Max Lucado Daily: WE NEVER TRAVEL ALONE
Jesus loved people. He paid no heed to class or nationality, past sins or present accomplishments. The neediest and loneliest found a friend in Jesus.
. . .a woman described as scarcely clothed because of last night’s affair. Jesus defended her. (John 8:3)
. . .an unscrupulous tax collector, friendless because of misdealings. Jesus became his mentor. (Luke 19:2)
. . .a divorced woman drawing from the well in the heat of the day to avoid the stares of villagers. Jesus gave her his attention. (John 4:5)
Could a lying sham love this way? If Jesus’ intent was to trick people out of their money or worship, he did a pitifully poor job. He died utterly broke and virtually abandoned. What if Jesus really was, and is, the Son of God? If so, we can relish the wonderful truth that we never travel alone!
From God is With You Every Day
2 Chronicles 5
That completed the work King Solomon did on The Temple of God. He then brought in the holy offerings of his father David, the silver and the gold and the artifacts. He placed them all in the treasury of God’s Temple.
Installing the Chest
2-3 Bringing all this to a climax, Solomon got all the leaders together in Jerusalem—all the chiefs of tribes and the family patriarchs—to move the Chest of the Covenant of God from Zion and install it in The Temple. All the men of Israel assembled before the king on the feast day of the seventh month, the Feast of Booths.
4-6 When all the leaders of Israel were ready, the Levites took up the Chest. They carried the Chest, the Tent of Meeting, and all the sacred things in the Tent used in worship. The priests, all Levites, carried them. King Solomon and the entire congregation of Israel were there before the Chest, worshiping and sacrificing huge numbers of sheep and cattle—so many that no one could keep track.
7-10 The priests brought the Chest of the Covenant of God to its place in the Inner Sanctuary, the Holy of Holies, under the wings of the cherubim. The outspread wings of the cherubim formed a canopy over the Chest and its poles. The ends of the poles were so long that they stuck out from the entrance of the Inner Sanctuary, but were not noticeable further out—they’re still there today. There was nothing in the Chest itself but the two stone tablets that Moses had placed in it at Horeb where God made a covenant with Israel after bringing them up from Egypt.
11-13 The priests then left the Holy Place. All the priests there were consecrated, regardless of rank or assignment; and all the Levites who were musicians were there—Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, and their families, dressed in their worship robes; the choir and orchestra assembled on the east side of the Altar and were joined by 120 priests blowing trumpets. The choir and trumpets made one voice of praise and thanks to God—orchestra and choir in perfect harmony singing and playing praise to God:
Yes! God is good!
His loyal love goes on forever!
13-14 Then a billowing cloud filled The Temple of God. The priests couldn’t even carry out their duties because of the cloud—the glory of God!—that filled The Temple of God.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, July 07, 2016
Read: Deuteronomy 6:1–12
This is the commandment, the rules and regulations, that God, your God, commanded me to teach you to live out in the land you’re about to cross into to possess. This is so that you’ll live in deep reverence before God lifelong, observing all his rules and regulations that I’m commanding you, you and your children and your grandchildren, living good long lives.
3 Listen obediently, Israel. Do what you’re told so that you’ll have a good life, a life of abundance and bounty, just as God promised, in a land abounding in milk and honey.
4 Attention, Israel!
God, our God! God the one and only!
5 Love God, your God, with your whole heart: love him with all that’s in you, love him with all you’ve got!
6-9 Write these commandments that I’ve given you today on your hearts. Get them inside of you and then get them inside your children. Talk about them wherever you are, sitting at home or walking in the street; talk about them from the time you get up in the morning to when you fall into bed at night. Tie them on your hands and foreheads as a reminder; inscribe them on the doorposts of your homes and on your city gates.
10-12 When God, your God, ushers you into the land he promised through your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to give you, you’re going to walk into large, bustling cities you didn’t build, well-furnished houses you didn’t buy, come upon wells you didn’t dig, vineyards and olive orchards you didn’t plant. When you take it all in and settle down, pleased and content, make sure you don’t forget how you got there—God brought you out of slavery in Egypt.
INSIGHT:
Today’s reading contains the centerpiece of Israel’s doctrinal beliefs. It is called the Shema, based upon the Hebrew word for hear: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength” (Deut. 6:4–5).
Important Reminders
By David McCasland
These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Deuteronomy 6:6
Anthropologist Anthony Graesch says that the outside of a refrigerator reveals what’s important to people. During a research study of families in Los Angeles, Graesch and his colleagues noted an average of 52 items posted on the fridge—including school schedules, family photos, children’s drawings, and magnets. Graesch calls the refrigerator “a repository of family memory.”
The Lord may use a tangible item like a photo, keepsake, or Scripture verse to remind us of His faithfulness and the call to obey His Word. When Moses addressed the Israelites just before they entered the land of Canaan, he urged them to keep all the commands God had given them. “Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road . . . . Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates” (Deut. 6:7, 9).
