Romans 8:28 reminds us, “We know that in everything God works for the good of those love Him.” This is one of the most helpful, comforting verses of the entire Bible, announcing God’s sovereignty in any painful, tragic situation we face.
God works. Paul’s word for this is sunergeo—the great-great-grandfather of the term synergy. Paul is saying that God can make all things sunergeo for the good. Blending faith with the failings, triumphs with the tears.
James makes the same point in James 1:2 when he says, “Count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”
So what do we do in the meantime? We trust. We trust totally, and remember God is working for the good!
From Max on Life
Luke 6:1-26
A Discussion about the Sabbath
6 One Sabbath day as Jesus was walking through some grainfields, his disciples broke off heads of grain, rubbed off the husks in their hands, and ate the grain. 2 But some Pharisees said, “Why are you breaking the law by harvesting grain on the Sabbath?”
3 Jesus replied, “Haven’t you read in the Scriptures what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 4 He went into the house of God and broke the law by eating the sacred loaves of bread that only the priests can eat. He also gave some to his companions.” 5 And Jesus added, “The Son of Man[a] is Lord, even over the Sabbath.”
Jesus Heals on the Sabbath
6 On another Sabbath day, a man with a deformed right hand was in the synagogue while Jesus was teaching. 7 The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees watched Jesus closely. If he healed the man’s hand, they planned to accuse him of working on the Sabbath.
8 But Jesus knew their thoughts. He said to the man with the deformed hand, “Come and stand in front of everyone.” So the man came forward. 9 Then Jesus said to his critics, “I have a question for you. Does the law permit good deeds on the Sabbath, or is it a day for doing evil? Is this a day to save life or to destroy it?”
10 He looked around at them one by one and then said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” So the man held out his hand, and it was restored! 11 At this, the enemies of Jesus were wild with rage and began to discuss what to do with him.
Jesus Chooses the Twelve Apostles
12 One day soon afterward Jesus went up on a mountain to pray, and he prayed to God all night. 13 At daybreak he called together all of his disciples and chose twelve of them to be apostles. Here are their names:
14 Simon (whom he named Peter),
Andrew (Peter’s brother),
James,
John,
Philip,
Bartholomew,
15 Matthew,
Thomas,
James (son of Alphaeus),
Simon (who was called the zealot),
16 Judas (son of James),
Judas Iscariot (who later betrayed him).
Crowds Follow Jesus
17 When they came down from the mountain, the disciples stood with Jesus on a large, level area, surrounded by many of his followers and by the crowds. There were people from all over Judea and from Jerusalem and from as far north as the seacoasts of Tyre and Sidon. 18 They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those troubled by evil[b] spirits were healed. 19 Everyone tried to touch him, because healing power went out from him, and he healed everyone.
The Beatitudes
20 Then Jesus turned to his disciples and said,
“God blesses you who are poor,
for the Kingdom of God is yours.
21 God blesses you who are hungry now,
for you will be satisfied.
God blesses you who weep now,
for in due time you will laugh.
22 What blessings await you when people hate you and exclude you and mock you and curse you as evil because you follow the Son of Man. 23 When that happens, be happy! Yes, leap for joy! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, their ancestors treated the ancient prophets that same way.
Sorrows Foretold
24 “What sorrow awaits you who are rich,
for you have your only happiness now.
25 What sorrow awaits you who are fat and prosperous now,
for a time of awful hunger awaits you.
What sorrow awaits you who laugh now,
for your laughing will turn to mourning and sorrow.
26 What sorrow awaits you who are praised by the crowds,
for their ancestors also praised false prophets.
Footnotes:
6:5 “Son of Man” is a title Jesus used for himself.
6:18 Greek unclean.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, January 14, 2015
Read: 2 Corinthians 11:24-33
Five different times the Jewish leaders gave me thirty-nine lashes. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. Once I spent a whole night and a day adrift at sea. 26 I have traveled on many long journeys. I have faced danger from rivers and from robbers. I have faced danger from my own people, the Jews, as well as from the Gentiles. I have faced danger in the cities, in the deserts, and on the seas. And I have faced danger from men who claim to be believers but are not.[a] 27 I have worked hard and long, enduring many sleepless nights. I have been hungry and thirsty and have often gone without food. I have shivered in the cold, without enough clothing to keep me warm.
28 Then, besides all this, I have the daily burden of my concern for all the churches. 29 Who is weak without my feeling that weakness? Who is led astray, and I do not burn with anger?
30 If I must boast, I would rather boast about the things that show how weak I am. 31 God, the Father of our Lord Jesus, who is worthy of eternal praise, knows I am not lying. 32 When I was in Damascus, the governor under King Aretas kept guards at the city gates to catch me. 33 I had to be lowered in a basket through a window in the city wall to escape from him.
Footnotes:
11:26 Greek from false brothers.
Insight
As Paul recounts some of the things he has endured in the service of Christ, the scene from Damascus (vv.32-33) is of special interest. There, Paul’s aggressive preaching ministry created great tension in the Jewish community, resulting in his novel escape (see Acts 9:22-25).
It’s Worth It
By Marion Stroud
If I must boast, I will boast in the things which concern my infirmity. —2 Corinthians 11:30
“I can’t do it,” Robert said, throwing his pencil down in despair. “It’s just too hard!” Reading, writing, and spelling seemed impossible to our dyslexic 9-year-old. At last, a solution was offered. But it was tough. We had to do reading and spelling practice with him for 20 minutes every evening—without exception. Sometimes we just didn’t feel like doing it, and at times we despaired of seeing progress. But we were committed to getting Robert’s reading age and his chronological age to match, so we battled on.
