Max Lucado Daily: DON’T GIVE THE OPPOSITION A SECOND THOUGHT
As long as you are stationary, no one will complain. Dogs don’t bark at parked cars. But as soon as you accelerate—once you step out of drunkenness into sobriety; dishonesty into integrity; or lethargy into compassion—expect the yapping to begin. Expect to be criticized. Expect to be mocked.
So how can we prepare ourselves? Peter said this: “Don’t give the opposition a second thought. Through thick and thin, keep your hearts at attention, in adoration before Christ, your Master” (I Peter 3:14-15).
As we meditate on Christ’s life, we find strength for our own. Do you want to be bold tomorrow? Then be with Jesus today. Be in his Word. Be with his people. Be in his presence. And when persecution comes, and it will, be strong. Who knows? People may realize you’ve been with Christ!
From God is With You Every Day
2 Chronicles 16
But in the thirty-sixth year of Asa’s reign, Baasha king of Israel attacked. He started it by building a fort at Ramah and closing the border between Israel and Judah to keep Asa king of Judah from leaving or entering.
2-3 Asa took silver and gold from the treasuries of The Temple of God and the royal palace and sent it to Ben-Hadad, king of Aram who lived in Damascus, with this message: “Let’s make a treaty like the one between our fathers. I’m showing my good faith with this gift of silver and gold. Break your deal with Baasha king of Israel so he’ll quit fighting against me.”
4-5 Ben-Hadad went along with King Asa and sent his troops against the towns of Israel. They sacked Ijon, Dan, Abel Maim, and all the store-cities of Naphtali. When Baasha got the report, he quit fortifying Ramah.
6 Then King Asa issued orders to his people in Judah to haul away the logs and stones Baasha had used in the fortification of Ramah and used them himself to fortify Geba and Mizpah.
7-9 Just after that, Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said, “Because you went for help to the king of Aram and didn’t ask God for help, you’ve lost a victory over the army of the king of Aram. Didn’t the Ethiopians and Libyans come against you with superior forces, completely outclassing you with their chariots and cavalry? But you asked God for help and he gave you the victory. God is always on the alert, constantly on the lookout for people who are totally committed to him. You were foolish to go for human help when you could have had God’s help. Now you’re in trouble—one round of war after another.”
10 At that, Asa lost his temper. Angry, he put Hanani in the stocks. At the same time Asa started abusing some of the people.
11-14 A full account of Asa is written in The Chronicles of the Kings of Judah. In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa came down with a severe case of foot infection. He didn’t ask God for help, but went instead to the doctors. Then Asa died; he died in the forty-first year of his reign. They buried him in a mausoleum that he had built for himself in the City of David. They laid him in a crypt full of aromatic oils and spices. Then they had a huge bonfire in his memory.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, July 22, 2016
Read: Mark 6:7–13, 30–32
The Twelve
Jesus called the Twelve to him, and sent them out in pairs. He gave them authority and power to deal with the evil opposition. He sent them off with these instructions:
8-9 “Don’t think you need a lot of extra equipment for this. You are the equipment. No special appeals for funds. Keep it simple.
10 “And no luxury inns. Get a modest place and be content there until you leave.
11 “If you’re not welcomed, not listened to, quietly withdraw. Don’t make a scene. Shrug your shoulders and be on your way.”
12-13 Then they were on the road. They preached with joyful urgency that life can be radically different; right and left they sent the demons packing; they brought wellness to the sick, anointing their bodies, healing their spirits.
Mark 6:30-34The Message (MSG)
Supper for Five Thousand
30-31 The apostles then rendezvoused with Jesus and reported on all that they had done and taught. Jesus said, “Come off by yourselves; let’s take a break and get a little rest.” For there was constant coming and going. They didn’t even have time to eat.
32-34 So they got in the boat and went off to a remote place by themselves. Someone saw them going and the word got around. From the surrounding towns people went out on foot, running, and got there ahead of them. When Jesus arrived, he saw this huge crowd. At the sight of them, his heart broke—like sheep with no shepherd they were. He went right to work teaching them.
INSIGHT:
When Jesus asked His disciples to go to a quiet place and rest (Mark 6:31), He was telling them to do something that He had often done with them. Jesus had withdrawn with His disciples to the lake (2:13; 3:7) or up on the mountain (3:13). Jesus was also in the habit of withdrawing from the crowds to a solitary place to rest and to spend time talking with His Father (Matt. 14:13,23; 26:36; Mark 1:35; 6:46; Luke 4:42; 6:12; John 6:15). The gospel of Luke tells us, “Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed” (5:16).
Human Race
By Poh Fang Chia
[Jesus] said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” Mark 6:31
The alarm clock goes off. Too early, it seems. But you have a long day ahead. You have work to do, appointments to keep, people to care for, or all this and more. Well, you are not alone. Each day, many of us rush from one matter to another. As someone has wittily suggested, “That’s why we are called the human race.”
When the apostles returned from their first mission trip, they had a lot to report. But Mark did not record Jesus’s evaluation of the disciples’ work; rather, he focused on His concern that they rest awhile. Jesus said, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest” (6:31).
Lord, I thank You today for all You have given me to do.
Ultimately, we find true rest through recognizing the presence of God and trusting Him. While we take our responsibilities seriously, we also recognize that we can relax our grip on our work and careers, our families and ministry, and give them over to God in faith. We can take time each day to tune out the distractions, put away the tense restlessness, and reflect in gratitude on the wonder of God’s love and faithfulness.
