Max Lucado Daily: Moral Absolutes
When I was nine years old, I complimented a friend’s model airplane. He said, “I stole it!” He could tell I was stunned because he asked, “Do you think that was wrong?” When I told him I did, he answered simply, “It may be wrong for you, but it’s not wrong for me. I know the owner. He’s rich…I’m not.”
What do you say to that argument? If the majority opinion determines good and evil, what happens when the majority is wrong? A godly view of the world has something to say to my childhood thief. You may think it’s right. Society may think it’s okay. But the God who made you said, ‘You shall not steal’—and he wasn’t kidding. The hedonist’s world of no moral absolutes works fine on paper and sounds great in a college philosophy course, but in life? Paul described it best in Romans 1:21, “Their foolish minds were filled with darkness.”
From In the Grip of Grace
Exodus 35
Sabbath Regulations
Moses assembled the whole Israelite community and said to them, “These are the things the Lord has commanded you to do: 2 For six days, work is to be done, but the seventh day shall be your holy day, a day of sabbath rest to the Lord. Whoever does any work on it is to be put to death. 3 Do not light a fire in any of your dwellings on the Sabbath day.”
Materials for the Tabernacle
4 Moses said to the whole Israelite community, “This is what the Lord has commanded: 5 From what you have, take an offering for the Lord. Everyone who is willing is to bring to the Lord an offering of gold, silver and bronze; 6 blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen; goat hair; 7 ram skins dyed red and another type of durable leather[c]; acacia wood; 8 olive oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense; 9 and onyx stones and other gems to be mounted on the ephod and breastpiece.
10 “All who are skilled among you are to come and make everything the Lord has commanded: 11 the tabernacle with its tent and its covering, clasps, frames, crossbars, posts and bases; 12 the ark with its poles and the atonement cover and the curtain that shields it; 13 the table with its poles and all its articles and the bread of the Presence; 14 the lampstand that is for light with its accessories, lamps and oil for the light; 15 the altar of incense with its poles, the anointing oil and the fragrant incense; the curtain for the doorway at the entrance to the tabernacle; 16 the altar of burnt offering with its bronze grating, its poles and all its utensils; the bronze basin with its stand; 17 the curtains of the courtyard with its posts and bases, and the curtain for the entrance to the courtyard; 18 the tent pegs for the tabernacle and for the courtyard, and their ropes; 19 the woven garments worn for ministering in the sanctuary—both the sacred garments for Aaron the priest and the garments for his sons when they serve as priests.”
20 Then the whole Israelite community withdrew from Moses’ presence, 21 and everyone who was willing and whose heart moved them came and brought an offering to the Lord for the work on the tent of meeting, for all its service, and for the sacred garments. 22 All who were willing, men and women alike, came and brought gold jewelry of all kinds: brooches, earrings, rings and ornaments. They all presented their gold as a wave offering to the Lord. 23 Everyone who had blue, purple or scarlet yarn or fine linen, or goat hair, ram skins dyed red or the other durable leather brought them. 24 Those presenting an offering of silver or bronze brought it as an offering to the Lord, and everyone who had acacia wood for any part of the work brought it. 25 Every skilled woman spun with her hands and brought what she had spun—blue, purple or scarlet yarn or fine linen. 26 And all the women who were willing and had the skill spun the goat hair. 27 The leaders brought onyx stones and other gems to be mounted on the ephod and breastpiece. 28 They also brought spices and olive oil for the light and for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense. 29 All the Israelite men and women who were willing brought to the Lord freewill offerings for all the work the Lord through Moses had commanded them to do.
Bezalel and Oholiab
30 Then Moses said to the Israelites, “See, the Lord has chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, 31 and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills— 32 to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, 33 to cut and set stones, to work in wood and to engage in all kinds of artistic crafts. 34 And he has given both him and Oholiab son of Ahisamak, of the tribe of Dan, the ability to teach others. 35 He has filled them with skill to do all kinds of work as engravers, designers, embroiderers in blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen, and weavers—all of them skilled workers and designers.
Exodus 35:7 Possibly the hides of large aquatic mammals; also in verse 23
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, September 05, 2014
Read: James 4:11-17
Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister[a] or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. 12 There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?
Boasting About Tomorrow
13 Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” 14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15 Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil. 17 If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.
James 4:11 The Greek word for brother or sister (adelphos) refers here to a believer, whether man or woman, as part of God’s family.
Insight
The New Testament book of James is often compared to the Old Testament book of Proverbs. Both contain a great deal of practical instruction about daily life lived in faith. Proverbs says that if we acknowledge God, He will direct our paths (3:6). Today’s passage reminds us of the same idea. While cautioning us that our lives are fleeting (James 4:13-14), James comforts us with the knowledge that we are in God’s hands (vv.12,15). He is the one who saves, and it is by His will that we live our lives.
With Him Forever!
By Bill Crowder
For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. —James 4:14
In 1859, during the turbulent years prior to America’s Civil War, Abraham Lincoln had the opportunity to speak to the Agricultural Society in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. As he spoke, he shared with them the story of an ancient monarch’s search for a sentence that was “true and appropriate in all times and situations.” His wise men, faced with this heady challenge, gave him the sentence, “And this, too, shall pass away.”
