Psalm 136, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: A Scrapbook of Jesus' Life

The story of Jesus reads a bit like a scrapbook. Headline clippings; Jesus' favorite stories and lesson outlines; and Luke's snapshot of Jesus riding in Peter's boat. Matthew took the group photo when the seventy followers met for a party after the first mission trip. John pasted a wedding napkin from Cana in the book as well as a funeral program from Bethany.
There are so many other things Jesus did. In fact, in his gospel record, John says if they were all written down, each of them…I can't imagine a world big enough to hold such a library of books. (John 21:25)
Who was this man, Jesus Christ? No question matters more. Consider reading the entire story from the Bethlehem manger to the vacated tomb. Keep in mind that the final entries of the story are yet to come, including the snapshot of you and your Savior at heaven's gateway!
From 3:16

Psalm 136

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!
His faithful love endures forever.
2 Give thanks to the God of gods.
His faithful love endures forever.
3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords.
His faithful love endures forever.

4 Give thanks to him who alone does mighty miracles.
His faithful love endures forever.
5 Give thanks to him who made the heavens so skillfully.
His faithful love endures forever.
6 Give thanks to him who placed the earth among the waters.
His faithful love endures forever.
7 Give thanks to him who made the heavenly lights—
His faithful love endures forever.
8 the sun to rule the day,
His faithful love endures forever.
9 and the moon and stars to rule the night.
His faithful love endures forever.

10 Give thanks to him who killed the firstborn of Egypt.
His faithful love endures forever.
11 He brought Israel out of Egypt.
His faithful love endures forever.
12 He acted with a strong hand and powerful arm.
His faithful love endures forever.
13 Give thanks to him who parted the Red Sea.[a]
His faithful love endures forever.
14 He led Israel safely through,
His faithful love endures forever.
15 but he hurled Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea.
His faithful love endures forever.
16 Give thanks to him who led his people through the wilderness.
His faithful love endures forever.

17 Give thanks to him who struck down mighty kings.
His faithful love endures forever.
18 He killed powerful kings—
His faithful love endures forever.
19 Sihon king of the Amorites,
His faithful love endures forever.
20 and Og king of Bashan.
His faithful love endures forever.
21 God gave the land of these kings as an inheritance—
His faithful love endures forever.
22 a special possession to his servant Israel.
His faithful love endures forever.

23 He remembered us in our weakness.
His faithful love endures forever.
24 He saved us from our enemies.
His faithful love endures forever.
25 He gives food to every living thing.
His faithful love endures forever.
26 Give thanks to the God of heaven.
His faithful love endures forever.
Footnotes:     136:13 Hebrew sea of reeds; also in 136:15.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Friday, April 29, 2016

Read: 2 Corinthians 2:14-17

Ministers of the New Covenant

But thank God! He has made us his captives and continues to lead us along in Christ’s triumphal procession. Now he uses us to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere, like a sweet perfume. 15 Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing. 16 To those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom. But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume. And who is adequate for such a task as this?

17 You see, we are not like the many hucksters[a] who preach for personal profit. We preach the word of God with sincerity and with Christ’s authority, knowing that God is watching us.
Footnotes:

    2:17 Some manuscripts read the rest of the hucksters.

INSIGHT:

The imagery of a pleasing aroma coming up before the Lord appears in several different ways in Scripture. In the Old Testament, one of the pieces of furniture in the tabernacle was the altar for burning incense (Ex. 30:1). Along with the lampstand and the table for the bread of the Presence, the incense altar was in the holy place—just outside the Holy of Holies. In Revelation 8:3–4 incense is offered on the altar in heaven. This incense is connected to the prayers of the people of God. We see that not only can our lives be a pleasing aroma to God, but our prayers can be as well. Bill Crowder

The Fragrance of Christ
By Marion Stroud

We are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ. 2 Corinthians 2:15

Which of the five senses brings back your memories most sharply? For me it is definitely the sense of smell. A certain kind of sun oil takes me instantly to a French beach. The smell of chicken mash brings back childhood visits to my grandmother. A hint of pine says “Christmas,” and a certain kind of aftershave reminds me of my son’s teenage years.

Paul reminded the Corinthians that they were the aroma of Christ: “For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ” (2 Cor. 2:15). He may have been referring to Roman victory parades. The Romans made sure everyone knew they had been victorious by burning incense on altars throughout the city. For the victors, the aroma was pleasing; for the prisoners it meant certain slavery or death. So as believers, we are victorious soldiers. And when the gospel of Christ is preached, it is a pleasing fragrance to God.
When we walk with God, people will notice.

As the aroma of Christ, what perfumes do Christians bring with them as they walk into a room? It’s not something that can be bought in a bottle or a jar. When we spend a lot of time with someone, we begin to think and act like that person. Spending time with Jesus will help us spread a pleasing fragrance to those around us.

