use. 32 The chief leader of the Levites was Eleazar son of Aaron, the priest. He was appointed over those who were responsible for the care of the sanctuary.
33 To Merari belonged the clans of the Mahlites and the Mushites; these were the Merarite clans. 34 The number of all the males a month old or more who were counted was 6,200. 35 The leader of the families of the Merarite clans was Zuriel son of Abihail; they were to camp on the north side of the tabernacle. 36 The Merarites were appointed to take care of the frames of the tabernacle, its crossbars, posts, bases, all its equipment, and everything related to their use, 37 as well as the posts of the surrounding courtyard with their bases, tent pegs and ropes.
38 Moses and Aaron and his sons were to camp to the east of the tabernacle, toward the sunrise, in front of the tent of meeting. They were responsible for the care of the sanctuary on behalf of the Israelites. Anyone else who approached the sanctuary was to be put to death.
39 The total number of Levites counted at the Lord’s command by Moses and Aaron according to their clans, including every male a month old or more, was 22,000.
40 The Lord said to Moses, “Count all the firstborn Israelite males who are a month old or more and make a list of their names. 41 Take the Levites for me in place of all the firstborn of the Israelites, and the livestock of the Levites in place of all the firstborn of the livestock of the Israelites. I am the Lord.”
42 So Moses counted all the firstborn of the Israelites, as the Lord commanded him. 43 The total number of firstborn males a month old or more, listed by name, was 22,273.
44 The Lord also said to Moses, 45 “Take the Levites in place of all the firstborn of Israel, and the livestock of the Levites in place of their livestock. The Levites are to be mine. I am the Lord. 46 To redeem the 273 firstborn Israelites who exceed the number of the Levites, 47 collect five shekels[c] for each one, according to the sanctuary shekel, which weighs twenty gerahs. 48 Give the money for the redemption of the additional Israelites to Aaron and his sons.”
49 So Moses collected the redemption money from those who exceeded the number redeemed by the Levites. 50 From the firstborn of the Israelites he collected silver weighing 1,365 shekels,[d] according to the sanctuary shekel. 51 Moses gave the redemption money to Aaron and his sons, as he was commanded by the word of the Lord.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, October 30, 2014
Read: 2 Corinthians 3:17-4:7
For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.
Treasure in Fragile Clay Jars
4 Therefore, since God in his mercy has given us this new way,[a] we never give up. 2 We reject all shameful deeds and underhanded methods. We don’t try to trick anyone or distort the word of God. We tell the truth before God, and all who are honest know this.
3 If the Good News we preach is hidden behind a veil, it is hidden only from people who are perishing. 4 Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.
5 You see, we don’t go around preaching about ourselves. We preach that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we ourselves are your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.
7 We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure.[b] This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.
Footnotes:
4:1 Or ministry.
4:7 Greek We now have this treasure in clay jars.
Insight
Paul was careful to ensure that his motives and methods were completely aboveboard (2 Cor. 4:2). Careful not to be accused of being a huckster who profited monetarily from the ministry (2:17), Paul ensured that his message was true, his motives were pure, and his methods were proper (4:2). He also spoke of the need for integrity in ministry in
1 Thessalonians 2:3-10.
Music And Megaphone
By David C. McCasland
We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. —2 Corinthians 4:7
Christopher Locke buys old trumpets, trombones, and French horns and transforms them into acoustic amplifiers for iPhones and iPads. His creations are modeled on the trumpetlike speakers used in the first phonographs during the late 1800s. Music played through Christopher’s AnalogTelePhonographers has a “louder, cleaner, richer, deeper sound” than what is heard from the small speakers in the digital devices. Along with being interesting works of art, these salvaged brass instruments require no electrical power as they amplify the music people love to hear.
Paul’s words to the followers of Jesus in Corinth remind us today that in living for Christ and sharing Him with others, we are not the music but only a megaphone. “For we do not preach ourselves,” Paul wrote, “but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake” (2 Cor. 4:5). Our purpose is not to become the message, but to convey it through our lives and our lips. “We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us” (v.7).
If an old horn can amplify music, then perhaps our flawed lives can magnify the goodness of God. We’re the megaphone; the music and the power come from Him!
Thank You, Lord, that You can take our lives
and use them in ways we never thought
possible. Help us to be the instruments
that convey the music of Your love.
Nothing is unusable in God’s hands.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, October 30, 2014
Faith
Without faith it is impossible to please Him . . . —Hebrews 11:6
Faith in active opposition to common sense is mistaken enthusiasm and narrow-mindedness, and common sense in opposition to faith demonstrates a mistaken reliance on reason as the basis for truth. The life of faith brings the two of these into the proper relationship. Common sense and faith are as different from each other as the natural life is from the spiritual, and as impulsiveness is from inspiration. Nothing that Jesus Christ ever said is common sense, but is revelation sense, and is complete, whereas common sense falls short. Yet faith must be tested and tried before it becomes real in your life. “We know that all things work together for good . . .” (Romans 8:28) so that no matter what happens, the transforming power of God’s providence transforms perfect faith into reality. Faith always works in a personal way, because the purpose of God is to see that perfect faith is made real in His children.
For every detail of common sense in life, there is a truth God has revealed by which we can prove in our practical experience what we believe God to be. Faith is a tremendously active principle that always puts Jesus Christ first. The life of faith says, “Lord, You have said it, it appears to be irrational, but I’m going to step out boldly, trusting in Your Word” (for example, see Matthew 6:33). Turning intellectual faith into our personal possession is always a fight, not just sometimes. God brings us into particular circumstances to educate our faith, because the nature of faith is to make the object of our faith very real to us. Until we know Jesus, God is merely a concept, and we can’t have faith in Him. But once we hear Jesus say, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9) we immediately have something that is real, and our faith is limitless. Faith is the entire person in the right relationship with God through the power of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, October 30, 2014
Dying From Doing Nothing - #7254
If you live on the East Coast, there is one word that's pretty sure to get your attention—hurricane. Yeah! I'll tell you, Hurricane Hugo was one of those mega storms that really got our attention. You could watch the news for several nights before Hugo arrived. And they would show you this cyclonic circle inching across the weather map toward, well at that point, an uncertain destination. Half a million people were evacuated from Florida to the Carolinas, not knowing where that destructive little circle on the map was going to land. Finally, it became clear that Hugo's 130-mile-an-hour winds were going to slam ashore at Charleston, South Carolina.
Now, the challenge for public officials was to convince everyone that it was time to move. The mayor at the time gave a very solemn warning to the people there. He was quoted as saying, "Hugo is a killer! If you stay, you may very well die." That was true then; that's still true today.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Dying From Doing Nothing."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from the prophet Ezekiel in the Old Testament. Chapter 18, beginning in verse 30, he says, "Repent! Turn away from all your offences; then sin will not be your downfall. Rid yourselves of all the offences you have committed, and get a new heart; a new spirit." And then God asks a very pointed question. He might be asking you this today, "Why will you die?" Then He turns it around and He says, "Repent and live."
In the Bible the word repent always refers to changing your mind about your sin. Whatever you have been cuddling and tolerating in your life that's wrong, displeasing to God, you turn your back on it. You change your mind about God and you pin all your hopes on Him instead of on you.
Remember that mayor of Charleston who said the hurricane was a killer? Well, God's trying to tell us here sin is not to mess with. It's a killer! With a hurricane, those who don't leave might survive. But when it comes to sin, there are no survivors. There are eternal consequences of not dealing with our sin. But sin kills us even now. It kills marriages, it damages the people you love with your temper, it ruins the beauty and purity of sex and it destroys your reputation.
See, the people who die in a hurricane don't have to do anything to be killed by it. No, they die from doing nothing; just staying where they are. And that's how it is with sin. All you have to do to have this life cheapened by sin is to do nothing. All you have to do to spend eternity in hell instead of heaven is to do nothing. Stay where you are and sin will kill you.
God says, "Rid yourself of your sin. Get a new heart." And you can only do that in one place – the cross where Christ died for you; where He took all the fury of all God's judgment, for all your sin and paid for it out of His love for you. He said, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." He was forgiving you and me when He said that. He was giving us the possibility of a new beginning; that new heart the Bible talks about.
God's been warning you. He's saying, "If you stay where you are, you'll die." In the words in the book of Hebrews, "How shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation?" Don't flirt with disaster. In fact, that's why He brought us together today I believe. That's why he had me talk about this. He wants you ready to meet Him.
If you want to be sure you're ready for that appointment with God that you will keep on His schedule; if you want to be sure you have a love relationship with Him; if you want to be sure you'll never meet your sin on Judgment Day, this is your day to get started with Jesus Christ, the One who died to pay for your sin and walked out of His grave so He could walk into your life.
That's what our website's all about is how to have this most important relationship in life. And it's rightly called ANewStory.com, because that's what can start there for you today, your new story. Would you go there?
Move away from living your own way, because the storm is closer than it's ever been to your coast. It's time to flee right now to the safety of the cross of Jesus Christ.
James 1:17 says, "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning."
And here's this simple "pocket prayer" for you today:
Dear Father. Teach me to accept what you've given. I may not always understand circumstances, but show me how they are blessings and give me gratitude for all your gifts.
Rain your blessings on my friends and family today. Give them hope whatever they face. Thank you that Your blessings never end. In Jesus' name, amen.
Here's an invitation for you today-one to encourage your daily conversations with God. Go to BeforeAmen.com and take the brief Prayer Strengths Assessment. It'll give you a building block for your growth in prayer!
Before Amen
Numbers 3
The Levites
This is the account of the family of Aaron and Moses at the time the Lord spoke to Moses at Mount Sinai.
2 The names of the sons of Aaron were Nadab the firstborn and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. 3 Those were the names of Aaron’s sons, the anointed priests, who were ordained to serve as priests. 4 Nadab and Abihu, however, died before the Lord when they made an offering with unauthorized fire before him in the Desert of Sinai. They had no sons, so Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests during the lifetime of their father Aaron.
5 The Lord said to Moses, 6 “Bring the tribe of Levi and present them to Aaron the priest to assist him. 7 They are to perform duties for him and for the whole community at the tent of meeting by doing the work of the tabernacle. 8 They are to take care of all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, fulfilling the obligations of the Israelites by doing the work of the tabernacle. 9 Give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are the Israelites who are to be given wholly to him.[a] 10 Appoint Aaron and his sons to serve as priests; anyone else who approaches the sanctuary is to be put to death.”
11 The Lord also said to Moses, 12 “I have taken the Levites from among the Israelites in place of the first male offspring of every Israelite woman. The Levites are mine, 13 for all the firstborn are mine. When I struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, I set apart for myself every firstborn in Israel, whether human or animal. They are to be mine. I am the Lord.”
14 The Lord said to Moses in the Desert of Sinai, 15 “Count the Levites by their families and clans. Count every male a month old or more.” 16 So Moses counted them, as he was commanded by the word of the Lord.
17 These were the names of the sons of Levi:
Gershon, Kohath and Merari.
18 These were the names of the Gershonite clans:
Libni and Shimei.
19 The Kohathite clans:
Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel.
20 The Merarite clans:
Mahli and Mushi.
These were the Levite clans, according to their families.
21 To Gershon belonged the clans of the Libnites and Shimeites; these were the Gershonite clans. 22 The number of all the males a month old or more who were counted was 7,500. 23 The Gershonite clans were to camp on the west, behind the tabernacle. 24 The leader of the families of the Gershonites was Eliasaph son of Lael. 25 At the tent of meeting the Gershonites were responsible for the care of the tabernacle and tent, its coverings, the curtain at the entrance to the tent of meeting, 26 the curtains of the courtyard, the curtain at the entrance to the courtyard surrounding the tabernacle and altar, and the ropes—and everything related to their use.
27 To Kohath belonged the clans of the Amramites, Izharites, Hebronites and Uzzielites; these were the Kohathite clans. 28 The number of all the males a month old or more was 8,600.[b] The Kohathites were responsible for the care of the sanctuary. 29 The Kohathite clans were to camp on the south side of the tabernacle. 30 The leader of the families of the Kohathite clans was Elizaphan son of Uzziel. 31 They were responsible for the care of the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the articles of the sanctuary used in ministering, the curtain, and everything related to their use. 32 The chief leader of the Levites was Eleazar son of Aaron, the priest. He was appointed over those who were responsible for the care of the sanctuary.
33 To Merari belonged the clans of the Mahlites and the Mushites; these were the Merarite clans. 34 The number of all the males a month old or more who were counted was 6,200. 35 The leader of the families of the Merarite clans was Zuriel son of Abihail; they were to camp on the north side of the tabernacle. 36 The Merarites were appointed to take care of the frames of the tabernacle, its crossbars, posts, bases, all its equipment, and everything related to their use, 37 as well as the posts of the surrounding courtyard with their bases, tent pegs and ropes.
38 Moses and Aaron and his sons were to camp to the east of the tabernacle, toward the sunrise, in front of the tent of meeting. They were responsible for the care of the sanctuary on behalf of the Israelites. Anyone else who approached the sanctuary was to be put to death.
39 The total number of Levites counted at the Lord’s command by Moses and Aaron according to their clans, including every male a month old or more, was 22,000.
40 The Lord said to Moses, “Count all the firstborn Israelite males who are a month old or more and make a list of their names. 41 Take the Levites for me in place of all the firstborn of the Israelites, and the livestock of the Levites in place of all the firstborn of the livestock of the Israelites. I am the Lord.”
42 So Moses counted all the firstborn of the Israelites, as the Lord commanded him. 43 The total number of firstborn males a month old or more, listed by name, was 22,273.
44 The Lord also said to Moses, 45 “Take the Levites in place of all the firstborn of Israel, and the livestock of the Levites in place of their livestock. The Levites are to be mine. I am the Lord. 46 To redeem the 273 firstborn Israelites who exceed the number of the Levites, 47 collect five shekels[c] for each one, according to the sanctuary shekel, which weighs twenty gerahs. 48 Give the money for the redemption of the additional Israelites to Aaron and his sons.”
49 So Moses collected the redemption money from those who exceeded the number redeemed by the Levites. 50 From the firstborn of the Israelites he collected silver weighing 1,365 shekels,[d] according to the sanctuary shekel. 51 Moses gave the redemption money to Aaron and his sons, as he was commanded by the word of the Lord.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, October 30, 2014
Read: 2 Corinthians 3:17-4:7
For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.
