You could read David’s story in the Bible and wonder what God saw in him. He fell as often as he stood, he stumbled as often as he conquered. Yet, for those who know the sound of a Goliath, David gives us this reminder: Focus on giants—you stumble. Focus on God—your giants tumble.
You know Goliath. You recognize his walk, his talk. David saw and heard more. David showed up and raised the subject of the living God. He saw the giant, mind you; he just saw God more so. Listen carefully to David’s battle cry: “You come to me with a sword, with a spear and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel” (1 Samuel 17:45).
Lift your eyes, giant-slayer. The God who made a miracle out of David stands ready to make one out of you!
From Facing Your Giants
Psalm 4
For the choir director: A psalm of David, to be accompanied by stringed instruments.
Answer me when I call to you,
O God who declares me innocent.
Free me from my troubles.
Have mercy on me and hear my prayer.
2 How long will you people ruin my reputation?
How long will you make groundless accusations?
How long will you continue your lies? Interlude
3 You can be sure of this:
The Lord set apart the godly for himself.
The Lord will answer when I call to him.
4 Don’t sin by letting anger control you.
Think about it overnight and remain silent. Interlude
5 Offer sacrifices in the right spirit,
and trust the Lord.
6 Many people say, “Who will show us better times?”
Let your face smile on us, Lord.
7 You have given me greater joy
than those who have abundant harvests of grain and new wine.
8 In peace I will lie down and sleep,
for you alone, O Lord, will keep me safe.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, July 16, 2015
Read: Matthew 1:18-25
The Birth of Jesus the Messiah
This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. 19 Joseph, her fiancé, was a good man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement[a] quietly.
20 As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus,[b] for he will save his people from their sins.”
22 All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet:
23 “Look! The virgin will conceive a child!
She will give birth to a son,
and they will call him Immanuel,[c]
which means ‘God is with us.’”
24 When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife. 25 But he did not have sexual relations with her until her son was born. And Joseph named him Jesus.
Footnotes:
1:19 Greek to divorce her.
1:21 Jesus means “The Lord saves.”
1:23 Isa 7:14; 8:8, 10 (Greek version).
Insight:
The Bible contains more than 200 names for Jesus. In today’s passage we see two of them—Jesus and Immanuel—both drawn from the Old Testament. Jesus, the Greek form of the Hebrew word Joshua, means “the Lord saves” and describes what He came to do: “He will save His people from their sins” (v. 21). This phrase comes from Psalm 130:7-8 where Israel is encouraged to “put [their] hope in the Lord. . . . He himself will redeem Israel from all their sins” (niv). Immanuel is an Old Testament name mentioned in the prophecy of Isaiah (7:14; 8:8) and describes His nature: He is “God with us” (Matt. 1:23).
A Given Name
By Bill Crowder
She will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins. —Matthew 1:21
Most families have their own family stories. One in our family has to do with how I got my name. Apparently, when my parents were in the early days of their marriage, they disagreed about what to name their first son. Mom wanted a son named after Dad, but Dad wasn’t interested in naming a son “Junior.” After much discussion, they reached a compromise, agreeing that only if a son was born on Dad’s birthday would he be given Dad’s name. Amazingly, I was born on my dad’s birthday. So I was given his name with a “Junior” attached to it.
The naming of children is as old as time. As Joseph wrestled with the news that his fiancée, Mary, was pregnant, the angel brought him insight from the Father about naming the Baby: “She will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21). Not only would Jesus be His name, but it would also explain the reason for His coming into the world: To take on Himself the punishment we deserve for our sin. His redemptive purpose behind the manger is wrapped up in the perfectly given Name above all names.
May our heart’s desire be to live in a way that honors His wonderful name!
Thank You, Father, for sending Your Son to rescue us from sin and bring us into relationship with You.
Jesus: His name and His mission are one and the same.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, July 16, 2015
The Concept of Divine Control
…how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! —Matthew 7:11
Jesus is laying down the rules of conduct in this passage for those people who have His Spirit. He urges us to keep our minds filled with the concept of God’s control over everything, which means that a disciple must maintain an attitude of perfect trust and an eagerness to ask and to seek.
