A day transporting a family from one city to another is closely akin to God transporting us from our home to his. And some of life's stormiest hours occur when the passenger and the driver disagree on what takes place during the trip! Can you imagine the chaos if a parent indulged every child's wishes? Can you imagine the chaos if God indulged each of ours?
I Thessalonians 5:9 says "God has destined us to the full attainment of salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ." God's overarching desire is that you reach that destiny. His itinerary includes stops that encourage your journey. He frowns on stops that deter you. When his sovereign plan and your earthly plan collide, a decision must be made.
Who is in charge of this journey? If God must choose between your earthly satisfaction and your heavenly salvation, which do you hope he chooses? Me, too!
From In the Eye of the Storm
Matthew 27:27-50
The Soldiers Mock Jesus
27 Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. 28 They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, 29 and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand. Then they knelt in front of him and mocked him. “Hail, king of the Jews!” they said. 30 They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. 31 After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.
The Crucifixion of Jesus
32 As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross. 33 They came to a place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”). 34 There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it. 35 When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots. 36 And sitting down, they kept watch over him there. 37 Above his head they placed the written charge against him: this is jesus, the king of the jews.
38 Two rebels were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. 39 Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads 40 and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!” 41 In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. 42 “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! He’s the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. 43 He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” 44 In the same way the rebels who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him.
The Death of Jesus
45 From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. 46 About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli,[a] lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).[b]
47 When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.”
48 Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. 49 The rest said, “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.”
50 And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.
Footnotes:
Matthew 27:46 Some manuscripts Eloi, Eloi
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, August 13, 2014
Read: Acts 6:1-10
The Choosing of the Seven
In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews[a] among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. 2 So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. 3 Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them 4 and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.”
5 This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. 6 They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.
7 So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.
Stephen Seized
8 Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people. 9 Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called)—Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia—who began to argue with Stephen. 10 But they could not stand up against the wisdom the Spirit gave him as he spoke.
Footnotes:
Acts 6:1 That is, Jews who had adopted the Greek language and culture
Insight
Today’s text not only highlights the source of the power with which the Christian works—the Holy Spirit (v.5)—but also our responsibility in relation to that power—faith (vv.5,8). Stephen was a man known to be full of both.
Life-Giving Rain
By David C. McCasland
They were not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke. —Acts 6:10
During the August heat of 1891, R. G. Dyrenforth arrived in Midland, Texas, determined to blast rain from the sky. Known as a “concussionist,” he and his team launched and detonated huge balloons filled with explosive gases, fired cannons, and exploded piles of dynamite on the ground—shaking both earth and sky. Some believed he made it rain a little, but most said all he caused was noise. The explosive power was impressive but ineffective.
When the early church needed overseers, they sought people with a different kind of power. They chose “seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom” (Acts 6:3) to manage the daily distribution of food. One of those was Stephen, a man “full of faith and power, [who] did great wonders and signs among the people” (v.8). When disputes arose, those who argued with Stephen “were not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke” (v.10).
The Bible makes it clear that Stephen’s spiritual effectiveness came from being filled with the Holy Spirit, who gave him the right balance of faith, wisdom, and power.
God’s Spirit in our lives today replaces the loud noise of self-interest with His gentle, life-giving rain.
Holy Spirit, I want my life to be marked
by Your power. May my words and actions
give life-giving rain to encourage others
to know You and trust You.
In our life for Christ we accomplish nothing without the power of the Spirit.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, August 13, 2014
“Do Not Quench the Spirit”
Do not quench the Spirit —1 Thessalonians 5:19
The voice of the Spirit of God is as gentle as a summer breeze— so gentle that unless you are living in complete fellowship and oneness with God, you will never hear it. The sense of warning and restraint that the Spirit gives comes to us in the most amazingly gentle ways. And if you are not sensitive enough to detect His voice, you will quench it, and your spiritual life will be impaired. This sense of restraint will always come as a “still small voice” (1 Kings 19:12), so faint that no one except a saint of God will notice it.
Beware if in sharing your personal testimony you continually have to look back, saying, “Once, a number of years ago, I was saved.” If you have put your “hand to the plow” and are walking in the light, there is no “looking back”— the past is instilled into the present wonder of fellowship and oneness with God (Luke 9:62 ; also see 1 John 1:6-7). If you get out of the light, you become a sentimental Christian, and live only on your memories, and your testimony will have a hard metallic ring to it. Beware of trying to cover up your present refusal to “walk in the light” by recalling your past experiences when you did “walk in the light” (1 John 1:7). When-ever the Spirit gives you that sense of restraint, call a halt and make things right, or else you will go on quenching and grieving Him without even knowing it.
Suppose God brings you to a crisis and you almost endure it, but not completely. He will engineer the crisis again, but this time some of the intensity will be lost. You will have less discernment and more humiliation at having disobeyed. If you continue to grieve His Spirit, there will come a time when that crisis cannot be repeated, because you have totally quenched Him. But if you will go on through the crisis, your life will become a hymn of praise to God. Never become attached to anything that continues to hurt God. For you to be free of it, God must be allowed to hurt whatever it may be.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, August 13, 2014
When Shopping Costs Too Much - #7198
Sports is such an emotional thing! It's a lot of thrills, but then there's an occasional tragedy. This happened some years ago, but I still remember the death of the captain of the Boston Celtics basketball team, Reggie Lewis. He collapsed in a basketball playoff game. A team of doctors said that he had a potentially deadly heart condition and he couldn't play any more. Well, they went for a second opinion and those doctors said it wasn't so serious and he could gradually return to play. He died doing practice shooting in a gym a few months later, maybe trying to make a come back. One newscaster I heard reported it this way, "He heard what he wanted to hear."