Treasure in Fragile Clay Jars
4 Therefore, since God in his mercy has given us this new way,[a] we never give up. 2 We reject all shameful deeds and underhanded methods. We don’t try to trick anyone or distort the word of God. We tell the truth before God, and all who are honest know this.
3 If the Good News we preach is hidden behind a veil, it is hidden only from people who are perishing. 4 Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.
5 You see, we don’t go around preaching about ourselves. We preach that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we ourselves are your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.
7 We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure.[b] This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.
Footnotes:
4:1 Or ministry.
4:7 Greek We now have this treasure in clay jars.
Insight
Paul was careful to ensure that his motives and methods were completely aboveboard (2 Cor. 4:2). Careful not to be accused of being a huckster who profited monetarily from the ministry (2:17), Paul ensured that his message was true, his motives were pure, and his methods were proper (4:2). He also spoke of the need for integrity in ministry in
1 Thessalonians 2:3-10.
Music And Megaphone
By David C. McCasland
We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. —2 Corinthians 4:7
Christopher Locke buys old trumpets, trombones, and French horns and transforms them into acoustic amplifiers for iPhones and iPads. His creations are modeled on the trumpetlike speakers used in the first phonographs during the late 1800s. Music played through Christopher’s AnalogTelePhonographers has a “louder, cleaner, richer, deeper sound” than what is heard from the small speakers in the digital devices. Along with being interesting works of art, these salvaged brass instruments require no electrical power as they amplify the music people love to hear.
Paul’s words to the followers of Jesus in Corinth remind us today that in living for Christ and sharing Him with others, we are not the music but only a megaphone. “For we do not preach ourselves,” Paul wrote, “but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake” (2 Cor. 4:5). Our purpose is not to become the message, but to convey it through our lives and our lips. “We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us” (v.7).
If an old horn can amplify music, then perhaps our flawed lives can magnify the goodness of God. We’re the megaphone; the music and the power come from Him!
Thank You, Lord, that You can take our lives
and use them in ways we never thought
possible. Help us to be the instruments
that convey the music of Your love.
Nothing is unusable in God’s hands.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, October 30, 2014
Faith
Without faith it is impossible to please Him . . . —Hebrews 11:6
Faith in active opposition to common sense is mistaken enthusiasm and narrow-mindedness, and common sense in opposition to faith demonstrates a mistaken reliance on reason as the basis for truth. The life of faith brings the two of these into the proper relationship. Common sense and faith are as different from each other as the natural life is from the spiritual, and as impulsiveness is from inspiration. Nothing that Jesus Christ ever said is common sense, but is revelation sense, and is complete, whereas common sense falls short. Yet faith must be tested and tried before it becomes real in your life. “We know that all things work together for good . . .” (Romans 8:28) so that no matter what happens, the transforming power of God’s providence transforms perfect faith into reality. Faith always works in a personal way, because the purpose of God is to see that perfect faith is made real in His children.
For every detail of common sense in life, there is a truth God has revealed by which we can prove in our practical experience what we believe God to be. Faith is a tremendously active principle that always puts Jesus Christ first. The life of faith says, “Lord, You have said it, it appears to be irrational, but I’m going to step out boldly, trusting in Your Word” (for example, see Matthew 6:33). Turning intellectual faith into our personal possession is always a fight, not just sometimes. God brings us into particular circumstances to educate our faith, because the nature of faith is to make the object of our faith very real to us. Until we know Jesus, God is merely a concept, and we can’t have faith in Him. But once we hear Jesus say, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9) we immediately have something that is real, and our faith is limitless. Faith is the entire person in the right relationship with God through the power of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, October 30, 2014
Dying From Doing Nothing - #7254
If you live on the East Coast, there is one word that's pretty sure to get your attention—hurricane. Yeah! I'll tell you, Hurricane Hugo was one of those mega storms that really got our attention. You could watch the news for several nights before Hugo arrived. And they would show you this cyclonic circle inching across the weather map toward, well at that point, an uncertain destination. Half a million people were evacuated from Florida to the Carolinas, not knowing where that destructive little circle on the map was going to land. Finally, it became clear that Hugo's 130-mile-an-hour winds were going to slam ashore at Charleston, South Carolina.
Now, the challenge for public officials was to convince everyone that it was time to move. The mayor at the time gave a very solemn warning to the people there. He was quoted as saying, "Hugo is a killer! If you stay, you may very well die." That was true then; that's still true today.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Dying From Doing Nothing."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from the prophet Ezekiel in the Old Testament. Chapter 18, beginning in verse 30, he says, "Repent! Turn away from all your offences; then sin will not be your downfall. Rid yourselves of all the offences you have committed, and get a new heart; a new spirit." And then God asks a very pointed question. He might be asking you this today, "Why will you die?" Then He turns it around and He says, "Repent and live."
In the Bible the word repent always refers to changing your mind about your sin. Whatever you have been cuddling and tolerating in your life that's wrong, displeasing to God, you turn your back on it. You change your mind about God and you pin all your hopes on Him instead of on you.
Remember that mayor of Charleston who said the hurricane was a killer? Well, God's trying to tell us here sin is not to mess with. It's a killer! With a hurricane, those who don't leave might survive. But when it comes to sin, there are no survivors. There are eternal consequences of not dealing with our sin. But sin kills us even now. It kills marriages, it damages the people you love with your temper, it ruins the beauty and purity of sex and it destroys your reputation.
See, the people who die in a hurricane don't have to do anything to be killed by it. No, they die from doing nothing; just staying where they are. And that's how it is with sin. All you have to do to have this life cheapened by sin is to do nothing. All you have to do to spend eternity in hell instead of heaven is to do nothing. Stay where you are and sin will kill you.
God says, "Rid yourself of your sin. Get a new heart." And you can only do that in one place – the cross where Christ died for you; where He took all the fury of all God's judgment, for all your sin and paid for it out of His love for you. He said, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." He was forgiving you and me when He said that. He was giving us the possibility of a new beginning; that new heart the Bible talks about.
God's been warning you. He's saying, "If you stay where you are, you'll die." In the words in the book of Hebrews, "How shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation?" Don't flirt with disaster. In fact, that's why He brought us together today I believe. That's why he had me talk about this. He wants you ready to meet Him.
If you want to be sure you're ready for that appointment with God that you will keep on His schedule; if you want to be sure you have a love relationship with Him; if you want to be sure you'll never meet your sin on Judgment Day, this is your day to get started with Jesus Christ, the One who died to pay for your sin and walked out of His grave so He could walk into your life.
That's what our website's all about is how to have this most important relationship in life. And it's rightly called ANewStory.com, because that's what can start there for you today, your new story. Would you go there?
Move away from living your own way, because the storm is closer than it's ever been to your coast. It's time to flee right now to the safety of the cross of Jesus Christ.
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
Mark 12:1-27, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: Pray About Everything
The moment you sense a problem, however large or small, take it to Christ.
“Max, if I take my problems to Jesus every time I have one, I’m going to be talking to Jesus all day long.”
Now you’re getting the point! An un-prayed for problem is an embedded thorn. It festers and infects the finger, then the hand, then the entire arm. Best to go straight to the person who has the tweezers. We can only wonder how many disasters would be averted if we would go first to Jesus?
Philippians 4:6 says, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything; tell God your needs and don’t forget to thank him for his answers.”
Sign on at BeforeAmen.com and every day for 4 weeks, pray 4 minutes—simple, powerful prayers. It’ll change your prayer life forever!
Before Amen
Mark 12:1-27
Parable of the Evil Farmers
Then Jesus began teaching them with stories: “A man planted a vineyard. He built a wall around it, dug a pit for pressing out the grape juice, and built a lookout tower. Then he leased the vineyard to tenant farmers and moved to another country. 2 At the time of the grape harvest, he sent one of his servants to collect his share of the crop. 3 But the farmers grabbed the servant, beat him up, and sent him back empty-handed. 4 The owner then sent another servant, but they insulted him and beat him over the head. 5 The next servant he sent was killed. Others he sent were either beaten or killed, 6 until there was only one left—his son whom he loved dearly. The owner finally sent him, thinking, ‘Surely they will respect my son.’
7 “But the tenant farmers said to one another, ‘Here comes the heir to this estate. Let’s kill him and get the estate for ourselves!’ 8 So they grabbed him and murdered him and threw his body out of the vineyard.
9 “What do you suppose the owner of the vineyard will do?” Jesus asked. “I’ll tell you—he will come and kill those farmers and lease the vineyard to others. 10 Didn’t you ever read this in the Scriptures?
‘The stone that the builders rejected
has now become the cornerstone.
11 This is the Lord’s doing,
and it is wonderful to see.’[a]”
12 The religious leaders[b] wanted to arrest Jesus because they realized he was telling the story against them—they were the wicked farmers. But they were afraid of the crowd, so they left him and went away.
Taxes for Caesar
13 Later the leaders sent some Pharisees and supporters of Herod to trap Jesus into saying something for which he could be arrested. 14 “Teacher,” they said, “we know how honest you are. You are impartial and don’t play favorites. You teach the way of God truthfully. Now tell us—is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not? 15 Should we pay them, or shouldn’t we?”
Jesus saw through their hypocrisy and said, “Why are you trying to trap me? Show me a Roman coin,[c] and I’ll tell you.” 16 When they handed it to him, he asked, “Whose picture and title are stamped on it?”
“Caesar’s,” they replied.
17 “Well, then,” Jesus said, “give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.”
His reply completely amazed them.
Discussion about Resurrection
18 Then Jesus was approached by some Sadducees—religious leaders who say there is no resurrection from the dead. They posed this question: 19 “Teacher, Moses gave us a law that if a man dies, leaving a wife without children, his brother should marry the widow and have a child who will carry on the brother’s name.[d] 20 Well, suppose there were seven brothers. The oldest one married and then died without children. 21 So the second brother married the widow, but he also died without children. Then the third brother married her. 22 This continued with all seven of them, and still there were no children. Last of all, the woman also died. 23 So tell us, whose wife will she be in the resurrection? For all seven were married to her.”
24 Jesus replied, “Your mistake is that you don’t know the Scriptures, and you don’t know the power of God. 25 For when the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage. In this respect they will be like the angels in heaven.
26 “But now, as to whether the dead will be raised—haven’t you ever read about this in the writings of Moses, in the story of the burning bush? Long after Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had died, God said to Moses,[e] ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’[f] 27 So he is the God of the living, not the dead. You have made a serious error.”
Footnotes:
12:10-11 Ps 118:22-23.
12:12 Greek They.
12:15 Greek a denarius.
12:19 See Deut 25:5-6.
12:26a Greek in the story of the bush? God said to him.
12:26b Exod 3:6.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
Read: Jeremiah 42:1-12
Warning to Stay in Judah
Then all the guerrilla leaders, including Johanan son of Kareah and Jezaniah[a] son of Hoshaiah, and all the people, from the least to the greatest, approached 2 Jeremiah the prophet. They said, “Please pray to the Lord your God for us. As you can see, we are only a tiny remnant compared to what we were before. 3 Pray that the Lord your God will show us what to do and where to go.”
4 “All right,” Jeremiah replied. “I will pray to the Lord your God, as you have asked, and I will tell you everything he says. I will hide nothing from you.”
5 Then they said to Jeremiah, “May the Lord your God be a faithful witness against us if we refuse to obey whatever he tells us to do! 6 Whether we like it or not, we will obey the Lord our God to whom we are sending you with our plea. For if we obey him, everything will turn out well for us.”
7 Ten days later the Lord gave his reply to Jeremiah. 8 So he called for Johanan son of Kareah and the other guerrilla leaders, and for all the people, from the least to the greatest. 9 He said to them, “You sent me to the Lord, the God of Israel, with your request, and this is his reply: 10 ‘Stay here in this land. If you do, I will build you up and not tear you down; I will plant you and not uproot you. For I am sorry about all the punishment I have had to bring upon you. 11 Do not fear the king of Babylon anymore,’ says the Lord. ‘For I am with you and will save you and rescue you from his power. 12 I will be merciful to you by making him kind, so he will let you stay here in your land.’
Footnotes:
42:1 Greek version reads Azariah; compare 43:2.
Shadowed
By Mart De Haan
The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? —Psalm 27:1
Someone was shadowing me. In a darkened hallway, I turned the corner to go up a flight of stairs and was alarmed by what I saw, stopping dead in my tracks. It happened again a few days later. I came around the back of a favorite coffee shop and saw the large shape of a person coming at me. Both incidents ended with a smile, however. I’d been frightened by my own shadow!
The prophet Jeremiah talked about the difference between real and imagined fears. A group of his Jewish countrymen asked him to find out whether the Lord wanted them to stay in Jerusalem or return to Egypt for safety because they feared the king of Babylon (Jer. 42:1-3). Jeremiah told them that if they stayed and trusted God, they didn’t need to be afraid (vv.10-12). But if they returned to Egypt, the king of Babylon would find them (vv.15-16).
In a world of real dangers, God had given Israel reason to trust Him in Jerusalem. He had already rescued them from Egypt. Centuries later, the long-awaited Messiah died for us to deliver us from our own sin and fear of death. May our Almighty God show us today how to live in the security of His shadow, rather than in shadowy fears of our own making.
Trust when your skies are darkening,
Trust when your light grows dim,
Trust when the shadows gather,
Trust and look up to Him. —Anon.
Under the protecting shadow of God’s wing, the little shadows of life lose their terror.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
Substitution
He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him —2 Corinthians 5:21
The modern view of the death of Jesus is that He died for our sins out of sympathy for us. Yet the New Testament view is that He took our sin on Himself not because of sympathy, but because of His identification with us. He was “made. . . to be sin. . . .” Our sins are removed because of the death of Jesus, and the only explanation for His death is His obedience to His Father, not His sympathy for us. We are acceptable to God not because we have obeyed, nor because we have promised to give up things, but because of the death of Christ, and for no other reason. We say that Jesus Christ came to reveal the fatherhood and the lovingkindness of God, but the New Testament says that He came to take “away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). And the revealing of the fatherhood of God is only to those to whom Jesus has been introduced as Savior. In speaking to the world, Jesus Christ never referred to Himself as One who revealed the Father, but He spoke instead of being a stumbling block (see John 15:22-24). John 14:9 , where Jesus said, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father,” was spoken to His disciples.
