Max Lucado Daily: Out on a Limb
After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit (Mt. 1:18 NKJV). Joseph was perched firmly on his branch in the tree. Predictable and solid, Joseph had no intention of leaving it. That is, until he was told to go out on a limb.
"Conceived by the Holy Spirit? Come on! Who will believe me?"
Pride told him not to do it. But God told him to do it. I have a feeling you can relate to Joseph. One foot in your will and one foot in His. His will or yours? Disrupting, isn't it? You can bet it won't be easy. Limb-climbing has never been. Ask Joseph…or better yet, ask Jesus! He knows better than anyone the cost of hanging on a tree!
From In the Manger
Numbers 31
Conquest of the Midianites
Then the Lord said to Moses, 2 “On behalf of the people of Israel, take revenge on the Midianites for leading them into idolatry. After that, you will die and join your ancestors.”
3 So Moses said to the people, “Choose some men, and arm them to fight the Lord’s war of revenge against Midian. 4 From each tribe of Israel, send 1,000 men into battle.” 5 So they chose 1,000 men from each tribe of Israel, a total of 12,000 men armed for battle. 6 Then Moses sent them out, 1,000 men from each tribe, and Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest led them into battle. They carried along the holy objects of the sanctuary and the trumpets for sounding the charge. 7 They attacked Midian as the Lord had commanded Moses, and they killed all the men. 8 All five of the Midianite kings—Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba—died in the battle. They also killed Balaam son of Beor with the sword.
9 Then the Israelite army captured the Midianite women and children and seized their cattle and flocks and all their wealth as plunder. 10 They burned all the towns and villages where the Midianites had lived. 11 After they had gathered the plunder and captives, both people and animals, 12 they brought them all to Moses and Eleazar the priest, and to the whole community of Israel, which was camped on the plains of Moab beside the Jordan River, across from Jericho. 13 Moses, Eleazar the priest, and all the leaders of the community went to meet them outside the camp. 14 But Moses was furious with all the generals and captains[a] who had returned from the battle.
15 “Why have you let all the women live?” he demanded. 16 “These are the very ones who followed Balaam’s advice and caused the people of Israel to rebel against the Lord at Mount Peor. They are the ones who caused the plague to strike the Lord’s people. 17 So kill all the boys and all the women who have had intercourse with a man. 18 Only the young girls who are virgins may live; you may keep them for yourselves. 19 And all of you who have killed anyone or touched a dead body must stay outside the camp for seven days. You must purify yourselves and your captives on the third and seventh days. 20 Purify all your clothing, too, and everything made of leather, goat hair, or wood.”
21 Then Eleazar the priest said to the men who were in the battle, “The Lord has given Moses this legal requirement: 22 Anything made of gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin, or lead— 23 that is, all metals that do not burn—must be passed through fire in order to be made ceremonially pure. These metal objects must then be further purified with the water of purification. But everything that burns must be purified by the water alone. 24 On the seventh day you must wash your clothes and be purified. Then you may return to the camp.”
Division of the Plunder
25 And the Lord said to Moses, 26 “You and Eleazar the priest and the family leaders of each tribe are to make a list of all the plunder taken in the battle, including the people and animals. 27 Then divide the plunder into two parts, and give half to the men who fought the battle and half to the rest of the people. 28 From the army’s portion, first give the Lord his share of the plunder—one of every 500 of the prisoners and of the cattle, donkeys, sheep, and goats. 29 Give this share of the army’s half to Eleazar the priest as an offering to the Lord. 30 From the half that belongs to the people of Israel, take one of every fifty of the prisoners and of the cattle, donkeys, sheep, goats, and other animals. Give this share to the Levites, who are in charge of maintaining the Lord’s Tabernacle.” 31 So Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the Lord commanded Moses.
32 The plunder remaining from everything the fighting men had taken totaled 675,000 sheep and goats, 33 72,000 cattle, 34 61,000 donkeys, 35 and 32,000 virgin girls.
36 Half of the plunder was given to the fighting men. It totaled 337,500 sheep and goats, 37 of which 675 were the Lord’s share; 38 36,000 cattle, of which 72 were the Lord’s share; 39 30,500 donkeys, of which 61 were the Lord’s share; 40 and 16,000 virgin girls, of whom 32 were the Lord’s share. 41 Moses gave all the Lord’s share to Eleazar the priest, just as the Lord had directed him.
