Max Lucado Daily: TAKING TIME TO SEE
There is something fundamentally good about taking time to see a person. Simon the Pharisee once disdained Jesus’ kindness toward a woman of questionable character. So Jesus tested him: “Do you see this woman?” he asked (Luke 7:44). Simon didn’t see a woman– he saw a streetwalker, a scamp.
What do we see when we see. . . the figures beneath the overpass, encircling the fire? Or the news clips of children in refugee camps? What about reports of grueling poverty at home and abroad?
Scripture says when Jesus saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them. Compassion—a movement from deep within—a kick in the gut! Perhaps that’s why we turn away. Why look suffering in the face if we can’t make a difference? Yet what if by seeing, we were moved to compassion? Moved not just to see, but to do.
From God is With You Every Day
2 Chronicles 2
Preparations for Building the Temple
Solomon gave orders to build a temple for the Name of the Lord and a royal palace for himself. 2 He conscripted 70,000 men as carriers and 80,000 as stonecutters in the hills and 3,600 as foremen over them.
3 Solomon sent this message to Hiram[f] king of Tyre:
“Send me cedar logs as you did for my father David when you sent him cedar to build a palace to live in. 4 Now I am about to build a temple for the Name of the Lord my God and to dedicate it to him for burning fragrant incense before him, for setting out the consecrated bread regularly, and for making burnt offerings every morning and evening and on the Sabbaths, at the New Moons and at the appointed festivals of the Lord our God. This is a lasting ordinance for Israel.
5 “The temple I am going to build will be great, because our God is greater than all other gods. 6 But who is able to build a temple for him, since the heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain him? Who then am I to build a temple for him, except as a place to burn sacrifices before him?
7 “Send me, therefore, a man skilled to work in gold and silver, bronze and iron, and in purple, crimson and blue yarn, and experienced in the art of engraving, to work in Judah and Jerusalem with my skilled workers, whom my father David provided.
8 “Send me also cedar, juniper and algum[g] logs from Lebanon, for I know that your servants are skilled in cutting timber there. My servants will work with yours 9 to provide me with plenty of lumber, because the temple I build must be large and magnificent. 10 I will give your servants, the woodsmen who cut the timber, twenty thousand cors[h] of ground wheat, twenty thousand cors[i] of barley, twenty thousand baths[j] of wine and twenty thousand baths of olive oil.”
11 Hiram king of Tyre replied by letter to Solomon:
“Because the Lord loves his people, he has made you their king.”
12 And Hiram added:
“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, who made heaven and earth! He has given King David a wise son, endowed with intelligence and discernment, who will build a temple for the Lord and a palace for himself.
13 “I am sending you Huram-Abi, a man of great skill, 14 whose mother was from Dan and whose father was from Tyre. He is trained to work in gold and silver, bronze and iron, stone and wood, and with purple and blue and crimson yarn and fine linen. He is experienced in all kinds of engraving and can execute any design given to him. He will work with your skilled workers and with those of my lord, David your father.
15 “Now let my lord send his servants the wheat and barley and the olive oil and wine he promised, 16 and we will cut all the logs from Lebanon that you need and will float them as rafts by sea down to Joppa. You can then take them up to Jerusalem.”
17 Solomon took a census of all the foreigners residing in Israel, after the census his father David had taken; and they were found to be 153,600. 18 He assigned 70,000 of them to be carriers and 80,000 to be stonecutters in the hills, with 3,600 foremen over them to keep the people working.
Footnotes:
2 Chronicles 2:1 In Hebrew texts 2:1 is numbered 1:18, and 2:2-18 is numbered 2:1-17.
2 Chronicles 2:3 Hebrew Huram, a variant of Hiram; also in verses 11 and 12
2 Chronicles 2:8 Probably a variant of almug
2 Chronicles 2:10 That is, probably about 3,600 tons or about 3,200 metric tons of wheat
2 Chronicles 2:10 That is, probably about 3,000 tons or about 2,700 metric tons of barley
2 Chronicles 2:10 That is, about 120,000 gallons or about 440,000 liters
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, July 04, 2016
Read: Psalm 122:6–9 |
Pray for peace in Jerusalem.
May all who love this city prosper.
7 O Jerusalem, may there be peace within your walls
and prosperity in your palaces.
8 For the sake of my family and friends, I will say,
“May you have peace.”
9 For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,
I will seek what is best for you, O Jerusalem.
INSIGHT:
Jewish pilgrims sang Psalms 120–134, known collectively as the Pilgrim Psalms, as they made their way to Jerusalem to celebrate the annual festivals of Unleavened Bread (including Passover), Harvest (Weeks or Pentecost), and Ingathering (Booths or Tabernacles) (Ex. 23:14–16). Since Jerusalem sits on a mountainous area (Mount Zion is used synonymously with Jerusalem in the Bible), pilgrims are said to “ascend” to Jerusalem. Therefore, scholars designate each of these fifteen songs as “A song of ascents.” In Psalm 122, David celebrates Jerusalem as the “house of the Lord” (vv. 1, 9). He is elated (v. 1) that he is in the place of safety, security, and peace (vv. 6–9).
Join the Cry
By Lawrence Darmani
I urge . . . that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people. 1 Timothy 2:1
A women’s prayer group in my country holds regular monthly prayer sessions for Ghana and other African countries. When asked why they pray so incessantly for the nations, their leader, Gifty Dadzie, remarked, “Look around, listen to and watch the news. Our nations are hurting: war, disaster, diseases, and violence threaten to overshadow God’s love for humanity and His blessing upon us. We believe God intervenes in the affairs of nations, so we praise Him for His blessings and cry for His intervention.”
