The Bible says, “Do not despise small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin!”
I see what others have done with their lives and before I even get started—I’m discouraged. What can I possibly do that God isn’t already doing through someone else?
Against a towering giant, a brook pebble seems futile. But God used it to topple Goliath. Compared to the tithes of the wealthy, a widow’s coins seem puny. But Jesus used them to inspire us all! Moses had a staff. David had a sling. Samson had a jawbone. Rahab had a string. Mary had some ointment. Dorcas had a needle. All were used by God.
What do you have? Much more than you might think! God inhabits the tiny seed. He empowers the tiny deed! Never discount the smallness of your deeds!
From Grace for the Moment
1 Kings 12
The Northern Tribes Revolt
Rehoboam went to Shechem, where all Israel had gathered to make him king. 2 When Jeroboam son of Nebat heard of this, he returned from Egypt,[a] for he had fled to Egypt to escape from King Solomon. 3 The leaders of Israel summoned him, and Jeroboam and the whole assembly of Israel went to speak with Rehoboam. 4 “Your father was a hard master,” they said. “Lighten the harsh labor demands and heavy taxes that your father imposed on us. Then we will be your loyal subjects.”
5 Rehoboam replied, “Give me three days to think this over. Then come back for my answer.” So the people went away.
6 Then King Rehoboam discussed the matter with the older men who had counseled his father, Solomon. “What is your advice?” he asked. “How should I answer these people?”
7 The older counselors replied, “If you are willing to be a servant to these people today and give them a favorable answer, they will always be your loyal subjects.”
8 But Rehoboam rejected the advice of the older men and instead asked the opinion of the young men who had grown up with him and were now his advisers. 9 “What is your advice?” he asked them. “How should I answer these people who want me to lighten the burdens imposed by my father?”
10 The young men replied, “This is what you should tell those complainers who want a lighter burden: ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s waist! 11 Yes, my father laid heavy burdens on you, but I’m going to make them even heavier! My father beat you with whips, but I will beat you with scorpions!’”
12 Three days later Jeroboam and all the people returned to hear Rehoboam’s decision, just as the king had ordered. 13 But Rehoboam spoke harshly to the people, for he rejected the advice of the older counselors 14 and followed the counsel of his younger advisers. He told the people, “My father laid heavy burdens on you, but I’m going to make them even heavier! My father beat you with whips, but I will beat you with scorpions!”
15 So the king paid no attention to the people. This turn of events was the will of the Lord, for it fulfilled the Lord’s message to Jeroboam son of Nebat through the prophet Ahijah from Shiloh.
16 When all Israel realized that the king had refused to listen to them, they responded,
“Down with the dynasty of David!
We have no interest in the son of Jesse.
Back to your homes, O Israel!
Look out for your own house, O David!”
So the people of Israel returned home. 17 But Rehoboam continued to rule over the Israelites who lived in the towns of Judah.
18 King Rehoboam sent Adoniram,[b] who was in charge of forced labor, to restore order, but the people of Israel stoned him to death. When this news reached King Rehoboam, he quickly jumped into his chariot and fled to Jerusalem. 19 And to this day the northern tribes of Israel have refused to be ruled by a descendant of David.
20 When the people of Israel learned of Jeroboam’s return from Egypt, they called an assembly and made him king over all Israel. So only the tribe of Judah remained loyal to the family of David.
Shemaiah’s Prophecy
21 When Rehoboam arrived at Jerusalem, he mobilized the men of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin—180,000 select troops—to fight against the men of Israel and to restore the kingdom to himself.
22 But God said to Shemaiah, the man of God, 23 “Say to Rehoboam son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all the people of Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people, 24 ‘This is what the Lord says: Do not fight against your relatives, the Israelites. Go back home, for what has happened is my doing!’” So they obeyed the message of the Lord and went home, as the Lord had commanded.
Jeroboam Makes Gold Calves
25 Jeroboam then built up the city of Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and it became his capital. Later he went and built up the town of Peniel.[c]
26 Jeroboam thought to himself, “Unless I am careful, the kingdom will return to the dynasty of David. 27 When these people go to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices at the Temple of the Lord, they will again give their allegiance to King Rehoboam of Judah. They will kill me and make him their king instead.”