Well, the shocking death of Reggie Lewis raised a pretty large medical debate in the press. They called it advice shopping. You know, you just keep asking until someone tells you what you want to hear.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "When Shopping Costs Too Much."
Our word for today from the Word of God is from 1 Kings 12; a great example of that. It's the beginning of the reign of King Rehoboam in Israel. He was King Solomon's son. He got off to a great start, and he's trying to seek advice. People were asking him to go a little easier on them than King Solomon did, and he's trying to figure out what he should do.
First, he goes to the elders. And the elders who had served King Solomon tell him that if he serves the people, they will gladly serve him. Then he says, "Well, I think I'll talk to my young friends." And he talks to his peers. They sort of say, "Hey, flex your muscles there Old Rehoboam. Put the screws to them. Tell them you're going to be tough! You've got to let them know who's in charge."
1 Kings 12:8, "Rehoboam rejected the advice the elders gave him and consulted the young men who had grown up with him and were serving him." Verse 13, "The king answered the people harshly. Rejecting the advice given him by the elders, he followed the advice of the young men."
Then in verse 19, here comes the ultimate outcome: "So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day." He lost a lot didn't he? Why? Because he shopped for the advice he wanted to hear, not for the truth. He heard the truth. He didn't like the truth. So he kept looking for some advice until he got what fit what he wanted to already do. He wanted advice that would just reinforce him, not challenge him. He shopped till he got a green light, because he had already decided he was going to run a red light anyway; a lot like us. Chances are God has maybe put someone in your life, maybe several someone's who tell you the truth whether you like it or not. I've got those. See, an insecure person shops for someone who will just agree and support what he's already decided to do.
Rehoboam kept asking for advice and it doomed his kingdom. The Bible encourages us to check out our "want-to-do-it list" by seeking out godly advisors who will tell us the truth. You've got to go with a blank sheet of paper. The truly wise person, the one whose decisions look good like ten years from now, not just ten days from now, that's what we're talking about here. Seek the advice of a parent or someone who's been down this road, or for sure people who walk with God.
Ultimately, of course, it's always best to measure every choice by the infallible, mistake-proof Word of God. Don't try to scripture shop for verses that just sort of support what you already want to do. Put your ideas and your life next to what God says on the subject, not what you like. If you've been doctor shopping to justify what you're doing, you're on a road you'll wish you hadn't taken, like that poor basketball player who kept shopping for what he wanted to hear.
Go looking for the truth even when it hurts. Go looking for the voice of God, not just human advice. You cannot afford shopping for what you want to hear, because it will cost you more than you want to pay.
The Stunning Death of Robin Williams
By Ron Hutchcraft | August 12, 2014
Robin Williams, one of the funniest men in America. Successful in movies. TV. Even Broadway.
A suicide.
That's the shocking news that's left the entertainment world - and the entertained world - reeling. It seems that the joy and laughter he gave so many somehow wasn't enough. Not to keep on living.
Makes me think of Jimmy. Who always made me laugh. He made a lot of people laugh.
I tried not to show how shocked I was the night he called to say goodbye. He had broken into my office "to call you - because you're the only person I want to say goodbye to." He was on his way to kill himself.
Thank God, he stayed there until I could get there. We talked all night. Actually, I mostly listened all night. As Jimmy poured out all the pain his humor concealed. Seemingly, so full of life, yet thinking about dying.
That's part of what has made Robin Williams' death so hard to grasp. The huge gap between the bright light we saw on the outside and the darkness that must have stalked him on the inside.
Sadly, that haunting contradiction is all too familiar to a lot of folks. We've got it all together on the outside while we're falling apart on the inside. You see my confidence - inside, I'm desperately insecure. You see my smile - inside, I battle my secret pain.
And it's that word secret that makes our inner darkness so dangerous. When I hide my monsters in the shadows, they stalk me constantly. Rather than facing our monsters, we opt for pain relievers. Which - rather than solving our problems - become another problem in themselves.
Stuffing our pain is not a cure. "Outing" our pain is where a cure begins. When I drag those monsters into the light, they begin to lose their power over me. There is no shame in letting people into your battle. There is great danger in fighting it alone.
I'm forever grateful that young Jimmy called me that night he planned to die. Strangely, he actually found a reason to live that night. Actually, the reason to live.
He opened up all his pain to the One who said, "The Lord has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted." Who talked about the darkness that comes to "steal, kill and destroy. But I have come that they may have life and have it to the full."
That's Jesus.
The Bible actually says we were "created by Him and for Him." Which means we have a God-sized hole in our heart that no relationship or accomplishment can fill. Which leaves us ever searching, never finding. Because God has planted, what the Bible calls, "eternity in our hearts."
I'm so thankful I found that "forever" thing. When I embraced that relationship with the God I was made by and made for. A relationship that was free for me. But cost Jesus everything. It meant sacrificing His life, dying on a cross, to open the way for a sinful me to belong to a perfect God. And live forever.
Now, with the vista of my life opened up beyond my years here to an amazing forever, I can live life to the full. Doing life with the only One who knows why I'm here. The One who put me here. The One who said, "Whoever follows Me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life."
On a day when the news is shrouded in grief, there's hope in knowing the darkness doesn't have to win.
Light has come.