Max Lucado Daily: VENGEANCE IS GOD’S
The Bible says
vengeance is God’s. He will repay. What a great reminder. Forgiveness
doesn’t diminish justice, it just entrusts it to God. We tend to give
too much or too little. But the God of justice has the precise
prescription. God can discipline your abusive boss or soften your angry
parent. He can bring your ex to his knees or her senses.
Forgiveness
doesn’t diminish justice, it just entrusts it to God. Unlike us, God
never gives up on a person. Never. Long after we’ve moved on, God is
still there, probing the conscience, stirring conviction, always
orchestrating redemption. Fix your enemies? That’s God’s job. When it
comes to forgiveness, all of us are beginners. No one owns a secret
formula. Remember this–as long as you are trying to forgive, you are
forgiving. Stay the course! You’ll find a way to be strong even when
you’ve been hurt. You will get through this.
From You’ll Get Through This
Isaiah 15
Poignant Cries Reverberate Through Moab
A Message concerning Moab:
Village Ar of Moab is in ruins,
destroyed in a night raid.
Village Kir of Moab is in ruins,
destroyed in a night raid.
Village Dibon climbs to its chapel in the hills,
goes up to lament.
Moab weeps and wails
over Nebo and Medba.
Every head is shaved bald,
every beard shaved clean.
They pour into the streets wearing black,
go up on the roofs, take to the town square,
Everyone in tears,
everyone in grief.
Towns Heshbon and Elealeh cry long and loud.
The sound carries as far as Jahaz.
Moab sobs, shaking in grief.
The soul of Moab trembles.
5-9 Oh, how I grieve for Moab!
Refugees stream to Zoar
and then on to Eglath-shelishiyah.
Up the slopes of Luhith they weep;
on the road to Horonaim they cry their loss.
The springs of Nimrim are dried up—
grass brown, buds stunted, nothing grows.
They leave, carrying all their possessions
on their backs, everything they own,
Making their way as best they can
across Willow Creek to safety.
Poignant cries reverberate
all through Moab,
Gut-wrenching sobs as far as Eglaim,
heart-racking sobs all the way to Beer-elim.
The banks of the Dibon crest with blood,
but God has worse in store for Dibon:
A lion—a lion to finish off the fugitives,
to clean up whoever’s left in the land.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, September 12, 2016
Read: Matthew 25:1–13
The Story of the Virgins
“God’s
kingdom is like ten young virgins who took oil lamps and went out to
greet the bridegroom. Five were silly and five were smart. The silly
virgins took lamps, but no extra oil. The smart virgins took jars of oil
to feed their lamps. The bridegroom didn’t show up when they expected
him, and they all fell asleep.
6 “In the middle of the night someone yelled out, ‘He’s here! The bride-groom’s here! Go out and greet him!’
7-8
“The ten virgins got up and got their lamps ready. The silly virgins
said to the smart ones, ‘Our lamps are going out; lend us some of your
oil.’
9 “They answered, ‘There might not be enough to go around; go buy your own.’
10
“They did, but while they were out buying oil, the bridegroom arrived.
When everyone who was there to greet him had gone into the wedding
feast, the door was locked.
11 “Much later, the other virgins, the silly ones, showed up and knocked on the door, saying, ‘Master, we’re here. Let us in.’
12 “He answered, ‘Do I know you? I don’t think I know you.’
13 “So stay alert. You have no idea when he might arrive.
INSIGHT:
David
Wenham, in his book The Parables of Jesus, comments on the parable of
the ten virgins: “It speaks of waiting for the coming of the master—in
this case the bridegroom—and of being prepared or unprepared for one’s
appointed task and of being rewarded or punished . . . . This is a
particularly suggestive picture of the outcome of final judgment.” We
don’t know when we will see the Bridegroom. Perhaps we will be alive and
looking for Him when he returns or we will be raised from the dead and
meet Him in the air (1 Thess. 4:16–17). What is important is that we are
ready when He comes.
Ready for the Wedding
By Amy Boucher Pye
Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour. Matthew 25:13
“I’m
hungry,” said my eight-year-old daughter. “I’m sorry,” I said, “I don’t
have anything for you. Let’s play tic-tac-toe.” We had been waiting
over an hour for the bride to arrive at the church for what was supposed
to be a noon wedding. As I wondered how much longer it would be, I
hoped I could occupy my daughter until the wedding started.
As
we waited, I felt like we were enacting a parable. Although the
vicarage where we live is a stone’s throw from the church, I knew if I
went to fetch some crackers, the bride could come at any moment and I
would miss her entrance. As I employed many distraction techniques with
my hungry daughter, I also thought about Jesus’s parable about the ten
virgins (Matt. 25:1–13). Five came prepared with enough oil for their
lamps to stay lit as they waited for the bridegroom, but five did not.
Just as it was too late for me to dash back to the vicarage, so it was
too late for the young women to go and buy more oil for their lamps.
What does waiting for Jesus’s return look like in your life?
