Max Lucado Daily: THE PERFECT PLACE
Several years ago I spent a week speaking at a church in California—and had incredible hosts. All my meals were at a different house. But after a few meals I noticed all we ate was salad! No meat, no dessert—just salad. At first I thought it was a California thing. But when I finally asked, the answer was, “We were told you eat nothing but salads!” Well, I quickly corrected them! The hosts meant well, but their information was bad! I’m happy to say we corrected the problem and enjoyed some good meat!
I’m even happier to say Jesus won’t make the same mistake with you! He is preparing the perfect place, the perfect meal! He says, “I have a prepared place for you!” (John 14:2). Trust the promises of Christ! He knows exactly what you need.
From When Christ Comes
Psalm 71
In you, Lord, I have taken refuge;
let me never be put to shame.
2 In your righteousness, rescue me and deliver me;
turn your ear to me and save me.
3 Be my rock of refuge,
to which I can always go;
give the command to save me,
for you are my rock and my fortress.
4 Deliver me, my God, from the hand of the wicked,
from the grasp of those who are evil and cruel.
5 For you have been my hope, Sovereign Lord,
my confidence since my youth.
6 From birth I have relied on you;
you brought me forth from my mother’s womb.
I will ever praise you.
7 I have become a sign to many;
you are my strong refuge.
8 My mouth is filled with your praise,
declaring your splendor all day long.
9 Do not cast me away when I am old;
do not forsake me when my strength is gone.
10 For my enemies speak against me;
those who wait to kill me conspire together.
11 They say, “God has forsaken him;
pursue him and seize him,
for no one will rescue him.”
12 Do not be far from me, my God;
come quickly, God, to help me.
13 May my accusers perish in shame;
may those who want to harm me
be covered with scorn and disgrace.
14 As for me, I will always have hope;
I will praise you more and more.
15 My mouth will tell of your righteous deeds,
of your saving acts all day long—
though I know not how to relate them all.
16 I will come and proclaim your mighty acts, Sovereign Lord;
I will proclaim your righteous deeds, yours alone.
17 Since my youth, God, you have taught me,
and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds.
18 Even when I am old and gray,
do not forsake me, my God,
till I declare your power to the next generation,
your mighty acts to all who are to come.
19 Your righteousness, God, reaches to the heavens,
you who have done great things.
Who is like you, God?
20 Though you have made me see troubles,
many and bitter,
you will restore my life again;
from the depths of the earth
you will again bring me up.
21 You will increase my honor
and comfort me once more.
22 I will praise you with the harp
for your faithfulness, my God;
I will sing praise to you with the lyre,
Holy One of Israel.
23 My lips will shout for joy
when I sing praise to you—
I whom you have delivered.
24 My tongue will tell of your righteous acts
all day long,
for those who wanted to harm me
have been put to shame and confusion.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, March 04, 2016
Read: James 1:2-4
Faith and Endurance
Dear brothers and sisters,[a] when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. 3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. 4 So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.
Footnotes:
1:2 Greek brothers; also in 1:16, 19.
INSIGHT:
James saw himself as a servant of Christ (James 1:1), even though he was Christ’s half-brother (Matt. 13:55). He did not come to faith until after Jesus’s resurrection (John 7:3–5; Acts 1:14; 1 Cor. 15:7) and eventually became a leader in the church at Jerusalem (Acts 15:13). In writing this letter to Jewish believers who had been scattered because of persecution, he focuses on Jewish thinking and values: It is highly practical, intensely candid, and wisdom-oriented. Because of its practical application, it has been referred to as the “Proverbs” of the New Testament.
For His Time
By David Roper
My times are in your hands. Psalm 31:15
When South African pastor Andrew Murray was visiting England in 1895, he began to suffer pain from a previous back injury. While he was recuperating, his hostess told him of a woman who was in great trouble and wanted to know if he had any counsel for her. Murray said, “Give her this paper which I have been writing for my own [encouragement]. It may be that she will find it helpful.” This is what Murray wrote:
“In time of trouble say:
God will keep us by His love. By His grace, we can rest in Him.
First—God brought me here. It is by His will I am in this strait place. In that I will rest.
Next—He will keep me in His love and give me grace in this trial to behave as His child.
Then—He will make the trial a blessing, teaching me lessons He intends me to learn, and working in me the grace He means to bestow.
Last—In His good time He can bring me out again—how and when He knows.
I am here—by God’s appointment, in His keeping, under His training, for His time.”
We want the instant solution, the quick fix, but some things cannot be disposed of so readily; they can only be accepted. God will keep us by His love. By His grace, we can rest in Him.
