Max Lucado Daily: God Has a Place for You
Jericho's shady lady found God-or better worded, God found Rahab the harlot. He spotted a tender heart in the hard city of Jericho and reached out to save her. He would have saved the entire city, but no one else made the request. Then again, Rahab the harlot had an advantage. She had nothing to lose. She was at the bottom of the rung. She had already lost her reputation. She was at the bottom of the pit.
Perhaps that's where you are as well. You may or may not sell your body, but you've sold your allegiance, affection, attention, and talents. You've sold out. Glory days? Perhaps for him or for her. But not for me. I'm too soiled, dirty. I've sinned too much. No Glory Days for me!
God's one-word reply for such doubt? Rahab! God has a place for the Rahabs of the world! He has a place for you!
From Glory Days
John 21
Epilogue: Jesus Appears to Seven Disciples
Later, Jesus appeared again to the disciples beside the Sea of Galilee.[a] This is how it happened. 2 Several of the disciples were there—Simon Peter, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin),[b] Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples.
3 Simon Peter said, “I’m going fishing.”
“We’ll come, too,” they all said. So they went out in the boat, but they caught nothing all night.
4 At dawn Jesus was standing on the beach, but the disciples couldn’t see who he was. 5 He called out, “Fellows,[c] have you caught any fish?”
“No,” they replied.
6 Then he said, “Throw out your net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you’ll get some!” So they did, and they couldn’t haul in the net because there were so many fish in it.
7 Then the disciple Jesus loved said to Peter, “It’s the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his tunic (for he had stripped for work), jumped into the water, and headed to shore. 8 The others stayed with the boat and pulled the loaded net to the shore, for they were only about a hundred yards[d] from shore. 9 When they got there, they found breakfast waiting for them—fish cooking over a charcoal fire, and some bread.
10 “Bring some of the fish you’ve just caught,” Jesus said. 11 So Simon Peter went aboard and dragged the net to the shore. There were 153 large fish, and yet the net hadn’t torn.
12 “Now come and have some breakfast!” Jesus said. None of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. 13 Then Jesus served them the bread and the fish. 14 This was the third time Jesus had appeared to his disciples since he had been raised from the dead.
15 After breakfast Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?[e]”
“Yes, Lord,” Peter replied, “you know I love you.”
“Then feed my lambs,” Jesus told him.
16 Jesus repeated the question: “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
“Yes, Lord,” Peter said, “you know I love you.”
“Then take care of my sheep,” Jesus said.
17 A third time he asked him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
Peter was hurt that Jesus asked the question a third time. He said, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Then feed my sheep.
18 “I tell you the truth, when you were young, you were able to do as you liked; you dressed yourself and went wherever you wanted to go. But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and others[f] will dress you and take you where you don’t want to go.” 19 Jesus said this to let him know by what kind of death he would glorify God. Then Jesus told him, “Follow me.”
20 Peter turned around and saw behind them the disciple Jesus loved—the one who had leaned over to Jesus during supper and asked, “Lord, who will betray you?” 21 Peter asked Jesus, “What about him, Lord?”
22 Jesus replied, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? As for you, follow me.” 23 So the rumor spread among the community of believers[g] that this disciple wouldn’t die. But that isn’t what Jesus said at all. He only said, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?”
24 This disciple is the one who testifies to these events and has recorded them here. And we know that his account of these things is accurate.
25 Jesus also did many other things. If they were all written down, I suppose the whole world could not contain the books that would be written.
Footnotes:
21:1 Greek Sea of Tiberias, another name for the Sea of Galilee.
21:2 Greek Thomas, who was called Didymus.
21:5 Greek Children.
21:8 Greek 200 cubits [90 meters].
21:15 Or more than these others do?
21:18 Some manuscripts read and another one.
21:23 Greek the brothers.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, October 12, 2015
Read: Isaiah 40:25-31
“To whom will you compare me?
Who is my equal?” asks the Holy One.
26 Look up into the heavens.
Who created all the stars?
He brings them out like an army, one after another,
calling each by its name.
Because of his great power and incomparable strength,
not a single one is missing.
27 O Jacob, how can you say the Lord does not see your troubles?
O Israel, how can you say God ignores your rights?
28 Have you never heard?
Have you never understood?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of all the earth.
He never grows weak or weary.
No one can measure the depths of his understanding.
29 He gives power to the weak
and strength to the powerless.
30 Even youths will become weak and tired,
and young men will fall in exhaustion.
31 But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.
They will soar high on wings like eagles.
They will run and not grow weary.
They will walk and not faint.
INSIGHT:
The title “the Holy One” or “the Holy One of Israel” is the common designation for God in Isaiah, occurring about 26 times. This title is often accompanied by other names, such as “the Lord Almighty” (5:24; 47:4), “the Light of Israel” (10:17), “the Mighty God” (10:21), “Maker” (17:7; 45:11; 54:5), “the Sovereign Lord” (30:15), “Savior” (43:3), “Israel’s Creator, your King” (43:15), and “the God of all the earth” (54:5). In calling God “the Holy One of Israel,” Isaiah extols His complete holiness. Yet within the same breath Isaiah speaks of God as the “Redeemer,” celebrating His tender mercy and compassion (41:14; 54:5; 59:20; 60:16). Sim Kay Tee
Not My Worry
By Poh Fang Chia
Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you. Psalm 55:22
A man worried constantly about everything. Then one day his friends heard him whistling happily and looking noticeably relaxed. “What happened?” they asked him in astonishment.
He said, “I’m paying a man to do my worrying for me.”
“How much do you pay him?” they asked.
