Max Lucado Daily:
Drop Some Stuff
God has a great race for you to run. Under His care you'll go where you have never been and serve in ways you've never dreamed. But you have to drop some stuff.
How can you share grace if you're full of guilt? How can you offer comfort if you're disheartened. How can you lift someone else's load if your arms are full with your own? For the sake of those you love-travel light. For the sake of the God you serve, travel light. For the sake of your own joy, travel light.
There are weights in life you simply cannot carry. Set them down and trust Him. I can't overstate God's promise in 1 Peter 5:7: "Unload all your worries onto Him, since He is looking after you."
What do you say we take God up on His offer? We might find ourselves traveling a little lighter.
From Traveling Light
Psalm 23
A psalm of David.
The Lord is my shepherd;
I have all that I need.
2 He lets me rest in green meadows;
he leads me beside peaceful streams.
3 He renews my strength.
He guides me along right paths,
bringing honor to his name.
4 Even when I walk
through the darkest valley,[a]
I will not be afraid,
for you are close beside me.
Your rod and your staff
protect and comfort me.
5 You prepare a feast for me
in the presence of my enemies.
You honor me by anointing my head with oil.
My cup overflows with blessings.
6 Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me
all the days of my life,
and I will live in the house of the Lord
forever.
Footnotes:
23:4 Or the dark valley of death.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Saturday, May 02, 2015
Read: Psalm 100
A psalm of thanksgiving
Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth!
2 Worship the Lord with gladness.
Come before him, singing with joy.
3 Acknowledge that the Lord is God!
He made us, and we are his.[a]
We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving;
go into his courts with praise.
Give thanks to him and praise his name.
5 For the Lord is good.
His unfailing love continues forever,
and his faithfulness continues to each generation.
Footnotes:
100:3 As in an alternate reading in the Masoretic Text; the other alternate and some ancient versions read and not we ourselves.
INSIGHT: Psalm 100 is a short psalm—only five verses—in which we are encouraged to shout, serve, sing, give thanks, praise, and bless the Lord. We should shout joyfully, serve gladly, and bless Him because the Lord is God; because He made us and we belong to Him (v. 3); and because He is good, merciful, and always true (v. 5).
In Every Generation
By David C. McCasland
The Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations. —Psalm 100:5
It may seem surprising when children don’t follow their parents’ example of faith in God. Equally unexpected is a person with a deep commitment to Christ who emerges from a family where faith was not present. In every generation, each person has a choice.
Samuel was a great man of God who appointed his two sons, Joel and Abijah, as leaders over Israel (1 Sam. 8:1-2). Unlike their father, however, they were corrupt and “turned aside after dishonest gain, took bribes, and perverted justice” (v.3). Yet, years later, we find Heman, Joel’s son, appointed as a musician in the house of the Lord (1 Chron. 6:31-33). Heman, Samuel’s grandson—along with Asaph, his right-hand man and the author of many of the psalms—served the Lord by singing joyful songs (15:16-17).
Even though a person seems indifferent toward the faith so precious to his or her parents, God is still at work. Things can change in later years, and seeds of faith may spring to life in generations to come.
No matter what the family situation may be, we know that “the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations.”
Dear Lord, help me to remember that You are the one who causes the seed of faith to grow. We give our loved ones into Your care, knowing that the end of the story has not yet been written.
God’s faithfulness extends to all generations.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Saturday, May 02, 2015
The Patience To Wait for the Vision
Though it tarries, wait for it… —Habakkuk 2:3
Patience is not the same as indifference; patience conveys the idea of someone who is tremendously strong and able to withstand all assaults. Having the vision of God is the source of patience because it gives us God’s true and proper inspiration. Moses endured, not because of his devotion to his principles of what was right, nor because of his sense of duty to God, but because he had a vision of God. “…he endured as seeing Him who is invisible” (Hebrews 11:27). A person who has the vision of God is not devoted to a cause or to any particular issue— he is devoted to God Himself. You always know when the vision is of God because of the inspiration that comes with it. Things come to you with greatness and add vitality to your life because everything is energized by God. He may give you a time spiritually, with no word from Himself at all, just as His Son experienced during His time of temptation in the wilderness. When God does that, simply endure, and the power to endure will be there because you see God.
“Though it tarries, wait for it….” The proof that we have the vision is that we are reaching out for more than we have already grasped. It is a bad thing to be satisfied spiritually. The psalmist said, “What shall I render to the Lord…? I will take up the cup of salvation…” (Psalm 116:12-13). We are apt to look for satisfaction within ourselves and say, “Now I’ve got it! Now I am completely sanctified. Now I can endure.” Instantly we are on the road to ruin. Our reach must exceed our grasp. Paul said, “Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on…” (Philippians 3:12). If we have only what we have experienced, we have nothing. But if we have the inspiration of the vision of God, we have more than we can experience. Beware of the danger of spiritual relaxation.
