Max Lucado Daily: JUST A PRAYER
Late evening. Bedtime. The pillow beckons, but so does your guilty conscience. An encounter with a coworker turned nasty earlier. Words were exchanged. Accusations made. Lines drawn in the sand. Names called. Tacky, tacky behavior. You bear some, if not most, of the blame.
The old version of you would have suppressed the argument. The quarrel would have festered into bitterness and poisoned another relationship. But now you know better. You’ve been bought with the blood of Christ and given grace. You can risk honesty with God. It’s time to confess to the One who died to forgive you. No special location required. No chant or candle needed. Just a prayer. The prayer will likely prompt an apology, and the apology will quite possibly preserve a friendship and protect a heart. You might even hang a sign on your office wall: “Grace happened here!”
From God is With You Every Day
2 Chronicles 31
After the Passover celebration, they all took off for the cities of Judah and smashed the phallic stone monuments, chopped down the sacred Asherah groves, and demolished the neighborhood sex-and-religion shrines and local god shops. They didn’t stop until they had been all through Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh. Then they all went back home and resumed their everyday lives.
2 Hezekiah organized the groups of priests and Levites for their respective tasks, handing out job descriptions for conducting the services of worship: making the various offerings, and making sure that thanks and praise took place wherever and whenever God was worshiped.
3 He also designated his personal contribution for the Whole-Burnt-Offerings for the morning and evening worship, for Sabbaths, for New Moon festivals, and for the special worship days set down in The Revelation of God.
4 In addition, he asked the people who lived in Jerusalem to be responsible for providing for the priests and Levites so they, without distraction or concern, could give themselves totally to The Revelation of God.
5-7 As soon as Hezekiah’s orders had gone out, the Israelites responded generously: firstfruits of the grain harvest, new wine, oil, honey—everything they grew. They didn’t hold back, turning over a tithe of everything. They also brought in a tithe of their cattle, sheep, and anything else they owned that had been dedicated to God. Everything was sorted and piled in mounds. They started doing this in the third month and didn’t finish until the seventh month.
8-9 When Hezekiah and his leaders came and saw the extent of the mounds of gifts, they praised God and commended God’s people Israel. Hezekiah then consulted the priests and Levites on how to handle the abundance of offerings.
10 Azariah, chief priest of the family of Zadok, answered, “From the moment of this huge outpouring of gifts to The Temple of God, there has been plenty to eat for everyone with food left over. God has blessed his people—just look at the evidence!”
11-18 Hezekiah then ordered storerooms to be prepared in The Temple of God. When they were ready, they brought in all the offerings of tithes and sacred gifts. They put Conaniah the Levite in charge with his brother Shimei as assistant. Jehiel, Azaziah, Nahath, Asahel, Jerimoth, Jozabad, Eliel, Ismakiah, Mahath, and Benaiah were project managers under the direction of Conaniah and Shimei, carrying out the orders of King Hezekiah and Azariah the chief priest of The Temple of God. Kore son of Imnah the Levite, security guard of the East Gate, was in charge of the Freewill-Offerings of God and responsible for distributing the offerings and sacred gifts. Faithful support out in the priestly cities was provided by Eden, Miniamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Amariah, and Shecaniah. They were even-handed in their distributions to their coworkers (all males thirty years and older) in each of their respective divisions as they entered The Temple of God each day to do their assigned work (their work was all organized by divisions). The divisions comprised officially registered priests by family and Levites twenty years and older by job description. The official family tree included everyone in the entire congregation—their small children, wives, sons, and daughters. The ardent dedication they showed in bringing themselves and their gifts to worship was total—no one was left out.
19 The Aaronites, the priests who lived out on the pastures that belonged to the priest-cities, had reputable men on hand to distribute regular rations to every priest—everyone listed in the official family tree of the Levites.
20-21 Hezekiah carried out this work and kept it up everywhere in Judah. He was the very best—good, right, and true before his God. Everything he took up, whether it had to do with worship in God’s Temple or the carrying out of God’s Law and Commandments, he did well in a spirit of prayerful worship. He was a great success.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, August 29, 2016
Read: Isaiah 40:1–11
Prepare for God’s Arrival
“Comfort, oh comfort my people,”
says your God.