28 So on the advice of his counselors, the king made two gold calves. He said to the people,[d] “It is too much trouble for you to worship in Jerusalem. Look, Israel, these are the gods who brought you out of Egypt!”
29 He placed these calf idols in Bethel and in Dan—at either end of his kingdom. 30 But this became a great sin, for the people worshiped the idols, traveling as far north as Dan to worship the one there.
31 Jeroboam also erected buildings at the pagan shrines and ordained priests from the common people—those who were not from the priestly tribe of Levi. 32 And Jeroboam instituted a religious festival in Bethel, held on the fifteenth day of the eighth month,[e] in imitation of the annual Festival of Shelters in Judah. There at Bethel he himself offered sacrifices to the calves he had made, and he appointed priests for the pagan shrines he had made. 33 So on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, a day that he himself had designated, Jeroboam offered sacrifices on the altar at Bethel. He instituted a religious festival for Israel, and he went up to the altar to burn incense.
Footnotes:
12:2 As in Greek version and Latin Vulgate (see also 2 Chr 10:2); Hebrew reads he lived in Egypt.
12:18 As in some Greek manuscripts and Syriac version (see also 4:6; 5:14); Hebrew reads Adoram.
12:25 Hebrew Penuel, a variant spelling of Peniel.
12:28 Hebrew to them.
12:32 This day of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar occurred in late October or early November, exactly one month after the annual Festival of Shelters in Judah (see Lev 23:34).
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, December 18, 2015
Read: Psalm 139:7-12
I can never escape from your Spirit!
I can never get away from your presence!
8 If I go up to heaven, you are there;
if I go down to the grave,[a] you are there.
9 If I ride the wings of the morning,
if I dwell by the farthest oceans,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
and your strength will support me.
11 I could ask the darkness to hide me
and the light around me to become night—
12 but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.
To you the night shines as bright as day.
Darkness and light are the same to you.
Footnotes:
139:8 Hebrew to Sheol.
INSIGHT:
In Psalm 139 David invites us to meditate on who God is and how that affects us personally. David is perplexed by God’s omniscience—that He knows everything about him (vv. 1-4). He is assured by God’s omnipresence—that He is ever-present and will never leave or forsake him (vv. 5-12). And he is overwhelmed by His omnipotence—that He is the all-powerful Creator who created him (vv. 13-18). In today’s reading (vv. 7-12), David speaks of a God who is always there to lead, hold, and protect him. There is no place where he is beyond His care, and even before he was conceived God showed His love for him (vv. 13-16). Mindful of all this, David prayed a prayer of loyalty and commitment (vv. 23-24).
Reaching Out in the Darkness
By David Roper
The night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.
Psalm 139:12
Our old dog—a West Highland white terrier—sleeps curled up at the foot of our bed. That’s been her place for 13 years.
Normally she doesn’t move or make a sound, but lately she’s been pawing us gently in the middle of the night. At first we thought she wanted to go outside, so we tried to accommodate her. But we realized she just wants to know we are there. She’s nearly deaf and partially blind now. She can’t see in the darkness and can’t hear us move or breathe. Naturally, she gets confused and reaches out for reassurance. So I just reach down and pat her on the head to assure her that I’m there. That’s all she wants to know. She takes a turn or two, settles down, and goes back to sleep.
“Where can I flee from your presence?” David asked God (Ps. 139:7). David took this as an immense comfort. “If I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me,” he noted. “Even the darkness will not be dark to you” (vv. 9-12).
Lost in darkness? Grieving, fearful, guilty, doubting, discouraged? Not sure of God? The darkness is not dark to Him. Though unseen, He is at hand. He has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you” (Heb. 13:5). Reach out your hand for His. He is there.
Lord, You promised never to leave us or forsake us. We know Your word is true, but so often we see the obstacles and the challenges and lose sight of You. Help us today to see more of You and less of our problems.
Dark fears flee in the light of God’s presence.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, December 18, 2015
Test of Faithfulness
We know that all things work together for good to those who love God… —Romans 8:28
It is only a faithful person who truly believes that God sovereignly controls his circumstances. We take our circumstances for granted, saying God is in control, but not really believing it. We act as if the things that happen were completely controlled by people. To be faithful in every circumstance means that we have only one loyalty, or object of our faith— the Lord Jesus Christ. God may cause our circumstances to suddenly fall apart, which may bring the realization of our unfaithfulness to Him for not recognizing that He had ordained the situation. We never saw what He was trying to accomplish, and that exact event will never be repeated in our life. This is where the test of our faithfulness comes. If we will just learn to worship God even during the difficult circumstances, He will change them for the better very quickly if He so chooses.
