Max Lucado Daily: Scripture Memory - Week 1
Welcome to the first week of a special Glory Days Scripture Memory Challenge.
In Joshua Chapter 1 God said to Joshua, "This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth. . .meditate on it. . .observe to do all that's written in it. . ."
We all have battles to fight and strongholds to face. How do we fight these? By hiding the Word of God deep in our hearts. Start by memorizing Joshua 1:9: "Have I not commanded you to be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid. Do not be discouraged for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."
Go to GloryDaysToday.com-and I'll show you a simple way to memorize this week's verse. And as you commit this verse to memory, remember God has given you power and he is with you wherever you go!
Psalm 138
A psalm of David.
1 I give you thanks, O Lord, with all my heart;
I will sing your praises before the gods.
2 I bow before your holy Temple as I worship.
I praise your name for your unfailing love and faithfulness;
for your promises are backed
by all the honor of your name.
3 As soon as I pray, you answer me;
you encourage me by giving me strength.
4 Every king in all the earth will thank you, Lord,
for all of them will hear your words.
5 Yes, they will sing about the Lord’s ways,
for the glory of the Lord is very great.
6 Though the Lord is great, he cares for the humble,
but he keeps his distance from the proud.
7 Though I am surrounded by troubles,
you will protect me from the anger of my enemies.
You reach out your hand,
and the power of your right hand saves me.
8 The Lord will work out his plans for my life—
for your faithful love, O Lord, endures forever.
Don’t abandon me, for you made me.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, September 15, 2015
Read: Psalm 119:105-112
Nun
105 Your word is a lamp to guide my feet
and a light for my path.
106 I’ve promised it once, and I’ll promise it again:
I will obey your righteous regulations.
107 I have suffered much, O Lord;
restore my life again as you promised.
108 Lord, accept my offering of praise,
and teach me your regulations.
109 My life constantly hangs in the balance,
but I will not stop obeying your instructions.
110 The wicked have set their traps for me,
but I will not turn from your commandments.
111 Your laws are my treasure;
they are my heart’s delight.
112 I am determined to keep your decrees
to the very end.
INSIGHT:
Many times we view rules and laws as restrictions on what we can and cannot do. It is tempting to see laws as impinging on our freedom. However, the psalmist clearly has a positive view of God’s law. Instead of seeing it as limiting, the psalmist celebrates the law as something that gives him life (119:107,111). Since we live in a broken world, we need the guidance of God’s Word to show us how to truly live. J.R. Hudberg
God’s Compass
By Marvin Williams
Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. Psalm 119:105
During World War II, small compasses saved the lives of 27 sailors 300 miles off the coast of North Carolina. Waldemar Semenov, a retired merchant seaman, was serving as a junior engineer aboard the SS Alcoa Guide when a German submarine surfaced and opened fire on the ship. The ship was hit, caught fire, and began to sink. Semenov and his crew lowered compass-equipped lifeboats into the water and used the compasses to guide them toward the shipping lanes closer to shore. After three days, the men were rescued.
The psalmist reminded God’s people that His Word was a trustworthy “compass.” He likened it to a lamp. In that day, the flickering light cast by an olive oil lamp was only bright enough to show a traveler his next step. To the psalmist, God’s Word was such a lamp, providing enough light to illuminate the path for those pursuing God (Ps. 119:105). When the psalmist was wandering in the dark on a chaotic path of life, he believed that God, through the guidance of His Word, would provide direction.
When we lose our bearings in life, we can trust our God who gives His trustworthy Word as our compass, using it to lead us into deeper fellowship with Him.
Heavenly Father, it is difficult to navigate life. I drift sometimes, but I will trust in You. Lead me and guide me by the faithfulness and reliability of Your Word.
God has given us His Word to help us know and follow Him.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, September 15, 2015
We have renounced the hidden things of shame… —2 Corinthians 4:2
Have you “renounced the hidden things of shame” in your life— the things that your sense of honor or pride will not allow to come into the light? You can easily hide them. Is there a thought in your heart about anyone that you would not like to be brought into the light? Then renounce it as soon as it comes to mind— renounce everything in its entirety until there is no hidden dishonesty or craftiness about you at all. Envy, jealousy, and strife don’t necessarily arise from your old nature of sin, but from the flesh which was used for these kinds of things in the past (see Romans 6:19 and 1 Peter 4:1-3). You must maintain continual watchfulness so that nothing arises in your life that would cause you shame.
