Max Lucado Daily: HIS HANDS OPEN FOR YOU
Faith is trusting what the eye cannot see! Eyes see storms. Faith sees Noah’s rainbow. Your eyes see your faults. Your faith sees your Savior. Your eyes see your guilt. Your faith sees His cleansing blood. Your eyes look in the mirror and see a sinner, a failure. But by faith you look in the mirror and see a robed prodigal bearing the ring of grace on your finger, and the kiss of your Father on your face.
But wait a minute, someone asks. How do I know this is true? “God’s power is very great for those who believe,” Paul wrote in Ephesians 1:19-20. “That power is the same as the great strength God used to raise Christ from the dead.” So, the next time you wonder if God can forgive you, read that verse again. The power that raised Christ from the grave is the power that resurrects hope in our hearts.
Read more When God Whispers Your Name
Esther 8
1-2 That same day King Xerxes gave Queen Esther the estate of Haman, archenemy of the Jews. And Mordecai came before the king because Esther had explained their relationship. The king took off his signet ring, which he had taken back from Haman, and gave it to Mordecai. Esther appointed Mordecai over Haman’s estate.
3-6 Then Esther again spoke to the king, falling at his feet, begging with tears to counter the evil of Haman the Agagite and revoke the plan that he had plotted against the Jews. The king extended his gold scepter to Esther. She got to her feet and stood before the king. She said, “If it please the king and he regards me with favor and thinks this is right, and if he has any affection for me at all, let an order be written that cancels the bulletins authorizing the plan of Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite to annihilate the Jews in all the king’s provinces. How can I stand to see this catastrophe wipe out my people? How can I bear to stand by and watch the massacre of my own relatives?”
7-8 King Xerxes said to Queen Esther and Mordecai the Jew: “I’ve given Haman’s estate to Esther and he’s been hanged on the gallows because he attacked the Jews. So go ahead now and write whatever you decide on behalf of the Jews; then seal it with the signet ring.” (An order written in the king’s name and sealed with his signet ring is irrevocable.)
9 So the king’s secretaries were brought in on the twenty-third day of the third month, the month of Sivan, and the order regarding the Jews was written word for word as Mordecai dictated and was addressed to the satraps, governors, and officials of the provinces from India to Ethiopia, 127 provinces in all, to each province in its own script and each people in their own language, including the Jews in their script and language.
10 He wrote under the name of King Xerxes and sealed the order with the royal signet ring; he sent out the bulletins by couriers on horseback, riding the fastest royal steeds bred from the royal stud.
11-13 The king’s order authorized the Jews in every city to arm and defend themselves to the death, killing anyone who threatened them or their women and children, and confiscating for themselves anything owned by their enemies. The day set for this in all King Xerxes’ provinces was the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar. The order was posted in public places in each province so everyone could read it, authorizing the Jews to be prepared on that day to avenge themselves on their enemies.
14 The couriers, fired up by the king’s order, raced off on their royal horses. At the same time, the order was posted in the palace complex of Susa.
15-17 Mordecai walked out of the king’s presence wearing a royal robe of violet and white, a huge gold crown, and a purple cape of fine linen. The city of Susa exploded with joy. For Jews it was all sunshine and laughter: they celebrated, they were honored. It was that way all over the country, in every province, every city when the king’s bulletin was posted: the Jews took to the streets in celebration, cheering, and feasting. Not only that, but many non-Jews became Jews—now it was dangerous not to be a Jew!
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Thursday, August 17, 2017
Read: Micah 4:1–5
The Making of God’s People
4 1-4 But when all is said and done,
God’s Temple on the mountain,
Firmly fixed, will dominate all mountains,
towering above surrounding hills.
People will stream to it
and many nations set out for it,
Saying, “Come, let’s climb God’s mountain.
Let’s go to the Temple of Jacob’s God.
He will teach us how to live.
We’ll know how to live God’s way.”
True teaching will issue from Zion,
God’s revelation from Jerusalem.
He’ll establish justice in the rabble of nations
and settle disputes in faraway places.
They’ll trade in their swords for shovels,
their spears for rakes and hoes.
Nations will quit fighting each other,
quit learning how to kill one another.
Each man will sit under his own shade tree,
each woman in safety will tend her own garden.
God-of-the-Angel-Armies says so,
and he means what he says.
5 Meanwhile, all the other people live however they wish,
picking and choosing their gods.
But we live honoring God,
and we’re loyal to our God forever and ever.
INSIGHT:
Micah (whose name means “Who is like Jehovah?”) was a prophet for the Southern Kingdom of Judah. His ministry overlapped with that of the prophet Isaiah. Micah calls His people to reflect God’s heart when he says: “Act justly . . . love mercy and . . . walk humbly” with Him (6:8). Micah tells us that God’s heart delights “to show mercy” (7:18). And Micah prophesied, “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, . . . out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times” (5:2).
This promise was realized in the person of Jesus. The timeless God has sent His Son to our rescue—and Micah helped prepare people for His arrival. Bill Crowder
Promise of a Peaceful Home
By Amy Peterson
Everyone will sit under their own vine and under their own fig tree, and no one will make them afraid. Micah 4:4
Sixty-five million. That’s the number of refugees in our world today—people who have had to leave their homes due to conflict and persecution—and it’s higher than it’s ever been. The UN has petitioned leaders to work together in receiving refugees so that every child will get an education, every adult will find meaningful work, and every family will have a home.
