Max Lucado Daily: Becoming Like Him
Do you visit the Grand Canyon for the T-shirt or the snow globe? No! The reward of the Grand Canyon is the Grand Canyon! The wide-eyed realization that you are part of something ancient, splendid, powerful and greater than you!
The cache of Christianity is Christ! Not money in the bank or a car in the garage or a better self-image. The Fort Knox of faith is Christ! Fellowship with him…walking with him…pondering him. The heart-stopping realization that in Christ you are part of something endless, unstoppable, unfathomable! And that he, who can dig the Grand Canyon with his pinkie, thinks you're worth his death on Roman timber. Christ is the reward of Christianity.
From Next Door Savior
2 Kings 3
War between Israel and Moab
Ahab’s son Joram[d] began to rule over Israel in the eighteenth year of King Jehoshaphat’s reign in Judah. He reigned in Samaria twelve years. 2 He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, but not to the same extent as his father and mother. He at least tore down the sacred pillar of Baal that his father had set up. 3 Nevertheless, he continued in the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had committed and led the people of Israel to commit.
4 King Mesha of Moab was a sheep breeder. He used to pay the king of Israel an annual tribute of 100,000 lambs and the wool of 100,000 rams. 5 But after Ahab’s death, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel. 6 So King Joram promptly mustered the army of Israel and marched from Samaria. 7 On the way, he sent this message to King Jehoshaphat of Judah: “The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you join me in battle against him?”
And Jehoshaphat replied, “Why, of course! You and I are as one. My troops are your troops, and my horses are your horses.” 8 Then Jehoshaphat asked, “What route will we take?”
“We will attack from the wilderness of Edom,” Joram replied.
9 The king of Edom and his troops joined them, and all three armies traveled along a roundabout route through the wilderness for seven days. But there was no water for the men or their animals.
10 “What should we do?” the king of Israel cried out. “The Lord has brought the three of us here to let the king of Moab defeat us.”
11 But King Jehoshaphat of Judah asked, “Is there no prophet of the Lord with us? If there is, we can ask the Lord what to do through him.”
One of King Joram’s officers replied, “Elisha son of Shaphat is here. He used to be Elijah’s personal assistant.[e]”
12 Jehoshaphat said, “Yes, the Lord speaks through him.” So the king of Israel, King Jehoshaphat of Judah, and the king of Edom went to consult with Elisha.
13 “Why are you coming to me?”[f] Elisha asked the king of Israel. “Go to the pagan prophets of your father and mother!”
But King Joram of Israel said, “No! For it was the Lord who called us three kings here—only to be defeated by the king of Moab!”
14 Elisha replied, “As surely as the Lord Almighty lives, whom I serve, I wouldn’t even bother with you except for my respect for King Jehoshaphat of Judah. 15 Now bring me someone who can play the harp.”
While the harp was being played, the power[g] of the Lord came upon Elisha, 16 and he said, “This is what the Lord says: This dry valley will be filled with pools of water! 17 You will see neither wind nor rain, says the Lord, but this valley will be filled with water. You will have plenty for yourselves and your cattle and other animals. 18 But this is only a simple thing for the Lord, for he will make you victorious over the army of Moab! 19 You will conquer the best of their towns, even the fortified ones. You will cut down all their good trees, stop up all their springs, and ruin all their good land with stones.”
20 The next day at about the time when the morning sacrifice was offered, water suddenly appeared! It was flowing from the direction of Edom, and soon there was water everywhere.
21 Meanwhile, when the people of Moab heard about the three armies marching against them, they mobilized every man who was old enough to strap on a sword, and they stationed themselves along their border. 22 But when they got up the next morning, the sun was shining across the water, making it appear red to the Moabites—like blood. 23 “It’s blood!” the Moabites exclaimed. “The three armies must have attacked and killed each other! Let’s go, men of Moab, and collect the plunder!”
24 But when the Moabites arrived at the Israelite camp, the army of Israel rushed out and attacked them until they turned and ran. The army of Israel chased them into the land of Moab, destroying everything as they went.[h] 25 They destroyed the towns, covered their good land with stones, stopped up all the springs, and cut down all the good trees. Finally, only Kir-hareseth and its stone walls were left, but men with slings surrounded and attacked it.
