We want to do things our way. Forget the easy way. Forget the best way. Forget God’s way. We want to do things our way. And according Isaiah 53:6, that’s precisely our problem. “We all have wandered away like sheep; each of us has gone his own way.”
Sheep are dumb. Ever see sheep tricks? Know anyone who has ever taught his sheep to roll over? No, sheep are just too dumb. Instead of “the Lord is my shepherd,” couldn’t David have thought of a better metaphor than sheep? How about “The Lord is my commander in chief, and I am his warrior!”
When David, who was a warrior, searched for an illustration of God, he remembered his days as a shepherd. He remembered how he lavished attention on the sheep day and night. David rejoiced to say, “The Lord is my shepherd.” And in so doing he proudly implied, “I am His sheep.”
From Traveling Light
Job 21
Then Job replied:
2 “Listen carefully to my words;
let this be the consolation you give me.
3 Bear with me while I speak,
and after I have spoken, mock on.
4 “Is my complaint directed to a human being?
Why should I not be impatient?
5 Look at me and be appalled;
clap your hand over your mouth.
6 When I think about this, I am terrified;
trembling seizes my body.
7 Why do the wicked live on,
growing old and increasing in power?
8 They see their children established around them,
their offspring before their eyes.
9 Their homes are safe and free from fear;
the rod of God is not on them.
10 Their bulls never fail to breed;
their cows calve and do not miscarry.
11 They send forth their children as a flock;
their little ones dance about.
12 They sing to the music of timbrel and lyre;
they make merry to the sound of the pipe.
13 They spend their years in prosperity
and go down to the grave in peace.[c]
14 Yet they say to God, ‘Leave us alone!
We have no desire to know your ways.
15 Who is the Almighty, that we should serve him?
What would we gain by praying to him?’
16 But their prosperity is not in their own hands,
so I stand aloof from the plans of the wicked.
17 “Yet how often is the lamp of the wicked snuffed out?
How often does calamity come upon them,
the fate God allots in his anger?
18 How often are they like straw before the wind,
like chaff swept away by a gale?
19 It is said, ‘God stores up the punishment of the wicked for their children.’
Let him repay the wicked, so that they themselves will experience it!
20 Let their own eyes see their destruction;
let them drink the cup of the wrath of the Almighty.
21 For what do they care about the families they leave behind
when their allotted months come to an end?
22 “Can anyone teach knowledge to God,
since he judges even the highest?
23 One person dies in full vigor,
completely secure and at ease,
24 well nourished in body,[d]
bones rich with marrow.
25 Another dies in bitterness of soul,
never having enjoyed anything good.
26 Side by side they lie in the dust,
and worms cover them both.
27 “I know full well what you are thinking,
the schemes by which you would wrong me.
28 You say, ‘Where now is the house of the great,
the tents where the wicked lived?’
29 Have you never questioned those who travel?
Have you paid no regard to their accounts—
30 that the wicked are spared from the day of calamity,
that they are delivered from[e] the day of wrath?
31 Who denounces their conduct to their face?
Who repays them for what they have done?
32 They are carried to the grave,
and watch is kept over their tombs.
33 The soil in the valley is sweet to them;
everyone follows after them,
and a countless throng goes[f] before them.
34 “So how can you console me with your nonsense?
Nothing is left of your answers but falsehood!”
Job 21:13 Or in an instant
Job 21:24 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
Job 21:30 Or wicked are reserved for the day of calamity, / that they are brought forth to
Job 21:33 Or them, / as a countless throng went
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Proverbs 4:20-27
My son, pay attention to what I say;
turn your ear to my words.
21 Do not let them out of your sight,
keep them within your heart;
22 for they are life to those who find them
and health to one’s whole body.
23 Above all else, guard your heart,
for everything you do flows from it.
24 Keep your mouth free of perversity;
keep corrupt talk far from your lips.
25 Let your eyes look straight ahead;
fix your gaze directly before you.
26 Give careful thought to the[a] paths for your feet
and be steadfast in all your ways.
27 Do not turn to the right or the left;
keep your foot from evil.
Footnotes:
Proverbs 4:26 Or Make level
Insight
The book of Proverbs had several contributing authors, but most of the wisdom found here was written by King Solomon. In the opening nine chapters, Solomon specifically instructs his son (and sometimes his sons) regarding the wisdom that would help him engage life in a meaningful way. Some of the themes of these chapters include the value of wisdom, the necessity of faith, the peril of deceitful women, and the danger of foolishness. Beginning in chapter 10, the book becomes a collection of general wise sayings.
Heart Matters
By Poh Fang Chia
Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life. —Proverbs 4:23
Our hearts pump at a rate of 70-75 beats per minute. Though weighing only 11 ounces on average, a healthy heart pumps 2,000 gallons of blood through 60,000 miles of blood vessels each day. Every day, the heart creates enough energy to drive a truck 20 miles. In a lifetime, that is equivalent to driving to the moon and back. A healthy heart can do amazing things. Conversely, if our heart malfunctions, our whole body shuts down.
The same could be said of our “spiritual heart.” In Scripture, the word heart represents the center of our emotions, thinking, and reasoning. It is the “command center” of our life.