Lord, please shape my thoughts and actions so people may sense that I have been with You.

When we walk with God, people will notice.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, April 29, 2016

Gracious Uncertainty

…it has not yet been revealed what we shall be… —1 John 3:2

Our natural inclination is to be so precise– trying always to forecast accurately what will happen next– that we look upon uncertainty as a bad thing. We think that we must reach some predetermined goal, but that is not the nature of the spiritual life. The nature of the spiritual life is that we are certain in our uncertainty. Consequently, we do not put down roots. Our common sense says, “Well, what if I were in that circumstance?” We cannot presume to see ourselves in any circumstance in which we have never been.

Certainty is the mark of the commonsense life– gracious uncertainty is the mark of the spiritual life. To be certain of God means that we are uncertain in all our ways, not knowing what tomorrow may bring. This is generally expressed with a sigh of sadness, but it should be an expression of breathless expectation. We are uncertain of the next step, but we are certain of God. As soon as we abandon ourselves to God and do the task He has placed closest to us, He begins to fill our lives with surprises. When we become simply a promoter or a defender of a particular belief, something within us dies. That is not believing God– it is only believing our belief about Him. Jesus said, “…unless you…become as little children…” (Matthew 18:3). The spiritual life is the life of a child. We are not uncertain of God, just uncertain of what He is going to do next. If our certainty is only in our beliefs, we develop a sense of self-righteousness, become overly critical, and are limited by the view that our beliefs are complete and settled. But when we have the right relationship with God, life is full of spontaneous, joyful uncertainty and expectancy. Jesus said, “…believe also in Me” (John 14:1), not, “Believe certain things about Me”. Leave everything to Him and it will be gloriously and graciously uncertain how He will come in– but you can be certain that He will come. Remain faithful to Him.

Wisdom From Oswald Chambers

The life of Abraham is an illustration of two things: of unreserved surrender to God, and of God’s complete possession of a child of His for His own highest end.
Not Knowing Whither

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, April 29, 2016

Rubbing It In - #7645

Okay, it's Wild Kingdom trivia quiz time. What is an emu? If you guessed a big old Australian bird that can't fly, you're right. They can't fly, but they can produce oil. Yeah! Boy, my wife, she was glad they do. She had been having some severe pain in her back and arm. We decided to go ahead with our plans to spend a few days away with our family. The place we were staying at had bottles of emu oil for sale, of all things, at the cash register. I'd never heard of emu oil. And I wasn't jumping up and down to buy some, actually. But the owners said it might help give my wife a little relief. So, "Hello, emu oil." Now it wasn't a miracle cure, but we do think it helped. I would just put a blob of it on her back and gently rub it into her back and arm. Actually, that blob of emu oil wouldn't have done much good just sitting on her back. You had to rub it in for it to really help.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Rubbing It In."

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Luke 6:46-49. It's about rubbing it in. Jesus said, "Why do you call Me 'Lord, Lord' and do not do what I say?" Key words here: "do not do." It reminds me of James 1:22 - "Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says." In other words, just having a big blob of Bible information in your brain won't do anything but make you think you're doing fine spiritually when you're not. You have to rub it in!

Let's continue with Luke 6:47. "I will show you what he is like who comes to Me and hears My words and puts them into practice. He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it because it was well built." (Now we have a flashback from Sunday School, "The wise man built his house on the rock and the rains came tumbling down..." But that's not your problem. That's mine.)

The Bible is really what makes a difference in a person's life when a storm hits. Then you're storm proof. "But the one," it says, "who hears My words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete."

Notice - it isn't knowing His words that make the difference. It's putting them into practice; he who puts them into practice and he who doesn't. Which one are you? This means every time you read God's words, you should be coming away with a "do" because of what God said. "Lord, what did I read today and what do I 'do' differently because of what I read? I'll take this action, I'll make this change."

Just having that emu oil didn't help my wife's situation. Just getting into it didn't do anything. It had to be rubbed in; it had to become a part of her. The Bible is like that. Just getting into the Bible isn't what transforms your life. It's getting the Bible into you, into some specific application in today's experience; something that changes part of you that day. It could be you know a lot of verses, you have some great outlines from some great speakers. Maybe you listen to a lot of broadcasts like this. Maybe even you're a real student of the Bible; you're getting Biblically smarter. You know some of the big words to call things now. Your spiritual vocabulary is growing, but somehow you're not really becoming more and more like Jesus, which is the point of it all. There are blobs of Bible, but you just haven't been rubbing it into your soul, your personality, your relationships, your priorities and your everyday life.

It's not enough to read God's words just to know what He says to analyze it, or even to understand what He says, though that's important. Ultimately, I have to read God's words to let them change me in some specific way! So each new day, are you opening up to the transforming oil of God's Word and are you letting God rub it in?

Getting into His words is enlightening; getting His words into you is transforming!