Dear Lord, it’s hard to endure times of illness and suffering. Comfort me and help me to trust You.
When God permits suffering, He also provides comfort.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, March 04, 2016
Is This True of Me?
None of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself… —Acts 20:24
It is easier to serve or work for God without a vision and without a call, because then you are not bothered by what He requires. Common sense, covered with a layer of Christian emotion, becomes your guide. You may be more prosperous and successful from the world’s perspective, and will have more leisure time, if you never acknowledge the call of God. But once you receive a commission from Jesus Christ, the memory of what God asks of you will always be there to prod you on to do His will. You will no longer be able to work for Him on the basis of common sense.
What do I count in my life as “dear to myself”? If I have not been seized by Jesus Christ and have not surrendered myself to Him, I will consider the time I decide to give God and my own ideas of service as dear. I will also consider my own life as “dear to myself.” But Paul said he considered his life dear so that he might fulfill the ministry he had received, and he refused to use his energy on anything else. This verse shows an almost noble annoyance by Paul at being asked to consider himself. He was absolutely indifferent to any consideration other than that of fulfilling the ministry he had received. Our ordinary and reasonable service to God may actually compete against our total surrender to Him. Our reasonable work is based on the following argument which we say to ourselves, “Remember how useful you are here, and think how much value you would be in that particular type of work.” That attitude chooses our own judgment, instead of Jesus Christ, to be our guide as to where we should go and where we could be used the most. Never consider whether or not you are of use— but always consider that “you are not your own” (1 Corinthians 6:19). You are His.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Wherever the providence of God may dump us down, in a slum, in a shop, in the desert, we have to labour along the line of His direction. Never allow this thought—“I am of no use where I am,” because you certainly can be of no use where you are not! Wherever He has engineered your circumstances, pray. So Send I You, 1325 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, March 04, 2016
Verbal Overkill - #7605
I'll never forget the summer we heard the story about the moonshiner. We were on vacation and we'd just made some new friends, Bill and Darlene. They lived on this beautiful farm. But not always. When they first moved to the south, they lived in a fairly primitive cabin along a river.
Darlene shared that one of their neighbors was a classic moonshiner. He had invited them over for a dinner a number of times and Darlene said they finally ran out of excuses. When they arrived for the dinner, the moonshiner told Bill, "Go pick out what chicken you want for dinner out there on the front porch." Well, Bill did and the moonshiner shot it down dead right there. Then they all went inside and the moonshiner and his wife cleaned and prepared it right in front of their guests.
After dinner the moonshiner was sitting in his rocking chair in the living room talking with Bill. Bill noticed some large holes along the floor of the cabin and he asked how they got there. The moonshiner said, "Well, we got mice. I decided I'd stay up late and I'd just sit here in my rocking chair. I'd see one and I'd pull out my gun and I'd shoot it."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "Verbal Overkill."
Wouldn't you say that the moonshiner was guilty of a little overkill? So are we; except we don't do it with a gun, we do it with our mouth. Which leads us to one of the wisest prayers David ever prayed I think. It's our word for today from the Word of God. It comes from Psalm 141:3, "Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips." Guard my mouth, Lord, watch my lips. It's something you would do with a dangerous criminal or a wild animal, something that could do a lot of damage like your mouth.
Proverbs 12:18 says, "Reckless words pierce like a sword." You ever had any of those reckless words? The problem is when we get angry or frustrated, we tend to start shooting verbally – sometimes at, shall we say, mice; things that don't really merit all that fire power?
Anger is one primary area in which we really tend to overkill. We fire away with killer sarcasm, or a killer put-down, or a killer line just to vent our frustration or to get our way or to win. We leave huge holes that are there long after the incident or the issues are remembered. Oh we may win a little, but we lose a lot with reckless, sword-like words.
Nagging – that's another form of verbal overkill especially when someone you love is doing something you don't like or they're doing something you're afraid will hurt them. Husbands get nagged, wives, children, parents; and nagging can become a way of life. We just keep shooting all the time until that person just becomes immune to our words, immune to our concerns. We're always firing at them.
That's why we need to learn to choose our battlegrounds. Don't fight every battle. Ask yourself, "Does this battle really, really matter?" Save your ammunition for the battles that really matter – parents especially. Man, we're noted for nagging about every little thing and then finding ourselves unheard when a really significant issue comes along. You shut people down with the verbal overkill of nagging.
We need to make the prayer of David our prayer. I know I do. "Lord, guard my mouth. Watch my lips." Our angry words, our insensitive words, our nagging words are always trying to get out, and we've got to always be guarding them with the power of Jesus Christ. The alternative is big holes that last a long time because we shot at too many mice. Save your ammunition for the battles that really count.