Being faithful to Jesus Christ is the most difficult thing we try to do today. We will be faithful to our work, to serving others, or to anything else; just don’t ask us to be faithful to Jesus Christ. Many Christians become very impatient when we talk about faithfulness to Jesus. Our Lord is dethroned more deliberately by Christian workers than by the world. We treat God as if He were a machine designed only to bless us, and we think of Jesus as just another one of the workers.
The goal of faithfulness is not that we will do work for God, but that He will be free to do His work through us. God calls us to His service and places tremendous responsibilities on us. He expects no complaining on our part and offers no explanation on His part. God wants to use us as He used His own Son.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
When we no longer seek God for His blessings, we have time to seek Him for Himself. The Moral Foundations of Life, 728 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, December 18, 2015
Packing Up Christmas - #7550
Right after Thanksgiving I'm in my annual pilgrimage to the Christmas corner of our garage. I did it last year, and I brought out Christmas. Now, we've been accumulating ornaments and decorations for a lot of years now, and it's always a big deal for the family when they make their annual re-entry; all those decorations come back into our life again and all the memories. The house is actually alive with Christmas. Well, I mean for a while. But before very long, I'll reverse the exercise, repack everything in their aging boxes, and put them back in storage for another year.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Packing up Christmas."
Now, we unpack Christmas when we want it and we put Christmas away when we don't want it. You can do that with Christmas. You can't do that with Christ, although a lot of people try to. See, we haul out Jesus when we'd like to have Him be a part of things: on Sundays, certainly for Christmas, when we're in a jam, when we want to be religious. But, to be honest, we keep Him largely at the edges of our life, mostly in our head, not really in our heart.
Well, you just can't do it that way. That's clear even from the angels' birth announcement that first Christmas. It's recorded in Luke 2:10-11, our word for today from the Word of God. "The angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord.'"
See, you and I don't get to decide how we relate to the Son of God. He has announced the terms of having Him in your life. First, He's the Savior. Today, we would call that a rescuer, like those brave police and firefighters who went right into the holocaust at Ground Zero to try to bring people out. When the Twin Towers at the World Trade Center collapsed, the only hope for people trapped in the rubble was a rescuer. Often we don't realize that our spiritual situation is just that deadly.
The Bible says we're trapped in the rubble of our choice to run our life our way instead of God's way. This rebellion against our Creator...well, it can't be redeemed by any religion in the world; only by Jesus, only by the Rescuer God sent to pay for our sin with His life. He's the only Rescuer there is. Sin's death penalty can only be paid by someone dying, and Jesus did that so you don't have to. But you have to grab Him with all the faith you've got like a dying person would grab a rescuer.
Now, the angels also announced that Jesus was "Christ the Lord." Now, that means He's the One who controls everything. Maybe you've been trying to have Jesus be a passenger in your life; a life that actually you're driving but He can ride along. No deal. He's Christ the Lord. He doesn't ride, He drives. And maybe today is your day to finally move out of that driver's seat and turn it over to the One it was made for in the first place.
I'm praying this Christmas might be for someone who's listening right now, your first real Christmas – the first Christmas with Christ in your heart. Not just in your head, in your heart. Not just on the edges, but in the center of your life. Don't you want to belong to this Jesus? He loves you so much! Then tell Him right now, "Jesus, I am Yours from this moment on. You came here to pay for people's sin, and I've got sin that needed to be paid for. Thank You for paying the price so I don't have to. I want to belong to You today, Jesus, and I want to belong to You forever."
See, because He's alive, because He walked out of His grave after He died for you, He can walk right into your life upon your invitation. What a day this would be right here in the season we celebrate His coming to this world He could come into your life. Tell Him that today; pray that to Him today.
And please go to our website. It's there to help you get started this very day. It's called ANewStory.com, and that's the right name for it because this could be the fist page of your new story. You want to talk with someone? Well, then, text us at 442-244-WORD.
Maybe you've known a lot about Jesus. Well, beginning this very day, you can finally know Jesus for real. This could be your personal Jesus-day.