Max Lucado Daily: EVERY LIFE IS LONG ENOUGH
We speak of a short life, but compared to eternity, who has a long one? A person’s days on earth may seem like a thimbleful. But compared to the Pacific of eternity, even the years of Methuselah filled no more than a glass.
James was not speaking just to the young when he said, “Your life is like a mist. You can see it for a short time, but then it goes away” (James 4:14). In God’s plan every life is long enough and every death is timely. And though you and I might wish for a longer life, God knows better.
And this is important. Though you and I may wish a longer life for our loved ones who’ve gone to glory before us, they don’t. Ironically, the first to accept God’s decision of death is the one who dies. While we’re mourning at a grave, they’re marveling at heaven. While we’re questioning God, they’re praising God!
From the Inspiration Lucado Reader
Job 14
If We Die, Will We Live Again?
1-17 “We’re all adrift in the same boat:
too few days, too many troubles.
We spring up like wildflowers in the desert and then wilt,
transient as the shadow of a cloud.
Do you occupy your time with such fragile wisps?
Why even bother hauling me into court?
There’s nothing much to us to start with;
how do you expect us to amount to anything?
Mortals have a limited life span.
You’ve already decided how long we’ll live—
you set the boundary and no one can cross it.
So why not give us a break? Ease up!
Even ditchdiggers get occasional days off.
For a tree there is always hope.
Chop it down and it still has a chance—
its roots can put out fresh sprouts.
Even if its roots are old and gnarled,
its stump long dormant,
At the first whiff of water it comes to life,
buds and grows like a sapling.
But men and women? They die and stay dead.
They breathe their last, and that’s it.
Like lakes and rivers that have dried up,
parched reminders of what once was,
So mortals lie down and never get up,
never wake up again—never.
Why don’t you just bury me alive,
get me out of the way until your anger cools?
But don’t leave me there!
Set a date when you’ll see me again.
If we humans die, will we live again? That’s my question.
All through these difficult days I keep hoping,
waiting for the final change—for resurrection!
Homesick with longing for the creature you made,
you’ll call—and I’ll answer!
You’ll watch over every step I take,
but you won’t keep track of my missteps.
My sins will be stuffed in a sack
and thrown into the sea—sunk in deep ocean.
18-22 “Meanwhile, mountains wear down
and boulders break up,
Stones wear smooth
and soil erodes,
as you relentlessly grind down our hope.
You’re too much for us.
As always, you get the last word.
We don’t like it and our faces show it,
but you send us off anyway.
If our children do well for themselves, we never know it;
if they do badly, we’re spared the hurt.
Body and soul, that’s it for us—
a lifetime of pain, a lifetime of sorrow.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Monday, November 06, 2017
Read: Luke 1:5–17
The Birth of John the Baptist Foretold
5 In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. 6 Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly. 7 But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old.
8 Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, 9 he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.
11 Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. 12 When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. 13 But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. 14 He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, 15 for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. 16 He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. 17 And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
INSIGHT
Waiting for God to answer our prayers is hard—especially when we feel the pressures of life. But we have been given the encouragement and promise of the help of the Holy Spirit. How does God’s presence in your prayers strengthen you as you wait? (see Rom. 8). - Bill Crowder
Our Prayers, God’s Timing
By James Banks
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us. Ephesians 3:20
Sometimes God takes His time in answering our prayers, and that isn’t always easy for us to understand.
That was the situation for Zechariah, a priest whom the angel Gabriel appeared to one day near an altar in the temple in Jerusalem. Gabriel told him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John” (Luke 1:13, italics added).
When we cannot see God’s hand at work, we can still trust His heart.
But Zechariah had probably asked God for a child years before, and he struggled with Gabriel’s message because Elizabeth was now well beyond the expected age for childbirth. Still, God answered his prayer.
God’s memory is perfect. He is able to remember our prayers not only for years but also for generations beyond our lifetime. He never forgets them and may move in response long after we first brought our requests to Him. Sometimes His answer is “no,” other times it is “wait”—but His response is always measured with love. God’s ways are beyond us, but we can trust that they are good.
Zechariah learned this. He asked for a son, but God gave him even more. His son John would grow up to be the very prophet who would announce the arrival of the Messiah.
Zechariah’s experience demonstrates a vital truth that should also encourage us as we pray: God’s timing is rarely our own, but it is always worth waiting for.
What are you praying for today? Tell us at yourdailybread.org.
When we cannot see God’s hand at work, we can still trust His heart.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, November 06, 2017
Intimate Theology
Do you believe this? —John 11:26
Martha believed in the power available to Jesus Christ; she believed that if He had been there He could have healed her brother; she also believed that Jesus had a special intimacy with God, and that whatever He asked of God, God would do. But— she needed a closer personal intimacy with Jesus. Martha’s theology had its fulfillment in the future. But Jesus continued to attract and draw her in until her belief became an intimate possession. It then slowly emerged into a personal inheritance— “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ…” (John 11:27).
