Max Lucado Daily: Our Problem is Sin
Our problem is sin. Not finances. Not budgets. Not overcrowded prisons. Our problem is sin. We are in rebellion against our Creator. We’re cut off from the source of life. A new president or policy won’t fix that. It can only be solved by God. That is why the Bible uses drastic terms like conversion, repentance, and lost and found. Society may renovate, but only God re-creates.
Ask yourself three questions:
1. Is there any unconfessed sin in my life? Confession is telling God you did the thing He saw you do.
2. Are there any unresolved conflicts in my world? Go and make things right. Then and only then, come back and work things out with God.
3. Are there any un-surrendered worries in my life? Worry is a noose on the neck and a distraction of the mind.
Sometimes the problem’s out there. More often, it’s in here..in us!
From When God Whispers Your Name
Exodus 9
The Plague on Livestock
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: “Let my people go, so that they may worship me.” 2 If you refuse to let them go and continue to hold them back, 3 the hand of the Lord will bring a terrible plague on your livestock in the field—on your horses, donkeys and camels and on your cattle, sheep and goats. 4 But the Lord will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and that of Egypt, so that no animal belonging to the Israelites will die.’”
5 The Lord set a time and said, “Tomorrow the Lord will do this in the land.” 6 And the next day the Lord did it: All the livestock of the Egyptians died, but not one animal belonging to the Israelites died. 7 Pharaoh investigated and found that not even one of the animals of the Israelites had died. Yet his heart was unyielding and he would not let the people go.
The Plague of Boils
8 Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Take handfuls of soot from a furnace and have Moses toss it into the air in the presence of Pharaoh. 9 It will become fine dust over the whole land of Egypt, and festering boils will break out on people and animals throughout the land.”
10 So they took soot from a furnace and stood before Pharaoh. Moses tossed it into the air, and festering boils broke out on people and animals. 11 The magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils that were on them and on all the Egyptians. 12 But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart and he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said to Moses.
The Plague of Hail
13 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning, confront Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me, 14 or this time I will send the full force of my plagues against you and against your officials and your people, so you may know that there is no one like me in all the earth. 15 For by now I could have stretched out my hand and struck you and your people with a plague that would have wiped you off the earth. 16 But I have raised you up[a] for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth. 17 You still set yourself against my people and will not let them go. 18 Therefore, at this time tomorrow I will send the worst hailstorm that has ever fallen on Egypt, from the day it was founded till now. 19 Give an order now to bring your livestock and everything you have in the field to a place of shelter, because the hail will fall on every person and animal that has not been brought in and is still out in the field, and they will die.’”
20 Those officials of Pharaoh who feared the word of the Lord hurried to bring their slaves and their livestock inside. 21 But those who ignored the word of the Lord left their slaves and livestock in the field.
22 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that hail will fall all over Egypt—on people and animals and on everything growing in the fields of Egypt.” 23 When Moses stretched out his staff toward the sky, the Lord sent thunder and hail, and lightning flashed down to the ground. So the Lord rained hail on the land of Egypt; 24 hail fell and lightning flashed back and forth. It was the worst storm in all the land of Egypt since it had become a nation. 25 Throughout Egypt hail struck everything in the fields—both people and animals; it beat down everything growing in the fields and stripped every tree. 26 The only place it did not hail was the land of Goshen, where the Israelites were.
27 Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron. “This time I have sinned,” he said to them. “The Lord is in the right, and I and my people are in the wrong. 28 Pray to the Lord, for we have had enough thunder and hail. I will let you go; you don’t have to stay any longer.”
29 Moses replied, “When I have gone out of the city, I will spread out my hands in prayer to the Lord. The thunder will stop and there will be no more hail, so you may know that the earth is the Lord’s. 30 But I know that you and your officials still do not fear the Lord God.”
31 (The flax and barley were destroyed, since the barley had headed and the flax was in bloom. 32 The wheat and spelt, however, were not destroyed, because they ripen later.)
33 Then Moses left Pharaoh and went out of the city. He spread out his hands toward the Lord; the thunder and hail stopped, and the rain no longer poured down on the land. 34 When Pharaoh saw that the rain and hail and thunder had stopped, he sinned again: He and his officials hardened their hearts. 35 So Pharaoh’s heart was hard and he would not let the Israelites go, just as the Lord had said through Moses.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, July 28, 2014
Read: Acts 28:11-16,30-31
Paul’s Arrival at Rome
After three months we put out to sea in a ship that had wintered in the island—it was an Alexandrian ship with the figurehead of the twin gods Castor and Pollux. 12 We put in at Syracuse and stayed there three days. 13 From there we set sail and arrived at Rhegium. The next day the south wind came up, and on the following day we reached Puteoli. 14 There we found some brothers and sisters who invited us to spend a week with them. And so we came to Rome. 15 The brothers and sisters there had heard that we were coming, and they traveled as far as the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns to meet us. At the sight of these people Paul thanked God and was encouraged. 16 When we got to Rome, Paul was allowed to live by himself, with a soldier to guard him.
Acts 28:30-31
For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. 31 He proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ—with all boldness and without hindrance!
Insight
Today’s passage chronicles one of Paul’s journeys and how he and his companions were received and shown hospitality. It is easy to forget that this was not a luxury cruise with an exotic island destination. During this trip, Paul was a prisoner and he and his companions (soldiers included) were met by and stayed with Christian believers. It is possible that Paul was allowed to live in his own rented home under house arrest and share the gospel (vv.30-31) because the soldiers were impressed by the hospitality that had been shown to them.