42 Half of the plunder belonged to the people of Israel, and Moses separated it from the half belonging to the fighting men. 43 It totaled 337,500 sheep and goats, 44 36,000 cattle, 45 30,500 donkeys, 46 and 16,000 virgin girls. 47 From the half-share given to the people, Moses took one of every fifty prisoners and animals and gave them to the Levites, who maintained the Lord’s Tabernacle. All this was done as the Lord had commanded Moses.
48 Then all the generals and captains came to Moses 49 and said, “We, your servants, have accounted for all the men who went out to battle under our command; not one of us is missing! 50 So we are presenting the items of gold we captured as an offering to the Lord from our share of the plunder—armbands, bracelets, rings, earrings, and necklaces. This will purify our lives before the Lord and make us right with him.[b]”
51 So Moses and Eleazar the priest received the gold from all the military commanders—all kinds of jewelry and crafted objects. 52 In all, the gold that the generals and captains presented as a gift to the Lord weighed about 420 pounds.[c] 53 All the fighting men had taken some of the plunder for themselves. 54 So Moses and Eleazar the priest accepted the gifts from the generals and captains and brought the gold to the Tabernacle[d] as a reminder to the Lord that the people of Israel belong to him.
31:14 Hebrew the commanders of thousands, and the commanders of hundreds; also in 31:48, 52, 54.
31:50 Or will make atonement for our lives before the Lord.
31:52 Hebrew 16,750 shekels [191 kilograms].
31:54 Hebrew the Tent of Meeting.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, December 08, 2014
Read: Hebrews 10:19-25
A Call to Persevere
And so, dear brothers and sisters,[a] we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. 20 By his death,[b] Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. 21 And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, 22 let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.
23 Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. 24 Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. 25 And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.
Footnotes:
10:19 Greek brothers.
10:20 Greek Through his flesh.
Insight
The “Holiest” (Heb. 10:19) was a reference to the Holy of Holies in ancient Israel’s tabernacle and temple. It was viewed as the dwelling place of God among His people and could only be entered once a year, and then only by the high priest. On the Day of Atonement, the high priest would take the blood of the sacrifice into the Holy of Holies to atone for the people’s sins for another year. However, the work of our High Priest, Jesus, is so complete that we now have the freedom to enter into God’s presence at any time. In fact, we can enter boldly because as a result of Christ’s sacrifice we are welcomed into the Father’s presence. This intimate relationship we have with our Father causes us to want to share His grace with others.
Johnny’s Race
By Dave Branon
Comfort each other and edify one another. —1 Thessalonians 5:11
When 19-year-old Johnny Agar finished the 5k race, he had a lot of people behind him—family members and friends who were celebrating his accomplishment.
Johnny has cerebral palsy, which makes physical activity difficult. But he and his dad, Jeff, have teamed up to compete in many races—Dad pushing and Johnny riding. But one day, Johnny wanted to finish by himself. Halfway through the race, his dad took him out of his cart, helped him to his walker, and assisted Johnny as he completed the race on his own two feet. That led to a major celebration as friends and family cheered his accomplishment. “It made it easier for me to do it with them behind me,” Johnny told a reporter. “The encouragement is what drove me.”
Isn’t that what Christ-followers are meant to do? Hebrews 10:24 reminds us, “Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds” (niv). As we model the love of our Savior (John 13:34-35), imagine the difference it could make if we all set out to encourage each other—if we always knew that behind us we had a group of friends cheering us on. If we took the words “comfort each other and edify one another” (1 Thess. 5:11) seriously, the race would be easier for all of us.
Help us, Lord, not to think that we can go through
life without others. Cure us of our independent
spirit. Use us to bless others and humble
us to accept encouragement.
A word of encouragement can make the difference between giving up or going on.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, December 08, 2014
The Impartial Power of God
By one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified. —Hebrews 10:14
We trample the blood of the Son of God underfoot if we think we are forgiven because we are sorry for our sins. The only reason for the forgiveness of our sins by God, and the infinite depth of His promise to forget them, is the death of Jesus Christ. Our repentance is merely the result of our personal realization of the atonement by the Cross of Christ, which He has provided for us. “…Christ Jesus…became for us wisdom from God— and righteousness and sanctification and redemption…” (1 Corinthians 1:30). Once we realize that Christ has become all this for us, the limitless joy of God begins in us. And wherever the joy of God is not present, the death sentence is still in effect.
