Max Lucado Daily: Appeal to the Heart
Remember the church at Corinth? A problem on every pew? Territorially selfish. Morally shameless. Theologically reckless. How do you help a congregation like that? You can correct them. Paul did. You can instruct them, which Paul did. You can reason with them; Paul did. But at some point you stop talking to the head and start appealing to the heart. And Paul did that.
I Corinthians 13:4-7 says, "Love. . .bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things."
He saw only one solution-love! Don't we need the same prescription today? Someday there will be a community where everyone behaves and no one complains. But it won't be this side of heaven. So what do we do? We reason. We confront. We teach. But most of all, we love.
From Max on Life
Joshua 2
Rahab Protects the Spies
Then Joshua secretly sent out two spies from the Israelite camp at Acacia Grove.[b] He instructed them, “Scout out the land on the other side of the Jordan River, especially around Jericho.” So the two men set out and came to the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there that night.
2 But someone told the king of Jericho, “Some Israelites have come here tonight to spy out the land.” 3 So the king of Jericho sent orders to Rahab: “Bring out the men who have come into your house, for they have come here to spy out the whole land.”
4 Rahab had hidden the two men, but she replied, “Yes, the men were here earlier, but I didn’t know where they were from. 5 They left the town at dusk, as the gates were about to close. I don’t know where they went. If you hurry, you can probably catch up with them.” 6 (Actually, she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them beneath bundles of flax she had laid out.) 7 So the king’s men went looking for the spies along the road leading to the shallow crossings of the Jordan River. And as soon as the king’s men had left, the gate of Jericho was shut.
8 Before the spies went to sleep that night, Rahab went up on the roof to talk with them. 9 “I know the Lord has given you this land,” she told them. “We are all afraid of you. Everyone in the land is living in terror. 10 For we have heard how the Lord made a dry path for you through the Red Sea[c] when you left Egypt. And we know what you did to Sihon and Og, the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan River, whose people you completely destroyed.[d] 11 No wonder our hearts have melted in fear! No one has the courage to fight after hearing such things. For the Lord your God is the supreme God of the heavens above and the earth below.
12 “Now swear to me by the Lord that you will be kind to me and my family since I have helped you. Give me some guarantee that 13 when Jericho is conquered, you will let me live, along with my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all their families.”
14 “We offer our own lives as a guarantee for your safety,” the men agreed. “If you don’t betray us, we will keep our promise and be kind to you when the Lord gives us the land.”
15 Then, since Rahab’s house was built into the town wall, she let them down by a rope through the window. 16 “Escape to the hill country,” she told them. “Hide there for three days from the men searching for you. Then, when they have returned, you can go on your way.”
17 Before they left, the men told her, “We will be bound by the oath we have taken only if you follow these instructions. 18 When we come into the land, you must leave this scarlet rope hanging from the window through which you let us down. And all your family members—your father, mother, brothers, and all your relatives—must be here inside the house. 19 If they go out into the street and are killed, it will not be our fault. But if anyone lays a hand on people inside this house, we will accept the responsibility for their death. 20 If you betray us, however, we are not bound by this oath in any way.”
21 “I accept your terms,” she replied. And she sent them on their way, leaving the scarlet rope hanging from the window.
22 The spies went up into the hill country and stayed there three days. The men who were chasing them searched everywhere along the road, but they finally returned without success.
23 Then the two spies came down from the hill country, crossed the Jordan River, and reported to Joshua all that had happened to them. 24 “The Lord has given us the whole land,” they said, “for all the people in the land are terrified of us.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, February 02, 2015
Read: 1 Chronicles 16:7-14
David’s Song of Praise
On that day David gave to Asaph and his fellow Levites this song of thanksgiving to the Lord:
8 Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim his greatness.
Let the whole world know what he has done.
9 Sing to him; yes, sing his praises.
Tell everyone about his wonderful deeds.
10 Exult in his holy name;
rejoice, you who worship the Lord.
11 Search for the Lord and for his strength;
continually seek him.
12 Remember the wonders he has performed,
his miracles, and the rulings he has given,
13 you children of his servant Israel,
you descendants of Jacob, his chosen ones.
14 He is the Lord our God.
His justice is seen throughout the land.
INSIGHT: The ark of the covenant, the symbol of God’s covenant and presence with His people (Ex. 25:17-22), was neglected by Saul and left abandoned in the Benjamite town of Kirjath Jearim for 20 years (1 Sam. 7:2). After David became king, one of the first things he did was to bring the ark back to Jerusalem (1 Chron. 13:3-14; 15:1-28; 2 Sam. 6:1-3). To commemorate the ark’s return, David composed a song of worship celebrating God’s presence and exalting God’s power (1 Chron. 16:8-36). Asaph (v.7) was one of David’s three music directors (see 1 Chron. 25:1) who sounded the bronze cymbals as the ark was moved into Jerusalem (15:16-19).
For Our Health
By Jennifer Benson Schuldt
Oh, give thanks to the Lord! —1 Chronicles 16:8
According to a prominent Duke University Medical Center researcher, “If thankfulness were a drug, it would be the world’s best-selling product with [health benefits] for every major organ system.”
For some, being thankful means simply living with a sense of gratitude—taking time to recognize and focus on the things we have, instead of the things we wish we had. The Bible takes the idea of thankfulness to a deeper level. The act of giving thanks causes us to recognize the One who provides our blessings (James 1:17).
David knew that God was responsible for the safe delivery of the ark of the covenant in Jerusalem (1 Chron. 15:26). As a result, he penned a song of gratitude that centered on God instead of simply expressing his delight in an important event. The ballad began: “Oh, give thanks to the Lord! Call upon His name; make known His deeds among the peoples!” (16:8). David’s song went on to rejoice in God’s greatness, highlighting God’s salvation, creative power, and mercy (vv.25-36).