“Speak softly and tenderly to Jerusalem,
but also make it very clear
That she has served her sentence,
that her sin is taken care of—forgiven!
She’s been punished enough and more than enough,
and now it’s over and done with.”
3-5 Thunder in the desert!
“Prepare for God’s arrival!
Make the road straight and smooth,
a highway fit for our God.
Fill in the valleys,
level off the hills,
Smooth out the ruts,
clear out the rocks.
Then God’s bright glory will shine
and everyone will see it.
Yes. Just as God has said.”
6-8 A voice says, “Shout!”
I said, “What shall I shout?”
“These people are nothing but grass,
their love fragile as wildflowers.
The grass withers, the wildflowers fade,
if God so much as puffs on them.
Aren’t these people just so much grass?
True, the grass withers and the wildflowers fade,
but our God’s Word stands firm and forever.”
9-11 Climb a high mountain, Zion.
You’re the preacher of good news.
Raise your voice. Make it good and loud, Jerusalem.
You’re the preacher of good news.
Speak loud and clear. Don’t be timid!
Tell the cities of Judah,
“Look! Your God!”
Look at him! God, the Master, comes in power,
ready to go into action.
He is going to pay back his enemies
and reward those who have loved him.
Like a shepherd, he will care for his flock,
gathering the lambs in his arms,
Hugging them as he carries them,
leading the nursing ewes to good pasture.
INSIGHT:
This passage is not a message of hope only for exiled Jews. It is for us all. Isaiah is proclaiming a universal truth: “The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.” For Jesus’s followers, trouble, sorrow, and exile last only for a season. The hope of the Lord lasts forever.
The Ultimate Road Trip
By Mart DeHaan
In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Isaiah 40:3
Madagascar’s National Road 5 offers the beauty of a white sand coastline, palm forests, and the Indian Ocean. Its 125 miles of two-track road, bare rock, sand, and mud, however, have given it a reputation for being one of the worst roads in the world. Tourists looking for breathtaking views are advised to have a four-wheel-drive vehicle, an experienced driver, and an onboard mechanic.
John the Baptist came to announce the good news of the coming Messiah to those traveling on rough roads and through barren landscape. Repeating the words of the prophet Isaiah written centuries earlier, he urged curious crowds to “prepare the way for the Lord” and to “make straight paths for him” (Luke 3:4–5; Isa. 40:3)
God, we need You to do in us what we cannot do for ourselves.
John knew that if the people of Jerusalem were going to be ready to welcome their long-awaited Messiah their hearts needed to change. Mountains of religious pride would need to come down. Those in the valley of despair because of their broken lives would need to be lifted up.
Neither could be done by human effort alone. Those who refused to respond to the Spirit of God by accepting John’s baptism of repentance failed to recognize their Messiah when He came (Luke 7:29–30). Yet those who saw their need for change discovered in Jesus the goodness and wonder of God.
Father in heaven, we need You to do in us what we cannot do for ourselves. Please remove any mountain of pride or valley of despair that would keep us from welcoming You into our lives.
Repentance clears the way for our walk with God.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, August 29, 2016
The Unsurpassed Intimacy of Tested Faith
Jesus said to her, "Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?" —John 11:40
Every time you venture out in your life of faith, you will find something in your circumstances that, from a commonsense standpoint, will flatly contradict your faith. But common sense is not faith, and faith is not common sense. In fact, they are as different as the natural life and the spiritual. Can you trust Jesus Christ where your common sense cannot trust Him? Can you venture out with courage on the words of Jesus Christ, while the realities of your commonsense life continue to shout, “It’s all a lie”? When you are on the mountaintop, it’s easy to say, “Oh yes, I believe God can do it,” but you have to come down from the mountain to the demon-possessed valley and face the realities that scoff at your Mount-of-Transfiguration belief (see Luke 9:28-42). Every time my theology becomes clear to my own mind, I encounter something that contradicts it. As soon as I say, “I believe ‘God shall supply all [my] need,’ ” the testing of my faith begins (Philippians 4:19). When my strength runs dry and my vision is blinded, will I endure this trial of my faith victoriously or will I turn back in defeat?