26 When the king of Moab saw that he was losing the battle, he led 700 of his swordsmen in a desperate attempt to break through the enemy lines near the king of Edom, but they failed. 27 Then the king of Moab took his oldest son, who would have been the next king, and sacrificed him as a burnt offering on the wall. So there was great anger against Israel,[i] and the Israelites withdrew and returned to their own land.
Footnotes:
3:1 Hebrew Jehoram, a variant spelling of Joram; also in 3:6.
3:11 Hebrew He used to pour water on the hands of Elijah.
3:13 Hebrew What is there in common between you and me?
3:15 Hebrew the hand.
3:24 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
3:27 Or So Israel’s anger was great. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, January 04, 2016
Read: Matthew 26:39-42;
He went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”
40 Then he returned to the disciples and found them asleep. He said to Peter, “Couldn’t you watch with me even one hour? 41 Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak!”
42 Then Jesus left them a second time and prayed, “My Father! If this cup cannot be taken away[a] unless I drink it, your will be done.”
Footnotes:
26:42 Greek If this cannot pass.
Matthew 27:45-46
The Death of Jesus
45 At noon, darkness fell across the whole land until three o’clock. 46 At about three o’clock, Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli,[a] lema sabachthani?” which means “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”[b]
Footnotes:
27:46a Some manuscripts read Eloi, Eloi.
27:46b Ps 22:1.
INSIGHT:
Jesus prayed that “this cup” would be taken away (vv. 39, 42). In the Old Testament cup is a metaphor for both God’s blessings (Pss. 16:5; 23:5) and God’s wrath (Pss. 75:8; Isa. 51:17; Jer. 25:15). In today’s reading Jesus referred to His imminent humiliation, torture, and death. He knew He had to become the object of God’s wrath and experience abandonment by His Father (Matt. 27:46) as He died to take away the sins of the world (John 1:29). Knowing that this cup came from God (18:11), Jesus submitted Himself to the Father’s will (Matt. 26:42). Bible commentator Warren Wiersbe wrote: “The Father has never forsaken any of His own, yet He forsook His Son [Matt. 27:46]. This was the cup that Jesus willingly drank for us.”
Is He Listening?
By Dave Branon
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Matthew 27:46
“Sometimes it feels as if God isn’t listening to me.” Those words, from a woman who tried to stay strong in her walk with God while coping with an alcoholic husband, echo the heartcry of many believers. For many years, she asked God to change her husband. Yet it never happened.
What are we to think when we repeatedly ask God for something good—something that could easily glorify Him—but the answer doesn’t come? Is He listening or not?
Let’s look at the life of the Savior. In the garden of Gethsemane, He agonized for hours in prayer, pouring out His heart and pleading, “Let this cup pass from Me” (Matt. 26:39 nkjv). But the Father’s answer was clearly “No.” To provide salvation, God had to send Jesus to die on the cross. Even though Jesus felt as if His Father had forsaken Him, He prayed intensely and passionately because He trusted that God was listening.
When we pray, we may not see how God is working or understand how He will bring good through it all. So we have to trust Him. We relinquish our rights and let God do what is best.
We must leave the unknowable to the all-knowing One. He is listening and working things out His way.
Lord, we don’t need to know the reason our prayers sometimes go unanswered. Help us just to wait for Your time, because You are good.
When we bend our knees to pray, God bends His ear to listen.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, January 04, 2016
Why Can I Not Follow You Now?
Peter said to Him, "Lord, why can I not follow You now?" —John 13:37
There are times when you can’t understand why you cannot do what you want to do. When God brings a time of waiting, and appears to be unresponsive, don’t fill it with busyness, just wait. The time of waiting may come to teach you the meaning of sanctification— to be set apart from sin and made holy— or it may come after the process of sanctification has begun to teach you what service means. Never run before God gives you His direction. If you have the slightest doubt, then He is not guiding. Whenever there is doubt— wait.
At first you may see clearly what God’s will is— the severance of a friendship, the breaking off of a business relationship, or something else you feel is distinctly God’s will for you to do. But never act on the impulse of that feeling. If you do, you will cause difficult situations to arise which will take years to untangle. Wait for God’s timing and He will do it without any heartache or disappointment. When it is a question of the providential will of God, wait for God to move.
