The Apostle Paul says, "Give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Ephesians 5:20).
You don't have to name a child after God, but then again, you could. Or you could draft a letter listing all His blessings or write a song in His honor. You could sponsor an orphan or adopt a child just because God adopted you. The surest path out of a slump is marked by the road sign, "Thank you."
But what of the disastrous days? Are you grateful then? Jesus was. "On the night when He was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it…" (1 Corinthians 11:23-24). Not often are the words betrayed and thanks in the same sentence, much less in the same heart. Anyone can thank God for the light. Jesus teaches us to thank God for the night!
From You'll Get Through This
2 Samuel 17
Now Ahithophel urged Absalom, “Let me choose 12,000 men to start out after David tonight. 2 I will catch up with him while he is weary and discouraged. He and his troops will panic, and everyone will run away. Then I will kill only the king, 3 and I will bring all the people back to you as a bride returns to her husband. After all, it is only one man’s life that you seek.[e] Then you will be at peace with all the people.” 4 This plan seemed good to Absalom and to all the elders of Israel.
Hushai Counters Ahithophel’s Advice
5 But then Absalom said, “Bring in Hushai the Arkite. Let’s see what he thinks about this.” 6 When Hushai arrived, Absalom told him what Ahithophel had said. Then he asked, “What is your opinion? Should we follow Ahithophel’s advice? If not, what do you suggest?”
7 “Well,” Hushai replied to Absalom, “this time Ahithophel has made a mistake. 8 You know your father and his men; they are mighty warriors. Right now they are as enraged as a mother bear who has been robbed of her cubs. And remember that your father is an experienced man of war. He won’t be spending the night among the troops. 9 He has probably already hidden in some pit or cave. And when he comes out and attacks and a few of your men fall, there will be panic among your troops, and the word will spread that Absalom’s men are being slaughtered. 10 Then even the bravest soldiers, though they have the heart of a lion, will be paralyzed with fear. For all Israel knows what a mighty warrior your father is and how courageous his men are.
11 “I recommend that you mobilize the entire army of Israel, bringing them from as far away as Dan in the north and Beersheba in the south. That way you will have an army as numerous as the sand on the seashore. And I advise that you personally lead the troops. 12 When we find David, we’ll fall on him like dew that falls on the ground. Then neither he nor any of his men will be left alive. 13 And if David were to escape into some town, you will have all Israel there at your command. Then we can take ropes and drag the walls of the town into the nearest valley until every stone is torn down.”
14 Then Absalom and all the men of Israel said, “Hushai’s advice is better than Ahithophel’s.” For the Lord had determined to defeat the counsel of Ahithophel, which really was the better plan, so that he could bring disaster on Absalom!
Hushai Warns David to Escape
15 Hushai told Zadok and Abiathar, the priests, what Ahithophel had said to Absalom and the elders of Israel and what he himself had advised instead. 16 “Quick!” he told them. “Find David and urge him not to stay at the shallows of the Jordan River[f] tonight. He must go across at once into the wilderness beyond. Otherwise he will die and his entire army with him.”
17 Jonathan and Ahimaaz had been staying at En-rogel so as not to be seen entering and leaving the city. Arrangements had been made for a servant girl to bring them the message they were to take to King David. 18 But a boy spotted them at En-rogel, and he told Absalom about it. So they quickly escaped to Bahurim, where a man hid them down inside a well in his courtyard. 19 The man’s wife put a cloth over the top of the well and scattered grain on it to dry in the sun; so no one suspected they were there.
20 When Absalom’s men arrived, they asked her, “Have you seen Ahimaaz and Jonathan?”
The woman replied, “They were here, but they crossed over the brook.” Absalom’s men looked for them without success and returned to Jerusalem.
21 Then the two men crawled out of the well and hurried on to King David. “Quick!” they told him, “cross the Jordan tonight!” And they told him how Ahithophel had advised that he be captured and killed. 22 So David and all the people with him went across the Jordan River during the night, and they were all on the other bank before dawn.