That Christ died for me, and therefore I am completely free from penalty, is never taught in the New Testament. What is taught in the New Testament is that “He died for all” (2 Corinthians 5:15)— not, “He died my death”— and that through identification with His death I can be freed from sin, and have His very righteousness imparted as a gift to me. The substitution which is taught in the New Testament is twofold— “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” The teaching is not Christ for me unless I am determined to have Christ formed in me (see Galatians 4:19).
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
Father to the Finish - #7253
Many of the world's greatest dramas are not on a stage or a screen. They're played out in that quadrennial spectacle we call the Olympics. Maybe you remember the year Britain's representative in the 400-meter race, Derrick Redman, began to falter and went down in the back stretch with a torn right hamstring. Now, when I describe the scene, you'll know it's one of the great classic moments in Olympic history. As the medical attendants were approaching, Derrick Redman was fighting his way to his feet and he's limping along in anguish. Hopping, desperately trying to finish the race. He knew he wouldn't win; he was just trying to finish.
If you remember this at all, he reached that final stretch. And as he did, a large man in a tee-shirt forced his way out of the stands, ran up to Derrick and hugged him. That big man was Jim Redman, Derrick's Father. And he said to him, "Son, you don't have to do this." Gritting his teeth and with tears in his eyes, his son said, "Yes, I do." His Father said, "Then we are going to finish this together." And Derrick's head was literally buried in his Father's shoulder, but he stayed in his lane to the end. And when they crossed the finish line, the crowd who had been stunned at first, stood to their feet. They cheered and wept, and watched those two men finish that race together.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Father to the Finish."
Our word for today from the Word of God is a simple statement from Deuteronomy 1:30. It says this: "The Lord your God carried you as a Father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place." Maybe today finds you very tired, banged up, stressed out. And like that 400-meter runner in the Olympics you're staggering right now. You're having a hard time finishing your race.
You started well. You've been running real hard, but you're about to go down. Maybe you've been hit by discouragement, or illness, you've got family trouble, a lack of support. It could be that there are obstacles. There's pain. You're just hurting and there's still a lot more race ahead of you.
Well, God wants to give you the good news that someone has left the stands to help you, and He's coming to the track to get you the rest of the way. It is your Father. It's your Heavenly Father. First, God left the stands to come to a cross, and there He rescued us from the sin wound that would have kept us from ever reaching heaven.
There's a rich promise here that when you're in the desert and you can't go on, the resources are dried up, you say, "Daddy, I can't go any farther." He said, "Then I will carry you." Right now, let's be honest. You're not going to make it alone. But today there is an all-powerful Father who's offering to carry you. But you've got to let Him. If you're too proud to collapse in His arms and surrender to His control, then your power is limited. You're not going to make it.
But if you will totally release the control and in the words of the Bible, "humble yourself" you will have all of your Father's power. Even little children know where the power is. They sing it in a little song "Jesus Loves Me". It says, "They are weak, but He is strong. Yes, Jesus loves me."
Each of us reaches days when we just don't have any more to give. Maybe you're there right now. It's those moments in the race that can take you deeper into the love and the power of Jesus than you have ever been before. Your Father is not a spectator in the stands today. His arm is around you right now where you are.
And it could be you have never established your own personal relationship with God as your Father made possible by the death of His Son, Jesus, on a cross for the sin that has separated you from God for a lifetime, and will forever unless that wall comes down. And He has come down. He has come down to a cross; all the way down to die and to pay for you. That's how much He loves you. You don't have to do life alone any more – never again.
You have spent your last day alone if you will this day invite this Jesus to be your Savior from your sin, which I would be so privileged to help you do if you would just visit our website and find out there what the Bible says about how to get started with Him. Go to ANewStory.com, because the voice of God is saying to you today, "You're not doing this alone. From now on we will finish this race together."
The moment you sense a problem, however large or small, take it to Christ.
“Max, if I take my problems to Jesus every time I have one, I’m going to be talking to Jesus all day long.”
Now you’re getting the point! An un-prayed for problem is an embedded thorn. It festers and infects the finger, then the hand, then the entire arm. Best to go straight to the person who has the tweezers. We can only wonder how many disasters would be averted if we would go first to Jesus?
Philippians 4:6 says, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything; tell God your needs and don’t forget to thank him for his answers.”
Sign on at BeforeAmen.com and every day for 4 weeks, pray 4 minutes—simple, powerful prayers. It’ll change your prayer life forever!
Before Amen
Mark 12:1-27
Parable of the Evil Farmers
Then Jesus began teaching them with stories: “A man planted a vineyard. He built a wall around it, dug a pit for pressing out the grape juice, and built a lookout tower. Then he leased the vineyard to tenant farmers and moved to another country. 2 At the time of the grape harvest, he sent one of his servants to collect his share of the crop. 3 But the farmers grabbed the servant, beat him up, and sent him back empty-handed. 4 The owner then sent another servant, but they insulted him and beat him over the head. 5 The next servant he sent was killed. Others he sent were either beaten or killed, 6 until there was only one left—his son whom he loved dearly. The owner finally sent him, thinking, ‘Surely they will respect my son.’
7 “But the tenant farmers said to one another, ‘Here comes the heir to this estate. Let’s kill him and get the estate for ourselves!’ 8 So they grabbed him and murdered him and threw his body out of the vineyard.
9 “What do you suppose the owner of the vineyard will do?” Jesus asked. “I’ll tell you—he will come and kill those farmers and lease the vineyard to others. 10 Didn’t you ever read this in the Scriptures?
‘The stone that the builders rejected
has now become the cornerstone.
11 This is the Lord’s doing,
and it is wonderful to see.’[a]”
12 The religious leaders[b] wanted to arrest Jesus because they realized he was telling the story against them—they were the wicked farmers. But they were afraid of the crowd, so they left him and went away.
Taxes for Caesar
13 Later the leaders sent some Pharisees and supporters of Herod to trap Jesus into saying something for which he could be arrested. 14 “Teacher,” they said, “we know how honest you are. You are impartial and don’t play favorites. You teach the way of God truthfully. Now tell us—is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not? 15 Should we pay them, or shouldn’t we?”
Jesus saw through their hypocrisy and said, “Why are you trying to trap me? Show me a Roman coin,[c] and I’ll tell you.” 16 When they handed it to him, he asked, “Whose picture and title are stamped on it?”
“Caesar’s,” they replied.
17 “Well, then,” Jesus said, “give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.”
His reply completely amazed them.
Discussion about Resurrection
18 Then Jesus was approached by some Sadducees—religious leaders who say there is no resurrection from the dead. They posed this question: 19 “Teacher, Moses gave us a law that if a man dies, leaving a wife without children, his brother should marry the widow and have a child who will carry on the brother’s name.[d] 20 Well, suppose there were seven brothers. The oldest one married and then died without children. 21 So the second brother married the widow, but he also died without children. Then the third brother married her. 22 This continued with all seven of them, and still there were no children. Last of all, the woman also died. 23 So tell us, whose wife will she be in the resurrection? For all seven were married to her.”
24 Jesus replied, “Your mistake is that you don’t know the Scriptures, and you don’t know the power of God. 25 For when the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage. In this respect they will be like the angels in heaven.
26 “But now, as to whether the dead will be raised—haven’t you ever read about this in the writings of Moses, in the story of the burning bush? Long after Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had died, God said to Moses,[e] ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’[f] 27 So he is the God of the living, not the dead. You have made a serious error.”
Footnotes:
12:10-11 Ps 118:22-23.
12:12 Greek They.
12:15 Greek a denarius.
12:19 See Deut 25:5-6.
12:26a Greek in the story of the bush? God said to him.
12:26b Exod 3:6.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
Read: Jeremiah 42:1-12
Warning to Stay in Judah
Then all the guerrilla leaders, including Johanan son of Kareah and Jezaniah[a] son of Hoshaiah, and all the people, from the least to the greatest, approached 2 Jeremiah the prophet. They said, “Please pray to the Lord your God for us. As you can see, we are only a tiny remnant compared to what we were before. 3 Pray that the Lord your God will show us what to do and where to go.”
4 “All right,” Jeremiah replied. “I will pray to the Lord your God, as you have asked, and I will tell you everything he says. I will hide nothing from you.”
5 Then they said to Jeremiah, “May the Lord your God be a faithful witness against us if we refuse to obey whatever he tells us to do! 6 Whether we like it or not, we will obey the Lord our God to whom we are sending you with our plea. For if we obey him, everything will turn out well for us.”
7 Ten days later the Lord gave his reply to Jeremiah. 8 So he called for Johanan son of Kareah and the other guerrilla leaders, and for all the people, from the least to the greatest. 9 He said to them, “You sent me to the Lord, the God of Israel, with your request, and this is his reply: 10 ‘Stay here in this land. If you do, I will build you up and not tear you down; I will plant you and not uproot you. For I am sorry about all the punishment I have had to bring upon you. 11 Do not fear the king of Babylon anymore,’ says the Lord. ‘For I am with you and will save you and rescue you from his power. 12 I will be merciful to you by making him kind, so he will let you stay here in your land.’
Footnotes:
42:1 Greek version reads Azariah; compare 43:2.
Shadowed
By Mart De Haan
The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? —Psalm 27:1
Someone was shadowing me. In a darkened hallway, I turned the corner to go up a flight of stairs and was alarmed by what I saw, stopping dead in my tracks. It happened again a few days later. I came around the back of a favorite coffee shop and saw the large shape of a person coming at me. Both incidents ended with a smile, however. I’d been frightened by my own shadow!
The prophet Jeremiah talked about the difference between real and imagined fears. A group of his Jewish countrymen asked him to find out whether the Lord wanted them to stay in Jerusalem or return to Egypt for safety because they feared the king of Babylon (Jer. 42:1-3). Jeremiah told them that if they stayed and trusted God, they didn’t need to be afraid (vv.10-12). But if they returned to Egypt, the king of Babylon would find them (vv.15-16).
In a world of real dangers, God had given Israel reason to trust Him in Jerusalem. He had already rescued them from Egypt. Centuries later, the long-awaited Messiah died for us to deliver us from our own sin and fear of death. May our Almighty God show us today how to live in the security of His shadow, rather than in shadowy fears of our own making.
Trust when your skies are darkening,
Trust when your light grows dim,
Trust when the shadows gather,
Trust and look up to Him. —Anon.
Under the protecting shadow of God’s wing, the little shadows of life lose their terror.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
Substitution
He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him —2 Corinthians 5:21
The modern view of the death of Jesus is that He died for our sins out of sympathy for us. Yet the New Testament view is that He took our sin on Himself not because of sympathy, but because of His identification with us. He was “made. . . to be sin. . . .” Our sins are removed because of the death of Jesus, and the only explanation for His death is His obedience to His Father, not His sympathy for us. We are acceptable to God not because we have obeyed, nor because we have promised to give up things, but because of the death of Christ, and for no other reason. We say that Jesus Christ came to reveal the fatherhood and the lovingkindness of God, but the New Testament says that He came to take “away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). And the revealing of the fatherhood of God is only to those to whom Jesus has been introduced as Savior. In speaking to the world, Jesus Christ never referred to Himself as One who revealed the Father, but He spoke instead of being a stumbling block (see John 15:22-24). John 14:9 , where Jesus said, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father,” was spoken to His disciples.
That Christ died for me, and therefore I am completely free from penalty, is never taught in the New Testament. What is taught in the New Testament is that “He died for all” (2 Corinthians 5:15)— not, “He died my death”— and that through identification with His death I can be freed from sin, and have His very righteousness imparted as a gift to me. The substitution which is taught in the New Testament is twofold— “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” The teaching is not Christ for me unless I am determined to have Christ formed in me (see Galatians 4:19).
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
Father to the Finish - #7253
Many of the world's greatest dramas are not on a stage or a screen. They're played out in that quadrennial spectacle we call the Olympics. Maybe you remember the year Britain's representative in the 400-meter race, Derrick Redman, began to falter and went down in the back stretch with a torn right hamstring. Now, when I describe the scene, you'll know it's one of the great classic moments in Olympic history. As the medical attendants were approaching, Derrick Redman was fighting his way to his feet and he's limping along in anguish. Hopping, desperately trying to finish the race. He knew he wouldn't win; he was just trying to finish.
If you remember this at all, he reached that final stretch. And as he did, a large man in a tee-shirt forced his way out of the stands, ran up to Derrick and hugged him. That big man was Jim Redman, Derrick's Father. And he said to him, "Son, you don't have to do this." Gritting his teeth and with tears in his eyes, his son said, "Yes, I do." His Father said, "Then we are going to finish this together." And Derrick's head was literally buried in his Father's shoulder, but he stayed in his lane to the end. And when they crossed the finish line, the crowd who had been stunned at first, stood to their feet. They cheered and wept, and watched those two men finish that race together.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Father to the Finish."
Our word for today from the Word of God is a simple statement from Deuteronomy 1:30. It says this: "The Lord your God carried you as a Father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place." Maybe today finds you very tired, banged up, stressed out. And like that 400-meter runner in the Olympics you're staggering right now. You're having a hard time finishing your race.
You started well. You've been running real hard, but you're about to go down. Maybe you've been hit by discouragement, or illness, you've got family trouble, a lack of support. It could be that there are obstacles. There's pain. You're just hurting and there's still a lot more race ahead of you.
Well, God wants to give you the good news that someone has left the stands to help you, and He's coming to the track to get you the rest of the way. It is your Father. It's your Heavenly Father. First, God left the stands to come to a cross, and there He rescued us from the sin wound that would have kept us from ever reaching heaven.
There's a rich promise here that when you're in the desert and you can't go on, the resources are dried up, you say, "Daddy, I can't go any farther." He said, "Then I will carry you." Right now, let's be honest. You're not going to make it alone. But today there is an all-powerful Father who's offering to carry you. But you've got to let Him. If you're too proud to collapse in His arms and surrender to His control, then your power is limited. You're not going to make it.