The Bible reveals that God indeed intervenes in the affairs of nations (2 Chron. 7:14). And when God intervenes, He uses ordinary people. We may not be assigned huge tasks, but we can play our part to help bring about peace and the righteousness that exalts a nation (Prov. 14:34). We can do that through prayer. The apostle Paul wrote, “I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people—for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness” (1 Tim. 2:1–2).
Lord, we pray today for the peace of our nations.
As the psalmist exhorted the ancient Israelites to “pray for the peace of Jerusalem” (Ps. 122:6), so may we pray for the peace and healing of our nations. When we pray in humility, turn from wickedness, and seek God, He hears us.
Lord, we pray today for the peace of our nations. We ask for Your intervention as we turn to You in confession and repentance. We praise You for Your blessing and Your provision.
Prayer for those in authority is both a privilege and a duty.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, July 04, 2016
One of God’s Great “Don’ts”
Do not fret— it only causes harm. —Psalm 37:8
Fretting means getting ourselves “out of joint” mentally or spiritually. It is one thing to say, “Do not fret,” but something very different to have such a nature that you find yourself unable to fret. It’s easy to say, “Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him” (Psalm 37:7) until our own little world is turned upside down and we are forced to live in confusion and agony like so many other people. Is it possible to “rest in the Lord” then? If this “Do not” doesn’t work there, then it will not work anywhere. This “Do not” must work during our days of difficulty and uncertainty, as well as our peaceful days, or it will never work. And if it will not work in your particular case, it will not work for anyone else. Resting in the Lord is not dependent on your external circumstances at all, but on your relationship with God Himself.
Worrying always results in sin. We tend to think that a little anxiety and worry are simply an indication of how wise we really are, yet it is actually a much better indication of just how wicked we are. Fretting rises from our determination to have our own way. Our Lord never worried and was never anxious, because His purpose was never to accomplish His own plans but to fulfill God’s plans. Fretting is wickedness for a child of God.
Have you been propping up that foolish soul of yours with the idea that your circumstances are too much for God to handle? Set all your opinions and speculations aside and “abide under the shadow of the Almighty” (Psalm 91:1). Deliberately tell God that you will not fret about whatever concerns you. All our fretting and worrying is caused by planning without God.
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
Monday, July 04, 2016
Learning The Hardest Word In the World - #7691
Oh, grandkids! They just keep lighting up your life, right? When our oldest was just past the one-year mark, it was exciting to see him investigating all the things around him and learning the words of what things are called – Daddy, car, moon, dog, ball. And he even learned one of the hardest words of all. It's not hard to pronounce – just to accept. You know that simple little word – "no". Now, I didn't say he liked the word. I said he was learning the word. In fact, I'm not sure any of us really loves the word.
I remember he would just repeat it after one of us, and then we would say "no" to something he was reaching for; usually something we thought would hurt him, and he would shake his head, pull back his hand, and go, "Na, na, na!" Well, that's close to what he said anyway. Well, then there was a new development. He would imitate the word "no". That's what that was all about. He was reaching for something that was on the forbidden list. He would suddenly stop and he himself would start shaking his head and saying to himself, ''Na, na, na."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "Learning The Hardest Word In The World."
"No" is not just a hard word for children to learn. It's hard for us grown-up children! And learning to say no to the things God hates is basic to being a follower of Jesus Christ.
Listen to Jesus' own words in our word for today from the Word of God from Luke 9:23. -"If anyone would come after Me (and I'm just going to assume you want to do that; you want to follow Jesus), he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me." Okay, what's that first step? Deny yourself? Deny – well that means "say no". Jesus says you can't really follow Him unless you learn to deny yourself; to say no to yourself, because you're reaching for something you'd like to do or say and Jesus knows it's going to hurt you or someone else, something that He has maybe called "out of bounds" for you because He knows that it is sin and it will hurt your relationship with God, with other people. It is wrong. He says, "No". Now, the question is, will you stop yourself, in spite of your desires, shake your head, and say, "No, I can't do this. I'm trying to be like Jesus. I can't do this."
Obedience is stopping where God says to stop no matter how tempting it looks, no matter how desirable, no matter how much advantage it may look to us to have. And like a parent's no to a toddler, God's no is based on keeping you from getting hurt, from injury, from scars. So, Jesus' question to you today might be this, "What have you been saying "yes" to lately that you know I have said "no" to?"
Is it that poison on the Internet, in those magazines, on TV, or those videos you rent? Is it that trash talk that keeps wounding somebody you love? Maybe you've been saying yes to compromising the truth, compromises in your integrity, or the purity of your body, which is not really yours. It's the temple of the Holy Spirit. Or is it those lustful looks you just continue to let pollute your heart, those angry outbursts maybe, or just your selfish insistence that you've got to have your way?
Until you make up your mind that you're going to stop it, until you say a firm "no" at your first opportunity to do the wrong thing, you're going to be crippled in your relationship with Jesus. You'll miss so much of His power, so much of the spiritual freedom that goes with saying "no" to the things that He says are out-of-bounds.
It's the hardest word to say, but it is fundamental to following Jesus and enjoying the ride. What He says "no" to, I say "no" to.