Max Lucado Daily: A SECOND CHANCE
Out in a fishing boat, empty and exhausted, Peter discovered the wonder of God’s second chance. The crowd on the beach was so great that Jesus needed a buffer. So he preached from Peter’s boat. Then he told Peter to take him fishing. The apostle-to-be was tired; he had fished all night. He’d caught nothing. He was dubious. What did Jesus know about catching fish? And maybe Peter was self-conscious. People packed the beach. Who wants to fail in public? But Jesus insisted. And Peter relented. “At Your word I will let down the net” (Luke 5:5).
This was a moment of truth for Peter. He was saying, I will try again– your way. When he did, the catch of fish was so great the boat nearly sank. Sometimes we just need to try again with Jesus in the boat. Failures are fatal only if we fail to learn from them.
From: God is With You Every Day
Isaiah 47
The Party’s Over
“Get off your high horse and sit in the dirt,
virgin daughter of Babylon.
No more throne for you—sit on the ground,
daughter of the Chaldeans.
Nobody will be calling you ‘charming’
and ‘alluring’ anymore. Get used to it.
Get a job, any old job:
Clean gutters, scrub toilets.
Hock your gowns and scarves,
put on overalls—the party’s over.
Your nude body will be on public display,
exposed to vulgar taunts.
It’s vengeance time, and I’m taking vengeance.
No one gets let off the hook.”
You’re Acting Like the Center of the Universe
4-13 Our Redeemer speaks,
named God-of-the-Angel-Armies, The Holy of Israel:
“Shut up and get out of the way,
daughter of Chaldeans.
You’ll no longer be called
‘First Lady of the Kingdoms.’
I was fed up with my people,
thoroughly disgusted with my progeny.
I turned them over to you,
but you had no compassion.
You put old men and women
to cruel, hard labor.
You said, ‘I’m the First Lady.
I’ll always be the pampered darling.’
You took nothing seriously, took nothing to heart,
never gave tomorrow a thought.
Well, start thinking, playgirl.
You’re acting like the center of the universe,
Smugly saying to yourself, ‘I’m Number One. There’s nobody but me.
I’ll never be a widow, I’ll never lose my children.’
Those two things are going to hit you both at once,
suddenly, on the same day:
Spouse and children gone, a total loss,
despite your many enchantments and charms.
You were so confident and comfortable in your evil life,
saying, ‘No one sees me.’
You thought you knew so much, had everything figured out.
What delusion!
Smugly telling yourself, ‘I’m Number One. There’s nobody but me.’
Ruin descends—
you can’t charm it away.
Disaster strikes—
you can’t cast it off with spells.
Catastrophe, sudden and total—
and you’re totally at sea, totally bewildered!
But don’t give up. From your great repertoire
of enchantments there must be one you haven’t yet tried.
You’ve been at this a long time.
Surely something will work.
I know you’re exhausted trying out remedies,
but don’t give up.
Call in the astrologers and stargazers.
They’re good at this. Surely they can work up something!
14-15 “Fat chance. You’d be grasping at straws
that are already in the fire,
A fire that is even now raging.
Your ‘experts’ are in it and won’t get out.
It’s not a fire for cooking venison stew,
not a fire to warm you on a winter night!
That’s the fate of your friends in sorcery, your magician buddies
you’ve been in cahoots with all your life.
They reel, confused, bumping into one another.
None of them bother to help you.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, October 27, 2016
Read: Numbers 33:1–15, 36–37
Campsites from Rameses to Jordan-Jericho
1-2 These are the camping sites in the journey of the People of Israel after they left Egypt, deployed militarily under the command of Moses and Aaron. Under God’s instruction Moses kept a log of every time they moved, camp by camp:
3-4 They marched out of Rameses the day after the Passover. It was the fifteenth day of the first month. They marched out heads high and confident. The Egyptians, busy burying their firstborn whom God had killed, watched them go. God had exposed the nonsense of their gods.