But if you will totally release the control and in the words of the Bible, "humble yourself" you will have all of your Father's power. Even little children know where the power is. They sing it in a little song "Jesus Loves Me". It says, "They are weak, but He is strong. Yes, Jesus loves me."
Each of us reaches days when we just don't have any more to give. Maybe you're there right now. It's those moments in the race that can take you deeper into the love and the power of Jesus than you have ever been before. Your Father is not a spectator in the stands today. His arm is around you right now where you are.
And it could be you have never established your own personal relationship with God as your Father made possible by the death of His Son, Jesus, on a cross for the sin that has separated you from God for a lifetime, and will forever unless that wall comes down. And He has come down. He has come down to a cross; all the way down to die and to pay for you. That's how much He loves you. You don't have to do life alone any more – never again.
You have spent your last day alone if you will this day invite this Jesus to be your Savior from your sin, which I would be so privileged to help you do if you would just visit our website and find out there what the Bible says about how to get started with Him. Go to ANewStory.com, because the voice of God is saying to you today, "You're not doing this alone. From now on we will finish this race together."
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
Numbers 2, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: Prayer Wimps Anonymous
I'm a card carrying member of the PWA: Prayer Wimps Anonymous. Can you relate? We pray-we pray to stay sober, centered, solvent. We pray when the lump is deemed malignant. When the money runs out before the month does. We all pray-some.
But wouldn't we like to pray more? Like the disciples when they asked Jesus, "Teach us to pray!" Teach us to find strength in prayer. To banish fear in prayer.
Prayer is simply a heartfelt conversation between God and you! A prayer as simple as this one:
Father, You are good. I need help. Heal me and forgive me.
They need help. Thank you. In Jesus' name, amen.
Pray for 4 weeks, 4 minutes every day. Sign on at BeforeAmen.com and get ready to connect with God like never before!
Before Amen
Numbers 2
Organization for Israel’s Camp
Then the Lord gave these instructions to Moses and Aaron: 2 “When the Israelites set up camp, each tribe will be assigned its own area. The tribal divisions will camp beneath their family banners on all four sides of the Tabernacle,[g] but at some distance from it.
3-4 “The divisions of Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun are to camp toward the sunrise on the east side of the Tabernacle, beneath their family banners. These are the names of the tribes, their leaders, and the numbers of their registered troops:
Tribe Leader Number
Judah Nahshon son of Amminadab 74,600
5-6 Issachar Nethanel son of Zuar 54,400
7-8 Zebulun Eliab son of Helon 57,400
9 So the total of all the troops on Judah’s side of the camp is 186,400. These three tribes are to lead the way whenever the Israelites travel to a new campsite.
10-11 “The divisions of Reuben, Simeon, and Gad are to camp on the south side of the Tabernacle, beneath their family banners. These are the names of the tribes, their leaders, and the numbers of their registered troops:
Tribe Leader Number
Reuben Elizur son of Shedeur 46,500
12-13 Simeon Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai 59,300
14-15 Gad Eliasaph son of Deuel[h] 45,650
16 So the total of all the troops on Reuben’s side of the camp is 151,450. These three tribes will be second in line whenever the Israelites travel.
17 “Then the Tabernacle, carried by the Levites, will set out from the middle of the camp. All the tribes are to travel in the same order that they camp, each in position under the appropriate family banner.
18-19 “The divisions of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin are to camp on the west side of the Tabernacle, beneath their family banners. These are the names of the tribes, their leaders, and the numbers of their registered troops:
Tribe Leader Number
Ephraim Elishama son of Ammihud 40,500
20-21 Manasseh Gamaliel son of Pedahzur 32,200
22-23 Benjamin Abidan son of Gideoni 35,400
24 So the total of all the troops on Ephraim’s side of the camp is 108,100. These three tribes will be third in line whenever the Israelites travel.
25-26 “The divisions of Dan, Asher, and Naphtali are to camp on the north side of the Tabernacle, beneath their family banners. These are the names of the tribes, their leaders, and the numbers of their registered troops:
Tribe Leader Number
Dan Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai 62,700
27-28 Asher Pagiel son of Ocran 41,500
29-30 Naphtali Ahira son of Enan 53,400
31 So the total of all the troops on Dan’s side of the camp is 157,600. These three tribes will be last, marching under their banners whenever the Israelites travel.”
32 In summary, the troops of Israel listed by their families totaled 603,550. 33 But as the Lord had commanded, the Levites were not included in this registration. 34 So the people of Israel did everything as the Lord had commanded Moses. Each clan and family set up camp and marched under their banners exactly as the Lord had instructed them.
2:2 Hebrew the Tent of Meeting; also in 2:17.
2:14-15 As in many Hebrew manuscripts, Samaritan Pentateuch, and Latin Vulgate (see also 1:14); most Hebrew manuscripts read son of Reuel.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
Read: Ecclesiastes 5:10-17
Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness! 11 The more you have, the more people come to help you spend it. So what good is wealth—except perhaps to watch it slip through your fingers!
12 People who work hard sleep well, whether they eat little or much. But the rich seldom get a good night’s sleep.
13 There is another serious problem I have seen under the sun. Hoarding riches harms the saver. 14 Money is put into risky investments that turn sour, and everything is lost. In the end, there is nothing left to pass on to one’s children. 15 We all come to the end of our lives as naked and empty-handed as on the day we were born. We can’t take our riches with us.
16 And this, too, is a very serious problem. People leave this world no better off than when they came. All their hard work is for nothing—like working for the wind. 17 Throughout their lives, they live under a cloud—frustrated, discouraged, and angry.
Insight
The book of Ecclesiastes is often viewed with skepticism, and its message is considered dark and hopeless. Today’s passage exemplifies much of the book—the emptiness of riches and the transitory nature of things of this earth. But as with many great stories, this book saves the best for last. After all the reflections and lessons learned, the writer’s final conclusion is to “fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all” (12:13). The things of God are what truly matter.
Working For The Wind
By Jennifer Benson Schuldt
What profit has he who has labored for the wind? —Ecclesiastes 5:16
Howard Levitt lost his $200,000 Ferrari on a flooded Toronto highway. He had driven into what seemed like a puddle before realizing that the water was much deeper and rising quickly. When the water reached the Ferrari’s fenders, its 450-horsepower engine seized. Thankfully he was able to escape the car and get to high ground.
Howard’s soggy sports car reminds me of Solomon’s observation that “riches perish through misfortune” (Eccl. 5:14). Natural disasters, theft, and accidents may claim our dearest belongings. Even if we manage to protect them, we certainly can’t haul them with us to heaven (v.15). Solomon asked, “What profit has he who has labored for the wind?” (v.16). There is futility in working only to acquire belongings that will ultimately disappear.
There is something that doesn’t spoil and we can “take with us.” It is possible to store up eternal heavenly treasure. Pursuing virtues such as generosity (Matt. 19:21), humility (5:3), and spiritual endurance (Luke 6:22-23) will yield lasting rewards that can’t be destroyed. Will the kind of treasure you seek expire on earth? Or, are you seeking “those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God”? (Col. 3:1).
Dear God, please give me a passion for the
unseen, eternal rewards that You offer.
Make me indifferent to the temporary
pleasures of this world.
Treasures on earth can’t compare with the treasures in heaven.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
If when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life —Romans 5:10
I am not saved by believing— I simply realize I am saved by believing. And it is not repentance that saves me— repentance is only the sign that I realize what God has done through Christ Jesus. The danger here is putting the emphasis on the effect, instead of on the cause. Is it my obedience, consecration, and dedication that make me right with God? It is never that! I am made right with God because, prior to all of that, Christ died. When I turn to God and by belief accept what God reveals, the miraculous atonement by the Cross of Christ instantly places me into a right relationship with God. And as a result of the supernatural miracle of God’s grace I stand justified, not because I am sorry for my sin, or because I have repented, but because of what Jesus has done. The Spirit of God brings justification with a shattering, radiant light, and I know that I am saved, even though I don’t know how it was accomplished.
The salvation that comes from God is not based on human logic, but on the sacrificial death of Jesus. We can be born again solely because of the atonement of our Lord. Sinful men and women can be changed into new creations, not through their repentance or their belief, but through the wonderful work of God in Christ Jesus which preceded all of our experience (see 2 Corinthians 5:17-19). The unconquerable safety of justification and sanctification is God Himself. We do not have to accomplish these things ourselves— they have been accomplished through the atonement of the Cross of Christ. The supernatural becomes natural to us through the miracle of God, and there is the realization of what Jesus Christ has already done— “It is finished!” (John 19:30).
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
THE SENIORITIS VACCINE - #7252
Well, I watched three of our children run on this track called high school senior. Oh we know about the disease. It's a creeping disease called senioritis. I've seen it for years in other teenagers, and then finally we got to watch it in our own home. It begins with the sense of "Okay, I'm a senior now! High school is my past. I don't care about high school any more even though I have another year." At best a senior just sort of slacks off until graduation. Or at worst, he or she becomes irresponsible and maybe even destructive. Senioritis? It doesn't bring out the best in anybody at any age.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Senioritis Vaccine."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Jeremiah chapter 29. The Jews are no longer in their homeland of Judah. They've been carried away into captivity in Babylon. Here's the situation where it would be very easy for them to have spiritual senioritis, because they know that they will one day return to their native country. They know God has them in Babylon for their disobedience. They kind of live in-between Babylon and returning to Israel.
They could be saying, "Hey, who cares about Babylon? Put it on cruise control. We're not here for long. We're going home in a little while. What we do here doesn't matter." Listen to God's advice for them in Jeremiah 29:5, probably surprising advice for them. "Build houses and settle down." I can hear them going, "Here? We're just living in-between."
He says, "Build houses, settle down, plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters. Find wives for your sons. Give your daughters in marriage so they, too, may have sons and daughters. Increase in number. Do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers you will prosper."
Seems like God's saying, "Make something of this time, guys. Don't have senioritis and act like it doesn't matter." It's like old Caleb in the Old Testament. Eighty-five years old and he's still not going to quit. He says, "Lord, give me this mountain to conquer!" Boy, there's no senioritis there.
Maybe you're at an age or a situation where you're tempted to put your life on cruise. Maybe you're waiting for the next stage, or you're just waiting for heaven. Well, don't sit there and say, "I don't care much about where I am." God is saying, "I want you to care. Bloom where you're planted, my child. Make this count."
A while back I met a dear 80-year-old woman. She said to me, "Ron, I was married to the same man for 60 years. He took great care of me." Then she went on to tell me how he had died the previous year. And she said, "It's so easy for me to be bitter, and I could be desperately lonely." But then she said, "You know, this week as I listened to you at this conference, I've decided I'm going to reach out on my own. I'm in this condominium filled with lonely people, and I'm going to go back there and I'm going to start writing notes to those people, and I'm going to bake for them, and I'm going to visit them. I'm going to share God's love with them." She said, "I'm going to start giving my life away."
I said, "Well, you know what? That's what the Bible says about how you find your life by giving it away." She said, "Well, I figured my Mother died at the age of 88. So I've got at least eight years to make a difference." I love that! She's going to find her life by giving it away. That is the vaccine for senioritis; for not caring. Get a mission for yourself. You're surrounded by needs. Get some people who need you. That's the best way to find your life.
Wherever you are, look for a mission. Look for an assignment from God. Wake up in the morning and say, "God, who needs me here?" Don't slow down! Don't hold back! Capture the corner that you're in for Christ. When you're living for Jesus, there's just not a day you can afford to waste.
I'm a card carrying member of the PWA: Prayer Wimps Anonymous. Can you relate? We pray-we pray to stay sober, centered, solvent. We pray when the lump is deemed malignant. When the money runs out before the month does. We all pray-some.
But wouldn't we like to pray more? Like the disciples when they asked Jesus, "Teach us to pray!" Teach us to find strength in prayer. To banish fear in prayer.
Prayer is simply a heartfelt conversation between God and you! A prayer as simple as this one:
Father, You are good. I need help. Heal me and forgive me.
They need help. Thank you. In Jesus' name, amen.
Pray for 4 weeks, 4 minutes every day. Sign on at BeforeAmen.com and get ready to connect with God like never before!
Before Amen
Numbers 2
Organization for Israel’s Camp
Then the Lord gave these instructions to Moses and Aaron: 2 “When the Israelites set up camp, each tribe will be assigned its own area. The tribal divisions will camp beneath their family banners on all four sides of the Tabernacle,[g] but at some distance from it.
3-4 “The divisions of Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun are to camp toward the sunrise on the east side of the Tabernacle, beneath their family banners. These are the names of the tribes, their leaders, and the numbers of their registered troops:
Tribe Leader Number
Judah Nahshon son of Amminadab 74,600
5-6 Issachar Nethanel son of Zuar 54,400
7-8 Zebulun Eliab son of Helon 57,400
9 So the total of all the troops on Judah’s side of the camp is 186,400. These three tribes are to lead the way whenever the Israelites travel to a new campsite.
10-11 “The divisions of Reuben, Simeon, and Gad are to camp on the south side of the Tabernacle, beneath their family banners. These are the names of the tribes, their leaders, and the numbers of their registered troops:
Tribe Leader Number
Reuben Elizur son of Shedeur 46,500
12-13 Simeon Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai 59,300
14-15 Gad Eliasaph son of Deuel[h] 45,650
16 So the total of all the troops on Reuben’s side of the camp is 151,450. These three tribes will be second in line whenever the Israelites travel.
17 “Then the Tabernacle, carried by the Levites, will set out from the middle of the camp. All the tribes are to travel in the same order that they camp, each in position under the appropriate family banner.
18-19 “The divisions of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin are to camp on the west side of the Tabernacle, beneath their family banners. These are the names of the tribes, their leaders, and the numbers of their registered troops:
Tribe Leader Number
Ephraim Elishama son of Ammihud 40,500
20-21 Manasseh Gamaliel son of Pedahzur 32,200
22-23 Benjamin Abidan son of Gideoni 35,400
24 So the total of all the troops on Ephraim’s side of the camp is 108,100. These three tribes will be third in line whenever the Israelites travel.