Fill your mind with the thought that God is there. And once your mind is truly filled with that thought, when you experience difficulties it will be as easy as breathing for you to remember, “My heavenly Father knows all about this!” This will be no effort at all, but will be a natural thing for you when difficulties and uncertainties arise. Before you formed this concept of divine control so powerfully in your mind, you used to go from person to person seeking help, but now you go to God about it. Jesus is laying down the rules of conduct for those people who have His Spirit, and it works on the following principle: God is my Father, He loves me, and I will never think of anything that He will forget, so why should I worry?
Jesus said there are times when God cannot lift the darkness from you, but you should trust Him. At times God will appear like an unkind friend, but He is not; He will appear like an unnatural father, but He is not; He will appear like an unjust judge, but He is not. Keep the thought that the mind of God is behind all things strong and growing. Not even the smallest detail of life happens unless God’s will is behind it. Therefore, you can rest in perfect confidence in Him. Prayer is not only asking, but is an attitude of the mind which produces the atmosphere in which asking is perfectly natural. “Ask, and it will be given to you…” (Matthew 7:7).
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, July 16, 2015
Good Job, Daddy! - #7439
Driving in Mexico? Oh, that's an adventure. Actually, riding with someone who's driving is an adventure!
Some years ago when we had an office in Latin America, I was with our director of Latin American outreach. He was very skillfully and amazingly navigating the challenges of the traffic in his city. Don's little boy, John, was in the back seat and at one point our back seat helper reminded Daddy that he was supposed to be getting in the next lane for an upcoming tunnel! It took a little doing, but Don managed to get over there somehow, at which point little John in the back seat had a word for his father. This little voice said from the back seat, "Good job, Daddy!" See, John says that pretty often. He likes what his father does, and he tells him.
Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about Good Job, Daddy!
Little John has an attitude toward his father that we would do well to have with our Father - our Heavenly Father. Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Colossians 3:15, "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts," (Boy, wouldn't you like that - the peace of Christ in charge in your heart?) "Since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, through psalms, hymns and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts."
Now, we've got "be thankful," and then "gratitude in your hearts." Here's verse 17, "And whatever you do, whether in word or deed do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him." In other words the message is clear. Do everything you do with an attitude of gratitude towards your Father.
It should never cease to amaze us that we've been invited to call the Sovereign of the Universe "Father." Man! Galatians 4:6 shows us that we're now God's children learning to call Him Abba Father. That's the affectionate, childlike name for your Father like Daddy is today. The question is, how often during each day do you stop and say, "Good job, Father, Abba Father"?
It's a whole revolutionizing outlook on life when you look consciously for the things in that day for which you can thank God; things you can compliment your Heavenly Father on. "You sent me someone to encourage me Father. Good job!" Or, "Look at those clouds! You're an incredible artist, Lord!" Or, "You've kept this car running for so long. I just wanted you to know that I noticed, Father. Thank You!" Or, "Thanks for this idea, Lord." Or, "Thanks for this extra money," "Thanks for that verse You brought to my attention today! It's just what I needed."
You get the idea. It's a mindset that expects your loving Father to show His love in dozens of different ways today, that goes through the day looking for His finger prints on the day's events. You compliment Him often on His grace in action in your life. Because you go out in the morning looking for God-sightings and they'll be everywhere, it's like aiming a camera at part of the scene that you want to record. You decide at the beginning of your day to focus on your Father's blessings. And when you become a Father watcher like little John, you start to come out of the complaining business, the self-pity approach, the victim mind set. You begin to experience a new kind of peace, contentment and joy with the peace of Christ ruling in your heart.
Like the wife I read about. She and her husband were unpacking their humble possessions in a new little dwelling place. He said, "Maybe someday we'll have money, and be rich." She said, "Honey, we don't have money but we're already rich." See, that's the viewpoint of someone who is looking for the blessing of God in their day.
When little boy, John, complimented his father on how he did things, I could tell that Dad's heart was really warmed. I think your Heavenly Father thinks the same way when you notice all He's doing for you. And many times a day you echo a little boy's admiration, "Good job, Daddy!"