Courageous And Consistent
By David C. McCasland
When Paul saw them, he thanked God and took courage. —Acts 28:15
While reading the obituary of Eugene Patterson, Pulitzer Prize-winning editor of the Atlanta Constitution from 1960 to 1968, I was struck by two things. First, for many years Patterson was a fearless voice for civil rights during a time when many opposed racial equality. In addition, he wrote a column every day for 8 years. That’s 2,922 newspaper columns! Day after day, year after year. Courage and consistency were key factors in the impact of his life.
We see those same qualities in the apostle Paul. Acts 13–28 records his bravery in one harrowing situation after another. After being shipwrecked on his way to stand trial before Caesar, he landed south of Rome, where many brothers in Christ came to meet him (Acts 28:11-15). “When Paul saw them,” Luke wrote, “he thanked God and took courage” (v.15). During the next 2 years as a prisoner, Paul was allowed to live in his own rented house where he “received all who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence” (vv.30-31).
Every follower of Jesus can be a consistent giver and receiver of courage. The Lord can use us today to encourage and strengthen each other.
O keep up your courage, each day to the end;
Go forth in the strength of the Lord;
Trust wholly in Jesus, thy Savior and Friend,
And feed on His own blessed Word. —Miles
When people share their fears with you, share your courage with them.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, July 28, 2014
God’s Purpose or Mine?
He made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side . . . —Mark 6:45
We tend to think that if Jesus Christ compels us to do something and we are obedient to Him, He will lead us to great success. We should never have the thought that our dreams of success are God’s purpose for us. In fact, His purpose may be exactly the opposite. We have the idea that God is leading us toward a particular end or a desired goal, but He is not. The question of whether or not we arrive at a particular goal is of little importance, and reaching it becomes merely an episode along the way. What we see as only the process of reaching a particular end, God sees as the goal itself.
What is my vision of God’s purpose for me? Whatever it may be, His purpose is for me to depend on Him and on His power now. If I can stay calm, faithful, and unconfused while in the middle of the turmoil of life, the goal of the purpose of God is being accomplished in me. God is not working toward a particular finish— His purpose is the process itself. What He desires for me is that I see “Him walking on the sea” with no shore, no success, nor goal in sight, but simply having the absolute certainty that everything is all right because I see “Him walking on the sea” (Mark 6:49). It is the process, not the outcome, that is glorifying to God.
God’s training is for now, not later. His purpose is for this very minute, not for sometime in the future. We have nothing to do with what will follow our obedience, and we are wrong to concern ourselves with it. What people call preparation, God sees as the goal itself.
God’s purpose is to enable me to see that He can walk on the storms of my life right now. If we have a further goal in mind, we are not paying enough attention to the present time. However, if we realize that moment-by-moment obedience is the goal, then each moment as it comes is precious.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, July 28, 2014
WHERE IS GOD IN THE TORNADOES? - #7186
Well, Spring is tornado time, and in this past Spring there were some that just missed our area –killer tornadoes. The lives and places devastated hit a little close to home this time.
There were Mississippi folks at the conference that we were at getting some pretty scary reports from back home. There were friends in a ministry organization we know of who were deeply wounded by the death of a coworker and his daughters in Arkansas.
One of the daughters who survived that twister quoted the Book of Job, the biblical man who lost everything. Here's what she wrote: "The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord." Somehow, that girl's faith is sustaining her amid a horrific loss.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Where's God in the Tornadoes?"
There were some others during that outbreak who responded with tragedy's frequent heart cry. "Why, God?" We try to make sense of the shattered pieces of our life. We can't. We want answers from God. Sometimes "Why, God?" is a cry for help. Sometimes it's more of an angry accusation. But "Why, God?" might be the wrong question.
I think most of the "why's" are hard to see in the middle of the pain. We're looking at the dark thread that we're living right now. Meanwhile God's working on this much larger tapestry that my thread is a part of. And the thread often cannot make sense without the big tapestry, which we won't see for a while. Maybe not until God shows it to us Himself some day.
But there is a question that I've resorted to in the dark valleys. A question that may have some answers - sooner rather than later. Here's the question: "How can God use this?" See, turning from God in our devastation erases any hope of the suffering having any meaning. That road takes us to dark places of bitterness and despair. Turning to God is the only road to hope when we have no answers.
I saw my parents heartbroken when my baby brother died. But I saw their lives totally transformed when their grief actually drove them to the God who had been a stranger to my parents before. It was a tragedy that seemed initially to have no "why." But it was a tragedy that God used to give me a new mom and dad.
So from a very early age, I saw that there is purpose in the pain. I know that it's been grief and pain that have taught this spoiled only child right here the meaning of compassion. As it says in 2 Corinthians 1:4, "We comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God." People who know what it is to be broken have the credentials to be healers in a hurting world. And, like my parents, our darkest hour may be when we find the Light as never before in the God who came from a perfect heaven to be broken by the people He made.
In our word for today from the Word of God, in God's own words in Isaiah 53:3-5, speaking of Jesus, "He was crushed...He was pierced...a man of sorrows, familiar with suffering." Paying my bill with God. That's what Jesus was doing so I wouldn't have to pay it forever; choosing to die so I could live.
This is a God who "gets" us. This is a God who's lived our grief, who carries us when we can't take another step. Who went through all of the pain, all of the hell that I deserve. All the payment of my sin, all of the guilt and shame for one simple purpose: so that I could be with Him forever and have the wall between me and God removed.
Could it be that the storm you're in right now has been to bring you to the place where you would grab the long-extended hand of Jesus, who's offered it for so many years. And now you grab Him and make Him your Savior from your sin and never face a storm alone again.
If you want to get that done, get this started with Jesus, I invite you to our website to find out how to do that - ANewStory.com.
When our shattered soul reaches in desperation for this God who hung on a cross, we find what that old song describes - grace...amazing grace.