“Two thousand dollars a week,” he replied.
“Wow! How can you afford that?”
“I can’t,” he said, “but that’s his worry.”
While this humorous way to handle stress doesn’t work in real life, as God’s children we can turn our worries over to Someone who has everything perfectly under control even—especially—when we feel it is not.
The prophet Isaiah reminds us that God brings out the stars and calls them all by name (40:25-26). Because of “his great power and mighty strength” not one of them is missing (v. 26). And just as God knows the stars by name, He knows us individually and personally. We are each under His watchful care (v. 27).
If we are inclined to worry, we can turn that worry over to the Lord. He is never too weary or too tired to pay attention to us. He has all wisdom and all power, and He loves to use it on our behalf. The Holy One who directs the stars has His loving arms around us.
Lord, You know there are times when I get really scared. And I forget that You have promised that You will never leave me to face difficulty or loss alone. Help me to trust.
Worry ends where faith begins.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, October 12, 2015
Getting into God’s Stride
Enoch walked with God… —Genesis 5:24
The true test of a person’s spiritual life and character is not what he does in the extraordinary moments of life, but what he does during the ordinary times when there is nothing tremendous or exciting happening. A person’s worth is revealed in his attitude toward the ordinary things of life when he is not under the spotlight (see John 1:35-37 and John 3:30). It is painful work to get in step with God and to keep pace with Him— it means getting your second wind spiritually. In learning to walk with God, there is always the difficulty of getting into His stride, but once we have done so, the only characteristic that exhibits itself is the very life of God Himself. The individual person is merged into a personal oneness with God, and God’s stride and His power alone are exhibited.
It is difficult to get into stride with God, because as soon as we start walking with Him we find that His pace has surpassed us before we have even taken three steps. He has different ways of doing things, and we have to be trained and disciplined in His ways. It was said of Jesus— “He will not fail nor be discouraged…” (Isaiah 42:4) because He never worked from His own individual standpoint, but always worked from the standpoint of His Father. And we must learn to do the same. Spiritual truth is learned through the atmosphere that surrounds us, not through intellectual reasoning. It is God’s Spirit that changes the atmosphere of our way of looking at things, and then things begin to be possible which before were impossible. Getting into God’s stride means nothing less than oneness with Him. It takes a long time to get there, but keep at it. Don’t give up because the pain is intense right now— get on with it, and before long you will find that you have a new vision and a new purpose.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
To those who have had no agony Jesus says, “I have nothing for you; stand on your own feet, square your own shoulders. I have come for the man who knows he has a bigger handful than he can cope with, who knows there are forces he cannot touch; I will do everything for him if he will let Me. Only let a man grant he needs it, and I will do it for him.”
The Shadow of an Agony
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, October 12, 2015
Whose Hero - #7501
My story! Yeah, that's what made kids want to play with me when I was little. Wait a minute! Is this how "A Word With You" got started? No, I love to make up stories. I don't make them all up, you know, I do tell you true stories too. But I was giving my friends parts in a story that I would make up and they would act out. But I always left it at an exciting part that was this cliff-hanger so they'd want to come back tomorrow and see how it turned out. I also had some time, then, to figure out how to get out of the predicament I had just created.
Now, I've got to confess to you, I usually reserved the hero part for me. I loved to put a tablecloth around my neck and play Superman. Or I'd put swimming trunks on and be Tarzan. Or I'd put on a black mask and play the Lone Ranger. Today that would be Iron Man or Captain America. Look, I couldn't do all the moves of the super heroes, but I always wanted to be a hero. A lot of kids do. I don't think that ever changes.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Whose Hero?"
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Proverbs 17:6. This is a verse that will make every parent think. It's pretty quick. Listen. "Parents are the pride of their children." Wait a minute! Don't we usually think of that in reverse? "Oh, yeah. This is my pride and joy. Look at these pictures. These are my kids." But God says kids are supposed to feel that way about their mom and dad. They hold up their picture and they say, "Here's my Mom and Dad. They're my pride and joy."
I've been ministering to young people and their families for a long time. I've got to tell you, a lot of kids don't feel like that. One reason is this: their mom and dad have come up with the wrong answer to a very important life question, "Whose hero do you want to be?" See, we all need to be a hero to somebody; to some group of people. Some men and women work day and night to be a hero to their company, their friends, their boss, their community. "I want to be a hero at church, a hero in my organization." But sadly they're strangers to their own children; maybe to their own mate. And they're anything but a hero where it really counts – at home.
But if you're not a hero at home, are you really a hero at all? See, those are the people who know the real you; who've been trusted to your care by God. They were meant to be your primary zone of achievement. I don't mean creating super kids necessarily; just giving your children the best of your love, and the best of your listening, and the best of your energy, and the best of your time. Too often they get our leftovers.
Family is hard work. Because of that, it's tempting to run to other arenas where maybe it's easier to be a hero. And if we feel like we're not being a hero at home, sometimes we just give up and we run somewhere else for our fulfillment. But no other people can be your family or do for your soul what only a family can do. Could it be time to reevaluate your priorities? If you've not been what your family needs, if they've not been top priority, would you ask for their forgiveness?
You would not believe the walls that come down when a parent is willing to be vulnerable, to be wrong, to ask for forgiveness, to apologize, to ask for a chance at a new beginning. It's never too late to start putting your family first; even adult children still carry the need for the love, the affirmation and the blessing of the people from whom they came.
So, listen to this verse again. "Parents are the pride of their children." Whatever your priorities have been, why don't you make it your goal to make the rest of your years with your kids the best of your years. After all, you were meant to be a hero - at home.