25-26 “The divisions of Dan, Asher, and Naphtali are to camp on the north side of the Tabernacle, beneath their family banners. These are the names of the tribes, their leaders, and the numbers of their registered troops:
Tribe Leader Number
Dan Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai 62,700
27-28 Asher Pagiel son of Ocran 41,500
29-30 Naphtali Ahira son of Enan 53,400
31 So the total of all the troops on Dan’s side of the camp is 157,600. These three tribes will be last, marching under their banners whenever the Israelites travel.”
32 In summary, the troops of Israel listed by their families totaled 603,550. 33 But as the Lord had commanded, the Levites were not included in this registration. 34 So the people of Israel did everything as the Lord had commanded Moses. Each clan and family set up camp and marched under their banners exactly as the Lord had instructed them.
2:2 Hebrew the Tent of Meeting; also in 2:17.
2:14-15 As in many Hebrew manuscripts, Samaritan Pentateuch, and Latin Vulgate (see also 1:14); most Hebrew manuscripts read son of Reuel.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
Read: Ecclesiastes 5:10-17
Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness! 11 The more you have, the more people come to help you spend it. So what good is wealth—except perhaps to watch it slip through your fingers!
12 People who work hard sleep well, whether they eat little or much. But the rich seldom get a good night’s sleep.
13 There is another serious problem I have seen under the sun. Hoarding riches harms the saver. 14 Money is put into risky investments that turn sour, and everything is lost. In the end, there is nothing left to pass on to one’s children. 15 We all come to the end of our lives as naked and empty-handed as on the day we were born. We can’t take our riches with us.
16 And this, too, is a very serious problem. People leave this world no better off than when they came. All their hard work is for nothing—like working for the wind. 17 Throughout their lives, they live under a cloud—frustrated, discouraged, and angry.
Insight
The book of Ecclesiastes is often viewed with skepticism, and its message is considered dark and hopeless. Today’s passage exemplifies much of the book—the emptiness of riches and the transitory nature of things of this earth. But as with many great stories, this book saves the best for last. After all the reflections and lessons learned, the writer’s final conclusion is to “fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all” (12:13). The things of God are what truly matter.
Working For The Wind
By Jennifer Benson Schuldt
What profit has he who has labored for the wind? —Ecclesiastes 5:16
Howard Levitt lost his $200,000 Ferrari on a flooded Toronto highway. He had driven into what seemed like a puddle before realizing that the water was much deeper and rising quickly. When the water reached the Ferrari’s fenders, its 450-horsepower engine seized. Thankfully he was able to escape the car and get to high ground.
Howard’s soggy sports car reminds me of Solomon’s observation that “riches perish through misfortune” (Eccl. 5:14). Natural disasters, theft, and accidents may claim our dearest belongings. Even if we manage to protect them, we certainly can’t haul them with us to heaven (v.15). Solomon asked, “What profit has he who has labored for the wind?” (v.16). There is futility in working only to acquire belongings that will ultimately disappear.
There is something that doesn’t spoil and we can “take with us.” It is possible to store up eternal heavenly treasure. Pursuing virtues such as generosity (Matt. 19:21), humility (5:3), and spiritual endurance (Luke 6:22-23) will yield lasting rewards that can’t be destroyed. Will the kind of treasure you seek expire on earth? Or, are you seeking “those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God”? (Col. 3:1).
Dear God, please give me a passion for the
unseen, eternal rewards that You offer.
Make me indifferent to the temporary
pleasures of this world.
Treasures on earth can’t compare with the treasures in heaven.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
If when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life —Romans 5:10
I am not saved by believing— I simply realize I am saved by believing. And it is not repentance that saves me— repentance is only the sign that I realize what God has done through Christ Jesus. The danger here is putting the emphasis on the effect, instead of on the cause. Is it my obedience, consecration, and dedication that make me right with God? It is never that! I am made right with God because, prior to all of that, Christ died. When I turn to God and by belief accept what God reveals, the miraculous atonement by the Cross of Christ instantly places me into a right relationship with God. And as a result of the supernatural miracle of God’s grace I stand justified, not because I am sorry for my sin, or because I have repented, but because of what Jesus has done. The Spirit of God brings justification with a shattering, radiant light, and I know that I am saved, even though I don’t know how it was accomplished.
The salvation that comes from God is not based on human logic, but on the sacrificial death of Jesus. We can be born again solely because of the atonement of our Lord. Sinful men and women can be changed into new creations, not through their repentance or their belief, but through the wonderful work of God in Christ Jesus which preceded all of our experience (see 2 Corinthians 5:17-19). The unconquerable safety of justification and sanctification is God Himself. We do not have to accomplish these things ourselves— they have been accomplished through the atonement of the Cross of Christ. The supernatural becomes natural to us through the miracle of God, and there is the realization of what Jesus Christ has already done— “It is finished!” (John 19:30).
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
THE SENIORITIS VACCINE - #7252
Well, I watched three of our children run on this track called high school senior. Oh we know about the disease. It's a creeping disease called senioritis. I've seen it for years in other teenagers, and then finally we got to watch it in our own home. It begins with the sense of "Okay, I'm a senior now! High school is my past. I don't care about high school any more even though I have another year." At best a senior just sort of slacks off until graduation. Or at worst, he or she becomes irresponsible and maybe even destructive. Senioritis? It doesn't bring out the best in anybody at any age.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Senioritis Vaccine."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Jeremiah chapter 29. The Jews are no longer in their homeland of Judah. They've been carried away into captivity in Babylon. Here's the situation where it would be very easy for them to have spiritual senioritis, because they know that they will one day return to their native country. They know God has them in Babylon for their disobedience. They kind of live in-between Babylon and returning to Israel.
They could be saying, "Hey, who cares about Babylon? Put it on cruise control. We're not here for long. We're going home in a little while. What we do here doesn't matter." Listen to God's advice for them in Jeremiah 29:5, probably surprising advice for them. "Build houses and settle down." I can hear them going, "Here? We're just living in-between."
He says, "Build houses, settle down, plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters. Find wives for your sons. Give your daughters in marriage so they, too, may have sons and daughters. Increase in number. Do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers you will prosper."
Seems like God's saying, "Make something of this time, guys. Don't have senioritis and act like it doesn't matter." It's like old Caleb in the Old Testament. Eighty-five years old and he's still not going to quit. He says, "Lord, give me this mountain to conquer!" Boy, there's no senioritis there.
Maybe you're at an age or a situation where you're tempted to put your life on cruise. Maybe you're waiting for the next stage, or you're just waiting for heaven. Well, don't sit there and say, "I don't care much about where I am." God is saying, "I want you to care. Bloom where you're planted, my child. Make this count."
A while back I met a dear 80-year-old woman. She said to me, "Ron, I was married to the same man for 60 years. He took great care of me." Then she went on to tell me how he had died the previous year. And she said, "It's so easy for me to be bitter, and I could be desperately lonely." But then she said, "You know, this week as I listened to you at this conference, I've decided I'm going to reach out on my own. I'm in this condominium filled with lonely people, and I'm going to go back there and I'm going to start writing notes to those people, and I'm going to bake for them, and I'm going to visit them. I'm going to share God's love with them." She said, "I'm going to start giving my life away."
I said, "Well, you know what? That's what the Bible says about how you find your life by giving it away." She said, "Well, I figured my Mother died at the age of 88. So I've got at least eight years to make a difference." I love that! She's going to find her life by giving it away. That is the vaccine for senioritis; for not caring. Get a mission for yourself. You're surrounded by needs. Get some people who need you. That's the best way to find your life.
Wherever you are, look for a mission. Look for an assignment from God. Wake up in the morning and say, "God, who needs me here?" Don't slow down! Don't hold back! Capture the corner that you're in for Christ. When you're living for Jesus, there's just not a day you can afford to waste.
Monday, October 27, 2014
Numbers 1, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: A Father to the Fatherless
Psalm 34:8 says, “Taste and see that the Lord is good.” A glimpse of God’s goodness changes us. If He is only slightly stronger than us, why pray? If He has limitations, questions, and hesitations, then you might as well pray to the Wizard of Oz.
Psalm 68:5-6 says God is “a father to the fatherless. He sets the solitary in families; He brings out those who are bound into prosperity.”
Pray with me: Dear God. Today remind me that you protect me. Be my father and defender. Defend those who are weak and afraid and feel forgotten. Show up in their lives today. Thank you for giving me a spiritual family that can never be taken away. I pray this in Jesus’ name, amen.
At any point, you are only a prayer away from help!
Before Amen
Numbers 1
Registration of Israel’s Troops
A year after Israel’s departure from Egypt, the Lord spoke to Moses in the Tabernacle[a] in the wilderness of Sinai. On the first day of the second month[b] of that year he said, 2 “From the whole community of Israel, record the names of all the warriors by their clans and families. List all the men 3 twenty years old or older who are able to go to war. You and Aaron must register the troops, 4 and you will be assisted by one family leader from each tribe.
5 “These are the tribes and the names of the leaders who will assist you:
Tribe Leader
Reuben Elizur son of Shedeur
6 Simeon Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai
7 Judah Nahshon son of Amminadab
8 Issachar Nethanel son of Zuar
9 Zebulun Eliab son of Helon
10 Ephraim son of Joseph Elishama son of Ammihud
Manasseh son of Joseph Gamaliel son of Pedahzur
11 Benjamin Abidan son of Gideoni
12 Dan Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai
13 Asher Pagiel son of Ocran
14 Gad Eliasaph son of Deuel
15 Naphtali Ahira son of Enan
16 These are the chosen leaders of the community, the leaders of their ancestral tribes, the heads of the clans of Israel.”
17 So Moses and Aaron called together these chosen leaders, 18 and they assembled the whole community of Israel on that very day.[c] All the people were registered according to their ancestry by their clans and families. The men of Israel who were twenty years old or older were listed one by one, 19 just as the Lord had commanded Moses. So Moses recorded their names in the wilderness of Sinai.
20-21 This is the number of men twenty years old or older who were able to go to war, as their names were listed in the records of their clans and families[d]:
Tribe Number
Reuben (Jacob’s[e] oldest son) 46,500
22-23 Simeon 59,300
24-25 Gad 45,650
26-27 Judah 74,600
28-29 Issachar 54,400
30-31 Zebulun 57,400
32-33 Ephraim son of Joseph 40,500
34-35 Manasseh son of Joseph 32,200
36-37 Benjamin 35,400
38-39 Dan 62,700
40-41 Asher 41,500
42-43 Naphtali 53,400
44 These were the men registered by Moses and Aaron and the twelve leaders of Israel, all listed according to their ancestral descent. 45 They were registered by families—all the men of Israel who were twenty years old or older and able to go to war. 46 The total number was 603,550.
47 But this total did not include the Levites. 48 For the Lord had said to Moses, 49 “Do not include the tribe of Levi in the registration; do not count them with the rest of the Israelites. 50 Put the Levites in charge of the Tabernacle of the Covenant,[f] along with all its furnishings and equipment. They must carry the Tabernacle and all its furnishings as you travel, and they must take care of it and camp around it. 51 Whenever it is time for the Tabernacle to move, the Levites will take it down. And when it is time to stop, they will set it up again. But any unauthorized person who goes too near the Tabernacle must be put to death. 52 Each tribe of Israel will camp in a designated area with its own family banner. 53 But the Levites will camp around the Tabernacle of the Covenant to protect the community of Israel from the Lord’s anger. The Levites are responsible to stand guard around the Tabernacle.”
54 So the Israelites did everything just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, October 27, 2014
Read: Luke 15:3-7
So Jesus told them this story: 4 “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. 6 When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ 7 In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!
Insight
In Luke 15, Jesus delivers a trilogy of parables to describe the pursuing love of God for the lost. The first, seen here in verses 3-7, displays the shepherd desperately pursuing his lost sheep. The second, in verses 8-10, pictures a woman tenaciously searching for a lost coin. The third, in verses 11-32, tells of a father’s compassion for a wayward child and of his grace and forgiveness when that prodigal returns home. In each parable, the result of finding the lost is a celebration (vv.6,9,22-24) that depicts the great joy experienced in heaven when the lost return to their heavenly Father.
New To The Family
By Dave Branon
There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance. —Luke 15:7
While on a ministry trip with a Christian high school chorale to Jamaica, we witnessed an illustration of God’s love in action. On the day we visited an orphanage for disabled children and teens, we learned that Donald, one of the boys our kids had interacted with—a teen with cerebral palsy—was going to be adopted.
When the adopting couple arrived at the “base” where we were staying, it was a joy to talk to them about Donald. But what was even better was what happened later. We were at the base when Donald and his new parents arrived just after they had picked him up at the orphanage. As the brand-new mom embraced her son, our students gathered around her and sang praise songs. Tears flowed. Tears of joy. And Donald was beaming!
Later, one of the students said to me, “This reminds me of what it must be like in heaven when someone is saved. The angels rejoice because someone has been adopted into God’s family.” Indeed, it was a picture of the joy of heaven when someone new joins God’s forever family by faith in Christ. Jesus spoke of that grand moment when He said, “There will be . . . joy in heaven over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:7).
Praise God that He has adopted us into His family. No wonder the angels rejoice!
The One who made the heavens,
Who died on Calvary,
Rejoices with His angels
When one soul is set free. —Fasick
Angels rejoice when we repent.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, October 27, 2014
The Method of Missions
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations . . . —Matthew 28:19
Jesus Christ did not say, “Go and save souls” (the salvation of souls is the supernatural work of God), but He said, “Go . . . make disciples of all the nations . . . .” Yet you cannot make disciples unless you are a disciple yourself. When the disciples returned from their first mission, they were filled with joy because even the demons were subject to them. But Jesus said, in effect, “Don’t rejoice in successful service— the great secret of joy is that you have the right relationship with Me” (see Luke 10:17-20). The missionary’s great essential is remaining true to the call of God, and realizing that his one and only purpose is to disciple men and women to Jesus. Remember that there is a passion for souls that does not come from God, but from our desire to make converts to our point of view.
