The Scriptures say “Jesus sustains everything by the mighty power of his command” (Hebrews 1:3). Jesus has unimpeachable authority. The Roman government tried to intimidate him. False religion tried to silence him. The Devil tried to kill him. All failed!
Jesus is the command center of the galaxies. He occupies the Oval Office. He stopped the waves with a word. He spoke and a tree withered. He spoke again and a basket became a banquet. Jesus said in Matthew 11:27, “All things have been handed over to me by my Father.”
All things includes Satan. Jesus outranks him in every situation. He must obey Jesus, and he knows it. The Bible says that prayers offered in the name of Jesus have “divine power to demolish strongholds” (2 Corinthians 10:4). Is Satan setting up a stronghold in your life? Lift up a prayer and unleash the demolition power of Jesus!
From God is With You Every Day
Psalm 49
For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm.
1 Hear this, all you peoples;
listen, all who live in this world,
2 both low and high,
rich and poor alike:
3 My mouth will speak words of wisdom;
the meditation of my heart will give you understanding.
4 I will turn my ear to a proverb;
with the harp I will expound my riddle:
5 Why should I fear when evil days come,
when wicked deceivers surround me—
6 those who trust in their wealth
and boast of their great riches?
7 No one can redeem the life of another
or give to God a ransom for them—
8 the ransom for a life is costly,
no payment is ever enough—
9 so that they should live on forever
and not see decay.
10 For all can see that the wise die,
that the foolish and the senseless also perish,
leaving their wealth to others.
11 Their tombs will remain their houses[e] forever,
their dwellings for endless generations,
though they had[f] named lands after themselves.
12 People, despite their wealth, do not endure;
they are like the beasts that perish.
13 This is the fate of those who trust in themselves,
and of their followers, who approve their sayings.[g]
14 They are like sheep and are destined to die;
death will be their shepherd
(but the upright will prevail over them in the morning).
Their forms will decay in the grave,
far from their princely mansions.
15 But God will redeem me from the realm of the dead;
he will surely take me to himself.
16 Do not be overawed when others grow rich,
when the splendor of their houses increases;
17 for they will take nothing with them when they die,
their splendor will not descend with them.
18 Though while they live they count themselves blessed—
and people praise you when you prosper—
19 they will join those who have gone before them,
who will never again see the light of life.
20 People who have wealth but lack understanding
are like the beasts that perish.
Footnotes:
Psalm 49:1 In Hebrew texts 49:1-20 is numbered 49:2-21.
Psalm 49:11 Septuagint and Syriac; Hebrew In their thoughts their houses will remain
Psalm 49:11 Or generations, / for they have
Psalm 49:13 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verse 15.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, June 06, 2016
Read: Psalm 119:71–75
My suffering was good for me,
for it taught me to pay attention to your decrees.
72 Your instructions are more valuable to me
than millions in gold and silver.
Yodh
73 You made me; you created me.
Now give me the sense to follow your commands.
74 May all who fear you find in me a cause for joy,
for I have put my hope in your word.
75 I know, O Lord, that your regulations are fair;
you disciplined me because I needed it.
INSIGHT:
A commonly understood characteristic of Psalm 119, the longest chapter in the Bible, is that it celebrates the goodness and usefulness of God’s commandments. Referring to these laws by various names, the author suggests that God’s commands are the very core of how life is meant to be lived. The thought is simple yet intriguing—God’s laws help us to live in the way that we were created and intended to live. They are not restrictive; they are freeing. That helps us understand why the psalmist had such a high regard of God’s laws.
New
By Dennis Fisher
I know, Lord, that your laws are righteous, and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me. Psalm 119:75
During World War II my dad served with the US Army in the South Pacific. During that time Dad rejected any idea of religion, saying, “I don’t need a crutch.” Yet the day came when his attitude toward spiritual things would change forever. Mom had gone into labor with their third child, and my brother and I went to bed with the excitement of soon seeing our new brother or sister. When I got out of bed the next morning, I excitedly asked Dad, “Is it a boy or a girl?” He replied, “It was a little girl but she was born dead.” We began to weep together at our loss.
For the first time, Dad took his broken heart to Jesus in prayer. At that moment he felt an overwhelming sense of peace and comfort from God, though his daughter would always be irreplaceable. Soon he began to take an interest in the Bible and continued to pray to the One who was healing his broken heart. His faith grew through the years. He became a strong follower of Jesus—serving Him as a Bible-study teacher and a leader in his church.
Brokenness can lead to wholeness.
Jesus is not a crutch for the weak. He is the source of new spiritual life! When we’re broken, He can make us new and whole (Ps. 119:75).
What is on your heart that you need to talk with God about? Bring Him your brokenness and ask Him to make you whole.
