Max Lucado Daily: Guarding Our Hearts
For most of us, thought management is, well, un-thought of! We think much about time management, weight management, personnel management. But what about thought management? Shouldn't we be as concerned about managing our thoughts as we are managing anything else?
Jesus was. Proverbs 4:23 says, "Be careful what you think, because your thoughts run your life." Jesus guarded his heart. If he did, shouldn't we do the same? When Peter was about to question the necessity of Calvary, Christ blocked the doorway. Jesus says in Matthew 16:23, Peter, get out of my way. Satan, get lost. You have no idea how God works.
Jesus wants you to have a heart like his. That is God's goal for you. He wants you to think and act like Christ Jesus. But how? We can be transformed if we make one decision…submit our thoughts to the authority of Jesus!
From Just Like Jesus
1 Samuel 18
Saul Becomes Jealous of David
After David had finished talking with Saul, he met Jonathan, the king’s son. There was an immediate bond between them, for Jonathan loved David. 2 From that day on Saul kept David with him and wouldn’t let him return home. 3 And Jonathan made a solemn pact with David, because he loved him as he loved himself. 4 Jonathan sealed the pact by taking off his robe and giving it to David, together with his tunic, sword, bow, and belt.
5 Whatever Saul asked David to do, David did it successfully. So Saul made him a commander over the men of war, an appointment that was welcomed by the people and Saul’s officers alike.
6 When the victorious Israelite army was returning home after David had killed the Philistine, women from all the towns of Israel came out to meet King Saul. They sang and danced for joy with tambourines and cymbals.[h] 7 This was their song:
“Saul has killed his thousands,
and David his ten thousands!”
8 This made Saul very angry. “What’s this?” he said. “They credit David with ten thousands and me with only thousands. Next they’ll be making him their king!” 9 So from that time on Saul kept a jealous eye on David.
10 The very next day a tormenting spirit[i] from God overwhelmed Saul, and he began to rave in his house like a madman. David was playing the harp, as he did each day. But Saul had a spear in his hand, 11 and he suddenly hurled it at David, intending to pin him to the wall. But David escaped him twice.
12 Saul was then afraid of David, for the Lord was with David and had turned away from Saul. 13 Finally, Saul sent him away and appointed him commander over 1,000 men, and David faithfully led his troops into battle.
14 David continued to succeed in everything he did, for the Lord was with him. 15 When Saul recognized this, he became even more afraid of him. 16 But all Israel and Judah loved David because he was so successful at leading his troops into battle.
David Marries Saul’s Daughter
17 One day Saul said to David, “I am ready to give you my older daughter, Merab, as your wife. But first you must prove yourself to be a real warrior by fighting the Lord’s battles.” For Saul thought, “I’ll send him out against the Philistines and let them kill him rather than doing it myself.”
18 “Who am I, and what is my family in Israel that I should be the king’s son-in-law?” David exclaimed. “My father’s family is nothing!” 19 So[j] when the time came for Saul to give his daughter Merab in marriage to David, he gave her instead to Adriel, a man from Meholah.
20 In the meantime, Saul’s daughter Michal had fallen in love with David, and Saul was delighted when he heard about it. 21 “Here’s another chance to see him killed by the Philistines!” Saul said to himself. But to David he said, “Today you have a second chance to become my son-in-law!”
22 Then Saul told his men to say to David, “The king really likes you, and so do we. Why don’t you accept the king’s offer and become his son-in-law?”
23 When Saul’s men said these things to David, he replied, “How can a poor man from a humble family afford the bride price for the daughter of a king?”
24 When Saul’s men reported this back to the king, 25 he told them, “Tell David that all I want for the bride price is 100 Philistine foreskins! Vengeance on my enemies is all I really want.” But what Saul had in mind was that David would be killed in the fight.
26 David was delighted to accept the offer. Before the time limit expired, 27 he and his men went out and killed 200 Philistines. Then David fulfilled the king’s requirement by presenting all their foreskins to him. So Saul gave his daughter Michal to David to be his wife.
28 When Saul realized that the Lord was with David and how much his daughter Michal loved him, 29 Saul became even more afraid of him, and he remained David’s enemy for the rest of his life.
30 Every time the commanders of the Philistines attacked, David was more successful against them than all the rest of Saul’s officers. So David’s name became very famous.
18:6 The type of instrument represented by the word cymbals is uncertain.
18:10 Or an evil spirit.
18:19 Or But.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Wednesday, April 29, 2015
Read: 1 John 5:6-15
And Jesus Christ was revealed as God’s Son by his baptism in water and by shedding his blood on the cross[a]—not by water only, but by water and blood. And the Spirit, who is truth, confirms it with his testimony. 7 So we have these three witnesses[b]— 8 the Spirit, the water, and the blood—and all three agree. 9 Since we believe human testimony, surely we can believe the greater testimony that comes from God. And God has testified about his Son. 10 All who believe in the Son of God know in their hearts that this testimony is true. Those who don’t believe this are actually calling God a liar because they don’t believe what God has testified about his Son.
11 And this is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life.
Conclusion
13 I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life. 14 And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. 15 And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for.
Footnotes:
5:6 Greek This is he who came by water and blood.
5:7 A few very late manuscripts add in heaven—the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit, and these three are one. And we have three witnesses on earth.
INSIGHT: In this letter John refutes false teachers who deny that Jesus is the Christ (2:22). He says, “Jesus Christ was revealed as God’s Son by his baptism in water and by shedding his blood on the cross” (5:6 nlt).