The challenge to the missionary does not come from the fact that people are difficult to bring to salvation, that backsliders are difficult to reclaim, or that there is a barrier of callous indifference. No, the challenge comes from the perspective of the missionary’s own personal relationship with Jesus Christ— “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” (Matthew 9:28). Our Lord unwaveringly asks us that question, and it confronts us in every individual situation we encounter. The one great challenge to us is— do I know my risen Lord? Do I know the power of His indwelling Spirit? Am I wise enough in God’s sight, but foolish enough according to the wisdom of the world, to trust in what Jesus Christ has said? Or am I abandoning the great supernatural position of limitless confidence in Christ Jesus, which is really God’s only call for a missionary? If I follow any other method, I depart altogether from the methods prescribed by our Lord— “All authority has been given to Me . . . . Gotherefore. . .” (Matthew 28:18-19).
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, October 27, 2014
Beating Your Boomer - #7251
I guess every neighborhood has its' bully. When I was growing up, our neighborhood sure did-Boomer! I'm not making that up. That was his name! This guy made all of us little kids in the neighborhood his victims. He'd beat us up, he'd tower over us, he'd threaten us, he'd take our stuff. One day I'd had enough! I was little and he was big. But I marched all the way down our little block on the south side of Chicago. I went up the steps on that back porch, and man, I pounded on the screen door there. Boomer came to the door. I said, "Boomer, I want my stuff back!" He said, "Man, you're a brave little kid." Well, he didn't really say that, but you probably said, "Well, Ron, I really underestimated you." Yeah, there was one thing I forgot to tell you. My Father went with me. That made a very big difference. Like this: Boomer was bigger than I was, but my Father was bigger than Boomer was.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Beating Your Boomer."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Deuteronomy chapter 1, and we're finding here that God's ancient people are being terrorized and frightened by the Boomers in their world. They have scouted out the Promised Land that God wants to give them; that He promised to give them. They've come back and said, "The people are strong and tall. They are taller than we are. The cities are large with walls that go up to the sky. We even saw the Anakites; those giant people. Nobody goes against them. We saw them there."
Now, I don't know what your Boomer is, your giants, your walls. It could be a challenge or a problem that you're facing right now that's just a lot bigger than you are or your resources are. Well, here's the reaction of these people. "You were unwilling to go up" the Lord says. "You rebelled against the command of the Lord your God because of how big the giants were."
They could have had the Promised Land. Instead they got the wilderness; wandered in the wilderness for forty years. Chapter 1, verse 29, "Then I said, ‘Do not be terrified; do not be afraid of them. The Lord your God, who is going before you, will fight for you, as He did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes, and in the desert. There you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place. In spite of this, you did not trust in the Lord your God, who went ahead of you on your journey, in fire by night and in a cloud by day, to search out places for you to camp and to show you the way you should go.'" Then He says, "You were unwilling to trust."
"Look who's going with you" He said, "the Lord your God." And he reviewed five promises to His people; for any of His people who are following His lead into something difficult and challenging; five worries that could keep us from going for it. First of all it says, "The Lord your God will fight for you." In other words, you don't have to fear your enemy. "I am bigger than your enemy even if he's bigger than you are."
Secondly, He says, "The Lord your God is going before you." "I'll get where you're going even before you get there" is what he's saying. No fear of the unknown; there's no unknown to Him. He's already there getting it ready. Then He said, "I will carry you." That means that when you run out, He'll still be carrying you. There's no fear of your inadequacy because it's all about His adequacy.
Then He says, "I will search out places for you to camp." There's no fear about your location. He says, "I'll get you a spot. Don't worry." And finally He says, "I will show you the way you should go." There's no fear of getting lost on the way. He promises His guidance.
But they made this tragic mistake, "You did not trust in the Lord your God." See, you can miss the place to which all the journey has been leading you if you don't move out in total trust that your God will fight for you. Why don't you move boldly into the, I call it "God alone zone" where God alone could do this.
After all, whatever is bigger than you are, your Father is bigger than it is.
Psalm 34:8 says, “Taste and see that the Lord is good.” A glimpse of God’s goodness changes us. If He is only slightly stronger than us, why pray? If He has limitations, questions, and hesitations, then you might as well pray to the Wizard of Oz.
Psalm 68:5-6 says God is “a father to the fatherless. He sets the solitary in families; He brings out those who are bound into prosperity.”
Pray with me: Dear God. Today remind me that you protect me. Be my father and defender. Defend those who are weak and afraid and feel forgotten. Show up in their lives today. Thank you for giving me a spiritual family that can never be taken away. I pray this in Jesus’ name, amen.
At any point, you are only a prayer away from help!
Before Amen
Numbers 1
Registration of Israel’s Troops
A year after Israel’s departure from Egypt, the Lord spoke to Moses in the Tabernacle[a] in the wilderness of Sinai. On the first day of the second month[b] of that year he said, 2 “From the whole community of Israel, record the names of all the warriors by their clans and families. List all the men 3 twenty years old or older who are able to go to war. You and Aaron must register the troops, 4 and you will be assisted by one family leader from each tribe.
5 “These are the tribes and the names of the leaders who will assist you:
Tribe Leader
Reuben Elizur son of Shedeur
6 Simeon Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai
7 Judah Nahshon son of Amminadab
8 Issachar Nethanel son of Zuar
9 Zebulun Eliab son of Helon
10 Ephraim son of Joseph Elishama son of Ammihud
Manasseh son of Joseph Gamaliel son of Pedahzur
11 Benjamin Abidan son of Gideoni
12 Dan Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai
13 Asher Pagiel son of Ocran
14 Gad Eliasaph son of Deuel
15 Naphtali Ahira son of Enan
16 These are the chosen leaders of the community, the leaders of their ancestral tribes, the heads of the clans of Israel.”
17 So Moses and Aaron called together these chosen leaders, 18 and they assembled the whole community of Israel on that very day.[c] All the people were registered according to their ancestry by their clans and families. The men of Israel who were twenty years old or older were listed one by one, 19 just as the Lord had commanded Moses. So Moses recorded their names in the wilderness of Sinai.
20-21 This is the number of men twenty years old or older who were able to go to war, as their names were listed in the records of their clans and families[d]:
Tribe Number
Reuben (Jacob’s[e] oldest son) 46,500
22-23 Simeon 59,300
24-25 Gad 45,650
26-27 Judah 74,600
28-29 Issachar 54,400
30-31 Zebulun 57,400
32-33 Ephraim son of Joseph 40,500
34-35 Manasseh son of Joseph 32,200
36-37 Benjamin 35,400
38-39 Dan 62,700
40-41 Asher 41,500
42-43 Naphtali 53,400
44 These were the men registered by Moses and Aaron and the twelve leaders of Israel, all listed according to their ancestral descent. 45 They were registered by families—all the men of Israel who were twenty years old or older and able to go to war. 46 The total number was 603,550.
47 But this total did not include the Levites. 48 For the Lord had said to Moses, 49 “Do not include the tribe of Levi in the registration; do not count them with the rest of the Israelites. 50 Put the Levites in charge of the Tabernacle of the Covenant,[f] along with all its furnishings and equipment. They must carry the Tabernacle and all its furnishings as you travel, and they must take care of it and camp around it. 51 Whenever it is time for the Tabernacle to move, the Levites will take it down. And when it is time to stop, they will set it up again. But any unauthorized person who goes too near the Tabernacle must be put to death. 52 Each tribe of Israel will camp in a designated area with its own family banner. 53 But the Levites will camp around the Tabernacle of the Covenant to protect the community of Israel from the Lord’s anger. The Levites are responsible to stand guard around the Tabernacle.”
54 So the Israelites did everything just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, October 27, 2014
Read: Luke 15:3-7
So Jesus told them this story: 4 “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. 6 When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ 7 In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!
Insight
In Luke 15, Jesus delivers a trilogy of parables to describe the pursuing love of God for the lost. The first, seen here in verses 3-7, displays the shepherd desperately pursuing his lost sheep. The second, in verses 8-10, pictures a woman tenaciously searching for a lost coin. The third, in verses 11-32, tells of a father’s compassion for a wayward child and of his grace and forgiveness when that prodigal returns home. In each parable, the result of finding the lost is a celebration (vv.6,9,22-24) that depicts the great joy experienced in heaven when the lost return to their heavenly Father.
New To The Family
By Dave Branon
There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance. —Luke 15:7
While on a ministry trip with a Christian high school chorale to Jamaica, we witnessed an illustration of God’s love in action. On the day we visited an orphanage for disabled children and teens, we learned that Donald, one of the boys our kids had interacted with—a teen with cerebral palsy—was going to be adopted.
When the adopting couple arrived at the “base” where we were staying, it was a joy to talk to them about Donald. But what was even better was what happened later. We were at the base when Donald and his new parents arrived just after they had picked him up at the orphanage. As the brand-new mom embraced her son, our students gathered around her and sang praise songs. Tears flowed. Tears of joy. And Donald was beaming!
Later, one of the students said to me, “This reminds me of what it must be like in heaven when someone is saved. The angels rejoice because someone has been adopted into God’s family.” Indeed, it was a picture of the joy of heaven when someone new joins God’s forever family by faith in Christ. Jesus spoke of that grand moment when He said, “There will be . . . joy in heaven over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:7).
Praise God that He has adopted us into His family. No wonder the angels rejoice!
The One who made the heavens,
Who died on Calvary,
Rejoices with His angels
When one soul is set free. —Fasick
Angels rejoice when we repent.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, October 27, 2014
The Method of Missions
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations . . . —Matthew 28:19
Jesus Christ did not say, “Go and save souls” (the salvation of souls is the supernatural work of God), but He said, “Go . . . make disciples of all the nations . . . .” Yet you cannot make disciples unless you are a disciple yourself. When the disciples returned from their first mission, they were filled with joy because even the demons were subject to them. But Jesus said, in effect, “Don’t rejoice in successful service— the great secret of joy is that you have the right relationship with Me” (see Luke 10:17-20). The missionary’s great essential is remaining true to the call of God, and realizing that his one and only purpose is to disciple men and women to Jesus. Remember that there is a passion for souls that does not come from God, but from our desire to make converts to our point of view.
The challenge to the missionary does not come from the fact that people are difficult to bring to salvation, that backsliders are difficult to reclaim, or that there is a barrier of callous indifference. No, the challenge comes from the perspective of the missionary’s own personal relationship with Jesus Christ— “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” (Matthew 9:28). Our Lord unwaveringly asks us that question, and it confronts us in every individual situation we encounter. The one great challenge to us is— do I know my risen Lord? Do I know the power of His indwelling Spirit? Am I wise enough in God’s sight, but foolish enough according to the wisdom of the world, to trust in what Jesus Christ has said? Or am I abandoning the great supernatural position of limitless confidence in Christ Jesus, which is really God’s only call for a missionary? If I follow any other method, I depart altogether from the methods prescribed by our Lord— “All authority has been given to Me . . . . Gotherefore. . .” (Matthew 28:18-19).
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, October 27, 2014
Beating Your Boomer - #7251
I guess every neighborhood has its' bully. When I was growing up, our neighborhood sure did-Boomer! I'm not making that up. That was his name! This guy made all of us little kids in the neighborhood his victims. He'd beat us up, he'd tower over us, he'd threaten us, he'd take our stuff. One day I'd had enough! I was little and he was big. But I marched all the way down our little block on the south side of Chicago. I went up the steps on that back porch, and man, I pounded on the screen door there. Boomer came to the door. I said, "Boomer, I want my stuff back!" He said, "Man, you're a brave little kid." Well, he didn't really say that, but you probably said, "Well, Ron, I really underestimated you." Yeah, there was one thing I forgot to tell you. My Father went with me. That made a very big difference. Like this: Boomer was bigger than I was, but my Father was bigger than Boomer was.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Beating Your Boomer."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Deuteronomy chapter 1, and we're finding here that God's ancient people are being terrorized and frightened by the Boomers in their world. They have scouted out the Promised Land that God wants to give them; that He promised to give them. They've come back and said, "The people are strong and tall. They are taller than we are. The cities are large with walls that go up to the sky. We even saw the Anakites; those giant people. Nobody goes against them. We saw them there."
Now, I don't know what your Boomer is, your giants, your walls. It could be a challenge or a problem that you're facing right now that's just a lot bigger than you are or your resources are. Well, here's the reaction of these people. "You were unwilling to go up" the Lord says. "You rebelled against the command of the Lord your God because of how big the giants were."
They could have had the Promised Land. Instead they got the wilderness; wandered in the wilderness for forty years. Chapter 1, verse 29, "Then I said, ‘Do not be terrified; do not be afraid of them. The Lord your God, who is going before you, will fight for you, as He did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes, and in the desert. There you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place. In spite of this, you did not trust in the Lord your God, who went ahead of you on your journey, in fire by night and in a cloud by day, to search out places for you to camp and to show you the way you should go.'" Then He says, "You were unwilling to trust."
"Look who's going with you" He said, "the Lord your God." And he reviewed five promises to His people; for any of His people who are following His lead into something difficult and challenging; five worries that could keep us from going for it. First of all it says, "The Lord your God will fight for you." In other words, you don't have to fear your enemy. "I am bigger than your enemy even if he's bigger than you are."
Secondly, He says, "The Lord your God is going before you." "I'll get where you're going even before you get there" is what he's saying. No fear of the unknown; there's no unknown to Him. He's already there getting it ready. Then He said, "I will carry you." That means that when you run out, He'll still be carrying you. There's no fear of your inadequacy because it's all about His adequacy.
Then He says, "I will search out places for you to camp." There's no fear about your location. He says, "I'll get you a spot. Don't worry." And finally He says, "I will show you the way you should go." There's no fear of getting lost on the way. He promises His guidance.
But they made this tragic mistake, "You did not trust in the Lord your God." See, you can miss the place to which all the journey has been leading you if you don't move out in total trust that your God will fight for you. Why don't you move boldly into the, I call it "God alone zone" where God alone could do this.
After all, whatever is bigger than you are, your Father is bigger than it is.
Sunday, October 26, 2014
Mark 11:19-33 Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: Mournful to Hopeful
In May of 2008, Steven Curtis Chapman and his wife, Mary Beth lost their five-year-old daughter in an automobile accident. They were deluged by messages of kindness. One in particular gave Steven strength. It was from a pastor friend who’d lost his son in an auto accident. “Remember, your future with your daughter will be greater than your past with her.”
Death seems to take so much. We bury the wedding that never happened, the golden years we never knew. We bury dreams. But in heaven these dreams will come true. Acts 3:21 says that God has promised a “restoration of all things.”