After 2 1/2 years, all the tears and struggles seemed infinitely worthwhile. Robert learned to read and spell. And we all learned patient endurance.
The apostle Paul suffered all sorts of hardships as he pursued his goal of sharing the good news of Jesus with those who had never heard. Persecuted, beaten, imprisoned, and misunderstood, sometimes he faced death itself (2 Cor. 11:25). But the joy of seeing people respond to his message made it all worthwhile.
If you feel that the task God has called you to is too hard, remember that the spiritual lessons and joy that are wrapped up in the journey may seem hidden at first, but they are certainly there! God will help you find them.
Sometimes we learn that hardships
Were blessings in disguise,
That earnest work and faith in God
Were proven to be wise. —Hess
The journey is as important as the destination.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, January 14, 2015
I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?" Then I said, "Here am I! Send me." —Isaiah 6:8
God did not direct His call to Isaiah— Isaiah overheard God saying, “…who will go for Us?” The call of God is not just for a select few but for everyone. Whether I hear God’s call or not depends on the condition of my ears, and exactly what I hear depends upon my spiritual attitude. “Many are called, but few are chosen” (Matthew 22:14). That is, few prove that they are the chosen ones. The chosen ones are those who have come into a relationship with God through Jesus Christ and have had their spiritual condition changed and their ears opened. Then they hear “the voice of the Lord” continually asking, “…who will go for Us?” However, God doesn’t single out someone and say, “Now, you go.” He did not force His will on Isaiah. Isaiah was in the presence of God, and he overheard the call. His response, performed in complete freedom, could only be to say, “Here am I! Send me.”
Remove the thought from your mind of expecting God to come to force you or to plead with you. When our Lord called His disciples, He did it without irresistible pressure from the outside. The quiet, yet passionate, insistence of His “Follow Me” was spoken to men whose every sense was receptive (Matthew 4:19). If we will allow the Holy Spirit to bring us face to face with God, we too will hear what Isaiah heard— “the voice of the Lord.” In perfect freedom we too will say, “Here am I! Send me.”
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, January 14, 2015
Daddy, Carry Me - #7308
Our son-in-law has done our family a great favor. He took our clunky, old Super 8 movies and put them onto a DVD so we could watch them a little more easily. And not long ago I was watching a scene with our oldest son that really brought back some, well, tender feelings.
He was probably I guess four years old or so. We were at a tourist attraction on vacation. You could tell he was tired, he was in a new place, and there were a lot of new people around. You know where he was? Here we go, all snuggled up in my arms. He had his head on my shoulder, oh, and his trademark position. He's the only one of our kids that ever did this. He would take the collar of my shirt and put that in his ear with one hand and then he'd suck his thumb with the other hand. And that was just last week! No, no, no I'm just kidding. Today, well, he's gone into God's work, he's been a missionary to Native Americans. Now, we still have a very close bond, although I have to tell you, he hasn't been interested in his thumb or my collar for a number of years now. But that's why this home movie means a lot to me, for more reasons than one.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Daddy, Carry Me."
Our word for today from the Word of God: Deuteronomy 1, beginning at verse 29. God is talking to His people and He says, "I said, 'Do not be terrified. Do not be afraid of them. The Lord your God, who is going before you will fight for you as He did for you in Egypt before your very eyes and in the desert. There you saw how the Lord your God carried you as a father carries his son; all the way you went until you reached this place.'"
I can't read this without remembering that home movie of my son and seeing myself in the movie. Except I'm the little guy and God is carrying me. I'm snuggled in His arms. Now, there are two times that a child tends to say, "Daddy, carry me." One is when kids are too tired to go on. And maybe you're there. You've got nothing left to give. "Daddy, carry me." Another time is when a child is fearful. They're in a situation where they've never been before. It's scary. Maybe you're frightened. Maybe you're unsure. Maybe something's going on with one of your kids, or your finances, or your marriage. Maybe you're suddenly alone. It could be an issue or a responsibility that has depleted all the resources you've got. You say, "I can't go any further."
The Israelites would have never made it through the wilderness. They would have never made it to the edge of The Promised Land, if they had to get there on their own strength and courage. They ran out. And God says, "I will carry you, my children. You will be safe in your Father's arms." That could be a picture of you right now. God's inviting you to stop trying to make it on your own, trying to depend on your own resources, trying to size up whether you should even decide to go on based on what you think you can do. When a father carries a son, it has nothing to do with the resources of the one being carried. It's all about how strong the one carrying you is.
Maybe you're like me. You like to tough it out. "I can figure out something here. I'll find a way. I can make it happen. I can handle this." Right now it's time for you not to do that. It's time for you to collapse in your Daddy's arms and try to find out how powerful He is. You say, "Lord, I've got no strength. I've got no energy to contribute. I'm not going to make it on my own." Well, that's a powerful moment. Your powerlessness - a powerful moment. That's the moment of really feeling His love, experiencing His take-over and sensing the release of His power into your exhaustion.
What's the result? Well, I know. Because I've carried a tired, scared child, and it bonds you incredibly. Allow yourself to surrender your strength for your Father's strength. Don't walk one more step on your own. Let Him carry you. "I carried you through the desert all the way," He said.
You collapse in your Daddy's arms and that will bring the two of you close as nothing else can.