Daily blessings are reminders of God's faithfulness.
Giving God’s Word a visible place of honor in their homes and lives was a powerful daily reminder to “be careful that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you . . . out of the land of slavery” (v. 12).
Today the Lord encourages us to remember that as we obey His Word, we can depend on His faithful care for all that lies ahead.
Father, we are grateful for every reminder of Your faithfulness and loving care. May we honor You by obeying Your Word.
How do you nurture your relationship with the Lord? Share with us at Facebook.com/ourdailybread
Daily blessings are reminders of God's faithfulness.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, July 07, 2016
All Efforts of Worth and Excellence Are Difficult
Enter by the narrow gate….Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life…. —Matthew 7:13-14
If we are going to live as disciples of Jesus, we have to remember that all efforts of worth and excellence are difficult. The Christian life is gloriously difficult, but its difficulty does not make us faint and cave in— it stirs us up to overcome. Do we appreciate the miraculous salvation of Jesus Christ enough to be our utmost for His highest— our best for His glory?
God saves people by His sovereign grace through the atonement of Jesus, and “it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13). But we have to “work out” that salvation in our everyday, practical living (Philippians 2:12). If we will only start on the basis of His redemption to do what He commands, then we will find that we can do it. If we fail, it is because we have not yet put into practice what God has placed within us. But a crisis will reveal whether or not we have been putting it into practice. If we will obey the Spirit of God and practice in our physical life what God has placed within us by His Spirit, then when a crisis does come we will find that our own nature, as well as the grace of God, will stand by us.
Thank God that He does give us difficult things to do! His salvation is a joyous thing, but it is also something that requires bravery, courage, and holiness. It tests us for all we are worth. Jesus is “bringing many sons to glory” (Hebrews 2:10), and God will not shield us from the requirements of sonship. God’s grace produces men and women with a strong family likeness to Jesus Christ, not pampered, spoiled weaklings. It takes a tremendous amount of discipline to live the worthy and excellent life of a disciple of Jesus in the realities of life. And it is always necessary for us to make an effort to live a life of worth and excellence.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Crises reveal character. When we are put to the test the hidden resources of our character are revealed exactly. Disciples Indeed, 393 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, July 07, 2016
God's Big 'Do Not Touch' Sign - #7694
For several years, our offices were located on the third floor of an old factory building. An alley ran behind our building, and there was an antique elevator that was useful if you had to transport things to that third floor. If you parked back there, you had to walk by this big old electrical thing that was surrounded by a chain link fence – with a sign that had these words in big print: "High voltage. Do not touch." I personally never knew anybody who disregarded those instructions. I certainly was never tempted to.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "God's Big 'Do Not Touch' Sign."
When there's something really hazardous, there's often a "do not touch" sign on it, put there by people who know how much harm it can do. God has put a sign like that on some things that might not appear harmful on the outside, but which carry deadly spiritual voltage.
One of His "do not touch" signs is in our word for today from the Word of God in Deuteronomy 18, beginning with verse 10. God says, "Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son in the fire, who practices divination (By the way, the dictionary says divination is "attempting to foretell future events or discover hidden knowledge by supernatural means"). Then God says, there should be "no one who practices sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead." Then, just in case you think God takes any of this lightly, the Bible has this sobering conclusion: "Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord." That is strong language!
It's obvious that God hates this stuff, because all the non-God approaches to the supernatural are controlled by the devil. Now as you heard that list, you may have thought about how much those "do not touch" things are all throughout our culture, with a sign on them that says, "Touch me. I'm harmless. I'm exciting. I'm just something to do for fun, to explore."
It can be a slumber party séance, a Ouija board, consulting a horoscope, or crystals. You can find sorcery and witchcraft in compelling fantasy games, in best-selling books, in popular TV shows, and in blockbuster movies that we're told are a "must" for every child to see and every parent to take their child to. We're told it's good for their imagination and it's harmless fantasy.
Read those verses again and see if God agrees. He calls all the supernatural stuff that isn't from Him "detestable". And having dealt with a lot of young people who have ended up unwittingly trapped in occult darkness, I know some of why God hates it. He knows how Satan works. The enemy never tells you about what's in his deadly package. He just gets you interested in that bright and seemingly irresistible wrapping paper. The devil is simply looking for a foot in the door. And for many, that opening has been just an "innocent" curiosity about the other side, a little fantasy experience or simple experimentation that opened a door that should have always remained locked. That's why God says in Ephesians 5:11, "Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them."
The occult, the dark side, the "supernatural without God" – they're just not anything to flirt with or to mess with. We have nothing to lose from avoiding them and so much to lose potentially by exposing ourselves or our children to them. It is spiritual high voltage, no matter how interesting, no matter how inviting, no matter how popular it looks. And when God says, "Do not touch", He means it!