All things includes all relationships. Our final home will hear no good-byes. Gone forever. Let the promise change you. From sagging to seeking, from mournful to hopeful! From dwellers in the land of good-byes to a heaven of hellos! You’ll get through this!
From You’ll Get Through This
Mark 11:19-33
That evening Jesus and the disciples left[a] the city.
20 The next morning as they passed by the fig tree he had cursed, the disciples noticed it had withered from the roots up. 21 Peter remembered what Jesus had said to the tree on the previous day and exclaimed, “Look, Rabbi! The fig tree you cursed has withered and died!”
22 Then Jesus said to the disciples, “Have faith in God. 23 I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart. 24 I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours. 25 But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too.[b]”
The Authority of Jesus Challenged
27 Again they entered Jerusalem. As Jesus was walking through the Temple area, the leading priests, the teachers of religious law, and the elders came up to him. 28 They demanded, “By what authority are you doing all these things? Who gave you the right to do them?”
29 “I’ll tell you by what authority I do these things if you answer one question,” Jesus replied. 30 “Did John’s authority to baptize come from heaven, or was it merely human? Answer me!”
31 They talked it over among themselves. “If we say it was from heaven, he will ask why we didn’t believe John. 32 But do we dare say it was merely human?” For they were afraid of what the people would do, because everyone believed that John was a prophet. 33 So they finally replied, “We don’t know.”
And Jesus responded, “Then I won’t tell you by what authority I do these things.”
Footnotes:
11:19 Greek they left; other manuscripts read he left.
11:25 Some manuscripts add verse 26, But if you refuse to forgive, your Father in heaven will not forgive your sins. Compare Matt 6:15.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Sunday, October 26, 2014
Read: Psalm 98:1-9
Sing a new song to the Lord,
for he has done wonderful deeds.
His right hand has won a mighty victory;
his holy arm has shown his saving power!
2 The Lord has announced his victory
and has revealed his righteousness to every nation!
3 He has remembered his promise to love and be faithful to Israel.
The ends of the earth have seen the victory of our God.
4 Shout to the Lord, all the earth;
break out in praise and sing for joy!
5 Sing your praise to the Lord with the harp,
with the harp and melodious song,
6 with trumpets and the sound of the ram’s horn.
Make a joyful symphony before the Lord, the King!
7 Let the sea and everything in it shout his praise!
Let the earth and all living things join in.
8 Let the rivers clap their hands in glee!
Let the hills sing out their songs of joy
9 before the Lord,
for he is coming to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with justice,
and the nations with fairness.
Insight
Psalm 98 pictures and celebrates God the Savior (vv.1-3), God the King (vv.4-6), and God the Judge (vv.7-9). It also celebrates His mercy and faithfulness to His people (v.3). It extols God as the righteous King who will rule the whole world with justice and fairness (v.9). This call to celebrate is universal, extending to the congregation at the temple (v.1), to the nations (v.2), and to the whole earth (v.4).
All Together
By Dennis Fisher
Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth; break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises. —Psalm 98:4
For years my wife’s piano and my banjo had an uncomfortable and infrequent relationship. Then, after Janet bought me a new guitar for my birthday, she expressed an interest in learning to play my old guitar. She is a very capable musician, and soon we were, together, playing songs of praise on our guitars. I like to think that a new kind of “praise connection” has filled our home.
When the psalmist was inspired to write of worshiping God, he began with this exhortation: “Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth; break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises” (Ps. 98:4). He called for us to “sing to the Lord” with instruments such as harps and trumpets and horns (vv.5-6). He commanded all of the earth to “shout joyfully to the Lord” (v.4). In this mighty orchestration of praise, the rolling sea is to roar with exaltation, the rivers are to clap their hands, and the hills are to sing out in joy. All the human race and creation are together called to praise the Lord in “a new song” of praise, “for He has done marvelous things” (v.1).
Today let your heart connect with others and God’s creation in singing songs of praise to the mighty Creator and Redeemer.
Let us celebrate together,
Lift our voice in one accord,
Singing of God’s grace and mercy
And the goodness of the Lord. —Sper
God can use ordinary instruments to produce a concert of praise.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, October 26, 2014
What is a Missionary?
Jesus said to them again, ’. . . As the Father has sent Me, I also send you’ —John 20:21
A missionary is someone sent by Jesus Christ just as He was sent by God. The great controlling factor is not the needs of people, but the command of Jesus. The source of our inspiration in our service for God is behind us, not ahead of us. The tendency today is to put the inspiration out in front— to sweep everything together in front of us and make it conform to our definition of success. But in the New Testament the inspiration is put behind us, and is the Lord Jesus Himself. The goal is to be true to Him— to carry out His plans.
Personal attachment to the Lord Jesus and to His perspective is the one thing that must not be overlooked. In missionary work the great danger is that God’s call will be replaced by the needs of the people, to the point that human sympathy for those needs will absolutely overwhelm the meaning of being sent by Jesus. The needs are so enormous, and the conditions so difficult, that every power of the mind falters and fails. We tend to forget that the one great reason underneath all missionary work is not primarily the elevation of the people, their education, nor their needs, but is first and foremost the command of Jesus Christ— “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations . . .” (Matthew 28:19).
When looking back on the lives of men and women of God, the tendency is to say, “What wonderfully keen and intelligent wisdom they had, and how perfectly they understood all that God wanted!” But the keen and intelligent mind behind them was the mind of God, not human wisdom at all. We give credit to human wisdom when we should give credit to the divine guidance of God being exhibited through childlike people who were “foolish” enough to trust God’s wisdom and His supernatural equipment.
In May of 2008, Steven Curtis Chapman and his wife, Mary Beth lost their five-year-old daughter in an automobile accident. They were deluged by messages of kindness. One in particular gave Steven strength. It was from a pastor friend who’d lost his son in an auto accident. “Remember, your future with your daughter will be greater than your past with her.”
Death seems to take so much. We bury the wedding that never happened, the golden years we never knew. We bury dreams. But in heaven these dreams will come true. Acts 3:21 says that God has promised a “restoration of all things.”
All things includes all relationships. Our final home will hear no good-byes. Gone forever. Let the promise change you. From sagging to seeking, from mournful to hopeful! From dwellers in the land of good-byes to a heaven of hellos! You’ll get through this!
From You’ll Get Through This
Mark 11:19-33
That evening Jesus and the disciples left[a] the city.
20 The next morning as they passed by the fig tree he had cursed, the disciples noticed it had withered from the roots up. 21 Peter remembered what Jesus had said to the tree on the previous day and exclaimed, “Look, Rabbi! The fig tree you cursed has withered and died!”
22 Then Jesus said to the disciples, “Have faith in God. 23 I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart. 24 I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours. 25 But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too.[b]”
The Authority of Jesus Challenged
27 Again they entered Jerusalem. As Jesus was walking through the Temple area, the leading priests, the teachers of religious law, and the elders came up to him. 28 They demanded, “By what authority are you doing all these things? Who gave you the right to do them?”
29 “I’ll tell you by what authority I do these things if you answer one question,” Jesus replied. 30 “Did John’s authority to baptize come from heaven, or was it merely human? Answer me!”
31 They talked it over among themselves. “If we say it was from heaven, he will ask why we didn’t believe John. 32 But do we dare say it was merely human?” For they were afraid of what the people would do, because everyone believed that John was a prophet. 33 So they finally replied, “We don’t know.”
And Jesus responded, “Then I won’t tell you by what authority I do these things.”
Footnotes:
11:19 Greek they left; other manuscripts read he left.
11:25 Some manuscripts add verse 26, But if you refuse to forgive, your Father in heaven will not forgive your sins. Compare Matt 6:15.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Sunday, October 26, 2014
Read: Psalm 98:1-9
Sing a new song to the Lord,
for he has done wonderful deeds.
His right hand has won a mighty victory;
his holy arm has shown his saving power!
2 The Lord has announced his victory
and has revealed his righteousness to every nation!
3 He has remembered his promise to love and be faithful to Israel.
The ends of the earth have seen the victory of our God.
4 Shout to the Lord, all the earth;
break out in praise and sing for joy!
5 Sing your praise to the Lord with the harp,
with the harp and melodious song,
6 with trumpets and the sound of the ram’s horn.
Make a joyful symphony before the Lord, the King!
7 Let the sea and everything in it shout his praise!
Let the earth and all living things join in.
8 Let the rivers clap their hands in glee!
Let the hills sing out their songs of joy
9 before the Lord,
for he is coming to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with justice,
and the nations with fairness.
Insight
Psalm 98 pictures and celebrates God the Savior (vv.1-3), God the King (vv.4-6), and God the Judge (vv.7-9). It also celebrates His mercy and faithfulness to His people (v.3). It extols God as the righteous King who will rule the whole world with justice and fairness (v.9). This call to celebrate is universal, extending to the congregation at the temple (v.1), to the nations (v.2), and to the whole earth (v.4).
All Together
By Dennis Fisher
Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth; break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises. —Psalm 98:4
For years my wife’s piano and my banjo had an uncomfortable and infrequent relationship. Then, after Janet bought me a new guitar for my birthday, she expressed an interest in learning to play my old guitar. She is a very capable musician, and soon we were, together, playing songs of praise on our guitars. I like to think that a new kind of “praise connection” has filled our home.
When the psalmist was inspired to write of worshiping God, he began with this exhortation: “Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth; break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises” (Ps. 98:4). He called for us to “sing to the Lord” with instruments such as harps and trumpets and horns (vv.5-6). He commanded all of the earth to “shout joyfully to the Lord” (v.4). In this mighty orchestration of praise, the rolling sea is to roar with exaltation, the rivers are to clap their hands, and the hills are to sing out in joy. All the human race and creation are together called to praise the Lord in “a new song” of praise, “for He has done marvelous things” (v.1).
Today let your heart connect with others and God’s creation in singing songs of praise to the mighty Creator and Redeemer.
Let us celebrate together,
Lift our voice in one accord,
Singing of God’s grace and mercy
And the goodness of the Lord. —Sper
God can use ordinary instruments to produce a concert of praise.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Sunday, October 26, 2014
What is a Missionary?
Jesus said to them again, ’. . . As the Father has sent Me, I also send you’ —John 20:21
A missionary is someone sent by Jesus Christ just as He was sent by God. The great controlling factor is not the needs of people, but the command of Jesus. The source of our inspiration in our service for God is behind us, not ahead of us. The tendency today is to put the inspiration out in front— to sweep everything together in front of us and make it conform to our definition of success. But in the New Testament the inspiration is put behind us, and is the Lord Jesus Himself. The goal is to be true to Him— to carry out His plans.
Personal attachment to the Lord Jesus and to His perspective is the one thing that must not be overlooked. In missionary work the great danger is that God’s call will be replaced by the needs of the people, to the point that human sympathy for those needs will absolutely overwhelm the meaning of being sent by Jesus. The needs are so enormous, and the conditions so difficult, that every power of the mind falters and fails. We tend to forget that the one great reason underneath all missionary work is not primarily the elevation of the people, their education, nor their needs, but is first and foremost the command of Jesus Christ— “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations . . .” (Matthew 28:19).
When looking back on the lives of men and women of God, the tendency is to say, “What wonderfully keen and intelligent wisdom they had, and how perfectly they understood all that God wanted!” But the keen and intelligent mind behind them was the mind of God, not human wisdom at all. We give credit to human wisdom when we should give credit to the divine guidance of God being exhibited through childlike people who were “foolish” enough to trust God’s wisdom and His supernatural equipment.
Saturday, October 25, 2014
Leviticus 27,Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals
Max Lucado Daily: Heaven’s Throne Room
You sleep alone in a double bed. You walk the hallways of a silent house. You catch yourself calling out his name or reaching for her hand. Good-bye is the challenge of your life! To get through this is to get through this raging loneliness, this strength-draining grief. Just the separation has exhausted your spirit. You feel quarantined, isolated.
May I give you some hope? If heaven’s throne room has a calendar, one day is circled in red and highlighted in yellow. The Bible says that the The Master himself will give the command. Archangel thunder! God’s trumpet blast! He will come down from heaven and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then the rest of us who are still alive will be caught up with them into the clouds to meet the Master. (I Thessalonians 4:15-17).
Oh, what a day that will be! We’ll be walking on air! And there will be one huge family reunion. I leave you with this reminder: You will get through this!
From You’ll Get Through This
Leviticus 27
Redeeming What Is the Lord’s
The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘If anyone makes a special vow to dedicate a person to the Lord by giving the equivalent value, 3 set the value of a male between the ages of twenty and sixty at fifty shekels[c] of silver, according to the sanctuary shekel[d]; 4 for a female, set her value at thirty shekels[e]; 5 for a person between the ages of five and twenty, set the value of a male at twenty shekels[f] and of a female at ten shekels[g]; 6 for a person between one month and five years, set the value of a male at five shekels[h] of silver and that of a female at three shekels[i] of silver; 7 for a person sixty years old or more, set the value of a male at fifteen shekels[j] and of a female at ten shekels. 8 If anyone making the vow is too poor to pay the specified amount, the person being dedicated is to be presented to the priest, who will set the value according to what the one making the vow can afford.
9 “‘If what they vowed is an animal that is acceptable as an offering to the Lord, such an animal given to the Lord becomes holy. 10 They must not exchange it or substitute a good one for a bad one, or a bad one for a good one; if they should substitute one animal for another, both it and the substitute become holy. 11 If what they vowed is a ceremonially unclean animal—one that is not acceptable as an offering to the Lord—the animal must be presented to the priest, 12 who will judge its quality as good or bad. Whatever value the priest then sets, that is what it will be. 13 If the owner wishes to redeem the animal, a fifth must be added to its value.
14 “‘If anyone dedicates their house as something holy to the Lord, the priest will judge its quality as good or bad. Whatever value the priest then sets, so it will remain. 15 If the one who dedicates their house wishes to redeem it, they must add a fifth to its value, and the house will again become theirs.
