Max Lucado Daily: Stubborn Peace
Who do you know with a stubborn peace? Their problems aren't any different, but there's a serenity that softens the corners of their lips.
A priest visited just such a man in the hospital. The man was nearing death. The priest noticed an empty chair beside the bed and wondered if someone else had been there. The old man smiled, "I place Jesus on that chair, and I talk to him." The priest was puzzled so the man explained. "Years ago a friend told me prayer is as simple as talking to a good friend. So every day I pull up a chair and Jesus and I have a good talk."
When his daughter informed the priest her father had died, she explained, "When I got to his room, I found him dead. Strangely, his head was resting, not on the pillow, but on an empty chair beside his bed." The picture of stubborn peace!
From The Applause of Heaven
Psalm 77[a]
For the director of music. For Jeduthun. Of Asaph. A psalm.
1 I cried out to God for help;
I cried out to God to hear me.
2 When I was in distress, I sought the Lord;
at night I stretched out untiring hands,
and I would not be comforted.
3 I remembered you, God, and I groaned;
I meditated, and my spirit grew faint.[b]
4 You kept my eyes from closing;
I was too troubled to speak.
5 I thought about the former days,
the years of long ago;
6 I remembered my songs in the night.
My heart meditated and my spirit asked:
7 “Will the Lord reject forever?
Will he never show his favor again?
8 Has his unfailing love vanished forever?
Has his promise failed for all time?
9 Has God forgotten to be merciful?
Has he in anger withheld his compassion?”
10 Then I thought, “To this I will appeal:
the years when the Most High stretched out his right hand.
11 I will remember the deeds of the Lord;
yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.
12 I will consider all your works
and meditate on all your mighty deeds.”
13 Your ways, God, are holy.
What god is as great as our God?
14 You are the God who performs miracles;
you display your power among the peoples.
15 With your mighty arm you redeemed your people,
the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.
16 The waters saw you, God,
the waters saw you and writhed;
the very depths were convulsed.
17 The clouds poured down water,
the heavens resounded with thunder;
your arrows flashed back and forth.
18 Your thunder was heard in the whirlwind,
your lightning lit up the world;
the earth trembled and quaked.
19 Your path led through the sea,
your way through the mighty waters,
though your footprints were not seen.
20 You led your people like a flock
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: James 5:7-11
Patience in Suffering
7 Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. 8 You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near. 9 Don’t grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!
10 Brothers and sisters, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.
Insight
The establishment of God’s everlasting kingdom is the hope of the believer. Since the moment of Christ’s ascension, His followers have eagerly anticipated His return. This awaited return is imminent, and today’s passage reminds us that we are to patiently wait for it (v.7). Like a farmer who waits for all the necessary rains to produce the best crop, Christians await the fulfillment of all that God has planned for the coming of His kingdom. While we wait, we are to “establish” our hearts (v.8) or “stand firm” (niv), allowing the peace of God to rule in us (Col. 3:15).
For The Long Run
January 10, 2014 — by Marvin Williams
Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. —James 5:7
A 2006 survey of more than 1,000 adults discovered that most people take an average of 17 minutes to lose their patience while waiting in line. Also, most people lose their patience in only 9 minutes while on hold on the phone. Impatience is a common trait.
James wrote to a group of believers who were struggling with being patient for Jesus’ return (James 5:7). They were living under exploitation and distressing times, and James encouraged them to “set the timer of their temper” for the long run. Challenging these believers to persevere under suffering, he tried to stimulate them to stand firm and to live sacrificially until the Lord returned to right every wrong. He wrote: “Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand” (v.8).
James called them to be like the farmer who waits patiently for the rain and the harvest (v.7) and like the prophets and the patriarch Job who demonstrated perseverance in difficulties (vv.10-11). The finish line was just ahead and James encouraged the believers not to give up.
When we are being tried in a crucible of distress, God desires to help us continue living by faith and trusting in His compassion and mercy (v.11).
For Further Thought
What is most difficult about being patient during
stressful times? Ask God for the grace to help
you live by faith and to live for the long run.