So feel free to stop and take a breath. Get some real rest.
Lord, I thank You today for all You have given me to do. Help me to truly rest in You—physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
We do not rest because our work is done; we rest because God commanded it and created us to have a need for it. Gordon MacDonald
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, July 22, 2016
Sanctification (1)
This is the will of God, your sanctification… —1 Thessalonians 4:3
The Death Side. In sanctification God has to deal with us on the death side as well as on the life side. Sanctification requires our coming to the place of death, but many of us spend so much time there that we become morbid. There is always a tremendous battle before sanctification is realized— something within us pushing with resentment against the demands of Christ. When the Holy Spirit begins to show us what sanctification means, the struggle starts immediately. Jesus said, “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate…his own life…he cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:26).
In the process of sanctification, the Spirit of God will strip me down until there is nothing left but myself, and that is the place of death. Am I willing to be myself and nothing more? Am I willing to have no friends, no father, no brother, and no self-interest— simply to be ready for death? That is the condition required for sanctification. No wonder Jesus said, “I did not come to bring peace but a sword” (Matthew 10:34). This is where the battle comes, and where so many of us falter. We refuse to be identified with the death of Jesus Christ on this point. We say, “But this is so strict. Surely He does not require that of me.” Our Lord is strict, and He does require that of us.
Am I willing to reduce myself down to simply “me”? Am I determined enough to strip myself of all that my friends think of me, and all that I think of myself? Am I willing and determined to hand over my simple naked self to God? Once I am, He will immediately sanctify me completely, and my life will be free from being determined and persistent toward anything except God (see 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24).
When I pray, “Lord, show me what sanctification means for me,” He will show me. It means being made one with Jesus. Sanctification is not something Jesus puts in me— it is Himself in me (see 1 Corinthians 1:30).
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
An intellectual conception of God may be found in a bad vicious character. The knowledge and vision of God is dependent entirely on a pure heart. Character determines the revelation of God to the individual. The pure in heart see God. Biblical Ethics, 125 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, July 22, 2016
Sometimes when we travel to Indian reservations in North America, we end up on roads that go where not many go. Our Director at the time, our Qjibwe brother, Craig Smith, was on one of those roads. His destination was a remote reserve in Northern Canada. At one point in his 140-mile journey, he noticed a van coming from the other direction, proceeding very slowly. Craig decided to slow down, too. That's when he saw what the van driver had already seen-a beautiful deer by the side of the road. Sadly, one of his rear legs was broken and just kind of dangling limply when he moved. Actually, my friend said it was too painful to watch. At that point, he saw the rest of the picture that had caused the van to stop in front of the deer. On the other side of the road was a wolf, stalking the wounded deer. It was obvious all the van could do was postpone the inevitable. There was no happy ending for that deer.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Escaping the Stalker of Your Soul."
If we could put on God-glasses for even a day and look at our life, we'd see a scene much like my friend saw that day in the Northwood's of Canada. And it would unnerve us. Because we'd see the one who is stalking us, waiting for the chance to have us. He's the one the Bible calls the devil, and he wants your soul. The Bible describes him, not as a wolf, but as a lion who "prowls around...looking for someone to devour" (1 Peter 5:8). To ignore or laugh off that warning is to play right into the predator's hands.
However smart or strong we may think we are, that vulnerable deer is an all-too-accurate picture of us. Again, the Bible describes us as being "like sheep" (Isaiah 53:6), one of the most vulnerable animals of all. The devil's goal for you can be summed up in one horrible little word-hell. The Bible says that the people who are on that road are "many" and the people who are headed for heaven are "few" (Matthew 7:13-14). That should be unsettling for all of us.
Our word for today from the Word of God reveals the life-taker who is counting on having his way with us. But it also reveals the life-giver, who is your hope. In John 10:10 Jesus says, "The thief (that's the devil) comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life and have it to the full." The devil seems to offer you life, but he gives you only death. His plan to steal and kill and destroy you is to keep you away from the only One who can save you. That's Jesus. Because Jesus was torn apart for your sin so you don't ever have to be.
The only hope that wounded deer had that day was a rescuer. That's your only hope of ever being free from your sins, of being healed of your wounds, and of being with God in heaven someday. The Bible says that Jesus "was pierced for our transgressions" and "crushed for our iniquities" (Isaiah 53:5). Like the van that temporarily stood between the killer and the deer, all our religion and spirituality can do is postpone the inevitable. There are a lot of nice things that can't save us. Sin is too expensive for religion to pay for. The Rescuer is your only hope. And the Bible says of Him, "By His wounds we are healed" (Isaiah 53:5).
The devil's plan is simple: keep you busy with anything but Jesus. He doesn't care if it's pleasure, or religion, or work, or education, or family, or people-pleasing. All he needs to do is to keep you from trusting Jesus. All he wants to do is keep you from Jesus until you breathe your last breath. Then he'll have you where he wants you forever.
Today, the life-taker and the life-giver are fighting for your soul. That's the tug-of-war you feel in your heart. Please, would you let this be the day you give yourself to the only One who can save you; the Rescuer who refused to save Himself so you could be saved. He's calling you to Him today. Why don't you tell Him, "Jesus, I'm Yours."
You must have questions. You want to be sure you have this relationship? Would you go to our website? It's there for you right now. That's why we have it there-ANewStory.com.
I love the way the Bible describes what will happen to you the moment you give yourself to Jesus. You're going to love this. It says you will literally "cross over from death to life" (John 5:24).