16 “‘If anyone dedicates to the Lord part of their family land, its value is to be set according to the amount of seed required for it—fifty shekels of silver to a homer[k] of barley seed. 17 If they dedicate a field during the Year of Jubilee, the value that has been set remains. 18 But if they dedicate a field after the Jubilee, the priest will determine the value according to the number of years that remain until the next Year of Jubilee, and its set value will be reduced. 19 If the one who dedicates the field wishes to redeem it, they must add a fifth to its value, and the field will again become theirs. 20 If, however, they do not redeem the field, or if they have sold it to someone else, it can never be redeemed. 21 When the field is released in the Jubilee, it will become holy, like a field devoted to the Lord; it will become priestly property.
22 “‘If anyone dedicates to the Lord a field they have bought, which is not part of their family land, 23 the priest will determine its value up to the Year of Jubilee, and the owner must pay its value on that day as something holy to the Lord. 24 In the Year of Jubilee the field will revert to the person from whom it was bought, the one whose land it was. 25 Every value is to be set according to the sanctuary shekel, twenty gerahs to the shekel.
26 “‘No one, however, may dedicate the firstborn of an animal, since the firstborn already belongs to the Lord; whether an ox[l] or a sheep, it is the Lord’s. 27 If it is one of the unclean animals, it may be bought back at its set value, adding a fifth of the value to it. If it is not redeemed, it is to be sold at its set value.
28 “‘But nothing that a person owns and devotes[m] to the Lord—whether a human being or an animal or family land—may be sold or redeemed; everything so devoted is most holy to the Lord.
29 “‘No person devoted to destruction[n] may be ransomed; they are to be put to death.
30 “‘A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord; it is holy to the Lord. 31 Whoever would redeem any of their tithe must add a fifth of the value to it. 32 Every tithe of the herd and flock—every tenth animal that passes under the shepherd’s rod—will be holy to the Lord. 33 No one may pick out the good from the bad or make any substitution. If anyone does make a substitution, both the animal and its substitute become holy and cannot be redeemed.’”
34 These are the commands the Lord gave Moses at Mount Sinai for the Israelites.
Leviticus 27:3 That is, about 1 1/4 pounds or about 575 grams; also in verse 16
Leviticus 27:3 That is, about 2/5 ounce or about 12 grams; also in verse 25
Leviticus 27:4 That is, about 12 ounces or about 345 grams
Leviticus 27:5 That is, about 8 ounces or about 230 grams
Leviticus 27:5 That is, about 4 ounces or about 115 grams; also in verse 7
Leviticus 27:6 That is, about 2 ounces or about 58 grams
Leviticus 27:6 That is, about 1 1/4 ounces or about 35 grams
Leviticus 27:7 That is, about 6 ounces or about 175 grams
Leviticus 27:16 That is, probably about 300 pounds or about 135 kilograms
Leviticus 27:26 The Hebrew word can refer to either male or female.
Leviticus 27:28 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord.
Leviticus 27:29 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Saturday, October 25, 2014
Read: James 5:13-16
The Power of Prayer
Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises. 14 Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven.
16 Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.
Insight
The book of James is often referred to as the Proverbs of the New Testament. This is an accurate description, for James is filled with practical advice for daily life as a Christian. In today’s passage, James points out that prayer is the appropriate response to any situation. If we suffer, we should pray. If we are happy, we should pray. If we are sick, prayer is the response. James uses a device called merism, which describes the whole by its parts. He highlights the extremes of life—suffering, happiness, sickness—to say that everything in between is included. Like Paul, James is telling us to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17).
First Response
By Cindy Hess Kasper
Be anxious for nothing, but . . . let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God . . . will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. —Philippians 4:6-7
When my husband, Tom, was rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery, I began to call family members. My sister and her husband came right away to be with me, and we prayed as we waited. Tom’s sister listened to my anxious voice on the phone and immediately said, “Cindy, can I pray with you?” When my pastor and his wife arrived, he too prayed for us (James 5:13-16).
Oswald Chambers wrote: “We tend to use prayer as a last resort, but God wants it to be our first line of defense. We pray when there’s nothing else we can do, but God wants us to pray before we do anything at all.”
At its root, prayer is simply a conversation with God, spoken in the expectation that God hears and answers. Prayer should not be a last resort. In His Word, God encourages us to engage Him in prayer (Phil. 4:6). We also have His promise that when “two or three are gathered together” in His name, He will be “there in the midst of them” (Matt. 18:20).
For those who have experienced the power of the Almighty, our first inclination often will be to cry out to Him. Nineteenth-century pastor Andrew Murray said: “Prayer opens the way for God Himself to do His work in us and through us.”
When I come before His presence
In the secret place of prayer,
Do I know the wondrous greatness
Of His power to meet me there? —Hallen
Pray first!
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, October 25, 2014
Submitting to God’s Purpose
I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some —1 Corinthians 9:22
A Christian worker has to learn how to be God’s man or woman of great worth and excellence in the midst of a multitude of meager and worthless things. Never protest by saying, “If only I were somewhere else!” All of God’s people are ordinary people who have been made extraordinary by the purpose He has given them. Unless we have the right purpose intellectually in our minds and lovingly in our hearts, we will very quickly be diverted from being useful to God. We are not workers for God by choice. Many people deliberately choose to be workers, but they have no purpose of God’s almighty grace or His mighty Word in them. Paul’s whole heart, mind, and soul were consumed with the great purpose of what Jesus Christ came to do, and he never lost sight of that one thing. We must continually confront ourselves with one central fact— “. . . Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2).
“I chose you . . .” (John 15:16). Keep these words as a wonderful reminder in your theology. It is not that you have gotten God, but that He has gotten you. God is at work bending, breaking, molding, and doing exactly as He chooses. And why is He doing it? He is doing it for only one purpose— that He may be able to say, “This is My man, and this is My woman.” We have to be in God’s hand so that He can place others on the Rock, Jesus Christ, just as He has placed us.
Never choose to be a worker, but once God has placed His call upon you, woe be to you if you “turn aside . . . to the right or the left . . .” (Deuteronomy 28:14). He will do with you what He never did before His call came to you, and He will do with you what He is not doing with other people. Let Him have His way.
You sleep alone in a double bed. You walk the hallways of a silent house. You catch yourself calling out his name or reaching for her hand. Good-bye is the challenge of your life! To get through this is to get through this raging loneliness, this strength-draining grief. Just the separation has exhausted your spirit. You feel quarantined, isolated.
May I give you some hope? If heaven’s throne room has a calendar, one day is circled in red and highlighted in yellow. The Bible says that the The Master himself will give the command. Archangel thunder! God’s trumpet blast! He will come down from heaven and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then the rest of us who are still alive will be caught up with them into the clouds to meet the Master. (I Thessalonians 4:15-17).
Oh, what a day that will be! We’ll be walking on air! And there will be one huge family reunion. I leave you with this reminder: You will get through this!
From You’ll Get Through This
Leviticus 27
Redeeming What Is the Lord’s
The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘If anyone makes a special vow to dedicate a person to the Lord by giving the equivalent value, 3 set the value of a male between the ages of twenty and sixty at fifty shekels[c] of silver, according to the sanctuary shekel[d]; 4 for a female, set her value at thirty shekels[e]; 5 for a person between the ages of five and twenty, set the value of a male at twenty shekels[f] and of a female at ten shekels[g]; 6 for a person between one month and five years, set the value of a male at five shekels[h] of silver and that of a female at three shekels[i] of silver; 7 for a person sixty years old or more, set the value of a male at fifteen shekels[j] and of a female at ten shekels. 8 If anyone making the vow is too poor to pay the specified amount, the person being dedicated is to be presented to the priest, who will set the value according to what the one making the vow can afford.
9 “‘If what they vowed is an animal that is acceptable as an offering to the Lord, such an animal given to the Lord becomes holy. 10 They must not exchange it or substitute a good one for a bad one, or a bad one for a good one; if they should substitute one animal for another, both it and the substitute become holy. 11 If what they vowed is a ceremonially unclean animal—one that is not acceptable as an offering to the Lord—the animal must be presented to the priest, 12 who will judge its quality as good or bad. Whatever value the priest then sets, that is what it will be. 13 If the owner wishes to redeem the animal, a fifth must be added to its value.
14 “‘If anyone dedicates their house as something holy to the Lord, the priest will judge its quality as good or bad. Whatever value the priest then sets, so it will remain. 15 If the one who dedicates their house wishes to redeem it, they must add a fifth to its value, and the house will again become theirs.
16 “‘If anyone dedicates to the Lord part of their family land, its value is to be set according to the amount of seed required for it—fifty shekels of silver to a homer[k] of barley seed. 17 If they dedicate a field during the Year of Jubilee, the value that has been set remains. 18 But if they dedicate a field after the Jubilee, the priest will determine the value according to the number of years that remain until the next Year of Jubilee, and its set value will be reduced. 19 If the one who dedicates the field wishes to redeem it, they must add a fifth to its value, and the field will again become theirs. 20 If, however, they do not redeem the field, or if they have sold it to someone else, it can never be redeemed. 21 When the field is released in the Jubilee, it will become holy, like a field devoted to the Lord; it will become priestly property.
22 “‘If anyone dedicates to the Lord a field they have bought, which is not part of their family land, 23 the priest will determine its value up to the Year of Jubilee, and the owner must pay its value on that day as something holy to the Lord. 24 In the Year of Jubilee the field will revert to the person from whom it was bought, the one whose land it was. 25 Every value is to be set according to the sanctuary shekel, twenty gerahs to the shekel.
26 “‘No one, however, may dedicate the firstborn of an animal, since the firstborn already belongs to the Lord; whether an ox[l] or a sheep, it is the Lord’s. 27 If it is one of the unclean animals, it may be bought back at its set value, adding a fifth of the value to it. If it is not redeemed, it is to be sold at its set value.
28 “‘But nothing that a person owns and devotes[m] to the Lord—whether a human being or an animal or family land—may be sold or redeemed; everything so devoted is most holy to the Lord.
29 “‘No person devoted to destruction[n] may be ransomed; they are to be put to death.
30 “‘A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord; it is holy to the Lord. 31 Whoever would redeem any of their tithe must add a fifth of the value to it. 32 Every tithe of the herd and flock—every tenth animal that passes under the shepherd’s rod—will be holy to the Lord. 33 No one may pick out the good from the bad or make any substitution. If anyone does make a substitution, both the animal and its substitute become holy and cannot be redeemed.’”
34 These are the commands the Lord gave Moses at Mount Sinai for the Israelites.
Leviticus 27:3 That is, about 1 1/4 pounds or about 575 grams; also in verse 16
Leviticus 27:3 That is, about 2/5 ounce or about 12 grams; also in verse 25
Leviticus 27:4 That is, about 12 ounces or about 345 grams
Leviticus 27:5 That is, about 8 ounces or about 230 grams
Leviticus 27:5 That is, about 4 ounces or about 115 grams; also in verse 7
Leviticus 27:6 That is, about 2 ounces or about 58 grams
Leviticus 27:6 That is, about 1 1/4 ounces or about 35 grams
Leviticus 27:7 That is, about 6 ounces or about 175 grams
Leviticus 27:16 That is, probably about 300 pounds or about 135 kilograms
Leviticus 27:26 The Hebrew word can refer to either male or female.
Leviticus 27:28 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord.
Leviticus 27:29 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Saturday, October 25, 2014
Read: James 5:13-16
The Power of Prayer
Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises. 14 Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven.
16 Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.
Insight
The book of James is often referred to as the Proverbs of the New Testament. This is an accurate description, for James is filled with practical advice for daily life as a Christian. In today’s passage, James points out that prayer is the appropriate response to any situation. If we suffer, we should pray. If we are happy, we should pray. If we are sick, prayer is the response. James uses a device called merism, which describes the whole by its parts. He highlights the extremes of life—suffering, happiness, sickness—to say that everything in between is included. Like Paul, James is telling us to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17).
First Response
By Cindy Hess Kasper
Be anxious for nothing, but . . . let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God . . . will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. —Philippians 4:6-7
When my husband, Tom, was rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery, I began to call family members. My sister and her husband came right away to be with me, and we prayed as we waited. Tom’s sister listened to my anxious voice on the phone and immediately said, “Cindy, can I pray with you?” When my pastor and his wife arrived, he too prayed for us (James 5:13-16).
Oswald Chambers wrote: “We tend to use prayer as a last resort, but God wants it to be our first line of defense. We pray when there’s nothing else we can do, but God wants us to pray before we do anything at all.”
At its root, prayer is simply a conversation with God, spoken in the expectation that God hears and answers. Prayer should not be a last resort. In His Word, God encourages us to engage Him in prayer (Phil. 4:6). We also have His promise that when “two or three are gathered together” in His name, He will be “there in the midst of them” (Matt. 18:20).
For those who have experienced the power of the Almighty, our first inclination often will be to cry out to Him. Nineteenth-century pastor Andrew Murray said: “Prayer opens the way for God Himself to do His work in us and through us.”
When I come before His presence
In the secret place of prayer,
Do I know the wondrous greatness
Of His power to meet me there? —Hallen
Pray first!
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, October 25, 2014
Submitting to God’s Purpose
I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some —1 Corinthians 9:22
A Christian worker has to learn how to be God’s man or woman of great worth and excellence in the midst of a multitude of meager and worthless things. Never protest by saying, “If only I were somewhere else!” All of God’s people are ordinary people who have been made extraordinary by the purpose He has given them. Unless we have the right purpose intellectually in our minds and lovingly in our hearts, we will very quickly be diverted from being useful to God. We are not workers for God by choice. Many people deliberately choose to be workers, but they have no purpose of God’s almighty grace or His mighty Word in them. Paul’s whole heart, mind, and soul were consumed with the great purpose of what Jesus Christ came to do, and he never lost sight of that one thing. We must continually confront ourselves with one central fact— “. . . Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2).
“I chose you . . .” (John 15:16). Keep these words as a wonderful reminder in your theology. It is not that you have gotten God, but that He has gotten you. God is at work bending, breaking, molding, and doing exactly as He chooses. And why is He doing it? He is doing it for only one purpose— that He may be able to say, “This is My man, and this is My woman.” We have to be in God’s hand so that He can place others on the Rock, Jesus Christ, just as He has placed us.
Never choose to be a worker, but once God has placed His call upon you, woe be to you if you “turn aside . . . to the right or the left . . .” (Deuteronomy 28:14). He will do with you what He never did before His call came to you, and He will do with you what He is not doing with other people. Let Him have His way.