The way to great patience is through great trials.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
January 10, 2014
The Opened Sight
I now send you, to open their eyes . . . that they may receive forgiveness of sins . . . —Acts 26:17-18
This verse is the greatest example of the true essence of the message of a disciple of Jesus Christ in all of the New Testament.
God’s first sovereign work of grace is summed up in the words, “. . . that they may receive forgiveness of sins . . . .” When a person fails in his personal Christian life, it is usually because he has never received anything. The only sign that a person is saved is that he has received something from Jesus Christ. Our job as workers for God is to open people’s eyes so that they may turn themselves from darkness to light. But that is not salvation; it is conversion-only the effort of an awakened human being. I do not think it is too broad a statement to say that the majority of so-called Christians are like this. Their eyes are open, but they have received nothing. Conversion is not regeneration. This is a neglected fact in our preaching today. When a person is born again, he knows that it is because he has received something as a gift from Almighty God and not because of his own decision. People may make vows and promises, and may be determined to follow through, but none of this is salvation. Salvation means that we are brought to the place where we are able to receive something from God on the authority of Jesus Christ, namely, forgiveness of sins.
This is followed by God’s second mighty work of grace: “. . . an inheritance among those who are sanctified . . . .” In sanctification, the one who has been born again deliberately gives up his right to himself to Jesus Christ, and identifies himself entirely with God’s ministry to others.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
The Stink Takes Over - #7045
Friday, January 10, 2014
I checked the bread drawer and it was still there, but there was a smell! Our daughter was visiting and she put in a bagel order with her aunt. She said, "I want an onion bagel." Well, somehow that onion bagel spent a few days in that bread drawer before it finally disappeared. Oh, the bagel was gone, but the smell remained. Well, that's not correct. Oh, no! In fact, the taste wasn't even gone. That little round stinker flavored every bagel in the drawer. So they all tasted like onion bagels now. I even had a bag of Starburst candies in the bread drawer, (Don't ask me why.) and guess what? You should try those with a little onion flavor! Yum, yum! Who would have guessed that one thing could stink up and flavor everything?
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Stink Takes Over."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from 2 Corinthians 7:1. God says here, "Since we have these promises dear friend, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit; perfecting holiness out of reverence for God." Now, God gives here a pretty interesting standard for deciding what you will allow your body to do; what you will allow your mind to take in. Will it contaminate you?
Contaminate makes me think of a germ or a bacteria. It only takes this little guy to bring down a much larger body. Or, for some reason, I also think of an onion bagel. There's no way to let it into that drawer without it infecting everything around it. That's why it really matters what you watch, what you listen to, what you read, who you spend time with, what you do for entertainment, what you laugh at.
Oh, you may think you can contain the trash they carry. You say, "Oh, it's no big deal. I can handle it." But sin is highly infectious. What began as just a passing thought ultimately becomes a desire, and desire ultimately becomes a sin you never thought you'd do. That's why the Bible says, "Don't give the devil a foothold." The devil just wants you to think about it, then want it, then do it, and then pay for it.
Maybe you're underestimating the corrupting, contaminating power of a little compromise. You can't afford that dirty joke, that dirty picture, a powerful video image or something on the Internet, a rumor about someone, a strong song about something that's wrong. See, you can't afford to let the stink in. You may feel a little defensive about some of the input that you're letting in, but ask yourself a few questions about what you watch, what you listen to, what you read, what you laugh at, who you hang around with.
We don't like to be challenged on these things, but ask these kinds of questions, "Is it making me a little harder than I was before? Am I becoming a little more tolerant of sinful things that I never used to put up with? Am I flirting mentally with some things I know are wrong? Am I finding the good things less interesting and more boring? Is my heart getting a little colder toward Jesus?" That's the power of contamination.
You know why? Because in the verses proceeding what we read today, in chapter 6, verses 16-18, God says, "I live in you. You are my people. You are my sons and daughters. Therefore, don't touch any unclean thing." In other words, do you know who you are? Then purify yourself from everything that contaminates. You're too good for this. You're too special for this. You were too expensive to God for this.
So, back to my smelly bread drawer, some onion-tasting candies to prove that a little bad influence can spread very quickly. It can spoil everything. Look, if you're letting into your body or into your mind anything that smells spiritually, get rid of it now. It could ruin what you never meant for it to touch.