Faith must be tested, because it can only become your intimate possession through conflict. What is challenging your faith right now? The test will either prove your faith right, or it will kill it. Jesus said, “Blessed is he who is not offended because of Me” Matthew 11:6). The ultimate thing is confidence in Jesus. “We have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end…” (Hebrews 3:14). Believe steadfastly on Him and everything that challenges you will strengthen your faith. There is continual testing in the life of faith up to the point of our physical death, which is the last great test. Faith is absolute trust in God— trust that could never imagine that He would forsake us (see Hebrews 13:5-6).
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Christianity is not consistency to conscience or to convictions; Christianity is being true to Jesus Christ. Biblical Ethics, 111 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, August 29, 2016
High Yield Investing - #7731
My wife grew up on a small farm where her Mom and Dad and she and her sister were all the hands they could afford. It was a lot of hard work and it was a struggle to survive. So even though I'm a city boy, I care about the struggles that a lot of independent farmers have today. In many cases, it seems like a struggle to survive; especially with so many large, corporate-type farms coming on the scene. But I was heartened to read a while back, an article about a new idea that some are trying with a fair degree of success. Basically, these farmers have customers who pre-order what they would like to buy, and the farmer then plants it and sells it to them later. So if I wanted so much corn or so much beans, I'd order that and even do some pre-paying for it – which takes some of the pressure of upfront expenses off the farmer. In a sense, it's buying a share of the harvest before the harvest comes in – and then enjoying the fruits of your investment when it does.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "High Yield Investing."
Jesus lived in an agricultural society, so He talked a lot about harvest. He used it as a picture of sowing the seed of His Gospel in people's lives and then ultimately bringing them into a personal relationship with Him. And He gives each of us an amazing opportunity – to, in essence, buy a share of the harvest before it comes in, and to enjoy the fruits of the harvest with Him for all eternity. He literally offers us a chance to take what we have and make it into something eternal; to actually eternalize it by investing it in the very work of God on this planet.
In Matthew 6:19-21, our word for today from the Word of God, Jesus described the highest yield investing there is. Talk about an ROI (Return On Investment), this is it. He said, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal." Translation: any earth-thing you invest in is "loseable." "But store up for yourselves in heaven where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal." Translation: any eternal work you invest in is "unloseable." And then Jesus does this spiritual EKG – "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." And that's true. Whatever your money and goods are tied up in is going to be your heart-focus.
Sadly, many believers don't understand what equal partners they are in the spiritual harvest of those they support in ministry. In John 4, Jesus told His followers to "open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest." He could have said that about our world today. Billions of people ready for a Savior like Jesus, if only there was someone to show them what He can do. Jesus went on to explain that the reaper "harvests the crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together." Do you realize that when you give to help people be reached for Christ, you are sowing seed in Jesus' harvest field? And Jesus considers the contribution of the sower and the reaper, the one who actually brings in the harvest, to be the same.
God's accounting plan goes like this, as revealed in Paul's request in Philippians 4:17, "Not that I am looking for a gift, but I am looking for what may be credited to your account." In other words, every person Paul led to Christ would appear in the heavenly account of those whose gifts made his work possible! So as you give and sacrifice to support God's harvesters, you're literally buying an eternal share of the harvest.
Friends of ours confided that when they first got married and had very little, they decided that a tithe was only meant to be a starting point. They decided to add a percent of their income the next year. So, when they gave, they gave 11%. They've now done that every year for 50 years of marriage!
There's a song, "Thank You" that was popular a few years ago – has the right idea. It describes the scene in heaven when you meet someone who is there because you gave to the rescue work of Jesus. It says, "Thank you for giving to the Lord. I am a life that was changed. Thank you for giving to the Lord. I am so glad you gave." You'll be glad, too – forever.