The dream of making homes for refugees in crisis reminds me of a promise God made to the nation of Judah when ruthless Assyrian armies threatened their homes. The Lord commissioned the prophet Micah to warn the people that they would lose their temple and their beloved city of Jerusalem. But God also promised a beautiful future beyond the loss.
God promises His children a peaceful home in His kingdom.
A day will come, said Micah, when God will call the peoples of the world to Himself. Violence will end. Weapons of war will become farming tools, and every person who answers God’s call will find a peaceful home and a productive life in His kingdom (4:3–4).
For many in the world today, and maybe for you, a safe home remains more a dream than a reality. But we can rely on God’s ancient promise of a home for people of all nations, even as we wait and work and pray for those peaceful homes to become a reality.
God, thank You for the beautiful promise of a home. Please bring peace to our world, and provide for the needs of all of Your children.
God promises His children a peaceful home in His kingdom.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, August 17, 2017
Are You Discouraged or Devoted?
…Jesus…said to him, "You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have…and come, follow Me." But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich. —Luke 18:22-23
Have you ever heard the Master say something very difficult to you? If you haven’t, I question whether you have ever heard Him say anything at all. Jesus says a tremendous amount to us that we listen to, but do not actually hear. And once we do hear Him, His words are harsh and unyielding.
Jesus did not show the least concern that this rich young ruler should do what He told him, nor did Jesus make any attempt to keep this man with Him. He simply said to him, “Sell all that you have…and come, follow Me.” Our Lord never pleaded with him; He never tried to lure him— He simply spoke the strictest words that human ears have ever heard, and then left him alone.
Have I ever heard Jesus say something difficult and unyielding to me? Has He said something personally to me to which I have deliberately listened— not something I can explain for the sake of others, but something I have heard Him say directly to me? This man understood what Jesus said. He heard it clearly, realizing the full impact of its meaning, and it broke his heart. He did not go away as a defiant person, but as one who was sorrowful and discouraged. He had come to Jesus on fire with zeal and determination, but the words of Jesus simply froze him. Instead of producing enthusiastic devotion to Jesus, they produced heartbreaking discouragement. And Jesus did not go after him, but let him go. Our Lord knows perfectly well that once His word is truly heard, it will bear fruit sooner or later. What is so terrible is that some of us prevent His words from bearing fruit in our present life. I wonder what we will say when we finally make up our minds to be devoted to Him on that particular point? One thing is certain— He will never throw our past failures back in our faces.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
When we no longer seek God for His blessings, we have time to seek Him for Himself. The Moral Foundations of Life, 728 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, August 17, 2017
Happy Fences - #7984
There's a high fence around my friend Mel's garden. And he's got the most incredible fruit and vegetable garden I've ever seen. When Mel or his wife are at the grocery store, they can pretty much sail right past the produce department-they own a produce department. Their garden produces bumper crops of fresh tomatoes, corn, berries-you name it. I have always enjoyed taking a walk with him through what really feels like "God's little acre." But you don't just stroll from the yard right into the soil of the garden. You see, you have to open a gate and then go in. Every inch of that garden is surrounded by this sturdy fence. Now why does Mel have that big old fence around his garden? I suppose someone might say, "Oh, he just doesn't want anyone in there enjoying it." No. He has a fence there, not to limit your enjoyment of the garden, but to protect your enjoyment of the garden. It's not about keeping people from the beauty. It's about protecting the beauty from the things that could destroy it.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Happy Fences".
Part of raising children is putting up some fences...fences they won't always like. But it's important for a child to hear from a parent, not just where the fences are, but why there is a fence. For the same reason my friend has a fence around his garden-not to keep you from something good, but to keep something good. We need to raise our sons and daughters, not just with rules to keep, but with treasures to keep.
That's exactly the approach God takes with His children when He's telling them to stay away from what's wrong. It's "thou shalt not" in the context of not spoiling something very valuable.
Our word for today from the Word of God begins in 2 Corinthians 6:14. In this situation, God is telling His children not to be involved in life partnerships with unbelievers...something that may have sounded like just another Christian rule, one more thing you can't do because you're a Christian.
But listen to God's logic-the reason behind the rule. He says, "For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said, 'I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be My people.'" God says, Do you know who you are? You're the temple God lives in. You're the people of God. You belong to the King. You're treasure-you're too valuable to compromise or throw away. So, God concludes, "Therefore come out from them and be separate. Touch no unclean thing."
Then He says, "...You will be My sons and daughters." He's the King. You're His child. So you're a prince or a princess. So live like one! See, it's not just some "no-no's". It's not just fences. It's something too valuable to ruin.
We need to raise our children with that kind of positive morality, not just a list of things they can't do. They need a list of treasures that are too valuable to ruin. They're the reason for the rules. Like their virginity, for example...like that unique love gift that they have to give to their lifetime love. Yes, there's a fence around sex called marriage not to keep us from enjoying it, but to make sure we enjoy it as only those can who have kept it for what-and for who-it was made for.
We need to let our kids know their body is a treasure from God too, and it's too valuable to be devalued with garbage. Your mind is a treasure too important to be poisoned with polluted input. Your reputation is a treasure, too valuable to be compromised or lost. People's trust - that's a treasure - so we're against anything that would cost you people's trust.
Let's be sure we aren't just giving our children rules to keep. They need to have treasures to keep. Yes, there are fences-not to keep you out of life's beautiful gardens, but to keep those gardens beautiful!
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