Brokenness can lead to wholeness.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, June 06, 2016
“Work Out” What God “Works in” You
…work out your own salvation…for it is God who works in you… —Philippians 2:12-13
Your will agrees with God, but in your flesh there is a nature that renders you powerless to do what you know you ought to do. When the Lord initially comes in contact with our conscience, the first thing our conscience does is awaken our will, and our will always agrees with God. Yet you say, “But I don’t know if my will is in agreement with God.” Look to Jesus and you will find that your will and your conscience are in agreement with Him every time. What causes you to say “I will not obey” is something less deep and penetrating than your will. It is perversity or stubbornness, and they are never in agreement with God. The most profound thing in a person is his will, not sin.
The will is the essential element in God’s creation of human beings— sin is a perverse nature which entered into people. In someone who has been born again, the source of the will is Almighty God. “…for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” With focused attention and great care, you have to “work out” what God “works in” you— not work to accomplish or earn “your own salvation,” but work it out so you will exhibit the evidence of a life based with determined, unshakable faith on the complete and perfect redemption of the Lord. As you do this, you do not bring an opposing will up against God’s will— God’s will is your will. Your natural choices will be in accordance with God’s will, and living this life will be as natural as breathing. Stubbornness is an unintelligent barrier, refusing enlightenment and blocking its flow. The only thing to do with this barrier of stubbornness is to blow it up with “dynamite,” and the “dynamite” is obedience to the Holy Spirit.
Do I believe that Almighty God is the Source of my will? God not only expects me to do His will, but He is in me to do it.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Beware of pronouncing any verdict on the life of faith if you are not living it. Not Knowing Whither, 900 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, June 06, 2016
An Empty Tomb and a Death Valley Bloom - #7671
If I wanted a picture that screams "Resurrection!", "Life!", "Easter!" - I'd go to Death Valley. Well, this year at least, because all of a sudden it began to look like "Life Valley."
Because of what they call the "super bloom"! Millions of super-sized, glorious flowers exploded this spring in one of the driest places on earth. It's the lowest point in the U.S. They get an average of two inches of rain a year.
But this year: a sea of purple and pink blossoms. And this blazing yellow of what they call "desert gold."
Thank you, El Niño! Three times the normal rainfall, plus warmth and mild winds. And, as one headline says - "Death Valley is alive."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "An Empty Tomb and a Death Valley Bloom."
Well you could say "Hello, Easter!", because the day the crucified Jesus blasted out of His grave, He left death quivering on the ground. The enemy that had conquered every human who ever lived - Dethroned.
And the long dark valley we call death was suddenly alive.
And a billion funerals have never been the same. Because this death-beating Savior promised, "Because I live, you will live also" (John 14:19). Those who follow the risen Christ follow Him right through "death valley" into the glories of His heaven.
So the super-blooming glory of Death Valley becomes, for me, a picture of the deeply personal meaning of what Jesus did on the cross and on that Easter morning, that resurrection day.
First of all, there is no place so dead that life cannot bloom. A broken family. A broken heart. A "hopeless" situation. When Jesus walked out of His grave, He conquered the greatest "hopeless" of all. So when we invite Jesus into our "valley of death," He brings with Him the power that crushed death. Miracle-working power. The resurrected Christ said, "I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth" (Matthew 28:18). Hopeless is not in His vocabulary.
Secondly, a million seeds are waiting to bloom. Seeds deposited in someone's heart when they heard about Jesus. Maybe as a child. From a friend. In church. They've heard the good news that the sins we deserve to pay for were paid for by Jesus when He "carried our sins in His own body on the tree" (1 Peter 2:24). They've just never made this Savior their personal Savior. But then the storm comes. We see how much we need Him. The storm awakens the slumbering seed. And the Jesus we knew about becomes the Jesus we know!
And thirdly, life will win. One park official said, "Death Valley goes from the valley of death to the valley of life." That's what Easter has done! That's what the resurrection has done! That's my future! And the future of everyone who belongs to Jesus.
Because Jesus said in our word for today from the Word of God, in John 11:25, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me will live, even though he dies". So, as David said in the 23rd Psalm, "even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me" (Psalm 23:4). Because Jesus is alive, my last breath on earth will give way to my first glimpse of heaven.
To paraphrase D.L. Moody, a great preacher of another generation - "When you read some day that I am dead, don't you believe it! Because at that moment, I'll be more alive than I've ever been before!"
I wonder if you have that assurance. That you know for sure you are going to Heaven, because the sin that would keep you from going to God's Heaven has been forgiven because you put your trust in the only One who could forgive it. That would be the One who dies for it, Jesus. And you are believing in eternal life because you believe in the One who's the only One who can give it to you. He's the only One who has it. He walked out of His grave.
If you've never begun your relationship with Him, would you do that today? Let me help you with that. Please, go to our website – ANewStory.com, and let me walk you through how to be sure you belong to Jesus.
Jesus is alive. Death has lost. Life will win.