Today we can be truly thankful by worshiping the Giver instead of the gifts we enjoy. Focusing on the good things in our lives may benefit our bodies, but directing our thanks to God benefits our souls.
Gratitude is our natural response to God’s grace.
Nothing so takes the heart out of a person as
ingratitude. Gratitude is not only the greatest of
virtues, but the parent of all the others. —Cicero
True thanksgiving emphasizes the Giver rather than the gifts.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, February 02, 2015
The Compelling Force of the Call
Woe is me if I do not preach the gospel! —1 Corinthians 9:16
Beware of refusing to hear the call of God. Everyone who is saved is called to testify to the fact of his salvation. That, however, is not the same as the call to preach, but is merely an illustration which can be used in preaching. In this verse, Paul was referring to the stinging pains produced in him by the compelling force of the call to preach the gospel. Never try to apply what Paul said regarding the call to preach to those souls who are being called to God for salvation. There is nothing easier than getting saved, because it is solely God’s sovereign work— “Look to Me, and be saved…” (Isaiah 45:22). Our Lord never requires the same conditions for discipleship that he requires for salvation. We are condemned to salvation through the Cross of Christ. But discipleship has an option with it— “If anyone…” (Luke 14:26).
Paul’s words have to do with our being made servants of Jesus Christ, and our permission is never asked as to what we will do or where we will go. God makes us as broken bread and poured-out wine to please Himself. To be “separated to the gospel” means being able to hear the call of God (Romans 1:1). Once someone begins to hear that call, a suffering worthy of the name of Christ is produced. Suddenly, every ambition, every desire of life, and every outlook is completely blotted out and extinguished. Only one thing remains— “…separated to the gospel…” Woe be to the soul who tries to head in any other direction once that call has come to him. The Bible Training College exists so that each of you may know whether or not God has a man or woman here who truly cares about proclaiming His gospel and to see if God grips you for this purpose. Beware of competing calls once the call of God grips you.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, February 02, 2015
Family Resemblances - Avoiding the Mistakes of Your Parents - #7321
It can be pretty amusing if you listen in on conversations that revolve around a newborn baby. I'm wondering how they ever learn to talk, the way we adults talk to them. We just lean over and go, "buga, buga, buga" or something like that. And I don't know how they ever learn. But I really think it's funny when the conversation turns to, "Well, who do you think he looks like?"
How can you tell who that wrinkled little guy or girl really looks like? I never can tell. And you know what? You wouldn't necessarily want to have them look like you the way they look right there. But adults will say, "Well, you know, I think he kind of looks like his good old Dad. That's me." Or, "I think he looks like Mom or Grandma." Who does this baby look like?
As the child grows, we begin to see more and more similarities develop. He talks like a certain member of the family, walks, moves, reacts like a certain member of the family. Our kids are so much like us, and we are so much like our parents in many ways. The problem is the resemblance isn't always cute.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Family Resemblances - Avoiding the Mistakes of Your Parents."
Our word for today from the Word of God is found in 1 Peter 1; I'm in verse 18. "You were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers." We're talking about hand-me-downs here. Maybe you've had clothes handed down to you, or you have heirlooms in your house that Aunt Tilley passed on and you dare not, or the kids had better not do anything to break it or damage it. Well, we're talking here about hand-me-downs in our...I guess our personality. This is saying that we get some empty ways of living handed down from parent to child, and grandchild, and so on.
There's a communication of generational weaknesses that goes from one generation to the next. The Bible says this in Exodus. It calls them "...the sins of the fathers being passed on to the third and fourth generation." I remember talking to Gary a while back, and Gary said, "My Mom's driving me crazy, Ron! I can do ten things right and one thing wrong, and all she's going to see is the one thing wrong. She is so critical." I said, "Gary, now look, I've never met your grandparents, but do you have a grandparent who's very hard to please?" He said, "Oh, my grandma! How did you know? She is so rough on my Mother." And then he looked at me for a minute and he said, "You know what? Come to think of it, I'm starting to become a negative, critical person."
What were we seeing there? Three generations of a critical spirit being passed on. Sin crosses generations because we do things the same empty way our folks did them. And family sins are sort of acceptable because we think they're just part of the personality; it sort of goes with having my name. We tend to ignore these problems and not do anything about them, and they continue to hurt new generations.
Listen to some of these family sins. Maybe one will ring a bell: The tendency to manipulate the next generation with guilt and to really make them feel crummy about themselves. Maybe that's been passed on to you or you're passing it on. The tendency to get things done by belittling other people, or to ignore problems until they explode and then you try to patch them over. Maybe you were raised with a hard-to-please person and you've become that kind of person. Or maybe you were raised around people who never complimented you, and you find it hard to give praise now yourself. Maybe they never showed you much affection and it could be that you, too, seldom touch, or hold, or express your love to the people around you. Or maybe it was a parent who always had to be right, and now you've always got to be right. I don't know what it is, but I know there's probably a family sin that is passed on in all of our personalities.
Your strategy is to identify it, call it what it is, say, "I'm not going to tolerate it any more", and in the power of Christ counter attack it. Because this verse says, "We have been redeemed by the blood of Christ from that empty way of life." If you have never begun a relationship with this Savior, this isn't just some religious deal. This is about changing things in you that only a Savior who died on the cross for your sins and walked out of His grave has the power to change.
So many people have found the power to become a new mom, a new dad, a new person, not passing on the sins of the past to other people. You can be forgiven. You can be changed by this Jesus. You say, "Ron, I don't think I have that kind of real relationship with Him." That's why we have a website ANewStory.com.
I want to invite you to meet me there and let me help you begin that relationship today - AnewStory.com. Then you'll be able to say, "That family sin stops with me! It stops now!"