Psalm 12, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily:Trust Him

In Mark 5:23, Jairus pleads with Jesus, “My daughter is dying.  Please come, heal her so she will live.”

He doesn’t barter with Jesus.  He doesn’t negotiate. He just pleads.  He asks Jesus for His help.  And Jesus, who loves the honest heart, goes to give it.  But before they get very far, they’re interrupted by emissaries who tell them, “Your daughter is dead.  There’s no need to bother the Teacher anymore.”

Get ready.  Hang on to your hat. Here’s where Jesus takes control.  The Bible says: “But Jesus paid no attention to what they said.” I love that line!  He ignored what the people said. Why don’t you do that?  When falsehood, accusations, or negativism come, just ignore it.  Close your ears. Walk away. Ignore the ones who say it’s too late to start over. Disregard those who say you’ll never amount to anything.

Jesus said to Jairus what He says to you: “Don’t be afraid—just believe!” “Trust Me,” Jesus is pleading. “Just trust Me.”

from He Still Moves Stones

Psalm 12

For the choir director: A psalm of David, to be accompanied by an eight-stringed instrument.[a]

1 Help, O Lord, for the godly are fast disappearing!
    The faithful have vanished from the earth!
2 Neighbors lie to each other,
    speaking with flattering lips and deceitful hearts.
3 May the Lord cut off their flattering lips
    and silence their boastful tongues.
4 They say, “We will lie to our hearts’ content.
    Our lips are our own—who can stop us?”
5 The Lord replies, “I have seen violence done to the helpless,
    and I have heard the groans of the poor.
Now I will rise up to rescue them,
    as they have longed for me to do.”
6 The Lord’s promises are pure,
    like silver refined in a furnace,
    purified seven times over.
7 Therefore, Lord, we know you will protect the oppressed,
    preserving them forever from this lying generation,
8 even though the wicked strut about,
    and evil is praised throughout the land.

Footnotes:12:Title Hebrew according to the sheminith.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Sunday, July 26, 2015

Read: 2 Chronicles 17:1-11

Jehoshaphat Rules in Judah

 Then Jehoshaphat, Asa’s son, became the next king. He strengthened Judah to stand against any attack from Israel. 2 He stationed troops in all the fortified towns of Judah, and he assigned additional garrisons to the land of Judah and to the towns of Ephraim that his father, Asa, had captured.

3 The Lord was with Jehoshaphat because he followed the example of his father’s early years[a] and did not worship the images of Baal. 4 He sought his father’s God and obeyed his commands instead of following the evil practices of the kingdom of Israel. 5 So the Lord established Jehoshaphat’s control over the kingdom of Judah. All the people of Judah brought gifts to Jehoshaphat, so he became very wealthy and highly esteemed. 6 He was deeply committed to[b] the ways of the Lord. He removed the pagan shrines and Asherah poles from Judah.

7 In the third year of his reign Jehoshaphat sent his officials to teach in all the towns of Judah. These officials included Ben-hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel, and Micaiah. 8 He sent Levites along with them, including Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, and Tob-adonijah. He also sent out the priests Elishama and Jehoram. 9 They took copies of the Book of the Law of the Lord and traveled around through all the towns of Judah, teaching the people.

10 Then the fear of the Lord fell over all the surrounding kingdoms so that none of them wanted to declare war on Jehoshaphat. 11 Some of the Philistines brought him gifts and silver as tribute, and the Arabs brought 7,700 rams and 7,700 male goats.

Footnotes:

17:3 Some Hebrew manuscripts read the example of his father, David.
17:6 Hebrew His heart was courageous in.

INSIGHT:
Jehoshaphat’s devotion to the Lord is evidenced by his obedience to God’s Word (17:4). He removed idols (v. 6) and sent teachers all over the country to teach the Scriptures (vv. 7-9). When in trouble, he trusted in God (20:6-12).

A Devoted Heart

By Lawrence Darmani

He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. —2 Chronicles 20:32 niv

A successful Christian businessman shared his story with us at church. He was candid about his struggles with faith and abundant wealth. He declared, “Wealth scares me!”

He quoted Jesus’ statement, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God” (Luke 18:25 niv). He cited Luke 16:19-31 about the rich man and Lazarus and how in this story it was the rich man who went to hell. The parable of the “rich fool” (Luke 12:16-21) disturbed him.

“But,” the businessman stated, “I’ve learned a lesson from Solomon’s verdict on the abundance of wealth. It’s all ‘meaningless’ ” (Eccl. 2:11 niv). He determined not to let wealth get in the way of his devotion to God. Rather, he wanted to serve God with his assets and help the needy.

Throughout the centuries, God has blessed some people materially. We read of Jehoshaphat in 2 Chronicles 17:5, “The Lord established the kingdom . . . so that he had great wealth and honor.” He did not become proud or bully others with his wealth. Instead, “his heart was devoted to the ways of the Lord” (v. 6).  Also, “he followed the ways of his father Asa and did not stray from them; he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord” (20:32).

The Lord is not against wealth for He has blessed some with it—but He’s definitely against the unethical acquisition and wrong use of it. He is worthy of devotion from all His followers.

Giving thanks to God often helps us learn contentment with what we do have. What are you thankful for?

Wealth or no wealth, devoted hearts please the Lord.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

July 26, 2015
The Way to Purity
Those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart….For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man… —Matthew 15:18-20

Initially we trust in our ignorance, calling it innocence, and next we trust our innocence, calling it purity. Then when we hear these strong statements from our Lord, we shrink back, saying, “But I never felt any of those awful things in my heart.” We resent what He reveals. Either Jesus Christ is the supreme authority on the human heart, or He is not worth paying any attention to. Am I prepared to trust the penetration of His Word into my heart, or would I prefer to trust my own “innocent ignorance”? If I will take an honest look at myself, becoming fully aware of my so-called innocence and putting it to the test, I am very likely to have a rude awakening that what Jesus Christ said is true, and I will be appalled at the possibilities of the evil and the wrong within me. But as long as I remain under the false security of my own “innocence,” I am living in a fool’s paradise. If I have never been an openly rude and abusive person, the only reason is my own cowardice coupled with the sense of protection I receive from living a civilized life. But when I am open and completely exposed before God, I find that Jesus Christ is right in His diagnosis of me.

The only thing that truly provides protection is the redemption of Jesus Christ. If I will simply hand myself over to Him, I will never have to experience the terrible possibilities that lie within my heart. Purity is something far too deep for me to arrive at naturally. But when the Holy Spirit comes into me, He brings into the center of my personal life the very Spirit that was exhibited in the life of Jesus Christ, namely, the Holy Spirit, which is absolute unblemished purity.