Access To God
By Joe Stowell
Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. —Hebrews 4:16
Technology is a blessing in so many ways. Need a bit of information about a health problem? All you have to do is access the Internet where you instantaneously get a list of options to guide your search. Need to contact a friend? Just send a text, email, or Facebook post. But technology can also be frustrating at times. The other day I needed to access some information in my bank account and was asked a list of security questions. Unable to recall the exact answers, I was blocked from my own account. Or think of the times when an important conversation is cut off because of a dead cellphone battery, with no way to reconnect until you find a plug to recharge it.
All of this makes me delighted with the reality that when I need to access God in prayer, there are no security questions and no batteries required. I love the assurance that John gives when he says, “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us” (1 John 5:14).
God is always accessible, for He never slumbers nor sleeps! (Ps. 121:4). And thanks to His love for us, He is waiting and ready to listen.
Lord, thank You for desiring communication with me and for the reassurance that You are indeed listening and ready to help in time of need. Teach us to come to You with confidence in Your attentive love for us.
God is always accessible in our time of need.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, April 29, 2015
Gracious Uncertainty
…it has not yet been revealed what we shall be… —1 John 3:2
Our natural inclination is to be so precise– trying always to forecast accurately what will happen next– that we look upon uncertainty as a bad thing. We think that we must reach some predetermined goal, but that is not the nature of the spiritual life. The nature of the spiritual life is that we are certain in our uncertainty. Consequently, we do not put down roots. Our common sense says, “Well, what if I were in that circumstance?” We cannot presume to see ourselves in any circumstance in which we have never been.
Certainty is the mark of the commonsense life– gracious uncertainty is the mark of the spiritual life. To be certain of God means that we are uncertain in all our ways, not knowing what tomorrow may bring. This is generally expressed with a sigh of sadness, but it should be an expression of breathless expectation. We are uncertain of the next step, but we are certain of God. As soon as we abandon ourselves to God and do the task He has placed closest to us, He begins to fill our lives with surprises. When we become simply a promoter or a defender of a particular belief, something within us dies. That is not believing God– it is only believing our belief about Him. Jesus said, “…unless you…become as little children…” (Matthew 18:3). The spiritual life is the life of a child. We are not uncertain of God, just uncertain of what He is going to do next. If our certainty is only in our beliefs, we develop a sense of self-righteousness, become overly critical, and are limited by the view that our beliefs are complete and settled. But when we have the right relationship with God, life is full of spontaneous, joyful uncertainty and expectancy. Jesus said, “…believe also in Me” (John 14:1), not, “Believe certain things about Me”. Leave everything to Him and it will be gloriously and graciously uncertain how He will come in– but you can be certain that He will come. Remain faithful to Him.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, April 29, 2015
The Warning You Can't Afford to Ignore - #7383
Now it's always been my impression that the police like to have the element of surprise in their favor. Suddenly there's a police car coming up behind you, or appearing out of nowhere. That's why I was surprised by something I saw when I was meeting with some staff we had in Latin America in Guadalajara, Mexico. At night we were driving around with our Director, Timothy, and we saw a police car in front of us. Now, he was in no particular hurry, but his lights were flashing. Timothy said, "You know, the police cars here do that all the time. They leave their lights on whether they are on call or not." Now, that's an interesting approach to law enforcement - let them know you're coming.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Warning You Can't Afford to Ignore."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Matthew 24:30. Jesus says, "At that time the sign of the Son of Man (that's Him) will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory." Look, Jesus lets us know here - He's coming back! The world is not done with Him. There's no doubt about how it's all going to end. The same Jesus who ascended into heaven after his resurrection will return to this earth. The first time He came to take the death sentence for our sins. The second time He's coming to take over.
It's described again over in Luke 21:27. Here we are in the words of Jesus, He says, "At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud, with power and great glory." What time? Well, verses 10 and 11 say, "There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places and fearful events and great signs from Heaven." Actually the Bible describes many signs that will come just before Jesus returns. The warning lights will come on first. A lot of those signs sound strangely familiar.
Like the Bible says there will be a nation of Israel, before Jesus comes back, and for two thousand years there wasn't. There is now. There will be great turbulence in the environment, Jesus said. They'll talk about trying to make peace in the Middle East, but there will be turmoil in the Middle East. Jesus said the Gospel will spread to the ends of the earth to every nation. That's a prophecy that can finally be fulfilled now by the internet and radio; reaches every corner of the planet. Now, is Jesus coming soon? I don't know. But I know He'll return to a world that looks very much like ours is starting to look.
Here's the warning of Jesus in Matthew 24:44, "You must be ready because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect Him." He's coming. The warning lights are on. Are you ready? Well, only if you have asked this Jesus to be your personal Savior from the penalty of your personal sin.
Here's John 3:18, " Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the Name of God's one and only Son." Now, what does it mean to believe in Him? It's recognizing that your sin is a life or death issue. And that your only hope of forgiveness, your only hope of heaven is the One who loved you enough to pay your sin bill, Jesus Christ. And you believe when you consciously put all your trust in Him to be your personal rescuer from your personal sin.
If you've never done that you're not ready for His coming. Whether it's His second coming to earth or the time He comes for you at your last heartbeat. If you'd like to be sure you belong to Jesus, then why wouldn't you? Why would you risk another day without Him?
Could I invite you to our website, because it's there to help you get this relationship started? There's nothing for you to join. There is no religion to give you, but we can show you from God's Word how to begin this relationship. The website - ANewStory.com.
It's time to get serious about Jesus, because He is your future. Someday, maybe soon, one way or the other you're going to be facing Jesus. He's warned you He's coming. It's time to get ready.