Peter did not wait for God. He predicted in his own mind where the test would come, and it came where he did not expect it. “I will lay down my life for Your sake.” Peter’s statement was honest but ignorant. “Jesus answered him, ‘…the rooster shall not crow till you have denied Me three times’ ” (John 13:38). This was said with a deeper knowledge of Peter than Peter had of himself. He could not follow Jesus because he did not know himself or his own capabilities well enough. Natural devotion may be enough to attract us to Jesus, to make us feel His irresistible charm, but it will never make us disciples. Natural devotion will deny Jesus, always falling short of what it means to truly follow Him.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Sincerity means that the appearance and the reality are exactly the same. Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, 1449 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, January 04, 2016
Four Reasons our Resolutions Don't Make It - #7561
The health clubs and the spas, do they love January! And beyond probably. Business skyrockets when December bulges turn to January workouts. The infamous New Year's resolution: A resolution according to the dictionary is "A firm decision to do or not to do something." Unfortunately, research shows that about 88% of our resolutions won't happen.
It's not that we aren't sincere; we want to improve. We want to be healthier. We want to spend more time with the family, get out of debt, do better in school, clean out the junk in our house, maybe in us. So why do our great intentions so often end up in failed commitments?
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Four Reasons Our Resolutions Don't Make It."
My work has put me in the middle of a lot of folks' desire to change, their efforts to change. And from their experience - and then honestly from too much of my own - I've seen four reasons that we fail in commitments that we really do want to keep.
Number one, we're not specific. Goals have to be more than just general intentions. "I'm going to be a better husband." "I'm going to get in shape." "I want to make more of a difference." Well, those are great ideas, but they're not likely to succeed. How about, "I'm going to give my wife all of my attention at least once a day." "I'm not going to eat after 6 o'clock and I'll spend 20 minutes on the treadmill each day." "I'm going to volunteer at the shelter." See, those are specific and measurable enough to give a person a decent shot at really changing.
Here's the second reason I think we fail. We're not accountable. A resolution between me, myself and I is just too easy to forget. But when you announce to several key people the commitment you've made, you've put yourself on the line to do it. It's like the Bible says in Ecclesiastes 4:9-10, "Two are better than one ... if one falls down, his friend can help him up."
Here's a third reason that our resolutions fail. We give up too soon. You know, babies learn to walk by a process that I call "step...boom!" They fall down, but they don't stay down. They get up! Next time it's "step, step, step...boom!" Until one day they're rocketing across the room. Sadly, when we fall down in our effort to do better, don't we often just stay down? But one day's failure is just one day's failure. One day - keep it that way. Get up and keep walking!
And the final reason - maybe the most important of all - why we don't improve like we want to improve is we've got a power shortage. Especially when it comes to the changes that really matter, like breaking the cycle that's hurting the people I love, conquering that dark part of me that's brought me down again and again, moving beyond the pain of my past, attacking that fatal flaw that has cost me so much.
Every new year has the same last name - "A.D." 2015. A.D. - "Anno Domini" - the year of our Lord measured by how many years it is since Jesus Christ came. Well, my whole life has been "B.C./A.D." There was the me I couldn't change before Christ took the wheel of my life. And then the changed life that He's made possible since I gave me to Him.
I thought I could only trust me to drive, but I drove into too many ditches. I ran over too many people. I crashed too often. I couldn't get me to the man I want to be, I need to be, that the people I love need me to be. That's like one of the men who wrote the Bible. He said in our word for today from the Word of God taken from the New Living Translation in Romans 7, beginning in verse 18: "I want to do what is right, but I can't. I want to do what is good, but I don't ... Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?"
I know that feeling, but I've found the power to change where that same Bible-writer found it. He says. "Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord." See, it took the Man who died for my sin to give me the power to beat my sin. For 2,000 years this Jesus has changed people in ways they could never change themselves.
You might be ready for the Life-Changer who says in His Word, "When anyone is in Christ he is a new creation. The old is gone and the new life has begun." Maybe you've never made Him personally your Savior from your sin, which He died to be, which He rose from the dead to prove that He could do.
Would you right now this day say, "Jesus, I'm Yours." I'd love to help you be sure you've made that commitment and you belong to Him. Just go to our website. It's ANewStory.com. This can be for you the day you go from B.C. to A.D. with the Life-Changer. You won't just have a new year, you'll have a new you!
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