5-36 The People of Israel:
left Rameses and camped at Succoth;
left Succoth and camped at Etham at the edge of the wilderness;
left Etham, circled back to Pi Hahiroth east of Baal Zephon, and camped near Migdol;
left Pi Hahiroth and crossed through the Sea into the wilderness; three days into the Wilderness of Etham they camped at Marah;
left Marah and came to Elim where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees; they camped there;
left Elim and camped by the Red Sea;
left the Red Sea and camped in the Wilderness of Sin;
left the Wilderness of Sin and camped at Dophkah;
left Dophkah and camped at Alush;
left Alush and camped at Rephidim where there was no water for the people to drink;
left Rephidim and camped in the Wilderness of Sinai;
left the Wilderness of Sinai and camped at Kibroth Hattaavah;
left Kibroth Hattaavah and camped at Hazeroth;
left Hazeroth and camped at Rithmah;
left Rithmah and camped at Rimmon Perez;
left Rimmon Perez and camped at Libnah;
left Libnah and camped at Rissah;
left Rissah and camped at Kehelathah;
left Kehelathah and camped at Mount Shepher;
left Mount Shepher and camped at Haradah;
left Haradah and camped at Makheloth;
left Makheloth and camped at Tahath;
left Tahath and camped at Terah;
left Terah and camped at Mithcah;
left Mithcah and camped at Hashmonah;
left Hashmonah and camped at Moseroth;
left Moseroth and camped at Bene Jaakan;
left Bene Jaakan and camped at Hor Haggidgad;
left Hor Haggidgad and camped at Jotbathah;
left Jotbathah and camped at Abronah;
left Abronah and camped at Ezion Geber;
left Ezion Geber and camped at Kadesh in the Wilderness of Zin.
Numbers 33:36-39
The People of Israel:
left Rameses and camped at Succoth;
left Succoth and camped at Etham at the edge of the wilderness;
left Etham, circled back to Pi Hahiroth east of Baal Zephon, and camped near Migdol;
left Pi Hahiroth and crossed through the Sea into the wilderness; three days into the Wilderness of Etham they camped at Marah;
left Marah and came to Elim where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees; they camped there;
left Elim and camped by the Red Sea;
left the Red Sea and camped in the Wilderness of Sin;
left the Wilderness of Sin and camped at Dophkah;
left Dophkah and camped at Alush;
left Alush and camped at Rephidim where there was no water for the people to drink;
left Rephidim and camped in the Wilderness of Sinai;
left the Wilderness of Sinai and camped at Kibroth Hattaavah;
left Kibroth Hattaavah and camped at Hazeroth;
left Hazeroth and camped at Rithmah;
left Rithmah and camped at Rimmon Perez;
left Rimmon Perez and camped at Libnah;
left Libnah and camped at Rissah;
left Rissah and camped at Kehelathah;
left Kehelathah and camped at Mount Shepher;
left Mount Shepher and camped at Haradah;
left Haradah and camped at Makheloth;
left Makheloth and camped at Tahath;
left Tahath and camped at Terah;
left Terah and camped at Mithcah;
left Mithcah and camped at Hashmonah;
left Hashmonah and camped at Moseroth;
left Moseroth and camped at Bene Jaakan;
left Bene Jaakan and camped at Hor Haggidgad;
left Hor Haggidgad and camped at Jotbathah;
left Jotbathah and camped at Abronah;
left Abronah and camped at Ezion Geber;
left Ezion Geber and camped at Kadesh in the Wilderness of Zin.
37-39 After they left Kadesh and camped at Mount Hor at the border of Edom, Aaron the priest climbed Mount Hor at God’s command and died there. It was the first day of the fifth month in the fortieth year after the People of Israel had left Egypt. Aaron was 123 years old when he died on Mount Hor.
INSIGHT:
Stage by stage God leads His dear children along. Sometimes (as in Israel’s case), God’s leading in our lives may seem quite mystifying; we may feel we are traveling in circles. Nevertheless, when we trust in the Lord, He will direct us (Prov. 3:5–6). God is faithful to all who put their trust in Him.
Stage by Stage
By David Roper
At the Lord's command Moses recorded the stages in their journey. Numbers 33:2
Numbers 33 is a chapter in the Bible we might pass by without reflection. It appears to be nothing more than a long list of places tracing Israel's pilgrimage from Rameses in Egypt to their arrival in the plains of Moab. But it must be important because it’s the only section in Numbers that follows with the words: “At the Lord’s command Moses recorded . . .” (v. 2).
Why keep a record of this? Could it be that this list provides a framework upon which the Israelites emerging from the wilderness could retrace that forty-year journey in their thoughts and recall God's faithfulness at each location?
Remember all the ways God has shown you His faithful, covenant love.
I envision an Israelite father, sitting near a campfire, reminiscing with his son: “I will never forget Rephidim! I was dying of thirst, nothing but sand and sage for hundreds of miles. Then God directed Moses to take his staff and strike a rock—actually a hard slab of flint. I thought, What a futile gesture; he’ll never get anything out of that stone. But to my amazement water gushed out of that rock! A generous flow that satisfied the thirst of the thousands of Israelites. I’ll never forget that day!” (see Ps. 114:8; Num. 20:8–13; 33:14).
So why not give it a try? Reflect on your life—stage by stage—and remember all the ways God has shown you His faithful, covenant love.
Count your many blessings, name them one by one. Johnson Oatman Jr.