“…not walking in craftiness…” (2 Corinthians 4:2). This means not resorting to something simply to make your own point. This is a terrible trap. You know that God will allow you to work in only one way— the way of truth. Then be careful never to catch people through the other way— the way of deceit. If you act deceitfully, God’s blight and ruin will be upon you. What may be craftiness for you, may not be for others— God has called you to a higher standard. Never dull your sense of being your utmost for His highest— your best for His glory. For you, doing certain things would mean craftiness coming into your life for a purpose other than what is the highest and best, and it would dull the motivation that God has given you. Many people have turned back because they are afraid to look at things from God’s perspective. The greatest spiritual crisis comes when a person has to move a little farther on in his faith than the beliefs he has already accepted.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
We are in danger of being stern where God is tender, and of being tender where God is stern. The Love of God—The Message of Invincible Consolation, 673 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, September 15, 2015
The Explosion Before Jesus Comes - #7482
I hope your world map, if you have one, is one you bought recently. Because the map is changing so rapidly! I remember when our daughter went on a Gospel music team a few years go - some years ago now - to Estonia, right after the breakup of the Soviet Republic. We didn't know a lot about it then. But it was one of the Baltic Republics that had become part of the Soviet Union and now was part of a great independents movement within the Soviet Union and then a country of their own. Well, then we were hearing about Estonians, and Latvians, and Lithuanians, and Palestinians, and Armenians, because the world isn't necessarily being defined any more by those national boundaries that somebody set up after a war sometime. The world is having an ethnic explosion! It's supposed to.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Explosion Before Jesus Comes."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Matthew 24, when the disciples say to Jesus, "When will this happen and what will be the sign of Your coming and the end of the age?" And Jesus proceeded to give a description of the world before He returns. In verse 7 of Matthew 24, He said, "Nation will rise against nation." That's one of the signs of His coming.
I looked up that word in the original Greek language that the New Testament was written in, and the word is actually "ethnos", so the plural is "ethnoi". Now, what do we get from that? Obviously, we get ethnic. In other words God seems to be saying that just before Christ comes back, ethnic will be rising against ethnic. Well, that's a pretty accurate description of what's happening in our world. Countries are breaking apart because ethnic is rising against ethnic.
The political patchworks that put together different nationalities under one nation are coming unraveled all the time. People are reverting to their ethnic identity, and they're tearing up the landscape with ethnos versus ethnos-nationality group versus nationality group.
It's also interesting that Scripture describes the last days as a time when people will be saying, according the 1 Thessalonians 5, "Peace and safety. Then sudden destruction will come." There's ethnic turmoil, but there's people obsessed with talking about peace and safety.
That's a lot like what Jesus described. Look, I don't know when Jesus is coming back, and you've got to be suspicious of anybody who thinks they do. But I will say that the world looks more like the world Jesus said He'd come back to than I think it ever has.
You know, you look and people are not even sure who's in charge any more or who's in control of the situation. Politicians seem powerless to solve international problems, and even super powers don't seem very powerful any more.
I love what one young Christian said when he read the book of Revelation for the first time. The guy who gave him the Bible didn't tell him where to read, so he ends up reading in the Book of Revelation. And he said, "Well, I didn't understand anything except one thing." The guy said, "What did you understand?" He said, "We win." You got that right!
There are no surprises to my Lord. Every night as you watch the evening news, the growth of terrorism more and more unpredictable, the unraveling of things we always have counted on. Four words you should say over and over again, "Jesus Christ is Lord. Jesus Christ is Lord." He's Lord of whatever you're about to see on the news. And certainly every earthly kingdom will be handled, every event of history, every prophecy, will be handled by your Heavenly Father. By the way, don't you think He could handle what's worrying you right now? This Lord of history is Lord of yours.
Christ is in control of what you may have lost control of, and He's chosen us to live for Him in incredible times; explosive times, perhaps destiny times. Times where we might be eye witnesses to the long prophesied last chapter-the explosion and the grand finale of the return of Jesus.