This is certainly true of our present world—it is constantly in the process of deterioration. And it’s not happening just to the world; we also face the reality in our own lives that our days are numbered. James wrote, “For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away” (James 4:14).
Although our current life is temporary and will pass away, the God we worship and serve is eternal. He has shared that eternity with us through the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ. He promises us a life that will never pass away: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
When Christ returns, He will take us home to be with Him forever!
Awake, my soul and sing
Of Him who died for thee,
And hail Him as thy matchless King
Through all eternity. —Bridges/Thring
For hope today, remember the end of the story— eternity with God.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, September 05, 2014
Watching With Jesus
Stay here and watch with Me —Matthew 26:38
Watch with Me.” Jesus was saying, in effect, “Watch with no private point of view at all, but watch solely and entirely with Me.” In the early stages of our Christian life, we do not watch with Jesus, we watch for Him. We do not watch with Him through the revealed truth of the Bible even in the circumstances of our own lives. Our Lord is trying to introduce us to identification with Himself through a particular “Gethsemane” experience of our own. But we refuse to go, saying, “No, Lord, I can’t see the meaning of this, and besides, it’s very painful.” And how can we possibly watch with Someone who is so incomprehensible? How are we going to understand Jesus sufficiently to watch with Him in His Gethsemane, when we don’t even know why He is suffering? We don’t know how to watch with Him— we are only used to the idea of Jesus watching with us.
The disciples loved Jesus Christ to the limit of their natural capacity, but they did not fully understand His purpose. In the Garden of Gethsemane they slept as a result of their own sorrow, and at the end of three years of the closest and most intimate relationship of their lives they “all . . . forsook Him and fled” (Matthew 26:56).
“They were all filled with the Holy Spirit . . .” (Acts 2:4). “They” refers to the same people, but something wonderful has happened between these two events— our Lord’s death, resurrection, and ascension— and the disciples have now been invaded and “filled with the Holy Spirit.” Our Lord had said, “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you . . .” (Acts 1:8). This meant that they learned to watch with Him the rest of their lives.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, September 05, 2014
THE HARVEST HANG-UP - #7215
Our oldest son worked as a missionary among young people in a Native American tribe in the Southwest. His first few days there he ended up helping a Native American man weed his corn field. The tribe lives in a place where it's pretty tough to grow anything. I mean, corn is the most important crop, but it doesn't come easily because they're in a place where you can only get about 10-12 inches of rain a year.
Well, they have perfected a method called dry farming. It means a lot of back-breaking work. One key is getting the weeds out of that garden before they can steal some of the corn's precious moisture. Well, that's what my son was doing for this man. At the end of a hard, hot afternoon he said to the farmer, "How much of your corn are you actually going to be able to harvest?" And the man said, "Oh, about 10%." To which my son replied, "Oh, man, after all this work, that's too bad. What happened?" And he said, "Well, I'll tell you where I lose most of my crop." The answer was surprising.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Harvest Hang-Up."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Matthew 9, beginning at verse 36. Oh, by the way, that farmer told my son, "I could harvest it all if I only had a few more workers." Jesus knows that feeling. The Bible: "And when He saw the crowds He had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, 'The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest field.'"
Jesus said, "the harvest is plentiful." He's talking there about lost people; people without Christ. When I talk to farmers about what the word harvest means to them, you know what the first word is they'll bring up? "Ready." Yeah, it's ready. That's what harvest is. We're surrounded by lost people, then, who are ready for Jesus. The harvest is plentiful. You say, "Well, they don't seem very interested in Jesus to me."
That's only because they don't know what Jesus can do.
Relationships these days have never been more broken, more disappointing, more unfulfilling. Loneliness has never been more rampant, more incurable. It seems like the future's never been this uncertain. Families are tough. The pain is wide spread. There's fertile ground there for the love that only God can give you; the peace that only He can give you, the security, the power, the healing.
They're ready, but there's a problem. The laborers are few. Jesus can't get His people to go get them. That's the harvest hang-up! Not the harvest of lost people; that's not the problem. It's the apathy of God's people. There are not enough workers!
What a tragic reason to lose the harvest; to let people slip into a Christ-less eternity. But right now God is trying to send workers out to His harvest field – maybe you. Could it be that you've gotten so comfortable in the farmhouse that you've forgotten the urgent need of the lost people out there? A lot of us are just sitting around tables, passing around another helping of spiritual blessings while the harvest dies.
Maybe you've become preoccupied with your own pressures and problems. In the days of Haggai, the prophet, he said, "My house (God speaking) remains a ruin while each of you is busy with his own house." Could it be God's agenda, the lost people His Son died for, have gotten lost in your agenda?
Could it be you feel inadequate to tell people about Him? But God decided you were the one to be His personal representative in that circle of people. He's going to give you the words. He's going to open the doors. Harvest time will not wait for you. Your wait is over.
Time is short. This is urgent stuff! Harvest always is. You've got a limited amount of time to bring in what's ready. You have nothing more important to do than this.
My heart broke when I heard what that farmer had said, "I could harvest it all if I had a few more workers." We're not harvesting corn. No, we're harvesting ever living, never dying souls. Would you step up to the task today and say, "Lord, you can bring in a few more, because You've got one more worker."