For reflection on the faithfulness of God, listen to this Discover the Word program: discovertheword.org/faithfulness.
God’s faithfulness extends to all generations.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, October 27, 2016
The Method of Missions
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations… —Matthew 28:19
Jesus Christ did not say, “Go and save souls” (the salvation of souls is the supernatural work of God), but He said, “Go…make disciples of all the nations….” Yet you cannot make disciples unless you are a disciple yourself. When the disciples returned from their first mission, they were filled with joy because even the demons were subject to them. But Jesus said, in effect, “Don’t rejoice in successful service— the great secret of joy is that you have the right relationship with Me” (see Luke 10:17-20). The missionary’s great essential is remaining true to the call of God, and realizing that his one and only purpose is to disciple men and women to Jesus. Remember that there is a passion for souls that does not come from God, but from our desire to make converts to our point of view.
The challenge to the missionary does not come from the fact that people are difficult to bring to salvation, that backsliders are difficult to reclaim, or that there is a barrier of callous indifference. No, the challenge comes from the perspective of the missionary’s own personal relationship with Jesus Christ— “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” (Matthew 9:28). Our Lord unwaveringly asks us that question, and it confronts us in every individual situation we encounter. The one great challenge to us is— do I know my risen Lord? Do I know the power of His indwelling Spirit? Am I wise enough in God’s sight, but foolish enough according to the wisdom of the world, to trust in what Jesus Christ has said? Or am I abandoning the great supernatural position of limitless confidence in Christ Jesus, which is really God’s only call for a missionary? If I follow any other method, I depart altogether from the methods prescribed by our Lord— “All authority has been given to Me….Go therefore…” (Matthew 28:18-19).
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Am I learning how to use my Bible? The way to become complete for the Master’s service is to be well soaked in the Bible; some of us only exploit certain passages. Our Lord wants to give us continuous instruction out of His word; continuous instruction turns hearers into disciples. Approved Unto God, 11 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, October 27, 2016
Out of the Salt Shaker - #7774
I heard mooing from our kitchen. Yeah, but there wasn't a cow in the kitchen. No, it was my wife. No, she wasn't mooing. She was doing something that caused the mooing sound. I bought my wife these charming salt and pepper shakers in honor of her farm upbringing. The pepper shaker is a pig and the salt shaker is a cow. Whenever you turn over the pepper shaker, you cause it to start this pig-snorting sound, which I will not demonstrate. The salt shaker cow works in the same way. So when I hear that mooing from the kitchen, I know it's announcing that the salt is doing what the salt is supposed to do-which is get out of that salt shaker!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Out of the Salt Shaker."
I'm sure God would love to hear the sounds of His salt getting out of the shaker more often. After all, the work salt is supposed to do is not inside the salt shaker, all clustered together with the other salt. It's supposed to get out and change the flavor of something!
Well, according to Jesus, "You are the salt of the earth." That's His word to His followers in our word for today from the Word of God in Matthew 5:13. He goes on to say that "You are the light of the world," and that light is supposed to be "put on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house." You don't put all the light bulbs in one room in the house, right? You'd have one blazing bright room and the rest of the house would be totally dark. You don't keep the salt all stored up together in the shaker. You scatter it around so it will be in contact with the things that need their flavor changed.
And Christians were never meant to be all clustered together in their spiritual salt shaker, just salting each other and soaking up more blessing and more fellowship. The salt's got to be in direct contact with the meat or the vegetables that need it. So guess what? You and I have to be in meaningful contact with the people who really, really need our Jesus. We're not supposed to be hiding out, playing defense all the time, trying to keep from being contaminated by avoiding the world that Jesus left us here to change!
If your social life, if your discretionary time is pretty much all with Christians, well you're missing your mission! We'll do that in heaven. We'll hang out together all that time. Right now we've got to be involved with some people who aren't going to heaven yet! It's time for you to take all that you've been storing up spiritually and start taking it to places and people where it's really needed.
It's time to be intentional about building relationships with that neighbor of yours, you know that lost co-worker, with some of your fellow students who need Jesus. It's time to look around your community and find some human needs that you can be involved in meeting in Jesus' name; to build some bridges into lives. They're all around.
It's time to look around your community for a place to volunteer so you can be in contact with some unreached people with some really deep needs. You just need a community connection, not just a church connection; something that will put the salt of your life in Jesus in contact with some of the lives that really need the flavor of Jesus; with some lives He gave His life for but they don't know it yet.
We need to be actively involved in the life of our church no doubt. God wants that. You need it, but not to the exclusion of connecting with the world that God so loves. You are the spiritual salt where you live. Get out of that salt shaker!