23 When Ahithophel realized that his advice had not been followed, he saddled his donkey, went to his hometown, set his affairs in order, and hanged himself. He died there and was buried in the family tomb.
24 David soon arrived at Mahanaim. By now, Absalom had mobilized the entire army of Israel and was leading his troops across the Jordan River. 25 Absalom had appointed Amasa as commander of his army, replacing Joab, who had been commander under David. (Amasa was Joab’s cousin. His father was Jether,[g] an Ishmaelite.[h] His mother, Abigail daughter of Nahash, was the sister of Joab’s mother, Zeruiah.) 26 Absalom and the Israelite army set up camp in the land of Gilead.
27 When David arrived at Mahanaim, he was warmly greeted by Shobi son of Nahash, who came from Rabbah of the Ammonites, and by Makir son of Ammiel from Lo-debar, and by Barzillai of Gilead from Rogelim. 28 They brought sleeping mats, cooking pots, serving bowls, wheat and barley, flour and roasted grain, beans, lentils, 29 honey, butter, sheep, goats, and cheese for David and those who were with him. For they said, “You must all be very hungry and tired and thirsty after your long march through the wilderness.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, June 30, 2015
Read: Job 19:23-29
“Oh, that my words could be recorded.
Oh, that they could be inscribed on a monument,
24 carved with an iron chisel and filled with lead,
engraved forever in the rock.
25 “But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives,
and he will stand upon the earth at last.
26 And after my body has decayed,
yet in my body I will see God![a]
27 I will see him for myself.
Yes, I will see him with my own eyes.
I am overwhelmed at the thought!
28 “How dare you go on persecuting me,
saying, ‘It’s his own fault’?
29 You should fear punishment yourselves,
for your attitude deserves punishment.
Then you will know that there is indeed a judgment.”
Footnotes:
19:26 Or without my body I will see God. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
INSIGHT:
Accused of secret sin that had caused his suffering, Job maintained his innocence. In verse 25 he speaks of a Redeemer who will one day vindicate him. The word used here for “Redeemer” frequently refers in the Old Testament to the kinsman-redeemer, the person who defended or avenged the cause of another, or who provided protection or legal aid for close relatives who could not do so for themselves (Deut. 19:6-12; Num. 35:19–27; Prov. 23:10–11; Jer. 50:34). Some see a correlation between the Old Testament kinsman-redeemer and the redemptive ministry of Jesus Christ.
Christ the Redeemer
By Jennifer Benson Schuldt
I know that my Redeemer lives. —Job 19:25
The famous statue Christ the Redeemer overlooks the city of Rio de Janeiro. The statue is a model of Christ with His arms extended so that His body forms the shape of a cross. Brazilian architect Heitor da Silva Costa designed the figure. He imagined that the city’s residents would see it as the first image to emerge from the darkness at dawn. At dusk, he hoped the city dwellers would view the setting sun as a halo behind the statue’s head.
There is value in keeping our eyes on our Redeemer each day, during the good times and the difficult times. As he suffered, Job said, “I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last on the earth” (Job 19:25).
The cry of Job’s heart points us to Jesus—our living Savior who will visit the earth again one day (1 Thess. 4:16-18). Keeping our eyes on Jesus means remembering that we have been rescued from our sin. Jesus “gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people” (Titus 2:14).
Anyone who has accepted Jesus as Savior has a reason to be glad today. No matter what we endure on earth, we can have hope today and look forward to enjoying eternity with Him.
Dear Jesus, You are my rescuer. Because You died and rose again, I am free from the consequences of my sin forever. Thank You for redeeming my life.
Through His cross and resurrection, Jesus rescues and redeems.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, June 30, 2015
Do It Now!
Agree with your adversary quickly… —Matthew 5:25
In this verse, Jesus Christ laid down a very important principle by saying, “Do what you know you must do— now. Do it quickly. If you don’t, an inevitable process will begin to work ‘till you have paid the last penny’ (Matthew 5:26) in pain, agony, and distress.” God’s laws are unchangeable and there is no escape from them. The teachings of Jesus always penetrate right to the heart of our being.