Jesus
told this parable to emphasize that we need to be prepared, for when He
comes again we will give an account over the state of our hearts. Are
we waiting and ready?
What does waiting for Jesus’s return look like in your life? Have you left something undone that you could attend to today?
We need to be ready for Christ to come again.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, September 12, 2016
Going Through Spiritual Confusion
Jesus answered and said, "You do not know what you ask." —Matthew 20:22
There
are times in your spiritual life when there is confusion, and the way
out of it is not simply to say that you should not be confused. It is
not a matter of right and wrong, but a matter of God taking you through a
way that you temporarily do not understand. And it is only by going
through the spiritual confusion that you will come to the understanding
of what God wants for you.
The Shrouding of His
Friendship (see Luke 11:5-8). Jesus gave the illustration here of a man
who appears not to care for his friend. He was saying, in effect, that
is how the heavenly Father will appear to you at times. You will think
that He is an unkind friend, but remember— He is not. The time will come
when everything will be explained. There seems to be a cloud on the
friendship of the heart, and often even love itself has to wait in pain
and tears for the blessing of fuller fellowship and oneness. When God
appears to be completely shrouded, will you hang on with confidence in
Him?
The Shadow on His Fatherhood (see Luke 11:11-13).
Jesus said that there are times when your Father will appear as if He
were an unnatural father— as if He were callous and indifferent— but
remember, He is not. “Everyone who asks receives…” (Luke 11:10). If all
you see is a shadow on the face of the Father right now, hang on to the
fact that He will ultimately give you clear understanding and will fully
justify Himself in everything that He has allowed into your life.
The
Strangeness of His Faithfulness (see Luke 18:1-8). “When the Son of Man
comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8). Will He
find the kind of faith that counts on Him in spite of the confusion?
Stand firm in faith, believing that what Jesus said is true, although in
the meantime you do not understand what God is doing. He has bigger
issues at stake than the particular things you are asking of Him right
now.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The great point of Abraham’s faith in God was that he was prepared to do anything for God. Not Knowing Whither, 903 R
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, September 12, 2016
Keeping the Weight Off - #7741
Sometimes
I'll say kiddingly, "I've figured out what my thorn in the flesh is. My
metabolism." Is that possible? Well, unfortunately, my metabolism just
doesn't turn calories into energy fast enough. It seems like the more
birthdays you have, the more that's true. In other words, I could get
heavy pretty easily. Years ago, my not-very-tall body weighed in at 210
pounds. Yeah, well, I lost 40 or 50 pounds less, you know, and kept most
of that off over the years. I want to stay that way. But I still have
the same metabolism that got me to 210, and the bakery, and the candy
store, and the ice cream place. They still look just as tempting, but
I've got to remember what a battle it was to get that weight off! I
mean, it is worth saying no to some temptations to avoid the struggle of
having to get back in shape!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Keeping the Weight Off."
Okay,
this isn't really about physical weight. No, our word for today from
the Word of God comes from Galatians 5:1. Paul is addressing the issue
of bondage...the bondage of legalism, but also the bondage of sin. He
says, "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then,
and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." Or,
like this goodies-loving, slow metabolism guy, you know – me? Why would
you go back to a way that you hated, that you were hooked on, and that
was very hard to get out of? You know how hard it is to get rid of that
weight. Why would you go back to it?
Maybe you're
facing the temptation, right now, to slip back to a sin that once
enslaved you; weight you carried spiritually for way too long. Look back
for a moment. Look at the spiritual weight that you used to carry – the
impatience that caused you grief because you would not wait for man and
you wouldn't wait for God. Or remember that destructive habit that
mastered you for so long and how hard it was to get past it? That
attitude that made you feel so dark inside and poisoned your
relationships, and that selfishness or that anger that hurt most the
people you love most? Remember the lust that used to take over so much
of your thought life or the wrong use of sex that left you with scars
and guilt and regrets?
You remember the weight and you
remember how it made you feel, and you remember how hard it was to get
that weight off of you. But now maybe there's a slow drift back toward
that burden. You have no intention of going back to where you were. I
have no intention of going back to what I used to weigh, but I could be
back there pretty fast if I didn't fight the early weight gains. I have
to do it all the time.
If you're going to keep from
carrying that sin-weight again, you'll have to fight it at the first
thought when it hits, the first time the temptation comes up, the first
weakening, the erosion, that first little compromise, "Just this once.
Not very much. Not for long." Notice God's words here are, "Stand firm!
Do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." In other
words, stop it now! Fight it when it's small! When it's easier to beat!
It's only going to get tougher to stop.
Jesus
gloriously liberated you from the sinful weight of that ugly old way of
living, that old way of thinking, that old way of meeting your needs, of
treating people. But it was painful getting the weight off, wasn't it?
You can't afford to let it start coming back. Say no now to the first
signs of that burden returning, the first weakening in your resolve!
Why
revisit the burdens of the past? Why repeat the struggle of beating
that sin again? You've got the weight off. Now with the strength of
Jesus, keep it off!