No matter who or what we are, God restores us to right standing with Himself only by means of the death of Jesus Christ. God does this, not because Jesus pleads with Him to do so but because He died. It cannot be earned, just accepted. All the pleading for salvation which deliberately ignores the Cross of Christ is useless. It is knocking at a door other than the one which Jesus has already opened. We protest by saying, “But I don’t want to come that way. It is too humiliating to be received as a sinner.” God’s response, through Peter, is, “… there is no other name…by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). What at first appears to be heartlessness on God’s part is actually the true expression of His heart. There is unlimited entrance His way. “In Him we have redemption through His blood…” (Ephesians 1:7). To identify with the death of Jesus Christ means that we must die to everything that was never a part of Him.
God is just in saving bad people only as He makes them good. Our Lord does not pretend we are all right when we are all wrong. The atonement by the Cross of Christ is the propitiation God uses to make unholy people holy.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, December 08, 2014
The Christmas Window - #7281
You remember when the word window just referred to that opening in a wall that kind of you then covered with glass? Well, NASA changed all that. A window is still an opening, but the folks at Cape Canaveral use that word to refer to that brief period of time where everything is right for the launch: the wind is okay, the weather's okay, they've checked it at the Cape, they've checked it down range, and the atmospherics are okay for communication. The conditions have been predicted for the time of return and they look good, too. But the window will pass soon. If you're going to get this thing off the ground, go when the window's open.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Christmas Window."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Luke 2 beginning at verse 16. This might be a dimension of Christmas that we often miss; maybe with some tragic consequences. "So the shepherds hurried off and found Mary, and Joseph, and the baby who was lying in a manger. And when they had seen Him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child. And all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them."
Now, notice it says they had seen Him and then they spread the word. The first people to ever celebrate Christmas saw it as a time for telling. That was their first response! "Man, it's time to spread this good news!" Now, 2 Corinthians 5:20 tells you what your lifetime assignment for Jesus is, "We are Christ's ambassadors." Whatever you do for a living, or go to school for, your highest calling is that you're an ambassador for Jesus Christ. If the people in your world are ever going to hear about Him, it's going to be through you. See, He's assigned you to this particular little tribe that's around where you work, or go to school, or live. That's your territory as a "missionary."
Your environment might change. You may move, but your assignment doesn't. You are His ambassador wherever He puts you. Christmas, I think, is the best window of the year for telling about your Jesus. Hearts are softer this time of year. People are open. Christ is kind of like everywhere. You can't even go to the mall without hearing songs about Him. It's never easier to talk about Jesus than during the Christmas season.
But the Devil? Oh, he loves to see us so consumed with Christmas busyness that he keeps us distracted when the window in lost hearts is the most open. Think about it. Who is there this Christmas, in this countdown to Christmas, who is there that you need to communicate Christ to? They need to hear about Jesus. Well, it's time for telling. Maybe you could put it into a letter. This Christmas season would be the time to tell them about the One who promised peace, and brought peace to your heart.
Maybe it's time to take that person out to lunch and you pay for it. Maybe it's time to give them a Christian DVD or a CD of contemporary worship music. Share with them the songs that really mean a lot to you. Most of all, tell your Hope Story; write your Hope Story. If you do Christmas cards, put it in the cards. Look for opportunities to tell your personal Hope Story of the difference Jesus has made. Maybe you need to invite them to an event that will be for lost people and "seeker friendly." They're ready to hear Christmas music. Everybody wants to hear that.
Invite them to your home afterwards, then. Don't just go to the concert. Invite them to your home to fellowship and talk about what was sung and what was said about Jesus Christ. My wife and I have had opportunity to make great progress in communicating our Jesus to our friends by that plan alone. Just invite them to a concert and have them over afterwards and talk about what we all felt.
Jesus said that it was "harvest time." He said the harvest is plentiful. And I've asked farmers, and harvest to them means "ready". Well, I believe someone around you is ready because of this Christmas season. They desperately need your Lord, and they may be more ready now than ever before.
If you're ever going to launch an effort to take that person to heaven with you, would you do it now while the Christmas window is open?