Wanting to make sure that my adversary gives me all my rights is a natural thing. But Jesus says that it is a matter of inescapable and eternal importance to me that I pay my adversary what I owe him. From our Lord’s standpoint it doesn’t matter whether I am cheated or not, but what does matter is that I don’t cheat someone else. Am I insisting on having my own rights, or am I paying what I owe from Jesus Christ’s standpoint?
Do it quickly— bring yourself to judgment now. In moral and spiritual matters, you must act immediately. If you don’t, the inevitable, relentless process will begin to work. God is determined to have His child as pure, clean, and white as driven snow, and as long as there is disobedience in any point of His teaching, He will allow His Spirit to use whatever process it may take to bring us to obedience. The fact that we insist on proving that we are right is almost always a clear indication that we have some point of disobedience. No wonder the Spirit of God so strongly urges us to stay steadfastly in the light! (see John 3:19-21).
“Agree with your adversary quickly….” Have you suddenly reached a certain place in your relationship with someone, only to find that you have anger in your heart? Confess it quickly— make it right before God. Be reconciled to that person— do it now!
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, June 30, 2015
Why We Keep Hurting People We Love - #7427
I was sitting in the van we drove back then, idling at a red light, when suddenly this cloud of dark, acrid smoke starts belching out of my exhaust pipe. It was disgusting! Apparently, the motorists behind me felt the same way because they started honking at me! That helped a lot! I just wish honking would have solved the problem. It didn't. One mechanic told me, "I wouldn't leave town with that van if I were you." And he was right. Guess what? The smoke wasn't the problem. The problem was the engine, and it didn't need to be fixed. It was too far gone for that. It had to be replaced!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Why We Keep Hurting People We Love."
The van I drove away from that garage looked like the same van I drove into that garage. But that was not true! It was new on the inside, and as a result it was no longer leaving an ugly trail. Actually, a lot of us have some emissions coming out of our lives that aren't too pleasant either. Maybe you know some of those feelings, and too often there's anger spewing out. There's self-pity because you feel like a victim, or just critical attitudes, negative attitudes. You later regret what you said. You do something that you regret later. Maybe you're hooked on what you wish you could stop and wish you'd never started. We leave a trail behind us of people who have choked on the smoke and the pollution we put out.
And it's not that we haven't tried to fix it; New Years resolutions, religion, self-improvement. We've tried to stop polluting our own lives and the lives of those around us, but there's a problem inside. And God diagnoses that problem in His Book in Jeremiah 17:9, "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" The engine is shot and it can't be fixed. It has to be replaced.
Which leads us to God's tremendous offer; our word for today from the Word of God. This is great! Ezekiel 36:26, "I will give you a new heart and put a new Spirit in you. I will remove from you a heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my Spirit in you." God says our heart is too darkened and hardened by sin to ever quit putting out pollution.
We can certainly never get into His totally unpolluted heaven with this polluted heart. We all have it. Our only hope for this life and for eternal life is a new heart. And we can't perform heart surgery on ourselves. Only the Divine Surgeon can do that, and He stands ready to take that heart of yours that's been hardened by all the hurt, the anger, the sin, and He will replace it with a heart that is clean, and sensitive and new. He'll put His Holy Spirit in you to make you the person you've wanted to be but never could be.
But the operation had to be paid for; just as the engine replacement on my van had to be paid for. And, you know, I didn't have the money to pay. But to my amazement, some of God's people quietly got together and actually paid that bill. That's what Jesus was doing for you when He was agonizing on the cross. He was paying the bill for your sins that you could never pay so you could be forgiven.
You ready for a new heart? Well, then, it's time to open your heart to Jesus Christ. I would love to help you be sure that you have been forgiven, that you are free, and that you have begun this transforming, personal love relationship with Jesus Christ. That's why our website is there. It's ANewStory.com. I hope as soon as you can you will get there, meet me there and let me walk you through, using God's Word, how to be sure you belong to Him.
All our lives we try to stop the ugly stuff that comes out of us, but it just doesn't come until we get a new engine - a new heart. Jesus is waiting for you right now to tell Him that you want it.