So when we read, “Keep your heart with all diligence” (Prov. 4:23), it makes a lot of sense. But it’s difficult advice to keep. Life will always make demands upon our time and energy that cry out for immediate attention. By comparison, taking time to hear God’s Word and to do what it says may not shout quite so loudly. We may not notice the consequences of neglect right away, but over time it may give way to a spiritual heart attack.
I’m thankful God has given us His Word. We need His help not to neglect it, but to use it to align our hearts with His every day.
Dear Jesus, take my heart and hand,
And grant me this, I pray:
That I through Your sweet love may grow
More like You day by day. —Garrison
To keep spiritually fit, consult the Great Physician.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, May 05, 2014
Liberty and the Standards of Jesus
Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free . . . —Galatians 5:1
A spiritually-minded person will never come to you with the demand—”Believe this and that”; a spiritually-minded person will demand that you align your life with the standards of Jesus. We are not asked to believe the Bible, but to believe the One whom the Bible reveals (see John 5:39-40). We are called to present liberty for the conscience of others, not to bring them liberty for their thoughts and opinions. And if we ourselves are free with the liberty of Christ, others will be brought into that same liberty— the liberty that comes from realizing the absolute control and authority of Jesus Christ.
Always measure your life solely by the standards of Jesus. Submit yourself to His yoke, and His alone; and always be careful never to place a yoke on others that is not of Jesus Christ. It takes God a long time to get us to stop thinking that unless everyone sees things exactly as we do, they must be wrong. That is never God’s view. There is only one true liberty— the liberty of Jesus at work in our conscience enabling us to do what is right.
Don’t get impatient with others. Remember how God dealt with you— with patience and with gentleness. But never water down the truth of God. Let it have its way and never apologize for it. Jesus said, “Go . . . and make disciples. . .” (Matthew 28:19), not, “Make converts to your own thoughts and opinions.”
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Young People Leading the Charge - #7127
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
It's really hard for me to drive by Civil War battlefields without stopping. I'm a history buff, and I like to stop at those things! Now, when I say Civil War, I might have to explain that to some of my friends, because if you grew up in the South, they say there was nothing civil about it. It was the War Between the States. At least that's what they taught my wife at her school. One of the battlefields that I've driven by a lot is in New Market, Virginia.
I've had cause to drive by there several times on other trips. I finally had the opportunity to stop and find out what went on there. It was a time of desperate days for the confederacy. It was 1864, and Ulysses S. Grant was making an all-out push to try to take the Shenandoah Valley, and then Richmond, the capitol of the confederacy. And the Union Army had failed to do that five times.
One part of the army was to move down the Shenandoah Valley, which is where New Market is. Now, General Breckenridge was in charge of some confederate troops. He was a former Vice President of the United States believe it or not; now a Confederate Commander. He ordered the students from Virginia Military Institute (VMI), to march three days and help resist the Union advance. They hadn't used students before to be in the army, but these were pretty desperate days. There were a lot of teenagers in that army. They said, "They'll hear from the institute today." You know what? They did. At a very decisive moment in the battle, these kids charged into the Union lines and drove them back. The South won the battle at New Market that day.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Young People Leading the Charge."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Acts 2:17. A very exciting verse. God says that the greatest spirit outpouring in history will take place just before Jesus comes back. We could be getting close to it now. Here's what it says: "In the last days I will pour out My Spirit on all people." I want you to notice next who's in the lead in this great spiritual offensive. "Your sons and daughters will prophesy and your young men will see visions. Your old men will dream dreams."
Now, you know what this sounds like to me? Young people will be helping to lead the last great Holy Spirit movement, with the older generation sharing their vision and cheering them on. Now, if you're young, it's time for you to step up to spiritual responsibility. Haven't you been a taker long enough, drinking in all the Christian stuff? Isn't it time you became a giver? You've gone to the meetings long enough. You need to get a mission, not just go to a lot more meetings. You need to be making a difference.
It's time for some young people who will commit themselves to tell about Jesus to the people who need to know that in order to be in heaven with you. You need to get involved in some needs in your town. Don't make your life a "selfie" life. There's so many needs around. Go meet those needs in your town in Jesus' name. This isn't any time to be sitting around waiting for someone to entertain you in a concert or a retreat or conference or Christian meeting.
I mean, you'd be insulted if someone tried to get a baby sitter for you at your age, right? You're too old to be spiritually "baby-sat". So don't wait for an adult to get young people praying. You do it. Don't wait for an adult to plan an outreach. You do it. Don't wait for an adult to start a Christian club or to start a mission emphasis. You do it.
If you're older than young, like I am, be sure you're doing all you can to create a climate and to create a church where young people are valued, and trusted, and challenged. Over two-thirds of the people who ever come to Christ do it by the age of 18. The church has no more urgent priority mission than its' young people and the young people around your church who don't even know about Christ yet.
So, if you're tuned in to the General's final strategy, you're either going to be a young person on the front lines or an older person encouraging young people to be in spiritual leadership. The most important spiritual battles in history are shaping up right now, right before our eyes, and the outcome may very well be determined by young people leading that charge.