Is the Lord dealing with you in the same way? Is Jesus teaching you to have a personal intimacy with Himself? Allow Him to drive His question home to you— “Do you believe this?” Are you facing an area of doubt in your life? Have you come, like Martha, to a crossroads of overwhelming circumstances where your theology is about to become a very personal belief? This happens only when a personal problem brings the awareness of our personal need.
To believe is to commit. In the area of intellectual learning I commit myself mentally, and reject anything not related to that belief. In the realm of personal belief I commit myself morally to my convictions and refuse to compromise. But in intimate personal belief I commit myself spiritually to Jesus Christ and make a determination to be dominated by Him alone.
Then, when I stand face to face with Jesus Christ and He says to me, “Do you believe this?” I find that faith is as natural as breathing. And I am staggered when I think how foolish I have been in not trusting Him earlier.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Civilization is based on principles which imply that the passing moment is permanent. The only permanent thing is God, and if I put anything else as permanent, I become atheistic. I must build only on God (John 14:6). The Highest Good—Thy Great Redemption, 565 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, November 06, 2017
Star Wars - and Our Wars - #8041
It's been a lot of years now, the "Star Wars" trilogy of movies exploded into our popular culture like, well, like Darth Vader's Death Star. Millions of people developed a fascination for the adventures of Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Princess Leia, and, of course, the infamous Darth Vader. (Sorry, I couldn't help myself.) Hero Luke Skywalker became a Jedi knight and he learned the power of what was called The Force. Darth Vader, who was the villain, had mastered the power of the "dark side" of The Force. And then, decades later, a new "Star Wars" trilogy began, telling the story of the events that preceded the original episodes. So there's not Luke or Han or Princess Leia for a while, but guess what was still there? Yeah, The Force. And in subsequent movies, of course, still there. And what is The Force? No one's really sure, but it seems to be the spiritual power you can tap into to help you win your battles.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "Star Wars - and Our Wars."
Spiritual power you can harness to help you win battles that you can't win with your own resources-that's actually a pretty interesting idea. Of course, our battles aren't about storm troopers or villains with light sabers.
No, we're trying to make a marriage work, to beat the monsters of anger, depression, addiction, selfishness, or loneliness. We battle real challenges, not computer-animated fantasy foes. And as you face the battles raging around you right now - maybe even in you right now - you're having to admit that they are bigger than you are. Actually, there is inside us a deep desire for some power-some spiritual power really-beyond our own to enable us to be the man or woman we desperately want and need to be.
But we need something better than The Force. That's a fictional, impersonal spiritual energy that only the spiritually elite can tap into. Our biggest struggles are actually against the "dark side" that's inside us. In our word for today from the Word of God, one of the writers of the Bible spoke about our dark side when he said, "For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do...I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out ...it is sin living in me that does it." And then he speaks for all of us who battle our dark side when he says, "Who will rescue me?" (Romans 7:15, 20, 24)
Thankfully, the Bible doesn't leave us there. The answer follows. "Thanks be to God - through Jesus Christ our Lord!" The "force" that we need to conquer the dark side is actually a Person - Jesus Christ, the One who gave His life on a cross to pay the death penalty for all the sinning we've ever done. His act of deep love for you broke the power that sin has had over the human race since the first man and woman took their lives into their own hands.
We don't need some impersonal force that doesn't really exist. We need a living Savior! That's what we need. The power of Jesus is demonstrated, above all else, by His empty grave there on Easter morning. He walked out of His grave under His own power! Now, look, if He can conquer death, the darkness that has stopped every person who has ever lived, He can sure conquer the darkness inside you!
Jesus says to those who belong to Him, "All power is given to Me in heaven and earth...and I am with you always." (Matthew 28:18, 20) Man! Wow! He's the spiritual power you need to win your battles. He is the love you've been looking for all your life, and Jesus becomes your Savior from your sin when you tell Him you're putting your life into His nail-scarred hands.
You want to begin this powerful relationship with the Son of God? Well, tell Him that right now where you are. Our website's called ANewStory.com, and that's for a reason. Because the information you'll find there about Jesus is the key to your story becoming a new story starting this very day - Page One. Let me invite you to go to ANewStory.com before this day is over.
Look, your battles have probably left you pretty wounded and pretty tired. The dark side has won long enough; it's hurt enough people. You don't ever have to fight those battles alone again though. Jesus Christ-the Creator of every faraway galaxy-stands ready to fight for you from that moment that you open up to His amazing love.
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